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 Analysis and recovery of erroneous payments
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 Systems conversions and combining A/P and Purchasing operations
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General Trends

This year's survey noted several significant new trends regarding Accounts Payables operations across the country. A/P managers are retaining their postions for shorter terms while the overall productivity of A/P departments is improving. The overall recognition of Accounts Payable's role in strategic planning is trending downward and more organizations are merging Accounts Payable and Purchasing operations. Following are some details on general trends in A/P operations.

  • A/P Managers typically remain in that function for relatively long terms. However, there is a trend towards shorter terms as over 2/3rds had been in the job for more than 3 years in 1998 dropping to half in 1999, to slightly under half in 2000, under 40% in 2001 and 2002.
  • The number of people in A/P relative to transaction volume is decreasing. This appears to be due to an increase in electronic transactions and improved systems that have been put in place in recent years. There was no significant change between 2001 and 2002.
  • Accounts Payable is getting significant recognition but there is a leveling off. In 1999 73% and 2000 59%, organizations reported that A/P’s role has changed to include broader strategic responsibilities. This is up from 44% in 1998. In 2001, this is back at the 44% level and at 50% is 2002.
  • The functions performed within Accounts Payable vary greatly from one organization to another. Organizational structures within A/P also vary greatly.
  • Accounts Payable and Purchasing organizations are beginning to merge. In 2000, 54% report to the same person or are part of the same department. This compares to 23% in 1999 and 12% in 1998. The decreases in 2001 and 2002 are due to more manufacturing companies (who typically have kept these functions separate) in the sample. Similarly, more companies have fully integrated Accounts Payable and Purchasing systems.
  • The reason it is so difficult to benchmark one Accounts Payable organization against others is due to significant differences in the roles and responsibilities of accounts payable operations. In 1998, 1999 and 2001, the only function performed by all Accounts Payable organizations was Invoice Processing. In 2002, the drop to 99% was probably due to an error in filling out the survey. In 2000, only one other function, Vendor Setup and Maintenance, was reported to be done by 100% of all A/P organizations. The costs included within A/P budgets and thus in calculations of costs vary greatly; many costs other than salaries are not included and even salaries are not always part of A/P’s cost structure.