Credit and A/R projects are large, complex, expensive and fraught with risks. This e-book demystifies technologies such as Robotic Process Automation and Artificial Intelligence to help finance leaders transform operations.
A credit and A/R process assessment is the first step in the pre-implementation phase. A common pitfall with most firms is that the project leaders straight away get into requirements analysis without understanding the status quo of credit and A/R processes within their organization. To achieve success, it is of utmost importance to determine the current state to set the foundation for future change. The assessment process provides clarity on the following three items:
The assessment process improves decision-making that will have a direct impact on the scope, the cost and the value capture of the project.
As a first step, set-up a core team comprised of A/R process owners, IT, senior execs and end users. It is also strongly recommended to add 3rd party consultants to challenge the ?it is how things have always been done? mentality. The core team should be chartered to review the current processes and systems to evaluate the value capture of implementing receivables automation. Figure1 highlights the team composition.
At its core, the assessment process provides a detailed view of the activities that that each team member is responsible for and also help track the KPIs of the project?s implementation. Figure 2 outlines the five stages in the audit process below:
Technologies such as Robotic Process Automation open up new opportunities to gain efficiencies in routine processes. Therefore, it becomes critical for business teams to ?unlearn? or at least shed biases WRT the AS- IS process/legacy systems. Any attempt to design a ?new? system for an ?old? process might at best bring in marginal improvements in operational performance whereas redesigning the processes and taking advantage of the emerging technologies is imperative to achieving significant performance improvements. To avoid making this common misstep, follow the outline below:
The fit-gap analysis document should ideally have the following fields:
Requirement†description Business†Priority | ROI†Priority Category Minor†Gap | Major†Gap ERP†Gap Solution†Options |
?ROI Priority? is a key column as it is important to track what impacts the KPIs. The below graph (Figure 51) is a good representation of the type of KPIs that could be used to track the performance of credit and A/R teams. Other important metrics and reports to consider include the following:
Implementing a credit, A/R and invoicing solution directly impacts the costs of a company. Putting together a business case involves a thorough review of the current processes and systems in place and identifies opportunities for improvement via process re-engineering and automation. Some of the KPIs and metrics listed could directly impact the bottom line. For a more in-depth understanding, please read the eBook on Automating Accounts Receivable- Building a Winning Business Case that outlines the cost-benefit analysis. Figure 6 analyzes the costs vs benefits to make a business case for receivables transformation projects:
HighRadius Integrated Receivables Software Platform is the world's only end-to-end accounts receivable software platform to lower DSO and bad-debt, automate cash posting, speed-up collections, and dispute resolution, and improve team productivity. It leverages RivanaTM Artificial Intelligence for Accounts Receivable to convert receivables faster and more effectively by using machine learning for accurate decision making across both credit and receivable processes and also enables suppliers to digitally connect with buyers via the radiusOneTM network, closing the loop from the supplier accounts receivable process to the buyer accounts payable process. Integrated Receivables have been divided into 6 distinct applications: Credit Software, EIPP Software, Cash Application Software, Deductions Software, Collections Software, and ERP Payment Gateway - covering the entire gamut of credit-to-cash.