Metric of the Month
An ongoing series authored by Perry D. Wiggins, who is CFO, treasurer, and secretary for APQC, a nonprofit benchmarking and best practices research organization.
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6 practical ways to reduce invoicing costs: Metric of the Month
Finance leaders who view billing costs as a cash flow management lever perform better.
By Perry D. Wiggins • Feb. 4, 2026 -
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Hidden delays that slow payments and strain cash flow: Metric of the Month
How tracking invoice-to-payment cycle time can improve cash flow strategy.
By Perry D. Wiggins • Dec. 3, 2025 -
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Managing cost per employee during labor market shifts: Metric of the Month
A practical approach to managing personnel costs can create a more resilient finance function.
By Perry D. Wiggins • Nov. 5, 2025 -
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4 steps to ERP consolidation: Metric of the Month
Multiple ERP systems can fragment data and inflate costs. Here's how CFOs can achieve strategic consolidation without sacrificing operational needs.
By Perry D. Wiggins • Oct. 1, 2025 -
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5 strategies for a faster year-end close: Metric of the Month
Thorough pre-work and AI-powered tools can help reduce both cycle time and end-of-year workloads.
By Perry D. Wiggins • Sept. 3, 2025 -
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3 ways to reduce AP process costs: Metric of the Month
Reducing the time spent resolving payment issues can yield significant savings to help free up cash for reinvestment.
By Perry D. Wiggins • Aug. 6, 2025 -
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Finding the right mix of preventive and detective controls: Metric of the Month
Maintaining a comprehensive internal control program requires collaboration, deep understanding of the organization’s needs and diligent monitoring.
By Perry D. Wiggins • July 9, 2025 -
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4 strategies for faster financial forecasting: Metric of the Month
Here’s how CFOs can balance speed and quality to guide real-time strategy.
By Perry D. Wiggins • June 11, 2025 -
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How to realize a higher return on invested capital: Metric of the Month
Here’s why ROIC should be managed like any other productivity measure.
By Perry D. Wiggins • May 7, 2025 -
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Minimizing invoice errors in capital projects: Metric of the Month
When working with contractors on major projects, disagreements over when payments are due often require protracted renegotiation, stretching cycle times for invoice error resolution.
By Perry D. Wiggins • April 9, 2025 -
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Boosting efficiency in accounts receivable processing: Metric of the Month
Tracking your total cost to process accounts receivable per $1,000 in revenue can translate into time and money savings.
By Perry D. Wiggins • March 5, 2025 -
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Percentage of error-free disbursements: Metric of the Month
There are several straightforward ways to identify and address disbursement errors, resulting in improved productivity and cost savings.
By Perry D. Wiggins • Feb. 5, 2025 -
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The cost of financial management: Metric of the Month
Tracking the total cost of the finance function helps CFOs make informed decisions about resource allocation and investments in tools and staffing.
By Perry D. Wiggins • Jan. 8, 2025 -
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How many finance employees should your organization have? Metric of the Month
By optimizing headcount in the finance function, leaders can increase organizational efficiency.
By Perry D. Wiggins • Dec. 11, 2024 -
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Steps for improving sales forecast accuracy: Metric of the Month
To strengthen financial health, CFOs should look for ways to incrementally improve the accuracy of their sales forecasts.
By Perry D. Wiggins • Updated Nov. 12, 2024 -
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How long is too long to reconcile the general ledger? Metric of the Month
Here are a few key areas to examine to help speed up general ledger reconciliation.
By Perry D. Wiggins • Sept. 4, 2024 -
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Measuring financial forecasting efficiency: Metric of the Month
As firms grow, so do their financial planning, budgeting and forecasting teams.
By Perry D. Wiggins • Aug. 7, 2024 -
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How to measure productivity with revenue per employee: Metric of the Month
Revenue-generating support provided by outsourced workers can distort this important measurement of productivity.
By Perry D. Wiggins • July 10, 2024 -
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Days sales outstanding: A critical lever for managing cash flow: Metric of the Month
Get cash more quickly by reducing the time between invoice processing and customer payment.
By Perry D. Wiggins • June 5, 2024 -
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Manage days payable outstanding to improve cash flow: Metric of the Month
A high DPO can sabotage strategic supplier relationships and a too-low DPO constrains liquidity, CFO Perry Wiggins says.
By Perry D. Wiggins • May 8, 2024 -
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Finance Team Collaboration Drives Lower Process Costs: Metric of the Month
Getting people to work together more effectively will help drive costs down sustainably.
By Perry D. Wiggins • April 3, 2024 -
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3 CFO Strategies for Getting Paid Faster: Metric of the Month
Leading organizations use these three strategies to get faster payments from customers.
By Perry D. Wiggins • March 6, 2024 -
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3 CFO Strategies for Better Annual Reporting Performance: Metric of the Month
Reporting work doesn’t stop with the completion of the annual close.
By Perry D. Wiggins • Feb. 7, 2024 -
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Eliminate Billing Adjustment Bottlenecks: Metric of the Month
A lengthy cycle time for adjustments can cause ripple effects for key finance processes.
By Perry D. Wiggins • Nov. 15, 2023 -
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The Metric of the Month series
An ongoing series on corporate finance authored by Perry D. Wiggins — CFO, treasurer, and secretary for APQC, a nonprofit benchmarking and best practices research organization.
By Perry D. Wiggins • Updated April 9, 2025
