Accounts Payable

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Accounts Payable

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Create new payment methods and related enhancements to allow outsource printing of checks and allow for single payment cards. In addition, a printer should also be ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Accounts Payable


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Accounts Payable
  • Business Case Review

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Check and Single Pay Card Export
OVERVIEW Emory would like to pursue a proposal
from JPMC (JP Morgan Chase) to use Single Payment
Cards due to the rebates available and to provide
payees with an additional, faster payment method
that is beneficial to both Emory and the
supplier.  While this method may not be
acceptable to all suppliers, it does provide
another viable payment option, especially for
smaller vendors or one-off payments. Emory
would also like to evaluate the benefits of
outsourcing check printing to realize benefits of
additional relationships and payment methods the
source provider may have with vendors.
RECOMMENDATION Create new payment methods and
related enhancements to allow outsource printing
of checks and allow for single payment cards.
In addition, a printer should also be purchased
and setup internally for low-volume, emergency
type payments, as recommended via lessons learned
from other institutions who have outsourced as
well. For vendors who insist on checks, consider
charging a discount to be automatically taken
at time of payment to pay for check printing
services, thereby encouraging use of preferred
payment methods (ACH, Single Pay Cards).
Owners Owners
Overall Process Policy Change Owners Melanie Widmer
Module Owners Carol King
Project Work Owners Carol King
3
Check and Single Pay Card Export
Impacts Impacts Impacts
People Module Support
People Central Administration The number of printed checks will decrease as vendors shift to other preferred electronic payment methods in lieu of paying the check fees resources could then be allocated to other AP activities of a more proactive nature, such as vendor validation, invoice validation, etc.
People Campus Users
Process Module Support
Process Central Administration The effort of printing checks and printer maintenance would be the selected vendors responsibility Potential rebates for adoption of Single Pay Card payment
Process Campus Users Additional turnaround time maybe required for checks which need special handling (such as hold for pickup or attachments required) as they would have to be sent from printing vendor back to Emory (even overnight delivery, unless courier services are provided by the check printing vendor) would require an extra day to receive the checks due to processing and shipping schedules
System Module Support
System Central Administration Emory would still need an emergency check printing solution, and an appropriate, secure location to house the printer and check stock (low volume, inexpensive solution)
System Campus Users
Training Module Support
Training Central Administration Train AP staff on new payment methods and impact to vendor setup and vouchers, new check process and entire process so they can answer vendor questions
Training Campus Users
4
Payment Request
OVERVIEW Emory needs the ability to easily
enter requests for payments that are not PO
related items, such as Honorariums, Speaker Fees,
etc.  Emory currently has a custom solution to
handle Payment Requests, which involves changes
to the delivered voucher pages and the use of a
3rd party product called SmartWorkflow, both of
which make it difficult to apply patches/fixes to
the software.  In addition, the current solution
causes many calls into AP for assistance, due to
errors with workflow, errors with budget
checking, general user errors due to the design,
requests for payment status, etc.   This takes a
considerable amount of time within AP to support
this custom solution. Payment Request
functionality was one of the most discussed items
during the listening tour.  There were many
requests for enhancement and for an easier, more
user friendly solution. Payment Request
functionality is now delivered in 9.2 via a new
process, specifically designed for Payment
Requests. It was designed specifically for
Payment Requests in a widespread, end user
community similar to Emorys environment. It uses
a stepped approach to guide the user through
entry, and comes delivered with pages to monitor
the status of the request as it goes through
processing. However, it will still require some
minor enhancements to meet Emory specific
requirements related to Foreign Nationals,
ability to enter a Payment Message, ability to
set special check handling (such as hold for
pick-up), and to display payment information
without requiring multiple, complex steps to find
the information (none of these are currently part
of the delivered functionality).
RECOMMENDATION Implement the new 9.2 Payment
Request functionality, with the goal of leaving
it as delivered as possible.  Minor enhancements,
which should be made, include 1)  Handling of
Foreign Nationals 2) Ability to add a payment
message 3) Ability to set payment handling (such
as hold for pick-up) 4) Speed Chart
functionality (depending on final design) 5)
Display of Voucher ID and Payment Status enhance
security to allow for managers to see requests
within their area.
Owners Owners
Overall Process Policy Change Owners Melanie Widmer
Module Owners Carol King
Project Work Owners Carol King
5
Payment Request
Impacts Impacts Impacts
People Module Support
People Central Administration Reduced call volume and support due to customizations issues/support (budget check, hung transactions, etc.) Reduced time spent due to lack of self service (delete requests). Eliminates issues with Foreign National flag when updating invoices.
People Campus Users Less frustration due to stepped approach of delivered functionality. Ability to do self service cancellations, payment status, etc.
Process Module Support Uses delivered workflow components specific to Payment Requests
Process Central Administration Easier visibility into payment requests (separated from normal invoice issues).
Process Campus Users Allow Self Service and tracking through the lifecycle of the request New, Pending, Approved, Vouchered
System Module Support Delivered functionality, new in 9.2, meets the majority of Emory business needs Removes some Security concerns related to hard coded roles
System Central Administration
System Campus Users Limits user visibility to only their payment requests
Training Module Support
Training Central Administration
Training Campus Users Will need to train users on new pages/process its fairly intuitive, but needs good training to ensure users understand the business process as well as the pages.
6
Supplier Audit
OVERVIEW Currently, Emory has no automated
field level audits in place for changes made to
the supplier (vendor) master.  While the system
does record who added the supplier, and also
records who last changed (or approved) the
supplier, and suppliers do go through an approval
process, there is no tracking of specific
changes. From a controls and audit standpoint, we
should be able to identify 1)  what changes
have been made to the supplier 2) when the
changes were made to the supplier 3) who made
the change to the supplier. In prior versions,
a technical resource could turn on vendor
auditing, but it required creating audit records
manually.  There were no delivered inquiries or
reports to report the captured information and
the format of the data made it hard to interpret.
  In PeopleSoft 9.2, the Financial Audit Trail
has been extended to include the Supplier, and a
configurable, reportable solution is now
available.
RECOMMENDATION Implement newly delivered
Supplier Audit Trail functionality as part of 9.2
upgrade to reduce risk exposure (operational),
provide audit trails, aid in research on vendor
issues, and provide valuable information for
Procure to Pay management.
Owners Owners
Overall Process Policy Change Owners Melanie Widmer
Module Owners Carol King
Project Work Owners Carol King
7
Supplier Audit
Impacts Impacts Impacts
People Module Support
People Central Administration Records additions and changes by user, which can be used for valid metrics in setting performance goals
People Campus Users
Process Module Support Likely only tracks changes made online (batch changes on HealthCare suppliers are likely not tracked as they are automated feeds and changes would be expected to be tracked in source system)
Process Central Administration Provides historical data for researching changes to supplier addresses, payment methods, banking information, etc. to aid AP/Procurement staff is analyzing issues/questions. Provides data to use in metrics for measuring employee performance. Provides details during the approval process on what changed and why it is being changed (where configured).
Process Campus Users
System Module Support May have some minor system impact on performance within the Supplier component (no real issues expected should be negligible)
System Central Administration Provides audit trail for internal and external audit needs
System Campus Users
Training Module Support
Training Central Administration Appropriate AP and Procurement users will need to be trained on the use of the Supplier Audit Inquiry and Reporting in order to be able to research questions
Training Campus Users
8
Vendor Name Audit
OVERVIEW In todays current system, changes to
Supplier (Vendor) names have no specific tracking
mechanism, as for date of the change or who made
the change.   Additionally, there is no way to
track historical changes. Any changes to Supplier
Names (Name, Alternate Name can have
ramifications for 1099 reporting, as well as OFAC
validation).  Changes should be tracked, which
can be accomplished via Supplier Audit, but a
historical record of the changes should also be
tracked in an easily identifiable method.
Theres no other way to enter a future name
change without the use of this new feature
instead, AP must manually note the change and
remember to return to the system on the effective
date to make the change manually.  The new
Supplier Name history functionality supplies this
capability, and is helpful for internal and
external audit, as well as for use in researching
1099 and other Supplier related issues.
RECOMMENDATION In PeopleSoft 9.2, a new process
is delivered to track the history of supplier
name changes.  Fields tracked include Supplier
Short Name, Supplier Name 1, and Supplier Name 2
fields. Emory needs this information to for both
audit and issue research purposes. Vendor names
may change over time, either due to errors which
require correction or just due to the vendor
changing the name of their company. Emory should
turn this new feature on, via configuration, as
part of the 9.2 upgrade, and train those with
Supplier update privileges, as well as those who
may need to research name changes, on how to
properly use the new functionality.
Owners Owners
Overall Process Policy Change Owners Melanie Widmer
Module Owners Carol King
Project Work Owners Carol King
9
Vendor Name Audit
Impacts Impacts Impacts
People Module Support
People Central Administration Provides audit trail specifically for Supplier Name changes
People Campus Users
Process Module Support
Process Central Administration Allows for entering future dates name changes when a supplier notifies us in advance of a name change Provides audit information on name changes
Process Campus Users
System Module Support Need to evaluate future dated trans for potential impacts on SciQuest Supplier Export to ensure updates are processed to SciQuest May require additional customizations or manual procedures to ensure changes get to SciQuest will be included in rebuild of Supplier Export
System Central Administration Audit trail
System Campus Users
Training Module Support
Training Central Administration Train PO/AP staff on how to properly maintain supplier name and how to research supplier name history
Training Campus Users
10
Supplier Hierarchy
  • OVERVIEW AP Management desires the ability to
    easily identify Supplier (vendor) information via
    an overview, or snapshot, of the overall supplier
    information without going through several system
    components to get different types of information.
     This can be accomplished by using the new
    Supplier Hierarchy functionality, which provides
    quick access, with limited navigation to various
    summary items on the supplier, with the ability
    to drill down to get more information (in most
    cases).    Helpful items include
  • Supplier data item information (last
    update/modified summary, remit address info,
    various status fields, etc.)
  • Supplier data field information (current balance,
    overdue payments, scheduled payments, discount
    taken, aging balance, recurring voucher released
    amount)
  • Supplier Relationships (parent/child hierarchy if
    defined) in a graphical format This will be
    helpful when trying to research supplier
    questions or when internal questions arise
    related to a suppliers current status/balance.

RECOMMENDATION Implement Supplier Hierarchy,
which is introduced in PeopleSoft 9.2 and
leverages the existing parent/child relationship
functionality of the supplier while adding a
graphical representation of the supplier
relationship within the group as well as a rollup
of the supplier exposure.  This requires only
minor configuration and provides the ability to
link multiple vendors to the same corporate
parent when needed. Primary benefit is additional
functionality which provides a single point to
obtain many different pieces of Supplier data in
a single place, rather than navigating through
multiple menus.
Owners Owners
Overall Process Policy Change Owners Melanie Widmer
Module Owners Carol King
Project Work Owners Carol King
11
Supplier Hierarchy
Impacts Impacts Impacts
People Module Support
People Central Administration Provides a quick overview of a suppliers current status, standing, balance, etc. Better ability to research/monitor issues/questions related to suppliers
People Campus Users Better ability to research/monitor issues/questions related to suppliers
Process Module Support
Process Central Administration Allows for navigation/drill down to specific areas of interest or concern
Process Campus Users
System Module Support
System Central Administration Allows AP management to easily review current status of valuable suppliers or suppliers of concern
System Campus Users
Training Module Support
Training Central Administration Train AP staff on how to use the Supplier Hierarchy and train AP supplier update staff to list parent/child relationships when/if appropriate
Training Campus Users Some users may have a need for this functionality and would need training (TBD due to security concerns)
12
Vendor Validations (Financial Sanctions/SAM)
OVERVIEW For U.S.-based companies and their
foreign subsidiaries, a federal regulation from
the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
requires that suppliers be validated against a
Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list prior
to payment. The process in PeopleSoft to
facilitate this check is called Financial
Sanctions Validation. This check should be done
early in the process, such as when setting up a
new supplier, as well as other places in the
Procure to Pay Cycle to continually check against
the list as it may change frequently. Emory would
like to implement the PeopleSoft delivered
Financial Sanctions Validation functionality to
perform this check when setting up new suppliers,
as well as when vouchering invoices. Use of this
functionality will flag a vendor that is on the
sanctions list, and will hold up transactions for
review until they can be fully vetted. The
Federal government also requires validation of
vendors receiving Federal Funds, such as those on
grants or research which are funded by the US
Government. The US Federal Government General
Services Administration (GSA) developed software
called System for Award Management (SAM) which
maintains a list of federally registered
vendors/contractors and their status with the
federal government. This has to be checked on an
on-going basis to verify that funds are only
going to federally approved vendors (or, in
reality, not going to vendor which the government
has flagged). This was formerly known as Central
Contractor Registration (CCR) and Federal
Registry (FedReg) which have been combined into
SAM.   This validation needs to be automated, and
is provided in PeopleSoft 9.2.
RECOMMENDATION Implement the delivered
PeopleSoft Financial Sanctions at the
Installation Level, which will allow for sanction
validations to be done on various transactions
within PeopleSoft.   Emory should use Visual
Compliance as the validation source using web
messaging to provide the most comprehensive,
real-time check available.   This is delivered
functionality, but will require configuration and
testing.  There may be some minor customization
to the web methods layouts for the interface with
Visual Compliance, but all the hooks to support
the web method are delivered.  Alternatively,
Visual Compliance could provide a file for
loading into PeopleSoft, but the web method is
recommended as it provides checks against the
latest updates and is also a more cost effective
method to use.  Additionally, automated SAM
validation should also be implemented for
checking certifications of vendors which may be
paid using federal funds
Owners Owners
Overall Process Policy Change Owners Loette King Melanie Widmer
Module Owners Carol King
Project Work Owners Carol King
13
Vendor Validations (Financial Sanctions/SAM)
Impacts Impacts Impacts
People Module Support
People Central Administration Time savings when setting up new suppliers due to automating validation for Financial Sanctions and SAMS
People Campus Users
Process Module Support
Process Central Administration Automatically validates vendors on a scheduled basis or prior to any payment, ensuring the latest information is used to validate prior to making payment Speeds up supplier setup by reducing time intensive manual steps
Process Campus Users SAMS validation for suppliers paid using government funds (grants, etc.)
System Module Support Reduces number of attachments in system, thereby reducing system load Support interface with Visual Compliance and SAMs (monitor)
System Central Administration Should increase system response time due to elimination of some of the attachments (during set up only)
System Campus Users
Training Module Support
Training Central Administration Train AP on how to handle validation exceptions (those flagged for review)
Training Campus Users
14
AP Dashboard
OVERVIEW In todays environment, AP Management
currently has no automated analytics to assist
them with monitoring day to operations easily.
  With the release of PeopleSoft 9.2, an AP
Operational Dashboard contains features which
provide this capability which AP Management
believes will help to fill this need and allow
for more pro-active, versus late reactive,
responses to operational issues, such as
discounts lost, overdue payments, missed pay
cycles, etc.
RECOMMENDATION Configure AP Operational
Dashboard for use to provide AP Management with
an operational overview, allowing them to
proactively manage before issues arise.
Owners Owners
Overall Process Policy Change Owners Melanie Widmer
Module Owners Carol King
Project Work Owners Carol King
15
AP Dashboard
Impacts Impacts Impacts
People Module Support
People Central Administration Better able to monitor daily status and take earlier action on processing issues before they become major issues
People Campus Users
Process Module Support
Process Central Administration Provides AP Management with easy, visible access to operational metrics, allowing them to easily monitor operations and remediate issues in a timely manner (such as Discounts Lost, Past Due Aging)
Process Campus Users
System Module Support Does require some scheduled (evening) jobs to process data for operational reporting (should be minor)
System Central Administration
System Campus Users
Training Module Support
Training Central Administration Train AP Management on use of pagelets within Dashboard
Training Campus Users
16
Procurement Card
OVERVIEW Currently, Emory is using J.P. Morgan
as their procurement card supplier and is using
J.P. Morgans PaymentNet as their procurement
card reconciliation system. PaymentNet is a
system provided by J.P. Morgan. This system is
external to Emory and requires a separate login
and password. It has a completely different
interface than other systems in use at Emory.  
One of the significant pain-points of the
system is the fact that J.P. Morgan will remove
older, unreconciled items from the system, making
it extremely difficult and resource intensive for
Emory to gain access to such transactions.  Emory
has contacted J.P. Morgan about this issue, and
the response is that this is done for
performance reasons and wont be changed.
 Emory wants these transactions to be available
until such time they are reconciled.
Additionally, many questions arise due to the
unique way to access the system (external system)
as well as due to the ID and passwords being
outside of Emorys PeopleSoft system.  Users
frequently forget those details, which results in
a lot of administrative effort to assist them
with setting up account, password resets, and
general instruction.
RECOMMENDATION  Implementing the Procurement
Card functionality within PeopleSoft will
eliminate the need to have a separate ID and
sign-on, as PeopleSoft users can use single
sign-on.  Additionally, many users are already
trained in using PeopleSoft, so navigation and
general look and feel of the application will
already be familiar to users. The Procurement
Card functionality within PeopleSoft will retain
all of the transactions, regardless of how old or
if they have/have not been reconciled. Existing
accounting rules are enforced and daily manual
interfaces are eliminated. Should help remove
barriers to reconciliation, resulting in higher
compliance while reducing errors.
Owners Owners
Overall Process Policy Change Owners Loette King
Module Owners Carol King, Finesha Colton-Lee
Project Work Owners Carol King
17
Procurement Card
Impacts Impacts Impacts
People Module Support Technical Support will be moved from J.P. Morgan Mapper/Tech support to PeopleSoft should be a wash with no added costs anticipated, and could actually require less time Functional Support will be moved from JPM PaymentNet support to PeopleSoft some work will still need to be done with J.P. Morgan, such as for disputes or requesting new cards.  Will require less time or will allow for more proactive work due to fewer user questions and automated notifications for non-reconciled transactions which are late.
People Central Administration Reduction in assistance for lost passwords/IDs reduced time to research old transactions removed from PaymentNet improved accounting edits at time of entry automated entries to GL
People Campus Users Able to use their Emory Single-Sign-on Accounts Another system to go to
Process Module Support No password resets due to Single Sign-on Monitor automated feed/import of card transactions
Process Central Administration Chartfield edits performed using existing Compass Rules and chartfield changes available immediately (no interface needed) Automated notifications
Process Campus Users Reconciliation performed within Compass using rules maintained within Compass
System Module Support Security within Compass
System Central Administration Could send data to warehouse easy access in Compass
System Campus Users Single Sign-on
Training Module Support
Training Central Administration
Training Campus Users Will need to retrain existing users.
18
Vendor Attachments
OVERVIEW Currently Emory uses a customization
to the Vendor component, using a bolt-on custom
page called Attachments, to add attachments to a
vendor. These attachments are maintained on a
custom table.   As part of the upgrade, Emory
would like to move to using new delivered
functionality.   While this is primarily a
training task, it will require a custom migration
script, to be executed at time of upgrade, to
move the attachments from the custom table to the
delivered tables so that existing attachments can
continue to be accessed and maintained using the
delivered functionality.
RECOMMENDATION PeopleSoft version 9.1
introduced attachments for Suppliers (Vendors) at
the Supplier and Supplier Location levels.  Emory
will use this functionality to replace their
existing Vendor Attachment custom page. Once an
attachment is added, it becomes part of the
supplier.  It is recommended that users give the
attachment an appropriate description so that
users can identify what the attachment contains
without having to open it first.
Owners Owners
Overall Process Policy Change Owners Melanie Widmer
Module Owners Carol King
Project Work Owners Carol King
19
Vendor Attachments
Impacts Impacts Impacts
People Module Support
People Central Administration Ability to identify time/date for attachments, results in efficiencies during the vendor approval process for changed vendors Ability to add description of attachment makes it easier to identify documents for research as well as approvals.
People Campus Users
Process Module Support
Process Central Administration Time/Date available on attachment Descriptions available on attachments
Process Campus Users
System Module Support No time required for applying system updates as there is no customization to maintain One time cost to convert transactions from custom tables to delivered tables (primary cost of this case)
System Central Administration Better audit capabilities for attachments (time/date)
System Campus Users
Training Module Support
Training Central Administration Train AP staff on how to properly maintain supplier attachments
Training Campus Users
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