 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
Our Subscribers Say...
I think Credit Today is fantastic. You cover many practical topics in the credit field that I use regularly. Just one recent example—a conversation on the ListServ about preferential payments—gave me tips that I used in an actual case. The specific information I picked up from this one discussion saved me $10,000, enough to cover my membership for many years!
- Steve Savino
Manager of Credit & Collections, ASSA Abloy Americas Division, New Haven, CT
Credit Today's Resource Directory and their online e-mail forum (ListServ) provide information on almost any credit-related topic you can think of. It is a great way to exchange information with other credit professionals. As the saying goes, "You don't know what you don't know."
- Scott Goen,
Credit Manager, Big Lots Stores, Inc., Wholesale Division
"We've recently started using the ListServ tool within Credit Today. This is phenomenal and powerful forum for gaining immediate feedback, ideas, and suggestions, relative to any credit topic under the sun, all in a real-time e-mail format."
-Javier Vela, Senior Credit Manager, Global Credit Services, JDA Software Group Inc.
"Being a part of the Credit Today online community is like having the expertise of hundreds of credit managers at your fingertips. These credit execs are willing to help you solve topical business issues as they arise. In the current environment of ever increasing competing priorities which reduce our opportunities to meet peers out of the office face-to-face, this is the most valuable tool you can have on your desktop! It's important that we have a mechanism to reach out to our counterparts quickly to exchange knowledge as well as to stay on top of industry trends."
- Victoria Artis, Director of Customer Financial Services, Pfizer, Inc.
"Over the last 10 years I've seen Credit Today evolve from a monthly credit publication into a quality source of information and guidance for the B2B credit community. The website, with its user friendly form downloads, will take you from examples of new account credit applications to bankruptcy forms and everything in between.
The Credit Today ListServ has become the pre-imminent online forum, providing an opportunity for discussion and comments (and occasional humor) from an impressive list of credit professionals."
David Dungan, Director of Credit
Justin Brands, Inc. (A Berkshire Hathaway company)
Fort Worth, Texas
"There are numerous credit periodicals available to the credit professional today. How good is Credit Today? Is it relevant? I always have to read it late, or online because my credit analysts want to read it the minute it comes in. When my staff wants to read a publication before I have a chance to read it then something is working in that publication. We have cancelled our other subscriptions. When you have the best you do not need the rest."
Ron Woods
Corporate Credit Manager-World Wide
Thales Navigation, Inc.
"The newsletter, coupled with the website and the ListServ, are to us, more valuable than any other credit publication, bar none. I try to use at least one article out of each newsletter for departmental training/discussion sessions."
D. Mark Constantine
Corporate Credit Mgr
Fulton Paper Company
"I love Credit Today and read every issue cover to cover. For me, the greatest perk of a subscription is ListServ. I believe Credit Today's ListServ members may be the most knowledgeable Credit brain trust in existence today. I have saved and categorized hundreds of contributions on a wide variety of topics which I refer to often. It's an easy and cost effective way to network and learn."
Doug M. Thomas
Kimberly-Clark Customer Financial Services |
|
|
 |
Beating the Bounty Hunters
Not everyone can do this, but here's a story we just love about an innovative and aggressive approach to combat a post audit claim. This one's fun. A while back, a credit exec we know received a notice from one of his larger customers, indicating they had conducted a "post audit" and had found some areas of concern. About a week later, they received a small package of documents along with a request for about $40,000 in credits for supposed pricing errors and other deductions owed to the customer. The post-audit claims extended back almost three years, and the letter stated that they had 21 days in which to respond. Otherwise, the $40,000 would be deducted from a payment.
For those of you who might not be familiar with post audits, they typically involve a third party that comes into a corporation and reviews its records for errors made by vendors, such as failing to issue credit memos or issuing credits for less than the amount actually owed. The post-audit firm gets a significant share (e.g., 30% or more) of any recovery.
There are two keys to the process. The post-audit team typically presents itself as "representatives" of the customer, and the customer must be prepared to deduct the amount that the post audit indicates is "owed."
After gaining agreement from his manager, our credit exec friend decided to challenge the entire post-audit process. He called the customer's CFO and told him that they would need at least three months to evaluate the more than 100 items listed on the spreadsheet. The CFO told the credit exec that he would need to speak to the auditor. The auditor, in turn, denied his "request" for an extension.
And here's where our friend stepped up the pressure and went on the offensive.
Deductions Today
Get to the root cause. Resources to help you solve your deductions problems.
Check out Credit Today's
Deductions Portal
|
With his manager's approval, he called the CFO again and explained that he was not "requesting" an extension, he was informing them that he would need at least three months to investigate the claims and that a deduction made prior to that would result in the account being placed on hold. He also told the CFO that he would need copies of all the relevant documents, including copies of their invoices and credits, as well as the customer's checks and remittance advice for every payment made in the last three years. As you can imagine, this resulted in a great deal of controversy.
After six months of work, they finally settled this post-audit claim with a payment of less than 10% of the original $40,000. The outcome would have been far different if . . .
- He did not have the support of his manager.
- His company had been unwilling to change the rules the auditor was trying to impose.
- They had not gone "outside of the box" and contacted the customer's CFO directly.
The lesson he learned was that if you want to beat the bounty hunters, you have to change the rules they use when they are hunting for your money
| |
|
 |
Outlook 2012
This month's survey explores...
- What the top problems are facing credit execs currently, and
- What the top improvement initiatives are.
Click here to participate!
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
February 2012
|
|
| S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| |
|
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
15
|
16
|
17
|
18
|
|
19
|
20
|
21
|
22
|
23
|
24
|
25
|
|
26
|
27
|
28
|
29
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Webinars