Building on their strategic partnership, International Accounts Payable Professionals (IAPP), and The Association for Work Process Improvement (TAWPI), today announced that the associations are merging their staffs and boards of directors, effective June 1. IAPP and TAWPI will continue as individual associations. Together, IAPP and TAWPI have 6,000 document automation and financial shared services practitioners. More than 60 percent of IAPP and TAWPI's membership is represented by Fortune 1000 companies.

The partnership between TAWPI and IAPP, and its sister association International Accounts Receivable Professionals (IARP), creates a one-of-a-kind educational resource for practitioners involved in accounts payable (AP), accounts receivable (AR), payments processing, and document automation.

IAPP and IARP are internationally recognized as trustworthy guidance-setting associations for the AP and AR professions, respectively. TAWPI is a non-profit association that provides educational resources that drive process improvement in payments automation and document management.

"As a result of this expanded alliance, IAPP and TAWPI will have the greatest ability to advance the document automation and financial shared services industries by providing transparency of practice and expanding professional knowledge through the sharing of best practices and thought leadership," said IAPP CEO Tom Bohn. "Members of IAPP and TAWPI will professionally benefit by having access to a one-of-a-kind resource center, unmatched breadth of training and certification programs, and the most expansive network of document automation and shared services professionals. We not only are committed to delivering the resources IAPP, IARP and TAWPI members are accustomed to, but will look for ways to build on that value proposition to drive member and partner growth."

"By combining our resources in AP, AR and payments automation, IAPP and TAWPI can uniquely address the industry's increasing focus on financial shared services and financial supply chain management," said TAWPI Executive Director Frank Moran. "IAPP and TAWPI also are well positioned to provide the document automation resources required of today's information-driven world."

Together, IAPP and TAWPI have offices in Boston, London and Orlando. The associations have 28 full-time employees and annual revenues 50 percent higher than IAPP's 2009 results.

The associations will be governed by a volunteer board of directors comprised of members of IAPP and TAWPI's existing boards.

"This partnership has been in the works for several months. Once the leadership of each association recognized the synergies that a combined organization would have, it just made good sense from a business standpoint and member services standpoint," said Eric Jones, director of corporate payables, payment services for Lowe's Companies, Inc., and chairman of the IAPP board of directors. "After all, there is no payable without a receivable, and automation technology is what allows both sides of the equation to work efficiently and effectively."

"Gone are the days of attending multiple conferences, visiting dozens of Web sites and piecing together fragmented information to understand document automation and financial shared services trends," said eGistics Chairman and CEO Bob Lund, chairman of the TAWPI board of directors. "Through the merging of educational resources, IAPP and TAWPI will be able to provide deeper and broader insight into these areas than any other existing organization."

"By combining our educational resources, IAPP and TAWPI will have the ability to advance the document automation and financial shared services industries," said Bohn. "As technological advancements change the landscape of both industries, collaboration between professionals is more important than ever. The sharing of best practices and creation of the best-in-industry thought leadership will allow for more refined processes and improved business cultures in organizations."

IAPP and TAWPI made the announcement at the opening session of FUSION 2010 at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas. Bringing together over 1,400 financial shared services and document professionals, FUSION is the result of combining the associations' annual forums and expo. The event features more than 120 education sessions and 140 exhibitors.