 |
|
|
|
||
|
    |
Resource
Center > Articles
> 1998
Archives
|
|
     
              |
|
|||
|
|
|
|
Following are some articles of interest to Accounts Payable and Purchasing professionals. If you know of other articles that your colleagues might be interested in, drop us a note and we'll include it on our list.
Progressive Business Publications has launched a new A/P magazine called Keep Up to Date on Accounts Payable. Published twice monthly, call (800) 220-5000 for subscription information. Another excellent resource for A/P and Purchasing Professionals are the many financial management newsletters published by IOMA, including Managing Accounts Payable. "MAP's Best Practice Awards: What's the Best Way to Improve A/P Performance?" (Managing Accounts Payable, February 1998) - Includes two valuable lists: "20 Ways to Increase Use of Your P-card Program" and "Why A/P Pros Are Flocking to P-cards" "Misfiled VAT Claims are Costing U.S. Companies Money" (Business Travel News, January 26, 1998) - Many companies are missing out on tax rebates for meetings abroad "How 2 Top A/P Mgrs. Conquered Increased Transaction Volume" (Managing Accounts Payable, February 1998) - The experiences and solutions of two A/P professionals faced with increasing payment volumes without increassing staff. "Letting Someone Else Pay the Bills" (Treasury & Risk Management November - December 1997) - A/P outsourcing has turned into one of the most important cash management products of the 1990s as major corporate banks scurry to relieve treasury managers of the paper-laden, labor-intensive task of paying their bills. "AMEX Inks T&E Deal" (Business Travel News, January 12, 1998) - American Express leads the way in showing how to slash cost per expense report and travel budgets. "50 Ways to Improve Your Accounts Payable Systems & Procedures" (Managing Accounts Payable, March 1998) - Suggestions from 700 payables professionals on increasing departmental productivity by improving their systems and procedures. "Shopping For A System" (CFO Magazine, March 1998) - Recently large software companies have changed the field of midrange financial software making the decision less about platform and more about features. "Sorry, No Y2K Happy Face Here" (PC Week, March 6, 1998) - Odds on Year 2000 problems and potential litigation. "New Player Speaks To T&E Automation in Java" (Business Travel News, February 13, 1998) - A company releases an expense report module, the first of a suite of Web-based cost-management and reporting products. "Penny-Wise on Expenses" (PC Week, March 2, 1998) - J. C. Penney implements a web-based reimbursement application for their corporate travelers. "A Guide to Setting Up a P-Card Program at Your Company" (Managing Accounts Payable) - A $65 report compiling 13 articles with information on setting up a corporate procurement card program. "Leverage Your Vendor Relationships and Enhance Your Bottom Line" (Management Accounting, March 1998) - By Jonathan D. Casher and Robert H. Metzger of RECAP, Inc. Managing your company’s vendors can lead to substantial cost savings. For a reprint of this article, please send an email with your complete mailing address to reprints@recapinc.com or call RECAP at 973-697-6430 and ask for a copy. "Banks & Internet Offer A/P Dept. Information on Preventing Check Fraud" (Managing Accounts Payable, April 1998) - How to deal with the harsh realities of check fraud. In the 1990s, this once taboo subject is being addressed with a variety of resources. "Cutting Corporate Costs" (FutureBanker, March 1998) - CoreStates Bank’s Acumen program enables payments over the Internet using digital images that give access to documents in real-time in conjunction with high-speed data retrieval to process invoices. CoreStates’ QuestPoint subsidiary is launching a secure electronic lockbox service called E-Box that combines paper and electronic remittance data. "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Multinational Accounting Software" (Controller Magazine, March 1998) - Evaluating and implementing multinational accounting systems is still a major challenge. Software vendors are delivering more sophistication, but quality varies enormously from package to package. Make sure you don’t pay for modules or functions that you don’t need or user counts that you’ll never reach. IRS Revenue Procedure 98-25 - An important document regarding the retention of electronic records from your fiends at the Internal Revenue Service. Not easily available from the IRS. "Sometimes a Great Notion" (CFO Magazine, May 1998) - How can finance staffers become better business partners? Change agents? Team players? The answer, companies are betting, is in-house education. "The Future of A/P Is Bright for Those Who Step Up to the Plate" (Managing Accounts Payable, May 1998) - While the radical changes in the accounts payable functions of many organizations is causing some discomfort for those involved, it also offers tremendous opportunities for those who decide to take advantage. "RECAP Studies A/P Department Functions" (Managing Accounts Payable, May 1998) - Results of an extensive questionnaire from the recent Enhancing Accounts Payable Operations conference reveal the widely divergent functions performed by accounts payable departments including responsibilities that many would not have imagined. IRS Revenue Procedure 98-25 - We're leaving this document up from last month because we feel it's that important. Document regards the retention of electronic records from your fiends at the Internal Revenue Service and is not easily available from the IRS. "Focus on Customer Service to Improve A/P Dept. Productivity" (Managing Accounts Payable, June 1998) - At RECAP's 1998 Enhancing A/P Operations conference, Steve Monaco offered many suggestions on how improving customer service can also improve A/P's productivity. "Laying a solid tax foundation whe setting up new vendor accounts" (Keep Up To Date on Accounts Payable, April 21, 1998) - How setting up a new account in your vendor master file with proper tax information can save you time down the road. "Getting Accounts Payable Aligned After a Merger" (Controller’s Cost & Profit Report, May 30, 1998) - Part of getting two separate entities operating smoothly as a single new entity is to avoid accounts payable duplication. "Imaging: For highest payoffs, managing the workflow matters" (Keep Up To Date on Accounts Payable, April 21, 1998) - Companies considering imaging to streamline accounts payable processing need to look past the technology itself to the way it’s implemented. "Great Expectations: Part Two of a Series on Simplifying Accounting Software Purchases" (Controller Magazine, June 1998) - "If you’re confused about all the bells and whistles accounting software vendors are touting, relax. There are only eight key differentiators that separate the new generation of products from their dinosaur predecessors." "State Tax Audit 1998" (CFO Magazine, June 1998) - Despite sincere efforts at reform, certain state revenue departments keep companies tied up in knots. "A/P Mgrs. Reveal How Technology Is Changing Department Operations" (Managing Accounts Payable, May 1998) - MAP readers respond in their management survey with recommendations on how to use technology to improve departmental productivity. The Art of M&A Integration: A Guide to Merging Resources, Processes & Responsibilities (Alexandra Reed Lajoux published by McGraw-Hill, 1997) - A excellent book based on the premise that after a merger or acquisition is completed, the hard work is just beginning. RECAP's chairman, Jonathan Casher, is quoted extensively regarding supplier relations. "Professionals in the M&A field focus much attention on the countless events that can scuttle a planned transaction. The ordeals that can strike after all the transactions are completed are discussed less frequently. The Art of M&A Integration fills this void by providing an invaluable guide for postmerger decision making." "RECAP Conference Update: Lessons From Installing A New A/P System" (Managing Accounts Payable, September 1998) - One of the benefits of attending a conference, or for the matter, reading a publication such as this is that accounts payable professionals can learn from others’ mistakes. "What Should You Do When A Supplier Fails To Cash a Check?" (Managing Accounts Payable, September 1998) - States take the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act very seriously. What are your company's options regarding uncashed checks? "How a Well-Run P-Card System Should Work" (Managing Accounts Payable, August 1998) - At RECAP’s Enhancing A/P Operations conference, Joseph J. Mezyk, Jr., vice president, Mercantile Bancorporation Inc., explained how the program is run at his company and how he deals with the common problems that arise from it. "Internal Report Cards: How Bell Atlantic Grades Its A/P Department" (Managing Accounts Payable, July 1998) and "Payables ‘report card’ served as wake-up call for department heads" (Keep Up To Date on Accounts Payable, July 20, 1998) - Some companies, however, are using metrics to produce "report cards" to measure performance in a variety of areas. One such company is Bell Atlantic. Mary McCormack, the company’s regional accounts payable assistant manager, spoke at RECAP’s recent Enhancing A/P Operations conference. "Automating JC Penney’s Travel and Expense Management on the Web" (Management Accounting, June 1998) "Transforming Lucent’s CFO" (Management Accounting, July 1998) A significant portion of the article is on their Accounts Payable group. "We are striving for paperless payables. Approximately 60% of the invoices processed by Lucent’s accounts payable group are paid electronically, and the percentage is increasing. "Outsourcing the Procurement-through-Payables Process" (Management Accounting, July 1998) - Companies are streamlining and cutting costs by turning over procurement/accounts payable functions to outside vendors. "The P-Card Trade-off" (Business Finance, July 1998) - Are you willing to sacrifice accounting precision to automate purchasing? Progressive companies are developing solutions that balance their needs for efficient processes and accurate accounting. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City is distributing of Financial EDI software to 12,000 US financial instituions by the Federal Reserve (4thQ 1998), which could have a significant impact in FEDI in the near future. New State and Federal P-Card regulations may make your life easier as all businesses processing P-Card transactions must now provide Federal Tax Id information. Merchants who are not "P-Card Compliant" can be fined $15.00 for each P-Card transaction. The complete U.S. Tax Code (almost 3 million words) is online at www.fourmilab.ch/ustax/ustax.html Articles "Are You Losing Big Bucks Through 'Mispays'?" (RIAG's Controller's Cost and Profit Report, August 1998) Even accounts payable software can miss a lot of mispayments to vendors unless you have a backup system in place. "Java Unplugs Time and Expense Reporting" (Management Accounting, October 1998) - An introduction to Web-based T&E software. "Straight from the Screen" (CFO, November 1998) - Newfangled software may revolutionize procurement, but not without some old-fashioned reengineering. |
