What does A/P know about Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is an electronic currency referred to as a cryptocurrency. Although the percentage of Bitcoin usage compared to all other electronic payment methods is small, as an AP Professionals you want to be aware of it. If the usage of Bitcoin continues to increase and becomes an important and significant payment method, what kind of policies would the head of an Accounts Payable department have to put in place?

According to the book: Mastering Bitcoin: Unlocking Digital Cryptocurrencies By Andreas M. Antonopoulos, "Transactions can be created online or offline by anyone even if the person creating the transaction is not an authorized signer on the account. For example, an accounts payable clerk might process payable checks for Signature by the CEO. Similarly and accounts payable clerk can create Bitcoin transactions and then have the CEO apply digital signatures to make them ballot. Whereas they check references a specific account as the source of the funds a Bitcoin transaction references a specific previous transaction as its source rather than an account."

As AP Professionals we must have this kind of thing on our radar. Here is a video that gives you a good primer on Bitcoin. 

Q: What are your thoughts about Bitcoin? 
Q: Have you used Bitcoin personally? 
Q: Do you know of any businesses that use Bitcoin?

For more information on Bitcoin, I recommend reading the following:



Interested in using Bitcoin? I recommend using Coinbase. Click here to get $10 worth of Bitcoins when you open an account: Coinbase.

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Robert Ruhno
Director of Socia Media
Accounts Payable Professionals Group (APPG)

The Fall A/P Conference & Expo

The Fall A/P Conference & Expo in Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada is coming up soon! From October 24th - 26th the expo will have tons of training sessions from our favorite and most knowledgeable speakers. This event is always exciting and you will leave with so many new ideas. It's almost like gaining "A/P superpowers"!

To my readers and members of the Accounts Payable Professional Group that are attending the conference: I hope to see you there! I am always happy to meet you in person. 

The hashtag for the event will be #fallapexpo, so you can follow along on Twitter.

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Schedule:

Monday, October 24th - Opening Keynote at 4:15pm PDT!

Tuesday, October 25th - from 8:10am PDT until all day!

Wednesday, October 26th - from 8:10am PDT until 2:30pm PDT!

Thursday, October 27th - Post-conference certification classes and exams.

Click here for more details: http://www.iofm.com/conference-fall/eb-brochure/

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Make sure to message me if you have any good questions to ask the vendors or speakers. I will get the answers for you and post them!

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Robert Ruhno
Director of Socia Media
Accounts Payable Professionals Group (APPG)

Same Day ACH Payments

Starting September 23rd, 2016 Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments will be able to get paid within the same day. ACH is the system for electronically transferring money between bank accounts.

   • Phase 1: Sept. 23, 2016 
ACH credits can be made on the same day they were processed.

   • Phase 2: Sept. 15, 2017 
Both ACH credits and debits will be able to get processed on the same day.

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Robert Ruhno

Director of Social Media

Accounts Payable Professionals Group (APPG)

ap-professionals.com

Deadline Friday

This Friday is your last chance to register for the fall 2016 AP & P2P Conference & Expo at discounted pricing.

The conference will take place October 24-26, 2016 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Over 550 of the country’s top financial operations professionals will be in attendance.

To view the full conference brochure, go to: http://bit.ly/2b8PUJs

Register directly at: http://www.iofm.com/conference-fall/

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AP & P2P Conference & Expo
October 24-26, 2016 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
http://www.iofm.com/conference-fall
+1 207 842 5557
customerservice@iofm.com
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Reminder: make your nominations for the IOFM Spotlight Awards

Don’t forget to make your nominations for IOFM’s annual AP & P2P Spotlight Awards. Recognize important achievements in AP and P2P by nominating yourself, your supervisor, your department, or your colleague for an award in one or more of the following categories:

• AP Manager of the Year
• P2P Manager of the Year
• AP Department of the Year
• P2P Department of the Year

The nomination deadline is Friday, August 12, 2016 (just extended!). Find out more about award qualifications or submit your nomination at www.iofm.com/spotlight-awards

Winners will be recognized at the fall 2016 Accounts Payable & Procure-to-Pay Conference & Expo, October 24-26 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Complimentary conference registration will be provided to the winner in each category.

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IOFM Spotlight Awards
Nomination Deadline: August 12, 2016
http://www.iofm.com/spotlight-awards
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What is the strangest thing you've seen on an expense report?

I've worked in A/P for a long time and have seen some weird things, especially in employee expense reports! Two such weird expenses come to mind:

* On an expense report, an employee tried to get reimbursed for a pair of $200 pants purchased at Macy's in NYC. In the description, they wrote that they ripped their pants while getting out of a taxi, right before a client meeting.

* I was reviewing an expense report when I noticed two airline seats for the one employee. When I investigated to find out why, it turned out that the employee did not fit in one seat, and the airline charged for the addition seat! Awkward.

Well according to Robert Half Management Resource these are the 20 unusual expense report items highlighted in their survey of 2,200 CFO's:

1. Ski trips

2. Lottery tickets

3. Rental homes

4. Spa day

5. Cruise

6. Cosmetic surgery

7. Scuba diving

8. Half a cow

9. Flowers for spouse

10. A dog

11. Taxidermy services

12. 10-cent parking meter charge

13. Toilet paper

14. Bubble bath

15. Somebody else's salary

16. Flat-screen TV

17. Haircut

18. Home remodel

19. Driving lessons

20. Car payment

What is the strangest thing you or your coworkers have seen on an expense report? Working in A/P we see mountains of expenses, so there must be some really odd and funny stories out there!

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Robert Ruhno

Director of Social Media

Accounts Payable Professionals Group (APPG)

ap-professionals.com

Looking to be a part of something bigger than yourself?

Join the growing community of 20,000+ financial operations professionals who have earned certification with IOFM. This is a community of intelligent, dedicated, and accomplished AP professionals who have earned their APM or APS designation and work at leading Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, colleges and universities, and institutions around the world. They value accuracy, efficiency, clarity and transparency in the accounting function.

Why did they choose IOFM's AP certification program? Flexibility. Credibility. Rigor. The entire program can be completed online - all you need is an internet connection and you can work your way through the program at a pace that works for you. The program includes a comprehensive study guide, 6-hour training video, practice exam, and up to 3 attempts at the final exam. With two tiers, you can decide what makes the most sense for your career goals - study to become an Accredited AP Manager or an Accredited AP Specialist.

Want to learn more? Download the brochure here: http://bit.ly/29qXmk2
Or visit www.app2p.com