Accounts Payable (AP) Management

Payables is where money leaves the business, which makes it where control matters most and where it is most often absent. Duplicate payments, unmatched invoices and shell vendors survive in exactly this environment.

Scope of work

• Invoice receipt, verification and data capture
• Three-way matching against purchase order and goods receipt
• Approval workflow management against a defined authority matrix
• Duplicate invoice and duplicate payment detection
• Payment scheduling optimised against terms and cash position
• Vendor master data management and hygiene
• Vendor ledger reconciliation and balance confirmation
• Vendor query and dispute handling
• Ageing, commitment and payables reporting

What you receive

• Monthly payables ageing and commitment report
• Payment schedule aligned to cash flow and vendor terms
• Exception report covering unmatched, duplicate and out-of-policy items
• Vendor reconciliation statements
• Clean, deduplicated vendor master with documented standards
• Approval compliance reporting

Why this matters

• Duplicate and erroneous payments are caught before funds leave
• Payment timing is planned against cash position rather than reactive
• Early payment discounts are actually captured
• Vendor relationships improve when payment is predictable
• Segregation of duties is enforced by process, closing the most common internal fraud route

How the engagement runs

1. Review of current payables process, controls and vendor master quality
2. Authority matrix and approval workflow agreed
3. Vendor master cleansing and standards documented
4. Process transition including system access and vendor communication
5. Ongoing monthly delivery with exception reporting

Turnaround

Transition within two to three weeks. Invoice processing runs to an agreed service level from receipt. Monthly reporting issued within agreed working days after period close.

Industries we deliver this for

Manufacturing, retail, logistics, hospitality, healthcare, construction and multi-location operations with distributed procurement.

Outside this engagement

Payment release authority remains entirely with you. We prepare, verify, control and schedule; your authorised signatories execute. We never hold or release your funds.

Questions

Do you have access to our bank account?

No. We prepare and verify payment runs; release authority stays with your authorised signatories. That separation is a control feature, not a limitation.

What if our vendor master is a mess?

It usually is, and cleansing is part of the transition. Duplicate vendors and dormant records are where duplicate payments and shell-vendor fraud live.

Can you enforce our approval limits?

Yes. The authority matrix is agreed at transition and out-of-policy items are reported as exceptions rather than quietly processed.

Related services

• Accounts Receivable (AR) Management
• Data Reconciliation Services
• Forensic Advisory & Investigation

---

Not certain this is the right engagement for your situation? A 30-minute scoping call costs nothing and will establish whether it is — or point you to the engagement that fits better.