Critical Anti-Fraud Audits under Procurement and Accounts Payable
Speaker: Marna Steuart
Speaker Designation: Accounting and Finance Expert
Speaker: Marna Steuart
Speaker Designation: Accounting and Finance Expert
The Purchasing and Accounts Payable cycles create a multitude of data that can be analyzed and tested for certain elements of possible fraud. Accounts Payable is considered the “checkbook” of the organization and therefore creates an area that without the proper control environment can be ripe for fraud.
Internal Audit organizations have the ability to spend resources to analyze the data that comes out of the process to enable the organization to feel comfortable that controls are in place and functioning properly or that there may be fraud occurring.
There are simple ways to analyze large volumes of data that come from paying invoices. Understanding the data is the first step toward knowing what to look for. The course will spend some time discussing the use of Audit Control Language (ACL) and how this tool and other tools like it (IDEA) are helpful in the analysis of Accounts Payable and Purchasing data.
With an increased awareness of fraud and the ongoing cost to organizations, taking a proactive stance on performing anti-fraud audits in Purchasing and Accounts Payable is imperative to most organizations. According to the 2022 Report to the Nations by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners ("ACFE"), it is estimated that on average, organizations experience a loss of 5% of their annual revenue due to fraud annually, resulting in a median loss of $117,000 before detection.
This course will provide you with a basic understanding of fraud, different data analyses that can be utilized, proactive accounts payable Anti-Fraud examples of reviews that can be conducted, and different data analysis tests that can be performed. Some knowledge and use of ACL or IDEA is suggested but not required.
Marna Steuart has been in the audit industry for over twenty years. Ms. Steuart began her career with a Big Four firm as an external auditor, then as an internal auditor in several different capacities within several different industries.
Ms. Steuart obtained her Certified Fraud Examiner license in 2007 and was the main fraud investigator for five years at a large utility company. She was responsible for performing and updating the fraud risk assessment on an annual basis and conducting over fifty internal fraud investigations during her time at this organization.