Columbia, Maryland: June 6, 2012—The National Association of Credit Management (NACM) released the 2012 edition of its Legislative Introduction and Position Brief today. Appearing in the June issue of the association’s flagship publication, Business Credit, the comprehensive document serves as a historical record of NACM’s more than 100 years representing the interests of unsecured trade creditors on Capitol Hill.

After playing an important role in last year’s repeal of the 3% withholding tax, which would’ve been charged on most government contracts on a local, state or federal basis, NACM has thrown the full weight of its resources behind the cause of reforming the Bankruptcy Code, and specifically its preference provisions.

Despite the changes made in the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), preference abuse is still prevalent. For many years now, NACM has sounded the alarm over the Code’s broken and fundamentally unfair preference provisions, which have failed to function as originally intended. “The reality is that trade creditors face a double jeopardy: they lose funds due to the bankruptcy and are also forced to repay funds already collected,” says NACM in the brief. “This simple fact has put some small companies out of business.”

NACM’s position is that the burden of proof in a preference claim should be shifted from the creditor to the trustee, and the 2012 Legislative Introduction and Position Brief features a simpler, updated approach to accomplishing this through legislation. The document also features NACM’s numerous other bankruptcy-related priorities.

Another new addition to this year’s brief is a section pertaining to NACM’s international division, the Finance, Credit and International Business Association (FCIB). FCIB’s vital position as a supporter of exports has become ever more important in the wake of President Barack Obama’s National Export Initiative (NEI), which is now in its second year and sets a goal of doubling U.S. exports by 2014.

A full copy of NACM’s 2012 Legislative Introduction and Position Brief can be found here.

The National Association of Credit Management (NACM) will host its 116th Credit Congress in Grapevine, TX on June 10-13. While all the educational sessions on this year’s program are extremely relevant to the commercial finance industry, the presentations with an international focus have become all the more timely given recent developments in global trade.

Columbia, MD: May 29, 2012—Recent news items pertaining to U.S. trade policy have indicated that policymakers are finally starting to recognize what exporters have known all along: global trade is a bipartisan way to boost the American economy and create jobs.

Cheers from both sides of the political aisle could be heard when the U.S. free trade agreement with Colombia entered into force earlier this month. And although it took a bit more time than it had in years prior, the sharply-divided U.S. Senate also came together recently to reauthorize the charter of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, while also increasing the bank’s lending limit from $100 billion to $140 billion.

These and other developments show that the United States is recognizing the growth potential available in the world of global trade and seeking to expand global opportunities to increase profit and create jobs.

Aiding this effort to make exporting a viable business opportunity for companies of all sizes are the numerous educational offerings of the National Association of Credit Management (NACM). When NACM hosts its 116th Credit Congress in Grapevine, TX from June 10-13, attendees from the commercial finance industry will find a wealth of sessions geared directly toward leveraging international markets to grow their companies.

February 9, 2012: Columbia, MD-Budget shortfalls remain widespread in the wake of the financial crisis. One notable, and oft-overlooked, casualty of the worst recession in a generation is lax administration of escheatment and unclaimed property rules by state authorities. Where once companies could often pay little mind to local laws governing unclaimed property, now, as recent studies have shown, enforcement is ramping up as local governments look high and low for ways to fill in budget gaps.

The nation's credit professionals must keep this in mind, and to help them, Val Jundt, managing director of Keane Consulting and Advisory Services and a frequent presenter at events hosted by the National Association of Credit Management (NACM), recently offered her best recommendations to trade credit professionals beset by these new challenges, where stringent enforcement of unclaimed property liabilities is the norm, rather than the exception. "Though accounts receivable credit balances are clearly within the definition of an unclaimed property liability, it has only been within the past 5-7 years that this category of property has become a primary focus for the auditor," said Jundt. "The responsibility of the credit manager to ensure that the identification, tracking and posting of all customer credit balances is done accurately, and completely, is critical."

December 16, 2011: Columbia, MD—The results of a recent Mergis Group Women in Finance survey illustrated that both men and women believe the field of accounting and finance is in need of more mentors. According to the survey, less than a third of participants reported ever having a mentor or role model to support their careers. In addition, over two-thirds believe role models are critical to their success.

Columbia, MD: December 14, 2011—Credit professionals still consider the economy to be their biggest concern for the coming year, according to an annual survey conducted by the National Association of Credit Management (NACM). For the third straight year, when asked “Looking forward to 2012, as a credit professional, what are your biggest concerns?” the largest percentage (26.7%) of the nearly 1,000 participants chose “lingering uncertainties about the still-sluggish economic recovery.” The result was expected, as credit professionals continue to face stagnant business conditions along with an increase in bankruptcy filings, preference actions and customer difficulties.