corporate finance credit management and accounts payable

Corporate Finance

Credit Management and Accounts Payable

Cash Management

• Remember its your money if you have supplied the service

• Keep a sense of urgency about collecting money due

• Reward managers on cash receipts not orders

• Be sure you know who you are dealing with

Cash Management

• Build strong relationships with customers

• Don’t allow debts to become overdue

• Ensure that bad paperwork does not become an obstacle to payment

• Get commitments on payment

• Terms and conditions should be clear

• Follow up!

Collections

• Have a strategy for:– Top 10 customers– Second tier to 30%– Bottom 70%

Collections

• Statements

• Phone calls

• Letters

• Personal calls

• 3rd party

• Legal ( be sure it is someone who specialises in debt collection)

Funding Options

• Settlement Discounts– Expensive option

• EU legislation says that since 2002 interest on overdue debt of up to 7% above ECB rate can be charged

• Invoice financing

Measurement

• KPIs– Proper measurement– % Bad debts– % overdue– % Provisions– Number of New accounts opened– Credit limits reduced– Cash collection v targets

Accounts Payables

• Day to day cash control

• How do we pay – bank transfer, cheque, bank draft

• Consolidate AP – reduce banking fees

• European payments systems– BIC and IBAN– Costs the same for all eurozone payments

Accounts Payables

• How we pay depends on– Type of industry– Domestic v International– Customer Base– Product range– Currencies

Accounts Payables

• Payment Methods– Cash– Cheque– Draft– Purchasing card– Direct debits, Standing order– EFT– Foreign transfers

Accounts Payables

• Other considerations– In Ireland we have stamp duty on cheques– Single payment file will reduce costs– Bank charges– Admin costs– Reduce errors– Segregation of duties– Good control of cashflows