What is Compliance in Accounts Payable?

Compliance in accounts payable encompasses financial and IT security controls that adhere to regulations, company policies, and standards for paying supplier invoices with fewer errors and a lower risk of fraud. Accounts payable workflow automation strengthens internal controls. It ensures consistent and complete invoice processing with supplier validation, invoice verification with exceptions flagging, approvals, secure payments, and role-based access that facilitates the segregation of duties. Instant payment reconciliations contribute to the accuracy and timeliness of financial statements. For better internal controls compliance, accounts payable automation provides near real-time visibility into accounts payable and business spending, along with AI-driven analytics for business intelligence, enhancing management oversight and decision-making. Compliance in accounts payable also encompasses global regulatory compliance when making payments and tax compliance related to supplier payments.

What is SOX Compliance in Accounts Payable?

SOX compliance in accounts payable refers to the adherence to standards and policies for internal control during supplier invoice processing through payment and reconciliation, as well as accurate and reliable financial reporting, as mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Key Sarbanes-Oxley AP internal control steps include assessing and mitigating risks, as well as designing and implementing adequate internal controls to prevent fraud, duplicate payments, and errors, and to protect cash. Internal controls fall within an effective enterprise risk management (ERM) framework and include setting a proper tone at the top of the organization. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act relates to management’s assessment of internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR) and the external auditor’s attestation of management’s internal control adequacy assertion.

What Are Internal Controls in Accounts Payable?

Internal controls in accounts payable (AP) include audit trails, computer controls, segregation of duties, supplier validation, digital three-way matching, invoice verification, fraud monitoring, error detection rules, automated coding, approvals complying with company policies, and secure global payment processes. AP automation solutions strengthen internal controls in a business or non-profit organization. Accounts payable automation software significantly reduces human errors, duplicate invoice payments, and fraud risks that would otherwise occur in a manual accounts payable system. Internal controls result in the accurate and timely recording of accounts payable and related expenditures in the general ledger and financial statements. They are part of an effective enterprise risk management (ERM) framework and include setting a proper tone at the top of the organization for proper business practices and accounting that complies with U.S. GAAP or other applicable international accounting standards.

Next-Level Controls for Financial Compliance

Built-in compliance programs for AP automation and safeguards that protect customer data—from onboarding to payout—with the visibility and control you need to reduce risk and keep payments accurate.

Financial Compliance Features

Role-Based Access and Simplified Audits

Our comprehensive internal control framework includes 20+ role-based permissions that enforce segregation of duties by configuring who can initiate disbursements, fund accounts, create approval flows, run reports, and more. Automatically route invoice and payment approvals based on transaction criteria. Prepare for audits and regulations like General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) with our built-in audit trails, reporting, and document storage.

Validate Suppliers Before Approval

Validate and secure sensitive payment data and financial information by collecting and storing it in our self-service supplier portal. Automatically validate contact information, payment data, and tax information against 26,000+ global rules before approving suppliers. Our KPMG-approved tax engine validates IRS tax forms and ID collection, including TIN matching.

Protect Against Loss With Ongoing Screening

Automatically scan all supplier records against a range of “Do Not Pay” lists during onboarding and before each payment to verify legitimacy and legality. We also screen against OFAC, anti-terrorism, and anti-narcotics lists to flag suspicious suppliers.

Prevent Fraud With Electronic Payments

Use electronic payment methods such as US and global ACH and wire transfers to minimize fraudulent payouts, ensure compliance with financial regulations, and avoid reputational damage. You can also use Positive Pay to combat paper-check fraud. Fee-splitting lets you incentivize suppliers to adopt safer, more efficient payment methods. Instant reconciliation means you can detect fraudulent payments quickly and take corrective action.

Double Down on Risk Management

The Tipalti Detect™ risk module is an internal network that proactively identifies and prevents potential fraud by proactively looking for patterns. Payers can block or suspend suppliers from receiving payments, identify blocked or suspended suppliers trying to create multiple accounts, and get notified of suspicious suppliers.

Integrations

Pre-built connections to extend automated workflows

Easily extend and simplify your workflows with pre-built integrations and powerful APIs for your ERPs, accounting systems, performance marketing platforms, HRIS, SSO, Slack, credit cards, and more.

See All Integrations

How It Works

Up and running in weeks, not months

Collaborative customer support with customized onboarding to get you operational quickly

Step 1

Plan

Kickstart your success with a comprehensive setup call that reviews your manual AP workflow, outlines the onboarding plan, validates technical configurations, and prepares for training.

Step 2

Configure

Tipalti’s implementation experts set up your hosted portal, create sample payment files, configure payment options and email integrations, and establish ERP integrations using our pre-built solutions.

Step 3

Deploy

In-depth training for AP staff on the Tipalti Hub and the end-to-end AP automation functionalities, ensuring thorough knowledge transfer to turbocharge your successful launch.

Step 4

Adopt

Support user adoption and change management during launch while guiding suppliers through onboarding. Once set, you’ll be ready to execute your first payment run and officially launch Tipalti.

Step 5

Optimize

Continued technical support by phone and email. Tipalti customer success team learns your goals and offers solutions to reach them.

Customer Stories

Don’t just take our word for it,

see what our customers are saying

Centerfield

Centerfield Media cut 20 weeks of AP work yearly and saved 12 days on monthly close using Tipalti Accounts Payable.

Product

Region

Industry

Size

Create Music Group

Manual international payouts and multi-entity accounts payable processes were time-consuming and complex, delaying artist payments

Product

AP Automation

Mass Payments

Region

United States, Global

Industry

Music royalties

Size

100 – 1000

Endera

With Tipalti, Endera streamlined invoices, automated vendor onboarding, and improved international payments by eliminating manual wire transfers.

Product

AP Automation

Region

United States

Industry

Software and technology

Size

Sub 100

Klaris IP

KlarisIP cut costs by 30% and slashed contributor onboarding time from 100 days to just two weeks.

Product

AP Automation

Region

United States, Global

Industry

Business services

Size

Sub 100

Freestar

Freestar saved a week monthly on payouts, improved controls, ensured tax compliance, and avoided hiring 2 extra team members.

Product

Region

Industry

Size

Service Rocket

ServiceRocket cut AP time by 80%, reduced staffing needs, improved global compliance, and integrated YayPay and NetSuite.

Product

AP Automation

Region

United States, Global

Industry

Business services

Size

100 – 1000

Warp World

For Warp World, trusting Tipalti for payments automation means it can focus on enabling creators to thrive, without the stress of managing payouts.

Product

Region

Industry

Size

Sensei

Sensei saved 40 hours/month on AP tasks, avoided hiring extra finance staff, and freed the team to grow and build new skills.

Product

AP Automation

Region

United States, Global

Industry

Healthcare

Size

100 – 1000

Smartshoot

SmartShoot saved 24 days/year on payouts, eliminated tax penalty risks, and freed finance to focus on strategic growth.

Product

Region

Industry

Size

Platform Features

Work smarter, not harder

With AI and machine learning capabilities, an intuitive UX, and quick and easy global payments, you can drive unprecedented efficiency.

AI

Smarter processes. Instant insights. More productivity. Less manual work. Tipalti AI actually gets things done.

Global

Manage all entities’ payables operations from a single system. Enable each entity to operate with its own unique workflows and branding.

Payment Fraud Detection

Proactively prevent fraud by identifying unusual patterns. Block suspicious payees from receiving payments, prevent them from creating new accounts, and get notified of abnormal activities.