Business Credit articles from September 2006

Business Credit archives from September 2006

Privacy Clearinghouse: 88 million breaches since 2005.(front page)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse posted an updated chronology of data breaches that shows more than 88 million records of names, account or social security numbers or other identifying information was lost, stolen or revealed since the initial...

Banks trim fat to focus on core business.(consolidation)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Many of today's largest banks are looking to step out of the mutual fund game that they once rushed into, preferring to focus on the core business of commercial banking. Citigroup last year unloaded its Citi Asset Management division to Legg...

UK business failures keep on rising.(front page)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Business failures in the UK rose to 4,720 (2.0 percent) in the second quarter of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005, bringing the total for the year so far to 9,538--8.9 percent more than in the first half of last year. Following the...

Global indicators: quarterly financial market highlights as of July 2006.(front page)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... * The central bank increases interest rates on federal funds another 1/4 of one percent to 5.25 percent in their late June meeting; the financial future's market projects at least one more rate hike later in the year. * The yield curve...

Debt default rates to escalate during 2007.(front page)(Survey)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Hedge funds continue to assert a powerful influence in credit markets and reflect an institutional shift that turnaround experts say is likely to become permanent. The Turnaround Management Association's 2006 Trend Watch Poll on credit...

Calendar.(Calendar)
September 1, 2006... SEPTEMBER Sept 11 Teleconference: Credit Applications Presenter: Lynnette Warman, Esq NACM Meetings Dept. 410.740.5560 Sept 13 FCIB New York International Round Table The Princeton Club, New York NY FCIB...

Collections and negotiating skills.(perspective)(Viewpoint essay)
September 1, 2006... Successful collectors of business debt seem to possess a fairly consistent set of skills. But one skill stands out as perhaps the most valuable attribute of good collectors, who may not even realize they possess it: the mastery of negotiating....

Enron: Kenneth Lay's death resurrects his image under law, but his legacy of modern corporate malfeasance and fraud lives on to swindle creditors.(EXTRA CREDIT)
September 1, 2006... Kenneth Lay may be laying in rest, but did his great escape stiff creditors? That is, if he has any creditors. Essentially, Mr. Lay's death turned his personal indictment and conviction into a legal footnote in this endless saga of corporate...

Joanne Simone.(Member Profile)
September 1, 2006... It Started With A Summer Job Like so many credit professionals, I ended up in this career by chance. My mom worked at D&B on Long Island as a typist, back in the days when business information reports were typed on a typewriter with carbon...

Inability to attract and retain talent, other human resources issues, top threats to Canadian corporate profitability.(Headline: Accenture)(Survey)
September 1, 2006... The inability to attract and retain talent as well as other human resources issues are among the biggest threats to corporate profitability in Canada, according to results of a survey released by Accenture. The purpose of the survey of 250...

The airplane that repossessed the car.(SELECTED TOPIC)
September 1, 2006... This has to go down in the history of repossessions (if there is such a thing) as one of the strangest ways to repossess a car... I had been attempting to repossess a Nissan Sentra from a young man in Twisp, an incredibly small town in...

A trade creditor's post-petition obligations under an unexpired executory contract prior to assumption or rejection: the muddled state of the law.(CREDIT COLUMN)
September 1, 2006... Let us suppose that a trade creditor had entered into a supply agreement to provide goods and/or services to a financially troubled customer over an extended period of time. The agreement included a provision where payment is due a set number...

Federal marketplace.(SELECTED TOPIC)
September 1, 2006... The federal government is a $360 billion customer looking for procurements in both supplies and services of every type. Most businesses meet the requirements to be competitive as a government contractor. It is the lack of knowledge that stops...

Legislative alert!(public laws)
September 1, 2006... Dear NACM member: As NACM members, we possess a collective authority and force that can have a profound impact on the course of events affecting the conduct of our businesses. Today, NACM needs your help on an issue that urgently...

A better alternative to outsourcing collections overseas.(EXTRA CREDIT)(National Association of Credit Management)
September 1, 2006... Collecting on customer accounts is a function many businesses find to be more cost-effective if outsourced to a third party. However, unlike many outsourced business functions, there is a viable alternative to overseas outsourcing for...

The federal government as a lucrative account.
September 1, 2006... Federal contracts can be a lucrative source of business for some enterprises. In fact, government contracts may be a good opportunity to increase the demand for a company's goods or services that may not exist in the private market. In some...

Surviving a DCAA audit.(Defense Contract Audit Agency)(National Association of Credit Management)(Department of Defense)
September 1, 2006... Company personnel involved in getting and executing contracts awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense need to know about DCAA audits. DCAA stands for the Defense Contract Audit Agency. The Government Business Group (GBG) of NACM hosted a...

A blueprint for a successful skip trace department.(EXTRA CREDIT)(Reprint)
September 1, 2006... Have you ever noticed folks that have two hands? Most of those hands work together as a team. Occasionally, you do see someone's hands working independently of each other, such as playing a musical instrument or a martial arts move, etc....

Bankruptcy preference and state mechanic's lien laws: is the subcontractor protected from the preference?(CREDIT COLUMN)
September 1, 2006... A fundamental responsibility of a credit executive is assessing a debtor's credit risk. For credit executives employed by subcontractors and material suppliers, states have created special protections to these vendors to reduce or eliminate...

NACM's Asset Protection Group partners with Klausner Dubinsky & Associates, P.C. to attack business credit fraud.(National Association of Credit Management)
September 1, 2006... The Asset Protection Group (APG) of the National Association of Credit Management (NACM), has partnered with the forensic accounting firm of Klausner Dubinsky & Associates, P.C., Bethesda, Maryland, to provide a full range of fraud analysis and...

Mechanic's liens in Alabama.(CONSTRUCTION CORNER)
September 1, 2006... The term "mechanic's lien" is the generic name for any lien on realty in favor of persons furnishing labor or materials used in or for the erection of buildings or for making improvements to realty. Generally speaking, the purpose of mechanic's...

Convenient location most important bank characteristic according to small-business owners.(Small Business Corner: NFIB)(Survey)
September 1, 2006... Bank websites with lots of bells and whistles may appeal to some, but they are just window-dressing as far as the nation's small-business owners are concerned. Only half do any Internet banking, according to a NFIB National SmallBusiness Poll...

Networking etiquette around the world: how not to embarrass yourself when networking in another country.(EXTRA CREDIT)(Personal account)
September 1, 2006... We now live in a fully global society, where it's imperative to have an awareness of cultural differences as they relate to networking etiquette. We often notice differences within our own states, and certainly between regions of the nation;...

Corporate governance development in the UK and Continental Europe.
September 1, 2006... The potential onset of 'corporate governance fatigue' is a risk for all publicly listed companies, which needs to be resisted strongly. The commitment of corporate Boards to fairness, transparency and accountability has an appreciable effect on...

Hot spots: Hungary.(economy)
September 1, 2006... Worried about the danger that a falling forint and rising taxes will push inflation far above what the monetary authorities deem acceptable, the Central Bank has yanked up its key lending rate. This does not reduce the country's vulnerability...

Combat and credit--an unstable mix for international sales.(INTERNATIONAL)
September 1, 2006... Credit professionals involved in sales overseas have a number of factors to consider in addition to those involved when selling domestically. While the U.S. and the UK present a very stable political situation and banking system, sales overseas...

NACM Credit Manager's Index report for July 2006.(National Association of Credit Management)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... "The seasonally adjusted Combined Credit Manager's Index (CMI) for July was virtually all good news," comments Dan North, Chief Economist with credit insurer Euler Hermes ACI. "All three of the major indices were up on both a month-to-month and...

The company: living entity or machine? How you treat it determines its performance.(SELECTED * TOPIC)
September 1, 2006... People have always known instinctively that a human enterprise is a living, breathing entity that grows and ages, sickens and heals, flourishes and fails. It is something that is organic in nature. It has personality and the ability to learn...

Euler predicts significant increase in global business failures.(Euler Hermes ACI)
September 1, 2006... After a substantial increase in 2005 and a decline in 2006, the number of business insolvencies in the U.S. is predicted to climb once again in 2007, according to global trade credit insurer Euler Hermes ACI. Worldwide, the Index predicts that...

Take your feet out of your mouth: avoiding the most common managerial communication pitfalls.(EXTRA CREDIT)
September 1, 2006... In today's highly competitive business world, customer satisfaction has never been more important in the growth of a company's "bottom line." Unfortunately, corporations are now dealing with a more diverse and more varied customer base, and in...

Critical vendors and essential suppliers: new meaning in the auto supply business.
September 1, 2006... When Henry Ford improved the moving assembly line in the early 20th Century and started America on the road to automation, he realized the smallest component of an automobile was as important as its biggest component. If the smaller piece...

Hiring the wrong person costs you three times their annual salary.(Ed Ryan)
September 1, 2006... Some people go to great lengths to ensure they hire the right person. For instance, when Bob, the owner of a San Diego-based company, narrows his search down to two or three candidates, he invites each one to dinner. The candidate is unaware...

Issues of character can be determined through unconventional strategies.
September 1, 2006... As corporate America shuffles through the wake of corporate scandals, the issue of "character" is now extra important in the search for senior-level executives. To find individuals with integrity, companies must look beyond the resumes, the...

Risk management: worrying about things that need to go right.(Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002)
September 1, 2006... There has been an increased dissatisfaction with many efforts that have been initiated under the rubric of "risk management" over the past several years. One of the drivers of this dissatisfaction has been the cost of compliance with...

Valuable intelligence on customers' ability to pay.
September 1, 2006... In today's highly competitive, global economy, companies can't afford to pass up any viable business opportunity. Most commercial transactions involve the extension of credit from the seller to the buyer. To stay competitive, most decisions to...

Credit at work.
September 1, 2006... Dear Andy, I will be giving formal performance reviews soon and dread having to provide negative feedback, How can I make the process go smoothly? There's a wrong way and a right way to criticize during performance reviews. The wrong...

Discover how to avoid the five common mistakes that could be fatal to a positive, productive relationship with your staff.
September 1, 2006... Performance appraisal. Or, if you prefer, performance review. Whichever term you use, mention it to a dozen of your friends--whether they typically give or receive performance appraisals--and notice the responses you get. A grimace? A roll...

Forensic data handling.
September 1, 2006... Computer forensics involves the complex task of accurately investigating events or activities on computer systems without adversely affecting the integrity of the data contained on those systems. This is a difficult task to perform properly,...

Fraudsters get more sophisticated and merchants must invest to keep up.(Merchant Risk Council )
September 1, 2006... The Merchant Risk Council (MRC) released results of its fifth annual survey of merchants. Two significant trends emerged from this study. Online fraud rates for merchants surveyed are now similar to the fraud rates of brick-and-mortar stores,...

Capturing value from Check 21: new opportunities for banks and commercial customers.
September 1, 2006... The initial wave of image technology supporting Check 21 legislation was expected to focus on branch capture of checks, but it turned out that the first wave has been remote deposit capture (RDC) by corporate customers. Banks are making fee...

The human factor in credit management.
September 1, 2006... I read every available article I can find pertaining to credit, as continuous education is essential to developing and growing professional skills. There are countless articles on bankruptcy, UCC liens, collection techniques, etc., which are...