Internal auditors can read this before doing audit on the subject of this article. I’m an internal auditor and this article is giving real examples and any new auditor can comprehend easily without struggle. BB, the invoice should be recorded based on when the service is provided, in this case, after June 30. For services, Accounts Payable Duplicate Payment Audits accrue invoices based on when the service is provided; for products, accrue invoices based on when the entity obtains legal ownership . We, at zapliance, have the goal to design your SAP audit more efficiently. Therefore, we have improved these analytics to reduce false positives and integrated them in the software.

The scoring helps the business focus on the riskiest and highest likelihood duplicate pairs, and minimizes time spent on reviewing false positives. Using a set of core business rules, several https://quick-bookkeeping.net/ sets of potential duplicates are first found. In order to optimize time spent on investigating true duplicates , the list is scored/sorted so the most likely pairs are addressed first.

Common Reasons for Invoice Duplication

In smaller engagements, I usually assess control risk at high for each assertion. When I assess control risk at less than high, I have to test controls to support the lower risk assessment. In determining whether payables exist, I like to ask, “if the company closed down at midnight on the last day of the year, would it have a legal obligation to pay for a service or good? ” If the answer is yes, then record the payable even if the invoice is received after the year-end.

For example, many accounting packages do a duplicate invoice check and prevent you from keying in a duplicate invoice number for the same vendor. But just add an “A” to the invoice number or change a penny and you are on your way to a duplicate payment. Another common mistake is found in vendor files; duplicate vendor numbers for the same vendor is the number one cause of duplicate payments.

Tips to prevent duplicate payments

This use case was presented at the KNIME Spring Data Talks 2021 by Day5 Analytics Inc. A glance through why the duplicate invoice issues happen can reveal the major roadblock, which is the lack of automation. When there is an automated workflow in invoice processing, it totally abrogates duplicate invoicing concerns. In the above cases and other circumstances that lead to duplicate payments, the accounts team can certainly do something to prevent it.

If a vendor sends two different source documents for a single payment, one of the source documents typically differs from the other as it might be a statement or quotation. You must dispose of obsolete information, eliminate duplicate vendors, and drop a letter to all your vendors requesting them to corroborate their contact information. Several businesses regularly review their Master Vendor File for spelling mistakes, repeated entries, or blank information.