Business Credit back issues from September 2006:
Privacy Clearinghouse: 88 million breaches since 2005.(front page)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2006 ... The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse posted an updated chronology of data breaches that shows more than 88 million records of names, account or social security numbers or other identifying information was lost, stolen or revealed since the initial ChoicePoint data breach reported in February ...
Banks trim fat to focus on core business.(consolidation)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2006 ... Many of today's largest banks are looking to step out of the mutual fund game that they once rushed into, preferring to focus on the core business of commercial banking. Citigroup last year unloaded its Citi Asset Management division to Legg Mason and Michigan-based bank Comerica is ...
UK business failures keep on rising.(front page)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2006 ... Business failures in the UK rose to 4,720 (2.0 percent) in the second quarter of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005, bringing the total for the year so far to 9,538--8.9 percent more than in the first half of last year. Following the highest increase in business failures since 1999 ...
Global indicators: quarterly financial market highlights as of July 2006.(front page)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2006 ... * The central bank increases interest rates on federal funds another 1/4 of one percent to 5.25 percent in their late June meeting; the financial future's market projects at least one more rate hike later in the year. * The yield curve remains relatively flat despite higher ...
Debt default rates to escalate during 2007.(front page)(Survey)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2006 ... Hedge funds continue to assert a powerful influence in credit markets and reflect an institutional shift that turnaround experts say is likely to become permanent. The Turnaround Management Association's 2006 Trend Watch Poll on credit availability showed 73 percent of respondents believe ...
Calendar.(Calendar)
Sep 01, 2006 ... SEPTEMBER Sept 11 Teleconference: Credit Applications Presenter: Lynnette Warman, Esq NACM Meetings Dept. 410.740.5560 Sept 13 FCIB New York International Round Table The Princeton Club, New York NY ...
Collections and negotiating skills.(perspective)(Viewpoint essay)
Sep 01, 2006; ... Successful collectors of business debt seem to possess a fairly consistent set of skills. But one skill stands out as perhaps the most valuable attribute of good collectors, who may not even realize they possess it: the mastery of negotiating. Like all collection skills, it can be ...
Enron: Kenneth Lay's death resurrects his image under law, but his legacy of modern corporate malfeasance and fraud lives on to swindle creditors.(EXTRA CREDIT)
Sep 01, 2006; ... Kenneth Lay may be laying in rest, but did his great escape stiff creditors? That is, if he has any creditors. Essentially, Mr. Lay's death turned his personal indictment and conviction into a legal footnote in this endless saga of corporate malfeasance in one of the largest corporate ...
Joanne Simone.(Member Profile)
Sep 01, 2006 ... It Started With A Summer Job Like so many credit professionals, I ended up in this career by chance. My mom worked at D&B on Long Island as a typist, back in the days when business information reports were typed on a typewriter with carbon paper! When D&B was looking for summer ...
Inability to attract and retain talent, other human resources issues, top threats to Canadian corporate profitability.(Headline: Accenture)(Survey)
Sep 01, 2006 ... The inability to attract and retain talent as well as other human resources issues are among the biggest threats to corporate profitability in Canada, according to results of a survey released by Accenture. The purpose of the survey of 250 senior executives at leading businesses in Canada, ...
The airplane that repossessed the car.(SELECTED TOPIC)
Sep 01, 2006; ... This has to go down in the history of repossessions (if there is such a thing) as one of the strangest ways to repossess a car ... I had been attempting to repossess a Nissan Sentra from a young man in Twisp, an incredibly small town in central Washington. My repossession ...
A trade creditor's post-petition obligations under an unexpired executory contract prior to assumption or rejection: the muddled state of the law.(CREDIT COLUMN)
Sep 01, 2006; ... Let us suppose that a trade creditor had entered into a supply agreement to provide goods and/or services to a financially troubled customer over an extended period of time. The agreement included a provision where payment is due a set number of days from the date of the invoice. We all ...
Federal marketplace.(SELECTED TOPIC)
Sep 01, 2006; ... The federal government is a $360 billion customer looking for procurements in both supplies and services of every type. Most businesses meet the requirements to be competitive as a government contractor. It is the lack of knowledge that stops most companies from entering the federal ...
Legislative alert!(public laws)
Sep 01, 2006 ... Dear NACM member: As NACM members, we possess a collective authority and force that can have a profound impact on the course of events affecting the conduct of our businesses. Today, NACM needs your help on an issue that urgently deserves your attention, collective ...
A better alternative to outsourcing collections overseas.(EXTRA CREDIT)(National Association of Credit Management)
Sep 01, 2006 ... Collecting on customer accounts is a function many businesses find to be more cost-effective if outsourced to a third party. However, unlike many outsourced business functions, there is a viable alternative to overseas outsourcing for businesses when it comes to collections: Affiliates of ...
The federal government as a lucrative account.
Sep 01, 2006; ... Federal contracts can be a lucrative source of business for some enterprises. In fact, government contracts may be a good opportunity to increase the demand for a company's goods or services that may not exist in the private market. In some ways, contracting with the federal government is ...
Surviving a DCAA audit.(Defense Contract Audit Agency)(National Association of Credit Management)(Department of Defense)
Sep 01, 2006 ... Company personnel involved in getting and executing contracts awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense need to know about DCAA audits. DCAA stands for the Defense Contract Audit Agency. The Government Business Group (GBG) of NACM hosted a teleconference on the subject July 13, entitled, ...
A blueprint for a successful skip trace department.(EXTRA CREDIT)(Reprint)
Sep 01, 2006; ... Have you ever noticed folks that have two hands? Most of those hands work together as a team. Occasionally, you do see someone's hands working independently of each other, such as playing a musical instrument or a martial arts move, etc. However, seldom have I ever seen two hands totally ...
Bankruptcy preference and state mechanic's lien laws: is the subcontractor protected from the preference?(CREDIT COLUMN)
Sep 01, 2006; ... A fundamental responsibility of a credit executive is assessing a debtor's credit risk. For credit executives employed by subcontractors and material suppliers, states have created special protections to these vendors to reduce or eliminate credit risk through mechanic's lien laws ....
NACM's Asset Protection Group partners with Klausner Dubinsky & Associates, P.C. to attack business credit fraud.(National Association of Credit Management)
Sep 01, 2006 ... The Asset Protection Group (APG) of the National Association of Credit Management (NACM), has partnered with the forensic accounting firm of Klausner Dubinsky & Associates, P.C., Bethesda, Maryland, to provide a full range of fraud analysis and prevention tools to members and other ...
Mechanic's liens in Alabama.(CONSTRUCTION CORNER)
Sep 01, 2006; ... The term "mechanic's lien" is the generic name for any lien on realty in favor of persons furnishing labor or materials used in or for the erection of buildings or for making improvements to realty. Generally speaking, the purpose of mechanic's liens is to provide contractors, ...
Convenient location most important bank characteristic according to small-business owners.(Small Business Corner: NFIB)(Survey)
Sep 01, 2006; ... Bank websites with lots of bells and whistles may appeal to some, but they are just window-dressing as far as the nation's small-business owners are concerned. Only half do any Internet banking, according to a NFIB National SmallBusiness Poll recently released. While banks, like ...
Networking etiquette around the world: how not to embarrass yourself when networking in another country.(EXTRA CREDIT)(Personal account)
Sep 01, 2006; ... We now live in a fully global society, where it's imperative to have an awareness of cultural differences as they relate to networking etiquette. We often notice differences within our own states, and certainly between regions of the nation; but what about businesses that are networking ...
Corporate governance development in the UK and Continental Europe.
Sep 01, 2006; ... The potential onset of 'corporate governance fatigue' is a risk for all publicly listed companies, which needs to be resisted strongly. The commitment of corporate Boards to fairness, transparency and accountability has an appreciable effect on whether the greatest practicable enhancement ...
Hot spots: Hungary.(economy)
Sep 01, 2006; ... Worried about the danger that a falling forint and rising taxes will push inflation far above what the monetary authorities deem acceptable, the Central Bank has yanked up its key lending rate. This does not reduce the country's vulnerability to wider troubles, however, which have to do ...
Combat and credit--an unstable mix for international sales.(INTERNATIONAL)
Sep 01, 2006; ... Credit professionals involved in sales overseas have a number of factors to consider in addition to those involved when selling domestically. While the U.S. and the UK present a very stable political situation and banking system, sales overseas present a higher degree of uncertainty in ...
NACM Credit Manager's Index report for July 2006.(National Association of Credit Management)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2006 ... "The seasonally adjusted Combined Credit Manager's Index (CMI) for July was virtually all good news," comments Dan North, Chief Economist with credit insurer Euler Hermes ACI. "All three of the major indices were up on both a month-to-month and a year-over-year basis. In addition, all ...
The company: living entity or machine? How you treat it determines its performance.(SELECTED * TOPIC)
Sep 01, 2006; ... People have always known instinctively that a human enterprise is a living, breathing entity that grows and ages, sickens and heals, flourishes and fails. It is something that is organic in nature. It has personality and the ability to learn and to reproduce. It has personhood. It is ...
Euler predicts significant increase in global business failures.(Euler Hermes ACI)
Sep 01, 2006; ... After a substantial increase in 2005 and a decline in 2006, the number of business insolvencies in the U.S. is predicted to climb once again in 2007, according to global trade credit insurer Euler Hermes ACI. Worldwide, the Index predicts that business failures will increase by 3 percent ...
Take your feet out of your mouth: avoiding the most common managerial communication pitfalls.(EXTRA CREDIT)
Sep 01, 2006; ... In today's highly competitive business world, customer satisfaction has never been more important in the growth of a company's "bottom line." Unfortunately, corporations are now dealing with a more diverse and more varied customer base, and in turn, forced to solve more complex and ...
Critical vendors and essential suppliers: new meaning in the auto supply business.
Sep 01, 2006; ... When Henry Ford improved the moving assembly line in the early 20th Century and started America on the road to automation, he realized the smallest component of an automobile was as important as its biggest component. If the smaller piece wasn't available, a ripple effect would be created ...
Hiring the wrong person costs you three times their annual salary.(Ed Ryan)
Sep 01, 2006 ... Some people go to great lengths to ensure they hire the right person. For instance, when Bob, the owner of a San Diego-based company, narrows his search down to two or three candidates, he invites each one to dinner. The candidate is unaware that the restaurant belongs to Bob's friend and ...
Issues of character can be determined through unconventional strategies.
Sep 01, 2006; ... As corporate America shuffles through the wake of corporate scandals, the issue of "character" is now extra important in the search for senior-level executives. To find individuals with integrity, companies must look beyond the resumes, the references, the psychological tests and ...
Risk management: worrying about things that need to go right.(Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002)
Sep 01, 2006; ... There has been an increased dissatisfaction with many efforts that have been initiated under the rubric of "risk management" over the past several years. One of the drivers of this dissatisfaction has been the cost of compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley legislation (according to the FEI in a ...
Valuable intelligence on customers' ability to pay.
Sep 01, 2006 ... In today's highly competitive, global economy, companies can't afford to pass up any viable business opportunity. Most commercial transactions involve the extension of credit from the seller to the buyer. To stay competitive, most decisions to conduct business with another company must be ...
Credit at work.
Sep 01, 2006; ... Dear Andy, I will be giving formal performance reviews soon and dread having to provide negative feedback, How can I make the process go smoothly? There's a wrong way and a right way to criticize during performance reviews. The wrong way will demoralize the individual ...
Discover how to avoid the five common mistakes that could be fatal to a positive, productive relationship with your staff.
Sep 01, 2006; ... Performance appraisal. Or, if you prefer, performance review. Whichever term you use, mention it to a dozen of your friends--whether they typically give or receive performance appraisals--and notice the responses you get. A grimace? A roll of the eyes? Tension? A satisfied ...
Forensic data handling.
Sep 01, 2006 ... Computer forensics involves the complex task of accurately investigating events or activities on computer systems without adversely affecting the integrity of the data contained on those systems. This is a difficult task to perform properly, requiring expert handling and care. A forensics ...
Fraudsters get more sophisticated and merchants must invest to keep up.(Merchant Risk Council )
Sep 01, 2006 ... The Merchant Risk Council (MRC) released results of its fifth annual survey of merchants. Two significant trends emerged from this study. Online fraud rates for merchants surveyed are now similar to the fraud rates of brick-and-mortar stores, and fraud spikes and fraudsters' use of ...
Capturing value from Check 21: new opportunities for banks and commercial customers.
Sep 01, 2006; ... The initial wave of image technology supporting Check 21 legislation was expected to focus on branch capture of checks, but it turned out that the first wave has been remote deposit capture (RDC) by corporate customers. Banks are making fee income on RDC, but they haven't moved quickly to ...
The human factor in credit management.
Sep 01, 2006; ... I read every available article I can find pertaining to credit, as continuous education is essential to developing and growing professional skills. There are countless articles on bankruptcy, UCC liens, collection techniques, etc., which are all valuable and necessary. The one area rarely ...