4 Manual Processes That Increase Audit and Compliance Risk (and How to Fix Them in SAP)

Many organisations invest heavily in SAP to strengthen financial control, governance and compliance. Yet behind the scenes, some of the most audit-critical processes are still managed manually using spreadsheets, emails and offline workarounds.

These manual processes do more than slow teams down. They introduce control gaps, weaken audit trails and significantly increase audit and compliance risk. When auditors start asking questions, reconciliation and clearing activities are often where issues surface first.

Below are five common manual processes that quietly increase audit and compliance risk in SAP environments — and how BEST can help fix them.

1. Manual balance sheet reconciliations

Despite running SAP, many finance teams still reconcile balance sheet accounts using spreadsheets maintained outside the system, with manual matching, commentary and sign-off.

This creates audit risks. Spreadsheet reconciliations suffer from version control issues, inconsistent supporting evidence and limited visibility over review and approval. Auditors often struggle to confirm completeness, accuracy and timeliness.

How to fix it in SAP

Automating balance sheet reconciliations with BEST Balance Sheet Reconciliations centralises balances, matching, documentation and sign-off, creating a single, auditable source of truth that auditors can rely on.

2. Manual open item clearing in customer accounts

Open customer items are frequently cleared manually, often by reviewing lists, applying judgement offline and posting clearing entries without structured controls.

This approach increases the risk of incorrect clearing, unapplied cash, aged open items and unsupported adjustments. Manual clearing makes it difficult to evidence why and how items were cleared, particularly when volumes are high.

How to fix it in SAP

Using BEST Customer Clearing automates customer open item clearing within SAP, applies consistent matching logic, reduces manual intervention, and ensures clearing decisions are fully traceable and auditable.

3. Manual vendor reconciliations

Finance teams often handle vendor reconciliations by manually reviewing supplier statements, checking them against SAP vendor accounts, and compiling reconciliation reports.

This hands-on process is slow, prone to mistakes, and makes it hard to maintain consistent control and a reliable audit trail.

How to fix it in SAP

BEST Vendor Recons automatically reads supplier statements, matches them to SAP vendor accounts, flags exceptions, and generates reconciliation reports, giving real-time visibility, higher matching accuracy, and a fully auditable, end-to-end vendor reconciliation process.

4. Manual clearing of open items

Open items are frequently cleared manually across company codes, GL accounts, customers, vendors, or account fields, requiring manual postings or custom SAP workarounds.

This approach is labour-intensive, error-prone, and leaves gaps in control and reporting.

How to fix it in SAP

BEST Open Item Clearing automates the matching and clearing of open items across companies, accounts, and fields using user-defined criteria, delivering faster period-end closing, improved visibility of unreconciled items, and a fully auditable, compliant process without manual effort.

Reducing audit risk starts with automating reconciliation and clearing

Manual reconciliation and clearing processes are often treated as unavoidable due to complexity or volume. In reality, they represent some of the highest audit and compliance risks in SAP environments.

By replacing spreadsheet-driven reconciliations and manual clearing with BEST solutions embedded in SAP, organisations can strengthen financial controls, improve audit outcomes, and reduce regulatory exposure. Reducing risk isn’t just about passing the next audit — it’s about building controls that stand up to ongoing scrutiny.