High Risk Transaction Approval Checklist

Purpose

Use this checklist before approving an unusual, urgent, high-value, or otherwise high-risk financial transaction.

The objective is to introduce deliberate verification before money leaves the company when fraud risk is elevated.

Transaction Information

Transaction reference: ____________________

Date: ____________________

Requested by: ____________________

Recipient: ____________________

Amount: ____________________

Currency: ____________________

Payment destination: ____________________

Purpose: ____________________

Payment deadline: ____________________

When to Use This Checklist

Use additional verification where a transaction involves:

A large or unusual amount.
A new recipient.
Recently changed bank details.
An unexpected international account.
An urgent or confidential request.
Executive or senior management instructions outside normal processes.
A request to bypass normal approval.
An unusual refund.
Payroll or employee payment changes.
Gift cards, cryptocurrency, or unusual payment methods.
A new vendor with limited payment history.
Any situation that causes concern.

Request Verification

Confirm:

The requester is known and authorized.
The request was received through an expected channel.
The business purpose is understood.
Supporting invoice, contract, purchase order, or other documentation exists where required.
The amount matches the supporting documentation.
The recipient matches the expected recipient.
The payment details match approved records.

Change Verification

If payment details recently changed:

The Payment Change Verification Procedure was completed.
The change was independently verified.
A trusted contact method was used.
Verification evidence is available.
The person approving the payment did not rely only on the original email or message.

Fraud Warning Signs

Check whether any of the following apply:

Unexpected urgency.
Request for secrecy.
Pressure to bypass normal controls.
Slightly different email domain.
Changed bank account.
Changed country.
Different beneficiary.
Unusual writing or communication style.
Executive requesting unusual financial action.
Vendor requesting payment outside normal process.
Request arrived during travel, leave, holidays, or outside normal hours.
Requester claims they cannot be contacted normally.
Unexpected attachment or payment instruction document.

Any warning sign should increase verification, not automatically prove fraud.

Independent Confirmation

For high-risk transactions:

Transaction independently confirmed where required.
Confirmation used a previously known contact method.
Contact details were not taken solely from the suspicious request.
Important transaction details were verbally or otherwise independently confirmed.

Verified with: ____________________

Verification method: ____________________

Verified by: ____________________

Date/time: ____________________

Separation of Duties

Where practical:

Requester is not the only approver.
Person entering payment details is not the only person approving payment.
High-value transaction received secondary approval.
Bank-detail changes and payment release are treated as separate control points.

Final Review

Before release, confirm:

Recipient is correct.
Bank/payment destination is correct.
Amount is correct.
Currency is correct.
Supporting documentation is correct.
Required approvals are complete.
No unresolved fraud indicators remain.

Approval

Prepared by: ____________________

Primary approver: ____________________

Secondary approver if required: ____________________

Approval date/time: ____________________

Transaction released by: ____________________

Evidence/reference: ____________________

If Something Does Not Make Sense

Stop the transaction.

Do not allow urgency, seniority, customer pressure, or vendor pressure to override verification.

Escalate to:

Finance owner: ____________________
Leadership contact: ____________________
Alternative contact: ____________________

Practical Rule

The higher the financial consequence, the stronger the verification should be.

A short delay is usually cheaper than sending money to the wrong account.