It is with great pleasure that Ardent Partners announces the publication of its latest state of accounts payable research report, “ePayables 2015: Higher Ground.” Like the annual reports that came before it, ePayables 2015 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, here, and here.)

We will share a few of the insights from the report over the next few weeks, but, in the meantime, here is a quick overview of what the report covers:

The realm of accounts payable (“AP”) is changing, shifting into new and exciting arenas. No longer a simple back-office function, AP groups are now well-positioned to become true “hubs” of visibility and intelligence, extending the value created within AP more broadly across both the enterprise and supply chain. In 2015, more AP groups are accelerating their plans to transform their operations and scale to new heights by pursuing the critical attributes that can propel an operation to the next level of performance or “higher ground.”

The journey to AP excellence begins with a single step and maximizing efficiency opportunities is generally the first one taken. Ardent Partners research has shown that transforming the modern accounts payable function via the removal of paper invoices from the AP process helps improve the effectiveness of invoice receipt, workflow, and payment-related processes and can drive down costs significantly. But, once an AP department is operating efficiently, what must it do to ascend to higher ground? What more can be derived from accounts payable that can transform it into a true center of business excellence?

This report answers these questions as it presents a comprehensive, industry-wide view into what is happening in the world of AP and captures the experience, performance, perspective, and intentions of 175 leaders from accounts payable and financial operations. The report also includes benchmarks, recommendations, and analysis that AP teams can use to better understand the state of accounts payable today, gain insight into best practices, benchmark their performance against the Best-in-Class, and ultimately improve their operations and performance.

Check back here at CPO Rising often for more in the ePayables 2015 article series, and for other news and insights from the Ardent Partners accounts payable research team.

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