Accounts Payable Fraud and Prevention [Infographic]

Accounts payable (AP) is one of the most tedious and labor-intensive accounting processes. Around 71% of companies claim that manual data entry and inefficient processes are their biggest concerns regarding account payable invoice processing. Moreover, legacy systems and manual operating models might be less capable of fighting fraud risks. 

Since the finances flowing out from your business goes through an approval process, it involves multiple employees. That makes the invoice process vulnerable to fraud, internally or externally. Employees, external alliances, and vendors are the most common people that may attempt AP fraud.

82% of financial professionals in North America reported that their companies faced attempted or successful payment fraud. AP fraud is one of the most common types of fraud, putting organizations at risk. No doubt fraud hits every business badly. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), the organization typically loses 5% of its revenue to fraud annually, with a median loss of $125,000. It goes overlooked for an average of 14 months, resulting in average losses of $8,300 a month.

However, you can address such risks by implementing internal control policies and strengthening audit functions to avoid fraud risks. 

Besides, structuring a tech-driven AP process to manage most tedious tasks faster and better with the help of automation or outsourcing the same to a reliable accounts payable service provider can be beneficial. 

To learn more about Accounts Payable fraud and how to prevent it, let’s go through this interactive infographic below: