Columbia, Maryland: November 15, 2012—The National Association of Credit Management (NACM) expanded its existing services to credit and finance professionals this week by announcing the addition of its new UCC Filing Services, which joins its Mechanic's Lien and Bond Services (MLBS) under the umbrella of NACM's Secured Transaction Services (STS) division.

Security interests under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) are now a part of the coverage offered by the National Association of Credit Management's (NACM's) Secured Transaction Services division. The new and existing filing services provide the means to mitigate the risk of debtor nonpayment for businesses that sell or finance various types of personal property under Article 9, as well as those that provide labor, materials and other services under state law.

Columbia, MD: October 16, 2012—The Finance, Credit and International Business Association (FCIB), the international division of the National Association of Credit Management (NACM), will host its 23rd Annual Global Conference at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown on November 11-13, 2012.

This year's conference will be geared toward offering attendees insight into the trade world of tomorrow, today. Financial risk management is a profession firmly focused on the future. Though the tools used to evaluate a customer's creditworthiness, whether financial statements or other indicators, might come from the past, the goal of these practitioners is to ensure their company gets paid in the future.

The 23rd Annual Global Conference will offer the sort of knowledge that these professionals need to thrive in today and tomorrow's global finance market. In addition to offering unparalleled networking opportunities, the event will feature a keynote presentation from Myron Brilliant, senior vice president of international affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as well as several other timely educational sessions on topics as diverse as navigating the Middle East and the real costs of outsourcing a company's credit and collections functions.

Columbia, Maryland: October 10, 2012—Companies of all sizes looking for a better business credit score and cheaper financing should ask their suppliers to report their accounts receivable data to credit reporting companies, according to the National Association of Credit Management (NACM).

Tightened access to credit in the wake of the Great Recession has affected businesses as much as it has affected consumers. Banks and other lending institutions have remained risk averse in what’s been an underwhelming economic recovery, and their decision not to loosen their purse strings has made it harder for consumers to start spending again, and for companies to start growing again.

The National Association of Credit Management’s (NACM) economic report for September 2012 managed to maintain most of the gain made in August. The slight drop of only half a percentage point implies some momentum will carry into the fall.

Columbia, Maryland: September 28, 2012—The Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) number for September is nearly the same as in August, falling only half a percentage point to 55.3. The gain made in the CMI in August showed an economy with an overall better performance than earlier in the year. The August 55.8 was the highest this year, except for the February number, which matched it. The sense was that some key areas were showing improvement. The CMI has only been at or above this level three times this year. In short, the bounce first registered in August appears to be more secure than originally assumed. Slight shifts in some categories (factors) have implications for the next few months, but it can be asserted at this stage that the momentum from late summer is carrying forward to some extent into the fall.

The National Association of Credit Management's (NACM) economic report for August 2012 effectively eliminated the threat of a summer slump with improvements in both manufacturing and service sectors.

Columbia, Maryland: August 31, 2012—For the past several years, the Credit Managers' Index (CMI) has consistently predicted the performance of the greater economy by roughly a month. In 2008, when the majority of the economic indicators pointed toward more growth, the CMI had already started to track downward and essentially predicted the impending recession. This indicative quality has been noted and is largely attributed to the nature of the credit manager's world, which essentially focuses on the future. Credit managers are more concerned about what is happening in the next 30, 60, 90 or 120 days—when invoices are due. If this trend holds true, the news from this month is going to make many happy about coming trends in the economy.