Your Vendor File Is a Strategic Resource

Feature Story

Turn Your Vendor File into a Strategic Resource

Key ingredients: Best practices and a vendor portal

by Michele Arndt, Director of Client Value, APEX Analytix^®

Like your automobile, your home landscaping or family pets, a Master Vendor File (Vendor Master) needs routine maintenance to look its best and perform at peak levels. Yet at some companies, the Vendor File is allowed to become an embarrassing and costly mess.

In sharp contrast, leading-edge companies treat their Vendor File as a strategic resource and asset. Read more ...

Editorial Corner

Vendor portals ... handling a know-it-all ... tighter T&E policies

A messy Vendor Master exposes your company to erroneous payments and increases fraud risk. But cleaned up and coupled with an online vendor portal, it can turn into a strategic asset. In this month's feature article, APEX Analytix expert Michele Arndt shares best practices for vendor file cleanup and details the payoffs you can gain from adding a vendor portal.

In our last issue, a frustrated A/P manager asked for help handling a "know-it-all" on staff who shares his opinions endlessly and steamrolls teammates in meetings. See how readers would address this. Their creative ideas include tying a piece of compensation to behavior change.

In this issue, an A/P director wants to put a tighter travel and entertainment (T&E) policy in place but worries about a "palace revolt" by company road warriors. Please share your thoughts. You could win a 256 Mb MP3 player.

Congratulations to Judi Thallas, finance manager at ConAgra Foods, for being this quarter's winner!

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Inside APEX Analytix

APEX Analytix Applauds New Law

Measure extends private sector procure-to-pay best practices to government agencies to manage fraud, waste and abuse.

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IAPP - International Accounts Payable Professionals

FMI - Food Marketing Institute

NAPP - National Association of Purchasing and Payables

IQPC - International Quality and Productivity Center

VCF - Vendor Compliance Federation

IOMA - Institute of Management and Administration

ACFE - Association of Certified Fraud Examiners

FEI - Financial Executives International

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Accounts Payable Best Practices
Retail Recovery Audit Best Practices

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Archive

May 2010
Issue 4.2

February 2010
Issue 4.1

July 2009
Issue 3.3

[More...]

Complimentary White Paper

Solving the Vendor Master File Conundrum

Is your vendor master file out of date and riddled with duplicates? Does it fail to give you a clear view of which vendors are related to each other under the same corporate entity? In this white paper, you will learn the tips and techniques of how to successfully execute the process of cleaning up your vendor master. You’ll also read about best practices to implement to keep your vendor master clean, including the use of a Vendor Portal and Supplier Registration tool, and the extra benefits you will find from having a clean vendor master file.

What's Your Best Advice?

Previous Issue's Dilemma:

Dealing with a know-it-all

One of the people on my staff is a "know-it-all" who loves to unload his "knowledge" on anyone within earshot. He shares his opinions as if they were facts about politics or today's music or the "real" reasons behind the economic meltdown. The focus is almost always on what he sees as a problem, and his convictions usually come off as arrogance. He tends to dominate conversations and bulldoze over other people in meetings. The problem is that, when it comes to business issues, he's right about half the time, and a good performer otherwise. Yet his personality doesn't always lend itself to being a team player. What's the best way to handle a person like this?

-- Frustrated A/P Manager Read what others had to say.

This Issue's Dilemma:

How can I prevent road warriors from exploiting our T&E policy?

Our company has set the threshold for Travel & Entertainment (T&E) receipts at $75, per IRS regulations. Maybe I am paranoid, but I worry that some of our travelers exploit this and pad their expense reports with bogus or inflated expenses to meet that amount. We have a lot of "road warriors" here, and over a year's time, the dollars can be significant. I want to return the travel policy to the old $25 threshold, or switch to a per diem. But I don't want a "palace revolt" on my hands. What's the best way to handle this?

-- A/P Director, San Rafael, CA

Can you help? Share your experience. You could win a 256 MB MP3 player.

Your Personal Balance Sheet : Do more in less time

How to Stay Focused on Your Own Priorities
Saying no is easier when you have a burning yes
by Ed Muzio - smartbooks.com

Four Career-Killing Communication Trends to Avoid
Professional English skills never go out of style
by Peggy Klaus - Job Journal

Create the Change : Effective processes for staff management

Nine Red Flags that Signal Resistance to Change
Take action quickly to help ensure success
from Changing Minds

Five Small Changes that Inspire Passionate Performance
Helping employees "connect" makes the difference
by Jay Forte - My Article Archive

The Numbers Game : Accounting and people management

Internal Auditors Target Spreadsheets
IIA takes aim at user-developed apps
by David McCann - CFO Magazine

Auditing: Are You Getting Straight Answers?
How to identify ploys and evasive tactics
by Scott Emett and David A. Wood, PhD - Journal of Accountancy

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