Preparing Your Team for a Recovery Audit – A CFO’s Checklist

Clarify ownership and sponsorship

• Assign an executive sponsor (usually CFO, Controller, or Head of Shared Services).​

• Designate day‑to‑day owners in AP, procurement, and tax to coordinate data and decisions.

Align on goals and scope

• Be explicit about priorities: cash recovery, control improvement, tax optimization, or all three.​

• Agree on which years, entities, and spend categories are in scope before data pulls start.

Prepare data and access

• Confirm ERP systems, data locations, and any legacy platforms that hold historical records.​

• Plan secure data‑transfer methods and access approvals early to avoid bottlenecks.

Communicate internally

• Brief AP, procurement, and tax teams on what the audit is, why you’re doing it, and what support is expected.​

• Reinforce that the purpose is process improvement and recovery, not blame.

Plan for decisions and implementation

• Agree in advance how you will validate findings, approve claims, and interact with vendors.​

• Set time on calendars for reviewing results and deciding on control changes.

Prepared clients typically see faster recoveries, smoother vendor interactions, and more lasting impact from their recovery audits.