Protect every payment: how better supplier controls reduce fraud risk in AP

Most accounts payable teams treat supplier verification as a setup task. Bank details validated. Sanctions screened. IBAN checked. Job done.

But the real risk doesn’t sit at setup. It sits in everything that happens after. Bank details updated by phone, then re-keyed by someone in the team. A dormant supplier reactivated quickly to release an urgent payment. The same supplier existing across multiple systems, with details that don’t quite match.

None of these are unusual. All of them are where fraud finds the seams.

This 40-minute session is a working diagnostic. We’ll explore where control breaks down, and what it takes to close the gaps before payment is released.

What we’ll cover:

• The supplier lifecycle as a control process
• Where handovers fail, and what good looks like at each point
• How bank detail changes move through fragmented processes undetected
• What controls catch issues before payment is released
• How to evidence supplier changes clearly in an audit scenario
• A practical view of in-flight controls: what’s working, what isn’t, and what to challenge in your current setup