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INTERNATIONAL
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE PROFESSIONALS-NORTH TEXAS CHAPTER Quarterly
meeting held on March 12, 2003. There
were 47 attendees at this meeting. Lunch
and networking started at 11:00. Sandy
Champion, President of the NTIAPP, called the meeting to order, welcomed the
attendees, and wished everyone a Happy Accounts Payable Recognition Week.
Sandy thanked Allstate Insurance for providing the facility and lunch for
our quarterly meeting. Introductions
were made and non-members were invited to fill out membership applications. Sandy
introduced our special guest speaker, Nelda Barkley, the National Director of
the International Accounts Payable Professionals.
Nelda announced that the NTIAPP, which started around 1995, is the
best-attended local chapter and the largest chapter in one state.
Nelda
spoke about her background, the history of the IAPP, and her involvement with
the organization. She was born,
raised, and educated in Seattle, WA. She
began working for Bell Systems in Seattle, and later, AT&T in New York.
After relocating to Florida in 1982, Nelda transferred back to AT&T’s
Accounts Payable area. In
1990, Ernst & Young conducted a benchmarking study of 16 large companies
including American Airlines, AT & T, Texas Instruments, and Wal-Mart, among
others. The study concluded that,
although all of these companies shared basic Accounts Payable functions, the
methods and procedures varied. Nelda
went out and interviewed these companies regarding the different processes.
She invited all of the participants to a meeting in Florida to talk about
what, why, and how they did things in their AP departments.
The meeting was so worthwhile that they decided to have another one the
following year. By 1993, the
meeting had grown to 175 attendees. These attendees voted to form the IAPP, and
the non-profit organization incorporated in December of that year. The IAPP now has over 4,000 members. Nelda
Barkley saw that there was a need for AP people to get together to network and
learn from each other. Everyone can
learn something from another company whether it is improving a process, saving
company money, or even how not to be.
Nelda retired from AT&T after 31 years of service. She has held the
position of National Director of the IAPP ever since. The
IAPP staff includes two managers and a total of 15-20 employees. It is a
non-profit association and is audited annually.
The goals of the association are to satisfy the customer base and promote
them as professionals, and to provide education through seminars and Forum
workshops. Nelda
highlighted the upcoming annual IAPP Forum being held in Seattle on April 13th
through 17th. She expects 1,000 to 1,200 attendees and they will have
a choice of 90 workshops. There
will be guest speakers that promise to be motivational and educational, as well
as entertaining. Receptions are scheduled for each evening, including a
celebration following the announcement of the Accounts Payable Achievement
Award. The Forum will culminate with a party and Harbor Tour on the last
evening. Nelda is looking forward
to everyone having a great time in her home city.
(Note: NTIAPP has 41 people from 27 companies going to the Forum as of
2/28/03.) Nelda
took questions from the audience following her presentation:
Nelda
stated that Nat Goodman, creator of the CAPP exam and manual, is offering CAPP
review seminars across the country. Also, a CAPP study group will meet during
the Forum in Seattle at the Renaissance Madison Hotel. Future
plans include holding CAPP exams in 200 locations nationwide. The
CAPP exam is scheduled to go on computer in October. After that, the next step
will be to offer a second level exam for clerical AP employees. They
explore new technology being used by AP, such as what’s new since web
invoicing. They will be offering 2 2-hour workshops at the Forum. There will
be a technology supplement in the new CAPP study guide.
Nelda
said that hotels in Dallas couldn’t accommodate the Forum. There are many
factors that go into the selection process for choosing the Forum site
including rates, available space, and weather. The Disney properties have been
most often selected because they are economical, accommodating, safe, clean,
and nice, and IAPP national headquarters are in Orlando. At
the conclusion of her presentation, Nelda presented each attendee with a handy
gift from the IAPP, a lighted, credit card-size magnifying glass. Sandy
presented Nelda with a package of Texas candy. Chapter
business was discussed:
Sandy
asked if anyone saw “Catch Me If You Can”. She mentioned that Frank Abagnale
spoke twice to our chapter already, but he has gotten very expensive. We may try
to bring him back somehow. Many people in the chapter are interested in hearing
him speak, and having others in their company hear him, as well. Sandy
visited the Austin Chapter and presented a workshop on AP Fraud. She is helping
to build up their chapter, as many companies are having problems with budget
constraints. Sandy
got an email from a member about email solicitations to the NTIAPP list. Sandy
stated that vendors should not use this list, and that she will track
down the source and stop this practice when she can.
Be sure to let Sandy know if a solicitation gets sent that she may not
know about. Job solicitations are
being sent out as a service to the membership, and the chapter took a vote
previously to do that. Sandy asked
that members using the email list not ask for a return receipt. All
return receipts go to Sandy’s email. Six
chapter members will be presenting workshops at the Forum in Seattle: Sandy
Champion, Will Yancey, Barbara Coakley, Melvina Floyd, Sandy Beggs, and Jan
Wallace. Our
next meeting is scheduled for May 21, 2003, and will be held at The Freeman
Companies. Jason Minor with Concur
Technologies will host the luncheon and demonstrate a Non-PO Invoice Automation
system. The August 20th meeting will be held at Sabre, Inc.
Jason Minor with Concur will host this luncheon, also, and present
Electronic Expense Statements, along with Deborah Lyons of VHA.
The November 19th meeting will be hosted by Ladd Rowan of
Lason, Inc., topic and location to be determined. Congratulations
to the following people who won door prizes:
Each
of the door prizes included an IAPP tote bag. Thanks to all Companies that
contributed the door prizes. The
meeting was adjourned at 1:30. Regards, Jan
Wallace Click here for a list of attendees For More Information On This Website, Please Contact: General Information: information@ntiapp.com Page last updated 02/09/2004
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For More Information On This Website, Please Contact: General Information: information@ntiapp.com Page last updated 02/09/2004
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