Why AP Automation Initiatives Fail & Best Practices to Achieve Success

The CFO wonders How hard can it be to ‘just’ pay invoices? and as a result, the only communication that Accounts Payable receives from the CFO is a directive for them to reduce processing cost. Then AP reacts to that directive by attempting (and failing) to implement best practices. These initiatives are often unsuccessful, and may have failed for one or more of the reasons:

• AP is the last step of a very chaotic purchase process
• AP does not have ownership of the process
• Procurement & AP have an at-arms-length, or even adversarial relationship
• AP is not aligned with the business
• AP reacted to noise rather than root cause analysis and metrics
• AP has not been groomed to lead a large cross-functional project

Does this sound familiar? Your true value is not ‘just’ paying an invoice. That is what AP does but it is not AP’s value. This white paper will help you evaluate AP in a holistic fashion to identify and successfully implement the right practices and the right automation to not only reduce cost, but to also improve the process for everyone, ensure compliance with laws and regulations, pay the supplier on time, and have a positive effect on the bottom line.

Continuing Education Credits available:

Receive 1 CEU toward APM, APS, or P2P recertification! The Accounts Payable Certification and Procure-to-Pay Certification Programs are designed to establish standards for the profession and recognize Accounts Payable and Procure-to-Pay professionals who, by possessing related work experience and passing a comprehensive exam, have met stringent requirements for mastering the Accounts Payable and Procure-to-Pay bodies of knowledge.

This white paper is provided free of charge and underwritten by a sponsor. Following your download, you may be contacted by the sponsor with information about their products and services.