Putting the AP in hAPpy

Send us Fan Mail You are a US company and to make ACH payments to your vendors you send a pay file to your bank and your bank sends the payments to your vendors’ bank.  The pay file didn’t fail and everything is great – until you get that Notification of Change (NOC) from your bank.  Well, if you don’t know what that is or are not sure they are being worked then…. Keep listening. Check out my webs...

Send us Fan Mail Today I am reviewing a report on how occupational fraud has changed in the last 10 years – which could mean some changes in your current process.  I have one specifically that I’ll talk about at the end to combat a surprising change.   Keep listening. Check out my website www.debrarrichardson.com if you need help cleaning your vendor master file or implementing authentication tech...

Send us Fan Mail I talk a lot about external fraud on this podcast – but just as important is internal or occupational fraud – because you are paying these fraudsters. So, what are some red flags to spot employees that perpetuate this type of fraud? Stick around to the end to hear of an Occupational fraud case that involved former President Ronald Reagan’s hometown.  Keep listening. Keep listening...

Send us Fan Mail I attended an Accounts Payable conference in May where I had a few sessions where I talked about the Vendor Process and how authentication techniques, internal controls and best practices can help vendor teams avoid fraud, regulatory fines, and best practices.  When I go – I talk to every and sometimes am still surprised at how many are still not doing some of the more well-known...

Send us Fan Mail If you are still accepting vendor supporting documentation via email – it’s not ideal because that’s where fraud happens, however, you are not alone.  So if this is you and you want hear 4 tips that will help you and your team manage those emails more efficiently while mitigating risk then…..   Keep listening. Check out my website www.debrarrichardson.com if you need help cleaning...

Send us Fan Mail I had an earlier podcast episode in early 2019 – episode 23 with this same topic.  But since then – I’ve learned a lot, fraudsters have learned a lot so I thought I’d provide some updated information and resources so you can avoid fraud, regulatory fines and bad vendor data.  Stick around to the end – I have a new training course on accepting your vendors’ W-8.  So… Keep listening...

Send us Fan Mail Now, we all know that some of you out there can’t just cut off work while you’re traveling, even when it’s for vacation, so let’s talk about how you can avoid the fraud risk that comes with trying to respond to or process that all-important vendor request sent via email from your cell phone. And at the end, I will share tips from the National Cybersecurity Alliance for before, dur...

Send us Fan Mail Since US Non-Profit vendors are not reportable on the 1099-MISC or the 1099-NEC, you may be tempted to not collect the usual vendor setup forms or record their tax id or perform validations.  Best practice is that you do.  In this episode, I will talk about forms to collect and the validations to perform for Non-Profit vendors.   Keep listening.  Check out my website www.debrarric...

Send us Fan Mail If you are still receiving requests for changes to existing vendors via email – then I am sure you know you and your vendor team members are highly susceptible to fraud. But you’re not alone, because that is the way your colleagues are doing it to. So today, I thought I’d talk about 4 vendor forms you can use to mitigate that fraud risk and at the end I’ll let you know where you c...

Send us Fan Mail If your team is responsible for maintaining vendor data in your vendor master file – if you haven’t already, you may be asked to identify, validate, and maintain the diversity status of your vendors.  If you have that deer in the headlight look (like I did), then Neeraj Shah is here today to talk about what, why, and how, so….   Keep listening.  Check out my website www.debrarrich...

Send us Fan Mail Remember in March of 2020 when most Vendor Teams packed up abruptly and went to work from home? And then in 2021 many Vendor Teams were still working remotely or some hybrid? Well, here are the FBI stats about the continued effects the pandemic had on  Business Email Compromise (BEC).  Plus, if you want to know what the FBI says you should do if you are a victim and how the FBI’s...

Send us Fan Mail I had a question come in from someone that handles vendor setup and was frustrated that vendors kept sending old versions of the IRS Form W-9 instead of the most recent version.  I’ve been there and I know most of you listening have been there too, so if you want to hear my response that includes a sure-fire way to get vendors to complete an updated version….  Keep listening.   Ch...

Send us Fan Mail Does your company have a new or renewed focus on a diversity initiative, and you are tasked with identifying your new and existing vendors as diverse?  Can you just give your vendor master file to someone and get it back with diverse vendors identified?   Keep listening.  Check out my website www.debrarrichardson.com if you need help cleaning your vendor master file or implementin...

Send us Fan Mail Is your team really making that phone call to Vendors who change their bank account information?  Today’s episode will answer that question by giving you an internal control that can work to prevent both internal and external fraud.   Keep listening.  Check out my website www.debrarrichardson.com if you need help cleaning your vendor master file or implementing authentication, int...

Send us Fan Mail Age-old question – Should Accounts Payable or Purchasing own the Vendor Master file?  And whichever one owns it – the other team wants them to be knowledgeable of what is important to them.  So what is important to each team? And stay tuned to hear which I think should own it.   Keep listening.   Check out my website www.debrarrichardson.com if you need help cleaning your vendor m...

Send us Fan Mail The US is still in the throes of what is being called the Great Resignation and now COVID restrictions are being lifted which means many more of you are going back to the office.  If you are one of the ones where you’re adding back that commute on top of absorbing work from that employee (or employees) that left before the next one is hired.  For you and your Vendor team member, I...

Send us Fan Mail Would you like to attend a complimentary training session on a strategy to inactivate your vendors?  Check below and understand what is an inactive vendor by listening to this replay.  I talk a lot about cleaning the vendor master file and inactivating vendors.  This week I had a question about active vendors – specifically – what is an active vendor, and in this podcast episode,...

Send us Fan Mail The US is still in the throes of what is being called the Great Resignation and now COVID restrictions are being lifted which means many more of you are going back to the office.  If you are one of the ones where you’re adding back that commute on top of absorbing work from that employee (or employees) that left before the next one is hired.  For you and your Vendor team member, I...

Send us Fan Mail If you are a US entity and not currently doing an IRS TIN Match for your vendors, 1) don’t worry you’re not alone and 2) I have options that you can pick from to start this critical validation.  And if you are currently doing it, maybe a different option will make your vendor process more efficient.   Keep listening.  Check out my website www.debrarrichardson.com if you need help...

Send us Fan Mail Next week is Employee Appreciation Day.  Whether you are a manager or an individual contributor, listen for ways to make your employees or colleagues feel appreciated.  Heck – learn how you like to feel appreciated in the workplace.  Who says this is the great resignation? Listen to the end where I give an example that I used to find out how my employees wanted to be recognized. ...

Send us Fan Mail Yes, I know – you just got over getting the 1099’s processed.  Well now it’s time to deal with your foreign payees and I have some tips that can help you avoid having your processes cost you IRS penalties.  Keep listening.   Check out my website www.debrarrichardson.com if you need help cleaning your vendor master file or implementing authentication, internal controls, and best pr...

Send us Fan Mail It's getting close to Valentine's Day and the National Cybersecurity Alliance has tips so you don’t become a money mule and more….all the single ladies (and men)……. Keep listening. Keep listening.  Check out my website www.debrarrichardson.com if you need help cleaning your vendor master file or implementing authentication, internal controls, and best practices to it fro...

Send us Fan Mail Validating Vendor Banking information is critical to 1) make sure payments are successful, and 2) validate you are paying your actual vendor and not a cybercriminal.  There have been some changes in resources, so if you want to hear the updated resources…… Keep listening.  Check out my website www.debrarrichardson.com if you need help cleaning your vendor master file or implementi...

Send us Fan Mail In 2021, we all hoped that the effects of 2020 would have peaked in many ways, but certainly with fraud – well – it did not.  In this episode, I’ll talk about fraud in 2021 that you still need to watch out for in 2022, so…. Keep listening. Check out my website www.debrarrichardson.com if you need help cleaning your vendor master file or implementing authentication, internal contro...

Send us Fan Mail If you and your vendor team are accepting vendor supporting documents via email, then you are susceptible to email fraud. Doing something a bit different on this episode to provide you with a lightning round of tips so…  Keep listening.  Check out my website www.debrarrichardson.com if you need help cleaning your vendor master file or implementing authentication, internal controls...