Accounts Payable: Accounting and Management Best Practices

Course overview

Course outline

1. 1Day 1: The Important Role of AP & Accounting Essentials for Accounts Payable

   • The Important Role of AP
   • The meaning of managing Accounts Payable
   • The functions of management
   • The big picture: Accounts Payable and the financial health of organizations
   • The functions of the Accounts Payable department and the role of AP staff
   • Impact of Accounts Payable on working capital and cash management
   • Accounting Essentials for Accounts Payable
   • Accounts Payable terminologies
   • General ledger and sub-ledger
   • Preparing for month-end close and accruals
   • Assessing the AP department
   • Accounts Payable controls
2. 2Day 2: Accounts Payable Processes and Best Practices

   • Invoice handling and routing
   • The three-way matching
   • Methods of payment processing
   • Maintaining the vendor master file
   • Travel and Entertainment (T&E)
   • Procurement Cards (P-Cards)
   • Electronic payment options
3. 3Day 3: Key Topics in Accounts Payable Management

   • Continuous process improvement
   • Applying best practices in your organization
   • Identifying proper internal controls
   • The annual audit as an added-value
   • Impact of AP outsourcing
   • Detecting fraud in Accounts Payable
   • Disaster recovery planning
4. 4Day 4: The Behavioral Side of Managing Accounts Payable Department

   • Improving the image of the AP department
   • Ways to motivate AP staff
   • Organizing the AP department
   • Closing the communication gap
   • Dealing with internal and external disputes
   • Importance of internal customer service
   • Providing customer service to vendors
5. 5Day 5: Accounts Payable department as a real business partner and more

   • Accounts Payable department as a real business partner
   • When should we pay our suppliers?
   • Understanding the cost of funds
   • Evaluating early payment discounts
   • Pros and cons of early or late payments
   • Relationship with the treasury department
   • Using Microsoft Excel to manage Accounts Payable
   • Interface between the Accounts Payable system and Excel
   • Using pivot tables to extract valuable information
   • Preparing and analyzing Accounts Payable aging
   • Role of Accounts Payable in improving suppliers' commercial terms
   • Using Excel to Perform Accounts Payable Reconciliations