Finance & Accounting
Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement
A five-day programme on managing accounts payable as a strategic function, covering operating models, payment terms and working capital, process efficiency and cycle time, KPI and benchmarking design, control frameworks, and automation planning.
Introduction
Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement Training Course treats payables as a strategic function rather than a back-office task. Payables shapes supplier relationships, working capital, control strength, and cash timing, yet many organisations manage it with reactive habits and manual effort. This course builds a deliberate strategy for the function. It covers process design, cycle time reduction, payment terms optimisation, and shared services structures. Furthermore, it applies key performance indicators, benchmarking, control frameworks, and automation planning. In addition, it develops team capability and stakeholder influence. As a result, participants redesign payables to deliver measurable cost, control, and service gains.
Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement Course Objectives
- Assess the current payables operating model and maturity level.
- Design a payables strategy aligned with treasury and procurement goals.
- Optimise payment terms, settlement discounts, and cash timing.
- Reduce invoice cycle time from receipt to payment.
- Apply touchless processing and exception-based handling principles.
- Build payables key performance indicators and benchmark performance.
- Strengthen controls over vendor master, payments, and fraud risk.
- Plan automation, e-invoicing, and workflow implementation.
- Manage shared services, service levels, and team capability.
- Lead process improvement projects using root cause and lean techniques.
Course Methodology
- Interactive lectures with payables transformation case studies.
- Process mapping, cycle time, and maturity assessment workshops.
- KPI design and benchmarking exercises on payables data.
- Automation business case and shared services structuring practice.
- Structured peer review with facilitator feedback on improvement plans.
Who Should Take This Course
- Accounts payable managers and supervisors.
- Finance controllers and shared services leaders.
- Treasury and cash management professionals.
- Process improvement and finance transformation specialists.
- Procurement and supply chain managers.
- Internal auditors reviewing payables control environments.
Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement Course Outlines
Assessing the Payables Operating Model
- • Payables as a strategic finance function.
- • Operating model options: centralised, decentralised, and shared services.
- • Process mapping from requisition to payment.
- • Maturity assessment and capability gap analysis.
- • Cost-to-serve and cost-per-invoice analysis.
- • Stakeholder expectations across finance, procurement, and suppliers.
- • Case study: diagnosing a payables function's weaknesses.
Strategy, Terms, and Working Capital
- • Aligning payables strategy with treasury and procurement objectives.
- • Payment terms design and negotiation levers.
- • Dynamic discounting and early settlement capture.
- • Supply chain finance and reverse factoring basics.
- • Payment timing and cash forecasting integration.
- • Supplier segmentation by spend and criticality.
- • Workshop: designing a payment terms and discount strategy.
Process Efficiency and Cycle Time
- • Invoice receipt channels and imaging solutions.
- • Optical character recognition and automated data capture.
- • Three-way matching automation and tolerance rules.
- • Touchless processing targets and exception reduction.
- • Invoice cycle time measurement and bottleneck removal.
- • Lean techniques: value stream mapping and waste elimination.
- • Workshop: redesigning a high-volume invoice process.
Performance Measurement and Control
- • Designing payables key performance indicators and dashboards.
- • Benchmarking cost, cycle time, accuracy, and exception rates.
- • Supplier ageing, days payable outstanding, and cash metrics.
- • Control framework design using the COSO principles.
- • Segregation of duties and vendor master governance.
- • Fraud risk assessment for payment operations.
- • Workshop: building a payables performance scorecard.
Automation, Team, and Improvement Delivery
- • Automation options from workflow to full e-invoicing.
- • Business case construction with cost-benefit analysis.
- • System selection criteria and implementation planning.
- • Shared services service levels and governance.
- • Team structure, skills, and capability development.
- • Managing change and stakeholder adoption.
- • Course review, assessment, and action planning.
Conclusion
By successfully completing Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement, participants will gain a thorough understanding of payables operating models, payment terms and working capital levers, process efficiency, performance measurement, control design, and automation planning. They will also acquire practical skills in maturity assessment, KPI and benchmark design, cycle time reduction, and improvement project delivery. In addition, the course prepares them to lead a payables function that performs and keeps improving. Gentex Training Center delivers this programme with a strong focus on practical transformation and measurable performance gains.
FAQs for Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement course
— What is the "Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement" course about?
It is a five-day programme on managing payables as a strategic function. It covers operating model assessment, payment terms and working capital strategy, process efficiency and cycle time reduction, KPI and benchmarking design, control frameworks, and automation planning.
— What are the key benefits of the "Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement" course?
Participants gain a structured path from reactive processing to deliberate performance. The course lowers cost per invoice, cuts cycle time and exception rates, improves discount capture and cash timing, strengthens control and fraud defences, builds supplier confidence, and produces a defensible automation business case.
— What skills will I gain from the "Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement" course?
Participants gain payables operating model assessment and maturity analysis, payment terms and working capital optimisation, KPI design, benchmarking and performance measurement, and process improvement, automation planning and control design. These four skills cover the practical core of payables leadership.
— What tools, methods, or standards are covered in the "Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement" course?
The course covers process mapping and value stream mapping, payables maturity assessment, cost-per-invoice and cost-to-serve analysis, payment terms design and negotiation levers, dynamic discounting, supply chain finance and reverse factoring, days payable outstanding and cash forecasting integration, supplier segmentation by spend and criticality, invoice imaging systems, optical character recognition and automated data capture, three-way matching automation with tolerance rules, touchless processing targets, invoice cycle time measurement, lean waste elimination, key performance indicator design and dashboards, benchmarking across cost, cycle time and accuracy, the COSO control principles applied to payables, segregation of duties matrices, vendor master governance, payment fraud risk assessment, exception-based processing design, e-invoicing and workflow automation, automation cost-benefit business cases, shared services service level agreements, and change management approaches.
— How is the "Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement" course applied in real-world practice?
Participants apply the methods to their own function. They map their process, assess maturity, analyse cost per invoice, redesign payment terms, cut cycle time and exceptions, build performance scorecards, strengthen vendor master and payment controls, and construct automation business cases for approval. Many leave with a payables strategy outline, a KPI scorecard, and an improvement roadmap ready to present.
Scheduling in Progress | Training Arranged Around Your Needs
Our team can coordinate this program based on available dates and locations. Contact us to explore training options that best fit your needs.
Introduction
Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement Training Course treats payables as a strategic function rather than a back-office task. Payables shapes supplier relationships, working capital, control strength, and cash timing, yet many organisations manage it with reactive habits and manual effort. This course builds a deliberate strategy for the function. It covers process design, cycle time reduction, payment terms optimisation, and shared services structures. Furthermore, it applies key performance indicators, benchmarking, control frameworks, and automation planning. In addition, it develops team capability and stakeholder influence. As a result, participants redesign payables to deliver measurable cost, control, and service gains.
Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement Course Objectives
- Assess the current payables operating model and maturity level.
- Design a payables strategy aligned with treasury and procurement goals.
- Optimise payment terms, settlement discounts, and cash timing.
- Reduce invoice cycle time from receipt to payment.
- Apply touchless processing and exception-based handling principles.
- Build payables key performance indicators and benchmark performance.
- Strengthen controls over vendor master, payments, and fraud risk.
- Plan automation, e-invoicing, and workflow implementation.
- Manage shared services, service levels, and team capability.
- Lead process improvement projects using root cause and lean techniques.
Course Methodology
- Interactive lectures with payables transformation case studies.
- Process mapping, cycle time, and maturity assessment workshops.
- KPI design and benchmarking exercises on payables data.
- Automation business case and shared services structuring practice.
- Structured peer review with facilitator feedback on improvement plans.
Who Should Take This Course
- Accounts payable managers and supervisors.
- Finance controllers and shared services leaders.
- Treasury and cash management professionals.
- Process improvement and finance transformation specialists.
- Procurement and supply chain managers.
- Internal auditors reviewing payables control environments.
Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement Course Outlines
Assessing the Payables Operating Model
- • Payables as a strategic finance function.
- • Operating model options: centralised, decentralised, and shared services.
- • Process mapping from requisition to payment.
- • Maturity assessment and capability gap analysis.
- • Cost-to-serve and cost-per-invoice analysis.
- • Stakeholder expectations across finance, procurement, and suppliers.
- • Case study: diagnosing a payables function's weaknesses.
Strategy, Terms, and Working Capital
- • Aligning payables strategy with treasury and procurement objectives.
- • Payment terms design and negotiation levers.
- • Dynamic discounting and early settlement capture.
- • Supply chain finance and reverse factoring basics.
- • Payment timing and cash forecasting integration.
- • Supplier segmentation by spend and criticality.
- • Workshop: designing a payment terms and discount strategy.
Process Efficiency and Cycle Time
- • Invoice receipt channels and imaging solutions.
- • Optical character recognition and automated data capture.
- • Three-way matching automation and tolerance rules.
- • Touchless processing targets and exception reduction.
- • Invoice cycle time measurement and bottleneck removal.
- • Lean techniques: value stream mapping and waste elimination.
- • Workshop: redesigning a high-volume invoice process.
Performance Measurement and Control
- • Designing payables key performance indicators and dashboards.
- • Benchmarking cost, cycle time, accuracy, and exception rates.
- • Supplier ageing, days payable outstanding, and cash metrics.
- • Control framework design using the COSO principles.
- • Segregation of duties and vendor master governance.
- • Fraud risk assessment for payment operations.
- • Workshop: building a payables performance scorecard.
Automation, Team, and Improvement Delivery
- • Automation options from workflow to full e-invoicing.
- • Business case construction with cost-benefit analysis.
- • System selection criteria and implementation planning.
- • Shared services service levels and governance.
- • Team structure, skills, and capability development.
- • Managing change and stakeholder adoption.
- • Course review, assessment, and action planning.
Conclusion
By successfully completing Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement, participants will gain a thorough understanding of payables operating models, payment terms and working capital levers, process efficiency, performance measurement, control design, and automation planning. They will also acquire practical skills in maturity assessment, KPI and benchmark design, cycle time reduction, and improvement project delivery. In addition, the course prepares them to lead a payables function that performs and keeps improving. Gentex Training Center delivers this programme with a strong focus on practical transformation and measurable performance gains.
FAQs for Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement course
— What is the "Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement" course about?
It is a five-day programme on managing payables as a strategic function. It covers operating model assessment, payment terms and working capital strategy, process efficiency and cycle time reduction, KPI and benchmarking design, control frameworks, and automation planning.
— What are the key benefits of the "Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement" course?
Participants gain a structured path from reactive processing to deliberate performance. The course lowers cost per invoice, cuts cycle time and exception rates, improves discount capture and cash timing, strengthens control and fraud defences, builds supplier confidence, and produces a defensible automation business case.
— What skills will I gain from the "Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement" course?
Participants gain payables operating model assessment and maturity analysis, payment terms and working capital optimisation, KPI design, benchmarking and performance measurement, and process improvement, automation planning and control design. These four skills cover the practical core of payables leadership.
— What tools, methods, or standards are covered in the "Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement" course?
The course covers process mapping and value stream mapping, payables maturity assessment, cost-per-invoice and cost-to-serve analysis, payment terms design and negotiation levers, dynamic discounting, supply chain finance and reverse factoring, days payable outstanding and cash forecasting integration, supplier segmentation by spend and criticality, invoice imaging systems, optical character recognition and automated data capture, three-way matching automation with tolerance rules, touchless processing targets, invoice cycle time measurement, lean waste elimination, key performance indicator design and dashboards, benchmarking across cost, cycle time and accuracy, the COSO control principles applied to payables, segregation of duties matrices, vendor master governance, payment fraud risk assessment, exception-based processing design, e-invoicing and workflow automation, automation cost-benefit business cases, shared services service level agreements, and change management approaches.
— How is the "Accounts Payable Management Strategies and Performance Improvement" course applied in real-world practice?
Participants apply the methods to their own function. They map their process, assess maturity, analyse cost per invoice, redesign payment terms, cut cycle time and exceptions, build performance scorecards, strengthen vendor master and payment controls, and construct automation business cases for approval. Many leave with a payables strategy outline, a KPI scorecard, and an improvement roadmap ready to present.
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