Job Description

Reporting to the Chief Finance Officer, the Credit & Collection Assistant is responsible for providing sound Credit, collections, and management of the company’s credit policy to ensure a tight functional credit process. 

Responsibilities

• Study and understand the current credit policy, the credit status of each customer and make an assessment on the sufficiency of terms granted to meet all goals and objectives of the company in relation to the customer target, payment pattern, and purchases.
• Evaluate credit / financial worthiness of each customer
• Assisted by CFO, develop or review, implement and maintain sound Company’s credit policies, guidelines, procedures and follow on debt collections to ensure steady cash flows.
• Monitor and create a credit risk management environment and establish credit guidelines and communicate to the management the key risks as they may arise.
• Analyze delinquent accounts and prepare reports on highest risk accounts and recommend for necessary action as per the Company credit policy and procedure.
• Negotiate payment programs with delinquent customers and identify accounts requiring collection agency or legal action.
• Ensure the retail accounts and end-users operate within the credit period.
• Initiate, track and maintain all records/files/correspondences associated with collection activities, bad debt recovery for each account.
•  Analyze, Monitor, and recommend action on any violations of credit policies in accordance with the corporate credit policies and procedures to ensure good customer relations.
• In consultation with CFO and the Company's legal advisors, generate legal documents used in the credit functioning of the company’s risk exposure.
• In consultation with the CFO, propose and commence legal proceedings if debts are not paid and/or arrange for repossession of the goods to recover unpaid debts.
• Measure available credit controls with appropriate metrics (credit scoring model): debtor’s payment days, credit amount turn round, and the probability of achieving sales target based on credit turn round.
•  Maintain a debt aging analysis, schedule, and follow up with the customers on the recoverability of outstanding loan balance
• Maintain bad debt recovery records, review aging debts on a weekly and monthly basis, and recommend action to facilitate recovery.
• Manage relations with collection agencies and credit insurance providers.
• Manage relations with the sales department, analyze sales reports and advise accordingly.
• Manage relations with staff and owners of the agro-dealers, farms, and general merchants.
• Personally interact with customers to obtain additional credit information to support credit lines and initiate credits and adjustments to their accounts within company policy limits
• Visit each customer at least monthly to strengthen the relationship, confirm financial conformity to credit offered, sort out sales staff/ customer disputes, confirm service satisfaction, confirm stock position vs outstanding debt.
• Review to ensure adequacy and completeness of all files and records therein.
•  Manage customer credit files, records (credit application forms complete with the customer registration certificate, Pin, IDs of Directors, testimonials, CR12 for corporate customers and major agro-dealers.
• Liaise with customer care to ensure customer statements are timely dispatched monthly or when required and follow up with customers to ensure receipt especially those with over dues.
• Keep all customer ledgers duly reconciled and all withholding taxes credited.
• Carry out in consultation with CFO, monthly sales analysis vs target, aged debtors, pending orders due for payment and resolutions to ensure no sale is lost.
• In liaison with the sales team and CFO recommend escalation procedures for debtors deemed financially challenged.
• Accept or reject the staff's credit recommendations in consultation with your supervisor.
• Personally, investigate the largest customer credit applications deemed questionable.
• Monitor deductions being taken by customers
• Interfacing with the sales department to communicate credit decisions and ensure timely review of new customers.
• Maintaining accurate customer information database according to company procedures and ensuring retail accounts operate within 30 days credit and end-user within a maximum of 90 days.
•  Liaising with other departments to reconcile transactions and balances to maintain accurate accounts and ledgers of each customer
•  Checking for credit viability on requests for extended terms, and evaluate various adjustments or exception documents
•  Investigating and reporting on a timely basis any unauthorized customer dealings with our staff that may lead to loss or unfair competition and immediately mitigate to minimize or totally avoid the loss
• Negotiating repayments with customers tactfully to avoid customer backlash
• Properly motivate the sales term, train and coordinate the debt collection process and sales target achievement.
• Together with the Technical Agronomist, organize for continual training of the sales staff and evaluate the effectiveness in delivering all due cash flows.
• Monthly on customers whose cheques have bounced and action taken.
• Monthly on overdue accounts and the arranged commitments to recover.
• Monthly on delinquent customers with indications of business closure with proposed recovery strategies.
• Monthly customer stock balances and conditions, disputes handled, etc.

Skills and Qualifications

• Bachelor of Commerce degree, Business Administration, or equivalent qualifications from a recognized university.
• A diploma in Marketing and/or credit management is an added advantage Must have passed CPA Part II or its equivalent
• Must have at least two (2) years of progressive experience in a busy credit and collection department.
• Telephone Skills: Must be able to exercise telephone courtesy and skills when dealing with customers.
• Knowledge of Business Environment: Must understand local and global dynamics of the business environments facing customers.
• Customer Service Skills: should be able to exercise a high level of customer care and service.
• Technology Skills: Computer literate with proficiency in MS office and graphic applications.