Financial Controls in ERP Systems

Introduction

Most financial transactions now flow through enterprise resource planning systems. When configured well, these systems enforce approvals, prevent errors and provide strong audit trails. When configured poorly, they can allow inappropriate access, bypass controls and create significant financial reporting and fraud risks.

This Financial Controls in ERP Systems training course helps finance and audit professionals understand, design and test the controls embedded in ERP environments. Participants learn how automated controls, configuration settings, user access, segregation of duties and interfaces work across key processes such as procure-to-pay, order-to-cash and record-to-report.

The course is vendor-neutral and focuses on principles that apply across major platforms, helping participants work effectively with IT teams, implementation partners and auditors to build a reliable control environment.

Course Objectives

By the end of this training course, participants will be able to:

• Explain the control environment of ERP systems and its impact on financial reporting
• Distinguish manual, automated, IT-dependent and IT general controls
• Design effective controls in procure-to-pay, order-to-cash and record-to-report processes
• Manage user access and segregation of duties risks
• Review configuration, master data and interface controls
• Use system reports and data analytics to monitor control effectiveness
• Build controls into ERP implementations and upgrades
• Prepare for internal and external audit reviews of ERP controls

Target Audience

This training course is suitable for a wide range of professionals, including:

• Financial controllers and finance managers
• Internal control and compliance professionals
• Internal and external auditors
• ERP process owners and key users
• Finance systems analysts and implementation team members
• Risk managers
• Shared service centre leaders

Training Methodology

The course combines process walk-throughs, control design workshops, segregation of duties analysis exercises and case studies of control failures in ERP environments. Participants practise reviewing access reports and configuration evidence and develop a control improvement plan for a selected process.

Target Competencies

• ERP control design
• Segregation of duties analysis
• Access management
• Control testing and monitoring
• Process risk assessment
• Audit readiness

Day One: ERP Systems and the Control Environment

• How ERP Systems Integrate Finance and Operations
• Control Frameworks: Objectives, risks and control activities
• Types of Controls: Manual, automated, IT-dependent and IT general controls
• Benefits and New Risks Created by ERP Systems
• Roles: Process owners, IT, key users, auditors and implementation partners
• Control Documentation: Narratives, flowcharts and risk-control matrices
• Case Study: Analysing a control failure in an ERP environment

Day Two: Procure-to-Pay Controls

• Vendor Master Data: Creation, changes and duplicate prevention
• Purchase Requisitions and Orders: Approval workflows and limits
• Goods Receipt and Three-Way Matching: Tolerances and exceptions
• Invoice Processing: Duplicate payment prevention and coding controls
• Payment Runs: Authorisation, bank file security and review
• Fraud Risks in Purchasing and Payments: Red flags and controls
• Practical Exercise: Designing controls for a procure-to-pay process

Day Three: Order-to-Cash and Record-to-Report Controls

• Customer Master Data and Credit Limits: System controls
• Pricing, Discounts and Credit Notes: Configuration and approvals
• Revenue Cut-Off and Recognition Controls
• Journal Entries: Approval, posting rights and review of manual entries
• Period-End Close: Account reconciliations and period locking
• Financial Reporting Controls: Mapping, consolidation and report integrity
• Workshop: Identifying control gaps in order-to-cash and close processes

Day Four: Access, Segregation of Duties and Configuration

• User Access Management: Provisioning, changes and removal
• Role Design: Building roles based on least privilege
• Segregation of Duties: Conflict rules, analysis and mitigation
• Privileged and Emergency Access: Monitoring and approval
• Configuration and Change Management: Protecting critical settings
• Interfaces and Data Migration: Completeness and accuracy controls
• Practical Exercise: Analysing a segregation of duties conflict report

Day Five: Monitoring, Implementation and Audit

• Continuous Control Monitoring: Exception reports and dashboards
• Data Analytics for Control Testing: Full-population testing approaches
• Building Controls into ERP Projects: Design, testing and go-live
• Upgrades and Cloud ERP: Control considerations
• Audit Readiness: Evidence, testing and remediation
• Control Ownership and Culture: Making controls part of daily work
• Action Plan: Strengthening ERP controls in participants' organisations