Part 1 · Operating Control by Function (40% of total)

Finance & Banking Financials + Banking Weight 18

Evidence to review: Days to close · Bank-reconciliation automation · DSO / overdue A/R · Cash forecast accuracy · Sales-tax and 1099 readiness

Books are assembled from bank downloads and spreadsheets; the close depends on overtime and tribal knowledge

An accounting package is in place, but orders, inventory, expenses and bank activity still require re-entry or file imports

Sales, purchasing and inventory documents create controlled accounting entries; reconciliations and period close run in one system

Entity-level cash, margin, aging and budget views are current; tax codes, nexus locations and 1099 vendor data have named owners

Exceptions drive the work queue: collections, close tasks, tax-data gaps, cash forecasts and foreign-currency revaluation are automated or alerted

Use actual records, not perception: Use the last three closes: working days to issue reports, unreconciled bank items, overdue receivables, manual tax-code corrections and vendor records missing W-9 data.

Sales & Customers Sales A/R + CRM Weight 15

Evidence to review: Quote-to-order time · Gross margin by order · Credit-limit exceptions · EDI order accuracy · DSO and customer concentration

Pipeline and pricing live in email or personal spreadsheets; customer records differ by salesperson or channel

CRM or e-commerce captures demand, but orders, available stock, shipping and A/R are not connected

Quote, order, pick, ship and invoice share one document chain with controlled customer pricing and credit terms

Management sees margin, backlog, DSO and concentration by customer or channel; EDI and online orders are monitored for exceptions

Forecasts, replenishment signals, credit holds and follow-up tasks are generated from current transaction data

Use actual records, not perception: Check whether CRM, quotes, customer-specific pricing, EDI or web orders, credit status, fulfillment and invoices share one customer and order record.

Inventory & Distribution Inventory + WMS Weight 15

Evidence to review: Inventory accuracy · DIO / turnover · Fill rate · 3PL and in-transit visibility · Batch / serial trace time

Stock is tracked in spreadsheets or separate warehouse files; counts create major adjustments and shipping surprises

An inventory tool exists, but finance, 3PL balances, landed cost, batches or serial numbers remain separate

Receipts, transfers, bins, picks and issues update quantity and value across warehouses in the system

Cycle counts, aging, DIO, fill rate and traceability are reviewed by location, including 3PL and in-transit stock

Replenishment, shortage, shelf-life and allocation exceptions are suggested automatically from demand and current supply

Use actual records, not perception: Compare ERP stock with physical and 3PL balances, count adjustments, slow-moving value, landed cost, fill rate and the time needed to trace a lot or serial number.

Purchasing & Payables Purchasing A/P Weight 15

Evidence to review: Requisition-to-PO time · Three-way-match rate · Supplier OTIF · Landed-cost variance · W-9 / 1099 data completeness

Buyers order through calls and email; invoices are approved without a dependable PO and receipt trail

Purchase orders exist, but receiving, freight, duty, invoice approval and payment are reconciled manually

Requisition, PO, receipt, landed cost, A/P invoice and payment are linked with three-way-match controls

Supplier OTIF, price variance, payment terms and vendor tax-data completeness are reviewed in one operating cadence

The system proposes purchases and flags shortages, price changes, duplicate invoices and missing compliance data before payment

Use actual records, not perception: Measure approval time, PO-to-receipt performance, invoice exceptions, supplier terms, freight and duty variances, and whether reportable vendors have complete tax records.

Production & Planning Production + MRP Weight 15

Evidence to review: Schedule attainment · Material readiness · Actual-to-standard cost variance · Capacity use · Scrap, rework and quality holds

Scheduling depends on a planner’s spreadsheet; progress, scrap and shortages are reported by calls or meetings

Work orders are digital, but BOM changes, inventory, subcontracting, quality and finance do not share a closed loop

MRP, production orders, material issues, completions and work-order cost use controlled master data in one system

Planners see availability, capacity, schedule attainment, quality status and cost variance while the order is active

Demand changes trigger plan alternatives, material checks and exception alerts before a line stop or missed promise

Use actual records, not perception: Review how demand becomes a production order, which BOM and routing version is used, how labor and material are captured, and when shortages or quality holds become visible.

Not applicable (e.g. non-manufacturing or non-project businesses; the weight is redistributed automatically)

Projects & Resources Project + Resources Weight 12

Evidence to review: Milestone attainment · Project margin · Billable utilization · Budget variance · Unbilled work and change orders

Scope, progress and cost live in separate files; time is incomplete and project margin is unknown

A task tool tracks work, but labor, purchasing, expenses, billing and the general ledger are disconnected

Milestones, time, expense, purchasing and invoices roll into a controlled project record and P&L

Managers review margin, backlog, utilization, unbilled work and budget variance while action is still possible

Billing triggers, change-order alerts, staffing conflicts and forecast-at-completion updates are automated

Use actual records, not perception: Check whether time, expenses, purchased items, milestones, billing and change orders roll into one project P&L before the engagement is complete.

Not applicable (e.g. non-manufacturing or non-project businesses; the weight is redistributed automatically)

Access Control & Security Administration Weight 10

Evidence to review: Role-based access · Segregation of duties · Approval coverage · Change-log review · User and integration access ownership

Shared or overly broad access is common; vendor, payment and journal changes can occur without a dependable approval trail

Individual accounts exist, but permissions are broad and approvals or user reviews happen outside the system

Access follows job roles; sensitive transactions use approval procedures and material changes create a reviewable log

Segregation-of-duties conflicts, inactive users, integrations and exception approvals are reviewed on a defined schedule

Joiner, mover and leaver changes are controlled; high-risk access and transaction exceptions trigger review and evidence retention

Use actual records, not perception: Test who can create vendors, change bank details, approve purchases, post journals, alter closed documents and access integrations; confirm that changes and exceptions are reviewed.

Part 2 · End-to-End Transaction Flow (APQC PCF · 35% of total)

Can a Transaction Travel Without Re-entry? Each item 0–5 · score the handoffs between teams and systems

A department may look efficient while the full order, purchase or close still depends on spreadsheets. Score the complete path, including tax, banking, 3PL, EDI and entity handoffs where they apply. Use the three descriptions under each flow as the scoring guide.

P1 Order to Cash (O2C)

Chain: Quote → Order → Delivery → Invoice → Collection · PCF 3.0 → 4.0 → 9.0 · Domains: Sales + Inventory/Shipping + Finance

Tests whether direct, web and EDI orders reach shipment, tax calculation, invoicing and cash application without re-entry.

0–1 Reconstructed by hand

Orders, fulfillment, invoices and deposits are separate records; cycle time and margin cannot be reconstructed reliably.

2–3 Digital with manual gaps

Major steps are digital, but tax, EDI, shipping or cash application still requires files and manual matching.

4–5 Connected and controlled

The transaction is connected from source order through shipment, tax, invoice and bank receipt, with exceptions visible by customer and location.

P2 Procure to Pay (P2P)

Chain: Request → PO → Receipt → Invoice → Payment · PCF 4.0 → 9.0 · Domains: Purchasing + Receiving + Accounts Payable

Tests purchasing control from approved need through receipt, landed cost, invoice match, vendor tax data and payment.

0–1 Reconstructed by hand

Orders are approved in email and invoices are paid from memory; receipts, terms and vendor records are incomplete.

2–3 Digital with manual gaps

POs and invoices exist, but matching, freight allocation, W-9 review or payment approval still happens outside the system.

4–5 Connected and controlled

Requisition, PO, receipt, landed cost, invoice and payment share one trail, with match exceptions and vendor-data gaps routed before payment.

P3 Plan to Produce

Chain: Demand → MRP → Scheduling → Availability → Completion → Receipt · PCF 4.0 · Domains: Sales/Demand + MRP + Production + Inventory

Tests whether a customer promise reflects current material, supplier, capacity, quality and subcontracting constraints.

0–1 Reconstructed by hand

Planners rebuild supply and capacity in spreadsheets after every demand change; shortages are found on the floor.

2–3 Digital with manual gaps

MRP is available, but BOM versions, supplier dates, quality holds or actual production progress are checked separately.

4–5 Connected and controlled

Demand drives a controlled MRP and production plan; material, capacity and delivery exceptions are visible before dates are committed.

P4 Record to Report (R2R)

Chain: Posting → Reconciliation → Close → Consolidated reporting · PCF 9.0 · Domains: All business domains + Finance

Tests whether operating events become US GAAP-aligned books, reconciliations and multi-entity reports on a repeatable close calendar.

0–1 Reconstructed by hand

Finance imports summaries at month-end; bank, inventory, intercompany and tax data are reconciled through separate workbooks.

2–3 Digital with manual gaps

Core documents post to the ledger, but entity mapping, eliminations, tax adjustments or reporting packages still depend on manual work.

4–5 Connected and controlled

Transactions, reconciliations, close tasks and entity reporting follow one controlled calendar with drill-through to source documents.

P5 Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC)

Chain: AR aging + Inventory turnover − AP terms · Outcome KPI · spans everything · Domains: Finance + Inventory + Purchasing + Sales

Shows whether pricing, collections, inventory and supplier terms are managed as one working-capital system.

0–1 Reconstructed by hand

A/R, inventory and A/P are reported separately; nobody owns the days of cash tied up from purchase through collection.

2–3 Digital with manual gaps

Finance can calculate the metric after month-end, but customer, item and entity definitions require spreadsheet adjustment.

4–5 Connected and controlled

Cash conversion is available on a consistent basis and can be investigated by customer, item, location or entity while action is still possible.

Part 3 · Technology Readiness (Amplifier · 25% of total)

Analytics, automation and architecture create value only when transactions and ownership are already controlled. The technology score therefore cannot exceed the process score; this prevents a polished dashboard or AI pilot from hiding broken source data.

BI & Analytics Gartner analytics ladder: descriptive → diagnostic → predictive → prescriptive

Evidence to review: KPI refresh time · Self-service reporting · Entity/location drill-down · Forecast accuracy · Exception-to-action time

A request for margin, cash or inventory requires exports and several days of reconciliation

Each application has reports, but cross-entity and cross-process questions still require a spreadsheet model

Core data uses common definitions and standard operational and financial reports are dependable

Managers drill from KPI to entity, location, customer, item and source transaction without waiting for a custom report

Forecasts and recommended actions are monitored against actual outcomes, with owners assigned to material exceptions

AI & Automation Fully manual → rules → workflow/RPA → predictive → generative

Evidence to review: Touchless transaction rate · Exception coverage · Manual hours removed · Recommendation adoption · Error and override rate

Employees re-key documents and watch for problems through inboxes and personal checklists

Templates and isolated scripts save time, but ownership, monitoring and controls are inconsistent

Approvals, recurring notifications and selected document processing follow managed workflows

Material exceptions such as shortages, late orders, credit exposure and close delays are detected and routed automatically

OCR, low-code workflows and AI recommendations operate on governed data, with accuracy, overrides and business results measured

Platform & Deployment Silos → integration → open platform → cloud/elastic

Evidence to review: Integration ownership · Recovery readiness · Remote/location access · Upgrade effort · U.S. and overseas localization fit

Finance, commerce, warehouse and operations run separately; files are the integration layer

A core system exists, but point-to-point interfaces have unclear owners and upgrades are disruptive

Core transactions share a platform and important external systems use documented, monitored interfaces

APIs, mobile access, backup and recovery procedures support remote teams and multiple U.S. locations

The architecture can add entities, 3PLs, tax or EDI services and overseas localizations without rebuilding the core