Certified Accounts Receivable Professional

Introduction

A sizable share of a company's working capital is tied up in Accounts Receivable (AR) and this poses a high liquidity risk. In this course, we expand your knowledge and expertise in AR. This will enable you and your organization to manage your accounts receivable effectively without compromising your credit sales.

Course Objectives

• Develop effective credit policies that meet a company’s objectives.
• Use billing best practices techniques.
• Employ effective collection policies.
• Partner with the sales force for the benefit of the company.
• Evaluate the accounts receivable process and implement best practices.
• Apply tools and techniques to effectively monitor AR performance.

Course Outlines

Day 1: Credit policies management

• Credit department responsibility.
• Factors affecting credit policies.
• The five Cs of credit.
• Non-financial factors affecting credit decisions.
• Outline of a credit policy.
• Credit department mission.
• Credit department objectives.
• Roles and responsibilities.
• Procedures.
• Measuring results.
• Review new accounts.
• Re-evaluate existing accounts.
• Financial statements: what to look for.
• Analyzing selected financial ratios.
• Setting the credit limit.
• Establishing a profitable relationship with the customer.
• Meeting the needs of the customer.

Day 2: The billing process

• An efficient billing process means faster collection.
• Preventing the fatal mistake: sending the bill with errors.
• The use of technology.
• Impact of up-front operations on billing.
• Best practices in billing.

Day 3: You made the sale, now collect your money

• Cash: it is worth your efforts
• Tips, techniques, and guidelines for faster collection.
• Importance of setting a collection policy.
• Using different collection approaches.
• Strategies in dispute management.
• Best practices in the collection.
• Accounts receivable factoring, pledging, and assignment.

Day 4: The relationship between sales and credit

• Breaking the ice.
• Maintaining credit sales relationships.
• Role of sales in issuing credit and in collection.

Day 5: Accounts receivable process analysis

• Improving the quality of accounts receivable.
• Aging of accounts receivable and bad debt reserves.
• Alternatives in computing bad debt.
• Reducing bad-debt write-offs.
• Calculating accounts receivable turnover.
• Calculating Days Sales Outstanding (DSO).
• Calculating the Best Possible Days Sales Outstanding (BPDSO).
• Collection Effectiveness Index (CEI).
• Analyzing the operating and cash cycles.
• Managing AR through portfolio strategy.
• Analyzing the size, composition, and complexity of the AR portfolio.
• Segmenting the portfolio.
• Formulating an approach for specific segments.

Staying in control

• Internal controls in AR processes.
• AR and the monthly closing of accounts.
• Outsourcing of accounts receivable functions.