It is with great pleasure that Ardent Partners announces the publication of its latest state of accounts payable (AP) research report—“ePayables 2015: Higher Ground.” Like the annual reports that came before it, the 2015 ePayables report focuses on the state of the AP function as well as assessing how AP teams leverage ePayables solutions to improve business results and offering up Best-in-Class metrics that allow readers to benchmark their own operations against top performers. (The report is available for download here, here, here, and here.)

Reaching for “Higher Ground” in Accounts Payable

For much of its history, the accounts payable team has operated as a back-office department, more or less ignored by the rest of the enterprise and left to focus on the tactical activity of processing supplier invoices. Improving this transactional activity is emphasized in many organizations, and can benefit the enterprise financially, but unfortunately misses much of the potential value of accounts payable. Realizing this true value takes a shift in thinking at the executive level, as well as a willingness to look beyond the immediate effect that can arise from transactional efficiency.

Looking beyond these immediate effects is even more critical in the constantly shifting market landscape that many enterprises operate in. Emphasizing transactional efficiencies may create short-term gains, but looking beyond the short-term to focus on the strategic can provide a much deeper impact on the organization as a whole.

Such long-term gains include a consistently supply of financial intelligence, insights, and valuable data that supports other enterprise functions. Should executives help AP reach higher ground—i.e., the “next level” of performance—and Treasury and Procurement, among others, will gain increased access to financial and supplier-performance data than can directly affect cash management decisions, supplier contracts, and even improve the enterprise’s bottom line. In fact, as business leaders seek any advantage in a highly competitive marketplace, AP can become a source of very real organizational value.

Final Thoughts

The accounts payable function can be more than simply the place invoices get to for approval. Enterprises willing to push for the next level of enterprise performance, thus moving AP to “higher ground,” have the potential to create a function that can act as a value-added partner to multiple internal departments. This includes providing vital data to Treasury and Procurement, as well as offering additional insight to the executive team that can allow for more nuanced financial decisions on the future of the enterprise.

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