If any of your payees need an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number before you can pay them, make sure that they know the application process has changed. The IRS has made the documentation requirements stricter.

Many of the new rules have actually been in place since June, when the IRS released interim guidance stating that they will no longer accept notarized copies of identifying documents on ITIN applications. The IRS has now made the rules permanent, and has added some requirements.

Starting January 2014, accounts payable departments have to be ready to withhold 30 percent on certain payments to foreign banks. With the deadline still more than a year away, there is some confusion as to how much it will affect AP departments.

Accounts Payable Week is right around the corner (Oct. 15-19). Have you made plans to recognize your team yet?

Some AP managers may be reluctant to celebrate Accounts Payable Week because they might not have money in the budget for an expensive team outing or lavish party. However, the purpose of the week is not to break the bank, but simply to let your team know how important they are.

Being a good manager is different from being a good leader; each role requires different skill sets. Accounts payable managers should be fluent in both if they want their departments (and the people working in them) to thrive.

While the largest companies are the most likely to automate, there are steps small companies can take to play catch up.

The Accounts Payable Network has been releasing benchmark surveys on accounts payable automation for nearly a decade. One trend has held steady during that time: the larger the organization, the more likely they have automated.

Paying attention to changes in your employees' behavior is important for managers to do. Knowing that members of your staff are upset with fellow coworkers, with the process, or with something in their personal lives can help you address issues before they become workplace disruptions.

However, watching out for changes in behavior - such as a clerk trading in his Toyota Camry for a Jaguar - can also help your organization avoid fraud losses.

A few weeks ago, I got the chance to visit sunny Miami Beach and do what every tourist dreams of– learn about accounts payable best practices. While that may not be everyone’s idea of fun in the sun, to the attendees of TAPN’s AP Leadership Conference 2012, there is nowhere else they would rather have been.

Small and medium-sized companies will soon gain additional Sarbanes-Oxley relief once the recently passed JOBS Act becomes law.

In my last blog entry, I mentioned identical bills making their way through both houses of Congress aimed at encouraging small businesses to go public. The bills relaxed audit requirements for small businesses deemed “emerging growth companies.”

Who are these emerging growth companies? The JOBS Act defines them as businesses with total revenues less than $1 billion.

Whether it's election-year politics, genuine concern, or the belief that ten years is plenty of time to have followed the law, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is facing renewed opposition.

1099 season is exhausting. Everyone has to file them and everyone has questions.

Over at The Accounts Payable Network, members have inundated our popular Ask the Expert feature with questions. These typically take the form of “we made a payment to X, do we have to report?” One issue that seems to be particularly tricky for AP departments is payments for medical services.