How much thought or effort goes into payment runs within your Accounts Payable operation? This is not a trick question. Has it become routine? Some companies spend too much time on tasks that don’t add value and could adversely affect cash flow while not spending enough time performing checks and balances that could reduce the risks of incorrect payments. This is not to say that things are being done wrong but perhaps things can be done more efficiently and effectively. This course covers steps that can be taken throughout the payment process from selecting invoices for payment to setting up a Positive Pay file process with your bank. As details are supplied, benefits are highlighted. Here are a few:

• Reduce the risk of amounts being paid to the wrong payee.
• Confirm high dollar invoices were properly approved for processing before payment is made.
• Improve cash flow - ensure invoices are not being paid too early.
• Prevent the risk of fraud: secure the check stock and get rid of rubber stamps

Another way to reduce the risk of fraud is to implement a Positive Pay process, which is an automated fraud detection tool offered by most banks. This tool should be seriously considered by any company still issuing payments by check.

Whether a company implements these options or not is up to management but they should at least be aware of available options that can help catch errors or areas of non-compliance before they snow ball into bigger issues such as payment to the wrong vendor or unauthorized spend.