P2P-08

Control Description

Management reviews the blocked invoice report via transaction MRBR detailing invoices held for price (PP) and/or quantity (DQ) variances on a periodic basis to investigate and resolve discrepancies in a timely manner.

Risk

Blocked invoices could remain unresolved indefinitely, leading to delayed vendor payments, strained vendor relationships, or unauthorized manual overrides of legitimate blocks.

Implementation Details

System Setup (The Foundation):

• Automated blocks must be active via transaction OMR6 for PP and DQ key so that exceptions actually land in the monitoring queue.

Assigning Responsibility (Transaction MRBR
• Accounts Payable (AP) supervisors, procurement specialists, or finance analysts are assigned responsibility for monitoring transaction MRBR (Release Blocked Invoices).

Operational Cadence & Workflow:
• Periodic Review: Designated staff run MRBR on a regular schedule (e.g., weekly or bi-weekly, and strictly prior to month-end close).
Investigation: For each blocked invoice listed, the user investigates the root cause:

• For DQ (Quantity): Did the goods arrive later? Was a subsequent Goods Receipt posted? Is a return needed?

•For PP (Price): Does the PO price need a change order? Is there a vendor price discrepancy requiring a debit memo or credit memo?

• Documentation: Evidence of the review (such as exported MRBR reports with sign-offs or ticketing notes) is archived to demonstrate that reviews actually happened.

Test Procedures

Test of Design
• Walkthrough & Inquiry: Inquire with AP management to understand the process for reviewing blocked invoices. Confirm the frequency of the review (e.g., weekly), who performs it, and how they investigate and resolve discrepancies.

Test of Operating Effectiveness (TOE)
• Sample Selection: Select a sample of test periods from the population of MRBR review cycles.
• For the selected periods, inspect the evidence of the review (e.g., signed/dated MRBR exception reports, ticket logs, or email communications resolving variances). Verify the reviews occurred on a timely basis