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Paulette Andre, CFO, Danny Blyth, Vice President of Sales and John Langton, COO Over the years, businesses have made recovery audits a standard practice to make hard-dollar recouping through a careful review of AP transactional data and communication with vendors. Periods of transition such as mergers and acquisitions, new system implementations, software upgrades, IT transformation, and off-shoring initiatives create miscalculations and accidental omissions, not to mention a worldwide global pandemic for the last two years. In an unusual time of sudden change, there is significant potential for duplication or corruption of vendor master data and contracts as systems are migrated. As more companies gain an in-depth understanding and appreciation for data analysis—the demand for enhanced audit strategies through a careful review of AP transactional data and communication designed to expose future errors is gaining traction. However, with several moving parts in a business, it is impossible for everything negotiated into vendor contracts to be 100- percent embedded in the accounts payable process. This is where Novus Analytics has carved a niche. The company provides clients with a comprehensive review of their Procure to Pay process (P2P) with minimal disruption of their day-to-day operations by applying an efficient combination of sophisticated proprietary technology combined with years of auditing experience - all on a contingency basis. It assists a company with real-time reports detailing the source of errors and the best practice to avoid the errors. “We work with our clients to provide the most thorough review of the P2P process in the industry with minimal disruption to their day-to-day activities,” states Danny Blyth, Vice President of Sales at Novus Analytics. The recovery audit business has always been about peace of mind. We exercise, eat right, get a doctor’s checkup every once in a while, all in an effort to stay healthy and catch issues before they happen. Just like an annual checkup at the doctor’s office, our business is about catching things before they get out of control - away to sleep better at night knowing you are taking every precaution possible. Novus is that “financial checkup.” Every company has some type of internal preventative process to catch duplicate payments, but Novus goes much further than that by offering process improvement reports, unique duplicate permutations, fraud reports, and much more.
Using a Custom-Made Analytics Platform to Identify and Prevent Errors
Even before the onset of the coronavirus, accounts payable teams were faced a growing volume of invoices caused by duplicate invoices, fraudulent invoices, and other common discrepancies, causing companies to lose millions every year. That said, uprooting operations exposed issues and inefficiencies that companies had not expected. From purchase orders to invoicing receipts, accounts payable teams are now re-evaluating their processes and controls. Recovery auditors must mirror their clients and work remotely without sacrificing speed and effectiveness. Remote access to data and documents should be part of the audit process to lighten the load for clients in terms of how they collaborate or make information available to auditors. That being said, if remote access is not available, Novus can still complete the project through other efforts.
Furthermore, timelines are a vital success factor in recovery audits, as the ability to identify payment errors and credits owed diminishes over a period. “The accounts payable department is under constant pressure to pay their invoices on time and are not able to spend the same amount of time and effort on identifying credits and preventing possible over payments, which is where Novus Analytics comes in,” explains Paulette Andre, CFO at Novus Analytics.
Novus Analytics are experts in helping clients find errors in their financial data, recover the funds, and quickly increase the bottom line. The company’s experienced auditors use the proprietary developed state-of-the-art platform to analyze financial records, identify errors and recover incorrect payments in tandem with an offsite audit process designed to deliver maximum results with minimal interruption to personnel and resources. To begin the initial customer onboarding process, IT experts at Novus Analytics will provide clients with data extraction instructions for their AP system. Once the data has been extracted, the company offers multiple secure data transfer options that users can choose and follow. With flexibility being a vital feature of the platform via its secure 24 hours online portal, users can monitor their progress in real-time and generate custom reports. At the end of the audit, experts at Novus Analytics will present a comprehensive customized report that will identify the root cause of the errors in the accounts payable process and recommend best practices that will minimize the company’s exposure in the future. The vendor confirms each discovery, fully supported by documentation and available on the audit portal. The detailed offsite audits cover various accounts payable records such as Duplicate Payments, Overpayments, Unrealized Credits, Contractual Errors, Lost Deposits, Escheatment Items, Statement Review, and Vendor Analytics. Clients can monitor the progress and view the ongoing audit results in real-time using a secure online portal, enabling them to view, analyze, and interact with Claims, Invoices, Vendor Reports, and more.
With our years of experience, we understand the importance of handling vendor relationships with the utmost courtesy throughout the entire process, says Paulette
Stay One-Step ahead of Duplicate Payments and Contract Compliance Risks
In the current scenario, although the majority of large companies are now utilizing advanced ERP systems for Accounts Payable processing, the challenge of duplicate payments and fraud control, in general, continue to be a concern for many account payable organizations. Considering the tremendous number of invoices that are processed and amount of supplier payments made at most businesses, even a duplicate payment percentage of significantly less than 1 percent can still result in millions of dollars of loss. Regardless of whether it is a consequence of deliberate fraud, a system weakness, or a lack of adequate process design or controls.
Another area of recovery audit that is complex and hard to monitor is contracts. Often, contracts that are supposed to clarify and ensure compliance hide non-compliance and areas of profit leak in the process. The sheer number and variability of supplier contracts make it difficult to know whether agreed-upon terms are fully met. In this regard, Novus Analytics offers a comprehensive contract compliance process that will examine all the details of existing contracts. It identifies any inconsistencies between a client’s contracts and accounts payable data in a bid to uncover amounts that have been paid incorrectly. The platform and process identify, verify and recover rebates, allowances, price discrepancies and supports multiple currencies, taxes, discounts, and commodity issues.
A Highly Experienced Multidisciplinary Team
The coronavirus has had a massive effect on businesses. Employees have been working remotely; companies have had to work the same job with less staff, internal controls have changed their routine procedures.
0n-going Internal Controls
Companies continue to look for the best practices and internal controls. They want more preventative reports and fewer duplicate payments. So, another option for clients in the Novus arsenal is an ongoing monitoring tool, Novus360. This tool will allow clients to prevent duplicate payments before the check can leave the building. It also provides a vast number of reports on an ongoing basis. We have tried to think of every report that AP executives would want and to see it on an ongoing basis, and we implemented it into our Novus360 tool, says John Langton, COO at Novus Analytics. Novus Analytics aims to help its clients stay ahead of the game with its proprietary - Novus360 software. The Novus360 tool works in the background, monitoring accounts payable records to ensure that incorrect payments are identified and can be removed before they are processed. It is wellsuited for all companies, large and small, who want the confidence of the Novus Analytics system without the need for the full support of the companys audit team. In addition, it offers the ability to view comprehensive reports, identify possible overpayments and errors before they have been processed. In conclusion, yes, businesses have made a recovery audits standard practice these days, but Novus Analytics takes standard practice to a whole new level.
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Company
Novus Analytics
Management
Paulette Andre, CFO, Danny Blyth, Vice President of Sales and John Langton, COO
Description
Since its inception in 2011, Novus Analytics has garnered a list of highly reputable clientele and entrusted with handling their sensitive data, earning their stripes over the years by providing their excellent services in the field. The company provides clients with a comprehensive review of their Procure to Pay process (P2P) with minimal disruption of their day-to-day operations using an efficient combination of sophisticated proprietary technology combined with years of auditing experience. It helps companies gain insight with real-time reports detailing the source of errors and the best practice to avoid these errors
