Triple success for Accounts Payable who achieve major industry recognition
The NWSSP Accounts Payable (AP) team have achieved a number of milestones both personally and professionally.
The team have been awarded the Accounts Payable Association’s Quality Certification as part of their ‘Q Programme’. In being awarded the certification the team has become only the second UK organisation to achieve the award - a major professional achievement.
The Accounts Payable Association (APA) is the first (and only) UK professional body devoted to serving the Accounts Payable / Purchase Ledger professional community. The objective of its Q Programme is to define and develop best practice standards into an industry recognised professional best practice accreditation to recognise the value professional AP Communities bring to business and improve standards in Accounts Payable globally.
A scorecard was produced with the AP Team achieving an impressive 87% overall score being measured against the following criteria:
- AP Policy - 85%
- Controls and Compliance - 90%
- Customer Satisfaction - 88%
- Personal Development - 85%
- Stakeholder management - 89%
- Values and Initiatives - 90%
The Association did not identify any recommendations in its subsequent report which highlights the quality of the service provided. A number of other aspects also stood out in the report including a reference to the culture of continuous improvement being made despite the challenges of the last 18 months - a remarkable achievement.
As more organisations achieve the Quality accreditation the Association will be creating a Q Programme League Table which will indicate areas of improvement.
Head of Accounts Payable and eEnablement, Russell Ward;
“This represents the “icing on the cake” for the service. In 2015, the function was facing severe challenges and an action plan was put forward that was endorsed by the world-renowned global brand PricewaterhouseCoopers. This in turn gradually helped to start to turn the corner. We subsequently achieved the ISO 9001 Quality Management System accreditation in 2018 and won Welsh Team of the Year at the Go Awards Wales Excellence in Public Procurement Awards. In addition, the AP function has been pioneering agile working within NWSSP pre-pandemic. To be recognised and awarded the APA Q accolade is recognition of all the hard work that everyone in the team has put in.”
Accounts Payable Awards Recognition
Further recognition was also achieved at the recent prestigious Accounts Payable Association Awards where Russell Ward was crowned as Runner Up in the Leadership category. This award is testament to the work of the AP function across Wales and is the second award for the AP team having also being Runners Up in the Employee Engagement category in 2019.
Accounts Payable Association – Top 100 Influencers
Each year the Accounts Payable Association recognises individuals who are the most influential in the AP profession by awarding them a place on the APA Top 100 Influencer index.
To make the list individuals will have had to continue to promote and develop a voice within the AP Industry whilst assisting others. Russell Ward has been recognised by the APA as an influential individual in the AP profession and has been subsequently added to the Influencer index. This is a prestigious and highly coveted achievement and speaks volumes of the high standards aligned with NWSSP’s Core Values that Russell has clearly demonstrated.
Russell has worked for NWSSP for almost seven years, and his impressive qualifications include a Master’s degree in Business Administration and the Prince 2 project management qualification. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, the Institute of Personnel Management, and the Accounts Payable Association.
Russell manages a total of 130 staff working out of 2 offices and has over 40 years of experience of working across numerous sectors including: Central Government, Local Government, Private and public Utility and Water sectors.