Accounts Payable Internal Controls to Protect Against Fraud and Promote Efficiency
Author: Mary Schaeffer
| CPE Credit: |
2 hours for CPAs |
Most professionals realize that strong internal controls go a long way towards protecting an organization against fraud. What they don’t realize is there are other benefits as well, most notably the efficiency enhancements generated by the controls. Control problems can creep into the procure-to-pay at almost any point in the process. Mary Schaeffer, your presenter for this course will show you how to take advantage of instilling controls across the entire accounts payable spectrum. It is not enough to set your controls in place and forget about them. Sadly, new frauds, new technology, new regulatory reporting requirements and evolving best practices mean they should be reviewed on a very regular basis.
Publication Date: January 2024
Designed For
Who should attend (optional) Accountants, controllers, accounting managers, auditors (internal and external), Treasurers, CFOs, CEOs, accounts payable professionals, payroll professionals, procure-to-pay professionals, and travel managers.
Topics Covered
- Background
- How the Process Should Work
- Before the Invoice Arrives
- When the Invoice Arrives
- After the Payment is Made
- Often-Overlooked Internal Control Breakdowns
- Fixing Broken Controls
Learning Objectives
- Identify controls that no longer work
- Identify how to ensure your segregation of duties regime doesn't fail
- Identify how to create the "building blocks" of a strong internal control master plan
- Identify best control practices for the entire procure-to-pay process
- Identify how to evaluate your own processes to identify weak controls that need tightening
- Identify how to fix the questionable controls so fraud and erroneous payments don't sneak through
- Identify how to pinpoint control issues that arise when payments are made outside AP and show you how you can tighten those controls
- Identify practices that are often overlooked but strengthen controls
Level
Basic
Instructional Method
Self-Study
NASBA Field of Study
Accounting (2 hours)
Program Prerequisites
None
Advance Preparation
None
