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The Need for Best Practices
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Managing an accounts payable department is a considerable task that involves much more than knowing how to cut a check. AP managers and their staff need to be versed in process best practices that can help their departments run smoothly.
This issue highlights resources available to help teach you and your staff some key AP best practices. Learn about the dangers of non-PO invoices and find out how metrics can improve your operation. |
| Patrick Harbin – Editor
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Best Practices: Metrics |
A key best practice for all AP departments is tracking metrics. Knowing where your department's strengths and weaknesses are is the first step to improving processes.
The metrics you choose to gather should align with your department's goals. Common goals a department may have when developing a metrics program include:
- Developing department-specific indicators to monitor cost, quality and service
- Developing appropriate, objective performance expectations and measurements
- Developing operational management systems to reduce costs while maintaining or improving quality and service
Check out The Accounts Payable Network's video training seminar, Accounts Payable Best Practices, featuring Tom Nichols, TAPN Consultant and President, Process Management Improvement, Inc. In addition to discussing the importance of metrics and performance measurements, the video seminar explains how following best practices across the board can improve processes.
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| Tom's Pain Points |
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By their very nature, non-PO invoices require more work to process than their PO-based counterparts. To find out about some of the problems associated with processing non-PO invoices – as well as how to resolve the issues – check out Tom's Blog.
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Just for Fun! |
A coin is only worth the amount of currency it represents. As any avid coin collector would tell you, that statement is unquestionably false.
Collectors scour the globe looking for extremely rare, and extremely valuable, coins. For instance, a 1930 Australian Proof Penny is now worth $500,000. Take a look at The Five Most Expensive Coins in the World to see just how much one coin can be worth.
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