eNews Archive

The last few decades have seen large waves of women entering the credit profession. Women are entering into male-dominated offices and paving the way for other women to not only excel in credit positions but climb the ladder into leadership roles previously only allotted to men.   

Over the past decade, technology has transformed how credit professionals conduct business. Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) have streamlined tedious, manual processes, allowing credit professionals to focus more on strategic, value-added tasks. However, technological advances have also led to an increase in fraudulent activity within business-to-business (B2B) credit. 

Education plays a pivotal role in shaping a professional’s career by providing the foundational knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in a competitive job market. Beyond that, education also fosters personal growth, boosts confidence and builds a strong network that can support career advancement. By continuously learning, you not only improve your current role but also position yourself for long-term success.

Regardless of the industry you work in, or whether you’ve been in the credit field for decades or only a matter of months, it is vital that you know and understand the federal laws that regulate a credit managers’ activity. Credit managers across industries are beholden to the regulations set by the Equal Opportunity Credit Act (ECOA), which prohibits discrimination in the extension of credit. ECOA forbids discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, color, creed, national origin, age or marital status in the extension of credit.  

Whether you are conducting an initial credit investigation on a potential customer or reviewing the credit line for a long-held account, commercial credit reports play an important part in the decision to extend credit to a customer. Despite their usefulness, many companies are hesitant to share their accounts receivable data to commercial credit reporting companies. 

Collecting payment can be a hassle, no matter who you are. There’s nothing more frustrating for B2B credit professionals than collecting payment from customers with outstanding debt. Before thinking of sending a customer to collections—or worse, court—you have the option of sending a demand letter to communicate the severity of the issue and help prompt payment. 

For most credit managers, a credit application is a vital step in the credit approval process. It’s a document that neatly outlines all the pertinent information that a credit manager needs to know about their customer, from its corporate legal name to the number of years they’ve been in business. No step epitomizes the oft-repeated mantra of credit management, “Know Your Customer,” quite like the credit application.

NACM’s Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) improved 1.9 points to 54.9 in February. This comes after two months of declines.