A paperless office has long been the dream of innovative, forward thinking accounts payable profes-sionals. While this is not likely to happen in the near future, certain innovations are bringing this dream one step closer to reality. Imaging and workflow technology were the first giant step towards this fan-tasy. There is yet another innovation that could bring a paperless office within the reach of virtually every accounts payable department and make expensive imaging equipment obsolete in the process. We are talking about electronic invoicing. Five companies spoke with Managing Accounts Payable about the specifics of the products they offer (no two are identical) and some of the obstacles accounts payable professionals can run into when implementing electronic invoicing.
Has the September 11 tragedy affected your accounts payable department or its procedures? If your company is anything like those of the 42% of the accounts payable managers surveyed via e-mail by Managing Accounts Payable, the answer is a very sad Yes. The survey respondents told us not only about the affect of terrorism on their operations but also how they were adapting to meet the new challenges.
Most people only think of T&E when they hear VAT reclaim. This is a big mistake because ac-counts payable managers often overlook lucrative savings opportunities when they don’t reclaim VAT (value added tax) after their employees’ return from traveling overseas. Although you have to follow a rather complicated process to reclaim VAT payments, it is well worth it. Speaking at a recent IOMA Accounts Payable conference, Meridian VAT Reclaim’s Darianne Mirando explained the process, the problems associated with the process, and the options available for reclaiming VAT payments.
Until recently, security surrounding the mail was not an issue for most A/P professionals. However, in a recent IOMA survey, almost half the A/P respondents indicated they were concerned about mail and were changing the way it was handled. With anthrax-contaminated mail appearing in U.S. postal service centers across the country—from Florida to Kansas and New York to Nevada—companies everywhere are tightening security measures and clamping down on quality control. This is a synopsis of what the experts now recommend.
Accounts payable professionals who don’t review the new 1099 forms for reporting calendar year 2001 may run into trouble. These forms are not the same as the previous ones. In an attempt to improve efficiency, the IRS has again made changes to Form 1099-MISC. These changes must be incorporated in all forms filed for calendar year 2001. The American Payroll Association (APA) prepared and distributed this new information as part of its Accounts Payable/Disbursements Preparing for Year End and 2002 seminar.
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