No one knows your organization better than you do. That's why you are in the best position to make process improvements for your own operations. But, sometimes you are too close to identify those problem spots that have crept into your procedures. That's where The Do-It-Yourself Accounts Payable Consultant Handbook comes in. It provides you the added perspective to see your operation clearly. It effectively lets you take that giant step back so you can look at your accounts payable function objectively. Use our straightforward problem-solving tools to uncover the weak spots in your processes. Once you've identified the problems, our commentary will get you started on the right path to fixing the problem by providing some best practice advice. You can use this to strengthen your controls preventing duplicate and erroneous payments and fraud. What's more, you might even earn a few more early pay discounts. Each section contains: * Several analytical checklists to help you scrutinize the your processes to identify those areas that need attention; * An explanation of why certain practices are not recommended and others are: and * The latest thinking to help you develop the solution that is right for your operations. With 35 diagnostic checklists, you're all set to evaluate your own accounts payable function. Table of Contents Invoices Invoice Handling Diagnostic Invoice Processing Diagnostic Do Your Processor s Know the Basics Convincing Vendors to Invoice Electronically And 3 Best Practice Articles AP Check Processes Exception Processing Diagnostic Check Request Forms Diagnostic Paper Check Safety Diagnostic Paper Check Elimination Checklist Dealing with Un-cashed Checks Getting Vendors to Accept e-Payments And 4 Best Practice Articles AP Interdepartmental Processes Identifying Problems in the Purchase-to-Pay Process Diagnostic Master Vendor File Diagnostic User-Friendly Accounts Payable Department Best Practice Checklist And 2 Best Practice Articles Payments Payment Control Diagnostic ACH Diagnostic "Identifying Problems that Can Be Eliminated with e-Payments" Diagnostic P-card Missed Opportunity Diagnostic ACH Fraud Convincing Management to Make ACH Payments And 3 Best Practice Articles Travel & Entertainment T&E Policy Diagnostic T&E Expense Policies that Meet IRS Guidelines while Combatting Fraud Diagnostic Avoiding a T&E Fraud Debacle Diagnostic The T&E Receipts Issue Diagnostic: Are You Collecting the Right Information And 2 Best Practice Articles Regulatory The Regulatory Diagnostic The 1099 Diagnostic Unclaimed Property Best Practice Diagnostic And 3 Best Practice Articles Management Issues: General Common Misconceptions that Get AP into Hot Water Electronic Accounts Payable Diagnostic The Worst Practice Checklist Hiring Best Practice Checklist And 2 Best Practice Articles Management Issues: Control Fraud Deterrence/Prevention/Detection Diagnostic Internal Control Best Practice Diagnostic Productivity Killer Checklist And 3 Best Practice Articles Management Issues: Operation Issues The Duplicate Payment and Recovery Best Practice Checklist Policy & Procedures Manual Launching a New Project Best Practice Checklist And 4 Best Practice Articles"