I have recently been on a fraud kick. No, not where I am stealing from my company or cheating people. I have been doing a lot of talking about writing about the benefits of AP Automation as it is connected to fraud prevention.

Process

One thing that the data and experience is showing is that the more you check and change (let’s call it update) your processes the less likely they are to become soft.

Soft?

I can’t think of a better word. I wish there was a better way of explaining that old processes or evaluated processes become learned and known. It is that act of leaning and knowing that opens your company up for fraud. The more a process is known the more likely it is to be a problem. If you are buying anything that I am writing, then the next question is when do you check which processes?

Metrics:

You have heard the sayings before; numbers don’t lie or trust in God everyone else bring data. Before I present my simple guide, I have to do a little of a disclaimer, a point of honesty. I have never been much on numbers. Now, don’t freak out because I am a numbers guy, but I put numbers and metrics in their proper place. There is no substitute for experience. I have worked with a lot of new leaders and managers that put too much trust in data, and I have come to realize that they have to because they have no other option. Let this guide be a supplement to your experience.

A Simple Guide:

Daily checks:

• Past due invoices
• Expiring discounts (this week)
• Overdue invoices
• Exceptioned invoices

Weekly checks:

• Escalated invoices
• Bill backs
• Out of office (people on sick leave or vacation)

Monthly checks:

• Vendor adds and changes
• User sessions
• Exceptioned invoices by vendor

Quarterly checks

• Workflow or approval process changes
• Missing workflow steps
• Associated users to departments and roles

Annual checks

• Volume by vendor
• Approval times by users in the same (or similar role)
• Overall system performance

Good And Bad News

The difficult part about checking numbers like is suggested in this guide is the getting started process. It will be a task and it will be an additional thing to do. That’s why most people don’t do it because it is hard to get started. The good news is once it is started it is much easier to maintain when it is a routine. The even better news is if you have constructed your AP Automation tools correctly the system can do the checking for you and tell you if there is any problem automatically.

Want to know more? Buy My Books!

To buy the book – The Argument to Automate – How Innovation Can INSPIRE Not Fire – click here to buy

(Also) To get your copy of The 8 Pitfalls of Accounts Payable Automation – click here to buy

How about a children’s book? The Princess and the Paper – click here to buy