Business Credit articles from February 2003

Business Credit archives from February 2003

What can you expect from the federal government? (The Scoop).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... January 8, 2003 marked the start of the 108th Congress. With new leaders and a shift in party control, what can you expect from the federal government? Will the Internet play a significant role in the Billing and Collections Department? Will...

Guidance. (National Commentary).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The world can be pretty confusing sometimes, even to the most educated, sophisticated and skilled among us. Surely there is a time in everyone's life when it would be oh so nice to have a compass to give us some direction, signposts to point...

Recent PACA decisions: a mixed bag for PACA creditors. (Business Law).(Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act)
February 1, 2003... Introduction The Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act ("PACA") is a federal statute that creates special protections for suppliers of perishable agricultural commodities. An unpaid supplier of perishable agricultural commodities that...

Internal control framework critical for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. (Communique).
February 1, 2003... The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has established a new requirement that CEOs and CFOs explicitly evaluate and report to the public on the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting. To assist companies' compliance,...

A/R outsourcing--coming of age in the new millennium. (Business Credit Selected Topic).
February 1, 2003... Outsourcing accounts receivable has become an essential business tool in today's credit environment. The traditional, vertically integrated, self-sufficient business model simply does not apply. In its place, a new set of words defines business...

Building organizational competencies for competitive advantage. (Business Credit Selected Topic).
February 1, 2003... The search for a competitive advantage has become businesses' version of the quest for the Holy Grail... and understandably so. Identifying and building organizational competencies can help businesses gain competitive advantage within their...

Taming the deduction beast: implementing deduction automation tools within the context of organizational improvement fuels dramatic performance breakthroughs.
February 1, 2003... It's become an all too familiar story. Your company replaces their legacy software with an ERP system and, looking forward to the greater productivity the new system will generate, mandates that staffing for your credit function be halved. To...

Deploying a global credit solution. (Business Credit Selected Topic).
February 1, 2003... Global Credit Management. Sounds exotic doesn't it? Upon hearing that you are going to head up your organization's worldwide credit and collections group, you may begin to have visions of afternoon meetings in Viennese cafes or power...

The top 10 things you should immediately do if your client is a creditor in a bankruptcy case. (Business Credit Selected Topic).
February 1, 2003... So, another of your client's customers' has gone bankrupt? Not to worry. Although the workings of the bankruptcy court can appear dark and mysterious to the uninitiated, it is quite easy for experienced bankruptcy practitioners to get "real...

Escheatment in the post-September 11 environment: a problem for the credit executive? (Legal Corner).
February 1, 2003... The recent anniversary of September 11 reminds us that states are still struggling to meet the new financial burdens that the terrorist acts created. States are incurring enormous financial costs for homeland security. In light of this, states...

Forecast for "most troubled" industries for 2003. (Communique).
February 1, 2003... Professionals in the turnaround management and corporate renewal industry expect another year of financial and operational difficulties for a variety of industries. Telecommunications, which topped the list of troubled companies in 2002 in the...

Maximizing your sales staff to avoid fraud. (Communique).
February 1, 2003... In their traditional role, the sales department is not seen as a mechanism to avoid or identify fraud. Avoiding fraud is typically a job that falls squarely on the shoulders of the credit department. But, times are changing and companies need...

Selling bankruptcy claims: "become empowered through technology". (Business Credit Selected Topic).
February 1, 2003... With the prolonged downturn in our economy, business filings for bankruptcy are continuing at a seemingly unstoppable rate. According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, new bankruptcies filed during the third quarter of 2002 and...

Scoring the customer lifecycle. (Business Credit Selected Topic).
February 1, 2003... Introduction and Industry Environment The business of business is about the future and relies on predictions. It's done every day--predictions about future inventories, revenues and receivables are the basis for today's decisions. With...

Critical vendors and the doctrine of necessity. (Business Credit Selected Topic).
February 1, 2003... Introduction It is not an uncommon scenario. A vendor's key customer slowly evolves into a late payer. Invoices that must be paid in 30 days are paid late: first, in 45 days, then 60 days, then even later. The vendor terminates its...

"Connect" with the sales team by walking in their shoes. (Communique).
February 1, 2003... In order for your organization to maximize its revenue and cash performance, building and maintaining a solid and positive relationship between your credit services and sales teams is key. Credit service professionals can strengthen their...

NACM's annual legislative conference.(National Assoc. of Credit Managers)(Calendar)
February 1, 2003... March 16 - 18, 2003 Arlington, VA As the national advocate for the credit management profession, NACM presents information about the critical role its professionals play in successful credit decisions and transactions on Capitol Hill...

A great reputation speaks for itself.(Robert Half Finance & Accounting)(Company Profile)
February 1, 2003... For more than 50 years, Robert Half Finance & Accounting has been the world's first and largest recruiting firm specializing in the placement of accounting and finance professionals, Listed below is a sampling of positions available through...

Preventing deductions: start by managing retail compliance information.
February 1, 2003... To put it mildly, customer deductions and short pays (also known as chargebacks in many industries) are a thorn in the side of most companies who sell to retailers. In some cases, they may be more like the straw that will break the camel's back...

General Session keynote presentation: Leadership on the Line. (Credit Congress & Expo).
February 1, 2003... 107th Credit Congress & Exposition * June 1-4 Orlando, Florida Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel Ronald Heifetz, author of the a latest book, Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading, written with Marty...

NACM's Government Receivables Group.(National Assoc. of Credit Managers)
February 1, 2003... The Government Receivables Group was set up 10 years ago to serve members, regardless of size, who provide products and services to the United States Government. Susan Hemingway, Director of NACM's Government Receivables Group, joined NACM in...

Profit on Federal contracts-you mean we can have some? (Business Credit Selected Topic).
February 1, 2003... Recently, with the demise of the "instant millionaire" era of the Internet and the threat of a recession, interest in doing business with the Federal Government is a primary view of many businesses. With this new focus, companies chasing the...

Receivables management and offshore outsourcing. (Business Credit Selected Topic).
February 1, 2003... Finance professionals today are under a great deal of pressure to optimize working capital through the implementation of aggressive cash management procedures. Tough economic times make it even more important for financial professionals to...

International collections: A prequel. (International Affairs Section).
February 1, 2003... Collection, in general, is a bad word. It means that a good relationship has turned sour. That somebody didn't comply with his end of the bargain, and worse, that all amicable ways to solve the problem have been exhausted. When I analyze a...

Worldwide Credit Conditions.(Illustration)
February 1, 2003... Worldwide Credit Conditions Fay Hansen ECONOMIC GROWTH GDP % change from previous quarter Q4 01 Q1 02 Q2 02 Q3 02 U.S. 0.7 1.2 0.3 1.0 Canada -0.6 1.5 1.2 - Mexico -0.3 ...

Chapter II. (Credit Briefings).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... U.S. Chapter II filings reached 11,669 in the 12 months ending September 30,2002, up from 10,519 in 2001,9,835 in 2000, and 8,982 in 1999. The rapid rise in bankruptcy filings has placed a strain on the courts. The caseload of bankruptcy judges...

Ukraine Penalized. (Credit Briefings).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Members of the Financial Action Task Force will apply counter-measures to Ukraine as the result of the country's failure to enact anti-money laundering legislation that meets international standards. The FATF decided not to apply additional...

Turkey Rises. (Credit Briefings).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Coface the French rating agency, placed Turkey's C rating on its positive watch list in December 2002. noting that the economy is recovering faster than expected and the inflation trend is better than the objectives targeted by the government....

EU Inflation. (Credit Briefings).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Inflation is stable at 2.1% in the 15 EU member nations, but ranges widely in the 10 acceding countries, with rates as high as 7.0% in Slovenia and as low as -0.9 in Lithuania. Among the major acceding countries, the inflation rates are: Poland...

Maquiladoras Decline. (Credit Briefings).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Intense price competition from overseas is challenging Mexico's maquiladoras. New NAFTA regulations and rising real wages are pushing manufacturers to shift work to cheaper locations in China and Southeast Asia Mexico will have to shift...

Hot spots: Kenya. (International Insight).
February 1, 2003... The landslide with which the Kenyan electorate at the end of December defeated the presidential candidate of the long-ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) party, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, opting instead for the banner bearer of the...

Means, motive and opportunity to pay--do your potential foreign customers qualify? (International Affairs Section).
February 1, 2003... Imagine your sales manager has "a great opportunity" to make a considerable amount of money selling your widgets to an international customer. All he needs is your approval to grant 120 days' credit from date of dispatch. You stand between the...

Management turnarounds: diagnosing business ailments (Part 1). (Business-Credit Selected, Topic).
February 1, 2003... Introduction Businesses today are confronted with unique challenges caused by rapidly changing financial and market conditions. The rapid growth conditions businesses experienced during the 1990s have been replaced with financial and...

Contractor, don't spend that money! Lien Law traps for the unwary. (Legal Jargon).
February 1, 2003... One of the least followed and most perilous statutory schemes in the construction world is Article 3-A of New York's Lien Law. Many jobbers profess familiarity with the rules, which require them to hold payments for the improvement of real...

Mechanic's liens in Kentucky. (Construction Corner).
February 1, 2003... INTRODUCTION Like other states, Kentucky provides a statutory means by which contractors, subcontractors, laborers and materialmen may place a lien upon a property as a method of collection for monies due to them for labor or materials...

Credit manager to credit manager. (The Scoop).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Who better to write the story of credit than those dealing with it on a daily basis? Who better to teach the fundamentals of the credit profession than a practitioner? Whether you have a question, need a refresher or don't know where to even...

Fair Credit Reporting Act under fire. (The Scoop).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... On December 31, 2003, a temporary provision blocking many state actions to strengthen the Fair Credit Reporting Act expires, fueling concern that as a result of reopening the preemption provisions, privacy legislation could be reopened as well....

Commercial trade credit--a contact sport. (The Scoop).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Granting commercial trade credit is a contact sport. For many corporations in a soft economy, like football teams in the playoffs, it's time to "get physical." It's the credit manager's job to see that the company gets banged up but not too...

No more classroom: education for today's professional. (The Scoop).
February 1, 2003... The world of education has changed: fifty years ago getting an education meant sitting in a classroom. Today, options for educational opportunities abound. In addition to conferences, self-study courses and traditional courses, a new array of...