What is UK SOX?
UK SOX is the unofficial name given to the UK new corporate governance reforms which will be coming into place soon. Following the release of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Restoring Trust in Audit and Corporate Governance white paper in March last year, the Government has announced details of its corporate governance changes which will move it closer to US style, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) regulations.
By Mark Blakemore, Chief Financial Officer at Compleat Software
With the pound falling, interest rates rising, talk of the UK entering a recession - the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is yet again at front and centre stage to help provide solutions to the seemingly impossible.
With a recent study of CFOs finding that 73% view economic uncertainty as a significant challenge for their organisation - the CFO needs to find answers, and fast.
CFOs wear many hats and are well-positioned to help to head off costly supply chain disruptions, with the support of their Supply Chain Manager, a profession which has historically faced challenges when it comes to Accounts Payable (AP) processes.
The Problem
A staggering 71% of companies report manual data entry and incompetent Accounts Payable (AP) processes as crucial pain points.
While it's only one element of the entire ‘Procure-to-Pay’ (P2P) process, Accounts Payable remains a vital one. Errors, duplicate invoices, unmatched purchase orders etc, not only waste time and valuable resources but, these inefficiencies can impact an organisation’s bottom line due to inaccurate payments.
The risk for fraud remains prevalent – with many organisations vulnerable to both internal and external threats. Not only is ‘social hacking’ and email spam increasingly rife but, add to that, the additional risk posed by inadequate internal controls. Poor supervision or the lack of verified processes can often lead to the creation of false documents or ‘document tampering’.
The increase in remote working due to Covid-19, has further indicated an upsurge in ‘remote’ fraud as opposed to ‘in-office’, which is more prevalent within financial and accounts payable departments than it should be. It is not enough to ‘shut the stable door after the horse has bolted’! We need pre-emptive measures to eradicate fraud at its source.
Avalara helps businesses of all sizes get tax compliance right. In partnership with leading ERP, accounting, eCommerce and other financial management system providers, Avalara delivers cloudbased compliance solutions for various transactional taxes, including sales and use, VAT, GST, excise, communications, lodging, and other indirect tax types. Headquartered in Seattle, Avalara has offices across the U.S. and around the world in Canada, the U.K., Belgium, Brazil, and India.