While employee classification errors plague virtually every industry, some are more likely than others to rely on independent contractors. These industries must examine their workers closely to ensure they are classifying them correctly.

In an article published by Broadcast Engineering, Scott Carroll, executive vice president of Take 1 Insurance, urges employers in the entertainment industry to look closely at their contractor relationships. Based on federal and state laws, these individuals may actually be temporary employees.

A Colorado law requiring out-of-state retailers to remind residents of their use tax liabilities has been ruled unconstitutional.

The law, originally passed in February 2010, required retailers outside Colorado that sell $100,000 or more worth of products to Colorado residents to provide notices to these customers. The notices state that the buyer is obligated to self-report and pay use tax on their purchases.

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.

Payments fraud activity has fallen to its lowest level in seven years, says an Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) report. Despite the reduction, two-thirds of organizations experienced fraud in 2011.

According to the 2012 AFP Payment Fraud and Control Survey, 66 percent of participants reported that they experienced real or attempted payments fraud in 2011. This represents a 5 percent decrease from 2010.

Vendors and customers discuss what they expect from automated workflow

An invoice arrives in your accounts payable department from the mailroom and is delivered to a member of the staff. If it is a PO invoice, following a successful three-way match he takes the invoice to a supervisor who approves it for payment. But, if it is a non-PO invoice, he routes the invoice to the individual who authorized the purchase, who verifies the information, applies the appropriate code and approves payment before taking it to the supervisor.

A bill approved by a New Jersey senate committee aims to encourage cities to share municipal services or face reduced state funding.

The Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee approved Senate Bill S-2 on Feb. 27. If it becomes law, the bill would give the state's Local Unit Alignment, Reorganization, and Consolidation Commission, or LUARCC, increased influence to motivate municipalities to share services.

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.

"A CFO's View of Achieving the Full Value of Accounts Payable Automation" special report focuses on how accounts payable departments can contribute to the CFO's and the organization's success. Click here to get your complimentary copy now.

Thanks to government mandates in the U.S. and abroad, one invoice automation provider estimates that B2B electronic invoicing usage increased by 20 percent in 2011.

According to an article published in Business Finance, automation software provider Basware made the estimate. Basware cites recent e-invoicing mandates in Mexico and Finland for the increase, adding that similar mandates around the world should spur growth in the coming years.