Collectors lack confidence in collections management metrics.(Headline: Aceva Technologies)

A survey of financial, collections and receivables executives at mid- to large-sized companies in varying industries discovered that collectors lack confidence in the reliability of collections management metrics most commonly used by corporations today. In addition, the survey found that companies that use collections management software are more effective and motivated as they spend less time on tactical tasks and more time on strategic deliverables that impact the bottom line.

According to the survey, though past due percentage and aging bucket performance are the most commonly used metrics for measuring the performance of collections teams, over 60 percent of the respondents lacked confidence in the ability of these metrics to accurately reflect collections management performance. Incidentally, respondents ranked these same measures among those that took the least amount of time to generate, accounting for their continued usage despite low confidence scores. On the other hand, other metrics such as trending average days to collect and amount collected per employee generated high-confidence ratings, but were more difficult and time-consuming to produce.

Additional survey findings discovered that users of collections management software are more effective and motivated as they spend less time on tactical tasks and more time on strategic deliverables that impact the bottom line:

* 68 percent of respondents who use collections management software feel they are more effective, compared to 24 percent of the respondents who don't use collections management software.

* 29 percent of respondents who use collections management software spend their time on tactical tasks, compared to 62 percent of the respondents who don't use collections management software.

* 89 percent of respondents who use collections management software can see the impact that their work has on the organization, compared to 50 percent of the respondents who don't use collections management software.

* 88 percent ...