Are you wondering if an accounts payable (AP) recovery audit is worth the cost? Or worried it’ll just become another project item with little return?
Many finance leaders wrestle with this exact concern—especially when their teams are already running lean and every budget dollar needs to be justified.
Here’s the good news: a well-executed AP recovery audit doesn’t cost you money—it recovers it.
Let’s break down what you can expect when evaluating costs, pricing models, and the ROI of an accounts payable recovery audit.
Contingency-Based Pricing (Low-Risk, High-Reward)
When it comes to AP recovery audits, this is the most widely used model—and for good reason.
- How it works: You only pay a percentage of the money actually recovered.
- Why it’s preferred: There’s no upfront fee—your audit partner only gets paid when they deliver funds to back to you.
- Contingency fee: A percentage of recovered funds, depending on complexity and scope.
This model aligns incentives: the more the provider finds, the more they earn—and the more money you get back.
How to Calculate the ROI of an AP Recovery Audit
Let’s say your company’s annual AP spend is $5 billion. A conservative estimate of recoverable errors ranges from 0.1%. That’s potentially $5 million in recoverable funds.
With a contingency fee of 25%, you’d pay $1.25 million—but still net $3.75 million in recovered cash.
Here’s the simple ROI formula:
(Total Recovery – Audit Fee) ÷ Audit Fee = ROI
So in this example:
($5,000,000 – $1,250,000) ÷ $1,250,000 = 3x ROI (300%)
Pretty compelling… How many projects have an ROI of 300%?
Especially when most payables organizations say they only invest an hour or two every week or two to support the A/P recovery audit once it’s up and running.
But how much can you actually expect to recover—and is it worth the effort? Let’s look at how to calculate the potential ROI of a contingency-based AP recovery audit.”
What Impacts the Cost of a Recovery Audit?
No two audits are alike, and the cost will vary depending on your business’s unique structure and data landscape. Factors that affect audit costs include:
Business Size & Complexities: Larger companies with more transactions and spend, plus complexities such global vendor base, multiple ERP systems and Intricate pricing, often have more recovery opportunities.
Historical Data Depth: Some audits go back 3 years or more. The further back you go, the greater the chance of recoverable funds up to a point—but also more data to sift through.
Internal Controls & AP Processes: Ironically, even companies with strong controls can benefit. Audits often catch what automation and human review miss.
Bottom Line: High Reward, No Risk
The real value of an AP recovery audit isn’t just the money it brings back—it’s the insight you gain. It helps you identify process gaps, vendor issues, and system inefficiencies that could lead to future overpayments and losses.
And with no upfront cost in most cases, it’s a no-risk decision with a strong upside.
At apexanalytix, we’ve helped global enterprises recover millions while improving their financial operations. Our contingency-based model means we only succeed when you do.
Ready to see what’s hiding in your data?
Talk to our team today to get a custom estimate based on your transaction volume and audit goals.
