Policies and procedures define and classify how an AP or AR department should function and be administered. They exist to ensure the rules and methods of conducting AP/AR tasks are clearly and uniformly communicated. When combined with a vision and strategic plan, these documents can create the foundation for a strong and successful AP/AR operation.
All items within this section should be reviewed for appropriateness and modified as required to ensure they meet with internal company and department guidelines and standards.
AP CHECK DISBURSEMENT POLICY TEMPLATE
This template can be used to help develop a policy that will ensure cash is disbursed only with proper management authorization, for valid business purposes; and, that all disbursements are properly recorded.
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AP MOST COMMON FRAUD SCHEMES LIST
This tool identifies the most common AP fraud schemes, including the symptoms and the traditional detection methods for each.
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BACK-ORDER POLICY
This tool is used to establish the associated responsibilities, controls and processes to monitor and handle back orders. It should implemented across all corporate areas.
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BUDGETING PROCESS
This tool contains preparation tips, provides succinct guidance on budget categories, and identifies two types of costs associated with preparing a proposal budget, the roles and responsibilities in the budget process and an example of a fiscal year budget calendar.
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CODE OF ETHICS TEMPLATE
The purpose of this tool is to create a policy to further emphasize the company's commitment to ethical conduct and compliance with the law.
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COMPONENTS OF AN INTERNAL CONTROLS PROGRAM
Understand the operating unit - A key component of a controls program is ensuring that the control points and responsibilities of the operating unit are understood and compliance tests are in place to adequately address each aspect of the unit.
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CREDITS AND RETURN POLICY
The company goals for credits and returns should be to exceed the customers?? expectations. The company should put forth every effort to make the customer feel completely satisfied.
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DISCOUNTS AND REBATES POLICY
This tool will assist in looking for ways to help companies keep their overall costs down. It will provide access to a range of financial incentives to encourage the company to take action today with its vendors.
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ESCHEATMENT AND ABANDONED PROPERTY POLICY
This tool reflects a policy for the company to follow to be authorized to dispose of found and unclaimed properties in accordance with the state Civil Code relating to care and disposition of found and unclaimed property in possession of the company.
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EXPENSE REIMBURESEMENT POLICY (OTHER THAN TRAVEL)
A tool used for answering compliance questions concerning technology usage, cell phone usage, office product purchases, personal articles, gifts, favors and con-cash awards.
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GENERAL INTERNAL CONTROL GUIDELINES
The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) of the Treadway Commission issued a report in 1992 entitled?? Internal Control?? Integrated Framework??...
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GENERAL STANDARDS TO ESTABLISH CONSISTENT INVOICE NUMBERS
Internal Check Requests are stamped when received in AP with the date and sequence number, use these numbers as the invoice (e.g. CK0606011234 sequence numbers are reset at 1 for each new date, enter sequence as 0001 to be consistent).
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GENERIC SEGREGATION OF DUTIES POLICY
It is company policy that an appropriate segregation of duties shall be maintained in accordance with the principles set forth in this document. The company shall identify, remediate, and maintain a separation of incompatible business functions.
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GUIDELINES FOR ESTABLISHING POLICY & PROCEDURE DOCUMENTS
Policy and procedure documents should be standardized. They should be easy to understand, and provide clearly stated guidelines and instructions. The information below can be used to aide in the establishment...
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HURRICANE POLICY
This tool provides a sample of one company's plan of action in the event of a hurricane.
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INCOMING MAIL INTERNAL CONTROL POLICY
Incoming mail needs to be collected and sorted efficiently to ensure that it gets to the addressee in a minimal amount of time.
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INTERNAL CONTROLS POLICY
Internal Controls are the structured means used to obtain reasonable assurance of achieving the company's objectives, and include responsibilities to all stakeholders, which are employees, customers, and suppliers.
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INTERNAL CONTROL POLICY TEMPLATE (IAPP TOOL)
A tool that will establish and maintain a system of internal controls to promote effectiveness and efficiency of operations.
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INVOICE NUMBER ENTRY STANDARDS
This tool provides a sample of the invoice number entry standards one company has in place for their invoice processing.
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MANUAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FORM
I acknowledge that I have received the Accounts Payable Manual, and I understand that it is my responsibility to read and comply with the policies contained in the manual and any revisions and updates made to it.
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MANUAL TABLE OF CONTENTS
This tool provides a table of contents for assembling a company accounts payable manual.
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MISSION STATEMENT TEMPLATE
This tool is to provide the framework necessary to illustrate that the mission statement's principle function is not to sound catchy, but to let people in and out of the organization know what its purpose is and to guide decision-making.
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MONTH-END CLOSE POLICY
This tool seeks to ensure that the policies and procedures related to the monthly accounting periods are documented, communicated, clearly understood, and consistently applied.
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NONRESIDENT ALIEN (NRA) 10-STEP AUDIT PROCESS
This tool provides guidelines for consideration when preparing for NRA audit.
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ORGANIZATION CHART
This chart demonstrates the model AP organization.
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OUTGOING MAIL INTERNAL CONTROL POLICY
This tool reflects that Outgoing mail is all correspondence and packages sent by the Organization and is dealt with in a manner that promotes efficient and confidential handling.
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PAYMENT INTERNAL CONTROL GUIDELINES
It is essential to exercise reasonable promptness in examining bank statements. Consider the situation where a company's checks are used illegally because of a forged signature.
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PAYMENT POLICY
The Accounts Payable Policy applies to the engagement of and all payments to individuals or firms who are not employees of the company.
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PERSONNEL CHANGE FORM TEMPLATE
This form illustrates a form that can be utilized to record corporate personnel changes.
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PERSONNEL INTERNAL CONTROL POLICY
This personnel internal control policy template for business guidelines will help protect the company from liabilities and give it the basic ground rules for employees in protecting their rights.
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POLICY AND PROCEDURE MATERIALS
These standards have been developed as guidelines for adding new vendors or making changes to existing vendors in the centralized vendor file, to help to ensure integrity. The standards are based on United States Postal Service Publication 28...
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POLICY MANUAL TEMPLATE
This tool provides the structure for formulating an accounts payable policy manual for the company.
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POLICY TEMPLATE AND INSTRUCTIONS
This template provides guidelines for creating a policy, including policy statement, scope, definitions and more.
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PROCEDURE TEMPLATE AND INSTRUCTIONS
This template provides guidelines on how to document a procedure, including overview, scope/responsibility, and definitions.
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PROCURE TO PAY INTERNAL CONTROL STANDARDS
The procurement and expenditure cycle includes the functions of securing and qualifying sources of supply; initiating requests for materials, equipment, merchandise, supplies, or services; obtaining information...
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QUALITY POLICY
This tool defines organizational goals and objectives with regard to quality, and a vision to drive continuous improvement, providing a framework for establishing, communicating, and monitoring performance against agreed quality objectives.
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RECONCILIATION INTERNAL CONTROL POLICY
Provides policies and procedures on reconciling and reviewing departmental ledgers for oversight of transactions and protection of company assets.
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RECONCILIATION POLICY
This tool should be utilized to provide policies and procedures on reconciling and reviewing departmental ledgers for oversight of transactions and protection of company assets.
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REFUND AND DEBIT BALANCES INTERNAL CONTROL POLICY
This tool provides a template for formulating an internal policy for debits and credits.
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REPORTING BASICS: NONRESIDENT ALIEN (NRA)
This tool presents important tips on NRA reporting.
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SYSTEMS ACCESS POLICY
The System Access policy applies to both domestic and international financial and operational systems and is an integral part of segregation of duties. The scope of the Systems Access policy is worldwide.
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TIME AND MATERIAL AND FIXED RATE CONTRACTS
This resource tool describes both types of contracts and their uses, is very specific when to use each one and lists their limitations.
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TRAVEL AND ENTERTAINMENT CODE OF CONDUCT POLICY
This tool enables the company to conduct its business consistent with the highest standards of business ethics.
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TRAVEL AND ENTERTAINMENT MANUAL
The purpose of the company Travel Manual is to provide direction for employees and others who undertake travel on behalf of the company in accordance with the Company Travel Expense Policy.
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TRAVEL AND ENTERTAINMENT POLICY
A policy used to ensure that all Employees have a clear and consistent understanding of policies and procedures for business travel and entertainment on behalf of the company.
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TRAVEL POLICY
Tool for general corporate travel compliance, required documentation and a matrix of travel areas showing the who, what, why, where, and how to comply, along with miscellaneous guidelines and corporate forms for use.
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VAT RECLAMATION
This tool provides a guide for insuring proper Value Added Tax recovery when traveling outside of the country listing what to do and what to ask for.
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VENDOR NAMING STANDARDS
This tool reflects the most common standards used to ensure the integrity and consistent use of information such as vendor long and short name, US and international address conventions and vendor naming guidelines.
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VENDOR REQUESTS FOR ANTICIPATION
Vendors will sometimes ask if the company will pay “anticipation”. Typically, these are small vendors who need a return of cash prior to the invoice terms that were negotiated with the buyer. This tool provides a process to ensure that the proper policies are followed, and the vendor receives the approved payment.
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WRITE-OFF PROCESS ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Included in this resource document are guidelines for consideration when determining whether a debt should be written off and a sample write-off authorization form.
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WRONG VENDOR PAYMENT POLICY
This policy is a performance management tool incorporated by the company's accounts payable department to address erroneous payments made to a vendor.
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USA/CAN
These documents provide basic information that should be included when developing an organized and integrated structure for formalized policies and standard operating procedures within AP or AR. 
