Happy Halloween! Did you know that the New York Halloween Parade in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village is the only major night-time parade in the United States? It also turns 40 years old today, so happy birthday to those ghouls and goblins. Americans spent around $1.9 billion on candy for Halloween 2013, which sounds like a lot of M&Ms and Kit-Kats to me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find statistics for Europe—so feel free to send me along something interesting.
Now back to business: these past two weeks we had more coverage from Chris Dwyer in the travel and expense management arena, as well as a look at how CFOs can affect strategic meetings management. I started my dive into the world of commercial cards with an overview of the seven major product types and a look in detail at the types of virtual cards as well as the benefits of using one of those bad boys. Without further ado, I bring you what you may have missed on Payables Place these past two weeks below:
Three Travel and Expense Management Metrics That Matter
Ardent Partner’s VP Chris Dwyer, our resident travel and expense management expert, outlines three metrics that matter when it comes to managing your T&E program. This is particularly important as the business travel category has experienced a budgetary and strategic rise in the last five years. Check out the metrics at http://payablesplace.ardentpartners.com/2014/10/three-travel-and-expense-management-metrics-matter/.
3 Benefits of Virtual Payment Cards You Might Not Know
Virtual payment cards are an interesting financial instrument; in some ways just like a standard commercial card, but in others not so much. If you’re on the fence about virtual cards, take a gander at my examination of three benefits that you may not know about for these relatively newfangled payment products. Check out the article at http://payablesplace.ardentpartners.com/2014/10/3-benefits-virtual-payment-cards-might-know/.
The CFO’s View of Meetings and Events Management
Continuing his CFO’s View column, Chris Dwyer takes a look in this installment at the area of meetings and events management. Often seen as a “sister” to business travel, meetings and events management combined with business travel takes up 20% to 25% of enterprise budgets. As such, it’s critical for CFOs to participate in strategic meetings and events planning—especially because CFOs can act as translators for the executive suite. Read more at http://payablesplace.ardentpartners.com/2014/10/cfos-view-meetings-events-management/.
Which Commercial Card is Right for You?
For more than 70 years, enterprises of all sizes have used commercial cards to purchase everything from airline tickets to office supplies. This flexibility has led to seven classes of commercial card product, with multiple permutations of each. With so many options, it’s easy to wonder which card is right for your enterprise. The answer? It depends on your needs. Find out more at http://payablesplace.ardentpartners.com/2014/10/commercial-card-right/.
What are Virtual Payment Cards?
Have you heard of virtual payment cards? If not, take a look at my examination of what a virtual payment card (sometimes called “controlled account number”) actually is, how it operates, and what kinds of virtual cards there are out in the marketplace. Read more at http://payablesplace.ardentpartners.com/2014/10/virtual-payment-cards/.
The Compliance Management Checklist, Part II: Complex Compliance
Launched just yesterday was the second part in Chris Dwyer’s five-part series on how procurement, finance, and other professionals can build a compliance management checklist that addresses the multiple avenues of spend management and the compliance ramifications behind strategic spend categories. Read more at http://payablesplace.ardentpartners.com/2014/10/compliance-management-checklist-part-ii-complex-compliance/.
Coming Soon …
Coming up next week, we’ll have more articles on the ins and outs of commercial cards and card-related payments, including ways suppliers can benefit from virtual payment cards and how to help suppliers onboard into a virtual card program. Keep watching this space, and follow me on Twitter at @MattD_Ardent for all the latest news and analysis in the accounts payable and financial operations space.
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