Sometimes it can be difficult to determine whether errors made in the payment of an operation’s bills (when they are uncovered by an audit) represent intentional fraud or simply are mistakes resulting from an employee’s poor training or lack of knowledge.

Assume an audit uncovered duplicate invoice payments made to three different food vendors over a 90-day period. The payments were made to them by the individual in your operation who is responsible for accounts payable. What specific action would you take to determine whether the individual’s mistakes were intentional or simply exposed weaknesses in your accounts payable system?