Make your data pay

HEADNOTE

Analyzing transaction data to generate cost savings or improve processing efficiency and controls can enhance your accounts-payable audits.

MANY ACCOUNTS-PAYABLE (AP) audits focus on the financial accuracy

and reporting aspects of the process or on the relationship of accounts payable to purchasing. Although these approaches are important, they can be improved by including another dimension: analyzing transaction data. This seemingly simple addition to an audit can generate cost savings and improve efficiency and controls in AP processing.

RELYING ON THE TRIED ANB TRUE

Accounts-payable audits usually focus on one of two approaches:

* Evaluation of the completeness, accuracy, and validity of the financial reporting for AP, by reviewing items such as cutoffs, unrecorded liabilities, math accuracy, reconciling items, agreement of summary and detailed records, and comparing to the prior period balance. These are typical methods used to ensure that AP is represented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).