Accounts Payable Best Practices and Policies
A company’s accounts payable department or staff may be tucked away in a back office, but its practices are a crucial part of the organization’s entire accounting system. With the responsibility for ensuring on-time and accurate payment to all creditors and vendors, the accounts payable function must be properly maintained and monitored to ensure the healthy functioning of the entire company.
Accounting best practices go much further than requiring an accounts payable department to simply track and pay the company’s bills. A thorough understanding of credit terms, available discounts and balance payment timing is required to fully maximize the options available under your accounts payable function. Using best practices and sound accounts payable policies and procedures is one of the most important things a company can do ensure its accounting function is operating correctly and compliantly – and profitably.
Regulators and consumers have become more interested in the back-office functions, including accounts payable, of companies both public and private – is yours prepared for the next audit or inquiry into your books? Whether it’s the IRS performing a tax audit that encompasses your payments to vendors or an SEC inquiry relating to compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s internal controls requirements, your company faces more compliance issues today than it ever did in the past.
WiseQuestion offers expert speakers who address the latest best practices for your accounts payable staff. Updating your accounts payable policies and practices can improve the efficiency and profitability of your organization and ensure you stay out of regulatory hot water and the courthouse. Have a look
FASB Updates
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is one of the regulatory bodies that your accountants should know all about. This independent organization has established financial accounting and reporting standards that public and private companies as well as nonprofit organizations use to comply with the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) that govern how financial statements are created.
When the FASB issues Accounting Standards Updates that amend its Accounting Standards Codification, your accounts payable staff needs to understand how it will impact your company’s accounting functions. Let one of our financial experts teach you and your accounting staff how to make the most of any changes that come down the pike.
GAAP Standards
One of the roles of the accounts payable department is to make sure that all fund disbursements are made in accordance with GAAP. The FASB issues yearly changes to the GAAP standards. Are your company’s manuals and policies and procedures relating to accounts payable properly updated based on the newest information?
WiseQuestion’s audio conferences and other resources can guide you through the maze of GAAP standards updates and help you ensure that your accounts payable department is operating with the latest and greatest information and best practices.