[Editor’s Note: Over the next few weeks on Payables Place, we’re publishing some “best of” 2019 articles as we reflect on the year and prepare for the new year ahead.]
Last week on our journey through Ardent Partners’ Accounts Payable Metrics that Matter in 2019 (click to download) we took a look at some of the top challenges plaguing AP. This week I wanted to turn the tables and look at some of the keys to success. Not surprisingly, people, aka your employees, are extremely important to running a successful AP department. Sir Richard Branson, English business magnate, investor, author and philanthropist once said, “Success in business is all about people, people, people. Whatever industry a company is in, its employees are its biggest competitive advantage.”
The opportunity to transform and modernize the AP department is significant and achievable, and should be undertaken sooner rather than later. To accomplish this, most AP departments will need to find a business catalyst (like improving P2P operations or an initiative to become more efficient) and either an executive sponsor or strong functional partner, like procurement, to successfully initiate the process.
We asked people working in AP, Finance, and Treasury what they viewed as important to the overall success of their AP department. 38% indicated that executive support for digital transformation was critical to achieving success for AP to become a value-adding, strategic partner to the business. Another 37% of respondents indicated that enhanced collaboration with keys stakeholders was critical to achieving success. What do both of these have in common? People of course. For AP to realize its potential, it needs everyone to work together for the common good. AP needs executive support, as does really any important initiative, in order to greatly enhance the chances for a successful AP transformation. Collaboration with others in your department as well as those in other departments is critical to make sure everyone is pulling together for the good of the greater organization.
People are the key to any successful initiative, department, and organization. For AP to be successful, its people must be successful. For that to happen, the department must have the support of, and collaborate with, others throughout the organization. Doug Conant, CEO of Campbell’s Soup, said it best, “To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace.”
