What reports should you be reviewing regularly to identify irregularities?

Whether you work in the company daily or manage from afar, there are key reports you should be reviewing regularly to stay informed and detect possible fraud.

Discussion:

Below is a discussion of the key reports you should be reviewing regularly as part of your internal controls:

• Accounts Receivable Summary: This report provides you with the amounts owed to the company by each of your customers. You should be reviewing this regularly to ensure that receipts are recorded and applied correctly and to follow up on overdue accounts.
• Accounts Payable Summary: This report provides you with the amounts your company owes to vendors. You should be reviewing this regularly to ensure the vendors listed are valid and that payments you have made on these accounts are correctly applied.
• Income Statement: This report provides you with a summary of the sales and expenses incurred during a period. You should review this report regularly and compare it to the prior period to look for irregularities. Are the wages comparable to the prior period? Is the gross margin comparable to the prior period?
• Payroll report: This report should be reviewed each pay period to ensure the employees being paid were all working for the company that period and the hours and wages are all accurate.

Reviewing the above reports each period will help you identify irregularities and detect fraud.

Recommendation

If you would like to discuss your internal controls and how to protect your company from fraud.