Posted by Mark Brousseau
Employees suffering from Chronic Migraines (CM) experience increased lost productive time (LPT) in the workplace, according to new analysis from the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention Study. Lost productive time (LPT) is estimated as the average weekly time lost due to an employee being absent (absenteeism) and reduced performance while at work (presenteeism).
Migraine is a neurological syndrome characterized by severe, painful headaches that are often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and increased sensitivity to light and sound. Headaches may last for hours or even days. The pain is often on one side of the head and pulsating. Headaches may be preceded by aura: sensory warning signs such as flashes of light, blind spots, tingling in the arms and legs. Migraine can be divided into those experiencing headache on average 15 or more days per month (CM) and episodic migraine (EM): headache on average fewer than 15 days per month. Of the estimated 30 million Americans who suffer from migraine, approximately one million – mostly women – suffer from CM.
Chronic Migraine (CM) sufferers experience greater LPT in the workplace than those suffering from EM. This study showed that in the age interval 35-44 years, the LPT of CM sufferers was 215.3 hours higher per year than those suffering from EM. The amount of LPT among CM increased over age groups while it remained relatively low and stable among EM.
Cost estimates increased for CM across age cohorts while remaining relatively constant for EM. On an annual basis for those aged 35-44 years, this translated to the LPT for CM sufferers being $5,352.36 higher per year than those with EM. The average cost of LPT per week was based on 2005 census median income estimates.
According to Dr. Dawn Buse, one of the study's authors and Assistant Professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Director of Behavioral Medicine at the Montefiore Headache Center, "The burden of CM is significant in terms of LPT and related costs. The results from these analyses may even underestimate that burden as these data do not capture those who are unemployed and may have exited the labor force through disability or early retirement, representing a significant loss of trained and skilled people who may exit the labor force early due to the burden of CM."
According to Dr. Richard Lipton, one of the study's authors and Professor of Neurology and Epidemiology and Population Health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Director of the Montefiore Headache Center, "The cost of treatment, whether it be to prevent a headache attack or to treat during an attack, may be considerably lower for employers than the costs associated with LPT. Additionally, treatments may ease the suffering of employees, while recovering the labor value of experienced and knowledgeable employees burdened by the symptom and work-related impacts of CM."
Dr. Buse advised, "By understanding the findings of this study, assessing the amount of lost work time their organization is experiencing due to migraine, and taking measures to educate and encourage migraine sufferers to seek treatment, organizations could reduce the amount of LPT and related costs due to migraine, and improve the health and quality of life of their employees."
What do you think?
Showing posts with label AR advocacy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AR advocacy. Show all posts
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Removing the Model T mentality from SAP hosting
Posted by Mark Brousseau
At one time or another, most people have heard Henry Ford’s famous quote about his revolutionary Model T automobile: “Any customer can have a car painted in any color so long as it is black.” Today, we look upon his inflexible, non-customer service-oriented attitude as quaint, a mindset from a bygone era that would never fly today.
But the reality is that attitude is still very prevalent. Not in our vehicles, thankfully – you can get a car or truck painted in just about any crazy color, or combination of colors you want. Instead, it’s the common mindset for IT hosting in the SAP world.
Dan Wilhelms (dwilhelms@sym-corp.com), president and CEO of Symmetry Corporation (www.sym-corp.com), explains:
By now you’ve probably seen all the articles and heard the Webinars talking about IT infrastructure as a commodity rather than a strategic advantage. They tell you how, in this day and age, managing your own infrastructure makes about as much sense as manufacturing your own electricity on a day-to-day basis, and that you’d be better off moving to a hosted model. And they tell you how IT costs to manage SAP average three percent to five percent of revenue, whereas an integrated technical managed services solution incorporating hosting reduces this figure to only one percent of revenue. All of which is true.
Unfortunately, they tend to leave out one small detail. The act of moving your infrastructure to a 20th Century-style hosting provider can be very expensive and time-consuming, especially for a mid-market organization, before it ever becomes smooth and cost-efficient.
The reason is that Henry Ford mentality. The typical 20th-Century hosting provider has a giant server farm full of equipment onto which it will move your applications. Essentially, they tell you that you can run your applications on any hardware you want – as long as it’s the hardware they already have. If you’re running on the same hardware – say your current system is IBM and so is the provider’s – that part will probably transition fairly smoothly. But if your applications are set up to run on HP servers and they’re using IBM, it’s going to take a lot of work to make the changeover. And guess who has to make the change?
The other big problem with the 20th Century model is sharing resources. Back in Ford’s day, when running water was still a rarity, families often shared bathwater (or even baths) because filling a bathtub was a time-consuming, labor-intensive task. They didn’t want to waste the effort on providing clean water for each bath.
In the traditional hosting world, the resources you’re sharing are servers. In order to operate as efficiently (and profitably) as they can, hosting providers try to fill every micron of disk space on every server with data. That means they’ll often mix data from two or more organizations to increase utilization.
It makes sense from their standpoint. But it’s not so good from yours. If a problem with some other organization’s application takes down the server you’re sharing, you are just as out of luck as they are – even though your applications are running perfectly fine. In addition, if you’re working with a government agency and have to show compliance with laws requiring separation of data, it’s going to be pretty tough to prove when your supposedly secure data is running alongside that of an organization with different (or no) compliance requirements.
There is a solution, however. Rather than settling for a “Model T” type of hosting environment, look instead for a provider using a 21st Century hosting model.
With a 21st Century hosting provider, you don’t have to make your applications fit their hardware. Instead, they will host your applications on whatever hardware you want – whether that means purchasing all new hardware of your choice as part of an upgrade, or actually packing up and shipping your current hardware to their locations. If you’re buying new hardware, a good hosting provider will even give you a choice of procuring it yourself or taking that burden off your hands – whatever method works best for you.
Moving to a hosted system dedicated specifically to your organization instead of one that is carved out of a general storage area network also solves the concerns regarding data separation. Since your hardware operates as separately as if it were in your own facility, there is no chance someone else’s application problems will affect your business. It also makes proving separation of data a very simple task.
A 21st Century hosting provider will also tend to be more specialized. In the early days, hosting meant setting up equipment and running whatever applications its customers sent its way. There was little on-staff expertise to draw from if there was a problem with, say, SAP or another complex system. In the new world of hosting, providers specialize in particular technologies and have deep expertise on staff, which allow them to do what you really want them to do – manage and maintain the system completely, including overcoming any issues immediately rather than having to call an outside specialist.
While moving to a 21st Century hosting provider makes sense for virtually any organization, it is particularly well-suited to mid-market organizations that are increasingly finding more time being spent on IT maintenance and less on actually deriving more value out of their applications. It’s a lot like those early Model Ts. Back then, if you were going to own a car, you had to know how to fix it, too.
Today, most car owners don’t know what’s under the hood and don’t want to know. They just want to get in and drive. Rather than adding IT staff (and finding themselves in the IT business instead of whatever business they’re actually in), these mid-market organizations can stay focused on the reasons they installed their applications in the first place.
When it comes to hosting, why settle for a Model T mentality? Using a 21st Century hosting provider will give you complete control over your environment and keep your data separate, all while saving you as much as 30 percent over traditional hosting. Even Henry Ford would approve of that.
What do you think?
At one time or another, most people have heard Henry Ford’s famous quote about his revolutionary Model T automobile: “Any customer can have a car painted in any color so long as it is black.” Today, we look upon his inflexible, non-customer service-oriented attitude as quaint, a mindset from a bygone era that would never fly today.
But the reality is that attitude is still very prevalent. Not in our vehicles, thankfully – you can get a car or truck painted in just about any crazy color, or combination of colors you want. Instead, it’s the common mindset for IT hosting in the SAP world.
Dan Wilhelms (dwilhelms@sym-corp.com), president and CEO of Symmetry Corporation (www.sym-corp.com), explains:
By now you’ve probably seen all the articles and heard the Webinars talking about IT infrastructure as a commodity rather than a strategic advantage. They tell you how, in this day and age, managing your own infrastructure makes about as much sense as manufacturing your own electricity on a day-to-day basis, and that you’d be better off moving to a hosted model. And they tell you how IT costs to manage SAP average three percent to five percent of revenue, whereas an integrated technical managed services solution incorporating hosting reduces this figure to only one percent of revenue. All of which is true.
Unfortunately, they tend to leave out one small detail. The act of moving your infrastructure to a 20th Century-style hosting provider can be very expensive and time-consuming, especially for a mid-market organization, before it ever becomes smooth and cost-efficient.
The reason is that Henry Ford mentality. The typical 20th-Century hosting provider has a giant server farm full of equipment onto which it will move your applications. Essentially, they tell you that you can run your applications on any hardware you want – as long as it’s the hardware they already have. If you’re running on the same hardware – say your current system is IBM and so is the provider’s – that part will probably transition fairly smoothly. But if your applications are set up to run on HP servers and they’re using IBM, it’s going to take a lot of work to make the changeover. And guess who has to make the change?
The other big problem with the 20th Century model is sharing resources. Back in Ford’s day, when running water was still a rarity, families often shared bathwater (or even baths) because filling a bathtub was a time-consuming, labor-intensive task. They didn’t want to waste the effort on providing clean water for each bath.
In the traditional hosting world, the resources you’re sharing are servers. In order to operate as efficiently (and profitably) as they can, hosting providers try to fill every micron of disk space on every server with data. That means they’ll often mix data from two or more organizations to increase utilization.
It makes sense from their standpoint. But it’s not so good from yours. If a problem with some other organization’s application takes down the server you’re sharing, you are just as out of luck as they are – even though your applications are running perfectly fine. In addition, if you’re working with a government agency and have to show compliance with laws requiring separation of data, it’s going to be pretty tough to prove when your supposedly secure data is running alongside that of an organization with different (or no) compliance requirements.
There is a solution, however. Rather than settling for a “Model T” type of hosting environment, look instead for a provider using a 21st Century hosting model.
With a 21st Century hosting provider, you don’t have to make your applications fit their hardware. Instead, they will host your applications on whatever hardware you want – whether that means purchasing all new hardware of your choice as part of an upgrade, or actually packing up and shipping your current hardware to their locations. If you’re buying new hardware, a good hosting provider will even give you a choice of procuring it yourself or taking that burden off your hands – whatever method works best for you.
Moving to a hosted system dedicated specifically to your organization instead of one that is carved out of a general storage area network also solves the concerns regarding data separation. Since your hardware operates as separately as if it were in your own facility, there is no chance someone else’s application problems will affect your business. It also makes proving separation of data a very simple task.
A 21st Century hosting provider will also tend to be more specialized. In the early days, hosting meant setting up equipment and running whatever applications its customers sent its way. There was little on-staff expertise to draw from if there was a problem with, say, SAP or another complex system. In the new world of hosting, providers specialize in particular technologies and have deep expertise on staff, which allow them to do what you really want them to do – manage and maintain the system completely, including overcoming any issues immediately rather than having to call an outside specialist.
While moving to a 21st Century hosting provider makes sense for virtually any organization, it is particularly well-suited to mid-market organizations that are increasingly finding more time being spent on IT maintenance and less on actually deriving more value out of their applications. It’s a lot like those early Model Ts. Back then, if you were going to own a car, you had to know how to fix it, too.
Today, most car owners don’t know what’s under the hood and don’t want to know. They just want to get in and drive. Rather than adding IT staff (and finding themselves in the IT business instead of whatever business they’re actually in), these mid-market organizations can stay focused on the reasons they installed their applications in the first place.
When it comes to hosting, why settle for a Model T mentality? Using a 21st Century hosting provider will give you complete control over your environment and keep your data separate, all while saving you as much as 30 percent over traditional hosting. Even Henry Ford would approve of that.
What do you think?
Sunday, May 9, 2010
FUSION 2010
Posted by Mark Brousseau
At a writer's workshop this afternoon at FUSION 2010, IAPP/IARP Editor in Chief Laureen Crowley Algier shared five editing tips for presenting the most polished product:
Step 1: Front-end coaching
Before anything is written, the writer and editor discuss expectations for the work. Who is the audience? What kind of research is required? Who will be quoted? What kinds of “extras” will the work contain – such as boxed facts, pullout quotes, charts, illustrations, photographs, or diagrams? The writer and editor lay out a plan that includes a deadline.
Step 2: Preliminary content edit
The editor looks through everything quickly for content. Is it being presented in a logical order, are there any holes that leave questions, is there anything that warrants further explanation, can the facts be verified, is everything quoted from another source properly attributed? The editor and the writer go over the questions and decide what to change. The file goes to the writer for revisions and then back to the editor.
Step 3: Clean edit
The editor reads the material again all the way through, smoothing out the new information and checking the file for spelling, grammar, punctuation and style. The editor sends the file back to the writer for final approval in two forms: one in edit mode with all the changes marked, and the other “cleaned up” to show the final product. The writer sends the work to anyone else who needs to read it before it’s published, such as co-workers, supervisors, colleagues, or experts.
Step 4: Copy edit
After everyone has reviewed the work, the material is copy edited at least one more time to double-check for typos. This step often is performed by a different editor who can give it a fresh eye. Then the work goes to the graphic designer or layout editor.
Step 5: Proofread
When the work comes back from the graphic designer, an editor proofreads it all the way through to make sure none of the type shifted during layout and that the graphic elements – such as charts, breakout boxes, photographs or illustrations – appear at logical places in the copy. For instance, if a chart about a topic appears on a page preceding the mention of that topic in the text, it could be confusing to readers. After this step is completed, the editor signs off on the product and it’s ready for the public.
At a writer's workshop this afternoon at FUSION 2010, IAPP/IARP Editor in Chief Laureen Crowley Algier shared five editing tips for presenting the most polished product:
Step 1: Front-end coaching
Before anything is written, the writer and editor discuss expectations for the work. Who is the audience? What kind of research is required? Who will be quoted? What kinds of “extras” will the work contain – such as boxed facts, pullout quotes, charts, illustrations, photographs, or diagrams? The writer and editor lay out a plan that includes a deadline.
Step 2: Preliminary content edit
The editor looks through everything quickly for content. Is it being presented in a logical order, are there any holes that leave questions, is there anything that warrants further explanation, can the facts be verified, is everything quoted from another source properly attributed? The editor and the writer go over the questions and decide what to change. The file goes to the writer for revisions and then back to the editor.
Step 3: Clean edit
The editor reads the material again all the way through, smoothing out the new information and checking the file for spelling, grammar, punctuation and style. The editor sends the file back to the writer for final approval in two forms: one in edit mode with all the changes marked, and the other “cleaned up” to show the final product. The writer sends the work to anyone else who needs to read it before it’s published, such as co-workers, supervisors, colleagues, or experts.
Step 4: Copy edit
After everyone has reviewed the work, the material is copy edited at least one more time to double-check for typos. This step often is performed by a different editor who can give it a fresh eye. Then the work goes to the graphic designer or layout editor.
Step 5: Proofread
When the work comes back from the graphic designer, an editor proofreads it all the way through to make sure none of the type shifted during layout and that the graphic elements – such as charts, breakout boxes, photographs or illustrations – appear at logical places in the copy. For instance, if a chart about a topic appears on a page preceding the mention of that topic in the text, it could be confusing to readers. After this step is completed, the editor signs off on the product and it’s ready for the public.
FUSION 2010
Posted by Mark Brousseau
During an interactive networking luncheon today at FUSION 2010 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas, attendees shared the best operations tips that they have implemented in the past year. Below are some of the top operations tips shared by attendees:
• Develop an AP Roadshow to visit different departments and operations sites to explain what AP does, what information it needs to do its job effectively, and how departments can work with AP.
• Implement a document imaging and retrieval system for finance documents. Having instant access to document images helped one company eliminate one full-time equivalent.
• Integrate TIN Matching with Oracle.
• Scan your invoices!
• Scan AP documents on the front-end, not the back-end, to achieve more workflow efficiencies.
• Combine your travel and entertainment (T&E) and purchasing card into one card to reduce administration and capture more rebates.
• Leverage remote deposit capture to eliminate trips to the bank.
• Automate, automate, automate!
• Do away with paper checks for T&E. Use debit cards for employees without bank accounts.
• If you have international travelers, educate them on VAT reclamation requirements.
• Trust is not a control! A “trusted employee” could be stealing from your company.
• When choosing a software solution, ask how they initiates upgrades or you might find yourself back at square one. Also understand whether the vendor will convert existing data.
• Eliminate, automate, delegate -- EAD!
• Eliminate as much paper as possible from your workflow.
• Whenever you are implementing new technologies or processes, be sure to get buy-in from line-level staff.
• Strive for open communication with your staff.
• Learn to walk away!
During an interactive networking luncheon today at FUSION 2010 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas, attendees shared the best operations tips that they have implemented in the past year. Below are some of the top operations tips shared by attendees:
• Develop an AP Roadshow to visit different departments and operations sites to explain what AP does, what information it needs to do its job effectively, and how departments can work with AP.
• Implement a document imaging and retrieval system for finance documents. Having instant access to document images helped one company eliminate one full-time equivalent.
• Integrate TIN Matching with Oracle.
• Scan your invoices!
• Scan AP documents on the front-end, not the back-end, to achieve more workflow efficiencies.
• Combine your travel and entertainment (T&E) and purchasing card into one card to reduce administration and capture more rebates.
• Leverage remote deposit capture to eliminate trips to the bank.
• Automate, automate, automate!
• Do away with paper checks for T&E. Use debit cards for employees without bank accounts.
• If you have international travelers, educate them on VAT reclamation requirements.
• Trust is not a control! A “trusted employee” could be stealing from your company.
• When choosing a software solution, ask how they initiates upgrades or you might find yourself back at square one. Also understand whether the vendor will convert existing data.
• Eliminate, automate, delegate -- EAD!
• Eliminate as much paper as possible from your workflow.
• Whenever you are implementing new technologies or processes, be sure to get buy-in from line-level staff.
• Strive for open communication with your staff.
• Learn to walk away!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
FUSION Preview
Posted by Mark Brousseau
Join me Wednesday, May 12 at 3:15 for an interactive panel discussion that will drill down into the findings of a groundbreaking AP Benchmarking Survey from International Accounts Payables Professionals (IAPP), American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC), and PRGX.
Our panelists will offer their insights on the findings, as well as advice on what AP operations should do to become top performers themselves. Topics covered will include automation strategies, AP best practices, and the business models with the biggest payoff. You might be surprised by the findings! There will be plenty of opportunity for attendees to ask questions and share their own strategies for AP effectiveness and efficiency.
Moderator:
Mark Brousseau, Brousseau and Associates
Panelists:
Tom Bohn, CEO, IAPP/IARP
Evert Hulleman, Managing Director, Advisory Services, PRGX USA, Inc.
Neville Sokol, Sr. Advisor Research Services, APQC
Join me Wednesday, May 12 at 3:15 for an interactive panel discussion that will drill down into the findings of a groundbreaking AP Benchmarking Survey from International Accounts Payables Professionals (IAPP), American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC), and PRGX.
Our panelists will offer their insights on the findings, as well as advice on what AP operations should do to become top performers themselves. Topics covered will include automation strategies, AP best practices, and the business models with the biggest payoff. You might be surprised by the findings! There will be plenty of opportunity for attendees to ask questions and share their own strategies for AP effectiveness and efficiency.
Moderator:
Mark Brousseau, Brousseau and Associates
Panelists:
Tom Bohn, CEO, IAPP/IARP
Evert Hulleman, Managing Director, Advisory Services, PRGX USA, Inc.
Neville Sokol, Sr. Advisor Research Services, APQC
FUSION Preview
Posted by Mark Brousseau
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
In this case, it is critical to the future success of your AP operation.
Join IAPP CEO Tom Bohn and PRGX President and CEO Romil Bahl at 7:45 a.m. on Tuesday, May 11, as they unveil the results of a groundbreaking new tool for measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of AP operations.
The AP Productivity Index, developed by IAPP, PRGX and APQC, is the first tool of its kind to gauge the impact of AP metrics such as cost, staff productivity, turnaround time, and error rates.
During this breakfast presentation, Bahl will share the findings of the index, providing qualitative information on the practices, business models and attributes of AP Top Performers. The results may surprise you! Bahl also will arm CFOs and AP leaders with questions they can take back to their operations to identify areas for improvement. You'll also learn how you can participate in the index.
So set your alarm, and set your future success in motion!
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
In this case, it is critical to the future success of your AP operation.
Join IAPP CEO Tom Bohn and PRGX President and CEO Romil Bahl at 7:45 a.m. on Tuesday, May 11, as they unveil the results of a groundbreaking new tool for measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of AP operations.
The AP Productivity Index, developed by IAPP, PRGX and APQC, is the first tool of its kind to gauge the impact of AP metrics such as cost, staff productivity, turnaround time, and error rates.
During this breakfast presentation, Bahl will share the findings of the index, providing qualitative information on the practices, business models and attributes of AP Top Performers. The results may surprise you! Bahl also will arm CFOs and AP leaders with questions they can take back to their operations to identify areas for improvement. You'll also learn how you can participate in the index.
So set your alarm, and set your future success in motion!
FUSION Preview
Posted by Mark Brousseau
Coming to Dallas early for FUSION 2010?
Join me for a special networking lunch on Sunday, May 9, beginning at 11:30 a.m. in Dallas 6 and 7 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center. The lunch is open to all FUSION registrants.
During this complimentary lunch, you will have an opportunity to meet other FUSION attendees in a casual and comfortable setting -- and take away some great tips for improving your operations.
Prizes also will be awarded.
Have lunch with us and get your FUSION experience off to a great start!
Coming to Dallas early for FUSION 2010?
Join me for a special networking lunch on Sunday, May 9, beginning at 11:30 a.m. in Dallas 6 and 7 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center. The lunch is open to all FUSION registrants.
During this complimentary lunch, you will have an opportunity to meet other FUSION attendees in a casual and comfortable setting -- and take away some great tips for improving your operations.
Prizes also will be awarded.
Have lunch with us and get your FUSION experience off to a great start!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
TAWPI @ NACHA Payments
today Magazine Editor Mark Brousseau looks on as J&B Software's Mike Packer demonstrates the vendor's Mobile Deposit solution at NACHA's Payments 2010 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.
AR professionals expect a better 2010
OB10, the leading global e-Invoicing network, and International Accounts Receivable Professionals (IARP), a not-for-profit guidance-setting association for the accounts receivable profession, conducted a recent survey of accounts receivable professionals designed to gauge current business practices and the future state of organizations from an accounts receivable and collections perspective.
Results of the survey, which will be conducted annually, indicate that AR professionals are taking a number of steps to ensure more predictable payment from customers while predicting a general improvement in their organization’s overall economic situation in 2010. Survey participants included presidents, CEOs, owners, CFOs, AR directors and AR managers from organizations across a broad spectrum of industries and sizes.
“The results of the survey provide very strong insight into the current invoicing and collections practices of AR professionals and give a glimpse of where they are going to direct their efforts and resources in the future to ensure more predictable cash flow,” said Thayer Stewart, Vice President of Marketing for OB10. Although generally satisfied with their collections results, 41 percent of respondents have increased their collections efforts and slightly more than half have been contacting their customers more frequently in order to receive payment. Furthermore, in light of the increased collections activities, 71 percent of respondents said they had received requests from their customers in 2009 to invoice them electronically, with 42 percent saying they had received more requests in 2009 than in previous years. AR professionals view this positively, as 82 percent who received requests believe that submitting invoices electronically expedites the collections process.”
The survey also asked AR professionals to indicate the average number of days it takes their customers to pay them once an invoice has been submitted. The result was an average Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) number of 36.1 days, with 69 percent of respondents citing that their invoices are paid between 26 and 50 days after submitted to their customers.
“Almost two-thirds of the AR professionals we polled told us that 2009 was worse than or about the same as 2008 financially,” said IARP CEO Tom Bohn., “However, the outlook going forward is increasingly positive, as almost 60 percent of respondents said they believe their businesses will do better financially in 2010 compared to 2009. Of those expressing optimism, 63 percent say they have a positive outlook because their companies have become more focused in their sales and marketing efforts, 61 percent said they have been more successful in reducing costs and 58 percent say they expect the economy to rebound.”
To read more about the results of the 2010 OB10-IARP Accounts Receivable Survey, download the executive summary as well as the full report from the OB10 and IARP Web sites at http://OB10.com/ARSurvey or http://www.theiarp.org/ViewItem-324.do?parentCatId=219 respectively.
Results of the survey, which will be conducted annually, indicate that AR professionals are taking a number of steps to ensure more predictable payment from customers while predicting a general improvement in their organization’s overall economic situation in 2010. Survey participants included presidents, CEOs, owners, CFOs, AR directors and AR managers from organizations across a broad spectrum of industries and sizes.
“The results of the survey provide very strong insight into the current invoicing and collections practices of AR professionals and give a glimpse of where they are going to direct their efforts and resources in the future to ensure more predictable cash flow,” said Thayer Stewart, Vice President of Marketing for OB10. Although generally satisfied with their collections results, 41 percent of respondents have increased their collections efforts and slightly more than half have been contacting their customers more frequently in order to receive payment. Furthermore, in light of the increased collections activities, 71 percent of respondents said they had received requests from their customers in 2009 to invoice them electronically, with 42 percent saying they had received more requests in 2009 than in previous years. AR professionals view this positively, as 82 percent who received requests believe that submitting invoices electronically expedites the collections process.”
The survey also asked AR professionals to indicate the average number of days it takes their customers to pay them once an invoice has been submitted. The result was an average Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) number of 36.1 days, with 69 percent of respondents citing that their invoices are paid between 26 and 50 days after submitted to their customers.
“Almost two-thirds of the AR professionals we polled told us that 2009 was worse than or about the same as 2008 financially,” said IARP CEO Tom Bohn., “However, the outlook going forward is increasingly positive, as almost 60 percent of respondents said they believe their businesses will do better financially in 2010 compared to 2009. Of those expressing optimism, 63 percent say they have a positive outlook because their companies have become more focused in their sales and marketing efforts, 61 percent said they have been more successful in reducing costs and 58 percent say they expect the economy to rebound.”
To read more about the results of the 2010 OB10-IARP Accounts Receivable Survey, download the executive summary as well as the full report from the OB10 and IARP Web sites at http://OB10.com/ARSurvey or http://www.theiarp.org/ViewItem-324.do?parentCatId=219 respectively.
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