There are dire consequences for organizations that do business with bad actors. Paying a supplier, person or party that is on the sanctions list of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S.Treasury Department could result in millions of dollars in monetary fines.
Office of Foreign Assets Control – Sanctions Programs and Information | U.S.Department of the Treasury
From drug dealers and diamond smugglers to rogue regimes and terrorist organizations, the federal government maintains lists of organizations, individuals and countries that you can’t do business with.
What are the Penalties for Breaking OFAC Sanctions? | Dow Jones Professional
Manually checking suppliers against the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list – or worse, not checking at all – leaves organizations vulnerable to big compliance issues.
How to Automate OFAC Checks
OFAC checking doesn’t have to be so risky.
FinancialOperations Networks can help ensure that your organization doesn’t do business with entities on the OFAC SDN list of banned persons and parties in sanctioned countries.
- Capture supplier information via a secure online portal
- Make it easy for suppliers to complete and sign tax forms online
- Verify the accuracy of information provided by suppliers
- Automatically validate suppliers against OFAC SDN and 21 other compliance lists
- Check your existing vendor master against new additions to the OFAC SDN list
- Quickly and securely complete vendor approval workflows online
SanctionsList Search Tool | U.S. Department of the Treasury
Whether your organization is automating its supplier onboarding and registration process for the first time or make incremental improvements, deploying a self-service vendor portal with automated OFAC checking built-in can deliver big operational and reputational benefits.
The Benefits of Automated OFAC Screening
Automatically screening suppliers against sanctions lists reduces an organization’s risk exposure.
- Streamline OFAC sanctions checks during vendor onboarding
- Perform OFAC screening in real-time
- Avoid fines and penalties
- Protect your organization’s reputation
- Improve your organization’s relationship with vendors
Organizations of all sizes and across all industries can benefit from automated OFAC SDN checks as part of their vendor onboarding.
The Best OFAC Screening Solution
Screening suppliers against OFAC SDN and other sanctions lists is a critical part of the vendor onboarding and registration process. Don’t leave your organization at risk of compliance issues. Click here to book an online demo of our automated OFAC SDN screening solution today.
Frequently asked questions
How do you automate sanctions list screening in invoice processing?
Screen suppliers against sanctions lists when they are onboarded, re-screen the vendor master whenever the lists change, and hold payment on any unresolved match. That way no invoice is paid to a sanctioned party without anyone having to check lists by hand at payment time. VendorInfo automates the screening; InvoiceInfo sits on the payment side of the same vendor record.
Should OFAC screening happen at onboarding or at payment?
Both. Screening at onboarding stops a sanctioned party entering your vendor master, and re-screening existing vendors against new SDN additions catches vendors designated after they were approved.
What is the best OFAC screening software for AP?
Look for software that screens automatically during vendor onboarding rather than relying on manual lookups, covers the OFAC SDN list and other sanctions lists, and re-screens your existing vendor master when lists change. VendorInfo does all three, logs every onboarding action and adds bank account and TIN verification in the same step.