Can Accounts Payable Help a Business Maintain a Sound Financial Status?

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If you listen to ads on television, you may think that a financially sound company is one that has a great credit score. While that is one mark of a sound company, the best indicator of a sound company is one that pays its bills in a timely manner.


This indicator alone shows that the company has the cash on hand to write the checks to pay bills when they are due. A good credit score is merely another confirmation that a company is fulfilling the promise to make good on its debts. Accounts payable are another aspect of cash management and they are the best indicator of the financial stability of a company.


There are times when a business will make large purchases to take advantage of prices that are expected to be higher tomorrow, or when a company places orders for large amounts of goods in anticipation of an upcoming order. When that happens, the ratio between goods purchased and sales made may appear to be out of balance. Nevertheless, a sound company will be able to cover the cost of the goods purchased in a timely manner, due to accurate handling by accounts payable personnel.


When a company begins to pay bills later, rather than when they are due, it is often because the cash is not available to make those payments. Accounts payable departments can also assist management in maintaining sound financial practices by keeping them informed about the balances in each of the accounting ledgers.



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