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Compliance & Governance

Internal Controls

Internal controls are the policies, procedures and checks an organisation uses to safeguard assets, prevent fraud and ensure purchasing is accurate and authorised.

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In procurement, internal controls include approval limits, segregation of duties, three-way matching, supplier vetting and system access restrictions. Their purpose is to make sure spending is authorised, recorded correctly and protected against error or abuse. Controls can be preventive — stopping a problem before it happens — or detective, flagging issues after the fact for investigation.

Well-designed controls balance protection with practicality; too many approvals slow the business, while too few invite fraud and leakage. Automating controls inside a procurement platform enforces them consistently — blocking orders above a user's limit or without a matching receipt — and leaves an audit trail that supports governance reviews and external audits.

Key points

  • Include approval limits, segregation of duties and transaction matching.
  • May be preventive (stop issues) or detective (flag issues afterwards).
  • Automation enforces controls consistently and creates an audit trail.

Frequently asked questions

What are internal controls in procurement?
Internal controls are the policies, procedures and checks — such as approval limits, segregation of duties and invoice matching — that keep purchasing authorised, accurate and protected from fraud or error.
What is the difference between preventive and detective controls?
Preventive controls stop a problem before it occurs, such as blocking an unauthorised order, while detective controls identify problems after they happen, such as a report highlighting duplicate payments.

Go deeper

Approval matrix template

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