Business Credit articles from September 2004

Business Credit archives from September 2004

NACM calendar.(National Association Of Credit Management)(Calendar)
September 1, 2004... SEPTEMBER September 8-9, 2004 NACM Annual Legislative Conference Wyndhem City Center Hotel, Washington, DC For more information, please contact the NACM Meetings Department at 410.740.5560 September 8-10, 2004 NACM Government Business...

Change: the 6th "C" of credit.(Commentary)(Column)
September 1, 2004... While at the NACM Central Region Conference in 1998, attended an educational session on the changing role of the credit professional--and was astounded by some very interesting statistics. If you were to gather all the knowledge in the world at...

Financial regulators adopt new ground to discipline accountants.(Required reading)
September 1, 2004... The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Company and the Office of Thrift Supervision recently published final rules that create a new basis for enforcement action against...

Sales & cash flow enhancement: a profit center waiting to happen.(Selected topic)
September 1, 2004... Whether yours is a small or large business, you can improve on profitability by rethinking the role of credit and A/R management. Ask how they think of their credit and past due A/R management function and most business people will respond with...

Subcontractors: ensure that flow-down contract provisions protect your rights.(Selected topic)
September 1, 2004... As a subcontractor, you regularly sign contract documents that contain "flow-down" provisions, i.e., terms in the subcontract agreement that promise the prime contractor that you will provide to it everything that it is obligated to provide to...

Don't go easy on deductions.(Communique)
September 1, 2004... Deductions or chargebacks, as they are sometimes referred to, are a fact of life and a big cost of doing business. Therefore, it is not surprising that a high percentage of credit department staff time is devoted to handling those issues. Some...

Reclamation demand against customer that later files bankruptcy should be in writing or risk preference action.(Credit Column)
September 1, 2004... News of a major customer's insolvency can be devastating to a vendor selling on an open account. However, the right of reclamation may afford a vendor a cost-effective method of recovery for goods recently shipped if the customer has not filed...

Fixing a dirty process: disputes, short-pays and deductions remain a mess, bogged down in too many front-end mistakes. Software can help automate the cleanup, but stopping the mess-making requires both technology and top management muscle.(Feature article)
September 1, 2004... The persistent collection and deductions problems that clog corporate liquidity with DSO debris and bleed away potential profits by requiring slow, expensive manual intervention have so far defied a real solution. In fact, sophisticated...

In memoriam.(Member News)(Obituary)
September 1, 2004... Clyde E. Williams, CCE Clyde E. Williams, CCE passed away on July 2nd from a complication of cancer. Clyde served as NACM Chairman from 1986-1987; as Eastern Division Director and Vice President; and as Director, Councilor, Vice President...

Meet Maxine Rossum, CBA, CBF, CCE.(credit manager)
September 1, 2004... Meet Maxine Rossum, CBA, CBF, CCE; an inspiration to us all--Maxine works in Credit & Collection, Accounts Receivables for Flour City Packaging Corporation, a division of Pioneer Packaging and Printing, Inc. in Anoka, MN. Most people Maxine's...

Company policies: the rules of the game.(Selected topic)
September 1, 2004... One of the most important approaches to managing deduction resolution and chargeback recovery is to clearly state the rules of the game. Many companies with whom we have contact may have policies, but they are often not up to date, and may not...

In defense of a preference: what is the industry standard of the ordinary course of business preference defense and how may an industry report assist with the defense?(Feature article)
September 1, 2004... Executive Summary * Creditors often receive a demand on behalf of a bankruptcy estate (from either a trustee, debtor in possession, or the creditor's committee attorney) to repay to the bankruptcy estate payments the creditor received from...

Sarbanes-Oxley: build compliance into credit's DNA.(Required reading)
September 1, 2004... Sarbanes-Oxley Act is this year's hot topic for publicly traded firms because compliance is mandatory and the consequences for not doing so are dire. What does it mean for the credit department? In most cases, it requires "re-mapping the DNA"...

Are reclamation claims heading for oblivion where the debtor has a secured inventory lender?(Credit Column)
September 1, 2004... Introduction A trade creditor's state law right of reclamation is supposed to be a leg up for collecting a claim for goods sold and delivered shortly before a customer's insolvency. However, court decisions that deny reclamation relief,...

A whole new world: shared services for receivables management.(Feature article)
September 1, 2004... A current trend that is highly visible among corporations is to consolidate many finance functions such as Accounts Receivable under smaller and specialized teams known as Shared Services Centers. In the past, many corporations have had...

Collection claims in the U.S. and Canadian courts.(International Section)
September 1, 2004... With $1.4 billion a day in goods and services moving across the U.S./Canadian border, the dollar value of potential collection claims is substantial. Most U.S./Canadian trade takes place between established buyers and sellers with solid payment...

Hot spots: Dominican Republic.(International Section)
September 1, 2004... Dr. Belcsak is president of S.J. Rundt & Associates, Inc. Telephone: 973.783.5206; fax: 973.744.3073; e-mail: info@rundtsintelligence.com; web site: www.rundtsintelligence.com. President Leonel Fernandez of the Center-Left Dominican...

At a glance.(Worldwide Credit Conditions)
September 1, 2004... ECONOMIC GROWTH GDP % change from previous quarter Q3 03 Q4 03 Q1 04 Q2 04 U.S. 2.0 1.0 0.8 0.6 Canada 0.3 0.4 0.6 -- Mexico 0.4 1.2 1.3 -- EU 15 0.4 ...

Exporting is good business.(Selected topic)
September 1, 2004... The mid-90s were very good to Emmanuel Lagos and his newly formed business, Phone Accessories Inc. (PAI), a manufacturer of cell phone accessories--leather cases, belt clips, etc.--based in Baltimore. The cell phone industry was riding a...

GRID--the next big technology after the Internet?(Communique)
September 1, 2004... The Internet as we know it may soon be out of date but Europe will be playing a vital role in setting the standards for future communication, thanks to a 1.45 million euros project funded by the Information Society Technology (IST) Program of...

Loans and marriages: a common problem.(Required reading)(lender and borrower relationship)
September 1, 2004... As a lender making a loan to a company, have you noticed how the relationship resembles courtship and marriage? When all goes well, it can be a good marriage. However, should the company show signs of financial deterioration, the relationship...

Qualifying your collection agency: ask the right questions.(selected topic)
September 1, 2004... Most collection agencies use slick and very convincing presentations... on paper, they all sound terrific. And, we've all taken numerous calls from agencies' telemarketing staffs who make the employer sound like the very best. But beyond the...

Treasury and IRS issue depreciation regulations.(Communique)(Internal Revenue Service)
September 1, 2004... On August 3rd, the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service issued guidance relating to the election to deduct the cost of certain tangible property and computer software. The regulations reflect changes to the law made by the Jobs and...

GBG members are never left in the dark: NACM's Government Business Group leads members through the bureaucratic maze of selling goods and services to the government.(selected topic)(Government Business Group, National Association of Credit Management's)
September 1, 2004... Selling goods and services to the government can be very profitable--and very perplexing. Each year the government buys more than the top 10 companies combined! There are a myriad of regulations that need to be followed, and the National...

What's going on when the rate of payment slows?(selected topic)(debtor and creditor management)
September 1, 2004... A general slowdown in a customer's payment rate can be a warning sign of fraud. If the account paid its bills on time, but suddenly falls behind, it can be a sign that something other than temporary financial difficulties are afoot,...