Welcome to the CIC e-Newsletter - Fall 2008
Editor's Message
October 29, 1929, known as black Tuesday, was the day when the stock market crash took place in the U.S. It is also an historic moment that triggered an unprecedented global economic downturn which lasted for about 10 years. The Canadian economy was, in no way, spared from this. By 1932, industrial production in Canada had fallen by almost 50% from what it was in 1929. Is this what we're witnessing today, 79 years after what's termed the Great Depression that followed the market crash? Many will argue that the world, in the 21st century, is much better prepared to weather bad economic times and come out ahead. I tend to agree with this view. Many factors can be attributed to this preparedness and an important one is an educated workforce.
79 years ago, the Credit Institute was only 1 year old and had just begun its mission of 'providing professional credit ability'. Since then, we have educated thousands of credit professionals through our programs and, because of that, I would say Canadian businesses that employ our Certified Credit Professionals (CCP) today have added an extra layer of protection to their operations from the turmoil the economies around the world are experiencing. The best practices that we teach in our educational programs, the articles that we publish in our quarterly e-newsletter and the webinars that we make available to members are all intended to keep credit professionals up to date with their skills and to reinforce the importance of sound credit management practices. As suggested in the article 10 ways to keep your edge at any age, perhaps, now is a good time for you to refresh your skills and review your credit practices, if you have not done so recently.
WHAT’S NEW?
Members Forum: In this day and age of online networking, the Institute is introducing its online forum where members can interact with each other, share best practices, post questions and comments on the many aspects of business credit. Whether it’s something that you want to say about the current global financial crisis or a credit dilemma that you’re facing at your work, we invite you to post it on the forum. This platform transcends geographical barriers and is made available to all members in good standing across Canada as well as overseas. You can connect to it through this link Members Forum or by clicking on the tab at the top of this page.
Nawshad Khadaroo, CCP
Tell Us What You Think
Discuss the articles appearing in this edition or any other current news affecting credit professionals on the Members Forum. If would like to see more coverage on a particular topic, have a question related to the articles or would like to submit one, don't hesitate to contact me at mgredu@creditedu.org.
In this Issue:
Focus on Members:
Message from our President & Dean
Members on the Move
Members Forum:
What has been your experience with fraud as a credit professional
and what lessons have you learned from it?
Bankruptcy & Insolvency:
Latest Bankruptcy Statistics
Credit & Collections Management:
Collecting from your large customers: Is it 'Collections' or Corrections?
Dealing with large accounts in general, creates huge challenges for an A/R
department. Multiple invoices leads to missing invoices, pricing issues,
delivery problems, damages, short payment and a host of other problems.
Credit Laws:
Factoring Agreement: Security or Sale of Assets?
Lenders and other members of the factoring community should be aware
of the potential impact of a recent ruling on a priority fight over the
accounts receivable of a bankrupt company. One of the issues that the
court had to consider was the application of a factoring agreement.
Canadian courts have always struggled with factoring agreements. Are
they security agreements, or are they merely a sale of accounts receivable?
Credit Management Q & A:
What is expected of a credit manager when a customer claims that he
was a victim of identity theft, and the debt is not his?
Industry & Economic News:
Business Barometer
According to findings from the latest survey by the Canadian Federation of
Independent Business (CFIB), overall expectations among the owners of
Canada's small- and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) are slightly more
optimistic than they were three months ago. Nationally, latest expectations
push the September Business Barometer index up to 101.8 from its
previous cyclical low of 100.7 in June.
Financial Analysis
Common Forms of Financial Statement Fraud
In the summer edition of To Your Credit, we published an article on the work
of Professor Messod D. Beneish from the Kelley School of Business, Indiana
University on the subject of earnings manipulation. In the sample of 74
companies that Pr. Beneish looked into for his research, he concluded that
the typical manipulators "overstated earnings by recording fictitious,
unearned, or uncertain revenues, recording fictitious inventory, or
improperly capitalizing costs."
Professional Development
10 Ways to Keep Your Edge at Any Age
Is your workplace starting to leave you behind? The truth is, whether
you've been working for two years or 52 years, it is easy to get into a rut .
and stay there. Humans are creatures of habit, and the habits that we
develop over the years can be difficult to break. It's easier to stay in the
same routines, activities and responsibilities that we've always done.
