Business Credit articles from February 2002

Business Credit archives from February 2002

The Annual Legislative Conference: a historic conference for historic times. (National Commentary).(National Association of Credit Management and Commercial Law League of America joint conference)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... One of the great opportunities for the corporate credit professional each year is the NACM Annual Legislative Conference that takes place in Washington, D.C. The 2002 conference, which is scheduled from March 10-12 at the Crystal Gateway...

Small-Business owners mostly satisfied, NFIB survey finds. (Communique).(National Federation of Independent Business report "Success, Satisfaction, and Growth")(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... While 51 percent of small-business owners want to grow their business, just 13 percent say that growth is one of the most influential factors in evaluating the current success of their business. Most who wish to grow have modest goals, though...

Order management: Integrating drives cost reduction. (Communique).(Best Practices L.L.C. report)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Industry leaders drive cost reduction success by continually discovering more efficient ways to integrate order management systems. According to a report from Best Practices, LLC, organizations that improve speed and accuracy in the entire...

Managing deductions.(reducing customer deductions)
February 1, 2002... There's no question that deductions are a pain--for all involved. Not only do they take additional time and resources to process and resolve, but they also cost your company money. In addition, deductions are "dissatisfaction costs," meaning...

Your body speaks volume, but do you know what it is saying? (Personnel Matters).(body language and customer service)
February 1, 2002... Just the other day a salesperson told me that she would do whatever it took to make me happy, and that really angered me! Why would that be? Shouldn't I be thrilled that she was offering to do whatever it took to make me happy? No, because the...

Favorable treatment of critical vendor's pre-petition unsecured trade claims: Another court says yes! (Business Law).(bankruptcy and creditor pre-petition claims; Payless Cashways Inc.)
February 1, 2002... Introduction As a general rule, when a debtor files a bankruptcy petition, a trade creditor cannot enforce payment of its pre-petition claim as a result of the automatic stay. Its claim is at the bottom of the priority ladder and is...

It's time to give credit to outsourcing: How new technology is making it easier to outsourcing part of your receivables management.
February 1, 2002... The Importance of Getting Paid As in any downturn, two trends are dominating today's headlines: first, businesses are going bellyup at an alarming rate. Both S&P and Moody's are predicting a steady increase in the number of defaults until...

Record corporate defaults in 2001; Improvement seen by year's end. (Communique).(Standard and Poor's Corp. report)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Annual corporate defaults exceeded 200 for the first time, with 211 issuers defaulting on approximately $115.4 billion of debt through Dec. 31, 2001, according to the latest data compiled by Standard & Poor's. This dwarfs the previous record...

The Graduate School of Credit and Financial Management it will change your life! (Business Credit Selected Topic).(Dartmouth College. Amos Tuck School of Business Administration)
February 1, 2002... As a credit manager who has been active in the NACM organization for over twenty-five years, I had heard and read a lot about the Graduate School of Credit and Financial Management (GSCFM) but had always thought that someone like myself--a...

A ready-to-use remedy for you A/R headaches.(outsourcing accounts receivable management)
February 1, 2002... The strategic utilization of accounts receivable outsourcing resources is a means for proactively shortening the cashflow cycle and reducing the rate of bad debt losses. The purpose of credit management, after all, is to collect as much as...

Global commerce -- what does it mean to credit management? Using technology to strengthen you global collection policies. (International Affairs Section).
February 1, 2002... Worldwide Management of Receivables While doing business internationally, many new opportunities and obstacles present themselves. For credit professionals, operating in a global economy can mean big changes, especially in terms of how you...

Hot Spots: Hong Kong. (International Insight).
February 1, 2002... China's Special Administrative Region (SAR) has ended a problematic year and is facing another one in the backwash of the global economic slump. It is well equipped to overcome the difficulties, however. The Hong Kong dollar, pegged to the USD,...

UCP500. (International Affairs Section).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... This third commentary continues the study of UCP500 by examining Article 5. Many presentations of documents are rejected because credits have been incorrectly issued. Sometimes, there is a bank error or an error by the applicant that the...

Outsourcing receivables in SE Asia. (International Affairs Section).(debt collection agencies)
February 1, 2002... Supervisor calls can be challenging, and sometimes they can even be fun, but any chance of having fun on this call disappeared soon after I said, "Hello." "Are you the Collections Manager?" replied an old man's voice. "Yes." ...

Qualifying your collection agency: Asking the right questions. (Business Credit Selected Topic).
February 1, 2002... A few years ago, an article was published in Credit Today on the topic of protecting your company's assets by asking a prospective collection agency some questions before assigning any business. With credit to Mike Lawrence, the President of...

Back to basics. (Business Credit Selected Topic).(collection)
February 1, 2002... The sales staff is busy bringing in new business. Credit applications are filled out in their entirety. (It could happen!) You approve the account, and the sales department is thrilled. (It does happen!) The order is processed and shipped out...

Rebuilding a lost legacy: Filling the void created by the implementation of new enterprise software. (Case Study).(Royal Appliance Manufacturing Co. uses Oracle 11i and 9ci Inc. accounting software)
February 1, 2002... Webster's defines legacy as something coming from the past, an apt description of the mainframe computer systems that became the foundation of most corporate business processes. Evolving over decades through the accumulation of new hardware and...

Aftermath of September 11th: Business fraud and bust-outs on the rise--steps to protect your credit sales. (Legal Corner).
February 1, 2002... September 11th has changed our lives. On the commercial credit front, credit professionals are experiencing greater risk and slowing of payment with their open account sales. Customers are warning of earnings shortfalls; they are unable to...

The importance of shipping terms. (Legaljargon).(delivery contracts and their regulations)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... When a customer purchases goods for delivery at a later date, how does the credit professional respond when the customer refuses to pay because the goods were delivered late, the goods were damaged in shipment or there was some other problem...

Mechanics' Liens in Idaho. (Construction Corner).
February 1, 2002... Distinct Features of Idaho Mechanic's Lien Law The basic framework for Idaho Mechanic's Lien Law is provided by Idaho Code [section]45-501 through [section]45-524. As it is wholly created by statute, in order to perfect the mechanic's lien,...