There are only a few vertebrae of difference between a "Pat on the Back" and a "Kick in the Butt."

As I conduct Certification training, one issue that accounts payable professionals continually share with me is their frustration of how their contributions go unrecognized and unrewarded by management. In many cases, accounts payable personnel are the lowest paid group within financial organizations. A/P is also way down on the priority list of organizations' capital funding.

Abstract: The value of accounts payable (AP) training to an organization should not be underestimated. Because AP touches every department within an organization, it’s essential that training reach beyond departmental boundaries and blend AP’s internal business partners into the mix. Leading finance and AP managers believe that a well-structured training curriculum can improve productivity by a minimum of 15 percent, while poorly conceived courseware can severely hinder both morale and motivation.

By: David A. Brookmire, President, Corporate Performance Strategies

The U.S. economy has seen tremendous change in the past three years. Virtually all companies have had to make very tough decisions with respect to cost reductions, impacting hundreds of thousands of workers. While right-sizing is not “personal,” the feelings and emotions involved in this management action are very intense and difficult for everyone involved.