Introduction. Table of Contents

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2 Introduction To stay competitive, you know how important it is to find new ways to streamline and save on your company s operations. Learning how leading companies handle commercial payments can give you deeper insights into where and how you can improve. Help you understand how to run your Procure-to-Pay processes more efficiently. Enhance visibility into corporate spend. Gain better control and compliance. And ultimately, help enable you to add more profit to your bottom line. Visa commissioned Deloitte Consulting to conduct 90 in-depth interviews in with more than 60 global/multinational, mid-size and large corporations as well as federal and local government agencies across the world. In 2010, Visa commissioned Deloitte Consulting to update each of the following 28 Travel and Corporate Card Best Practices from the comprehensive study to include current trends, updated case studies, and additional key findings. See the section entitled Study Methodology for additional detail. The Visa Global Procure-to-Pay and Commercial Card Best Practices Study describes how these organizations implement and optimize their Procure-to-Pay processes and commercial card programs. The study gives you access to best practices for a variety of topics: Maximizing the benefits of purchasing and corporate card programs. Streamlining travel and entertainment management. Taking advantage of the latest innovative best practices. And automating the entire Procure-to-Pay process. Each best practice is divided into three useful sections a recommendation overview, a benefits outline and steps for implementation so you can quickly find the information you need. For more information on the Visa Global Procure-to-Pay and Commercial Card Best Practices Study, contact your commercial banker. Table of Contents Evaluate Accounts Payable Automation Solutions Study Methodology Note: Survey results, research and practice recommendations are intended for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for marketing, legal, technical, tax, financial or other advice. When implementing any new strategy or practice, you should consult with your legal counsel to determine what laws and regulations may apply to your specific circumstances. Visa is not responsible for your use of the information, including errors of any kind, or any assumptions or conclusions you might draw from its use. Much of the information contained in this document applies internationally, but a certain amount of information applies only to certain countries or regions. Although Visa tries to mark all country- and region-specific information with a country indication, it does not warrant or represent that all information without indication applies internationally. You should check the applicability of any information in this document to you or your organization.

3 Evaluate Accounts Payable Automation Solutions Organizations that rely on manual systems within Accounts Payable often have to deal with duplicate, inaccurate, late, or unauthorized payments as well as misappropriated cost allocations. In addition, stricter regulatory and compliance standards such as Sarbanes-Oxley in the United States and Basel II in Europe are increasing the importance of timely and accurate financial reporting and control. Leading organizations are addressing these inefficiencies and risks by maximizing the level of automation within their Accounts Payable function. A key component to an Accounts Payable automation strategy is the reduction of paper in the invoice receipt-to-pay cycle. Leading organizations adopt technology solutions that enable the receipt of electronic invoices, convert paper invoices into digital images, store electronic invoices in a web-based repository, and extract key data from the invoices to enhance reporting and approval and payment processing. Leading organizations typically evaluate the following aspects of the Accounts Payable function when identifying opportunities for automation: When automating Accounts Payable processes, multinational organizations should evaluate solutions to ensure compliance to local laws and regulations. Invoice Receipt - Leading organizations automate the receipt of invoices through EDI or solutions supporting Electronic Invoice Payment and Presentment (EIPP). For more information on EIPP, please refer to the best practice Use Electronic Invoice Payment and Presentment (EIPP) to Automate Invoice Receipt and Payment (EIPP). Document and Data Capture - Organizations consider imaging or automating the conversion and capture of paper documents into an electronic format. Documents may include paper invoices and transaction-related documents, such as proofs of receipt. Data can be indexed using document scanning and data extraction tools which use bar codes or software to read and extract relevant information from the invoice (e.g., Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software) Content Storage and Management - Companies also automate the storage, management, and retrieval of electronic documents and data. Given that the data is stored electronically, backup and recovery options are considered as part of an automation solution Workflow Management - Workflow management solutions allow invoices to be automatically routed for appropriate approval. Best practice organizations use software solutions to improve visibility into the tracking and monitoring of the approval process. Some companies choose to implement the process of Evaluated Receipt Settlement (ERS) which automatically creates, approves, and pays an invoice based upon a two-way match between the Purchase Order and the goods or services receipt. This eliminates the need to receive and process invoices and supports automated payment methods. For more information on ERS, please refer to the best practice Reduce Invoices with Evaluated Receipt Settlement (ERS). 1

4 Payment - Organizations can automate the payment of invoices through ACH or a commercial card solution. Technology solutions exist to integrate the commercial card transactions into a company's Accounts Payable process. Third party solutions allow companies to manage card transactions directly in the ERP system and pay the Purchase Order with the card. For commercial card solutions, there are generally two types of payment methods: Accounts Payable Card - Some organizations use a card assigned to either the Accounts Payable department or a specific Accounts Payable employee who is authorized to make payments to specific suppliers. Ghost Cards or Virtual Accounts - Some companies integrate ghost cards assigned to specific suppliers into their ERP or accounting system to help automate the payment and reconciliation process. These solutions are typically offered through issuers, card providers, or third party technology solutions Reporting and Analytics - Automated Accounts Payable solutions enable the analysis of payment process performance data such as the number of invoices pending approval, unpaid invoices past due, and average invoice processing time as well as the analysis of spend data for strategic sourcing purposes Organizations find that the electronic receipt of invoices is a key enabler of an automation strategy within Accounts Payable. One global media and communications organization worked closely with its suppliers to increase the number of invoices received electronically. The organization was able to receive 90 percent of its invoices in electronic format through EDI or use of Evaluated Receipt Settlement (ERS). For those invoices that were not received electronically, the organization employed an image scanning and OCR tool to convert the invoices into an electronic format. Ensuring that the majority of invoices were in electronic format enabled the company to maximize the benefits of other Accounts Payable automation technologies such as automatic routing and approval, as well as storage and data reporting. Some companies use tools provided by either their issuer or a third party to integrate commercial card payment into their ERP or accounting system. One U.S. manufacturing company used a solution provided by their issuer to integrate its commercial card management system with their existing ERP system, enabling Accounts Payable to automatically pay invoices with the commercial card. Once an invoice was approved in the ERP system, payment via a ghost card that was assigned to the supplier was automatically scheduled. In addition, this tool further streamlined the Accounts Payable function by automatically reconciling commercial card transactions which were then electronically fed into the ERP system for Accounts Payable approval and audit. To encourage suppliers to support the technologies that enable Accounts Payable automation, companies develop a formal supplier communication plan. One U.S. telecommunications company worked closely with its suppliers to gain their adoption of its automation technologies which included EDI and EIPP tools. The company presented the benefits of using the tools, such as improved payment cycles and payment status visibility, to its suppliers. Communicating with the suppliers enabled 2

5 their adoption of the technologies, reducing the number of paper invoices and decreasing the number of supplier inquiries received by Accounts Payable. One global energy company used automation within Accounts Payable to increase its on-time payments to vendors. Invoices were received in electronic format or scanned into the system by the organization. Once in the system, the approval routing process was tracked. Late payments were recorded on a monthly basis and approval routing information was used to identify the cause of the late payment. This process allowed Accounts Payable to work with individual business units, managers, and suppliers to resolve late payment issues which enabled the organization to achieve over 96 percent on-time payments. Options for Best Practice Adoption There are a variety of approaches to increasing automation within Accounts Payable. Leading organizations typically use a combination of the following options. Option I Option II Option III Options for Adoption Achieve Accounts Achieve Accounts Achieve Accounts Payable automation Payable automation Payable automation through front-end through front-end through electronic image scanning image scanning and invoice receipt, automated workflow automated workflow and electronic payment Benefits Reduces manual invoice processing Increases cost savings and process efficiencies through streamlined invoice approval Reduces processing time for approvals with workflow automation Maximizes cost savings Provides fully automated invoice and payment processing Key Considerations May require May require Requires time and evaluation of 3rd investment in resources to enroll party imaging supporting suppliers solutions or imaging outsource providers technology and technology integration May require investment in supporting technology and technology integration Benefits Implementing an Accounts Payable automation solution offers organizations a number 3

6 of benefits. Category Control and Compliance Benefit Obtained Automation within Accounts Payable increases the accuracy of payments. Cost Savings and Process Efficiency Automation within Accounts Payable reduces paper invoices and manual review processes which reduce costs. Automating the payment process enables the company to make timely payments, improving an organization's ability to take advantage of early payment discounts. Supplier Management Automation within Accounts Payable increases spend visibility which supports supplier optimization and enables improved supplier performance tracking and evaluation. Spend Visibility The electronic receipt and payment of invoices allows purchasing and payment data to be electronically captured and analyzed. Implementation Steps There are a series of action steps which are necessary to successfully increase automation within Accounts Payable. # Description of Action Step 1 Evaluate the existing Accounts Payable process and identify areas / processes that are candidates for automation. Consider process complexity and adoption readiness 2 Evaluate and select the appropriate technology solution(s). Develop a business case to communicate the options and support the recommendation 3 Obtain support from senior management and key business unit stakeholders 4 Implement selected technology solution(s) 5 If applicable, enroll eligible suppliers in the solution(s), communicating the benefits and new process requirements 6 Communicate process changes to employees 7 Continue to evaluate opportunities for Accounts Payable automation 4

7 Study Methodology The objective of the Visa Procure-to-Pay and Commercial Card Best Practices Study was to better understand the changes in the segment and to gain a comprehensive understanding of best practices across the Procure-to-Pay process and within the commercial card program. Visa commissioned Deloitte Consulting to conduct 90 in-depth interviews in the summer of 2007 with more than 60 global/multinational, mid-size and large corporations as well as federal and local government agencies across the world. In 2010, Visa commissioned Deloitte Consulting to update each of the following 28 Travel and Corporate Card Best Practices from the comprehensive study to include current trends, updated case studies, and additional key findings. The evaluation of the Procure-to-Pay process included sourcing, order placement, payment and settlement, reconciliation, control and audit, and reporting activities. For the commercial card management process, the assessment focused on practices related to the purchasing and corporate card program strategy, management, and reporting. Interviewees included Regional Controllers, Chief Procurement Officers, Directors of Strategic Sourcing, Procurement Managers, Accounts Payable Managers, Global/Regional/Local Commercial Card Program Managers and Travel Managers. Study participants had a range of commercial card programs in place including purchasing card, corporate card and commercial one card programs with each of the top three card providers: Visa, MasterCard and/or American Express. 5 STUDY METHODOLOGY