Why Life Sciences companies need AI in their AP process 
Even if you had a solid handle on your partnerships and their associated payment schemes, good luck keeping an eye on spend across that jumble of systems that is your back office. Most large Life Sciences companies have disparate AP systems because of all of the acquisitions and joint ventures they’ve undergone to get where they are. As an industry where false claims, kickbacks, and other shenanigans have gone unaddressed for a long time, Life Sciences is now bearing the backlash as governments around the globe crack down. And because so many companies lack the visibility they need across their spend systems to have really accurate, comprehensive spend reporting, when they’re actually contested by a regulatory authority, many simply say “uncle” and pay the penalty.
Another by-product of complexity in your AP systems is that you’re vulnerable to errors, waste, and fraud. The shifting sands from acquisitions and joint ventures mean you’ll never get to steady state in your back office, no matter how hard you try. The tidy approval workflows and invoice matching processes that are supposed to protect you from overpaying or being bilked by your vendors just don’t work for you. Once you get a process ironed out and agreed upon, it’ll just get upended in your next business transition. And because you’re running just to keep up with the pace of your business, you don’t have time to set them up, much less maintain them. Because of this, you end up not picking up duplicate charges, invoices that don’t give you the payment terms or volume discounts you negotiated, and even fraudulent invoices.
What is required is a smart spend audit process that automates review of all of your expenses and invoices. It should understand and keep track of your corporate policy as well as your negotiated supplier contracts, as well as all spend-related laws such as the Sunshine Act and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act so you can remain compliant and stay out of regulatory hot water. And finally, it needs to protect you from overpaying, double-paying, or being the victim of fraud.
If Life Sciences spend is the illness, AI-powered spend auditing from AppZen is the cure. Our platform is a must have for modern finance teams to reduce spend, comply with policy, and streamline process.
