Policies & Procedures

Don’t Let Controls ‘De-Automate’ Your Automated Process

By Pam Miller, APMD - It can be difficult to move AP from the manual world to the electronic one. Obtaining funding, determining which technology is the right fit for your AP operation, and… Read More

ERS: Who Says AP Needs an Invoice?

Invoices are essential to the accounts payable department's success. They clearly tell AP what was purchased, the quantity, the price, and break out additional charges like delivery and tax. Without

Best Practices for Petty Cash

Today, technology such as T&E and procurement-cards eliminate much of the need for a petty cash box. Nevertheless, many companies retain a petty cash stash. Companies that do may give that… Read More

EDI Implementation: Strategic Considerations

What provokes a better response: the carrot or the stick? Many businesses make the move to electronic data interchange (EDI) because their trading partners demand it. Some suppliers surcharge

Quebec's QST

The Provincial Sales Tax in Quebec is referred to as the Quebec Sales Tax (QST). The majority of goods and services sold or provided in Quebec are taxable at a rate of 8.5 percent. The GST is… Read More

Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Protections Make their Way to SOX

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 made several changes to federal whistleblower protection laws. Congress' goal was to encourage employees to report illegal

Collecting and Preventing Debit Balances

The main focus of accounts payable (AP) is paying vendor invoices, of course. But what happens when that focus is suddenly shifted? What happens when it is the vendor who owes you, rather than the… Read More

Claims Handling: Making the Best of a Bad Situation

No shipper looks forward to filing a claim against a carrier. The process takes several weeks, requires shippers to present a variety of documentation, and can become expensive the longer it's drawn… Read More

Million Dollars to Ship a Washer: Are Your Controls Tight Enough?

If one of your vendors was inflating shipping charges, would you be able to detect it? Would your automated freight payment system flag the error or approve it for payment? While in most cases

Internal Controls – Objectives & Implementation

An effective internal control system is more than a necessary evil required by internal or external auditors. It is simply good business. Why? An internal control system can help a company meet its… Read More