Course Introduction
The purchase-to-pay process connects procurement, receiving, accounts payable, finance, and payment operations, making it one of the most important transaction cycles for financial control and audit assurance. This Purchase-to-Pay Process Auditing Training Course provides participants with a practical framework for evaluating the complete P2P cycle, from purchase requisition and supplier selection through purchase orders, goods or service receipt, invoice processing, payment, accounting, and reconciliation.
The course emphasizes the financial and operational risks that can arise when purchase-to-pay controls are poorly designed, inconsistently applied, or circumvented. Participants will learn how to assess authorization, budget availability, supplier controls, purchasing compliance, contract adherence, invoice validation, three-way matching, payment approval, segregation of duties, and accounting accuracy. The approach is designed to help auditors identify both individual transaction exceptions and broader process-level weaknesses.
Participants will develop practical skills for conducting risk-based audits of purchase-to-pay processes. The training covers process mapping, risk and control assessment, audit planning, materiality considerations, sampling, substantive testing, analytical procedures, walkthroughs, control testing, transaction tracing, reconciliations, and audit evidence evaluation. Particular attention is given to identifying points where procurement and finance controls intersect and where responsibility gaps can create financial exposure.
The course examines common P2P risks including unauthorized purchases, purchases outside approved contracts, fictitious suppliers, duplicate invoices, duplicate payments, incorrect pricing, quantity discrepancies, unsupported expenditure, false receiving records, inappropriate approvals, payment to unauthorized beneficiaries, unrecorded liabilities, and inaccurate accounting. Participants will learn how to investigate unusual transactions and determine whether exceptions indicate isolated errors, recurring control failures, or potential fraud indicators.
Modern purchase-to-pay environments increasingly rely on ERP systems, e-procurement platforms, automated approval workflows, electronic invoicing, supplier portals, robotic process automation, and integrated payment systems. The course therefore incorporates technology-enabled auditing, procurement and accounts payable data analytics, automated control testing, system access reviews, audit trail analysis, cybersecurity considerations, artificial intelligence, and continuous monitoring techniques.
Through practical exercises, process walkthroughs, transaction-testing scenarios, data-analysis examples, and case studies, participants will learn how to evaluate P2P controls from end to end and translate audit evidence into meaningful findings. The course strengthens professional skepticism, audit judgment, documentation quality, financial control evaluation, fraud detection, and the ability to recommend improvements that increase efficiency, compliance, payment integrity, and financial reporting reliability.
Duration
5 days
Who Should Attend
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Internal auditors responsible for procurement and accounts payable audits.
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External auditors reviewing purchase-to-pay transaction cycles.
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Procurement professionals responsible for purchasing controls and compliance.
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Accounts payable managers, supervisors, and specialists.
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Finance and accounting professionals involved in expenditure processing.
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Internal control and risk management professionals.
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Financial controllers overseeing procurement-to-payment activities.
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Procurement compliance and governance officers.
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Fraud examiners investigating purchasing and payment irregularities.
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Forensic auditors examining supplier and payment transactions.
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Budget officers monitoring purchase commitments and expenditure.
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ERP and finance systems professionals supporting P2P processes.
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Audit managers and supervisors responsible for transaction-cycle audits.
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Compliance professionals evaluating procurement and expenditure controls.
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Governance, risk, and compliance professionals overseeing financial process risks.
Course Objectives
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Understand the complete purchase-to-pay process and the financial, operational, compliance, technology, and fraud risks arising throughout the transaction cycle.
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Develop risk-based audit approaches for evaluating P2P processes, controls, transaction populations, supplier relationships, expenditure patterns, and financial reporting implications.
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Map procurement and payment processes from requisition through sourcing, purchasing, receiving, invoicing, payment, accounting, reconciliation, and reporting.
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Evaluate the design and operating effectiveness of key P2P controls, including approvals, segregation of duties, matching, reconciliations, access controls, and management review.
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Apply audit procedures to test purchase orders, contracts, receiving records, invoices, payment transactions, supplier accounts, commitments, and related accounting entries.
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Identify duplicate payments, fictitious suppliers, unauthorized purchases, invoice manipulation, pricing discrepancies, false receipts, payment diversion, and other P2P fraud indicators.
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Perform substantive testing, sampling, analytical procedures, cut-off testing, completeness testing, transaction tracing, and reconciliation procedures across the purchase-to-pay cycle.
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Use procurement and accounts payable data analytics to identify unusual transactions, duplicate records, threshold avoidance, abnormal suppliers, payment anomalies, and recurring control exceptions.
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Assess ERP systems, e-procurement platforms, automated matching, electronic invoicing, payment interfaces, user access, audit trails, cybersecurity risks, and emerging technology-enabled P2P threats.
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Prepare well-supported audit findings and practical recommendations addressing root causes, financial exposure, control deficiencies, process efficiency, compliance, fraud prevention, and corrective action.
Comprehensive Course Outline
Module 1: Purchase-to-Pay Process Auditing Fundamentals
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Principles, objectives, scope, and characteristics of purchase-to-pay process auditing.
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Understanding the relationship between procurement, receiving, accounts payable, payment processing, accounting, and financial reporting.
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Key audit assertions including occurrence, completeness, accuracy, authorization, classification, cut-off, existence, and valuation.
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Establishing audit objectives, process boundaries, materiality considerations, risk criteria, and evidence requirements.
Module 2: P2P Process Mapping, Governance, and Risk Assessment
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Mapping the end-to-end P2P process and identifying transaction flows, control points, responsibilities, and dependencies.
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Assessing procurement policies, financial procedures, delegated authority, governance structures, and accountability requirements.
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Identifying inherent and residual risks across requisition, sourcing, ordering, receiving, invoicing, payment, and reconciliation.
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Developing risk-control matrices and audit programs aligned with significant P2P risks and control objectives.
Module 3: Purchase Requisitions, Approvals, and Procurement Controls
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Auditing purchase requisitions, purchase orders, approvals, budgets, commitments, and purchasing authorization controls.
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Testing delegated authority, approval thresholds, segregation of duties, and compliance with procurement procedures.
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Reviewing purchases against contracts, framework agreements, approved suppliers, budgets, and authorized business requirements.
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Identifying unauthorized purchases, split transactions, retrospective approvals, policy circumvention, and commitment control weaknesses.
Module 4: Supplier Management and Purchase Order Controls
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Auditing supplier onboarding, master data, due diligence, supplier approval, and ongoing vendor governance.
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Testing purchase orders for quantities, prices, specifications, contract references, delivery requirements, and payment terms.
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Reviewing supplier changes, bank account information, inactive vendors, duplicate suppliers, and unusual vendor relationships.
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Identifying fictitious suppliers, conflicts of interest, related-party risks, unauthorized vendor amendments, and supplier control failures.
Module 5: Receiving, Invoice Processing, and Three-Way Matching
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Auditing goods received notes, service confirmations, inspection records, delivery documentation, and receiving controls.
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Testing three-way matching between purchase orders, receiving records, and supplier invoices.
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Examining invoice quantities, prices, taxes, discounts, calculations, payment terms, and accounting classifications.
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Identifying false receiving records, duplicate invoices, incorrect charges, unsupported invoices, and mismatches requiring investigation.
Module 6: Accounts Payable, Payment, and Reconciliation Auditing
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Auditing accounts payable recording, invoice approval, payment preparation, payment authorization, and settlement controls.
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Testing payment beneficiaries, bank details, payment amounts, payment dates, references, and supporting documentation.
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Reconciling procurement records, accounts payable ledgers, supplier statements, bank transactions, and general ledger balances.
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Reviewing duplicate payments, overpayments, unapplied transactions, supplier credits, aged balances, and unresolved reconciliation items.
Module 7: P2P Substantive Testing, Cut-Off, and Financial Reporting
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Designing audit samples and substantive procedures for procurement, receiving, invoice, payment, and supplier transactions.
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Performing cut-off testing around reporting periods to identify unrecorded liabilities, premature recognition, and incorrect expenditure timing.
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Testing accounts payable completeness through subsequent payments, open purchase orders, unmatched receipts, and supplier statements.
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Evaluating expenditure classification, accruals, commitments, liabilities, and the financial reporting implications of P2P exceptions.
Module 8: P2P Fraud Risks, Data Analytics, and Technology
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Identifying P2P fraud schemes involving fictitious vendors, duplicate invoices, inflated prices, false receipts, and payment diversion.
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Using data analytics to detect duplicate transactions, unusual suppliers, round-dollar payments, threshold avoidance, and abnormal patterns.
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Auditing ERP configurations, automated approvals, system interfaces, access privileges, master data changes, and electronic audit trails.
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Applying continuous auditing, robotic process automation, artificial intelligence, and automated exception monitoring to P2P populations.
Module 9: Audit Evidence, Findings, Root Cause, and Corrective Action
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Evaluating the reliability and sufficiency of contracts, purchase orders, invoices, receiving records, payment evidence, system data, and confirmations.
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Documenting walkthroughs, control tests, substantive procedures, exceptions, reconciliations, and audit judgments in working papers.
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Performing root cause analysis to distinguish process design problems, execution failures, training gaps, system weaknesses, and governance issues.
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Developing evidence-based findings that explain criteria, condition, cause, effect, financial exposure, risk significance, and required action.
Module 10: P2P Audit Reporting, Continuous Monitoring, and Practical Case Studies
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Preparing clear and concise purchase-to-pay audit reports for management, finance, procurement, and governance stakeholders.
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Quantifying overpayments, unsupported expenditure, duplicate transactions, control weaknesses, and potential financial exposure.
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Designing practical recommendations for stronger P2P controls, automation, supplier governance, payment security, and monitoring.
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Conducting integrated case studies covering end-to-end P2P testing, analytics, fraud indicators, audit findings, reporting, and remediation.
Training Approach
This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.
Tailor-Made Course
This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com Tel: +254 721 331 808
Training Venue
The training will be held at our Upskill Training Centre. We also offer training for a group (at a discount of 10% to 50%) at requested location all over the world. The Onsite course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, buffet lunch, airport transfers, Upskill gift package, and guided tour.
Visa application, travel expenses, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant
Certification
Participants will be issued with Upskill certificate upon completion of this course.
Airport Pickup and Accommodation
Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com, +254 721 331 808
Terms of Payment:
Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties’ payment of the course fee should be done 3 working days before commencement of the training so as to enable us to prepare better.
