Business Credit articles from April 2006

Business Credit archives from April 2006

Online searches grow 55 percent year-over-year to nearly 5.1 billion searches in December 2005.(front page)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Nielsen//NetRatings, a global leader in Internet media and market research, reported that the total number of searches in the U.S. conducted across approximately 60 search engines grew 55 percent year-over-year to nearly 5.1 billion searches in...

U.S. employers charging smokers extra for health insurance.(front page)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Smokers squeezed by soaring cigarette costs and workplace smoking bans can look forward to being hit with another cost increase--for hearth insurance. A growing number of employers are requiring employees who smoke to pay higher premiums,...

Momentum building toward "cashless" society.(front page)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... While futurists have spun predictions of a "cashless" society since the middle of the fast century, momentum is gathering that may turn this vision into reality in as little as 10 years. New research from TowerGroup finds that a combination of...

Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005.(front page)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... After six years, FDIC reform is finally a reality: the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005 was adopted by Congress as part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and signed by the President. This legislation will, without a doubt, come...

Destination: career.(COMMENTARY)(Column)
April 1, 2006... Last month, I was asked to address my CFDD group in Seattle. At their request, I spoke on my journey to the NACM Chairmanship. That topic gave me pause; it made me stop and think about the things that I considered as important and critical to...

OK means opportunity knocking.(REQUIRED READING)(Book review)
April 1, 2006... In his book, OK Means Opportunity Knocking, Albert Mensah gives us eight steps for "making the most of every chance encounter." Our dreams are not something we achieve over-night, and we often overlook opportunities because they are...

Excuses, excuses ...(SELECTED TOPIC)
April 1, 2006... One of the most pervasive problems within executive ranks is the frequency with which they avoid conflict. This article presents a compendium of their excuses and attempts to dismantle each by revealing the flaws embedded within. Excuse...

How to make changes at work, work for you.(SELECTED TOPIC)
April 1, 2006... No matter how we feel about it, the one thing we can always count on is that things are going to change. What we may not realize is that how we handle change affects the quality of our lives. Whether it is a new CEO, market opportunity,...

Big jump in hotel rates predicted for 2006.(SELECTED TOPIC)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Business Travelers may have to dig deeper into their company's expense budgets for overnight stays at hotel rooms in 2006. PricewaterhouseCoopers has forecasted a 5.6 percent jump in daily room rates in 2006, according to a press release on...

The new creditors' committee disclosure and solicitation obligations: the Refco blueprint!(CREDIT COLUMN)
April 1, 2006... The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), that became effective for bankruptcy cases filed on or after October 17, 2005, has resulted in the most significant change in bankruptcy law in a generation. One of...

A landlord wins the battle over a letter of credit in bankruptcy court, but the bankruptcy trustee may be winning the war.(CREDIT COLUMN)(Case overview)
April 1, 2006... Letters of credit are fundamental for landlords seeking to obtain assurance of payment. Most landlords are well versed in the basics of letters of credit. A letter of credit is a written agreement to pay money that involves three parties: (1)...

Relationships--the core of collections.(Cover story)
April 1, 2006... "I have more important things to take care of than your account." This is a response one NACM Affiliate collections executive said she sometimes gets, when making collection calls for her clients. How to handle the relationship between...

Helping employees through a merger or acquisition.(SELECTED TOPIC)
April 1, 2006... Corporate giants and smaller companies merge every day, and the teams doing the mergers and acquisitions tend to think in terms of the "Big Picture." They wonder such things as: "What's going on with the deal?" "What's happening with...

The most commonly used defenses by personal guarantors, and the way to beat them.(REQUIRED READING)
April 1, 2006... The extension of credit to a business entity can be a risky proposition if you don't take any collateral as security. In order to protect themselves, most creditors insist on obtaining a personal guaranty from someone at the place of business...

The right combination for sustaining Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.(HEADLINE)
April 1, 2006... Take a deep breath and pat yourself on the back. Your company is compliant with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). Now, how do you stay there? Sustained SOX compliance is a journey, not a "once-and-done" effort. It takes the right...

The great jobs migration.
April 1, 2006... Might your job--or the one you're seeking--be offshored in 2006? Only if your work could be done by one of the millions of well-educated professionals in China, India, Russia, Mexico, Canada, Romania or any number of smaller, rapidly developing...

Smart tips on hiring.(HEADLINE)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Stan Godbehere and Fred Getz of Robert Half International, provided information and advice on the best strategies for hiring the right people for open job positions during a presentation entitled "Hiring Smart." This presentation, made on Feb....

Dr. Alan Zimmerman and the 20-question technique for building stronger relationships.(SELECTED TOPIC)
April 1, 2006... Dr. Alan Zimmerman knows about building stronger relationships. As a husband, father, grandfather, speaker and teacher, he has cultivated strong relationships with kin and acquaintances alike for over 20 years. His book, Brave Questions, is a...

One in five employees plans to quit in 2006 to pursue a more balanced life.(SELECTED TOPIC)
April 1, 2006... Are you doing enough to help your employees enjoy a healthy work/life balance? If you shrug off this question with an attitude of "That's their responsibility, not mine," you'd better think again. "Balance really is a bottom-line issue," says...

Schedule at a glance.(Calendar)
April 1, 2006... For a detailed description of the educational sessions and event information, please visit our website at www.nacm.org. Saturday, May 20 8:00am-5:00pm Registration/NACM Bookstore/Silent Auction 8:30am-5:00pm ...

Coface 2006 risk assessment.(INTERNATIONAL SECTION)
April 1, 2006... According to Coface, world growth should remain steady in 2006, still underpinned by strong American and Chinese demand. However, Coface remains concerned about persistent pressure on company margins, especially in industrialized countries and...

Credit management--a view from both sides of the Atlantic.(INTERNATIONAL SECTION)
April 1, 2006... How credit managers conduct business depends upon which side of the Atlantic Ocean they re on, as different circumstances and credit practices face U.S. and European businesses. Credit managers working in companies having operations in both...

Hot spots: Mexico.(INTERNATIONAL SECTION)
April 1, 2006... A massive oil windfall has been making it easy for the government to keep the fiscal ledgers in good shape, but it is also making it easy for politicians to sidestep pressing reform needs, including those that pertain to the structure and good...

'No damage for delay' clauses and your right of recovery.(CONSTRUCTION CORNER)
April 1, 2006... The "no damage for delay" clause is a common method used by owners and contractors to shift the risks of delay on construction projects to subcontractors--the party with the least amount of control over the progress of construction. As noted in...

Managing conflict.(SELECTED TOPIC)
April 1, 2006... Although most businesses are able to minimize conflict among coworkers with the aid of insightful management, communication can still break down occasionally. Regardless of the level of cooperation and camaraderie among employees,...

Trade gap widens in 2005.(HEADLINE)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... The U.S. goods and services deficit widened in 2005, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau. The deficit increased $108.2 billion from $617.6 billion in 2004 to $725.8 billion in 2005, as imports increased...

NACM Credit Manager's Index: report for February 2006.(CREDIT MANAGER'S INDEX)(National Association of Credit Management)(Report)
April 1, 2006... The Credit Manager's Index (CMI) continues to mirror developments in the overall U.S. economy, with rapid changes from month to month, comments Dan North, Chief Economist with credit insurer Euler Hermes ACI. The February CMI showed a strong...

Nonfinancial data can predict future profitability.(SELECTED TOPIC)
April 1, 2006... Data on intangibles such as customer satisfaction can yield significant forecasts of earnings only when they are analyzed in conjunction with financial statistics, according to recent research. Accounting Professor Madhav Rajan used a...

Teaching supervisors how to be coaches.(SELECTED TOPIC)
April 1, 2006... Many of the supervisors in contact centers today do not possess the appropriate skills, nor have they had sufficient training on coaching techniques. We spend a lot of time and effort training our agents, so why aren't we training our...

Taxing government to pay for government: Florida's nonsensical approach to taxation.(CONSTRUCTION CORNER)
April 1, 2006... A difficult taxation issue has plagued Florida's material suppliers, contractors and subcontractors for several decades. Florida's NACM Improved Construction Practices Committee (ICPC) began looking for solutions many years ago, and together...

Dispute resolution.(HEADLINE)
April 1, 2006... Dispute resolution is the process of resolving disputes between parties and includes Lawsuits (litigation), arbitration, mediation, conciliation and many types of negotiation. Formal dispute resolution processes are of two major types: *...

Practical paper management.(REQUIRED READING)
April 1, 2006... The average executive wastes an hour a day looking for important papers, totaling more than six weeks annually. Based on a $120,000 annual salary, the cost of this search is $15,000. (1) Not only are there direct costs for this frantic...

Relationship management: create an enlightened work environment and reap the rewards from your employees.(REQUIRED READING)
April 1, 2006... Employees are like plants. To bloom and thrive, they need to be rooted in the rich soil of a nurturing environment. They need to be watered with care and attention, and warmed by the sunlight of appreciation. Yet, too many seat-of-the-pantsers,...

Relationship management dispute resolution.(REQUIRED READING)(The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.)
April 1, 2006... The credit department is the focal point between clients and internal departments--properly managing these vital relationships is a challenge due to communication obstacles, conflicting goals and revenue exposure. The Payoff Of Enhanced...

Credit at work.(MEMBER NEWS)(National Association of Credit Management)(South Puget Sound Chapter)
April 1, 2006... NACM Business Credit Services was proud to announce that seven deserving members received a $700 scholarship for Credit Congress. Congratulations are in order for: Janell Clinton Debbie DeBoer, CBA Terri Downing, CCE Julie Putman Kelly...