Introduction With the increased sophistication of reconciliation tools from banks and third-party account reconciliation software solutions, the process for reconciliation and review of bank accounts has changed significantly over the past decade. Today, with no shortage of available tools, there is significant flexibility for who reconciles bank accounts, where reconciliations take place, and how reviews […]
Introduction Implementing Shared Services and related organizational models including Integrated Business Services and Global Business Services creates a unique opportunity for companies to redefine work processes and dramatically change how work streams are defined and accomplished. By taking activities that were secondary and making their optimization a primary objective, by being part of an organization […]
Introduction Even with the advanced ERP systems that most large companies utilize for Accounts Payable processing, the challenge of duplicate payments and fraud control, in general, continues to be an issue for many AP organizations. Considering the tremendous number of invoices being processed and the corresponding amount of supplier payments being made at most companies, […]
Introduction A significant number of Shared Services / GBS organizations utilize unique organizational designs that have directly contributed to achieving excellent results in improving not only the overall performance of their operation but also the satisfaction level of their employees. There are several effective strategies for Shared Services organizational design, including how the operation is […]
Introduction An efficient and effective Order-to-Cash (O2C) process is vital to every company’s business with a direct impact on revenue and cash flow. With processes that include the onboarding of new customers and creating new customer records, receiving and recording orders, creating and processing invoices, collecting and posting payments and credits, and resolving disputes and […]
Introduction Once considered the primary method for vendors to communicate with Accounts Payable, providing phone support for vendor inquiries has fallen out of favor as other methods have become both more efficient and less costly. Even with the most sophisticated phone systems where basic requests for payment status can be answered by a chatbot, providing […]
Introduction With the introduction of advanced travel expense platforms like SAP Concur, for virtually all large companies, paper-based expense reports that are completed manually and processed manually are a relic of the past. Today, expense reporting is a streamlined and highly automated process. In addition, with the transition to having credit cards readily accepted everywhere, […]
Introduction The addition of Intelligent Automation to business processes can eliminate many of the routine work steps human processors are required to complete, with the added benefit of zero errors, assuming each step is defined properly, and the impact of an ongoing process or system changes are accounted for as they occur. Being able to […]
Introduction As companies continue to evolve their Shared Services models, in many cases functional boundaries are challenged, which can increase opportunities to leverage process change methods and new technologies by eliminating turf battles that are all too common between functions or departments. For many, the processes within scope are more strongly aligned with “Shared Services” […]
Introduction Shared Services and Global Business Services are models for the delivery of support services that leverage technologies and scale, yet differ in many significant ways from centralized services, which can often include unnecessary bureaucracy and a rigid structure that may be disconnected from the needs of internal customers. Shared Services organizations need to be […]