It’s often the little things that if left unresolved, end up causing the biggest headaches. What’s even more hellish is that these nightmares have a way of popping up at precisely the wrong time. Typically, the solutions aren’t elaborate or expensive; they simply involve identifying the mistake and rectifying it. Hear Mary Schaeffer, Editor of AP Now as she: •Identifies 25 AP mistakes that on the face seem minor but could result in major headaches •Addresses why these issues can cause complications and what you can do to avoid these in the future •Discusses some strategic tools that you can implement to avoid this all together!

1. Little Mistakes that Cause Big
Problems in Accounts Payable
Mary Schaeffer
Publisher & Editorial Director AP Now
Author The Controllers’ & CFOs’ Guide to
Accounts Payable + 15 other business books

2. Agenda
Introduction
 Those Processing Bungles that Can Cost Dearly
 Mistakes that Will Make Crooks Lives a Little Easier
 Those Housekeeping Items that Are So Easy to Ignore
 Mistakes that Will Get You in Regulatory Hot Water
 Other – Stuff that Didn’t Fit Elsewhere
 Closing Thoughts

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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

3. Introduction
 Not everyone will have every problems (hopefully)
 The breakdowns are arbitrary
 Automation definitely helps solve some of these problems
 We’ve asterisked (*) those where automation will help
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

4. Those Processing Bungles that
Can Cost Dearly
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

5. Processing: Part 1
 Not developing a rigid coding standard for invoice entry and
insisting processors use it *
 Not focusing on invoice number when entering data *
 Not training new processors – especially about credits
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

6. Processing: Part 2
 Processing Check requests without backup
 If you do after-the-fact POs, giving them the invoice to
create the PO
 Not getting 100% policy compliance on T&E *
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

7. Processing: Part 3
 Promote without cutting removing system access associated
with previous position *
 Not setting up a separate fax for incoming invoices – better
e-fax
 Using a rubber stamp to sign checks
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

8. Mistakes that Make Crooks’
Lives a Little Easier
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

9. Fraud: Part 1
 Not cancelling credit cards (p-cards and T&E) when an
employee departs
 Returning checks to requisitioners *
 Not having a separate computer for online banking - ONLY
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

10. Fraud: Part 2
 Thinking none of your employees would ever steal from you
and allowing weak internal controls as a result
 Not insisting anyone associated with the payment function
take at least 5 consecutive days off
 Not getting 100% policy compliance on T&E *
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

11. Fraud: Part 3
 Not taking proper fraud precautions *
 Not keeping up on the latest information about new frauds;
crooks are regularly developing new “approaches” to get their
hands on your money
 Not talking to your bank regularly about its new fraud
prevention/detection tools
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

12. Those Housekeeping Items that
Are So Easy to Ignore
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

13. Housekeeping: Part 1
 Never cleansing the master vendor file and deactivating
inactive vendors *
 Not periodically updating the contacts in your master vendor
file
 Not reviewing the standard payment terms shown in the
master vendor file *
 No one will complain if you pay them early
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

14. Housekeeping: Part 2
 Not following up on open credits quickly
 They have a way of evaporating
 Not reviewing your system defaults for all aspects of the
accounts payable function *
 Especially important if your business does not follow
“traditional” business patterns
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

15. Mistakes that Will Get You in
Regulatory Hot Water
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

16. Regulatory: Part 1
 Not tracking receipt of W-9 *
 Not using IRS TIN Matching
 Paying small IRS fines and penalties
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

17. Regulatory: Part 2
 Writing off un-cashed checks to miscellaneous income
 Reporting and remitting unclaimed property to the wrong
state
 Claiming money from missingmoney.com when not
complying with unclaimed property laws
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

18. Regulatory: Part 3
 Adding sales tax when paying an invoice that doesn’t show it
 Paying sales tax to the wrong state
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

19. Other – Stuff that Didn’t Fit
Elsewhere
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

20. Other: Part 1
 Not regularly reviewing unapplied payments *
 Usually from a Rush check request
 Not periodically reviewing and closing open receivers *
 Not necessarily an AP job
 Document, document, document
 Not periodically reviewing and closing open Pos *
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

21. Other: Part 2
 Not planning for your future
 It’s your responsibility
 Not keeping up to date on the latest developments affecting
your job and career
 Not learning one or more new skills each year
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

22. Closing Thoughts
 Do you have your work cut out for you?
 Have you noticed how many of these problems could have
been eliminated through automation?
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

23. The benefits of AP Automation
Presented by:
Peter Bepler
President & Co-Founder
Anybill
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

24. The Case for AP Automation
Fast Facts
›
$15.70 – average cost to process an invoice
›
17.7 days– average time to process an invoice
›
14% - average number of invoices with errors
›
$12 billion – average dollar amount financial
institutions lose to payment fraud annually
Anybill 2010, All Rights Reserved
Not For Distribution

25. The Case for AP Automation
Why Automate?
›
Improve visibility, efficiency and control with AP automation
›
Process invoices more efficiently using web-based software
›
Identify and eliminate bottlenecks and delays that lead to overdue, missed or
duplicate payments
›
View expenses in real-time to manage
cash flow
›
Control spending with workflow and
approval features
›
Gain access to historical
data with robust, on-demand
reporting
Anybill 2010, All Rights Reserved
Not For Distribution

26. The Case for AP Automation
The Impact
Time To Process Payables
No Automatic Validation
Lack of Visibility
& Transparency
High Processing Costs
Anybill 2010, All Rights Reserved
› Delays Posting Expenses
› Poor Use of Working Capital
› Damaged Supplier Relationships
› Overpayments and Duplicate
Payments due to Billing Errors
› Difficulties Budgeting, Planning,
Forecasting
› Lack of Control
› Higher Audit Risk
› Difficulty Responding to Vendor
Inquiries
D
› Drains Internal Resources
› Waste of Operating Capital
Not For Distribution

27. Thank you/Questions
Questions always welcome.
To share your thoughts and insights
Mary Schaeffer
 marys@ap-now.com
 302 836 0540
 Sign up for our free weekly ezine at
www.ap-now.com/ezinesignup.html
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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

28. About Mary Schaeffer


She also handles most of the firms consulting assignments (focused primarily on AP
issues) often working with other well-regarded professionals. Her blog, at http://apnow.com/blog/ is read by over 15,000 professionals each month.

Ms. Schaeffer is the author of over 15 business books including The CFO and
Controllers’ Guide to Accounts Payable and the recently published Fraud in Accounts
Payable: How to Prevent It. John Wiley & Sons is the publisher of most of her books.

She also is a regular contributor to the AICPA’s Corporate Finance Insider.

Ms. Schaeffer has a BS in Math from York College (CUNY) and a MBA in Finance from
New York University.

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Mary Schaeffer is a nationally recognized accounts payable expert. Following a career
in finance she turned to writing and consulting. For the last 15 years she has been
researching and writing newsletters for the accounts payable profession. Currently she
is the Editorial Director & Publisher of Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow, (www.apnow.com) a fee-based newsletter published by CRYSTALLUS, Inc.
She can be reached at marys@ap-now.com
© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer

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© 2011 Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow and
Mary S. Schaeffer