5 best internal controls over vendor master file
Internal controls over vendor master file keep your data secure with clear rules, audit trails, and consistent oversight for long-term data integrity
As Australia embarks on its post-pandemic economic recovery, the Government is focused on the opportunities presented by digitalisation.
Australia’s “Digital Economy Strategy” is a cornerstone of the 2021-2022 Federal Budget. It aims to deliver a modern digital economy to drive Australia’s future prosperity. A range of investments are planned that will underpin improvements in jobs, productivity and make Australia’s economy more resilient.
One important initiative within the Digital Economy Strategy is a $15.3 million investment in raising awareness among SMEs of the value of e-invoicing. This builds on an earlier commitment to make e-invoicing mandatory for Australian Government agencies by July 2022.
According to the Australian Government:
“It is estimated that Australian businesses exchange over 1.2 billion invoices each year. Around 90 per cent of invoices remain labour-based, even though e‑invoicing can save both businesses up to $20 in cost savings per invoice. E-invoicing also improves payment times for businesses, particularly SMEs.”
With this funding, the Government is committing to:
From a security perspective, e-invoicing represents a step in the right direction. It can make it harder for fraudsters to engage in the sorts of scams we have seen escalate in recent years, such as Business Email Compromise (BEC) and Vendor Email Compromise (VEC) attacks.
However, if there’s one thing we have learned about digital fraud, it is that scammers are always adapting their tactics to circumvent security layers. It would be a mistake to assume that with e-invoicing in place, you no longer face the risk of fraud.
In fact, the invoice represents just one attack vector for scammers.
More sophisticated hackers look for ways to breach your network or application layer. This can pave the way for them to manipulate data in your Vendor Master File or ERP system just before an EFT payment is processed.
Alternatively, people within your organisation who are authorised to access your systems may seek to engage in fraud by maliciously changing supplier banking information.
Therefore, whilst e-invoicing undoubtedly helps reduce the risk of fraud, on its own it isn’t enough. Every Accounts Payable (AP) team should still have a way to independently verify supplier banking details in real-time right as they are about to process an EFT payment.
To reduce the risk of e-invoicing fraud, there are four important questions you should ask.
Check that the supplier details on the e-invoice align with details in your Vendor Master File and ERP systems. Check that the supplier’s ABN is still valid and whether they are registered for GST.
Check payment records to make sure the supplier hasn’t already been paid.
Check Purchase Order (PO) records to ensure alignment. Verify that goods/services have been delivered as required.
Even with e-invoicing systems in place, scammers are still capable of manipulating supplier banking details and defrauding you.
Although e-invoicing does make life for fraudsters more challenging, you should not become complacent about the risks. Determined scammers will always look for ways to defraud you, even if you have e-invoicing in place.
By integrating eftsure into your environment, you have the ability to independently verify supplier banking information in real-time, right before your AP team processes an EFT payment. Whether you are using traditional invoices, or e-invoices, this is invaluable in your quest to prevent irretrievable payments being sent to scammers.
For further information on E-invoicing and how to run your Accounts Payable function according to best practices, read our full 8 Step Procure-to-Pay Guide.
Internal controls over vendor master file keep your data secure with clear rules, audit trails, and consistent oversight for long-term data integrity
The vendor master data cleansing process is a critical activity every AP team should periodically undertake to stop payment errors and fraud.
Establishing vendor master file best practices is the first step to cleaning your how your supplier data should be handled and maintained.
Eftsure provides continuous control monitoring to protect your eft payments. Our multi-factor verification approach protects your organisation from financial loss due to cybercrime, fraud and error.