At the AP Arms this week is Mike Daugherty, Senior AP Manager at Scripps, who talks with Customer Success Manager Hannah Landsell about the power automation can bring to smaller AP teams and how to get your journey started.
Watch the episode ▶️
Meet Mike...
With a career that includes running a family business serving first responders, Mike brings a unique perspective to the Senior AP Manager position at E.W. Scripps.
At Scripps, Mike supports a media powerhouse with 61 stations across 41 markets. The company broadcasts major networks like ABC, CBS and FOX, with digital platforms like ION and Court TV.
When he’s not working, you’ll find him enjoying bourbon and sports with friends in his home bar: a true Kentucky tradition.
Taking back AP control
When Mike first started at Scripps, they outsourced their AP function to a third party that managed daily upload files.
“The decision to bring AP in-house was made before I joined, primarily for better control. The offshore process was producing too many errors and created more work than expected,” Mike explains.
The shift to an in-house function began when they implemented Workday, but getting a new ERP was just the start.
With an AP team of only two people who process four to five thousand invoices per week, the workload may seem overwhelming. Mike and the team have a not-so-secret weapon:
“Automation is everything to our success. Without it, we’d need a much larger team. It enables us to focus on the outliers and issues that the automation flags, rather than processing every invoice manually.”
Leveraging different technology
“Bringing the process back [in-house] allowed us to manage invoices via email, use OCR technology to extract data and leverage AI for matching and duplicate detection,” Mike explains.
Mike and the team have partnered closely with their OCR provider and Xelix to improve their processes and continue their automation journey beyond their ERP.
He explains that it’s important to find technology that works cohesively and allows his small team to work smarter.
The future of automation at Scripps
“Ideally, our goal is to continually improve our processes by collaborating with the third-party providers we partner with,” says Mike.
“We went through a rigorous selection process to choose these companies, and we strive to help them enhance their products too. This, in turn, allows us to improve our offerings to both our internal and external customers.”
Mike goes on to explain the importance of being curious and adaptable and always look for the best ways to maintain efficiency within a small team.
“While we aren’t there yet, we’ve explored several potential options, such as automated statement reconciliation and email solutions that manage our inbox and provide automated replies.
“Although we haven’t found an immediate need for these solutions just yet, they’re on our radar.”
A huge thank you to Mike for sharing his insights on scaling small teams with automation and technology.
If you’d like to feature alongside some of the industry’s finest at The AP Arms, please get in touch – we’d love to share a tipple with you down the pub!
