Credit exposure tracking file and manual hold release sheet — "Shipping orders to defaulted accounts because ERP credit limit checks were bypassed"
Why the manual spreadsheet breaks financial controls and how a deterministic workflow replaces it.
Customer credit limits and review notes live in a disconnected file; order releases depend on someone remembering to check it before shipping.
Orders ship to defaulted accounts because the ERP credit hold was overridden or never set; bad debt is discovered at collections, not at order entry.
Live credit bureau and AR-aging integration writing a deterministic credit decision to the order gate on every release.
Order assertion: an order cannot release if open AR plus order value exceeds the approved limit or the account has past-due balances beyond policy.
Three-stage comparison between manual workbook reconciliation and automated rule-based execution.
Limits and reviews live outside the ERP; releases depend on memory.
Exposure is discovered at collections rather than at order entry.
The customer record carries a live limit and the order gate enforces it.
No order releases when exposure exceeds the approved limit or past-due balances breach policy.
Adjacent spreadsheet failure modes in the same APQC Category 9 process group.
New customer credit application file and CFO email sign-off queue
Billing support inbox and accounts receivable unresolved dispute sheet
Credit-hold tracker and order-release exception sheet
Scope the replacement architecture for customer credit limit reviews maintained in disconnected notes or combine multiple failure modes in the directory.
