Accounts Receivable: Challenging Balancing Act
Jun-25-2013 | Comments: 0 | Posted In: | Posted By: Jessica Burgund
Together the accounts receivable department at Franklin International has over 75 years of experience in the field. Stereotypically labeled as the “bad guys” of credit, these James Dean types have a much different view of their perception. They consider themselves to be more of the daredevil type, an Evil Knievel if you will, of the credit world. They are the risk takers.
With the weight of conserving one of the largest assets of the company (accounts receivable) on their shoulders, it is not a shock that they are masters at playing the game of risk. They are commonly known for making collections calls, but the team spends the majority of their time converting accounts receivable to cash on a timely basis and maintaining delinquency and bad debt at appropriate levels. They also work closely with the sales teams to maximize sales while reducing risks and helping to develop excellent customer relationships.
They work hard to build strong relationships and present themselves to various agencies in an ethical manner and ensure all of their collections activities performed are in compliance with all federal, state, and local laws. Crunching numbers and making collections calls is only a small fraction of what they do.
All accounts receivable departments may have a “bad guy” reputation, but ours actively takes a different approach. They don’t participate in hard collections and have been known to extend credit to customers who have been affected by natural disasters.
Since the world economy and natural state of the environment can be unpredictable, the department must be equipped with knowledge, experience, and a hint of fearlessness in order to succeed with one of the largest assets of the company. David Prossack, credit manager at Franklin International, stated, “The best way I can describe my job is it is a constant challenging balancing act.”