The APQC Blog
All Posts
Finding A Passion for Accounting with Emily Lado of the Houston Astros
Despite advances in accounting automation, demand for accounting talent is growing. According to a Glassdoor report, accounting and auditing are among the 15 jobs projected to grow most by 2026. But accounting has a problem: A lot of people think it’s just boring number-crunching. Emily Lado,…
Lessons Learned for the Finance Function from Past Crises
It has been said that those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. While COVID-19 is undeniably a moment of crisis for many organizations, the good news is that the finance function can leverage a range of lessons learned from past crises like the 2008 recession. These events have…
3 Key Financial Management Liquidity Metrics to Pay Attention To During This Time of Disruption
We find ourselves in an unprecedented time today as a result of the virus and associated economic disruption, an environment of many challenges but also potential opportunities for organizations’ finance functions. As principal research lead for financial management research at APQC, I and our…
Looking ahead: Top Financial Management Priorities and Challenges for 2020
In December 2019, APQC conducted a survey to understand the key priorities and challenges for financial management professionals in the coming year, as well as their outlook, assessment of effectiveness, anticipated investment areas, and trending topics of interest. The survey responses represented…
A “Look Back” on 2019: A Year of Great Financial Management Research and Resources from APQC
As we reflect back on 2019, APQC has continued to work to be your source for research and resources across the spectrum of financial management, specifically related to financial management KPIs, benchmarks, and best practices; finance process (management and improvement); finance…
5 Ways To Ruin Data Visualization in Financial Reporting
Data visualization is a keen topic of interest for accounting and finance professionals who want to more effectively and clearly communicate their message to their stakeholders. According to a recent study to be released by APQC later this month on “Leading Practices for Financial and…
Six Ways to Improve Your General Accounting Process Performance
The general accounting process is a core transactional process within the finance function, involving maintaining the chart of accounts; processing journal entries, allocations, and adjustments; conducting reconciliations, consolidations, and eliminations; and finally, preparing trial balances…
Finance Most In-demand Skill: Business Partnering
In APQC’s September financial management community call, retired finance talent development executive Amy P. Youngblood talked about the importance of developing a growth (versus fixed) mindset for finance professionals, a mindset that involves continuous learning for finance professionals who…
Stay on Top of Your Game: APQC’s Professional Development Resources (General Accounting and More)
Fall means lots of things to different people: Football season, changing leaves and cooler weather (we can only dream of this in Houston), and back to school! If you are a parent, chances are that your school-age children have already returned to school this Fall in the frenzy of excitement…
Great Leadership Quotes on Transforming FP&A and Performance Management
As part of our mission as a nonprofit to find and disseminate best practices information, one of the most fascinating parts of my job as the principal research lead for financial management at APQC is all of the amazing thought leaders that I get to speak with and interview. We regularly tap into a…