Contributor: Matthew Dragiff

The current economic climate is forcing companies to pursue lean operations as strongly as ever. It’s a message that we hear at SunGard, and that you may hear from your employer as well. Lean operations are driven by the understanding that only the most efficient organizations survive. The latest issue of Financial Operations Matters, published by the Institute of Financial Operations contained the article, “Are you ready for lean A/P? 4 Trends to watch in 2012.” As the article highlights, lean A/P is the outcome of analyzing existing business processes, uncovering inefficiencies, redefining processes and applying technology where appropriate to support automated processing. Best practices at companies with the lowest A/P costs typically include: a high degree of automation, end-to-end integration of A/P with purchasing, movement to electronic payments, embracing a self-service model for suppliers, and maximizing revenue from card rebate programs.... read more