Last reviewed 3 November 2026 against the sources linked in this post.
It is the end of the month and a supplier you pay every quarter emails new bank details, politely asking you to use them for this week's run. The signature looks right and the amount matches. That moment is what accounts payable training has to prepare clerks for. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center recorded 24,768 business email compromise complaints and about $3.05 billion in reported losses in 2025, and AP desks sit right where those payment requests land.
Certification courses teach the ledger. This list covers the other half: what clerks must check before they pay. You get 8 ready-made courses in 3 groups, what each fixes and how to roll them out. Each group ends with an Our pick. The legal points describe US federal rules, so use this as a syllabus, not a ruling.
All 8 courses at a glance
| Course | What it covers | Length | Law behind it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phishing & social engineering | Red flags, verification and reporting | 30 min | No |
| Social engineering, fraud and deepfakes | New bank details and impersonation scams | 35 min | No |
| Deepfakes and AI-enabled fraud | Synthetic voice, video and image scams | 35 min | No |
| Collections calls | Payment objections and agreements with debtors | 40 min | No |
| Data classification & handling | Classifying and handling sensitive information | 25 min | No |
| Code of conduct | A decision test, grey areas and speaking up | 35 min | No |
| Conflicts of interest | Disclosing and deciding on conflicts | 25 min | No |
| Anti-bribery & corruption (FCPA) | Gifts, third parties and unusual payments | 40 min | Yes (US federal law) |
The law sets rules for how organisations behave. Only the FCPA course here sits directly on a US federal law, and it does not require a course.
Fraud and payment scams
Phishing & social engineering
Fake invoices and credential theft arrive in the AP mailbox first. This 30-minute course traces a business email compromise step by step, teaches red flags across email, text, voice, QR codes and AI deepfakes, and ends with a 12-question final check. A spot-the-red-flags round works well as a Pick Answer quiz with real invoice wording.
Social engineering, fraud and deepfakes: phone, payment and impersonation scams
This 35-minute course opens with a convincing request for new bank details, a supplier scam AP staff meet often. It teaches the rule of verifying money requests with a known number, then covers faked voices and video. The grey-areas lesson asks why people comply with seniority, politeness and secrecy, which a Word Cloud captures quickly.
Deepfakes and AI-enabled fraud: spot, stop and report synthetic voice, video and image scams
A payment request can now arrive on a video call from a cloned executive. This 35-minute course follows exactly that call, then teaches four types of deepfake and a four-step process: pause, verify, approve, report. A branching "verify or proceed?" decision is the best moment to poll the room.
Our pick: Social engineering, fraud and deepfakes. It starts from a scam clerks are likely to meet, a changed bank account, and gives them one rule to apply: call a known number.
Collections and data handling
Collections calls: handling payment objections and agreements with debtors
Receivables teams need calm, consistent calls. This 40-minute course follows a call that slides from reminder to argument, then covers opening the call, conduct limits, dos and don'ts, and agreeing a payment plan that holds. Three scenarios on common objections suit a live Open Ended round.
Data classification & handling
Invoices carry bank details and tax numbers, so every clerk handles sensitive data. This 25-minute course covers classification levels, what is allowed at each, red flags and how to escalate a misclassification. In the case-practice lesson, learners practise reporting a misclassification or mishandled data.
Our pick: Collections calls. AP training often skips the conversation with a debtor, and this one gives clerks words to use when the call gets difficult.
Ethics and bribery
Code of conduct
AP staff are trusted with company money, so the standard has to be clear. This 35-minute course gives teams a four-question decision test and works through grey areas across common topics and speaking up. It ends with a 10-question final check at 80% to pass. In a live session, try a scenario round where the audience votes before you reveal the policy answer.
Conflicts of interest
A clerk who pays a supplier owned by a relative is a classic hidden risk. This 25-minute course defines actual, potential and perceived conflicts, teaches "disclose, then decide" and has learners complete a conflict disclosure. A quick Rating Scale asks how confident people feel about when to disclose.
Anti-bribery & corruption (FCPA)
Unusual payments can disguise bribes. The US Department of Justice says the FCPA's anti-bribery provisions prohibit the willful use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce corruptly in furtherance of any offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization of the payment of money or anything of value to any person, knowing it will go to a foreign official, to influence them or to secure any improper advantage in obtaining or retaining business. This 40-minute course covers the rules in brief, a decision framework for gifts and hospitality, third-party red flags and a 10-question final check.
Our pick: Conflicts of interest. It is the shortest way to surface a risk that never shows up on an invoice: the relationship nobody declared.
How to roll the plan out
Order it by exposure. With 24,768 business email compromise complaints in 2025, put the fraud courses first for everyone who can release a payment.
- In the first month: phishing, social engineering and the code of conduct, for every new clerk.
- Within the first quarter: deepfakes, data classification and conflicts of interest, plus collections calls for anyone who chases payment.
- Each year: a refresher quiz on each course, and the FCPA course if you pay suppliers abroad.
- When a scam hits the news: a short live session on the deepfake course, using the new case.
Add your own state or country rules where your teams work, and ask your lawyer or the regulator what applies. If the same team also runs pay, our guide to payroll compliance training covers that desk, and risk manager training covers the wider risk view.
Ways to run these courses on AhaSlides
You can build any of these as a self-paced course with the AhaSlides course creator, run them as a live Q&A session deck, or both, with a post-course survey and a 30-day check-in to see what changed.
- Pick Answer: show four supplier emails and ask which one is the fake, or which of three steps to take first when bank details change.
- Word Cloud: ask "Why would someone pay an urgent invoice without checking?" The biggest words show which pressure to train against.
- Rating Scale: before and after, ask "How confident are you that you would spot a fake invoice?" from 1 to 5.
- Open Ended: collect anonymous near-misses at the end of a live session, so scams that almost worked reach the whole team.
FAQ
What training do accounts payable clerks need?
Invoice fraud awareness, payment verification procedures, data handling and ethics. The courses above cover those, and a certification covers the ledger side.
How do you spot invoice fraud?
Check for changed bank details, urgent requests, unfamiliar suppliers and amounts that do not match the order. Confirm any change with a known number, never the contact in the email.
Is accounts payable certification worth it?
It can show competence and help a career. Fraud-awareness training is what directly prevents losses, so most teams need both.
What should AP do if a payment went to a scammer?
Contact the bank at once and ask for the funds to be recalled, then report it internally and to law enforcement. The FBI's IC3 advises contacting your financial institution immediately and filing a complaint at ic3.gov regardless of the amount.
This post is general information, not legal advice. For a decision about your own workplace, speak to a qualified lawyer or the regulator.
