AAPA Guide to Accounts Payable, 2012 Edition

Published in conjunction with the American Accounts Payable Association, the AAPA Guide to Accounts Payable is literally your one-stop-shop for everything you need to know about how to run a successful AP department. It guides you through all the essential issues you need to take into consideration in order to make proper payment decisions. And it provides straight-forward, practical answers and "how-to" tips covering the full range of responsibilities carried by AP departments today.

Written by Jerri LS Langer, J.D., LL.M – winner of the AAPA’s 2012 Accounts Payable Professional of the Year award – and Mary Kallewaard, AAPA Guide to Accounts Payable concentrates exclusively on what it takes to make an accounts payable department operate at maximum efficiency, and what AP professionals can do to fulfill their responsibilities according to the highest standards of the industry.

The AAPA Guide to Accounts Payable will help you:

• Fully understand how to identify payments that should not be authorized
• Recognize misclassified workers who should be paid through payroll as employees rather than as independent contractors paid by AP
• Identify payees that are blocked from receiving payments by Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and work with the new International ACH Transaction rules
• Avoid any duplicate or erroneous payments
• Understand best practices for evaluating or implementing outsourcing or shared services
• Navigate the rapidly changing landscape of AP technology and procure-to-pay processes
• Detect and prevent fraud in your AP process
• And much more!

The AAPA Guide to Accounts Payable enables you to do all of that - and more!

You'll receive clear and concise guidance and practical solutions for handling key accounts payable issues, including:

• Travel & Entertainment
• Fraud and Security
• State and Federal Tax Issues
• Abandoned and Unclaimed Property
• Compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley Requirements for Financial Accountability
• Audits of Payments to Foreign Entities
• New Technology in the AP Workflow
• And more!

The 2012 Edition of AAPA Guide to Accounts Payable covers an unprecedented number of changes enacted by federal and state government authorities. Highlights include:

• Impact of FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, on payments going to foreign entities and foreign financial institutions, under new law and proposed regulations, which require changes to be phased in from 2013 through 2017
• Changes in tax reporting obligations for payments made with purchasing cards, credit cards, travel and expense cards, and electronic purchasing networks effective 2011 as to government reporting and effective 2013 as to backup withholding
• Advance alert on changes in the IRS forms used to document payee name, tax ID number, and status, including changes in Form W-9, changes in Forms W-8, and additional types of Forms W-8 expected to be issued before the end of 2012
• Expanded explanation of tax withholding rules for payments to non-U.S. payees
• Impact of new 2012 federal FinCEN Notices affecting requirements to report foreign financial accounts used by a U.S. organization, including by persons who may have signature authority even though they have no financial interest
• Expanded section on garnishments including procedural steps, and new discussion of priority of deductions, tax levies, and creditor garnishments
• New section on handling tax reporting when there are stop payments, uncashed checks, and reissued checks
• Updated sales tax rate chart for states and lookup sources for finding local sales tax rates
• Updated state contact information for abandoned and unclaimed property
• How allowing subaccounts can result in error
• Checklist for matching invoices against the vendor master file
• State sales tax rulings and policy developments on digital transfer of matter, remote sales through Internet sites, and cloud computing
• State crackdown on use tax compliance
• New section on how to complete Form 1099-B for sales of your company's stock, including new cost basis and transfer statement rules
• State changes in abandoned and unclaimed property information requirements, filing deadlines, and other protocols
• Additional information about reporting company stock options
• Explanation of new final rules about suspicious activity reports
• Proposed legislation concerning the misclassification of employees
• Dozens of new court decisions, IRS rulings, and state actions affecting payments
• Why you should keep an eye on the President's proposal in the fiscal year 2013 Green Book
• Explanation of a new California law on the use of credit reports
• How the randomization of SSNs may affect AP
• Explanation and examples of name controls
• Why it is important to inactivate and purge vendors
• Update on Amazon sales tax laws
• Perspectives on electronic recordkeeping in some states
• How to handle requests for vendor name changes
• The IRS's approach to audits of e-data
• How to correct Form 8300
• What to do if your payable is factored

• 1. INTRODUCTION
  • What is Accounts Payable?
  • Goals for Accounts Payable
• 2. WHAT’S NEW IN ACCOUNTS PAYABLE FOR 2012?
  • New Federal Tax Legislation and Regulations Affecting Accounts Payable
  • Form 1099 and 1042-S Reporting
  • 2012 Federal Tax Fringe Benefit Changes
  • New Federal Tax Guidance
  • Tax Treaties
  • Sales and Use Tax
  • Abandoned and Unclaimed Property
  • Garnishment
  • Technology and Outsourcing
• 3. VENDOR TAX SETUP: PAYEE DOCUMENTATION AND PAYMENT CLASSIFICATION FOR WITHHOLDING AND REPORTING
  • Steps in the Tax Setup
  • Tax Identification Numbers (TINs): Social Security Numbers, Employer Identification Numbers, Individual Tax Identification Numbers
  • Form W-9: Documentation from U.S. Payees
  • Documentation from Non-U.S. Payees for Chapter 3 Withholding Purposes
  • What Is Required When Tax Status Documentation Is Missing?
  • FATCA Proposed Changes
  • Special Rules for Foreign Affiliates of U.S. Entities and Other Non-U.S. Payers
  • Tax Documentation in the Context of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), Fedwire, Bank Transfers, and Purchasing Cards
  • State and Local Tax Issues
  • Exhibits
• 4. TAX WITHHOLDING AND INFORMATION REPORTING
  • Types of Federal Tax Withholding and Reporting in AP
  • Form 1099 Reportable Payments to U.S. Persons: Introduction
  • Form 1099-MISC: Who Is Required to File?
  • Form 1099-MISC: What Is Reportable
  • Reporting Interest, Stock Distributions, and Changes of Corporate Ownership and Control
  • Reporting Sales of Securities: 1099-B
  • Other Information Reporting
  • Preparing and Filing 1099s
  • Furnishing 1099 Payee Statements
  • Backup Withholding of Federal Income Tax
  • Handling IRS TIN Penalties and Other IRS Notices
  • Withholding on Payments to Foreign Persons
  • Reporting Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax (FIRPTA)
  • Preparing for IRS Audits
  • Federal Penalties and Interest
  • State Withholding and Reporting
  • Exhibits
• 5. GOVERNMENT REGULATION OF WHOM YOU PAY
  • Vendor Background Checks and Screening
  • OFAC and Prohibited Payments
  • Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Considerations: FBAR Rules and Money Services Surveillance
  • IRS Reporting of Cash Payments Over $10,000
  • Complying with U.S. Export Controls
  • Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
  • State New Hire Reporting of Independent Contractors
  • Garnishment Considerations
  • Worker Classification: Independent Contractor vs. Employee
  • Global Workforce: Immigration and Eligibility to Work
• 6. VENDOR FILE MANAGEMENT
  • Legalities for Vendor Master File Setup
  • Vendor Setup Organization
  • Naming Conventions for the Vendor Master File
  • Screening of Vendors
  • Master File Self-Service Portals
  • Vendor Profiling
  • Inactivating and Purging Vendors
  • Handling Requests for Vendor Name Changes
  • Handling Multi-Vendors
• 7. PAYABLES RECEIPT, PROCESSING, AND DISBURSEMENT
  • Basic Workflow of Accounts Payable
  • Invoices and Other Requests for Payment
  • Logging Invoices into the AP System
  • Matching the Invoices
  • Coding
  • Holds on Invoices
  • Performance Indicators
  • Invoice Payment
  • Expense Reimbursements
  • Working with Procurement and Purchasing
  • Tax Documentation
  • The Procure-to-Pay Electronic Process
• 8. FRINGE BENEFIT PAYMENTS AND EXPENSE DOCUMENTATION
  • Fringe Benefits in General
  • Specific Benefits
  • Working Condition Benefits
  • Valuing Fringe Benefits
  • Rules for Withholding and Reporting
  • Amount to Report on Forms 941 and W-2
  • Fringe Benefit Summary Table
  • Expense Reimbursement
  • Nonaccountable Plan
  • Checklist for Reimbursing Expenses
  • Expense Summary Table
  • Automating Your Process
• 9. SALES AND USE TAX
  • Definition and Operation of Sales Tax
  • Wholesale Sales
  • Withdrawals From Inventory
  • Definition and Operation of Use Tax
  • Nexus for Taxation
  • Exemption Certificates
  • What is Subject to Sales and Use Tax?
  • Sales and Use Tax in Electronic Commerce
  • Direct Pay Permits
  • State and Local Sales Tax Information
  • Streamlined Sales Tax
  • Sales and Use Tax Verification in Accounts Payable
  • Working with Your Organization’s Tax Department
  • Sales Tax Audit
  • Sales and Use Tax Electronic Applications
  • Keeping Up with Changes in Sales and Use Tax
  • Canadian Goods and Services Tax (GST)
  • Value Added Taxes in Foreign Countries
• 10. ABANDONED AND UNCLAIMED PROPERTY
  • Who Is Subject to Abandoned and Unclaimed Property Laws?
  • What Is Abandoned and Unclaimed Property?
  • When Is Property Considered Abandoned?
  • What Causes Abandonment of Property?
  • Holder Due Diligence Regarding AUP
  • Which State Has a Right to the Abandoned Property?
  • Steps to Comply with State Laws for AUP
  • State Enforcement of AUP Compliance
  • Benchmark Practices for AUP Compliance
  • New Matters Arising in AUP Audits
  • List of State Unclaimed Property Agencies
• 11. ACCOUNTING AND GENERAL LEDGER MAINTENANCE
  • Basic Accounting Standards and GAAP
  • Financial Accounting Statements
  • Accounting Methods and Periods
  • Chart of Accounts and General Ledger Maintenance
  • Debit and Credit Journal Entries
  • Assets and Liabilities: The Balance Sheet
  • Tax Accounting
  • Accounting for Garnishments and Levies
  • Bank Reconciliation
  • Managerial (Cost) Accounting
  • Tips on Accounting Period Closing Procedures
  • IFRS as a Global Standard: What This Means to AP
• 12. MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT AND INTERNAL CONTROLS
  • Segregation of Duties
  • Access Control
  • Written Policies and Procedures
  • Working with Internal Audit
  • Components of Internal Control
  • The Sarbanes-Oxley Act
  • Internal Control Review of Outsourced Service Providers
• 13. PREVENTION OF FRAUD AND HUMAN ERROR
  • Invoice Processing
  • Methods of Payment
  • Employee Fraud: Expense Reimbursement, T&E Payments, and Other Matters
  • Passwords
  • Identity Theft
• 14. OUTSOURCING AND SHARED SERVICES
  • Outsourcing Accounts Payable Processes
  • The RFP for Outsourcing
  • Operating With Outsourced AP Functions
  • The Shared Services Operating Model for Accounts Payable
  • Operating in a Multi-Function Shared Services Environment
  • Standardization of Processing for Shared Services
  • Onshore or Offshore Shared Services Location?
  • Implementation and Management of Shared Services Operations
• 15. MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS, AND OTHER REORGANIZATIONS
  • Structure of the Event
  • New EINs as a Result of Merger or Acquisition
  • Consolidations of Forms 1099 or 1042 of Successor and Predecessor Business
  • New Contractor Reporting after Merger or Acquisition
  • Existing Garnishments after Merger or Acquisition
  • List of Matters to Be Managed in an M&A Event
• 16. RECOVERY OF ERRONEOUS PAYMENTS AND OVERPAYMENTS
  • Basic Concerns
  • Why Erroneous Payments Occur
  • How Erroneous Payments Occur
  • Discovering Erroneous Payments
  • Recovering Payments
  • Specialized Audits
  • Recovery Audit Firms
  • Best Practices for Limiting/Reducing Erroneous Payments
• 17. RECORDKEEPING AND DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT: ENTERPRISE CONTENT MANAGEMENT
  • Enterprise Content Management
  • E-Storage and Other Methods
  • Electronic Signatures
  • Regulatory Recordkeeping Requirements
  • Tax Recordkeeping Requirements
  • Retention Periods