Process & Principles

Introduction to AP Analytics - The accounts payable process holds the key to several types of data that can help your company with decision making for strategic sourcing. The data also indicates… Read More

- Ask any financial operations professional to name their number-one goal and it is likely to be “improving efficiencies to reduce costs.” The AP process is a prime target for improvement… Read More

A periodic process review of AP allows finance to identify and correct inefficiencies that are chipping away at the bottom line. Many AP processes and procedures have evolved over time, and are not… Read More

By Wayne Smith If you aren't already measuring the effectiveness of your accounts payable operation, one good place to start is by looking at a critical AP metric: days payable outstanding, or… Read More

Organizations may differ regarding what is most important in achieving AP's strategic objectives, but the methods they use to determine their metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) are… Read More

Days payable outstanding (DPO) is an efficiency ratio that measures the average number of days a company takes to pay its suppliers. It is important because it is a key component in a company's… Read More

Why a Flowchart? - A flowchart is a diagram of the flow of data, process and operations within an organization or business management system. During most of our daily activity we rely on our visual… Read More

Briggs & Stratton Corporation, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the world’s largest producer of gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment. To ensure that the shared services department… Read More

Days payables outstanding (DPO) is a measurement that many executives, auditors, and consultants use to measure the efficiency of accounts payable departments. It is an important metric used in… Read More

We hear a lot of talk about “best practices,” but how are those defined, and how can that information be made useful? How can you apply them to your own operation, even though it isn’t exactly… Read More