Accounts Receivable Management
Goals of Receivable Management
The basic goal of credit management is to maximize the value of the firm by achieving a trade off between the liquidity (risk and profitability). The purpose of credit management is not to maximize sales, nor to minimize the risk of bad debt. If the objective were to maximize sales, then the firm would sell on credit to all. On the contrary, if minimization of bad debt risk were the aim, then the firm would not sell on credit to anyone. In fact, the firm should manage its credit in such a way that sales are expanded to an extent to which risk remains within an acceptable limit. Thus to achieve the goal of maximizing the value, the firm should manage its trade credit.
The efficient and effective credit management does help to expand sales and can prove to be an effective tool of marketing. It helps to retain old customers and win new customers. Well administrated credit means profitable credit accounts. The objectives of receivable management is to promote sales and profits until that point is reached where the
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return on investment is further funding of receivables is less than the cost of funds raised to finance that additional credit.
Granting of credit and its management involve costs. To maximize the value of the firm, these costs must be controlled. These thus include the credit administration expanses, b/d losses and opportunity costs of the funds tied up in receivable. The aim of credit management should be to regulate and control these costs, not to eliminate them altogether. The cost can be reduced to zero, if no credit is granted. But the profit foregone on the expected volume of sales arising due to the extension of credit.
Debtors involve funds, which have an opportunity cost. Therefore, the investment in receivables or debtors should be optimized. Extending liberal credit pushes sales and thus results in higher profitability but the increasing investment in debtors results in increasing cost. Thus a trade off
The basic goal of credit management is to maximize the value of the firm by achieving a trade off between the liquidity (risk and profitability). The purpose of credit management is not to maximize sales, nor to minimize the risk of bad debt. If the objective were to maximize sales, then the firm would sell on credit to all. On the contrary, if minimization of bad debt risk were the aim, then the firm would not sell on credit to anyone. In fact, the firm should manage its credit in such a way that sales are expanded to an extent to which risk remains within an acceptable limit. Thus to achieve the goal of maximizing the value, the firm should manage its trade credit.
The efficient and effective credit management does help to expand sales and can prove to be an effective tool of marketing. It helps to retain old customers and win new customers. Well administrated credit means profitable credit accounts. The objectives of receivable management is to promote sales and profits until that point is reached where the
158
return on investment is further funding of receivables is less than the cost of funds raised to finance that additional credit.
Granting of credit and its management involve costs. To maximize the value of the firm, these costs must be controlled. These thus include the credit administration expanses, b/d losses and opportunity costs of the funds tied up in receivable. The aim of credit management should be to regulate and control these costs, not to eliminate them altogether. The cost can be reduced to zero, if no credit is granted. But the profit foregone on the expected volume of sales arising due to the extension of credit.
Debtors involve funds, which have an opportunity cost. Therefore, the investment in receivables or debtors should be optimized. Extending liberal credit pushes sales and thus results in higher profitability but the increasing investment in debtors results in increasing cost. Thus a trade off