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1、外文文献翻译译文一、外文原文原文：原文：Accounts Receivable IssuesFor many companies, the accounts receivable portfolio is its largest asset. Thus, it deserves special care and attention. Effective handling of the portfolio can add to the bottom line, while neglect can cost companies in unseen losses.Accounts Receivabl
2、e Strategies to Energize the Bottom LineDont be surprised to find the big shots from finance suddenly looking over your shoulder questioning the ways your credit department operates. Accounts receivable has become the darling of those executives desperate to optimize working capital and improve thei
3、r balance sheet.Heres a roundup of some of the tactics that have been collected from the best credit managers to squeeze every last cent out of their accounts receivable portfolio:Have invoices printed and mailed as quickly as possible. Most customers start the clock ticking when the invoice arrives
4、 in their offices. The sooner you can get the invoice to them, the sooner they will pay you. While this strategy will not affect days sales outstanding(DSO),it will improve the bottom line.Look for ways to improve invoice accuracy without delaying the mail date.Offer more stringent terms where appro
5、priate in your annual credit reviews and with new customers. Consider whether shorter terms might be better for you company.Offer financial inducements to customers who agree to pay your invoices electronically.If you have not had a lockbox study performed in the last few years, have one done to det
6、ermine your optimal lockbox location.With customers who have a history of paying late, begin your collection efforts before the due date. Call to inquire whether they have the invoice and if everything is in order. Resolve any problems quickly at this point.If you have been giving a grace period to
7、those taking discounts after the discount period, reduce or eliminate it.Resolve all discrepancies quickly so payment can be made promptly.If a customer indicates it has a problem with part of an invoice, authorize partial payments.Keep a log of customer problems and analyze it once a month to disco
8、ver weaknesses in your procedures that cause these quandaries.Apply cash the same day the payment is received. Collectors can then spend their time with customers who have not paid rather than annoying ones who have already sent their payment.Deal with a bank that makes lockbox information available
9、 immediately by fax, or preferably, online. Then when a customer claims it has made a payment , the collector will be able to verify this.Look into ways to accept P-cards from customers placing small orders and those who cannot be extended credit on open account terms.Benchmark department and indivi
10、dual collectors performance to pinpoint those areas and individuals in need of additional training.Review your own policies and procedures to determine if there are any areas that could be tweaked to improve cash flow. Then, when the call comes from executive quarters, you will be ready, and they wi
11、ll be hard pressed to find ways that you fell down on the job.Dealing with Purchase OrdersLeading credit managers have learned to pay attention to the purchase orders that their companies receive. Specifically, they want to ensure that the purchase order accepted by the salesperson does not include
12、clause that will ultimately cause trouble for their companies, or even legal difficulties later on. Realistically, the salesperson should have caught the problem, but he or she rarely does. When the customer doesnt pay due to one of these technicalities, its not the salesperson who will get blamed.T
13、o help avoid a purchase order disaster, credit professionals can take the following steps:1Simply read the purchase order. Vendors often slip clauses into purchase orders that you would never agree to. One favorite is to include a statement saying the seller will be paid as soon as its customer pays
14、 the buyer. This is a risk few companies are willing to tolerate.2Prioritize attachments. Typically, buyers write purchase orders that contain attachments. These include drawings, specifications, supplementary terms and conditions for work done on company premises, or safety rules for the supplier.W
15、hen including attachments, it is recommended that one of them be a list of priorities to guard against any inconsistencies in the documents. The purchase order should “clearly reference all the attachments, and there should be a recitation as to which attachments are controlling over the others.” In
16、 the event of any inconsistency between or among these documents, the purchase order shall be controlling over any attachments, and the attachments shall be interpreted using the priority listed.3Take care when reference is made to a buyers documents in the purchase order. There are likely to be both helpful and harmful statements in those documents that reference the buyers material. The buyer may have printed its own terms and conditions on the back of a document. By re
