Since 1996, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) has released 13 reports on occupational fraud. Based on their extensive data collection and analysis, the ACFE says “that occupational fraud is very likely the largest and most costly form of financial crime in the world, with estimated annual costs in the trillions of dollars” (2024 report, p. 2). It can affect “every type of organization in all industries in every region.” Whatever type of business you manage or work for, fraud is a very real threat. Fraud can originate inside or outside an organization. It’s also a very common ..read more

In companies with a research and development (R&D) department, R&D often has very specific procurement needs. Getting R&D and procurement working together effectively can be a challenge, though. A breakdown in communication between the two departments can result in misunderstandings, frustration, and costly procurement issues, including inaccurate or duplicate orders and maverick spending. Business process automation (BPA) software streamlines procurement. User-friendly, cloud-based procurement software automates repetitive tasks, centralizes procurement management, and makes the e ..read more

The accounts payable department is responsible for managing a company’s payments. It’s uniquely positioned to help manage cash flow and support responsible financial management. Naturally, you want the method for managing accounts payable to support good financial decisions. Deciding whether to invest in updated accounts payable (AP) processing might not be an easy decision. You need to weigh the pros and cons. Often, you’ll also need to overcome some myths about AP automation if you want to update your accounting department. If you (or higher-ups in the company) think Accounts Payable automat ..read more

Are errors hurting your business? It can be a hard question to answer. If you can identify the impact of errors, then you can take steps to correct them. But often, errors slip in that you don’t even know about and so it’s hard to track how much they might be damaging your company. If your company relies on manual data entry, then you can guarantee there are errors in your spreadsheets. No matter how conscientious someone is, human error is unavoidable. Even a simple typo like a misplaced decimal or entering one wrong number can cost a company thousands of dollars and lots of time to correct ..read more

Accurate records are more than a good idea for companies: they’re essential. Missing documents create breaks in audit trails, which can lead to significant issues for your company. Best-case scenario, it’s a hassle for employees. Worst-case scenario, missing documents found by an external audit can lead to fines, legal action, and loss of reputation. The method your company chooses to store documents makes a big difference in how easy it is to maintain an audit trail. Paper document storage is unreliable at best. Papers are routinely ignored, lost, and discarded without checking to see if they ..read more

When discussing how to manage spend in the procure-to-pay process, we often think of spend management as involving budgeting, procurement, accounts payable, and payment. But there’s another key department involved in spend management: travel and expense (T&E). Much like procurement, T&E involves employees making business purchases that the company is going to pay for. If you want to automate, digitize, and take control over company spend, then you need to consider T&E as well as the other financial departments. Automation’s Role in Spend Management Automating business processes cu ..read more

Not too long ago, businesses relied on spreadsheets, email communications, and even paper ledgers to manage capital expenses (CapEx). In some companies, that might still be your go-to method for keeping track of CapEx. Those methods don’t give you the control you need to effectively manage capital expenses in the modern business world. CapEx is notoriously difficult to manage. According to McKinsey & Company, overruns of CapEx “estimates frequently exceed 50 percent … in both the public and private sectors. Overruns in terms of time and/or money are costly to the company, but could often b ..read more

10 Best Practices that Impact Accounts Payable Automation All around the world, mistakes happen in accounts payable departments every day. We’re all human; we make mistakes and it’s not the end of the world. But sometimes, errors can be costly. Since the accounts payable department handles money leaving the company, mistakes that happen here mean companies are losing money. While a few mistakes are understandable, the costs can add up quickly if an AP department doesn’t take steps to stop errors from happening. In some more extreme cases, issues that arise within accounts payable actually have ..read more

If your company is already using enterprise resource planning (ERP) software like Microsoft Dynamics 365, SAP, or NetSuite then you might wonder how that could affect other software you might want to use to automate specific financial processes. ERPs are great for managing processes at a high level, operating as a sort of “nerve center” for companies. However, ERPs do have limits and weren’t designed for handling smaller-scale—but equally important—tasks like generating purchase orders, tracking goods received, and processing invoices for payment. You can enhance your ERP software with busines ..read more

Whether you’re a small business or a large corporation, there might come a time when you start thinking outsourcing or hiring temps sounds like a good idea. Maybe you’re having trouble finding enough skilled employees to handle tasks like accounts payable or travel and expense reporting. Maybe your existing employees are overwhelmed, and the budget isn’t available to hire additional help on a permanent basis. Perhaps you’ve heard that outsourcing can save money. Or maybe your company’s workload fluctuates, so temp employees seem like a good answer. While outsourcing or temps can be a good solu ..read more