Managing vendor information entails risk. The vendor master file is the key to vendor payments. Errors in the vendor master can lead to costly mistakes, and the master file is a prime target for fraud. There is also a risk of non-compliance with particular government tax, sanction and exclusion programs. Further, some of the vendor information, such as social security numbers and bank account numbers, is sensitive and subject to theft and exploitation.
Policies, processes including internal controls, technical protocols and encryption, and staff awareness and understanding are all necessary to mitigate the risks. The breadth of vendor information and vendor onboarding represents a challenge to risk management. Guardianship of the processes and information falls to frontline staff—most commonly accounts payable staff. All this raises two questions. The first is: Does your organization have adequate controls? The second is: Do the people responsible for managing vendor information understand the control policies, their reasons and do they follow them?
Like many things, what looks simple on the surface is not. The list of controls and precautions is longer than one might suppose. How well does your organization manage the risks associated with vendor information management?
Financial Operations Networks (FON) wants to help you find out. FON has created a survey based on control best practices to help you gauge how well your organization addresses the risks. It is also beneficial as a checklist for managing your vendor information.
The survey will help you assess your risk. It also will help establish a baseline benchmark for where organizations are in their vendor information controls. It is thorough yet takes just eight minutes to complete. Please click this link and take part in the Risk Assessment Survey:
https://www.research.net/r/VendorInfoRiskSurvey
Thank you.
For help securely automating vendor onboarding, contact us.