Closing the AP Fraud Gap: Responding to AI-Enabled Risk

Accounts Payable (AP) teams are facing a rapidly evolving fraud landscape. Rising transaction volumes, increasingly complex supplier networks, digital-first payments, and remote working environments are creating more opportunities for fraudsters to exploit weaknesses in traditional controls.

The challenge is accelerating as AI makes attacks faster, more convincing, and harder to detect. 76% of organizations reported attempted or actual fraud in 2025, while 75% experienced email or Business Email Compromise (BEC) fraud. Yet many AP functions still rely on fragmented systems, manual verification, and reactive processes that identify suspicious activity only after payment has been made.

This SSON Essentials Guide, in collaboration with Medius, explores how AP leaders can respond to emerging AI-enabled threats, strengthen fraud controls, and build a more resilient operating model by combining intelligent technology, robust processes, and empowered people.

Key Takeaways

• The AP fraud gap is widening: Expanding supplier ecosystems, low automation maturity, and limited end-to-end visibility are increasing the mismatch between modern fraud tactics and legacy AP controls.
• Understand the most common AP fraud risks: Explore how BEC, invoice fraud, vendor impersonation, deepfakes, manipulated payment instructions, and insider threats are targeting AP teams.
• AI is transforming both attack and defense: Fraudsters are using AI to automate impersonation and create convincing communications, while AP teams can apply AI to strengthen fraud detection and prevention. 
• Technology cannot replace human judgment: AI can flag unusual activity at scale, but data quality, contextual decision-making, governance, and employee oversight remain essential to effective fraud prevention.
• Fraud detection starts with people: Real-world whistleblower cases demonstrate why psychological safety, confidential reporting channels, leadership support, and protection from retaliation are critical components of a resilient control environment.
• Build resilience across people, process, and technology: Learn how to strengthen employee awareness, supplier governance, payment approvals, exception management, real-time monitoring, and end-to-end AP visibility.
• Turn awareness into measurable action: Discover the priorities AP leaders should focus on, from monitoring emerging threats and quantifying fraud exposure to strengthening controls across vendor data, payments, and approvals.

Download the report to understand how AI-enabled fraud is reshaping AP risk and gain a practical framework for building a more secure, visible, and fraud-resilient finance function.