AP Now Episode 19: Mary Schaeffer with Jamie Radford and Gareth Jones on Being an Influencer

Jamie Radford and Gareth Jones of the AP Association (headquartered in the UK) join AP Now’s Mary Schaeffer on the AP Now podcast. The main topic was AP Innovators. But before we got around to that, they shared a little of their background and how they came to found the AP Association, a global organization headquartered in the UK. Jones refers to accounts payable in an interesting manner, calling it “transactional finance.”

They shared that the AP Association was founded on three core values: providing community, recognition and networking to an unrecognized group of people: the folks who work in accounts payable. Their goal is to provide these options to these unsung heroes through certification, events, virtual events and now their 50 Top Influencers in AP.

The group is currently asking for nominations for the 50 Top Influencers (listen to the podcast to find out how to nominate yourself or someone else). Their hope is that this is one way to provide recognition to this largely ignored group of hard-working professionals. Radford shared that he was floored by the overwhelming response. They have received over 200 nominations in the first two weeks— and most were by people nominating other people. They intend to continue this program in future years. It is important to note that nominations are coming in from around the globe. The gentlemen also shared what it takes to be considered an Influencer.

Host: Mary Schaeffer (https://www.ap-now.com/)

Guests: Jamie Radford and Gareth Jones (https://www.ap-association.com/ )

Sponsor: Stampli (https://www.stampli.com/apnow/)

Credit: Music: https://www.purple-planet.com