Detecting and Responding to Accounts Payable Fraud

Why Should You Attend:

For corporate management, it is increasingly important to recognize and properly react to possible AP fraud. The need to identify and then respond to possible AP fraud raises unique operational, supervisory, financial and compliance issues for corporate employees in the financial, internal audit or operational fields. Primary among these issues are how to recognize red flags of possible AP fraud and how to select an appropriate course of action in response to such red flags.

This webinar will discuss the various forms AP fraud may take, the indicia of AP fraud, and the available mechanisms for responding to possible AP fraud. Attendees will understand how to spot possible AP fraud and how a company should respond to it in a way that reflects the particular facts of the case and the company’s particular objectives under the circumstances involved. By attending this webinar attendees will help their corporate employers or clients deal responsibly with the ever-growing risk of AP fraud posed to every company by fraudulent schemes, whether committed against, through or by the company.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

Introduction
• Who commits fraud
• Company goals in detecting and responding to AP fraud
Common Types of AP Fraud Today
• Vendor/billing fraud schemes
• Check fraud and tampering
• Kickbacks/bribery/FCPA violations
• Conflicts of interest
• False claims of satisfaction of payment prerequisites
Common Techniques of AP Fraudsters
• Bogus vendors
• Conduits
• Check tampering
• False claims of authorization to disburse
• Photoshopping
• Fabricated emails
• False claims of vetting of vendors
• Other circumvention of internal controls
Red Flags of AP Fraud
• Lack of documentation
• Lack of legitimate business purpose
• Suspect ownership or history of vendor
• Suspect quantity or payment amounts
• Suspect endorsement of checks
Fraud Detection
• Data analytics
• Additional detection methods
Response to Fraud
• Tailored internal investigation
• Internal response to internal investigation
• Reporting to law-enforcement authorities
• Exercising victim’s rights

Who Will Benefit:

• Corporate Financial Management
• Corporate Operations Management
• Corporate Compliance Personnel
• Internal Audit Personnel
• Business Managers/ Controllers
• Accounts Payable Managers and Staff

Eli J Richardson
Member, Bass Berry and Sims PLC

Eli J. Richardson, is a Member of Bass, Berry & Sims PLC, based in the firm’s Nashville office and practicing in its Compliance and Government Investigations practice group. Eli concentrates on white-collar criminal and quasi-criminal matters. His practice encompasses conducting internal investigations, advising on compliance matters, and defending corporate and individual clients under investigation by the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, various Offices of Inspector General, and other federal and state enforcement agencies.

Eli has more than 20 years of legal experience, including an extensive background in government enforcement and regulatory matters. He has served in high-profile positions with the Department of Justice (DOJ), the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Prior to joining Bass, Berry & Sims, Eli was DOJ’s Resident Legal Advisor to Serbia, providing training, advice, and legislation-drafting assistance to Serbian judges, police, and prosecutors on matters involving organized crime, corruption, criminal procedure, and war crimes. He was the U.S. government’s primary liaison to key Serbian prosecutors, judges and Justice Ministry officials. In addition, during 2010 he served as an anti-corruption expert monitor for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Eli was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee from 2004 to 2009, focusing largely on corruption matters while also serving as Anti-terrorism Coordinator, then Deputy Criminal Chief, and finally Criminal Chief. He was honored with the Director’s Award in December 2009 for superior performance by an Assistant U.S. Attorney. From 2002 to 2004, Eli served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. Prior to that, he spent four years as a Special Agent with the FBI in New Jersey, focusing on corruption and terrorism matters.

He began his legal career with six years in private practice. He received his J.D. from Vanderbilt University and his undergraduate degree from Duke University. He is an adjunct instructor of trial advocacy at Belmont College of Law and a frequent speaker on topics relating to white-collar government enforcement. He has published extensively in law reviews and legal practice publications.

Topic Background:

Allegations and other signs of accounts payable (AP) fraud are commonplace throughout the corporate landscape. A company can be a victim of AP fraud, either with or without the collaboration of insiders within the company. Conversely, AP fraud can also be committed by a company’s employees and agents, thus potentially rendering the company itself liable as a perpetrator of fraud. Either way, it is crucial for companies to detect and properly respond to indications of AP fraud whenever they appear. This entails understanding the various ways in which AP fraud can be committed, the telltale signs of AP fraud, and the various options for responding to possible AP fraud once it is recognized.

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