After a Costly Misstep
May 24, 2025
The Challenge
A food and beverage company experienced a serious breakdown in its treasury process when a payment was fraudulently redirected to an external party. The issue stemmed from informal approval flows, a lack of dual controls, and inadequate verification procedures. While the immediate financial loss was contained, the breach exposed critical vulnerabilities that left leadership unsettled and risked future exposure.
With trust in internal processes shaken, the CFO turned to us to assess the company’s treasury function and implement stronger safeguards without compromising the speed or flexibility the team had come to rely on.
Our Approach
We began with a comprehensive diagnostic of the company’s treasury workflows, spanning vendor onboarding, payment initiation, approval hierarchies, and bank integration protocols. In parallel, we reviewed related areas such as payroll, wire transfers, and ACH management to identify systemic risks beyond the original incident.
After mapping the existing process, we delivered a set of enhancements tailored to the company’s scale and risk profile. These included:
Segregation of duties and dual authorization requirements for all outgoing payments
Vendor verification protocols including callback procedures and bank detail confirmations
Structured approval matrices aligned to role, dollar threshold, and transaction type
Banking platform access reviews and permission updates to ensure proper controls
Workflow documentation and internal training to reinforce the updated process
The Impact
Within weeks, treasury operations were no longer a point of uncertainty. Leadership regained confidence in payment controls, employees had a clear framework to follow, and the company could demonstrate to auditors, lenders, and owners that controls had not only been remediated, but elevated.
By strengthening its back-office function, the company didn’t just plug a gap, it took a meaningful step toward operational maturity and risk resilience. Our work helped turn a painful lesson into a long-term advantage.