The financial backbones supporting every organization are becoming increasingly complex. With that complexity comes other concerns – scaling becomes more difficult, increases in payments and expenses grow in volume and the risks of fraud increase exponentially.
Many organizations turn to enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems like NetSuite to take control of these financial systems and support a growing organization’s needs. Despite the exponential growth in both fraud attacks and the size of the economic impact, fraud is not often a consideration for moving to an ERP. Here are some considerations for how NetSuite can help you battle the threat of fraud and keep your organization safe.
One Data Set, Fully Integrated
One of the greatest benefits of an ERP system is the fully consolidated data. Using NetSuite to monitor every single financial transaction occurring within your organization creates the perfect opportunity to streamline every aspect of your financial processes. Siloed data, separated between multiple systems, prevents organizations from accurately seeing what full financial health looks like.
Separate systems also significantly increase the amount of time employees must spend working between different applications, significantly increasing the chances for mistakes and obscuring the visibility of fraudulent transaction attempts.
With everything living in one place, finances are better tracked, discrepancies are easier to find and fraud attempts can be circumvented. In a time when cybersecurity is more business critical than ever, having financial operations integrated and streamlined will keep your organization safe.
Growing Organizations and Growing Risks
As your organization grows, so does your network of vendors, along with the related increase in transactions and a greater workload for accounts payable professionals. This expansion also provides greater opportunities for potential fraudsters to exploit vulnerabilities. As your financial ecosystem becomes more intricate, understanding where risks are likely to come from and how to prevent attacks from occurring in the first place will become key to ensuring the financial safety of your organization.
Creating a Safety Net Within NetSuite
There are a number of NetSuite features designed to streamline and minimize risk, but one area is often overlooked—the vendor onboarding process. A serious vendor onboarding should focus on the following:
- Ensure proper vendor identity verification
- Matches payments to the correct remittance accounts
- Minimizes the chance of fraud, if not removes the risk entirely
This first step in preventing fraud is the most critical; it prevents fraudsters from establishing themselves within your organization at one of the easiest junctures. If your organization does not have an established vendor onboarding process that is designed to prevent fraud, it becomes significantly more difficult to detect. NetSuite does not offer any solutions for vendor onboarding, leaving the average NetSuite user relying on emails the old-fashioned way to onboard and update vendors.
By automating vendor onboarding and payment processes with tools like Advanced Vendor Onboarding and Payment Automation, payments are handled in a timely manner and are always matched to the correct vendor and associated bank account. Without these safeguards in place, organizations don’t benefit from the full suite of protections that having an ERP can provide.
Getting the Most Out of Your ERP
By fully leveraging your ERP system and incorporating automation, you can ensure your business scales with efficiency and security. When used to its fullest potential, NetSuite can become a powerful tool in your fight against fraud and can help you maintain a strong, transparent financial system. For more insights on fraud, how you can get ahead of the dangers every organization faces and actionable insights, read the SquareWorks e-book on fraud here: https://lp.squareworks.com/ebook-download-fraud-proof-your-accounts-payable-process-a-modern-guide-to-staying-ahead-of-risk
