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PwC has thrown its support behind the adoption of e-invoicing technology, arguing that it will reduce the risk of fraud as invoicing scams abound.
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Big four backs e-invoicing push
26 November 2020
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The support comes as the government considers making it a mandatory requirement for all businesses to adopt e-invoicing.
The government believes the mandatory option will accelerate e-invoicing adoption, ensuring that it becomes part of the broader digitisation of businesses, and bring forward significant benefits, including time and cost savings and reducing the risk of email scams and ransomware attacks.
With the ABC recently exploring how scammers target invoices through sophisticated business email compromise attacks, PwC partner Brady Denver believes there is a strong case for e-invoicing, which allows businesses to exchange invoices directly through their accounting or invoicing software.
“Adopting a universal e-invoicing standard like Peppol delivers significant benefits for the economy because it embeds identity and security controls, thereby reducing the risk of fraud,” said Mr Denver.
“Users must be registered, have their own unique IP address and the e-invoices can be validated real time through authentication processes.
“An additional benefit to adopting e-invoicing is that it presents an opportunity for businesses to simultaneously review and upgrade controls in their payments cycle, including fraud and cyber controls.”
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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Targeting Scams report found that business email compromise scams accounted for $5.3 million in reported losses last year.
“Scammers intercept legitimate invoices and change the details to include fraudulent payment information. The recipient will pay the invoice as normal and not realise they have been scammed,” said ACCC deputy chair Mick Keogh.
Small and micro businesses reported more scams than medium and large-sized businesses, with the average loss at $11,000. Some businesses however, lost up to $200,000.
The government’s consultation on the adoption of e-invoicing will run until 18 January 2021.
Other options being considered include mandating adoption for large businesses only, or giving businesses the flexibility to adopt e-invoicing at their own pace.
The government has since mandated that large government agencies will be required to be e-invoicing ready by 1 July 2021, followed by all agencies in 2022.
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