INFOGRAPHIC: The biggest sources of cost to Accounts Payable

OB10 just launched a report on the incredible failure rate companies are tolerating within their Accounts Payable departments. We all believe that the invoicing process should operate seamlessly through to payment. But when an error -an invoice exception- is spotted,  the level of manual rework is one of the biggest sources of cost to Accounts Payable.

Survey findings, infographic and a guide

OB10 created an infographic that summarises their survey findings. And  a guide to help AP professionals address this problem. Meanwhile, here are OB10’s servey findings:

• 31% - nearly a third - of all invoices require manual intervention. .
• 85% of respondents agree that invoice exceptions are one of the biggest sources of cost to AP
• The top-three repercussions of invoice exceptions are late payments, increased operating costs and unhappy suppliers
• For companies processing from 350,000 invoices a year, exceptions cause 32% of late payments, 36% of supplier phone calls, and required 160,000 man hours per annum across the enterprise to resolve them, equivalent to 79 full-time employees.
• The key sources of exceptions include price or quantity discrepancies, no valid purchase order, or goods not received.
• Despite these problems, only 43% of participants have formal tracking methods.

Based on the survey’s findings, OB10 has published Rooting out Invoice Exceptions: The Path to Straight-Through Processing, a practical guide for AP professionals. “Companies that leverage technology to enforce tighter up-front control can optimize their cash-flow management and internal compliance,” said Danny Thompson, VP Strategic Account Relations at OB10 and author of the e-book.