Risk Management – Don’t Trip Over Your Own Sword

Recently our firm was involved in a small claims court action where the business principal, who signed a personal indemnity, was able to mitigate his liability due to a very common credit granting process.

The original credit application was approved with a credit limit of $5000.00. Over the course of several months, the subject company's orders kept getting larger and the payment history was still acceptable, given their industry.

Months past and the credit limit was now up to $20,000.00. The subject company's major customer began to have financial problems, and the trickle-down effect negatively impacted the subject company and consequently his trade suppliers, including our client.

The subject company eventually closed down; however we were able to ascertain that the business principal, who signed the indemnity, had sufficient assets to satisfy the claim. The business principal was not willing to negotiate, so our client sued. During the hearing, the business principals lawyer argued that his clients liability should not exceed the originally approved credit limit of $5000.00 and the judge agreed.

The take away - have your credit department regularly update your customer records and ensure that all limits are acknowledged in writing.

3 Rules for Making a Company Great

This month I’m going to borrow some content from an article I read in the Harvard Business Review. The authors are Michael E. Raynor and Mumtaz Ahmed.

In my opinion, I found this article mentioned several salient points with respect to corporate health and profitability as well as its ability to perhaps assist companies that struggle with development of a succinct Vision that all staff can clearly understand.

Our firm collects from many corporate entities throughout the world, and if these companies would have focused more on the 3 Rules, they would have been in much better financial health. Click Here for the full article.

Edmonton Business Credit Seminar

Featuring…

Larry Carr QC: Larry will be discussing the importance of putting together a proper credit application and the wording to best protect your company and mitigate risks. He is a lawyer with Carr Law in Edmonton, Alberta, Edmonton’s Business Law Strategists.

Doug Drummond: Doug worked with Equifax Canada for 35 years as a Western Sales Manager, and is currently employed as a Western Sales Manager with Trans Union of Canada. Doug will be discussing the information that is available on a credit file and how to interpret this information.

Michelle Peters: Michelle obtained her Management Development Certificate, Certified Credit Professional & CGA Designation, as well as her Bachelor of Applied Business. She has worked in the credit industry for 15 years and currently holds a position as a Credit Manager for Bartle & Gibson Co. Ltd. Michelle will be discussing the proper credit granting and management procedures as well as Financial Statement Analysis.

Stephanie Kliss: Stephanie has worked in the collection industry for 18 years. She initially started out with FCA International Services as a third party collector. In 2002, Stephanie worked in the Accounts Receivable department with Flint Energy Services. She is currently employed by Priority Credit Recovery Inc. as a Collection Manager. Stephanie is certified with The International Associates of Commercial Collectors and specializes in business to business debt collections. She will be discussing how to manage slow paying receivables and telephone collection techniques that you can use right away.

Wayne Nielsen: Wayne currently owns and operates Pearce May and Associates (Edmonton) Limited. Pearce May is a Civil Claims Agency that handles Civil Claims Court (Small Claims Court) matters throughout Alberta. He will be discussing how to maximize your chances of recovery in small claims court and explain the process.

MAY 24^th, 2013

Edmonton Petroleum Club

1110 108 St NW Edmonton, AB

Registration: 8:00 – 9:00 a.m.

Seminar: 9:00 – 4:00 p.m.

*Refreshments & lunch included.

Call 1-866-266-0117 ext. 300 for registration information