SAP Concur has warned that fraud is becoming a persistent challenge for finance teams in Australia, with new survey findings showing frequent or occasional fraud in accounts payable processes.
Research from the SAP Concur IFOL Finance Leaders' Fraud Report 2026 found that 19 per cent of respondents reported frequent fraud or attempted fraud in accounts payable, while 33 per cent reported occasional incidents. The company also cited estimates from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners that organisations lose five per cent of revenue to fraud each year.
The findings add to pressure on finance leaders trying to tighten oversight of spending, invoicing and approvals as transaction volumes grow and teams are asked to do more with existing resources.
The report found that 62 per cent of respondents had experienced financial losses from fraud within the past three years. Within that group, nine per cent reported significant losses and five per cent reported moderate losses.
Control gaps
Much of the concern centres on routine internal processes. The findings suggest fraud often begins within established workflows and can continue for long periods when organisations rely on manual checks or inconsistent manager approvals.
Expense fraud was the leading internal fraud issue identified in the survey, reported by 19 per cent of respondents, up from 12 per cent in 2025. The increase points to a growing problem in everyday employee spending claims, rather than only in large or unusual transactions.
Jonathan Beeby, managing director of SAP Concur Australia and New Zealand, said: "Fraud risk is no longer hypothetical, and isn't isolated to large enterprises. The latest findings show that many fraud schemes originate in routine financial processes where trust replaces oversight. Finance leaders need stronger controls, better spend visibility, and faster ways to identify unusual behaviour before losses grow.
"Intelligent automation and AI-driven auditing tools help finance leaders focus on higher-risk transactions while reducing time spent reviewing compliant, low-risk claims. This lets finance teams investigate meaningful exceptions instead of processing routine activity."
The report also suggests many organisations have yet to adopt newer tools for spend management, with 59 per cent of respondents saying they do not use AI in any spend management process.
Among those surveyed, 21 per cent said they had no plans to adopt AI, while 38 per cent said they did not know whether adoption was planned. The figures suggest many finance functions are still at an early stage in updating controls and audit practices.
Layered oversight
SAP Concur argued that finance teams should direct audit attention towards higher-risk transactions and unusual spending patterns, rather than applying the same level of review to routine low-risk claims. The approach may help teams use limited staff time more effectively.
The company also highlighted the changing nature of fraud risks as generative AI tools become more widely available. Such systems can produce fake receipts and falsified documents that may be difficult to detect through manual checks alone.
Automated auditing and anomaly detection systems are also being presented as a way to spot suspicious patterns across larger volumes of data. The broader point is that finance teams need more than a single approval point to reduce exposure.
Beeby said: "Finance leaders should build layered controls rather than relying on a single checkpoint. Combining automated auditing, real-time policy enforcement, analytics, and human oversight helps reduce exposure while improving the employee experience.
"Fraud prevention cannot rely on reactive investigations after losses occur. Organisations need proactive controls that guide employees and identify risks earlier."
Visibility push
Another focus is visibility across travel, expense and invoice data. SAP Concur said organisations can improve compliance by embedding policy checks directly into employee workflows and by using automated receipt capture, audit tools and real-time reporting.
For finance leaders, that visibility is being framed as both a control and operational issue. Faster access to spending data can help teams respond earlier to anomalies while giving them a clearer view of broader spending patterns across the business.
The wider message from the research is that fraud prevention is becoming a more prominent part of finance leadership, rather than sitting solely within audit or compliance functions. With losses already reported by a majority of respondents, the issue is now more closely tied to governance, resilience and financial performance.
Beeby said: "Finance leaders are under pressure to balance growth, compliance, and productivity. Organisations that modernise their financial controls today will be better positioned to reduce risk, maintain trust, and support sustainable growth in the future.
"The ACFE and IFOL report findings reinforce a broader shift in financial leadership. Fraud prevention is no longer just an audit or compliance function. It is now a strategic priority linked to operational resilience, financial performance, and business confidence."