In Memoriam: Tom Nichols

Remembering our friend...

Tom Francis Nichols

July 15, 1934 - February 18, 2019

Tom Nichols, the namesake of IOFM’s Lifetime Excellence Award, died this month at the age of 84.

“Tom has been a selfless and powerful advocate of advancing the practice and perception of Accounts Payable for years,” says IOFM VP Brian Cuthbert. “He was part of the core team that developed our original AP certification program, and now over 25,000 people have the certification designation that he helped create.”

He spent 35 years at AT&T, serving as the company’s director of AP and Payroll. During his tenure, he established the practice of electronic invoicing and ordering for AP and purchasing.

“I was never a one-man show; I had plenty of help from those around me,” Tom said upon hearing IOFM’s lifetime achievement would bear his name in 2016.

One of his collaborators was Judy Bicking, who he co-authored and co-presented IOFM’s early certifications and who now serves as IOFM’s senior trainer. “He was a rare breed,” she says. “His passion couldn’t be contained just within his team.”

Tom will be missed by his wife Carol, his children, his grandchildren, as well as the tens of thousands AP professionals that have been inspired by his training.