A report prepared by CFO Research Services in collaboration with Ariba
In recent years, CFO Research Services has documented finance's efforts to drive cost, complexity, risk, and error from its routine transaction processes. We've found that streamlined business processes, often paired with improved technology systems for transaction processing, are the foundation of many of these efforts. We've also found that finance's path to progress in this area is often characterized by gradual, sustained improvement —there is no single magic bullet that will reduce costs, increase efficiency, and eliminate risk.
We undertook this study to explore accounts payable, an area of back-office processing where improvements are often viewed through the lens of efficiency: processing more invoices with shorter cycle times, using fewer employee hours, and with greater accuracy. Our study reveals that, although finance executives certainly recognize and value these benefits, their interest in AP management extends beyond process efficiencies to include broader issues, such as cash management, contract compliance, and managing relationships with key suppliers.
