We got numerous e-mails last week asking for the IRS site from readers who needed the documentation for their systems. It was not on the IRS site (or at least we couldn't find it) at the time we released the e-mail. Then, how you might ask, were we able to alert our readers of the change? [Note to those who may have missed last week's issue of this publication: The IRS raised the optional standard mileage rates for the final six months of 2008 to 58.5 cents per mile.]

Several of our readers (thanks Christine, thanks John) alerted us to the change along with a confirmation from our links to the Associated Press. We received notification from the IRS through our normal feed the next morning. For those who need the IRS link, it is below.

Given the short period of time between when the announcement was made and the effective date of July 1, we knew it was imperative we get the news to our readers as quickly as possible-even though it meant pulling our intrepid managing editor off a much deserved coffee break.

As you'll see mentioned in the This Week on the blog section below, I spent some time putting together remarks for a talk on the Future of Accounts Payable. These are based on a report we wrote last year. The report, as you may recall, focused not only on the future of the function, but also served as a career guide for accounts payable professionals. As I was going through the material I thought e-zine readers might like to see the following excerpt. It relates to the size of the accounts payable staff and the expectation about those filling the staff positions.

Number of Employees in AP Today vs. 5 Years from Now

• Same number of employees: 48.39%
• Fewer employees with the same level of education:10.75%
• Fewer better educated employees: 23.66%
• More employees: 17.20%

Talking about betting, I don’t know who I’d put my money on in this Goliath vs. Goliath suit. To make it simple, New York State wants to collect sales tax on sales made online—and Amazon has filed suit to stop them. There are some technicalities related to this ruling (which we are investigating right now for an article for the August issue of Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow). It will come as no surprise to most readers to learn that the other states are watching, and if New York State is successful …

What the New York State action demonstrates is just how much the states need money—and the lengths they will go to collect what is owed to them. This is one reason I am so concerned about all those organizations not currently reporting and remitting unclaimed property. From where I sit, it is a no-brainer for the states. While I realize it is not quite as simple as I am about to indicate, it isn't a whole lot harder either. Since many of the states hire third-party contingency auditors to recover unclaimed property that was not properly reported, they could simply increase their use of such auditors.

That's why we asked Tracey Reid to speak at our July 22 Webinar, Unclaimed Property: How to Get in Compliance If You've Never Filed. She’ll be back on September 24th with tips on Avoiding Unclaimed Property "Gotchas."

One of our readers wrote asking about documentation regarding electronic approvals that really got me thinking. "Currently we are using our existing technology and scanning invoices into our system and emailing them for an 'ok to pay' to authorized managers," she wrote. She wanted to know how other people were retaining these approvals and what the best practices are in this arena.

If there are any readers willing to share their policies and thoughts on this matter it would be greatly appreciated. As always, if you prefer, we will keep your identity anonymous, and will share all solutions provided with all who respond. So, please, send your information to publisher@ap-now.com with the words Electronic Signatures in the subject line. I expect this to be a very interesting 'discussion.'

The Future of Accounts Payable-musings about preparing a talk I'm going to give in a few weeks for a private group.

The IRS Announcement

And, hopefully by the time you get this, I'll have posted a companion story, based on personal experiences, to a July Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow newsletter article on addressing the AP Dumping Ground-a phenomena which unfortunately still occurs at a few companies.

To recommend this e-zine to another accounts payable or accounting professional, simply forward the entire newsletter or use the tiny link at the bottom. He or she will thank you.

If you are reading someone else's copy and would like to receive your own next week, go to http://ap- now.com/ezinesignup.html to sign up.

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We're getting ready to update our duplicate payment survey. As in the past, we'll share the Executive Summary of the results with all participants. We'll have the survey ready for your participation next week. We look forward to your participation as well as that of any other colleagues you may wish to share this with! Thanks for listening.

Mary Schaeffer
Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow, a CRYSTALLUS, Inc. publication