Accounts Payable Glossary
Clear definitions of common accounts payable, recovery audit, supplier, payment, data, and financial-process terminology.
Use this glossary as a practical reference for terms you may encounter throughout the accounts payable lifecycle, during a recovery audit, or while evaluating related financial processes and controls.
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Jump to a letter or start with commonly referenced accounts payable, recovery audit, supplier, and payment terms.
Start With the Basics
Accounts Payable Recovery Audit
A retrospective review of payment activity designed to identify potential overpayments, credits, and other financial exceptions.
Duplicate Payment
Two or more payments made for the same underlying obligation or invoice.
Supplier Credit
An amount owed back to a customer by a supplier because of an adjustment, return, overpayment, or other account activity.
Vendor Master
The central record containing supplier information used by an organization for purchasing, payment, tax, and related processes.
Unapplied Cash
A payment or credit received by a supplier that has not yet been matched to the appropriate invoice or account balance.
ERP
Enterprise resource planning software used to manage financial, operational, purchasing, and other business processes.
Accounts Payable (AP)
The function responsible for managing amounts an organization owes to suppliers and other creditors, including invoice processing, approvals, payment execution, and related recordkeeping.
Accounts Payable Recovery Audit
A retrospective review of historical payment activity designed to identify potential overpayments, duplicate payments, supplier credits, and other financial exceptions that may not have been detected through routine AP controls.
Related: Comprehensive AP AuditACH
Automated Clearing House. An electronic network used to process bank-to-bank payments and other financial transactions.
Aging
A method of grouping outstanding balances according to the length of time they have remained unpaid or unresolved.
Audit Scope
The defined boundaries of an audit, including the entities, systems, locations, transaction periods, data, and areas of review included in an engagement.
Banking Change
A change to a supplier's payment or banking instructions. Because banking changes can affect where funds are sent, organizations commonly subject them to additional validation and control procedures.
Batch Payment
A group of payments processed together during a single payment run rather than being issued individually.
Client Services System (CSS)
Broniec's secure online client system for providing visibility into audit activity, claims, recoveries, supplier analysis, dashboards, and reporting throughout an engagement.
Related: Client Services SystemContract Compliance
The process of comparing actual supplier billing or performance against agreed contractual terms to identify potential discrepancies.
Related: Contract ComplianceCredit Balance
An account balance indicating that value may be owed back to the customer, often because of a credit memo, overpayment, return, adjustment, or unapplied payment.
Credit Memo
A document issued by a supplier to reduce an amount previously billed or to recognize value owed back to a customer.
Data Normalization
The process of organizing and standardizing data from one or more sources so it can be analyzed consistently.
Data Quality
The accuracy, completeness, consistency, and usability of data within a business system or process. In accounts payable, data quality can affect supplier management, payments, reporting, compliance, and audit analysis.
Duplicate Invoice
The same supplier invoice entered into a system more than once, or multiple invoice records representing the same underlying obligation.
Duplicate Payment
Two or more payments made for the same underlying invoice, obligation, or charge.
ERP
Enterprise resource planning software used to manage financial, purchasing, operational, inventory, human resources, and other business processes within an organization.
ERP Conversion
The transition from one enterprise resource planning system to another. ERP conversions can involve data migration, process changes, system configuration, and changes in how transactions are recorded or processed.
Escheatment
The process through which certain unclaimed property is transferred to a government authority after applicable dormancy and reporting requirements are met.
Related: Escheatment PreventionException
A transaction, record, or condition that differs from expected patterns or established criteria and may require additional review.
Final Report
The report provided at the conclusion of an audit summarizing engagement results, recoveries, findings, and other relevant information identified during the review.
Related: Final ReportForm 1099
A family of U.S. information returns used to report certain payments and other reportable transactions to recipients and the Internal Revenue Service.
Related: 1099 FilingGeneral Ledger (GL)
The central accounting record used to organize and summarize financial transactions across an organization.
Human Review
The evaluation of transactions, exceptions, or potential findings by experienced professionals rather than relying solely on automated rules or analytics.
Invoice
A document issued by a supplier requesting payment for goods, services, fees, or other charges provided to a customer.
Invoice Date
The date assigned to an invoice by the supplier. It may be used for payment terms, accounting, aging, and transaction analysis.
Invoice Number
A supplier-assigned identifier used to distinguish one invoice from another and support transaction tracking and reconciliation.
Invoice Exception
An invoice or transaction that does not meet expected processing criteria and requires additional review, approval, correction, or investigation.
Invoice Processing
The workflow used to receive, enter, review, approve, record, and ultimately pay a supplier invoice.
Internal Controls
Policies, procedures, approvals, system configurations, and other measures designed to reduce risk, support accuracy, and help prevent or detect errors and inappropriate activity.
Journal Entry
An accounting record used to post or adjust financial activity within the general ledger.
Key Performance Indicator (KPI)
A measurable value used to evaluate performance against a defined operational, financial, or strategic objective.
Liability
A financial obligation owed by an organization to another party, such as a supplier, lender, employee, or government entity.
Line Item
An individual charge, product, service, fee, tax amount, or other component listed separately within an invoice or transaction.
Master Data
Foundational business information used across systems and processes, such as supplier names, addresses, tax information, payment terms, and banking details.
Matching
The process of comparing related transaction records, such as a purchase order, receipt, and invoice, to determine whether payment information is consistent and complete.
Three-Way Match
A control that compares a purchase order, receiving information, and supplier invoice before payment is approved.
Multi-ERP Environment
An operating environment in which an organization uses more than one enterprise resource planning system across business units, regions, subsidiaries, or acquired entities.
Multi-Currency Environment
A financial environment in which transactions are recorded, processed, or settled using more than one currency.
Name Normalization
The process of standardizing variations in supplier names so records can be compared more consistently across systems or data sets.
NCOA
National Change of Address. A U.S. Postal Service dataset used to help identify address changes associated with individuals and organizations that have submitted forwarding information.
Open Credit
A supplier credit that remains available on an account and has not yet been applied, refunded, or otherwise resolved.
Overpayment
A payment amount that exceeds what was actually owed because of a duplicate payment, pricing issue, credit, processing error, or another discrepancy.
Payment Terms
The agreed conditions that determine when payment is due and may include discounts, due dates, or other payment-related provisions.
Payment Run
A scheduled process in which multiple approved supplier payments are prepared and issued together.
Payment Method
The mechanism used to pay a supplier, such as ACH, check, wire transfer, virtual card, or another approved payment channel.
Purchase Order (PO)
A document issued by a buyer that authorizes a purchase and establishes details such as products or services, quantities, pricing, and other agreed terms.
PO Invoice
A supplier invoice associated with an approved purchase order and typically processed using purchasing and receiving information.
Non-PO Invoice
An invoice processed without a corresponding purchase order, usually through a separate approval workflow.
Quality Assurance (QA)
A structured review process used to help verify the accuracy, consistency, and completeness of audit work and potential findings.
QA Re-Review
An additional review of audit work intended to identify potential items that may warrant further investigation after the initial review has been completed.
Related: Audit Quality & MethodologyReconciliation
The process of comparing two or more sets of financial records to identify and resolve differences between them.
Recovery
Value returned to an organization after a validated overpayment, supplier credit, or other recoverable financial discrepancy has been resolved.
Recovery Audit
A review of historical financial transactions intended to identify and recover funds associated with validated overpayments, credits, or other discrepancies.
Refund
Funds returned by a supplier or other party to resolve an overpayment, credit balance, or other amount owed to the customer.
Root Cause Analysis
The process of investigating why an error, overpayment, or other issue occurred in order to identify the underlying process, data, system, or control condition that contributed to it.
Remittance Information
Payment-related information provided to a supplier to indicate which invoices, credits, or other account items are associated with a payment.
Sales and Use Tax
Taxes imposed on certain purchases, sales, or uses of goods and services. Review of these transactions may identify potential overpayments, incorrect tax treatment, or other discrepancies.
Related: Sales & Use Tax ReviewShared Services
A centralized operating model in which functions such as accounts payable, procurement, finance, or other administrative processes support multiple business units, entities, or locations.
SOC 2
A reporting framework developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants for evaluating controls relevant to areas such as security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.
Supplier
A business or individual that provides goods or services to an organization and may also be referred to as a vendor.
Supplier Credit
An amount owed back to a customer by a supplier because of a return, adjustment, duplicate payment, pricing difference, overpayment, or other account activity.
Supplier Statement
A supplier-generated record summarizing account activity such as invoices, payments, credits, and outstanding balances for a specified period.
Related: Vendor Statement ReviewTax Identification Number (TIN)
An identifying number used for U.S. tax administration and reporting purposes. Depending on the entity, this may include an Employer Identification Number or another recognized tax identification number.
Transaction
A recorded financial event, such as an invoice, payment, credit, adjustment, refund, or journal entry.
Transaction History
The historical record of financial activity associated with an account, supplier, system, entity, or other defined area of review.
Unapplied Cash
A payment received by a supplier that has not yet been matched or applied to the appropriate invoice, account balance, or other customer obligation.
Unapplied Credit
A credit available on a supplier account that has not yet been applied against an outstanding invoice or otherwise resolved.
Unclaimed Property
Certain financial property that remains unclaimed by its owner for a period of time and may become subject to state reporting and escheatment requirements.
Related: Escheatment PreventionValue-Added Tax (VAT)
A consumption tax applied at stages of production and distribution in many countries outside the United States.
Related: Sales, Use Tax & VAT ReviewVendor
A business or individual that provides goods or services to an organization. The term is commonly used interchangeably with supplier.
Vendor Master
The central data record containing information about suppliers, such as legal names, addresses, tax information, payment terms, banking details, and other attributes used throughout purchasing and payment processes.
Vendor Master File
The collection of supplier records maintained within an organization's financial or enterprise resource planning system.
Vendor Validation
The process of reviewing supplier information to help confirm the accuracy, consistency, and legitimacy of key vendor records.
Related: Vendor ValidationForm W-9
An IRS form used to request a U.S. person's taxpayer identification number and certain tax-related information for reporting purposes.
Related: 1099 FilingWire Transfer
An electronic transfer of funds between financial institutions, commonly used for domestic or international payments.
Working Capital
A measure of short-term financial resources generally calculated as current assets minus current liabilities.
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Understanding the Terms Is the First Step
Accounts payable environments can be complex, and the issues behind payment errors, supplier discrepancies, data problems, and process gaps are rarely one-dimensional. Broniec helps organizations look beyond individual transactions to understand where exposure may exist and what the findings can reveal.