Credit Matters Newsletter
In This Issue
- What's New At Credit Matters?
- Quote Of The Month
- Monthly Business Observation
- Monthly Business Conundrum
- This Month's Business Inconvenient Truth
- Latest Blogs & Readings
- Special Topic
- THE LATEST ASIC UPDATES
- ACCC UPDATES
What's New At Credit Matters?
At last, our revamped website and business model have gone live. As is the case for all businesses, we have modified the way we do business to compete in the modern world.
There is only one attachment with this newsletter from the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman which focuses on the slow payment pattern emerging here in Australia.
On reviewing the Austrac website at https://www.austrac.gov.au and IBAC website at https://www.ibac.vic.gov.au both organisations have been particularly busy adding important information in June and July to their respective websites. For this reason, I have not added any specific information in this newsletter as normal. I suggest therefore it is important for our readers to visit these websites and reacquaint themselves with what they have to offer.
Kim is available to help with your questions and concerns if you need any assistance, and as always, the first chat is always free of charge or obligation.
Quote Of The Month
“Australian teams that have been to Pakistan, but you can’t play in spite of the conditions, “ … “You have to embrace them, you’ve got to find ways of winning.”
Andrew McDonald I McDonald not afraid to adopt a positive line by Daniel Bretti, in The Age, 11/6/2022
Monthly Business Observation
History shows us that when turbulent times occur, not only will many businesses fail, many others will succeed beyond expectations. In between these two extremes, will be those businesses which just survive and yet may have been more successful if only they had adapted to the business environment positively. It is this group of businesses which if management had been more attuned to the realities of the environment may have seen positive opportunities to grow. Instead, because of perceived negativity, they withdrew into their shells and missed the potential opportunities of success.
In the post COVID years ahead, those businesspeople who lose their businesses will do so because they failed to appreciate, prepare and adapt to the changing circumstances around them. Those businesspeople who did in fact take notice and changed their business focus to deal with the new environment as it evolved, have a better chance of keeping their businesses.
As Andrew McDonald has articulated so well, “… you need to embrace the current environment in order to play the game of survival first and then to prosper.”
For some time now, a number of commentators have put forward the proposition that dangerous times were ahead for all businesses. Many businesspeople failed to listen to these warnings and accept their responsibilities to plan and protect their businesses appropriately. For instance, many were seduced into believing debt is always cheap having been fed this theme by naïve or inexperienced people, or those with vested interests.
As a result, intellectually, these businesspeople became lazy and failed to see and act on the basis that good times and cheap debt could not continue unabated into the future for ever. The more experienced and conservative businesspeople came to the realisation that cheap debt and good times had a finite lifetime. As a consequence, they sought to mitigate some of the dangers by taking positive action to protect their businesses.
The reality is that history has always shown that times change and those which are prepared mentally and financially for the changes, are those best placed to survive. As the business environment changed, they were also best placed to survive and/or take advantage of any positive opportunities if they occurred.
The future ahead for all us will be different from what many have experienced in the immediate past. As a result, and unfortunately, many businesspeople and their businesses will not survive because they were not mentally, structurally, or financially prepared for the new world. Those businesspeople which manage better and grow the value of their businesses, did so because they adapted to the real world around them as it changed.
Monthly Business Conundrum
Data analytics is one of the tools of business which is used in business decision making these days. It can be a valuable business tool in the right circumstances.
In today’s digital world, one of the major problems is that data is often collected because it can be, irrespective of its value. As a result, the people relying on the data provided, are often swamped by the quantity of information and/or, its value can be lost or compromised and the outcomes misinterpreted.
In order to make any data produced useful, certain prerequisites are required. These include that the data must be:
- validated by the people who need to use it on a day-to-day basis;
- fit for purpose and easily understood;
- up to date; and
- not collected just because it can be as that wastes time and confuses everybody.
Too often, data analytics is dominated by management’s vested needs and preparedness to spend appropriately to ensure the data is of value across the whole business for all users. As a result, data analytics is often not of the value or quality required. As a result, much of it is useless or leads to inappropriate decision making.
At the end of the day, data analytics is one of the tools of business which is used in business decision making. By not understanding the value and the basis of how the tool is used, means that its value if often compromised.
This Month's Business Inconvenient Truth
One of the most critical risks today will be selling at a profit. As history reminds us constantly, “… anybody can sell a dollar for 50 cents.”
It would be wise therefore to remember this old saying when purchase requests start flooding in, especially if your business is desperate for sales. In these troubled times, there will be many buyers, yet few of them will pay within in your B2B credit terms or lead to profitable sales. The reasons for this state of affairs will include the customer is:
- probably on stop supply with their other suppliers;
- they have run out of cash and other sources of funds;
- they know you will rarely sue them because your business has neither funds or the desire to “throw good money after bad”;
- your business has a policy of inaction on constant credit claims;
- your business has poor sales disciplines which results in increased purchase and sales frauds;
- your salespeople can only sell on credit as management has few other sales strategies
- aware that your management and salespeople are paid on commissions and increased sales figures, irrespective of whether the sales are paid for later.
One of the great tests of the authenticity of a customer’s financial status and worth in deciding whether they are a prospective or existing customer, is to offer to sell with a settlement discount policy or at a good discount for cash. The smart businesses focusing on price savings will take up these offers. Meanwhile, the dodgy, cash poor and the zombie businesses will not take up these offers because of their inability to access cash or finance, or they have no or little intention of paying you within terms.
As times become more difficult, the fact is that more and more customers will take risks to enter into dodgy purchase practices and raising false credit claims in order to survive. Your business therefore needs to be on guard more than ever before if it is to survive and prosper in these tough times.
Latest Blogs & Readings
The enemy of all of us in business, is bureaucracy in all its forms. Irrespective of whether the bureaucrat is external or within our business.
Updates courtesy of www.asic.gov.au
Media Updates
Speeches and Articles
Publications & Resources
Media Releases
Credit Matters is a financial risk management resource centre for the Australian business community. If you are in business, Credit Matters is your ideal source of financial risk management solutions.
Future Opportunities & Possibilities
Credit Matters is continuing to grow and provide marketing and knowledge about financial risks to the Australia business community.
Futhermore, we invite marketing and knowledge ideas from our readers and contributors on how we can assist our respective firms grow. If you have any ideas, please contact me at info@creditmatters.com.au.
If you are interested in finding new ways to reach your marketplace, why not try Credit Matters. Our prices for advertising are very reasonable and advertising packages are on offer to make any cost, even more affordable. So if you are interested in reaching your customers at the right price, please contact Kim at info@creditmatters.com.au for options.