In the world of technology, two years can seem like an eternity. With the speed that DVD replaced VHS, Blackberries replaced PDAs, and MP3s replaced CDs, it’s not surprising that in two year’s time, Forrester Research has flip-flopped its opinion of the two ERP juggernauts’ software lineups.

Find out how leading AP departments across America are going paperless!

Now you can hear how Steve Iannarone, one of America's most successful AP managers, streamlined AP at companies like WM Wrigley, United Stationers, McCain Foods, RR Donnelly and Playboy Enterprises. Register now to attend this FREE one-hour audio conference:

Most Indian outsourcing firms probably never thought that the U.S. financial crisis would benefit them. But indeed it has. For the first time in years, employee turnover rates in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry have decreased.

Turnover decreased more than 15 percent between the third quarter in 2008 and 2007. With more employees staying put in their jobs, BPO organizations are cutting back on their recruiting and refocusing their training efforts.

Developing and maintaining strong compliance policies for purchasing cards (p-cards) is one of the issues facing organizations today. Several top-performing organizations participated in a recent J.P.Morgan study on p-card use and discussed best practices that help them maintain control of their organization’s p-card programs.

While attending the IOMA AP Conference in Las Vegas last month, I spent a great deal of time wondering how I would turn the fascinating things I was learning about AP processes and professionals into an insightful blog post. That is until I found my way to the blackjack table.

Local sales and use tax rates are updated frequently. With many U.S. jurisdictions regularly adjusting their tax rates, it is important for businesses to stay informed of these changes as they happen. The following chart lists recent adjustments made to U.S. sales and use tax rates as of Nov. 1, 2008. Knowing which local governments are charging sales and use taxes and what their rates are will help make sure your payments are correct. (Note, whenever the rate for an entire county changes, each city within that county adopts the new rate.)

For the second time in less than three years, internet retailer Overstock.com is issuing a restatement of its finances due to implementation problems with its Oracle enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.

In 2006, Overstock.com issued its first restatement to correct an error relating to accounting for freight costs that the company charged immediately rather than at the time the inventory was sold.

The federal court in Minneapolis indicted a former state supervisor of a Medicaid records division for embezzling nearly $1 million in state health care funds. Kim Joanne Austen, 47, allegedly committed the fraud by sending dozens of checks to a phony vendor starting in 2003, the indictment states.

By submitting fake invoices to the accounting system linked to the system she supervised, Austen collected 23 Medicaid checks totaling $903,896.54 after taxes ($1,164,071.85 before taxes) written out to the fraudulent company.

Can an Invisible Purchasing Card Reduce Costs for Your AP Department?

Payment automation has long been the goal for accounts payable departments drowning in a sea of paper invoices. While corporate purchasing cards are ideal for managing the majority of a company's small-dollar transactions with multiple vendors, a variation of the p-card, a ghost account, can help when a large number of invoices are coming from a single vendor. Putting all these transactions on a single account with that vendor can significantly streamline your purchasing process.

What is a Ghost Card?

Business travel, while often essential, can be expensive. American Express Business Travel recently released ten top cost-saving tips for business travelers to help organizations maximize savings amid the current economic conditions.