Managing the Cash Cycle - Accounts Receivable & Payable

Introduction:

The importance of cash cycle coming from the fact that moving cash-generating profit, so as much as you improve the cash cycle, as much as you get more profit. Accounts receivable and payables best practices playing the main rule in improving the cash cycle. 

Targeted Groups:

• Finance Executives
• Accountants
• Others who are working within Transactional Finance, Accounts Payable or Accounts Receivable process or who wish to develop a practical toolkit to complement their existing professional or technical skills

Course Objectives:

At the end of this course the participants will be able to:

• Work effectively with the fundamentals of accounts payable, accounts receivable, financial accounting and the supply chain
• Understand and apply the fundamentals of effective transactional management systems
• Review and comment on payment methods and cash management
• Understand the need to incorporate risk and uncertainty into transactional processing and cash flow management
• Identify best practice across all industries 

Targeted Competencies:

• Examining the role of accounts payable
• Performing month-end accruals
• Preparing and analyzing accounts payable aging
• Preventing accounts payable fraud
• Applying accounts payable best practices
• Implementing early payment discount
• Managing accounts receivable effectively
• Performing accounts receivable analysis
• Preparing accounts receivable aging report
• Monetizing accounts receivable
• Utilizing Excel functions

Course Content:

Unit 1: An Introduction to Accounts Receivable:

• Working Capital and Cash Management
• Understanding “the cost of credit”
• The ‘order to cash’ process
• Understanding “risk” in “credit”
• Accounts Receivable and effective customer service
• Identifying underperforming areas to increase customer satisfaction

Unit 2: Customers and Trading Terms:

• Terms of trading
• Tools and techniques of financial analysis: ratios; trends; common size analysis
• The best performance measure – cash or profit?
• Financial distress and the Altman’s Z score-type analyses
• Trend analysis
• Value-added analysis of financial statement

Unit 3: Developing Effective Strategies to Maximize Cash Collection:

• Identifying effective “pre-delinquency” collection campaigns
• Defining “post-delinquency” activities
• Customer sensitive collection strategies
• Collection techniques and letter cycles
• Appropriate internal and external escalation steps
• Using workflow management to maximize collector performance

Unit 4: Practical Collection Tools and Techniques:

• Eliminating barriers to payment
• Recognizing excuses and delaying tactics
• Providing solutions to non-payment
• Telephone collection techniques
• Negotiation skills for successful collections
• Building relationships with customers

Unit 5: Managing the Receivables Ledger:

• Developing effective internal relationships to maximize performance
• Setting targets and tracking performance
• Managing information that dazzles
• Defining meaningful KPI’s
• Latest Developments in Accounts Receivable

 Unit 6: Accounts Payable, Financial Accounting, and the Supply Chain:

• Accounting and financial information: Accounts Payable in context
• Sources of finance
• The supply chain
• Financial position and financial performance
• Cash flow and Working Capital
• Why is cash flow so important?

Unit 7: Achieving World Class in Accounts Payable Processes:

• Defining Best Practice in AP
• Moving beyond P2P
• Managing Risk
• Principles of Best Practice
• End to End AP Process
• Defining the issues in Accounts Payable

Unit 8: Improving Invoice Processing and Operational Management:

• Invoice Handling and Approval Processes
• Verifying invoice data
• Paying “low value” items
• How to avoid duplicate payments
• Making the best use of staff time: limiting telephone calls to AP
• Does Petty cash management belong in Accounts Payable?

Unit 9: Harnessing Technology in Accounts Payable Processes:

• Master Vendor File Management – getting it right from the start
• Travel & Entertainment
• Policy management
• Cash advances and employee reimbursement
• Process improvement through imaging and workflow
• Using the internet for AP effectiveness

Unit 10: Making the Payments and Maintaining the Relationships:

• Communications & Customer Relations
• Payments status information for vendors and internal customers
• Improving Procure to Pay(P2P)Cycle
• Payments and Payment Solutions: Accounts Payable or Treasury