Lavante Inc. Announces New CEO, Sam Klepper, Former Executive  with Intuit, Microsoft, and eMeter

San Jose, Calif. – June 11, 2013- Lavante, the leading provider of cloud-based recovery auditing and supplier information management (SIM) software for Fortune 1000 companies, announced today that Sam Klepper has joined as CEO.  Klepper has an exceptional track record of creating and commercializing game-changing software products that drive growth and customer success at tech companies including Intuit, Microsoft and eMeter.

“Lavante has an enormous market opportunity,” said Sam Klepper. “The founders and management team have redefined the supplier information management space and in the process created a Who’s Who list of corporate customers.  Lavante SIM is the first product to target the finance team and focus on the supplier organization rather than the transaction.  The result is a new way to easily onboard, maintain and communicate with vast supplier communities, driving down operational costs, enhancing compliance and recovering credits.”

“Sam’s arrival signals that Lavante is ready to move to the next level in the supplier information management space,” said Andreas Weiskam, Managing Director of SAP Ventures, an investor since 2010. “Lavante has the product, momentum and leadership to capture significant share in the market.”

With Klepper’s arrival, founder and former CEO, Joe Flynn, a veteran of the supply chain and finance domains, becomes Chief Strategy Officer and will work closely with customers and partners. “Sam is the perfect catalyst to accelerate the momentum we are already enjoying at Lavante,” Flynn said. “We look forward to a bright future under his leadership.”

Prior to joining Lavante, Klepper was GM and then interim CEO at smart grid software leader, eMeter and General Manager at Microsoft for a $500m division of MSN.  He also was an early employee of Intuit and co-invented the QuickBooks product line.  Klepper has a BA from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Klepper joins Lavante during an active quarter that has yielded new customers across multiple industry segments as well as new product functionality across both Recovery and SIM product lines.  The company delivered advanced reporting capabilities earlier this month to give customers additional insights into their supplier population.

About Lavante

Lavante is the leader in on-demand supplier management solutions, including recovery audit and supplier information management applications.  Built with advanced, patented-pending technology, Lavante delivers to the financial arena a new standard in efficient technology-driven solutions that allow companies to quickly drive dollars to the bottom line, improve supplier communications, and assure high supplier data quality.  Lavante solutions are deployed across Fortune 1000 enterprises including the hospitality, retail, entertainment, manufacturing, and medical industries.  Headquartered in San Jose, California, Lavante is privately held and was founded in 2001.  For more information please visit www.lavante.com.

The book contains 22 chapters that cover a wide variety of topics that span from the initial setup of a department to the automation of its parts. It is clear after reading the book that Mary is a special resource for our community.

I had a chance to speak with Mary after I received the book and she informed me that she has converted the book into coursework that when tested on will suffice to provide APE credits.

Personally I liked how Mary is able to articulate both the “Best” practices that we should strive for as well as the “Worst” practices we should watch out for.

The book is a great read and is an even better value.

Click HERE for a direct link to buy the book from Mary.

Here is an excerpt from her book

Issue: Who Has Access to the Master Vendor File

 While it is definitely easier for the staff processing invoices for payment if they can add vendors to the master vendor file whenever they get an invoice from a new vendor that practice is an invitation to trouble. Unfortunately, that’s how a number of organizations handle information into the master vendor file. This means giving access to the master vendor file to a large number of individuals. This is a terrible idea. It completely disregards the best practice concept inherent in all accounting functions of having appropriate segregation of duties.

Best Practice: Access to the master vendor file, for anything but information lookup, should be severely limited. Only a few people should be able to enter information, be it for setup or to make changes. The employees with this access should not perform any other tasks in the procure-to-pay function making it more difficult for someone to defraud the organization. What’s more, when they go on vacation, their passwords and access should not be given to someone else. This will simply muddy the audit trail should there be a problem down the line. A better approach is to set the back-up person up with their own user ID and password and then deactivate those when the person with primary responsibility for the task returns. This is less of a problem in large organizations where there will be several people working on the master vendor file.

Almost Best Practice: This is a black and white issue so there really is no almost best practice. In many organizations there is one or two people with access to the entire accounts payable function. Typically this is the manager, director or perhaps the Controller. While this is not a good idea, it does solve the problem of an unexpected absence, assuming the person with the broad access is willing to dive in and handle the task. Really, though, unlimited access is not a good idea. 

Pointer for Accounts Payable: While limiting access for the purposes of adding new vendors or updating information on existing vendors can seem to make the accounts payable function run less smoothly, it is imperative from an internal control standpoint. Sometimes what is easier for accounts payable is not necessarily good for the organization as a whole and this is one of those instances.

Worst Practices:

Letting each processor update information about their own vendors
Letting each processor add vendors whenever it seems necessary

The Sourcing Innovation Blog is a the leading supply and spend management blog focused on education and technology. It is a wholly owned service of ToP KaTS Consulting, a consultancy that focuses on the Supply Chain, Optimization, Analytics, and Technology needs of modern business. 

Here is an excerpt from their article…

Lavante Connect is one of the more powerful, and more streamlined, supplier information self-management solutions on the market. In the Lavante Connect solution, the supplier is walked-through the 3 to 5-step process of completing their profile and is updated with respect to their progress, and percentage of work remaining, after each step. In the Lavante system, the supplier goes through the following easy to follow process: 

1. Company Profile
2. Legal Identification
3. Certifications
4. Payment Information (may be optional)
5. Specific Information (may be optional)

Profile information walks the supplier through the definition of headquarters information, address information (notices, payment, warehouse, etc.), references, ownership, diversity, business structure, and contacts.

Legal ID walks the supplier through entry of business numbers, tax numbers, and other government identification in the countries that the supplier operates in. It also makes sure that the supplier uploads the appropriate documentation required by the customer, such as W9s in the US.

Certifications walks the supplier through the insurance and certification requirements of the customer and makes sure that the supplier specifies all of the relevant information and uploads the appropriate documents.

Payment walks the supplier through the specification of the payment types they accept (pCard, check, EFT, wire, etc.) and the specifications for each payment type.

Specific Information, of which there can be more than one tab, walks the supplier through the specific information requests unique to the client, such as required product and service information, sustainability information, etc. and the documentation that needs to be supplied.

The ease of use comes not only in the easy to follow registration, and profile completion process, but the fact that the system:

• validates everything that can be validated,
• eliminates duplication of data entry whenever possible, and
• forces e-signatures and verification for all legal documents.

Not only does the system validate that all data entered is in a valid format, but it integrates with as many third party systems as possible to verify that the entered data is correct. Business numbers and tax numbers are automatically verified against government databases, address information is validated against address databases, bank and p-card information is verified through penny-transactions, etc. The system makes it hard for a supplier to make a mistake and harder for any errors to persist for more than a few days. It also alerts the supplier as soon as certifications or registrations are about to expire or information has to be re-verified (according to the customer’s schedule, where such customer may require re-verification of contact information every six months).

All address, contact, and similar data is automatically indexed and can be mapped to any other information requirement that makes sense. So, if headquarters also happens to be the payment and legal notice address, it only has to be entered once. Same for contact information.

For the most part, SIM isn’t complex, and neither are supplier portals, but few master the usability and simplicity required to onboard even the technology unsophisticated supplier quickly and easily with complete profiles, no errors in critical information, and fresh profile data. Lavante Connect is in this group.

To read more go to: Lavante Connect – Streamlined Supplier Self Management

Vendor Management Survey
Vendor Management Sandbox

About the Speakers:

Jeff Wiest led the accounts payable function for the U.S. Financial Shared Services Center of Tyco Electronics since its formation over 10 years ago. During that time he oversaw the post-acquisition integration of more than 20 payables functions into the service center. He was instrumental in the implementation of electronic technology solutions that have resulted in significant efficiency improvements and cost savings. Prior to joining Tyco, Jeff served in various accounting roles for AMP Incorporated.

Contact Jeff Wiest

Jeff worked for over ten years with Rite Aid Corporation as Director of AP, during which time he led that company’s Transaction Tax and Accounts Payable organizations. During his tenure at Rite Aid, Jeff was a key player in the integration of the Brooks Eckerd AP process into Rite Aid. His experience included the introduction of technology-enabled solutions and Best-of-Class processes to improve corporate efficiency, reduce costs, increase cash flow and mitigate risk. Prior to Rite Aid, he spent five years at Foot Locker as Manager of Transaction Taxes.

Contact Jeff Ulanoski

Check back for future updates on the Ask the Experts Webinar Series

Ask the Experts

Accurate supplier data drives system effectiveness and saves time, resource, and dollars. Large volumes of data across multiple systems and departments, along with data decay are challenges to maintaining quality supplier data. Up-to-date supplier information is critical for compliance with regulations and controls, such as OFAC screening, diversity tracking, and new tax legislation.

Lavante SIM: On-Demand Supplier Information Management as a Strategy.

Lavante SIM enables companies to proactively communicate with suppliers and gain real-time visibility into suppliers and relationships. Lavante SIM drives compliance across the supplier lifecycle–from initial vendor master file cleansing, to on-boarding, to ongoing maintenance. Set important Vendor Master Controls and let the Lavante software manage your communications.

Drive master data compliance & insight across the supplier life cycle:

 Create an enterprise-wide single source of truth for supplier master data:

• Ensure quality of supplier data
• Gain insight into your suppliers and relationships
• Drive compliance with regulations and internal controls
• Drive corporate compliance with new 1099 Tax Legislation
• Reduce supplier risk
• Reduce cost of managing supplier information

Why Lavante Supplier Information Management?

• Quick Time to Value: On-demand, “out-of-the-box” with immediate results 
• The Highest Supplier Compliance: 8X results of alternative solutions
• Ongoing Communication: Drives supplier participation and data quality
• Funded by Recovery:  Works seamlessly with Lavante Recovery

            Webinar Event:  Wednesday, April 3, 2013 10:00 am 

Pacific Daylight Time (San Francisco, GMT-07:00)

About the Speakers:

Jeff Wiest led the accounts payable function for the U.S. Financial Shared Services Center of Tyco Electronics since its formation over 10 years ago. During that time he oversaw the post-acquisition integration of more than 20 payables functions into the service center. He was instrumental in the implementation of electronic technology solutions that have resulted in significant efficiency improvements and cost savings. Prior to joining Tyco, Jeff served in various accounting roles for AMP Incorporated.

Jeff worked for over ten years with Rite Aid Corporation as Director of AP, during which time he led that company’s Transaction Tax and Accounts Payable organizations. During his tenure at Rite Aid, Jeff was a key player in the integration of the Brooks Eckerd AP process into Rite Aid. His experience included the introduction of technology-enabled solutions and Best-of-Class processes to improve corporate efficiency, reduce costs, increase cash flow and mitigate risk. Prior to Rite Aid, he spent five years at Foot Locker as Manager of Transaction Taxes.

See a Demo of the Lavante Product Suite where you can automatically set your corporate controls and let the application manage all communication for you

Vendor File Management | Collect W9 | OFAC Screening | Insurance Certification Collection | Diversity Tracking | Supplier Onboarding | USPS Validation

Most corporate risk departments today require a current insurance certificate be on file before any work is performed by a supplier whether that supplier is a contractors, subcontractors, tenant, or material vendor.

Automate Requesting and Collecting Certificates of Insurance

It goes without saying that Certificates of Insurance are critical to ensure an organization does not face an unexpected liability due to the negligence of an uninsured or under-insured third party however many of us do not have adequate controls to our certificate collection processes.

Lavante SIM has the ability to request up to date Insurance certificates from all of your suppliers. The application will automatically store the documentation that are collected and provide for automated work flow to follow up with suppliers when the Insurance certificate has expired.

Click HERE to download a white paper written by the Institute of Financial Management on Best Practices for Supplier Management.

If you would like to test drive the Lavante Supplier Information Management application access is simple, just click HERE

Automate the Collection of W9 and Tax ID numbers

The IRS has numerous publications where they provide printable, downloadable instructions.  This information is subject to change at any time by the IRS. As of the data of this publication 3.11.13 we recommend this page on the IRS website http://www.irs.gov/instructions/iw9/ar02.html

How Do I Know When To Use Form W-9?
From http://www.irs.gov/instructions/iw9/ar02.html

Use Form W-9 to request the taxpayer identification number (TIN) of a U.S. person (including a resident alien) and to request certain certifications and claims for exemption. (See Purpose of Form on Form W-9.) Withholding agents may require signed Forms W-9 from U.S. exempt recipients to overcome any presumptions of foreign status. For federal purposes, a U.S. person includes but is not limited to:

• An individual who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien,
• A partnership, corporation, company, or association created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States,
• Any estate (other than a foreign estate), or
• A domestic trust (as defined in Regulations section 301.7701-7).

A partnership may require a signed Form W-9 from its U.S. partners to overcome any presumptions of foreign status and to avoid withholding on the partner’s allocable share of the partnership’s effectively connected income. For more information, see Regulations section 1.1446-1.

Advise foreign persons to use the appropriate
Form W-8. See Pub. 515, Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities, for more information and a list of the W-8 forms.

Also, a nonresident alien individual may, under certain circumstances, claim treaty benefits on scholarships and fellowship grant income. See Pub. 515 or Pub. 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens, for more information.

Electronic Submission of Forms W-9

Requesters may establish a system for payees and payees’ agents to submit Forms W-9 electronically, including by fax. A requester is anyone required to file an information return. A payee is anyone required to provide a taxpayer identification number (TIN) to the requester.

Payee’s agent.   A payee’s agent can be an investment advisor (corporation, partnership, or individual) or an introducing broker. An investment advisor must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The introducing broker is a broker-dealer that is regulated by the SEC and the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., and that is not a payer. Except for a broker who acts as a payee’s agent for “readily tradable instruments,” the advisor or broker must show in writing to the payer that the payee authorized the advisor or broker to transmit the Form W-9 to the payer.

Electronic system.   Generally, the electronic system must:

• Ensure the information received is the information sent, and document all occasions of user access that result in the submission;
• Make reasonably certain that the person accessing the system and submitting the form is the person identified on Form W-9, the investment advisor, or the introducing broker;
• Provide the same information as the paper Form W-9;
• Be able to supply a hard copy of the electronic Form W-9 if the Internal Revenue Service requests it; and
• Require as the final entry in the submission an electronic signature by the payee whose name is on
  Form W-9 that authenticates and verifies the submission. The electronic signature must be under penalties of perjury and the perjury statement must contain the language of the paper Form W-9.

To continue reading this article go to: http://www.irs.gov/instructions/iw9/ar02.html

The next webinar event is scheduled for Tuesday, March 12th.

We will be presenting the curriculum twice to accommodate busy schedules.

If you would like to attend there is still space available

8am PT   https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/579562550

11am PT https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/746389958

The webinar will be a conversation between Lavante CEO, Joe Flynn and AP Now & Tomorrow’s CEO, Mary Schaeffer.

Mary Schaeffer is a recognized thought leader in AP. She is the creator of IFO’s Innovation Certificate Program, a member of the IFO’s Education Committee and gives several sessions every year at the IFO annual Fusion trade show.

Mary publishes a weekly Ezine that we recommend to all of our readers. For more information you can sign up HERE

Here is an exerpt from Mary’s bio located on her site HERE

Mary S. Schaeffer

Editorial Director & Publisher

CRYSTALLUS, Inc. publisher of several accounts payable periodicals

• Nationally recognized accounts payable expert and consultant
• Frequent speaker at seminars, conferences and online events
• Editor-at-Large CFO Publishing’s Learning Pro: AP Edition
• Regular contributor to the AICPA’s Corporate Finance Insider
• Publisher and editorial director of the Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow monthly newsletter
• Creator of Institute of Financial Operations Accounts Payable Innovation Certificate program
• Writes a free weekly e-zine, e-AP News
• Author more than 15 business books including the Controller & CFO’s Guide to Accounts Payable and Fraud in Accounts Payable: How to Prevent It (See full list below)
• M.B.A. Finance, NYU; B.S. Math, York College

Books by Mary S. Schaeffer

• Do-It-Yourself Accounts Payable Consultant Handbook first, second and third editions (CRYSTALLUS, Inc. 2011, 2012, 2013)
• Fraud in Accounts Payable: How to Prevent It (John Wiley & Sons September 2008)
• New Payment World: A Manager’s Guide to Creating an Efficient Payment Process (John Wiley & Sons 2007)
• Travel and Entertainment Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons 2007)
• Controller and CFO’s Guide to Accounts Payable (John Wiley & Sons 2006)
• Accounts Payable and Sarbanes-Oxley: Strengthening Your Internal Controls (John Wiley & Sons 2006)
• The Future of Accounts Payable (CRYSTALLUS, Inc. 2006)
• Accounts Payable: A Guide to Running an Efficient Department First edition, Second edition and Supplements (John Wiley & Sons, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002 , 2003, 2004)
• Accounts Payable Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons 2004)
• Essentials of Accounts Payable (John Wiley & Sons 2002)
• Essentials of Credit, Collections and Accounts Receivable (John Wiley & Sons 2003)
• International Credit and Collections (John Wiley & Sons 1999)
• Understanding Interest Rate Swaps (McGraw Hill 1994)
• Your Dream Vacation Home (McGraw Hill 1992)
• Triumph Over Tragedy (with John Duffy, John Wiley & Sons 2002)

Mary Schaeffer has the inimitable ability to find accounts-payable-related solutions that really work—without making a major dent in the bottom line. Armed with a degree in math and a graduate degree in finance, she takes a “roll up your sleeves and dig into the details” approach to finding solutions to those problems that cause migraines for CFOs, controllers, and managers.

Fifteen years spent researching and writing about payment issues gives Mary Schaeffer a unique vantage point. Combine that with an almost equal amount of time spent in the corporate trenches of several large finance and treasury departments and you’ll see why she’s become known as America’s leading accounts payable expert.

A wide variety of institutions have taken advantage of her unique expertise: John Wiley & Sons has published over a dozen of her books; CRYSTALLUS, Inc. (www.ap-now.com) relies on her know-how to direct its professional publication, training, and consulting business; and the AICPA features her articles in its Corporate Finance Insider. Let’s not overlook the long list of organizations that have turned to her for best practice guidance of their accounts payable function and training of their accounts payable staff.

Ms. Schaeffer has a BS in Mathematics from York College (CUNY) and a MBA in Finance from New York University. She can be reached at marys@ap-now.com

   IOFM Webinar:  Vendor Management Automation Survey Results

Date: February 7, 2013
Time: 10:00 AM PT   1 :00 PM ET
Duration: 1 Hour

Register NOW

Join us for this one hour interactive webinar to help make your AP department more successful in 2013.  The Institute of Finance & Management (IOFM) recently surveyed finance professionals, including accounts payable department managers, supervisors and controllers, to learn about the level of automation in their organization’s accounts payable department, specifically focusing on the tasks related to vendor/supplier management.

This webinar analyzes the state of vendor management in accounts payable departments today, the perceived benefits of utilizing an automation solution, and the difficulties and obstacles for an AP department that wants automation solutions implemented.

Attend this webinar to learn:

• The state of vendor management in accounts payable departments today
• The perceived benefits of utilizing an automation solution
• The difficulties and obstacles for an AP department that wants automation solutions implemented

You will also get a sneak peak into the Lavante Supplier Information Management application where you will see an automated solution for managing suppliers that is within reach.