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UK SOX-Lite – Your Questions Answered

UK SOX is the unofficial name given to new corporate governance reforms coming into place soon. The long-awaited overhaul is designed to help prevent scandals that beset companies such as Carillion and BHS. However, after a push-back from UK boardrooms, the current plans are a more watered down version of what had been proposed. In fact, more of a UK SOX “Lite.”

In conversation with PPN Award Winner, Lee Prosser, Accounts Payable Manager at Shared Services Connected Ltd

PPN: Can you tell us a little about your work with suppliers – I believe you’ve been instrumental in creating a smoother invoice and PO process. What did you do?

Lee Prosser: Yes, I took an improvement opportunity to complete my Six Sigma Green Belt qualification on non-transactional invoice queries. And from there I gathered data on Service Requests and identified our largest pain points. Which for us was No/Invalid PO invoice submissions. Once that had been identified, I made a point of contacting all our suppliers to educated them on the correct invoicing procedure and reminded them that the Home Office run a strict No PO, No Pay policy. And to be honest, the improvement benefits both SSCL and the suppliers. Fewer queries and double handling of transactions for us, prompt payment for them!

The UK Four Day Week Trial – The Pros and (not too many) Cons

During the pandemic, we became used to a new way of working. Overnight, our 5 days a week in the office became 5 days a week at home, followed by 2 more days at home. The working day became longer and the division between home life and work became blurred, as many of us whirred away on our laptops into the late evening. But as things shifted and settled and the pandemic came to an end, many of us had become used to a more flexible way of working, allowing us to collect children from school, spend time with elderly parents or simply wave goodbye to the commute. Knowing that business continuity could be assured, most companies continued to offer hybrid and remote working, and most still do, despite being under threat in some areas.