Accounts Payable In Tough Times

AP Now Survey Pinpoints Top 10 AP Strategies to Improve Profitability

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lightly fewer than 85% of Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow’s readers recently surveyed report that their organizations have taken steps to tighten their belts in response to the current economic crisis. And accounts payable is contributing to the effort. The Top Ten While some are what you might expect, a number of the strategies being used are never considered by management when looking to bolster the bottom line. (See the table on page 16 & 17.) Here’s the “AP Contributes” Top 10 List. 1.

Staff reductions

2.

Stretching payment terms

3. Eliminating or reducing salary increases 4. Taking all early payment discounts 5. Rigorously employing duplicate payment checking routines 6. Establishing stricter Travel & Entertainment guidelines and reviews 7. Aggressively pursuing vendor credits 8. Reviewing all discretionary spending 9. E l i m i n a t i n g d i s c r e t i o n a r y

n recent months, the issues of mandatory vacation policies as well as job rotation have gained greater visibility. This is due to the recognition that these are two of the least expensive and most effective ways to prevent internal fraud. When we began putting this article together we

Inside this issue:

Publisher’s Letter

2

A 7 Step Plan to Cut T&E Fraud

3

Risk Outlook: Economy Down, Fraud Up

5

AP 101: Segregation of Duties

7

Eliminate These 12 Really Bad AP Practices

9

Sleeper Issue: Gov. Contractor Withholding

10

Fraud Prevention:

11

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AP Staffing &

Hot Topic: AP Now on Job Rotation and Mandatory Vacation Policies

I

April 2009

assumed it would be a fairly easy task. We were wrong. We had hoped to be able to quickly discover policies that addressed mandatory vacations and job rotation. But finding the information proved daunting and in the end, after talking with several experts, we got to work and created these guidelines Continued on page 12

15

Salaries in a Weak Economy Strategies to Pro-

16

tect Bottom Line Tips, Tactics & Strategies

Accounts Payable in Tight Times

18

Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow

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June 11: Accounts Payable Best Practices 2009—Not Always What They Were Two Years Ago! July 23: Proposed Penalty Notice Season Is Almost Here: Are You

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