Page 13 - JCCI Business FOCUS Vol2 No4

IF PREVENTION FAILS, ACCOUNTABILITY IS THE CURE

Wendy Kemp, Founder Member/ it is imperative to do a however, inevitably, there will
Managing Director, Accountability comprehensive credit check be situations when internal
to review the payment records measures are no longer sufficient.
Managing the dangers of and credit information of the Organisations should
debtors potential client. This will help implement the use of debt
you mitigate your credit risk by
tudies have shown that providing you with an insight recovery services, such as offered
approximately 80% of small into how potential clients by Accountability, to manage the
Sbusiness enterprises fail conduct their accounts. risk and effects of bad debts.
within the first five years and By incorporating
only 1% of the remainder grow Documentation Accountability’s services into
to employ ten or more people. In order to protect yourself your business, you will have
Further investigation has shown and the consumer, you should access to risk mitigation tools, as
that two of the main reasons well as the ability to safeguard
for a business’s downfall are the have the correct documentation your business and maintain
mismanagement of debtors and signed before providing services a strong, healthy cash flow by
and or goods. Have your terms
inadequate cash flow.
and conditions drafted by an managing your debtors with
Efficient debtor management is attorney to ensure that they clarity and transparency.
critical to ensuring your business comply with legislature, are Accountability is a web- Our notification to debtor Our actions are determined
has sufficient working capital to mutually beneficial and are based service with the aim of differs from the idle threat in by the provisions of the
reinvest and grow. clearly communicated. "protecting" businesses through as much as there is recourse. National Credit Act, No. 34
The adverse effect of monies Keep Sufficient Records reducing the risk caused by We clearly state that should of 2005 and the National
not paid on time has the most outstanding payments. the situation not be addressed Credit Regulator.
negative impact on smaller Having a well organised We are partnered with all by the stipulated date (which Visit us today at
businesses, and whilst cash on filing system in place will help the major South African based is 28 calendar days from the www.accountability.co.za
delivery (COD) can be a way you keep track of outstanding credit bureaus, and our members initial notification to debtor as to find out more about our
to reduce this impact, it is not payments. This will ensure have access to an active credit per the National Credit Act), recovery process, as well as
sustainable when growth is that you collect payments (i.e. database of 22 million consumers we will act upon our member’s for our full list of benefits and
desired. overdue invoices) promptly, instruction to list the business,
which will in turn, assist with and three million businesses. directors or in the case of a support services. n
Below are some aspects to controlling your cash flow. Usually, any notification sent consumer, the individual, as
consider when it comes to to debtors is perceived to be an a default payer with the major T: 0861 90 90 90
managing the dangers of debtors: Credit Management empty threat as most defaulters credit bureaus. E: sales@accountability.co.za
Close monitoring of debtors know that amounts below W: www.accountability.co.za
Know Your Client
is the best way to avoid R20 000 are unlikely to be
Prior to extending credit, unexpected or hidden obstacles; pursued via the legal process.

SARS IDENTIFIES TRADE FACILITATION IMPERATIVES

Joy Orlek, Editor, Freight and Trading delegates at a joint FTW/JCCI “When it comes to trade country has a declaration and that first phase of RCG (reporting
Weekly business breakfast last week. facilitation, we must focus on the goods can be accounted for – of conveyances and goods) in
a segmented approach which and the same applies to exports. To April this year- and for me to
“Over the past three years we
n a refreshingly frank have focused too strongly on includes differentiated services and check a bill of entry is not a job that execute within the new system, I
presentation to the freight tailor-made responses for AEO you learn overnight. You need to be need the data. If I only have 50%
Iindustry last week, acting physical activity without moving (authorised economic operator)/ trained and understand the business compliance, that’s not enough.”
chief officer Customs & Excise, to a vision of risk- and audit- PT (preferred trader) clients.” of customs.” According to Theron, they had
Beyers Theron, conceded that based controls.”
the revenue authority had failed And to achieve this vision, Theron On the issue of revenue Theron believes that there are heard that for a large portion
to deliver on its mandate of has identified three burning issues management, he said this pockets of excellence within of trade, the problem lay with
facilitating legitimate trade, that need to be addressed – control, should not be about increasing the organisation but made no one service provider who
pretence of the fact that it had
inspections, but rather working
but outlined a plan to rewire trade facilitation and revenue wasn’t ready for this release.
the process. management. smarter and “doing things right failed on many levels to achieve “If we are to run at the pace of
the first time”. the standards it had set for itself. development we expect, we can’t
“We need to strike a balance “With regard to control, we need afford that going forward.”
between enforcement and to move to an environment of “You need a data-rich environment “While we have aligned to World
facilitation – and it’s a balance data-driven supply chain control. to be effective at revenue Customs Organisation standards In the final analysis, Customs’
management. You need to ensure
we are not delivering optimally
which in recent times we have Visibility is all very well, but it mandate is to raise revenue.
failed to achieve,” Theron told must be driven by data and risk. that everything that comes into the against that business model. “That’s important because we
“We have also fallen short in need that revenue but we need to
terms capacity in addressing collect the correct revenue.
the challenges of Illicit trade “We need to refine our customs
in the tobacco, clothing and operating model and understand
textiles, fuel and electronics that the role of customs is
sectors, for example.
significantly different from
“This is a critical problem if we 10-20 years ago. It’s no longer a
want to grow the economy and gatekeeper but rather an economic
change the vision of customs. facilitator of legitimate trade.”
This is where we have leakage in
terms of revenue – and when you “We know what’s wrong and
start addressing these things and now need to move to actions and
when you get that right general results to fix it.”
compliance improves.” We need to strike a balance
Theron said maybe they were between enforcement and
moving too fast on NCAP (New facilitation – and it’s a balance
Customs Act Programme) as which in recent times we have
trade was still lagging behind. failed to achieve. n
“The industry is still not ready
after the implementation of the Source www.ftwonline.co.za
New Customs Act Programme (NCAP): Group Photo with Beyers Theron

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