On-demand Webinar: Why Accounts Payable and Vendor Teams Can No Longer Be the Human Firewall

Accounts payable and vendor teams are often expected to serve as the last line of defense against payment fraud, business email compromise, vendor impersonation, and fraudulent change requests. They are asked to catch suspicious emails, identify red flags, question unusual requests, and stop bad payments before they happen. But fraudsters now use sophisticated social engineering, urgency, impersonation, and process manipulation designed to defeat even experienced team members. This session examines why it is no longer realistic or fair to expect AP and vendor teams to carry the full burden of fraud prevention through personal vigilance alone. Attendees will leave with practical strategies to reduce personal risk, strengthen team protection, and build business processes that do not depend on team member alertness acting as the only barrier to fraud.

Learning Objectives

• Explain why accounts payable and vendor teams are frequently placed in the role of the “human firewall” and why that model is no longer sufficient.
• Identify the common tactics fraudsters use to target AP and vendor teams, including impersonation, urgency, intimidation, and fraudulent banking or payment change requests.
• Recognize the personal and operational risks created when employees are expected to stop fraud without adequate process controls, support, and escalation procedures.
• Evaluate how layered process controls, better technology, and cross-functional accountability can reduce pressure on individual team members and improve fraud prevention outcomes.

Speaker:

Debra Richardson

Debra is an accounts payable speaker, consultant, and trainer with over 25 years of experience in AP, AR, general ledger, and financial reporting for Fortune 500 companies including Verizon, General Motors and Aramark.

For over a decade, Debra has focused on Global Vendor Maintenance and implemented a vendor self-registration portal for 140k+ global vendors across five ERPs. In her consultancy, she focuses on authentication techniques,  internal controls, best practices and vendor validations to prevent fraud in the vendor master file.  She is the President of the Central Atlantic Region IOFM Chapter and is the IOFM Ask the Expert for the Vendor Master File Category. 

A Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Debra works with accounts payable and vendor teams to pay the right vendor by offering consulting and vendor process training sessions to avoid fraud, fines and bad vendor data.

She has a YouTube channel where she posts vendor master file tips every Tuesday and hosts a weekly podcast:  “Putting the AP in hAPpy”.

Moderator:

Grace Berube
Senior Content Manager, IOFM

Grace is the Senior Content Manager at the Institute of Finance & Management (IOFM), where she has led content strategy and development since 2022. In this role, she oversees all aspects of IOFM’s digital and event-based content, ensuring it remains timely, relevant, and actionable for all financial operations professionals.

Grace manages IOFM’s robust library of site content, leads the organization’s editorial and member webinar programming, and hosts IOFM’s podcast series. She also oversees a team of subject matter experts who contribute thought leadership and educational articles. In additional, Grace curates and manages all speaker content for IOFM’s in-person and virtual events, ensuring consistency and quality across every touchpoint. With nearly three years in the role, Grace brings a deep understanding of the financial operations landscape and a passion for delivering content that empowers professionals to excel in their roles.

Continuing education credits available!

 Continuing Education for IOFM Certification

Receive 1 CEU toward maintaining a certification with IOFM! IOFM's premier certification programs are designed to establish standards for the industry and recognize financial operations professionals who, by possessing related work experience and passing a comprehensive exam, have met stringent requirements for mastering the body of knowledge in their profession. Additional rules may apply, depending on your certification. See full guidelines here. 

Accessibility Information:

IOFM is committed to accessibility. Disability-related accommodation requests for the live event (such as providing live captioning) should be sent to [email protected] by close of business the day before the live webinar. A captioned recording of this webinar can be made available upon request to [email protected].

Cancellation policy:

To cancel your registration for this event, simply contact IOFM customer service at [email protected] (or call 207-842-5557) no later than 24 hours prior to the scheduled start of the event. You can choose to access the full recorded event, or, your credit may be applied toward the purchase of any IOFM product or interactive event. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with this program, we will provide a full refund — no questions asked!

For more information:

Contact Customer Service:

Email: [email protected]