Ardent recently completed its annual AP-themed market research study, “The State of ePayables 2021: Operating in the New Normal”, which is part of an ongoing dialogue that the Ardent team has had with AP and finance leaders for more than a decade. If you’d like access to this report, please register for our newsletter with a business email address.
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Swagger is often an understated element of success. After all, nothing succeeds like success! Those that act like they can win and succeed are often those that perform the strongest when it matters most. Although swagger is more typically associated with rap music than financial operations, there is a sense of openly displaying the strategic worth of a professional or its team amongst its peers in the corporate arena. There may be no better link to this attribute than knowing that there is a long-term roadmap in place for how the AP function can continue to drive value to its colleagues and stakeholders.
Best-in-Class businesses are far more likely than all other organizations to have a strategic multi- year plan for its AP function. Like Jay-Z, “they’ve got their swagger back!” While the Best-in-Class continue to “Regulate,” the majority of AP leaders managing their teams without a strategic plan need to “Bust a Move” and start making “Changes” to become “Stronger” and stop their self- “Sabotage” before it “All Falls Down” and they are left dealing with more than “99 Problems.”
The messaging here is incredibly clear: to be a strategic internal function that provides exponential value to the greater enterprise, AP must act like it belongs in the pantheon of impactful corporate functions. Those AP functions that wish to become viable strategic partners within their business must:
- Develop a roadmap for automation and innovation, including standardized invoice- and payment-processing automation, as well as a clear picture of how extended FinTech solutions will be integrated when the time is right.
- Collaborate with key stakeholders as a means of developing the best-fit coordination with other critical internal functions, such as treasury, accounting, and procurement, as well as the strategic suppliers who are extremely valuable in the grand scheme.
- Account for progressions in the global workforce, such as how extended, gig, and contingent workers will contribute to the strategic initiatives that AP wants to achieve in the months and years ahead.
- Integrate payments and payment-related approaches into how AP plans to evolve, as these areas will be important in helping AP achieve its strategic goals.
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