Taking Your Accounts Payable Function Beyond Best Practice

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Upwardly mobile finance and accounting professionals realize that improvements are possible in the accounts payable space, beyond those that result from using best practices. Yes, they protect against fraud and result in fewer duplicate payments and enable regulatory compliance. But, what about those organizations and professionals who are looking for more, those who want to squeeze every last drop of efficiency and profitability out of their accounts payable operation?

In this session we’ll identify eight strategic opportunities, for those professionals willing to push the envelope and go the extra mile. After this session, you will be able to:

  • Establish reasonable expectations around AI enabling you to get the most out of it.
  • Create a continuous user-friendly learning platform.
  • Develop investigative skills to help weed out AP errors.
  • Incorporate additional productivity shortcuts from common Office tools.
  1. Introduction
  2. Agenda 00:01:32
  3. Best Practices 00:02:54
  4. Change in Accounting 00:04:48
  5. Change in Accounting - Best Practices 00:06:42
  6. Part 1 00:07:14
  7. Analyze the Outliers - Best Practices 00:08:13
  8. Analyze the Outliers - The Good & The Bad 00:09:03
  9. Analyze the Outliers: The Forgotten Step 00:09:52
  10. Analyze the Outliers: Example 1 00:11:35
  11. Analyze the Outliers: Example 2 00:112:18
  12. Analyze the Outliers: Example 2 Part 2 Lesson Learned 00:13:56
  13. Analyze the Outliers: Example 3 00:14:47
  14. Deep Dive into Vendor Credits 00:16:57
  15. Deep Dive into Your Vendor Credits 00:17:48
  16. Deep Dive into Your Vendor Credits: The Next Step 00:18:56
  17. Deep Dive into Your Vendor Credits: Finding The Credits 00:20:31
  18. Deep Dive into Your Vendor Credits: Credit Memo Analytics 00:22:49
  19. Potential Early Payment Discounts 00:26:53
  20. Early Payment Discounts 00:25:11
  21. Early Payment Discounts Cont. 00:26:41
  22. Early Payment Discounts Cont. 00:27:03
  23. Early Payment Discounts Cont. 00:27:33
  24. Early Payment Discounts Cont. 00:29:45
  25. Become an Analytics Champ - Best Practice 00:32:50
  26. Become an Analytics Champ - Tracking Data 00:35:49
  27. Become an Analytics Champ -  Using Data 00:37:34
  28. Become an Analytics Champ - Data In AP 00:38:13
  29. Cross-Functional Collaboration - Best Practice 00:38:47
  30. Cross-Functional Collaboration - Purchasing 00:39:27
  31. Cross-Functional Collaboration - •Budget 00:42:46
  32. Cross-Functional Collaboration - Treasury/Finance 00:45:40
  33. Relentlessly Pursue the Elimination of Paper Invoices from AP 00:48:17
  34. Elimination of Paper Invoices from AP - Vendors 00:50:00
  35. Elimination of Paper Invoices from AP - Going Paperless 00:51:01
  36. Elimination of Paper Invoices from AP - Rigid Coding Standard 00:51:47
  37. Slay the Paper Check Dragon 00:54:55
  38. Slay the Paper Check Dragon: The End is in Sight - Paper Checks 00:56:47
  39. Slay the Paper Check Dragon: The End is in Sight - Paying With ACH 00:57:53
  40. Part 2 01:01:24
  41. Take A Page From Mr. Beast - Best Practice 01:02:20
  42. Take A Page From Mr. Beast - 1% Solution 01:02:33
  43. Take A Page From Mr. Beast - Look For Shortcuts 01:03:48
  44. 5 Simple Examples 01:04:53
  45. Regular and Timely Fraud Updates - Best Practice 01:06:36
  46. Regular and Timely Fraud Updates - Express Fraud Alerts 01:09:09
  47. Regular and Timely Fraud Updates - Criminal Targets 01:10:38
  48. Regular and Timely Fraud Updates - Recap 01:11:09
  49. Take Advantage of AI 01:11:10
  50. Take Advantage of AI - Learn How To Use It 01:12:36
  51. Take Advantage of AI – The Caveats 01:13:35
  52. Take Advantage of AI – The Pluses 01:15:25
  53. Take Advantage of AI – An Example 01:17:17
  54. Scrutinize Often-Overlooked Process Improvement Clues - Best Practice 01:17:42
  55. Scrutinize Often-Overlooked Process Improvement Clues - Ways To Improve 01:18:23
  56. Scrutinize Often-Overlooked Process Improvement Clues - Journal Entries 01:19:15
  57. Scrutinize Often-Overlooked Process Improvement Clues - Investigate Duplicate Payments 01:20:03
  58. Scrutinize Often-Overlooked Process Improvement Clues - Duplicate Payments 01:21:22
  59. Make Audit A Standard Part of AP - Best Practice 01:21:55
  60. Make Audit A Standard Part of AP - invoice Processors And Transactional Work 01:25:49
  61. Make Audit A Standard Part of AP - Review Standard Activity For Efficiency 01:26:50
  62. Make Audit A Standard Part of AP - Review For Internal Control Weaknesses 01:28:11
  63. Stay Current: Regulatory Compliance Knowledge - Best Practice 01:30:10
  64. Stay Current: Regulatory Compliance Knowledge - IRS Funding 01:31:13
  65. Step 6: Stay Current: Regulatory Compliance Knowledge 01:32:40
  66. Emphasize Employees’ Continuous Learning - Best Practice 01:33:26
  67. Emphasize Employees’ Continuous Learning - Budget & Time 01:34:38
  68. More on Employees’ Continuous Learning 01:35:10
  69. Some Free Resources 01:35:37
  70. More on Employees’ Continuous Learning 01:36:09
  71. Concluding Thoughts 01:36:59
  72. Analyze the Complaints 01:37:57
  73. The Beyond Best Practice Winners 01:39:47
  74. Thank You/Questions/Comments 01:42:29
  75. Presentation Closining 01:42:45
  • Mary Schaeffer

    Mary Schaeffer

    Mary S. Schaeffer is the founder of AP Now, a B2B organization focused on creating business intelligence around the accounts payable and payment functions. She has written 18 business books and is a frequent and popular speaker at both online and live events. Schaeffer has created a number of CPE se [...]

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ATATX Credit

Aurora Training Advantage is offering continuing education points designed to recognize dedication to training and excellence in accounting.
  • Accounting (ACCG) 00:04:52
  • Accounts Payable (AP) 00:00:07, 01:01:40, 00:05:13, 00:17:20, 00:21:33, 00:27:29, 00:35:58, 00:39:24, 01:02:13, 01:14:30, 01:26:42
  • Accounts Receivable (AR)
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) 01:11:15
  • Audit 00:17:01, 01:02:03, 01:22:04, 01:32:58
  • ChatGPT 01:17:16, 01:33:56
  • Contract 00:29:41
  • Form 1099 00:14:16, 01:32:46
  • Form 1099-DA 01:33:15
  • Invoice 00:05:32, 00:17:27, 00:29:52, 00:48:26, 00:51:20
  • Macros 00:34:01
  • P-Card 00:44:43
  • Pivot Tables 00:34:02
  • Supplier 01:15:06, 00:21:36, 00:29:57, 00:41:50, 00:50:05, 00:57:58
  • Vendor 00:07:27, 00:23:39, 00:26:31

Accounting (ACCG): A systematic way of recording and reporting financial transactions for a business or organization.

Accounts Payable (AP): The amount of money a company owes creditors (suppliers, etc.) in return for goods and/or services they have delivered.

Accounts Receivable (AR): The amount of money owed by customers or clients to a business after goods or services have been delivered and/or used.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): Artificial intelligence is intelligence demonstrated by machines, as opposed to the natural intelligence displayed by humans or animals.

Audit: A formal examination of an organization's or individual's accounts or financial situation

ChatGPT: ChatGPT, which stands for Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer, is a large language model-based chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched on November 30, 2022, notable for enabling users to refine and steer a conversation towards a desired length, format, style, level of detail, and language used.

Contract: A written or spoken agreement, especially one concerning employment, sales, or tenancy, that is intended to be enforceable by law.

Form 1099: Form 1099 is one of several IRS tax forms used in the United States to prepare and file an information return to report various types of income other than wages, salaries, and tips (for which Form W-2 is used instead). - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/)

Form 1099-DA: This form is specifically designed to handle the reporting for cryptocurrency and digital assets.

Macro: One or more lines of programming code that automate tasks. The Macro Recorder allows users to automate tasks without seeing the underlying programming code.

P-Card: A PURCHASING CARD (also abbreviated as PCard or P-Card) is a form of company charge card that allows goods and services to be procured without using a traditional purchasing process. In the UK, purchasing cards are usually referred to as procurement cards

Pivot Table: A report creation tool in Excel that enables you to quickly summarize lists of data into summary reports by clicking checkboxes and dragging fields onscreen.

Supplier: A supplier is an entity that supplies goods and services to another organization. A supplier is usually a manufacturer or a distributor. A distributor buys goods from multiple manufacturers and sells them to its customers. Similar Terms. A supplier is also known as a vendor.

Vendor: A vendor is a person or business that supplies goods or services to a company. Another term for the vendor is the supplier. In many situations, a company presents the vendor with a purchase order stating the goods or services needed, the price, delivery date, and other terms.

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Robin G.
August 19, 2024
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Frequently Asked Questions

Moving beyond AP best practices means pursuing strategic optimization—not just compliance and error prevention. Eight key approaches drive next-level AP performance: analyzing outliers to catch anomalies that reveal fraud or inefficiency; conducting deep dives into vendor credit balances to recover overlooked funds; pursuing early payment discount programs to improve margins; becoming an analytics champion by using data to drive decisions rather than just reporting history; fostering cross-functional collaboration with purchasing, treasury, and budget teams; aggressively eliminating paper invoices through e-invoicing and vendor onboarding; slaying the paper check dragon by shifting to ACH and virtual card payments; and leveraging AI tools for invoice processing, exception handling, and workflow automation. Each strategy compounds the others, creating an AP function that contributes measurable value to the organization. Aurora Training Advantage's webinar with AP expert Mary Schaeffer walks through all eight strategies with practical implementation guidance for finance and accounting teams.
Analytics transforms AP from a transaction-processing function into a strategic intelligence center. Start by tracking and visualizing key metrics: invoice cycle times, exception rates, duplicate payment frequency, on-time payment percentages, and discount capture rates. Use pivot tables and dashboards to identify patterns—vendors generating disproportionate exceptions, departments with high rework rates, or payment timing mismatches that create cash flow inefficiency. Analyze outliers systematically: unusual invoice amounts, recurring round-number payments, or single-vendor concentration can signal control weaknesses. Credit memo analytics reveal how much is owed back from suppliers and whether it's being systematically pursued. Cross-functional data sharing with purchasing enables contract compliance monitoring and budget forecasting. AP professionals who build analytical fluency command greater credibility and influence. Aurora Training Advantage's accounting webinar with Mary Schaeffer provides AP teams with practical analytics frameworks to mine their own data for performance improvements and cost reduction opportunities.
Eliminating paper from accounts payable delivers significant cost, speed, and control benefits. Paper invoices require manual data entry, physical routing, and physical storage—all of which increase processing cost and error rate. Electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) enables straight-through processing, reduces exceptions, and accelerates approval cycles from days to hours. For payments, paper checks are expensive to produce, slow to clear, vulnerable to fraud, and increasingly rejected by vendors seeking faster settlement. ACH transfers, virtual cards, and automated payment platforms reduce payment costs, provide real-time visibility, and generate rebate income through card programs. Moving to electronic processes also supports audit readiness—digital records are searchable, timestamped, and easily reproduced for compliance reviews. The transition requires vendor onboarding effort but yields durable returns. Aurora Training Advantage's AP optimization webinar provides actionable steps for finance teams to accelerate the shift away from paper and toward fully digital payables operations.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping accounts payable by automating high-volume, repetitive tasks while enhancing exception detection and fraud prevention. AI-powered invoice processing tools extract and validate data from unstructured documents, reducing manual entry and accelerating cycle times. Machine learning models identify anomalies—duplicate invoices, unusual vendor patterns, or policy violations—faster and more accurately than manual review. Natural language tools like ChatGPT can assist with drafting vendor communications, summarizing contract terms, or generating exception reports. AI-driven fraud detection monitors payment patterns in real time, flagging business email compromise attempts, fictitious vendor entries, or abnormal payment amounts before they process. The caveats: AI tools require clean data, thoughtful implementation, and human oversight to function reliably. Staff must understand both capabilities and limitations to use AI effectively. Aurora Training Advantage's accounting webinar with Mary Schaeffer addresses practical AI adoption for AP teams, covering both the promise and the guardrails needed for responsible implementation.
Continuous learning in accounts payable is not a luxury—it's a compliance necessity. The regulatory landscape governing AP is dynamic: IRS form requirements (1099, 1099-DA for digital assets), sales and use tax obligations, unclaimed property laws, and payment card industry standards all evolve regularly. AP teams that fall behind risk costly penalties, audits, and reputational damage. Organizations should invest in ongoing training through professional associations, industry conferences, and on-demand webinars to keep skills current. Building an internal learning platform—with curated resources, lunch-and-learns, and access to external CPE content—ensures the whole team benefits, not just those attending external events. Staying current on fraud trends is equally critical; regular express fraud alerts help staff recognize evolving schemes like phishing, impersonation, and check washing. Aurora Training Advantage offers continuing education credits (ATATX) through its accounting webinars, providing AP professionals structured pathways to stay sharp, compliant, and ahead of industry change.