How business processes actually run

Process pages for the people about to change one: how each process runs, where it breaks, and what to ask the people who run it.

Manage Supply Chain for Physical Products

Where procure-to-pay really breaks: 251,734 order lines from one real company

Manage Financial Resources

Accounts payable: what software and AI can take over, and what still needs a person
Accounts receivable: what to automate, what to keep human, and what the data needs
Automating customer deductions: what software can take over and what still needs people
Calculate duty: how the process runs, step by step
Calculate duty: what software can take over and what still needs a person
Calculate duty: where the process breaks and how to spot it
Capital planning and project approval: what to automate and what to keep human
Capital project accounting: what to automate, what to keep human, and the data it depends on
Classify products: how the process runs, step by step
Classify products: what software can take over and what still needs a classifier
Classify products: where the process breaks and how to spot it
Collections: which steps to automate, which stay with people, and the data each needs
Communicate with customs: how the process runs, step by step
Communicate with customs: what to automate, what stays human, and what the data needs
Control exports and imports: how the process runs, step by step
Control exports and imports: what software can run and what needs a person
Cost accounting and control: what software can take over and what still needs a person
Currency conversion: what to automate, what to keep human, and the data it needs
Currency exposure and hedging: what to automate and what to keep human
Customer deductions and adjustments: how the process runs, step by step
Document trade: how the process runs, step by step
Document trade: what to automate, what stays human, and what the data needs
Establishing internal controls, policies and procedures: the steps in order
Evaluating and managing financial performance: what to automate, what to keep human, and what the data needs
Expense reimbursement: how the process runs, step by step
Expense reimbursements: what to automate, what to keep human, and the data it depends on
Financial reporting: what software and AI can take over, what needs a person, and what the data must look like first
Fixed-asset accounting: how the process runs, step by step
Fixed-asset accounting: what software can run and what still needs a person
General accounting: what to automate, what to keep with people, and what the data needs
Handle restitution: how the process runs, step by step
Handle restitution: what to automate, what to keep human, and the data it needs
How a financial fraud or dispute case runs, step by step
How accounts payable is usually set up in finance and ERP systems
How accounts payable runs, step by step
How accounts receivable is usually set up in finance and ERP systems
How capital planning and project approval is set up in finance and ERP systems
How capital planning and project approval runs, step by step
How capital project accounting is usually set up in finance and ERP systems
How capital project accounting runs, step by step
How cash management is usually set up in finance and ERP systems
How collections is usually set up in finance and ERP systems
How collections runs, step by step
How corporate credit card management is set up in finance and ERP systems
How cost accounting and control is set up in finance and ERP systems
How cost accounting and control runs, step by step
How cost management is usually set up in finance and ERP systems
How cost management runs, step by step
How currency conversion is usually set up in finance and ERP systems
How currency conversion runs, step by step
How currency exposure monitoring and hedging is set up in finance and ERP systems
How customer credit is processed, step by step
How customer credit is set up in finance and ERP systems
How customer invoicing is set up in finance and ERP systems
How customs communication is set up in finance and ERP systems
How debt and investment management is set up in finance and ERP systems
How debt and investment management runs, step by step
How deductions and adjustments are set up in finance and ERP systems
How duty calculation is usually set up in finance and ERP systems
How evaluating and managing financial performance runs, step by step
How expense reimbursement is set up in finance and ERP systems
How export and import control is set up in finance and ERP systems
How financial performance evaluation is set up in finance and ERP systems
How financial policies and procedures are set up in finance and ERP systems
How financial reporting is set up in finance and ERP systems
How financial reporting runs, step by step
How fixed-asset accounting is usually set up in finance and ERP systems
How fraud and dispute cases are set up in finance and ERP systems
How general accounting is set up in finance and ERP systems
How hedging and risk transactions are set up in finance and ERP systems
How in-house bank accounts are run, step by step
How in-house bank accounts are usually set up in finance and ERP systems
How internal control operation and monitoring is set up in finance and ERP systems
How internal controls are operated and monitored, step by step
How internal controls are set up in finance and ERP systems
How internal controls compliance reporting is set up in finance and ERP systems
How internal controls compliance reporting runs, step by step
How international rate monitoring is set up in finance and ERP systems
How international transaction management is set up in finance and ERP systems
How letter of credit preparation is set up in finance and ERP systems
How pay is set up in finance and ERP systems
How pay runs, step by step
How payroll tax processing is set up in finance and ERP systems
How payroll tax processing runs, step by step
How planning, budgeting and forecasting is set up in finance and ERP systems
How planning, budgeting and forecasting runs, step by step
How product classification is set up in finance and ERP systems
How reporting consolidated results is usually set up in finance and ERP systems
How restitution is set up in finance and ERP systems
How sanctioned party screening is set up in finance and ERP systems
How tax processing is set up in finance and ERP systems
How tax processing runs, step by step
How tax strategy and planning is set up in finance and ERP systems
How tax strategy and planning runs, step by step
How time reporting is set up in finance and ERP systems
How trade documentation is usually set up in finance and ERP systems
How trade preference processing is set up in finance and ERP systems
How treasury policies and procedures are set up in finance and ERP systems
How treasury policies and procedures are set, run and revised
Internal controls setup: what to automate and what stays human
Invoice Customer: How the Process Runs Step by Step
Invoice customer: what software can take over, what needs a person, and the data it depends on
Invoices that fail the customer's match: stale master data in billing
Manage cash: how the process runs, step by step
Manage cash: what software and AI can take over, and what still needs a person
Manage corporate credit cards: what to automate and what stays human
Manage debt and investment: what software can run and what needs a person
Manage financial fraud and dispute cases: what to automate and what needs a person
Manage financial policies and procedures: what to automate, what to keep human, what the data needs
Manage in-house bank accounts: what to automate, what needs a person, and what the data needs
Manage pay: what software can run, what needs a person, and the data it depends on
Manage transactions: how international transactions run, step by step
Manage transactions: what to automate, what to keep human, and what the data needs
Managing corporate credit cards: how the process runs
Managing financial policies and procedures: the steps in order
Monitor and execute risk and hedging transactions: how the process runs
Monitor currency exposure and hedge currency: the steps in order
Monitor international rates: how the process runs step by step
Monitor international rates: what to automate, what to keep human, and the data it needs
Monitor international rates: where the process breaks
Operating and monitoring internal controls: what to automate and what to keep human
Payroll taxes: what to automate, what stays human, what the data needs
Perform cost management: what to automate, what stays human, and the data it needs
Perform general accounting: how the process runs, step by step
Planning, budgeting and forecasting: what software can take over and what stays with people
Prepare letter of credit: how the process runs, step by step
Prepare letter of credit: where the process breaks
Preparing a letter of credit: what to automate and what to keep with people
Process accounts receivable: the steps in order and who does each
Process customer credit: what to automate, what stays human, and the data it needs
Process taxes: what to automate, what stays human, and what the data needs
Process trade preferences: what to automate, what to keep human, what data comes first
Processing trade preferences: how the process runs step by step
Report on internal controls compliance: what to automate and what to keep human
Report results: how the process runs, step by step
Report results: where consolidated international reporting breaks
Report results: which consolidated reporting steps to automate and which need a person
Report time: how the process runs, step by step
Report time: what to automate, what to keep human, and what the data needs first
Risk and hedging transactions: what software can run and what still needs a treasurer
Screen sanctioned party list: how the process runs, step by step
Screen sanctioned party list: what software can run and what still needs a person
Tax strategy and planning: what to automate, what stays human, and the data it depends on
Treasury policies and procedures: what software can run and what stays with people
When cost allocation bases go stale
When cost allocation drivers go stale
When credit limits outlive the customer they were set for
When customer payments arrive but never get applied
When product and customer profitability drifts from the general ledger
When the forecast simply repeats the budget
Where accounts payable breaks: handoffs, exceptions and workarounds
Where accounts receivable breaks: handoffs, exceptions and workarounds
Where capital planning and project approval breaks
Where capital project accounting breaks down
Where cash management breaks down
Where collections breaks down: handoffs, exceptions and workarounds
Where communicating with customs usually breaks
Where corporate credit card management breaks down
Where cost accounting and control usually breaks
Where cost management breaks: handoffs, exceptions and workarounds
Where currency conversion breaks: handoffs, exceptions and workarounds
Where currency exposure monitoring and hedging breaks
Where customer credit processing breaks
Where customer deduction and adjustment processing breaks
Where customer invoicing breaks: handoffs, exceptions and workarounds
Where debt and investment management usually breaks
Where establishing internal controls, policies and procedures usually breaks
Where evaluating and managing financial performance usually breaks
Where expense reimbursement breaks: handoffs, exceptions and workarounds
Where export and import control breaks down
Where financial fraud and dispute cases break down
Where financial reporting breaks: handoffs, exceptions and workarounds
Where fixed-asset accounting breaks: handoffs, exceptions and workarounds
Where general accounting breaks: handoffs, exceptions and workarounds
Where in-house bank account processes break, and how to spot each failure
Where internal controls compliance reporting breaks
Where managing financial policies and procedures usually breaks
Where operating and monitoring internal controls usually breaks
Where payroll tax processing breaks and how to spot it
Where planning, budgeting and forecasting usually break
Where restitution claims break down
Where risk and hedging transactions break down
Where sanctioned party screening breaks
Where tax strategy and planning breaks down
Where the Manage Pay Process Breaks and How to Spot It
Where the tax process breaks: handoffs, exceptions and workarounds
Where time reporting breaks before payroll
Where trade documentation breaks and how to spot it
Where trade preference processing breaks
Where transaction processing breaks across entities and currencies
Where treasury policies and procedures break down

APQC's Process Classification Framework® (PCF) is an open standard developed by APQC, a nonprofit that promotes benchmarking and best practices worldwide. To download the full PCF or to view definitions and measures, please visit www.apqc.org/pcf.