Protect Your Organization from Accounts Payable Fraud: Identifying Red Flags and Strengthening Internal Controls

OVERVIEW

Accounts Payable (AP) is the one business function that, in many organizations, is more vulnerable to fraud than any other. That is because all funds that flow out of the organization must first pass through AP. And over time, dishonest insiders and vendors have created newer and craftier methods of stealing from organizations by exploiting control weaknesses in the AP function.

It is more important than ever for management to allocate professional and financial resources to eliminating these control weaknesses. This almost always starts with learning about the types of Accounts Payable fraud that can victimize your organization. It is then necessary to determine if proper internal controls are already in place to prevent such crimes from occurring.

From there, internal audit plans must be adjusted to include tests and methodologies for identifying the red flags of possible AP fraud. This enables management to initiate further examination of suspicious findings and ultimately to apprehend offenders and remediate control weaknesses.

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND

Businesses suffer an average of $155,000 every time an insider commits fraud according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. More disturbing: Billing schemes (perhaps the most common form of fraud in Accounts Payable in the financial industry) are by far the most common fraud schemes threatening organizations, making up nearly one-third of the total.

Adding to the problem, check fraud is rising at a rate of 25% per year and criminals are coming up with new high-tech ways of hijacking corporate ACH (Automated Clearing House) accounts.

AREAS COVERED

• Billing schemes by outside AND internal perpetrators
• Check fraud threats
• ACH fraud
• Information security risks
• Kickbacks, bribery and other corruption
• Conflict of interest
• Red flags of Accounts Payable fraud
• Detecting best practices for fraud detection and fraud prevention
• Proven anti-fraud controls for AP

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Participants will learn techniques for detecting and preventing Accounts Payable fraud damaging organizations of all kinds, including small businesses and non-profits, and determine how shrewd fraudsters abuse the AP process to embezzle funds for years before being detected—and how to shorten the time before discovery.

The webinar will enable them to quickly recognize the red flags of Accounts Payable fraud in your operations and financial records and will assist in providing cost-effective anti-fraud controls to protect against the growing army of fraudsters both inside and outside their organizations.

WHO WILL BENEFIT

• Internal and external audit professionals
• Accounting and audit practitioners
• AP managers
• Senior financial management seeking to reduce their vulnerability to costly frauds
• Procurement and payables specialists
• Compliance and ethics managers
• CFO’s/senior financial managers
• Security personnel
• Auditor
• Treasurer
• Chief Financial Officer