5 Ways
Senior Finance
Executives are
Improving Visibility
Across the
Procure-to-Pay Cycle
An IOFM white paper, sponsored by
5 Ways Senior Finance Executives
are Improving Visibility Across the
Canon Controller Survey
Procure-to-Pay Cycle
SurveyMonkey
Q5 4. Please rank the following priorities
within the F&A function, with 1 being the
Improving procure-to-pay visibility is a top priority for senior finance executives, IOFM research finds.
highest priority and 7 being the lowest
Please rank the following within thepriority.
F&A function, with 1 being the lowest priority
122 highest
Skipped:
2
and Answered:
7 being the
priority.
Liquidity
management
4.1
Cash flow
analysis
4.9
Compliance
measure/risk tolerance
4.5
AP/AR/payments
management
4.7
Managing debt
3.6
Managing
corporate growth
4.3
Reducing costs
4.8
0
1
2
3
4
5
An eye-popping 78 percent of CFOs surveyed by Aberdeen Group identify improving visibility into cash
2 job priority.
3
4
5
6
7 of 2015 Total
flow and cash management1as their top
Improved
visibility
also tops
the list
prioritiesAverage Rating
formanagement
controllers surveyed by IOFM.
45.4 percent
say a lack 12.50%
of visibility
into invoices and
Liquidity
19.17%In fact,
14.17%
11.67% of controllers
11.67%
14.17%
16.67%
23.0
17.0
14.0
14.0
17.0
15.0
4.08
payables information is the biggest challenge in their accounts payable (AP) department,20.0
finds an120
IOFM
study.
Similarly, 42 of controllers
say the
handling,
management
retrieval of
invoices4.10%
and payables
Cash flow
analysis
23.77%
22.13%
19.67%
9.02% and
12.30%
9.02%
29.0
27.0
24.0
11.0
15.0
11.0
5.0
122
4.93
information is their AP department’s
biggest
challenges.
Compliance measure/risk mitigation
19.01%
23.0
14.88%
18.0
18.18%
22.0
16.53%
20.0
11.57%
14.0
15.70%
19.0
4.13%
5.0
121
AP/AR/payments management
18.03%
9.84%
4.10%by any means,
©2015 IOFM, Diversified Business20.49%
Communications.
No part of this16.39%
publication may18.85%
be reproduced, 12.30%
stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted
electronic or mechanical, without prior written permission of the Institute of Finance & Management.
25.0
22.0
20.0
23.0
15.0
12.0
5.0
122
4.50
2
4.70
ADP Controller 2014
SurveyMonkey
Q19 Executives
What are
doImproving
you believe
isthe
the
primary
5 Ways Senior Finance
Visibility Across
Procure-to-Pay
Cycle
benefit of AP automation solutions?
What do you believe is the primary
benefit
of AP automation
solutions?
Answered:
82 Skipped:
20
Improved visibility into
invoices and AP documents
Lower invoice
processing costs
Lower payments/
settlement costs
Improved ability to find or manage
paper-based documents
Improved cash management
according to business needs
Mitigation of
payment-related fraud
Reduced
inquiries
Canon Controllersupplier
Survey
SurveyMonkey
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90% 100%
Q7 6. Of the following, which are your top
all
that apply)
It is no surprise that senior finance
are for
focused
financial
visibility.
F&A executives
priorities
theonnext
year?
(check
Answer Choices
Responses
Of the following, which are your top finance and administration priorities
Improved visibility into invoices and AP documents
Answered: 119 Skipped: 5
for the next year
(check all that apply)?
41.46%
34
Lower invoice processing costs
21.95%
18
1.22%
1
10.98%
9
21.95%
18
2.44%
2
0.00%
0
Improving visibility into
Lowercash
payments/settlement
costs
flow/cash management
68.9%
Improved ability to find or manage paper-based documents
Lowering invoiceprocessingaccording
costs to business needs
Improved cash management
41.2%
Mitigation of payment-related fraud
Developing effective measures to
visibility
into overall
Reduced gain
supplier
inquiries
performance of F&A functions
66.4%
Total
82
Capturing more early
payment discounts
17.6%
Exploring outsourcing
options
17.6%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90% 100%
Answer Choices
Responses
Improving visibility into cash flow/cash management
Lowering invoice-processing costs
21 / 29
©2015 IOFM,
Diversified Business
part ofperformance
this publication may
be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means,
Developing effective
measures
to gainCommunications.
visibility into No
overall
of F&A
functions
68.9%
82
41.2%
49
66.4%
3
79
electronic or mechanical, without prior written permission of the Institute of Finance & Management.
Capturing more early payment discounts
17.6%
21
5 Ways Senior Finance Executives are Improving Visibility Across the Procure-to-Pay Cycle
Nearly 40 percent of senior finance executives say cash management is the most important metric to their
job, IOFM reports. Seventy-five percent of CFOs spend more time on liquidity management than any other
functional requirements, according to a 2013 study by Aberdeen Group. Similarly, controllers surveyed
by IOFM in 2014 identified
Cash flowliquidity management as a top job priority. And 22.8 percent of senior finance
against...
executives track and/or
regularly report on discounts captured.
Days
Payables
Please
rank the following priorities within the F&A function. (Scale of 1 to 7)
Outstanding
Days
Sales
Liquidity
Outstanding
management
Operational
Cash flow
costs
for AP
analysis
Operational
Compliance
measure/
costs
for AR
risk
mitigation
Operational
AP/AR/payments
costs for...
management
Invoices paid
per terms
Managing debt
Discount
Managing
capturegrowth
and...
corporate
Alternative
Reducing
costs
financing...
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
©2015 IOFM, Diversified Business Communications. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means,
electronic or mechanical, without prior written permission of the Institute of Finance & Management.
4
Q10 Which of the following metrics do you
5 Waysregularly
Senior Finance Executives
are Improving
Visibility Across
Procure-to-Pay
track and/or
report
on?the(check
all Cycle
that apply)
Which of the following metrics do you regularly track and/or report on (Check all that apply)?
Answered: 80
Skipped: 22
Cash flow against
current/future expenses
Days Payables
Outstanding
Days Sales
Outstanding
Operational
costs for AP
Operational
costs for AR
Operational
costs for payments
Invoices paid
per terms
Discount capture
and analysis
Alternative
financing options
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90% 100%
A 2014
Answer Choices
Accounting Today article listed big data as one of the main issues that accountants face.
In fact, the
Responses
2014 AICPA Survey on International Trends in Forensic and Valuation Services found that 8555.00%
percent of
Cash flow against current/future expenses
businesses expected to spend more time on electronic data analysis or big data.
44
42.50%
34
The problem is that paper processes make it difficult to access key procure-to-pay information:
45.00%
36
Days Payables Outstanding
Days Sales Outstanding
•
Key information is not captured
23.75%
19
•
Data is poorly organized
8.75%
7
22.50%
18
Systems are not well-integrated
37.50%
30
Access to key variables is limited
23.75%
19
Operational costs for AP
Operational costs for AR
Information
Operational costs•for Payments
Invoices paid per•terms
•
is not timely
Discount capture and analysis
The solution is to leverage automated end-to-end procure-to-pay solutions that provide enhanced
visibility
11.25%
and reporting across the procurement, invoice processing, and payment functions.
9
Alternative financing options
Total Respondents: 80
10 / 29
©2015 IOFM, Diversified Business Communications. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means,
electronic or mechanical, without prior written permission of the Institute of Finance & Management.
5
5 Ways Senior Finance Executives are Improving Visibility Across the Procure-to-Pay Cycle
The Problem
Paper processes negatively impact financial visibility throughout the procure-to-pay cycle:
•
rocurement: Only half of the businesses surveyed by Ardent Partners say that
P
they have “strong visibility” into enterprise spend. Similarly, just 55 percent of
businesses have “strong visibility” into spend under management, Ardent Partners
reports. One reason for the poor visibility into procurement processes is the
use of non-PO-based invoices, which provide no visibility into liabilities. Against
this backdrop, it is no wonder that 66 percent of businesses surveyed by Ardent
Partners want earlier visibility into sourcing opportunities. Moreover, 42 percent of
businesses want to reduce the costs associated with procurement, while 39 percent
of businesses want to streamline procurement processes, according to this same
report from Ardent Partners.
•
Invoice processing: The average organization receives 74 percent of its invoices
in paper, e-mail, PDF, or fax format. Ardent Partners notes that receiving invoices
as an e-mail, PDF, or fax is no better than paper unless a data capture solution is in
place to automatically identify and extract data and convert it to a digital format.
Otherwise, the data needs to be manually keyed. Unfortunately, only one in four
organizations has highly automated processes with fully optimized systems to
manage invoice payment efficiently, according to a 2014 report called “Creating
Payment Energy” conducted by independent research firm Loudhouse. All of this
paper processing limits visibility into invoice status and makes it difficult to gain
insight into financial liabilities. Moreover, 39.5 percent of organizations surveyed by
IOFM in the same report say lost or misplaced invoices are one of their challenges.
Making matters worse, 85.1 percent of organizations admit that fewer than 51
percent of their suppliers submit invoices electronically so that no manual handling
is required for input into an ERP system, according to IOFM. A whopping 88.5
percent of organizations say that they process less than 51 percent of their total
invoice volume straight through, without manual intervention. And more than twothirds of organizations report that more than 90 percent of their invoices require
manual intervention.
26%
74%
Electronic Payment Usage
8150+ 35+ 8+
+74
26
Manual vs Electronic Invoices
81%
ACH
50%
Commercial Card
Products
35%
Wire transfer
Paper checks
8%
■ Manually (paper, PDF, email, Fax)
■ Manually (paper, PDF, email, Fax)
■ Electronically (eInvoice, EDI/XML, web-portal)
■ Electronically (eInvoice, EDI/XML, web-portal)
©Ardent Partners - 2013
©Ardent Partners - 2013
©2015 IOFM, Diversified Business Communications. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means,
electronic or mechanical, without prior written permission of the Institute of Finance & Management.
6
5 Ways Senior Finance Executives are Improving Visibility Across the Procure-to-Pay Cycle
•
Payments: Paper checks are inefficient, prone to fraud, and offer very limited
visibility into payment data. Fourteen percent of senior finance executives say the
lack of reporting is their biggest challenge with paper-based payments, IOFM found
in a study conducted in 2014. Conversely, suppliers can never be sure when paper
checks will arrive, necessitating phone calls or e-mails to buyers to inquire about
payment status. The unpredictability of receiving paper payments may only get
worse as the U.S. Postal Service continues to adjust its delivery times. Paper checks
also are expensive. Ardent Partners pegs the fully loaded cost to process a paper
check payment at $12. While the overall trends in paper check volumes are encouraging, businesses still write a lot of checks to suppliers. Sixty-five percent of businesses surveyed by the Remittance Coalition report that they pay suppliers “mainly”
using paper checks. What’s more, 43 percent of all payments to “major” suppliers are
made via paper check, the Federal Reserve reports. Businesses identify a number of
barriers to electronic payments adoption, including difficulty convincing suppliers
to accept electronic payments, a lack of integration between electronic payments
and back-office systems, a lack of information technology resources to deploy
electronic payments, and perceived costs. However, a surprising 92 percent of businesses have a “high” or “moderate” level of interest in increasing their percentage of
electronic payments, the Remittance Coalition finds.
Improvements in these areas would deliver greater visibility and control of the procure-to-pay process, while
contributing to trading partner relationships, corporate agility, and value to the bottom line.
The Solution
In order to best address these inefficiencies, a comprehensive solution is end-to-end procure-to-pay
automation. This type of solution improves financial visibility using five components:
1. Electronic POs
2. Invoice processing
3. Electronic invoicing
4. Electronic payments
5. ERP integration
Here is how each of these components improves financial visibility:
1. E
lectronic purchase orders (POs): PO requisition systems manage the approval, creation,
and electronic submission of POs with built-in best practices and customizable business
rules. Automating the PO requisition process allows organizations to generate POs and route
them for approval; send approved POs to suppliers for paperless processing; match invoices
and POs to validate price, quantity, and items; and track matched invoices against the PO.
©2015 IOFM, Diversified Business Communications. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means,
electronic or mechanical, without prior written permission of the Institute of Finance & Management.
7
5 Ways Senior Finance Executives are Improving Visibility Across the Procure-to-Pay Cycle
2. Invoice processing: Automated procure-to-pay solutions convert paper invoices into
electronic data for automatic processing using two vital processes: automatic three-way
matching and automated approval routing. Automatic three-way matching uses algorithms
to match each incoming invoice to the relevant PO and receipt of goods. If the invoice
matches (within tolerances the organization specifies and manages) the invoice processing
solution passes it straight through to the organization’s finance system. Automated approval
routing electronically moves invoices for review and approval based on assigned “delegation
of authority” rules written with account amounts, duplicates, or account numbers. Invoice
processing systems also enable users to instantly retrieve and view invoices and audit trails.
3. Electronic invoicing: More organizations are enabling suppliers to submit invoices
electronically, either through a supplier network, invoice virtualization center, or a supplier
portal. A supplier network connects supplier finance systems to an invoice network for
full, paperless e-invoicing using EDI, XML, or flat files. With an invoice virtualization center,
organizations use scanning and data capture to convert invoices into electronic data for
automatic matching and fast processing. Supplier portals allow for the electronic submission
of invoices 24/7, while providing suppliers with access to invoice and payment status.
4. Electronic payments: For invoices that have been approved for payment to suppliers who
can accept Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions or cards, electronic payment
solutions can format the payments and automatically notify a buyer’s bank. For suppliers
who can’t accept ACH or card payments, some procure-to-pay solutions providers offer
traditional check mailing services, providing a 100 percent solution to payment needs.
5. ERP integration: Automated procure-to-pay solutions can integrate with an organization’s
ERP without a laborious synchronization process or complex data extraction algorithms. ERP
integration allows for synchronization of data between a procure-to-pay platform and an
ERP system (including the vendor address book, chart of accounts, receipts, and payment
information); eliminates data entry to post invoices; completes data validation before
delivery to the ERP; and controls file validation to ensure that complete data is passed to the
ERP.
The Benefits
The five components of a procure-to-pay solution uniquely improve financial visibility and reporting:
1. Electronic POs: Electronic POs enable organizations to improve visibility into purchases,
better manage spend, strengthen internal reporting, tracking and control, and reduce
invoice processing costs. Since all transactions are handled electronically, delivery of POs,
acknowledgement of POs, and changes to POs are immediately verifiable. With purchasers
and the AP using the same system, organizations also gain control over purchases, payables,
and disbursements. This is a big reason 42 percent of invoices are PO-based, according to
an IOFM study. What’s more, 33 percent of businesses surveyed by Ardent Partners plan
to deploy an electronic procurement solution, and 29 percent of businesses say they plan
©2015 IOFM, Diversified Business Communications. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means,
electronic or mechanical, without prior written permission of the Institute of Finance & Management.
8
5 Ways Senior Finance Executives are Improving Visibility Across the Procure-to-Pay Cycle
to deploy an electronic sourcing solution. Thirteen percent of senior finance executives
surveyed by IOFM in 2014 said their organization plans to deploy a procurement network.
2. Invoice Processing: Forty-one percent of senior finance executives surveyed by IOFM say
improved visibility into invoices and AP documents is the top benefit of AP automation.
Automated invoice processing provides AP leaders with visibility into invoice volumes and
values, process metrics, team productivity, and payment and discount capture metrics.
Users can quickly track invoices, access archived invoices and data, and review audit trails.
Automation also enables businesses to reduce invoice processing costs. It costs best-in-class
organizations an average of $2.20 to process an invoice, while all other companies pay an
average2014
of $19.10 to process an invoice, according to Ardent Partners. Some 44.83 percent
ADP Controller
of senior finance executives surveyed by IOFM in 2014 said their organization planned to
deploy an image archive for invoices and payables documents by the end of 2015.
SurveyMonkey
Q19 What do you believe is the primary
benefit of AP automation solutions?
What do you believe is the primary benefit of AP automation solutions?
Answered: 82
Skipped: 20
Improved visibility into
invoices and AP documents
Lower invoice
processing costs
Lower payments/
settlement costs
Improved ability to find or manage
paper-based documents
Improved cash management
according to business needs
Mitigation of
payment-related fraud
Reduced
supplier inquiries
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Answer Choices
80%
90% 100%
Responses
Improved visibility into invoices and AP documents
41.46%
34
Lower invoice processing costs
21.95%
18
Lower payments/settlement costs
1.22%
1
Improved ability to find or manage paper-based documents
10.98%
9
Improved cash management according to business needs
21.95%
18
Mitigation of payment-related fraud
2.44%
2
©2015 IOFM,
Diversified Business Communications. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, 0.00%
Reduced supplier
inquiries
9
0
electronic or mechanical, without prior written permission of the Institute of Finance & Management.
Total
82
Q18 17. Which of the following
capabilities/tools does your organization
5 Ways Seniorplan
Financeto
Executives
are Improving
Visibility
theyear
Procure-to-Pay
Cycle
deploy
within
theAcross
next
(check
all that apply)?
Which of the following capabilities/tools does your organization plan to deploy
87 Skipped: 37
within the nextAnswered:
year (check
all that apply)?
Electronic approval and
exceptions workflow
Image repository for invoice
storage/retrieval
Electronic
invoice network
Spend analytics/business
intelligence for invoices
Procurement network with
support for electronic invoices
Dynamic discounting
programs
Supplier portal
Evaluated receipt
settlement
Electronic
payments
Mobile application for
financial management activities
Outsourced invoice
processing
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90% 100%
Answer Choices
3. Electronic invoicing:
Electronic invoicing improves visibility and accessibility to accurate, Responses
real-time invoice and payment data. Interactive dashboards empower users to become
60.92%
Electronic approval and exceptions workflows
more self-reliant and agile in their decision-making. Senior finance executives can quickly
44.83%
Image repository
invoice
accessforAP
casharchival/retrieval
flows, AP process metrics, enterprise spend, and finance and administration
27.59%
gain insight into financial liabilities to implement cash management
Electronic KPIs.
invoiceTreasurers
network
strategies and optimize working capital. And electronic invoicing provides suppliers with
16.09%
visibility intointelligence
invoice and
payment status, eliminating the need for phone or e-mail inquiries.
Spend analytics/business
for invoices
Additionally, electronic invoicing drives down costs. Electronic invoicing automatically
12.64%
Procurement network with support for electronic invoices
posts matched invoices, eliminating the need for operators to input invoice data into an
organization’s
ERP system. Similarly, electronic invoicing eliminates the risk of manual data 3.45%
Dynamic discounting
programs
entry errors. Best-in-class AP organizations automatically post more than 80 percent of their
electronic invoices without human intervention (commonly referred to as “straight-through”
/ 24
processing), reports Stamford, CT-based Gartner.21
The
results are quite clear: Companies
©2015 IOFM, Diversified Business Communications. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means,
electronic or mechanical, without prior written permission of the Institute of Finance & Management.
53
39
24
14
11
3
10
5 Ways Senior Finance Executives are Improving Visibility Across the Procure-to-Pay Cycle
that receive less than 10 percent of their invoices electronically (including e-invoice, EDI/
XML and web-form entry) pay an average of $18.07 to process an invoice. Conversely,
companies that receive more than 60 percent of their invoices electronically pay just $6.08
to process an invoice. Receiving more invoices electronically also reduces the need for data
entry or manual validation. No wonder 43 percent of businesses surveyed by Loudhouse
for its “Creating Payment Energy” report said they have placed more focus on electronic
invoicing. In fact, 13 percent of senior finance executives surveyed by IOFM in 2014 said their
organization planned to deploy an electronic invoice network by the end of 2015, and 13
percent of finance executives said their organization planned to deploy a supplier portal.
More than one-third of organizations (37.2 percent) surveyed by IOFM in the same report
already are migrating suppliers to electronic invoicing.
Average Cost per Invoice
Electronic Invoice Impact on Cost
$20
$18
$16
$14
$12
$10
$8
$6
$4
$18.07
$10.55
$8.30
$6.08
<10%
10-30%
30-60%
>60%
4. Electronic payments: Electronic payments provide immediate recording of liabilities,
better visibility into cash management, and improved visibility into AP team performance.
Using a portal, suppliers can see the status of payments, 24/7. Slowly, but surely, electronic
payments are winning the battle against paper checks. Fifty-three percent of payments
are now made electronically, Ardent Partners reports. A stout 82.1 percent of organizations
surveyed by IOFM in 2014 generate or receive electronic payments via ACH. What’s more, 59
percent of organizations make purchases via cards, and 39.7 percent use EDI. Importantly,
81 percent of businesses surveyed by Ardent Partners have increased their volume of ACH
payments since 2011, while 50 percent of businesses have increased their use of commercial
card payments during the same time. Nearly 40 percent of senior finance executives
surveyed by IOFM said their organization planned to deploy electronic payments in 2015.
One reason for the tremendous growth of electronic payments: 91 percent of suppliers
are more inclined to accept ACH payments compared to 2011, according to research from
Ardent Partners.
©2015 IOFM, Diversified Business Communications. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means,
electronic or mechanical, without prior written permission of the Institute of Finance & Management.
11
5 Ways Senior Finance Executives are Improving Visibility Across the Procure-to-Pay Cycle
5. ERP integration: Integrating an automated procure-to-pay solution with an organization’s
ERP system enables financial visibility across business units. Users can easily evaluate and
compare financial information for companies, regions, or business units; track budget
consumption; forecast and budget based on actual spend; and access compliance metrics.
Together, these capabilities provide senior finance executives with fast access to invoice and payment data to
better understand enterprise spend and enforce compliance with negotiated contracts.
Canon
Controllerautomation
Survey also provides finance leaders with use easy-to-read dashboards to access
Procure-to-pay
SurveyMonkey
enterprise spend and trends, category spend and volume, supplier performance metrics, procurement
metrics, contract terms and contract compliance metrics, and metrics supporting vendor selection. This is
Q18 17. Which of the following
a big reason why 16 percent of senior finance executives surveyed by IOFM say their organization plans to
capabilities/tools does your organization
implement spend analytics and business intelligence by the end of 2015.
plan to deploy within the next year (check
all that
apply)?
Which of the following capabilities/tools
does
your organization plan to deploy
87 all
Skipped:
37
within the nextAnswered:
year (check
that apply)?
Electronic approval and
exceptions workflow
Image repository for invoice
storage/retrieval
Electronic
invoice network
Spend analytics/business
intelligence for invoices
Procurement network with
support for electronic invoices
Dynamic discounting
programs
Supplier portal
Evaluated receipt
settlement
Electronic
payments
Mobile application for
financial management activities
Outsourced invoice
processing
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90% 100%
Answer Choices
©2015 IOFM, Diversified Business Communications. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means,
Responses
Electronic approval and exceptions
workflows
electronic
or mechanical, without prior written permission of the Institute of Finance & Management.
60.92%
Image repository for invoice archival/retrieval
44.83%
12
53
39
5 Ways Senior Finance Executives are Improving Visibility Across the Procure-to-Pay Cycle
Automation also tightens audit trails for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and audits, and facilitates
communication across procurement, AP, and treasury to optimize financial decisions and business strategies.
Suppliers also benefit from improved visibility into the procure-to-pay process.
And automation has a big impact on procurement costs. Between 2009 and 2013, best-in-class companies
have leveraged automation to reduce their purchasing costs from an average of $10.04 per order to $4.80 per
order, The Hackett Group found. During the same time period, the purchasing costs of average companies
rose from $16.71 per order to $18 per order, according to the report.
The Bottom Line
Senior finance executives require greater than ever access to financial information. But manual, paper-driven
procurement, invoicing, and payment processes leave finance executives wanting.
The answer is to leverage end-to-end procure-to-pay solutions.
1. Electronic POs
2. Invoice processing
3. Electronic invoicing
4. Electronic payments
5. ERP integration
An end-to-end procure-to-pay solution enables senior finance executives to more accurately forecast cash
flows, make fluid operational and cash management decisions, more easily analyze spend patterns, track key
metrics, and strengthen enterprise reporting and regulatory compliance.
Procure-to-pay automation also provides a competitive advantage. Best-in-class organizations, which have
higher levels of automation, have more than four times the level of visibility into overall organizational cash
flow on a day-to-day basis compared to their peers, Aberdeen Group reports.
Implementing an end-to-end procure-to-pay solution with these key components is a crucial strategy for
organizational success in today’s competitive arena.
©2015 IOFM, Diversified Business Communications. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means,
electronic or mechanical, without prior written permission of the Institute of Finance & Management.
13