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Our Subscribers Say...
"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
"As a corporate credit manager with over two decades of experience, I consider Credit Today to be one of the best credit newsletters. Whether it is because of Credit Today's management, its distinguished panel of advisors, or the caliber of Credit Today's subscribers, it would be fair to say that some of the best and brightest minds in our profession are represented. The credit issues, technologies, news, credit department profiles, etc. are interesting and useful. Credit Today is a valuable reference and communications tool which I look forward to reading each month."
Paul Brunner
Corporate Credit Manager
Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc. |
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Proven Methods For Reducing Losses to Fraud
If you sell goods or services on credit, you're on the front lines against all kinds of fraud artists. Here we've compiled everything you'll need to establish bullet-proof anti-fraud procedures for your credit and collection operation.
From years of experience, we know it's far more cost effective to have systems in place to spot fraud up front, before it happens, than to try to get your money back after-the-fact. That's nearly always impossible.
In this section of our site you'll find a series of best practices that will help you and you staff setup a world-class system for minimizing business credit fraud in your operation. We've culled these from the best fraud fighters anywhere, from Warren Buffett's and Howard Schilit's techniques and observations to the wisdom of Credit Today's Rob Lawson. Rob formerly headed up NACM's Loss Prevention Department and was a regular lecturer at the FBI Academy at Quantico on credit fraud.
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Forged Signatures
Mary Fuller insisted that the signatures on four sales slips she demanded to see when she disputed her bill were forgeries. But Jeff Chance, credit manager of Sensational Fashions, thought otherwise. . . .
keep reading
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Identifying and Preventing Credit Fraud
Credit criminals never sleep, so neither can you. They will always be thinking up new scams to trick the unwary. Your best defenses are relentless vigilance, a deeply suspicious nature, and a strict p . . .
keep reading
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Are You Watching For Fraud?
There are several warning signs you need to watch out for if you want to prevent losses from fraud. No one warning sign means you should immediately claim fraud, but if you notice anything out of the . . .
keep reading
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"Stop, Thief!"
As a credit staffer, you are your company's first and best line of defense against fraudulent customers. Here are the warning signs of a scam artist at work that you should familiarize yourself with: . . .
keep reading
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Busting Up Bustouts
When it comes to the problem of identifying and dealing with bustout artists, some fundamental procedures can go a long way, according to Charles Zurcher, credit manager for Nucor Steel (Plymouth, Utah). He's come up with a successful, three-step approach for squelching potential bustouts before his company gets burned. . . .
keep reading
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Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
A customer that skips, while nothing new, is a growing problem. "They were paying on time, and, the next thing we knew, the doors were locked and they were gone." With the deepening recession, we're h . . .
keep reading
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A Simple & Free Way to Check the Background of a Web Site
Here's a handy and free Internet-based tool you might want to keep in your toolbox to use when you want to do some extra digging on a potential customer you're not sure about. Sometimes, you'll run into a customer with a decent-looking web site, but for whatever reason, your traditional sources of information haven't given you as complete a picture as you'd like. . . .
keep reading
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Three Ways Warren Buffett Looks for Questionable Accounting
In one of his letters to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, legendary investor Warren Buffett offered three tips for ways to spot questionable accounting. While the advice is meant for investors, it is equally applicable for all credit execs. The problem this solves is significant. When looking for accounting problems, you've got to know where to start, and if you don't have a valid "filtering" mechanism, you'll have to dig very deeply when examining the financials at all of your accounts. These tips offer a great blue-print for which accounts to examine more closely. . . .
keep reading
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Wiser, Faster, More Nimble
Allegations of accounting fraud that was "neither particularly sophisticated nor ingenious" have been made by creditors burned in the Archway & Mother's Cookie Company bankruptcy. The creditor . . .
keep reading
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How Can I File a Commercial Fraud Report?
January 21. 2009
The President of our company just told me a large company check we issued to one of our suppliers was stolen, altered and cashed. He contacted the police department to file a report. They told him to contact the credit reporting agencies. I have done this as a consumer, but never on the commercial side. (I know NACM has an Asset Protection Group.) I pulled up the Experian website, called a number and went into voicemail maze before it hung up on me. I spent a chunk of time looking all over the website for a potential lead on filing a commercial fraud report. Before I spend a lot more time trying to chase down how to do this, has anyone on the list filed a fraud alert on their own business report? Any suggestions would be helpful. . . .
keep reading
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Lessons from a Master on Recognizing Questionable Accounting Practices
Do You Have a Customer on the Way to Being the Next Enron? Will You Be Able to Spot Them in Time to Save Your Company Money? We recently had the opportunity to sit in on a talk for securities analysts by accounting professor-turned top Wall Street advisor-Dr. Howard Schilit. "This is a great time for accountants," said Schilit, who describes himself as financial statement pathologist. In today's post-Enron climate, he said, "We are treated like rock stars!" . . .
keep reading
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This month's topic: Processing of Credit Applications
Click here to participate!
We're examining:
- What information is being captured on credit applications
- What additional information is being requested during the credit app process (such as personal guarantees, financial statements, resale certificates, etc.)
- What the primary challenges are relative to the processing of credit apps
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March 2010
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