Press Releases

Master Supplier Files Are a Breeding Ground for Fraud
FISCAL updates its AP Forensics suite to tackle the growing problem of fraud

Reston, VA – 28th February 2011: FISCAL Technologies, provider of world class accounts payable audit software AP Forensics®, has updated its  AP Forensics® suite to allow it to carry more in-depth analysis on master supplier files to highlight red flags for fraud such as account duplication, false data, employee bank account numbers, PO boxes and fraudulent suppliers.

Fraud cost the UK economy more than £38bn over the last 12 months, according to the latest annual statistics from the UK's National Fraud Authority. The figures represent an increase of nearly £8bn (or more than 25 per cent) for the losses recorded by the same Annual Fraud Indicator last year. Fraud in the public sector (£21.2bn) made up the biggest slice of the pie, with scams in the private sector costing £12bn.

Within the business to business sector the types of fraud are increasing from basic invoice scamming with fake invoices, to more sophisticated shell company schemes. The hardest type of fraud to detect is when an insider and external fraudster combine forces. The areas they target are the processes within accounts payable for changing the master supplier file or taking advantage of inaccurate information on this file. Interestingly, research shows fraud is often triggered by a genuine mistake, when a supplier gets paid twice and who then starts to take advantage of its customer’s weakness in controls for monitoring duplicate payments.

According to a survey from Accounts Payable News in 2010 (www.accountspayablenews.org) accounts payable teams only check their master supplier file on average once every 2 years. The only method that used to deactivate accounts is based on inactivity. In the current climate, this is not enough. In response, FISCAL has added additional checks to its AP Forensics® suite to help AP teams protect against growing supplier fraud.

Lesley Reeve, EVP of Customer Success, says: “We are continually improving the way our solutions tackle this constantly evolving issue, based on customer feedback and research findings.”

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About FISCAL Technologies
FISCAL Technologies Ltd, founded in 2002, provides leading accounts payable audit software for corporations and government agencies to create best-in-class AP. Organizations trust these solutions, to meet their needs for cost reduction, increased control and protection of their working capital.

About AP Forensics®
AP Forensics® works by analyzing accounts payable transactions, processes, and suppliers to prevent accidental duplicate payments, supplier fraud invoicing & VAT errors, and compliance issues. Most accounting systems are designed to carry out only basic checks, leaving a need for additional specialist software like AP Forensics® to prevent organizations losing sometimes hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.

For more information, please visit www.fiscaltec.co.uk or www.fiscaltec.com.