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Today's Financial Decision Maker (FDM) must contend with an expanding lineup of duties as well as a growing list of constituents to whom they must answer. Companies are also likely to have highly mobile sales forces, contract workers, and more flexible work arrangements for employees. Managing this expanding workforce has never been more challenging because the cost of inefficient financial operations, along with employee turnover and lost productivity, is greater than ever.? Expectations from investors (and other C-suite leaders) have grown in scope, adding to the historical CFO mandates around controlling operational costs and reporting financial results that are in line with an ever-expanding set of industry compliance regulations.

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With these challenges in mind, FDMs are looking to create visibility and implement policy-based accounts payable and invoice management solutions. At first glance, neither process looks to be ready for a revolution. However, IDC feels that smart automation in both these areas can drive incremental and lasting improvements and sharpen the entire back-office posture around speeding processes that lend liquidity and flexibility to cash on hand and other important measures.

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Many organizations have created their current AP and invoice "automation" from a variety of older point tools, relational databases, and file-sharing sites. While these solutions get the job done, the processes are painful to execute, waste time, and don't provide visibility or drive smarter decision-making. Purpose-built solutions with linked workflow and collaboration are much more effective than manual processes when it comes to quick automation and deeper reporting on a wider set of business metrics. The driving goal of this automation is to reduce accounts receivable turnover, improve company cash flow, and provide a more accurate picture of a company¡¯s finances. Believe it or not, cloud-based accounts payable and invoice management can surround the entire Finance function with a halo of excellence.

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IDC conducted an independent study of accounts payable and invoice management, interviewing eight customers of »ÆÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ Invoice in various regions to assess benefits, risks, and return on investment (ROI). IDC¡¯s study, The Business Value of »ÆÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ Invoice, found that since implementing »ÆÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ Invoice, the surveyed organizations have made their invoice management processes more efficient and effective. With »ÆÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ Invoice, these organizations have automated and simplified accounts payable (AP) workflows, enhanced the user experience, encouraged mobility in the AP process, and improved compliance levels. IDC projects that for a five-year period, these organizations will achieve benefits worth a discounted average of $2.75 million ($54,647 per 1,000 invoices) and a return on investment (ROI) of 505%.?

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Smart automation also provides the following benefits:

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• Efficiency: Workers spent 68% less time processing invoices and average time to pay vendors accelerated by 51%.
• Compliance: 99% of employees using »ÆÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ Invoice comply with their companies¡¯ procurement policies, which improved 14% over five years, and the number of delayed payments to vendors has decreased by 67%.
• Visibility: FDMs can provide greater business performance visibility and drive smarter decision making.
• Productivity:? AP departments can be more efficient with an automated process and spend more time on strategic components rather than manually entering invoices, and employees can save substantial time submitting and reviewing invoices. ?

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We're entering an age of digital transformation, where every business is looking to strengthen its internal processes, digitize as much as possible, and make all areas of the business ¨C from product management to sales, IT to finance ¨C contributors to an ethic of excellence.? Automation frees up capital, provides true visibility, manages exceptions, and speeds the smooth operation between one company and its ecosystem.? With this study, IDC has found that even with the expanding purview of the Finance function, with the right tools, FDMs can be agents for positive change in their organizations.

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Join our Webinar to Learn More

Join »ÆÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ and guest speaker, Robert Mahowald, for our Webinar: The Business Value of Cloud Software and Streamlining the AP Process, rescheduled for July 26?at 11AM PT/2PM ET to learn more about the study and the latest trends in cloud software.

The »ÆÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ Webinar, The Business Value of Cloud Software and Streamlining the AP Process, featuring an IDC speaker, is on July 26?at 2:00 ET.?