Accounts Payable Services. A strong foundation for sustained benefits. Accounts Payable

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1 Services A strong foundation for sustained benefits

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3 Introduction The accounts payable (AP) function is changing. For the past decade, finance departments have focused on driving cost, complexity, risk and error from their routine transaction processes. Streamlined business processes, often combined with improved technology systems, have largely been the basis of these efforts. The resulting improvements often are viewed through an efficiency lens: more invoices processed with shorter cycle times, fewer employee hours and greater accuracy. CFOs expect more from the AP function. AP, long regarded as a backoffice cost center, is now evolving into a strategic business enabler charged with the mission to reduce costs, strengthen compliance and controls, ensure accurate and timely reporting of payments, partner with procurement, receiving and business units to streamline the procure-to-pay process and add value through more strategic payables-related working capital. To accomplish this mission, the AP function must streamline the invoice process, update or implement new technology and, like other parts of the organization, implement successful strategies such as outsourcing nonstrategic work, leveraging P-Cards for low-value high-frequency transactions and migrating from paper to digital workflow. 3

4 Today s AP challenges In most organizations the majority of non-purchase order invoices and T&E reports still enter the process in paper or paper-equivalent form. From receipt to payment, manual touch points are required to convert and validate data, to complete approval through the purchase order and non-purchase order process and to remit payment. Staff is inundated with manual data entry, duplicate invoice copies and requests for special payments, non-stop calls for payment from suppliers and staff and paper recordkeeping. Moreover, decentralized receipt and manual routing prolong payment time so that a substantial number of invoices cannot be paid on time. Discounts are lost. Late fees are incurred. The accrual of outstanding liability is guesswork at a time when the CFO and CEO are required to endorse for the accuracy and integrity of financial reporting under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. On the strategic front, there is insufficient time and staff to work on process improvements and implement automation. Resource limitations hinder work to align procurement and AP practices to ensure payments are made within contract terms, exceptions are minimized and discounts and rebates are realized. At the operating level, AP managers are pressured by management to reduce the total cost of AP, even as business units demand more analytical support, suppliers want faster payment and procurement seeks an integrated procure-to-pay (P2P) process and internal audit mandates for fewer errors and tighter controls. Finally, while all organizations use technology, the technology they have is not designed to eliminate the manual work of processing invoices and T&E claims. Most organizations operate multiple ERP systems with or without invoice workflow. Manual labor is required to enter data, to work with separate ERPs and to secure approval and exceptions outside ERP. The use of scanning and digital content management technology is becoming more prevalent. However, most organizations still do not use automation to capture, validate and match data, or for approval collection. 4

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6 comprehensive, customized, modular and Flexible AP Service canon business Process Services provides a comprehensive accounts payable service that can help the AP function escape the laborious work of processing invoices and free up the budget and time to work on more important, value-added work. canon s AP service covers the entire invoice lifecycle from receipt to payment. we provide the technology, people and facilities to process invoices and T&E claims. we can hire your staff and provide the services on-site or provide the services in our facilities. we integrate our technology with yours to optimize the AP invoice workflow end to end. canon Service Process canon s AP service is scalable and can be implemented step by step to add the right level of enhancement that makes sense for your process. INVOICE INTAKE INVOICE PROCESSING INVOICE PAYMENT Receive Scan Validate Approve Pay Centralized paper, digital Intelligent capture extraction Automated business rules Automated workflow PO, Non-PO Check Electronic REJECTED INVOICES RETURNED TO SUPPLIER AP SUPPORT Help desk for vendor inquiries Vendor maintenance Compliance and AP records management Reconciliations Month-end, year-end routines Accruals 1099, Tax Reports and ad hoc analyses/special projects 6

7 /1 /2 /3 Invoice intake centralizes the receipt, scans and converts paper or digital invoices into data and images that are routed to your ERP, AP workflow and content management systems. All data, including line-item detail, is captured for validation later on. Manual data entry is replaced with intelligent capture, which should reach more than 95% accuracy and reduce labor cost by up to half. Images are indexed for easy search and link to ERP. Paper invoices do not enter the workflow. Invoice processing validates the invoice and completes the approval process, whether it is a purchase order or non-purchase order invoice. Automated, rules-based workflow matches the data captured from invoices against the data in the master files, such as ERP, vendor master, purchase order system, paid invoices, etc. The output is valid invoices set up in ERP. Invalid ones are returned to the vendor. Approval is completed using staff assisted by automated matching and workflow. Approval time may be reduced from weeks to days. Invoice payment services include both electronic and check payments. Canon staff reviews payment file and presents to client for final release. We will securely print and mail checks in accordance with client procedures and controls. We manage bank payment files and reconciliation. 7

8 /4 /5 /6 AP Support services include vendor maintenance and inquiry help desk, maintenance of AP records, reconciliation and analysis, reporting, maintaining policy, procedures and internal controls, administering programs such as P-Card, regulatory compliance for T&E, IRS reporting, tax and month-end and year-end routines such as accruals and 1099s. Flexible delivery options Canon AP services can be provided at the client site, through the Canon business processing centers in the U.S. and offshore or in combination to meet business requirements. The service can be implemented in a modular step-bystep process. For example, start with invoice intake, which provides significant improvements quickly. Then, advance to processing services offshore. With slight modification, our technology platform, which includes scanning, workflow and ECM, can be leveraged for other processes to provide even more value. Streamlining the invoice process to reduce cycle time and cost The policies, procedures and discipline in procurement and receiving drive the number of exceptions in the invoice process. That s why when working to streamline the invoice process, Canon experts begin with the procure-to-pay (P2P) process. We can centralize the receipt of paper invoices and scanning either at our facilities or yours. We can integrate the invoice process with P2P systems. Before entering the invoice in your ERP, we interrogate each invoice against your master data, which we exchange nightly. Only valid invoices enter ERP, greatly reducing the work associated with duplicate or invalid invoices. For non-po invoices, we leverage digital workflow to collect approval and track status. For PO invoices, we leverage line-item matching technology to speed approval and reduce errors. It all adds up to having the ability to pay invoices on time and maximize discounts. 8

9 /7 /8 Using automation to reduce errors, improve productivity and lower cost Open standard and scalable, the Canon invoice automation platform can be integrated with virtually any ERP, ECM or P2P system. Automating capture, data conversion, validation, matching and workflow reduces the invoice processing time to days. Productivity may increase from 1,000 to 10,000 invoices per FTE per month. Using automation to improve compliance Compliance with business and regulatory requirements such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is necessary and important. The Canon AP solution offers consistent workflow processes that help maintain accurate records. By overcoming gaps in tracking, accessing and updating data, the system can help improve client compliance. Effective accounts payable processing is essential for every organization. With Canon, you can achieve significantly elevated AP performance without investment in technology. At the same time, you can significantly reduce the total cost of AP processing and strengthen controls with a consistent metrics and businessrules-driven process. To learn more about how Canon business Process Services can improve your accounts payable process, call us at or visit 9

10 client Experiences using canon AP Services 20k Invoices processed monthly Invoice intake. A European cosmetics manufacturer implemented an automated invoice processing workflow globally. The company s U.S. operations receive approximately 20,000 paper invoices per month. Management asked Canon to centralize receipt, scan, convert the data and upload it into their new workflow. Using Canon Business Process Services BPO facilities and AP platform, we implemented the receipt process via USPS PO box, fax, and FTP addresses. We implemented the scan and OCR process, capturing even line-item detail. Then, we went one step further. Using nightly file exchange, we implemented invoice validation so we can check and prevent invalid duplicate invoices from entering the process. Invalid invoices are rejected and sent to the supplier managers. The client never sees paper invoices. 10

11 3 number of days average receipt until ready to pay AP processing. A leading pharmaceutical company, receiving 15,000 invoices a month, implemented a new invoice imaging and workflow system, feeding Oracle ERP, to speed up invoice processing and reduce costs. Unexpected results were encountered. The number of on-time invoice payments dropped from 40% to 5%. The cost per invoice was in the $20 range. Canon was brought in to do a root cause analysis and turn around the situation. Subsequently, the client outsourced the 18-person AP department to Canon. Canon streamlined the invoice process using Six Sigma process expertise and immediately reduced staff by 20% and the cycle time from eight days to three. In phase two, the capture and pro cessing workflow automation will be implemented correctly along with offshore processing. The average cycle time and cost will be reduced further. 80% of invoices paid on time AP and P2P integration. A regional bank receiving 20,000 invoices per month using a P2P system for PO invoices wanted to reduce the cost and cycle time of processing 10,000 non-po invoices and also join the non-po invoices with the P2P system. Canon integrated front-end capture to the P2P system with automated validation workflow to prevent duplicate invoices from entering the system. Invoice receipt and data conversion were centralized in the Canon BPO center as well as processing of invoices locally. The number of invoices reaching ontime payment increased from 40% to 80%. All invoices are processed in one paperless P2P system. 11

12 Advancing Business Performance to a Higher Level 460 West 34th Street New York, NY Canon Business Process Services, Inc. is a leading provider of managed services and technology that enable organizations to improve operational efficiency while reducing risk and cost. Experts apply quality management principles and tools such as Six Sigma to advance performance to a higher level. The company offers services including BPO, imaging, records management, print, mail and ediscovery, and is an IAOP Global Outsourcing 100 Leader in 2013 for the seventh consecutive year. Based in New York City, Canon Business Process Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A., Inc. Parent company Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ) ranks third overall in U.S. patents registered in 2012 and is one of Fortune magazine s World s Most Admired Companies in Learn more at CANON, MAXbasic and MAXadvanced are registered trademarks of Canon Inc. in the United States and may also be a registered trademark or trademarks in other countries. All other referenced product, company or service names and marks are trademarks or service marks of their respective owners and are hereby acknowledged Canon Business Process Services, Inc. All rights reserved. Canon Business Process Services, Inc v3