| In the first article of this series, I defined fraud, | | | | of duties, reviews of operating performance, |
| discussed how it can occur in a company, and | | | | background investigations, and physical security. They |
| provided some real-life examples of when and how it | | | | need to be embedded in your day-to-day |
| has occurred in the corporate world. In this - the | | | | management and monitoring processes, and they |
| second - article, we get down to nuts and bolts; how | | | | need to also leverage available information technology. |
| do you minimize fraud in YOUR company? | | | | Segregation of Duties as a Corporate Expense |
| There are two main steps required to stop fraud in | | | | Management Control |
| your company: Step 1 - identify your fraud risks; Step 2 | | | | Given the nature of accounts payable and the related |
| - implement corporate expense management | | | | functions, segregation of duties is a crucial |
| software controls to minimize those risks. | | | | consideration. Following is a partial list of duties related |
| STEP 1 - Identify Your Fraud Risks | | | | to accounts payable and how they should be |
| Is your company vulnerable to any of the following? | | | | segregated. |
| - Variances between hardcopies and computerized | | | | 1. The person responsible for bank reconciliation should |
| reports; | | | | not: |
| - Departure and return airfare on different dates but | | | | - Handle unclaimed property reporting |
| with no corresponding hotel expenses; | | | | - Be a signature on a bank account |
| - Meals on weekends or in non-work locations; | | | | The person who is check signature should not: |
| - Poor descriptions and incomplete documentation such | | | | - Authorize invoices for payment on an account that |
| as a missing boarding pass, itinerary or receipt; | | | | he/she is also a signature |
| - Dates out of sequence; | | | | - Have ready access to the check stock. |
| - Old receipts; | | | | A person who is responsible for the check stock |
| - Nasty or inconsistent explanations to questions | | | | should not: |
| regarding claims. A common response is "how dare | | | | - Be an authorized signature |
| you question me?" ; | | | | - Handle the bank reconciliations |
| - Copies; | | | | The person responsible for the master vendor file |
| - Altered receipts; | | | | should not: |
| - Credit card statements or printouts instead of | | | | - Be an authorized signature |
| receipts; | | | | - Be able to approve invoices for payment |
| - Airline tickets: | | | | - Handle unclaimed property |
| - Employees have been known to pay for airline | | | | Individuals responsible for accounts payable functions |
| tickets using frequent flyer points and then claim the | | | | should not also be responsible for accounts receivable. |
| cost of a ticket as an expense from the company. | | | | Other Corporate Expense Management Controls |
| This can be considered a fraudulent activity; | | | | Some other corporate expense management controls |
| - There are numerous mechanisms employed to | | | | that are helpful in combating fraud include: |
| defraud an organization through the use of airline | | | | - Requiring business purchases be made on a |
| tickets. Organizations need to be diligent when dealing | | | | corporate credit cards |
| with airline ticket exchanges, refunds, partial refunds | | | | - Monitoring transactions on the corporate credit cards |
| and possibility the flight being claimed was not taken | | | | - Direct pay of corporate credit cards |
| (evidence of car rental, parking at the home airport, | | | | - Pre-population of corporate credit card data in |
| meals or other expenses in the destination are not | | | | expense report preparation |
| present). | | | | - A good system of approvals to prevent |
| Duplications to watch out for: | | | | unauthorized reimbursements |
| - These may not be identical amounts as in the case | | | | - A thorough review of an individual's expenses over a |
| of partial hotel bills; | | | | period of time |
| - Past due charges on mobile phone bills; | | | | - Implementation of a PostProcurement environment |
| - The same expense may be reported twice in one | | | | (historically we have been working in a |
| period or in two or more periods with a different | | | | pre-procurement environment (Purchase Requisition, |
| description and coding. | | | | Order, Receipt, Remittance, 3 Way Matching, Journal, |
| Claiming personal items can also be a source of fraud | | | | etc.) which can lead to at least 20% of transactions |
| against the company. These can include: | | | | being disputed.) |
| - Travel for family members; | | | | Corporate Expense Management Software |
| - Retail or personal purchases; | | | | Corporate expense management software |
| - Excursions added on to business trips; | | | | automates the management of expense claims, |
| - Extra days in a hotel, car rental etc.; | | | | significantly reducing the risk of error or fraud and |
| - Gift shop, massages, etc. may be included on a hotel | | | | comprehensively managing all purchasing data. A good |
| bill; | | | | corporate expense management software solution |
| - Non-authorized trips. | | | | can reduce processing costs by as much as 90%, so |
| Organizations should also be diligent in identifying | | | | the payback period is tangible and measurable (often |
| expenses being claimed that were not incurred. This is | | | | less than 6 months). |
| especially relevant when related to the claiming of | | | | When choosing a corporate expense management |
| meal expenses and meal per diem expenses; | | | | software solution, ensure that it can manage digital |
| Inconsistencies such as taxi and rental car claims for | | | | data from a range of B2B transactions including |
| the same portion of trip or mileage calculations that are | | | | purchasing cards, travel expense cards, fleet cards, |
| clearly inflated; | | | | mobile phones, and Internet purchasing. Information can |
| Overstatements may or may not be deliberate, | | | | then be integrated into operating systems including |
| however they include typographical errors ($34.95 | | | | human resources, accounts payable, general ledger, |
| reported as $3,495) and incorrect exchange rate | | | | and ERP. Furthermore, make sure that it |
| conversions. | | | | accommodates all major credit card transactions, that |
| There are numerous other less obvious activities that | | | | it is non-bank specific, and that it can operate with the |
| fail to comply with legislative and/or company policies. | | | | world's leading ERP systems. |
| Examples of these failures include improper coding, | | | | And finally, before choosing your corporate expense |
| such as: hotel bills that include meals, phone, etc., that | | | | management software solution, consider the fact that |
| are reported as lodging; car rental which may not fall | | | | technology is not the entire story in achieving |
| into a company authorized class; and the use of | | | | corporate expense management outcomes. Cultural |
| prohibited vendors. | | | | issues, resistance to change and corporate ownership |
| STEP 2 - Implement Corporate Expense Management | | | | are the greatest barriers to the growth of card |
| Software Controls | | | | programs and the realization of benefits. You must be |
| In order to minimize the risk of fraud in your company, | | | | confident that your corporate expense management |
| your corporate expense management software | | | | software solution provider has a customer-focused |
| controls should be designed to provide and support the | | | | consultancy based approach to client relationships of |
| 5 W's (Who, What, Where, When, and Why). They | | | | which technology is only one very important part. |
| must ensure that all reasonable, authorized expenses | | | | Conclusion |
| incurred in order for a staff member to perform their | | | | Fraud is a significant cost to many (if not most) |
| job responsibilities are paid with the corporate credit | | | | companies. But it doesn't have to be. By identifying |
| card and documented with an original, valid, unaltered | | | | your fraud risks and implementing appropriate |
| receipt, and they must be implemented throughout the | | | | corporate expense management controls and |
| entire organization, at all levels and in all functions. | | | | corporate expense management software, you can |
| In practice, these corporate expense management | | | | very effectively minimize your fraud risks. And with the |
| software processes, controls, and procedures are | | | | right corporate expense management software |
| very broad. They relate to items such as approvals, | | | | solution, ROI within 6 months is very achievable. |
| authorizations, verifications, reconciliations, segregation | | | | |