How vulnerable is your business to payment fraud?  If your business relies on manual or semi-automated invoice processes its risk of fraudulent payments is probably higher than you think.   The average business in the United States suffers losses of 5% of revenue annually due to fraudulent payments, per the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.  This means that a business with $8.5 billion in revenues loses $425 million annual to fraud – a significant hit to its bottom line.   Businesses are under siege from crooks trying to perpetrate payments fraud:  

• Vendor schemes
• Collusion
• Computer-based payments fraud
• Conflict of interest
• Fraudulent financial reporting

  The problem is that businesses that rely on manual or semi-automated invoice processes are largely powerless to stop payments fraud.  In a manual or semi-automated invoice processing environment:  

• Document history and approvals are not tracked
• There is no way to ensure that staff adhere to approval policies and separation of duties rules
• There is no chain of custody assurance
• Audit information is not readily available
• PCI Compliance is poorly controlled
• There is no way to prevent documents from being discarded or destroyed ahead of deadlines

  One-in-ten accounts payable professionals surveyed by the Institute of Finance and Management (IOFM) say that improving control over security is a top priority for 2018, topping cash management.   Combining an automated invoice processing solution with a state-of-the-art ERP application, such as PeopleSoft, provides businesses with the control they need to mitigate fraud risks:  

• Audit trails for every touch and modification to an invoice
• Real visibility into the actions of employees
• Configurable invoice approval and exceptions workflow paths
• Automated adherence to invoice approval policies
• Electronic retention of documents and data
• No chance of documents being discarded prematurely
• Option to incorporate encryption
• Easier compliance with PCI security standards

  The control provided by the combination of your ERP and an automated invoice processing solution such as the one from Canon Information and Imaging Solutions (CIIS) gives businesses an upper-hand against fraudulent activities. By pairing continued investment in your PeopleSoft application and implementing integrated user enablement tools you empower business users and IT to gain control of financial operations while creating the visibility required by management.   This guest post is brought to you by SmartERP’s Partner Canon Information & Imaging Solutions. Interested in learning more? Download the CIIS white paper “3 Ways Accounts Payable Automation Mitigates Fraud”.   Download   Smart ERP Solutions, Inc. became a Solutions Partner for Canon Information and Imaging Solutions, Inc. in November 2016. SmartERP partners with CIIS to automate document-intensive business processes to streamline and simplify financials, human resources and even student information system processes within Oracle ERP applications including E-Business Suite, JD Edwards, and PeopleSoft. Together, both CIIS and SmartERP accumulate their respective expertise in imaging technology and business process automation, and ERP systems, to help clients gain greater efficiency and better business processes.   About Canon Information and Imaging Solutions, Inc. Canon Information and Imaging Solutions, Inc. (CIIS), a fully-owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A., Inc., brings together Canon's world-class imaging technologies and information management expertise to assist organizations in achieving their digital transformation objectives.  With a focus on innovation, CIIS's software development and solutions delivery capabilities scale across several practice areas: Business Process Automation - including Procure-to-Pay & Order-to-Cash automation, Document Solutions, Information Management Services with a focus on content capture, management and collaboration, and Security and Infrastructure Management.  With expertise in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data analytics, CIIS deploys its solutions in partnership with leading technology providers and offers comprehensive consulting and professional services that are trusted by organizations of all sizes. Additional information about the company, its programs and mission can be found at ciis.canon.com.