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Advanced Internal Controls
for Your AP Invoice
Processing Function
Mary S. Schaeffer
Accounts Payable Now &
Tomorrow
Agenda
O Internal Controls that No Longer Work
O Effective Segregation of Duties
O Practices that Don’t Work
O Eat This not That*
O Do This, Not That
O How Invoice Automation Can Help
* Men’s Health
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 2
Internal Controls that
No Longer Work
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 3
Internal Control Breakdown #1
O Segregation of Duties
Oversights
O Promotions
O The one exception
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 4
Internal Control Breakdown #2
OPayments made outside AP
O ACH and/or Wire transfers
O Failure to follow same rigid standards used in AP
O Likely result: Duplicate Payment
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 5
Internal Control Breakdown #3
O When an Employee leaves
O Retrieve credit cards
O T&E, p-card, fuel, one card
O Cut off system access
O Notify bank immediately
O Credit cards
O Signing/electronic authorizations
O Deactivate in the master vendor file
O For T&E
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 6
Internal Control Breakdown #4
ORecurring Payments
O Leases
O End date???
O Early termination of leases
O Start of new one
O Don’t forget to cancel old payments
O Loans and early repayments
O Don’t forget to stop payments on repaid
loan
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 7
Internal Control Breakdown #5
OThe Simple Test Few Do
O Employee addresses in HR file vs. Vendor
addresses in Master Vendor File
O Can be done in Excel using the
conditional formatting function
O Many false positives – research
O 2 in 6 years
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 8
Effective and Appropriate
Segregation of Duties
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 9
The Basics
O One person per leg
O Procure-to-pay process
O No exceptions
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 10
Do You Have the Promotion
Problem?
O Do you rely on someone hired from
another department?
O When was the last time someone’s
access was closed off
O Don’t forget employees who left
O Run a report showing who has access to
what
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 11
A Word S-Ox
O Section 404 relates to strong internal
controls
O Inappropriate segregation of duties is a
weak control
O Your employees will know
O The long term trusted employee
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 12
When the AP Staff is Small
O Other departments help
O Automation helps
O Audit trail
O Who did what when
O Expect this to be a growing issue
O Most frequently moved
O Master vendor file
O Check signing
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 13
Practices that Don’t Work
Do This, Not That
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 14
Do This, Not That #1
O Best: Centralize receipt of invoices
O Worst: Allow invoices to go wherever the vendor
sends them
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 15
Do This, Not That #2
O Best: Return to sender: unidentified
invoices
O Worst: Try and determine who ordered
goods on unidentified invoices
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 16
Do This, Not That #3
O Best: Everyone uses rigid coding
standard
O Worst: Allowing processors to enter data
as they each see fit
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 17
Do This, Not That #4
O Best: Return to sender: invoice w/o
invoice #
O Worst: Enter invoice data without an
invoice number or use the date or vendor
number as invoice number
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 18
Do This, Not That #5
O Best: Regularly review statements for
open credits
O Worst: Never reviewing statements
hoping the vendor will alert you to open
credits
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 19
Do This, Not That #6
O Best: Never return checks to
requisitioners
O Worst: Return checks to anyone who
asks
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 20
Do This, Not That #7
O Best: Have a policy regarding use of
personal devices
O Worst: Ignore the issue allowing
employees to bring their own devices to
work and use for company initiatives.
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 21
Do This, Not That #8
O Best: Learn as much as possible about
invoice automation including how various
vendors’ products work
O Worst: Ignore the issue hoping it will go
away
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 22
Practices that Don’t Work
Do This, Not That
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 23
Reality Moving Forward
O Technology and automation inroads
O IFO conference
O First ATM
O First online bill payment
O Costs are plummeting
O No longer a big-company phenomena
O Invoice automation is for everyone
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 24
Benefits of Invoice Automation
O Human keying errors eliminated
O Personnel freed up to work on more value
added work
O Dispute resolution
O No processor playing games
O Paying favorites faster
O “Losing” problematic invoices
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 25
Additional Benefits
O Faster processing
O Discrepancies identified early on
O Invoices sent for approval automatically
O Clear audit trail and hence
O Faster approvals
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 26
Have You Scheduled a Demo?
O Call: 1-877-426-9245
O E-mail: info@anybill.com
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 27
Questions/Comments
Share your thoughts and insights with
Mary Schaeffer by writing her at
marys@ap-now.com
 Sign up for her free weekly ezine at
www.ap-now.com/ezinesignup.html
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 28
About Mary Schaeffer
Editorial Director & Publisher
CRYSTALLUS, Inc. publisher Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow
newsletter
• Creator of Institute of Financial Operations Accounts Payable
Innovation Certificate program
• Editor-at-Large CFO Publishing’s Learning Pro: AP Edition
• Nationally recognized accounts payable expert and consultant
• Frequent speaker at seminars, conferences and online events
• Regular contributor to the AICPA’s Corporate Finance Insider
• Writes a free weekly e-zine, e-AP News
• Author 17 business books including the just-published 101 Best
Practices for Accounts Payable
• M.B.A. Finance, NYU
• B.S. Math, York College
(c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 29
30

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[Webinar] Advanced Internal Controls for Your AP Invoice Processing Function

  • 1. Advanced Internal Controls for Your AP Invoice Processing Function Mary S. Schaeffer Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow
  • 2. Agenda O Internal Controls that No Longer Work O Effective Segregation of Duties O Practices that Don’t Work O Eat This not That* O Do This, Not That O How Invoice Automation Can Help * Men’s Health (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 2
  • 3. Internal Controls that No Longer Work (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 3
  • 4. Internal Control Breakdown #1 O Segregation of Duties Oversights O Promotions O The one exception (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 4
  • 5. Internal Control Breakdown #2 OPayments made outside AP O ACH and/or Wire transfers O Failure to follow same rigid standards used in AP O Likely result: Duplicate Payment (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 5
  • 6. Internal Control Breakdown #3 O When an Employee leaves O Retrieve credit cards O T&E, p-card, fuel, one card O Cut off system access O Notify bank immediately O Credit cards O Signing/electronic authorizations O Deactivate in the master vendor file O For T&E (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 6
  • 7. Internal Control Breakdown #4 ORecurring Payments O Leases O End date??? O Early termination of leases O Start of new one O Don’t forget to cancel old payments O Loans and early repayments O Don’t forget to stop payments on repaid loan (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 7
  • 8. Internal Control Breakdown #5 OThe Simple Test Few Do O Employee addresses in HR file vs. Vendor addresses in Master Vendor File O Can be done in Excel using the conditional formatting function O Many false positives – research O 2 in 6 years (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 8
  • 9. Effective and Appropriate Segregation of Duties (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 9
  • 10. The Basics O One person per leg O Procure-to-pay process O No exceptions (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 10
  • 11. Do You Have the Promotion Problem? O Do you rely on someone hired from another department? O When was the last time someone’s access was closed off O Don’t forget employees who left O Run a report showing who has access to what (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 11
  • 12. A Word S-Ox O Section 404 relates to strong internal controls O Inappropriate segregation of duties is a weak control O Your employees will know O The long term trusted employee (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 12
  • 13. When the AP Staff is Small O Other departments help O Automation helps O Audit trail O Who did what when O Expect this to be a growing issue O Most frequently moved O Master vendor file O Check signing (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 13
  • 14. Practices that Don’t Work Do This, Not That (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 14
  • 15. Do This, Not That #1 O Best: Centralize receipt of invoices O Worst: Allow invoices to go wherever the vendor sends them (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 15
  • 16. Do This, Not That #2 O Best: Return to sender: unidentified invoices O Worst: Try and determine who ordered goods on unidentified invoices (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 16
  • 17. Do This, Not That #3 O Best: Everyone uses rigid coding standard O Worst: Allowing processors to enter data as they each see fit (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 17
  • 18. Do This, Not That #4 O Best: Return to sender: invoice w/o invoice # O Worst: Enter invoice data without an invoice number or use the date or vendor number as invoice number (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 18
  • 19. Do This, Not That #5 O Best: Regularly review statements for open credits O Worst: Never reviewing statements hoping the vendor will alert you to open credits (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 19
  • 20. Do This, Not That #6 O Best: Never return checks to requisitioners O Worst: Return checks to anyone who asks (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 20
  • 21. Do This, Not That #7 O Best: Have a policy regarding use of personal devices O Worst: Ignore the issue allowing employees to bring their own devices to work and use for company initiatives. (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 21
  • 22. Do This, Not That #8 O Best: Learn as much as possible about invoice automation including how various vendors’ products work O Worst: Ignore the issue hoping it will go away (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 22
  • 23. Practices that Don’t Work Do This, Not That (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 23
  • 24. Reality Moving Forward O Technology and automation inroads O IFO conference O First ATM O First online bill payment O Costs are plummeting O No longer a big-company phenomena O Invoice automation is for everyone (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 24
  • 25. Benefits of Invoice Automation O Human keying errors eliminated O Personnel freed up to work on more value added work O Dispute resolution O No processor playing games O Paying favorites faster O “Losing” problematic invoices (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 25
  • 26. Additional Benefits O Faster processing O Discrepancies identified early on O Invoices sent for approval automatically O Clear audit trail and hence O Faster approvals (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 26
  • 27. Have You Scheduled a Demo? O Call: 1-877-426-9245 O E-mail: info@anybill.com (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 27
  • 28. Questions/Comments Share your thoughts and insights with Mary Schaeffer by writing her at marys@ap-now.com  Sign up for her free weekly ezine at www.ap-now.com/ezinesignup.html (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 28
  • 29. About Mary Schaeffer Editorial Director & Publisher CRYSTALLUS, Inc. publisher Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow newsletter • Creator of Institute of Financial Operations Accounts Payable Innovation Certificate program • Editor-at-Large CFO Publishing’s Learning Pro: AP Edition • Nationally recognized accounts payable expert and consultant • Frequent speaker at seminars, conferences and online events • Regular contributor to the AICPA’s Corporate Finance Insider • Writes a free weekly e-zine, e-AP News • Author 17 business books including the just-published 101 Best Practices for Accounts Payable • M.B.A. Finance, NYU • B.S. Math, York College (c) 2013 CRYSTALLUS, Inc. and Mary S. Schaeffer 29
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