How often do we start something only to discover we have to go back to square one because we overlooked an important stakeholder? We’ve all been the victim of email spamming, and I’d like to start this by apologizing for any part I may have ever played in spamming your inbox. Years ago, in a…

APQC recently interviewed Nick Katko, Senior Consultant with BMA Inc., about the challenges a CFO faces when a company decides to use a Lean management system. Nick Katko has been with BMA since 2002. He has been a CFO for various manufacturing companies that implemented Lean practices and has…

The cost of finance operations at the typical large company has been cut in half over the past decade. CFOs got what they wanted: talented and dedicated people doing more with less, and those with a knack for stats polishing their analytical contributions. So, I got to wondering: what’s behind the…

In the wake of Forbes’ report on the profitability of the Houston Astros, team owner Jim Crane released a statement avowing that the team’s management is fiscally responsible (this despite soaring profits accompanied by the lowest payroll and worst record in Major League Baseball). He stated…

Organizations that use fewer full-time equivalents (FTEs) to process travel and entertainment (T&E) reimbursements are ahead of the curve.  By using best practices such as automation and shared services centers, top-performing organizations require a fraction of the FTEs…

Many organizations have adopted computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) software, enterprise asset management (EAM) software, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to help improve daily working capital transactions. APQC’s 2011 report Improving Working Capital Management and…

This time of year marks the beginning of the dreaded budgeting season for many finance organizations. The drill requires organizations to go through a ham-fisted process that has business unit managers guessing at revenue growth, costs, and spending patterns for 2014. But today’s finance leaders…

In June 2013, TechTarget featured an  article by APQC's Mary Driscoll about organizations turning to Software as a Service (SaaS) for several finance operations, including processing for general accounting, disbursements, and payroll. Driscoll advises that organizations consider change…

Last month, APQC hosted a webinar on managing the risk of supply chain disruption. APQC'S Mary Driscoll, Experis' Eric Gerner and John Hejka, and Baker Hughes' Mike Miedema looked at how organizations identify and mitigate supply chain risk while maintaining efforts to control costs of materials…

During the recession, many companies pared their supplier lists to win volume price discounts from surviving vendors. Many firms also extended the global reach of their sourcing activities. But the need to balance cost efficiency with supply chain resiliency has become a growing concern. APQC’s…