About

Providing credit to customers and ensuring timely collection forms an integral part of any business. Poor management of debtors stifles growth and is a serious threat to the financial health of any organisation. This seminar will deliver tips, techniques and shortcuts to streamline your organisation’s processes, improve risk management and maximise the effectiveness of debt collection techniques. The credit management tools and techniques you’ll learn will help you to reduce credit risk and improve the overall collections process.

Training methodology
This training seminar employs a highly practical emphasis and uses real life examples throughout. Typically perceived as a ‘dry’ topic area, this course will hold your attention and create an enjoyable experience, while at the same time, arming you with critical tools and techniques to ensure a more effective and efficient credit management and debt collection process.

Key learning objectives
• Implement a practical and comprehensive credit management strategy
• Assess and manage credit risk on an ongoing basis
• Utilise strategies to improve debt collection
• Communicate clearly and effectively with customers and staff within your organization
• Understand the mindset of customers and how best to collect overdue debts
• Organise your paperwork and records and make them accurate, accessible and easy to follow
• Manage the legal aspects of debt recovery
• Identify a practical approach for balancing credit risk and customer relationships
• Understand the do’s and dont’s of credit collection

Who should attend?
• Credit Managers
• Credit Controllers
• Credit Supervisors
• Accounts Receivable Officers
• Accounts Receivables Supervisors
• Accounts Receivable Controllers
• Accounts Receivable Clerks
• Office Managers
• Administration Personnel involved in the credit function
• Anyone with responsibility in the area of accounts receivable and credit collection

Outline

Day one

8.30 Registration & Coffee

Managing credit and debt collection: Why is it important and how does it add value to your organisation?
In this session you will gain a deeper understanding of the overall concept of Managing Credit and Debt Collection. You will feel good about the job you do. You will understand that while credit is regarded as a necessary service in business, it is nonetheless still a privilege.
• Understanding the purpose of Credit Control and Debt Collection
• Why it is important to collect your money on time
• Defining the three stages of credit
• How Managing Credit, Accounts Receivable and Debt Collection links into the supply chain
• Critical success factors for Accounts Receivable teams
Practical exercise

Developing a successful credit policy and collection process
All businesses are striving to improve their cash flow situation and the importance of a credit policy is well recognised. Your credit policy should be designed to take account of your agreed credit and collections goals and designed to enhance your customer relationships.
• Creating a comprehensive credit policy for your organisation
- Credit policy and the risk management cycle
- Developing and maintaining your organisation’s credit policy
- Understanding the role of credit policies and credit procedures
• Tools and techniques for successful debt collection
- Debt escalation procedures and the collection ladder
- Working in with your organisation’s sales department for successful outcomes
- Default assessment procedures and options
- Using early payment incentives, customer rewards and receivable team incentives for successful outcomes
• Designing a good credit application and critical terms that you should include
• Assessing a customer’s creditworthiness: A checklist of factors that you should utilise
Practical exercise

Strategies for handling customer behaviours
Debtors of any type will display many behavioural patterns, usually designed to avoid or delay payment. This session looks at the most common behavioural patterns you will experience and examines methods for combating them confidently and effectively.
• Examining the mindset of debtors and why they do not pay their debts on time
• Techniques for dealing with customer excuses
• How to handle common responses, lies and delaying tactics
• Managing disputed accounts correctly
- The four steps for resolving disputes
- Tips for negotiating to gain agreement
- Essential aspects of payment arrangements
• Communication methods: written, telephone, in person and email
• Advanced communication techniques: using personality profiling to determine your communication approach and obtain the outcomes you want
Practical exercise

Making sure your own house is in order: Key areas where performance, efficiency, accuracy and security can be improved
• Techniques to increase efficiency for Credit Collection
• Tips for improving staff productivity
• How to make time for “value-added” tasks as well as routine tasks
• Effective filing techniques: How to set up a records system that gives you access to vital information
• Developing effective performance measures for Credit Management and Debt Collection
• What steps can you take to minimise fraud in Accounts Receivable and Debt Collection?
Practical exercise

Day two

Using financial and non financial information to identify and manage the risk of default
Due to the nature of customer credit, you cannot eliminate the risk factor entirely. There are a number of things you can do however, to minimise that risk and monitor it on an ongoing basis.
• Understanding the types of available information
-  Fact vs hearsay
- Internally generated information vs externally generated information
- Leading vs lagging indicators
• The need for and usefulness of trade references
• The advantages of using third party reports
• How to analyse balance sheets of key customers
- Understanding the significance of the key numbers
- Using financial ratios to determine credit risk and underlying financial performance
- Benchmarking against industry norms
- Identifying situations where the “numbers” may not represent what you expect
- The difference between published accounts and monthly management accounts
• Understanding the need for customer visits
• The importance of field sales reports
• Detecting early warning signals and strategies to counter them
• Investigating ways in which industry groups can improve the quality of your “early warning” systems
Practical exercise

Examining the legal aspects of credit management and debt recovery
There is a lot of misunderstanding and ambiguity surrounding the legal process in relation to debt recovery. This session will explain in a clear, easy to understand terms, how the process works and how you can make it work for you.
• What are the important factors to consider before taking court action?
• Examining the court structure and the costs of taking action
- Disputes tribunal
- District court
- High court
• The steps required for a court judgement
• Identifying the correct documents to initiate proceedings
- Notice of proceeding
- Statement of claim
- Affidavit of service
• What are the avenues for enforcement?
• How to file for bankruptcy
• The requirements for receiverships and company liquidations
Practical exercise

Key communication techniques
Today’s Credit Manager needs more people and communication skills than ever before. Learn to eliminate the headaches and hassles in your professional dealings with others. Learn how to get what you need (when you need it!) and work successfully with even the most difficult and demanding people.
• Identifying successful communication methods for dealing with other people
• Techniques for working with difficult people
• Using the collection waterfall to resolve problems arising within your organization
• Examining potentially difficult situations that may arise
Practical exercise

Tips for effective credit management and collection
This session will summarise the key collection principles and follow-up strategies for best practice receivables management.
• Integrating the psychology of customers into your debt collection process
• Selecting the best communication method
• The importance of escalation procedures
• Detecting early warning signals and initiating the right strategy to counter them
• Collecting and improving the quality of information
• Understanding your rulebook: The vital role of credit policy and collection procedures
• The importance of a taking a proactive approach
• Effectively measuring performance and raising the profile of Credit Management and Debt Collection
• The do's and don'ts of credit collection

Facilitator

Kevin Lee, Director, Business Skills Training

Kevin Lee BA (Hons), Pg Dip, MBA, ACMA runs a consultancy for business skills development.  He is a Chartered Management Accountant with 20 years experience of Government Agencies, Corporates and SME’s.  Kevin is a member of the New Zealand Association for Training and Development, the Human Resources Institute for New Zealand and accredited as a Belbin Team Role facilitator.  His post-graduate qualifications include a post-graduate diploma in business administration with distinction and an MBA in which he majored in finance.  

Kevin specialises in helping managers and staff to develop practical financial skills and knowledge.  He is passionate about making finance relevant, understandable and fun.  He enables people to develop their business acumen and to apply financial management practices that suit their organisation’s needs and circumstances. 

Kevin’s clients include: Ministry of Justice, Department of Internal Affairs, ANZ National Bank, Meridian Energy, Auckland District Health Board and Auckland City Council.   

Kevin’s approach is highly practical, using only the financial theory that people need to know, and then building skills and knowledge through case studies, examples and small group work.  He is able to provide “real life” advice based on his experience in CFO roles and his experience of managing major Capex projects, implementing financial systems, improving financial processes and procedures and achieving ongoing efficiency savings.   

Kevin’s passion, enthusiasm and commitment result in excellent feedback from participants at all levels: Directors, General Managers, Accountants, Senior Managers, Middle Managers, Supervisors and Support Staff.     

Kevin Lee is also facilitating:

• Budgeting and Cost Control for Non Financial Managers
• Cash Flow and Liquidity Management for improved performance
• Commercial Approaches for Government Agencies
• Effectively Managing & Organising Accounts Payable
• Effectively Managing and Organising Accounts Payable
• Essential Finance Skills for EAs, PAs & Administrators
• Finance & Accounting Skills for Managers in the Health Sector
• Financial Machinery of Government
• Managing the Numbers: The Financial Skills for Non Financial Managers
• Practical Budgeting and Forecasting for Accountants and Senior Managers
• The Effective Accounts Assistant

In-house Training