Detecting and Responding to Accounts Payable Fraud

Accounts payable fraud hurts organizations of every kind, including small businesses and nonprofits, and skilled fraudsters can abuse the AP process for years before they're caught. This 90-minute accounts payable fraud training shows how to spot these schemes sooner.

Billing schemes are by far the most common type of fraud, check fraud keeps growing, and criminals keep finding new ways to hijack corporate ACH accounts. You'll learn who commits fraud and why, using the fraud triangle, and the common AP schemes today, from vendor billing and check tampering to kickbacks, conflicts of interest and P-card fraud.

The session then covers red flags, fraud risk assessment, detection methods including data analytics, and AP-specific controls.

• Explain who commits fraud and why, using the fraud triangle
• Recognize common AP fraud schemes and their red flags
• Conduct a fraud risk assessment and apply the fraud risk mitigation cycle
• Use detection methods, including data mining and analytics, to find fraud sooner
• Put general and AP-specific anti-fraud controls in place

Introduction

• Statistical overview of the fraud problem
• Who commits fraud
• Why employees commit fraud: the fraud triangle
• Lessons from fraudsters

Common types of AP fraud today

• Vendor and billing fraud schemes
• Check fraud and tampering
• ACH fraud
• Fraudulent AP financial reporting
• Kickbacks and bribery
• Conflicts of interest
• P-card fraud

Red flags of AP fraud

• Conducting a fraud risk assessment and recognizing red flags of internal fraud
• The fraud risk mitigation cycle
• An organization-wide system for detecting, preventing and investigating fraud

Fraud detection

• How frauds are most often detected
• Additional detection methods
• Data mining and analytics for fraud detection
• Fraud audit techniques at work

Anti-fraud controls for AP

• Internal controls and other prevention measures
• Who should manage AP anti-fraud activities
• Internal control do's and don'ts
• General controls: segregation of duties, delegation of authority and background checks
• Specific AP operations-level controls

Strong AP controls are your best defense against fraudsters inside and outside the organization. This webinar walks through the critical steps and gives practical guidance for reducing exposure and shortening the time before fraud is discovered.

It suits internal and external auditors, accounting practitioners, AP managers, procurement and payables specialists, compliance and ethics managers, CFOs and senior finance leaders, and security personnel.

• 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

Peter Goldmann is president of FraudAware LLC, the publisher of White-Collar Crime Fighter, a widely read monthly newsletter for internal auditors, controllers, corporate counsel, financial operations managers and fraud investigators. The newsletter is in its 15th year of publication under Peter's leadership. Peter is the author of “Fraud in the Markets: Why it Happens and How to Fight It”, published by John Wiley & Sons, as well as four other anti-fraud books. Peter also developed FraudAware, the leading employee fraud awareness training program. A user-friendly learning tool, FraudAware uses workshop, Webinar and E-Learning formats to educate employees and managers at all levels in how to detect, prevent and report incidents of fraud or suspicious conduct. In addition, Peter has conducted numerous on-site fraud detection and prevention workshops for internal auditors, attorneys, HR executives and compliance officers at Fortune 500 companies and large not-for profit organizations. He has also been a guest lecturer for college accounting and auditing courses. Peter has 30 years of experience as a business journalist and trainer, having launched, edited and published numerous business trade periodicals covering small business, international trade, management strategy, banking and personal finance. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner. Peter holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a Master's from the London School of Economics (CFE).