应收账款管理外文文献翻译

文献出处：Kontuš E. MANAGEMENT OF ACCOUNTS RECEIV ABLE IN A COMPANY[J]. Ekonomska misao i praksa, 2013 (1): 21-38.
原文
MANAGEMENT OF ACCOUNTS RECEIV ABLE
IN A COMPANY
UDK / UDC: 657.422:658.155
JEL klasifikacija / JEL classification: G32, D29, M41
Prethodno pri općenje / Preliminary communication
Primljeno / Received: 8. listopada 2012. / October 8, 2012
Prihvaćeno za tisak / Accepted for publishing: 10. lipnja 2013. / June 10, 2013
1. INTRODUCTION
Accounts receivable is the money owed to a company as a result of having sold its products to customers on credit. The primary determinants of the company's investment in accounts receivable are the industry, the level of total sales along with the company's credit and the collection policies.
Accounts receivable management includes establishing a credit and collections policy.
Credit policy consists of four variables: credit period, discounts given for early payment, credit standards and collection policy. The three primary issues in accounts receivable management are to whom credit should be extended, the terms of the credit
and the procedure that should be used to collect the money.
The major decision regarding accounts receivable is the determination of the amount and terms of credit to extend to customers. The total amount of accounts receivable outstanding at any given time is determined by two factors: the volume of credit sales and the average length of time between sales and collections. The credit terms offered have a direct bearing on the associated costs and revenue to be generated from receivables. If credit terms are tight, there will be less of an investment in accounts receivable and fewer bad debt losses, but there will also be lower sales and reduced profits.
We hypothesize that by applying scientifically-based accounts receivable management and by establishing a credit policy that results in the highest net earnings, companies can earn a satisfactory profit as well as a return on investment.
The purpose of this study is to determine ways of finding an optimal accounts receivable level along with making optimum use of different credit policies in order to achieve a maximum return at an acceptable level of risk. In striving to fill in the gaps relating to net savings from changes in credit policy, the study makes its own contribution to research and thereby to managers by giving them general recommendation. With the aim of completing these gaps, the study will investigate accounts receivables, their management and explore costs and benefits from changes in credit policy as well as net profitability.
When a company is considering changes in its credit policy in order to improve its income, incremental profitability must be compared with the cost of discount and
the opportunity cost associated with higher investment in accounts receivable.
The outcome represents a new mathematical model for calculating net savings from changes in credit policy and with this model a company can consider different credit policies as well as changes in credit policy in order to improve its income and profitability.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Accounts receivable management
Accounts receivable represents a sizable percentage of most firms' assets. Investments in accounts receivable, particularly for manufacturing companies, represent a significant part of short-term financial management. Firms typically sell goods and services on both cash and a credit basis. Firms would rather sell for cash than on credit, but competitive pressures force most firms to offer credit. The extension of trade credit leads to the establishment of accounts receivable. Receivables represent credit sales that have not been collected. As the customers pay these accounts, the firm receives the cash associated with the original sale. If the customer does not pay an account, a bad debt loss is incurred1.
When a credit sale is made, the following events occur: inventories are reduced by the cost of goods sold, accounts receivable are increased by the sales price, and the difference is profit, which is added to retained earnings. If the sale is for cash, then the cash from the sale has actually been received by the firm, but if the sale is on credit, the firm will not receive the cash from the sale unless and until the account is
collected. Carrying receivable has both direct and indirect costs, but it also has an important benefit-increased sales.
According to Chambers and Lacey there are three primary issues in the management of accounts receivable: to whom to extend credit, what the terms of the credit should be, and what procedure should be used to collect the money. Extending credit should be based upon a comparison of costs and benefits. The analysis must build in uncertainty because we are uncertain of future payment, and we will handle this by computing the expected costs and expected benefits through payment probabilities. The potential cost of extending credit is that the customer will not pay. Although there is a temptation to compute this cost as the full price of the product, it is almost always more appropriate to use the actual cost of the product. The potential benefit of extending credit is not just the hope for profit on the one transaction; rather, it is the potential value of the customer for a long-term relationship.
The decision of how much credit to offer must be made when the customer initially requests credit and when the customer requests additional credit. The fundamental principle that guides financial decisions can be used: marginal benefit versus marginal cost. The marginal cost is the additional potential lost costs of the product. The costs of past uncollected sales are sunk costs and should not be included as a marginal costs. The marginal benefits are the potential sales and interest revenues – including the potential to recover past sales that remain uncollected.
Once the decision to grant credit has been made, the firm must establish the terms of the credit. Credit terms are often separated into two parts: the credit period
and the credit discount.
Collection of accounts receivable is an important process for a corporation and requires a well-designed and well-implemented policy. One technique is the factoring of accounts receivables. In a typical factoring arrangement, one firm will sell their accounts receivable outright to another firm for an agreed-upon price. There ia usually no recourse in such transactions, such that the buyer (also known as the factor) takes the loss if the purchaser of the goods does not ultimately pay for them.
Another technique to expedite the receipt of accounts receivable is to utilize lock boxes. Lock boxes are payment collection locations spread geographically so as to reduce the amount of time required for checks mailed to the firm to be deposited and cleared. The lock boxes are typically post office box addresses from which deposits go directly to a bank on the day of receipt. The reduction of mailing time and check clearing time for the banks can produce significant savings when large sums of money are involved.
Payments of accounts receivable should be closely monitored to detect potential problems such as would be indicated by slow payments. Following up on slow-paying customers is an important function of the credit department. Procedures should be carefully developed and consistently implemented.
The major decision regarding accounts receivable is the determination of the amount and terms of credit to extend to customers. The total amount of accounts receivable is determined by two factors: the volume of credit sales and the average length of time between sales and collections. The credit terms offered have a direct
bearing on the associated costs and revenue to be generated from receivables.
In evaluating a potential customer’s ability to pay, consideration should be given to the firm’s integri ty, financial soundness, collateral to be pledged, and current economic conditions. A customer’s credit soundness may be evaluated through quantitative techniques such as regression analysis. Bad debt losses can be estimated reliably when a company sells to many customers and when its credit policies have not changed for a long period of time. In managing accounts receivable, the following procedures are recommended:
• establish a credit policy
• establish a policy concerning billing
• establish a policy concerning collection.
The establishment of a credit policy can include the following activities:
• A detailed review of a potential customer’s soundness should be made prior to extending credit. Procedures such as a careful review of the customer’s fin ancial statements and credit rating, as well as a review of financial service reports are common.
• As customer financial health changes, credit limit should be revised.
• Marketing factors must be noted since an excessively restricted credit policy will lead to lost sales.
• The policy is financially appropriate when the return on the additional sales plus the lowering in inventory costs is greater than the incremental cost associated with the additional investment in accounts receivable.
The following procedures are recommended in establishing a policy concerning billing:
• Customer statements should be sent within 1 day subsequent to the close of the period.
• Large sales should be billed immediately.
• Customers should be invoiced for goods when t he order is processed rather than when it is shipped.
• Billing for services should be done on an interim basis or immediately prior to the actual services. The billing process will be more uniform if cycle billing is employed.
• The use of seasonal dating’s should be considered.
In establishing a policy concerning collection the following procedures should be used:
• Accounts receivable should be aged in order to identify delinquent and high-risk customers. The aging should be compared to industry norms.
• Collection efforts should be undertaken at the very first sign of customer financial unsoundness6.
2.2. Managing the credit policy
The success or failure of a business depends primarily on the demand for its products.
The major determinants of demand are sales prices, product quality, advertising,
and the company’s credit policy. The financial manager is responsible for administering the company’s credit policy. Receivables management begins with the credit policy. Credit policy consists of four major components: credit standards, credit terms, the credit limit and collection procedures.
Credit standards refer to the required financial strength of acceptable credit customers.
Based on financial analysis and non financial data, the credit analyst determines whether each credit applicant exceeds the credit standard and thus qualifies for credit. Lower credit standards boost sales, but also increase bad debts. The minimum standards a customer must meet to be extended credit are: character, capital, capacity, conditions and collateral.
The credit period, stipulating how long from the invoice the customer has to pay, and the cash discount together comprise the seller’s credit terms. A company’s credit terms are usually very similar to that of other companies in its industry7.
Discounts given for early payment include the discount percentage and how rapidly payment must be made to qualify for the discount.
If credit is extended, the dollar amount that cumulative credit purchases can reach for a given cus tomer constitutes that customer’s credit limit. The customer periodically pays for credit purchases, freeing up that amount of the credit limit for further orders. The two primary determinants of the amount of a customer’s credit limit are requirements for the supplier’s products and the ability of the customer to pay its debts. The latter factor is based primarily on the customer’s recent payment
record with the seller and others and a review and analysis of the customer’s most recent financial statements8
Detailed statements regarding when and how the company will carry out collection of past-due accounts make up the company’s collection procedures. These policies specify how long the company will wait past the due date to initiate collection efforts, the methods of contact with delinquent customers, and whether and at what point accounts will be referred to an outside collection agency9.
Collection policy is measured by its toughness or laxity in attempting to collect on slow-paying accounts. A tough policy may speed up collections, by it might also anger customers, causing them to take their business elsewhere10
A firm may liberalize its credit policy by extanding full credit to presently limited credit customers or to non-credit customers. Full credit should be given only if net profitability occurs. A financial manager has to compare the earnings on sales obtained to the added cost of the receivables. The additional earnings represent the contribution margin on the incremental sales because fixed costs are constant. The additional costs on the additional receivables result from the greater number of bad debts and the opportunity cost of tying up funds in receivables for a longer time period.
If a firm considers offering credit to customers with a higher-than-normal risk rating, the profitability on additional sales generated must be compared with the amount of additional bad debts expected, higher investing and collection costs, and the opportunity cost of tying up funds in receivables for a longer period of time. When
idle capacity exists, the additional profitability represents the incremental contribution margin (sales less variable costs) since fixed costs remain the same.
译文
公司应收账款的管理
埃莉奥诺拉
克罗地亚
预算和财务部门经理
1.引言
应收账款是指由于企业将其产品销售给客户而应向购买单位收取的款项。

公司应收账款投资的主要决定因素是整个行业、总销售额水平以及公司的信用和收账政策。

应收账款管理包括建立一个信用和收账政策。

信用政策包括四个变量：信用期，提前付款给折扣，信贷标准和收账政策。

应收账款管理的三个主要问题是谁应该扩展信贷，信贷的方式和程序应该用于收集资金。

应收账款的重大决策即决定客户贷款的数量和条件。

应收账款总额未在任何给定的时间偿还主要取决于两个因素：信用销售的数量，销售与收账间的平均时间间隔。

提供的信用证条款对相关成本和应收账款产生的收入有着直接影响。

如果信用证条款严格，就会有更少的应收账款投资在和坏账损失，但也会降低销售减少利润。

我们假设，通过应用以科学为基础的应收账款管理和通过建立信贷政策，来使净收益最高，企业可以获得令人满意的利润以及投资回报。

本研究的目的是确定一种找到最优的应收账款水平与利用不同信贷政策的方法，在一个可接受风险范围内获得最大收益。

在信贷政策不断变化的环境中，努力填补净储蓄的空白，这项研究对此作出了重大贡献，也给企业经理人提供了一般性的建议。

有了填补此鸿沟的目标，本研究将调查公司的应收账款、高层管理现状，并探索信贷政策变化以及净利润率条件下的成本和收益。

当一家公司正在考虑改变其信贷政策以提高收益，应当比较增量盈利率与成本折扣，应收账款中较高的投资与机会成本相关联。

结果代表了一个新的数学模型，计算信贷政策变化中的净储蓄，公司通过这种模型可以考虑不同的信贷政策，并在信贷政策的变化中提高其收入和盈利能力。

2．文献综述
2.1应收账款管理
应收账款在大多数公司资产中占有相当大的比例。

在应收账款的投资，尤其是对于制造企业，是其短期财务管理的重要组成部分。

公司通常以现金和信用贷款的方式出售商品和服务。

公司宁愿出售换取现金而不是接受信贷，但竞争压力迫使大多数公司提供信贷。

贸易信贷的扩展导致的应收账款的出现。

应收账款说明信用销售款未收账。

客户付账之后，公司才算收回之前的销售款。

如果客户不支付，公司就会产生坏账损失。

一旦建立起信贷销售，就会出现以下情况：库存降低增加商品销售成本，销售价格提高应收账款增加，不同的是利润，被添加到留存收益。

如果出售换取现
金，公司才实际获得到了销售额，但如果采取信贷销售的方式，该公司将不会立即获得销售额直到公司收账完成。

应收账款会产生直接和间接成本，但它也有一种重要的且有益于销售达成的方式。

根据钱伯斯和莱西的观点，应收帐款管理中有三个主要问题：向谁提供贷款，信贷的条款应该是什么，应当通过怎样的程序来收款。

信贷展期应当在比较成本与收益的基础上进行。

因为我们不确定未来的支付能否达成，其分析就可能在不确定的条件下进行，因此，我们将通过支付概率来计算预期成本和预期收益，从而解决此问题。

客户将不会支付扩大信贷的潜在成本。

尽管计算足价产品的成本是一种非常好的方式，但通常更适合使用产品的实际成本。

信贷展期的潜在好处不仅仅交易中的利润；相反，它的潜在价值在于一个长期的客户关系。

客户最初请求贷款以及当客户请求追加贷款时，你就必须决定能为他提供多少信贷了。

可以使用基本原则指导财务决策：边际收益与边际成本。

边际成本是指产品额外的潜在损失成本。

过去未收款的销售成本是沉没成本，不应包括边际成本。

边际收益是指潜在的销售和利息收入——包括追回过去仍未收款销售的潜力。

一旦决定给予信贷，公司必须建立信贷条款。

信贷条款通常分为两个部分：信贷周期和信用折扣。

应收账款的收账程序对公司来说十分重要，需要设计精良和实施得当的政策。

其中一个方法是应收账款代理。

标准的代理协议中，一家公司将他们的应收账款以商定的价格直接出售给另一个公司。

此类交易中通常没有追索权，这样，如果买方的货物最终没有支付他们，买方（也称为因素）将承担损失。

另一个方法是利用锁箱加快应收账款的收据。

（完整译文请到百度文库）锁
箱是回款的地域分布位置，主要为了减少寄支票给公司的时间。

锁箱通常是邮政信箱地址，直接到银行去存款获得收据。

当涉及大量的资金时，减少银行的邮寄时间和票据清算或结算时间可以最大程度的节省成本。

支付的应收账款应密切监测可能发现的问题，如通过缓慢的支付来控制。

追踪支付缓慢的客户是信贷部门的一个重要职责。

程序应当慎重开发并持续实施。

关于应收账款的重要决定是对于信贷展期与数量的测定。

应收账款的总量取决于两个因素：信用销售的数量以及销售和汇款之间的平均期限。

提供的信贷条款和相关的应收账款产生的成本和收入有直接关系。

评估一个潜在客户的支付能力，应该充分考虑这个公司的信用度、财务稳健性、有无抵押品以及当前的经济条件。

客户的信用状况可以通过定量技术如回归分析来评估。

当一个公司出售产品给许多客户或者当其信贷政策长期未得到改变时，我们就能如实的评估其坏账损失。

管理应收账款，建议遵循以下程序：•确立信贷政策
•确立一个涉及账单的政策
•建立一个有关回款的政策
建立信贷政策包括以下内容：
•对潜在客户的财务稳健性的详细审查应在信贷展期前进行。

常见的程序包括仔细审查客户的财务报表、信用等级以及金融财务报告。

•当客户财务状况发生变化时，应当及时修改信贷限额。

•必须关注营销因素，因为过分限制信贷政策会导致销售损失。

•当额外的销售回报加上降低的库存成本大于边际成本与其他相关的应收账款投资时，财务政策是适当的。

建立一个涉及账单的政策包括以下几个方面：
•客户报表应该在结束后1天之内发送。

•大批量的销售应立即开账单。

•客户应当在处理订单时而不是发货时拿到商品发票。

•账单服务应在实际服务时作出。

如果采用周计费方式，开票流程将更加统一。

•应考虑季节性的日期的应用。

建立回款政策应包括以下内容：
•为了识别拖欠账款和具有高风险的客户，应分析应收账款的账龄。

账龄要与行业规范相关。

•收款工作应在客户财务状况出现不稳定迹象时进行。

2.2管理信贷政策
企业的成败主要取决于客户对其产品的需求。

需求的主要因素是销售价格、产品质量、广告和公司的信贷政策。

财务经理负责管理公司的信贷政策。

应收账款管理始于信贷政策。

信贷政策包括4个主要组成部分：信贷标准、信用条件、信贷限制和收款程序。

信贷标准指的是可接受的信用客户所需的财务实力。

基于财务分析和非财务数据，信贷分析师确定每个信贷申请人超过信贷信用的标准从而有资格。

降低信贷标准促进销售，但也会增加坏账。

客户延长信贷必须满足最低标准：品格、资本、能力、条件和担保人。

信贷时期，规定从发票的开具到客户必须支付时间以及现金折扣一起构成卖方信贷条款。

公司的信贷条款通常与行业内的其他公司相同。

提前付款给折扣包括：折扣率以及如何快速付款有资格获得折扣。

如果延长信贷时间，累积信用获得的金额可达一个给定客户的的信用额度。

客户定期支付赊购的货品，在接下来的订单中就会获得更大的信用额度。

客户信用额度的两个主要决定因素是对供应商产品的需求以及客户偿还债务的能力。

后者主要因素是基于客户与卖方和其他人的近期付款记录以及回顾与分析客户的近期财务报表。

详细陈述关于该公司何时、如何进行逾期账款的收账构成公司的收款程序。

这些政策规定公司将等待多长时间进行收款工作，应付拖欠账款客户的方法，是否以及在什么情况下需要外部收款机构的协助。

收账政策的衡量标准是对于缓慢支付账户的收账态度。

强硬的政策可能会加速收账的实现，也可能激怒客户，最终导致其把业务转移到其他公司。

公司可以对目前信用限额客户或非信用客户实行信用展期，以此开放信贷政策。

全额抵免只能在实现净利润时给予。

财务经理必须比较获得的销售收益和应收账款的增加成本。

因为固定成本不变，额外收益表示增加销售的边际收益。

其他应收账款的附加成本是因为较多的坏账和长期应收账款占用资金的机会成本产生。

如果一家公司考虑为信用评级风险高于正常值的客户提供信贷机会，由此产生的更多的销售盈利率必须与预期坏账增加的数量相比较，更高的投资和收款成本，应收账款占用资金的机会成本时间更长。

当闲置生产能力出现时，额外的盈利能力表明增量边际贡献（销售更少的可变成本），因为固定成本保持不变。