Collection News
Dolphin Speakers Highlight Best Practices at SAPs Financials 2010
West Chester -- Dolphin (http://www.dolphin-corp.com) experts and customers will show Financials 2010 (http://www.financials2010.com/) attendees smart best practices, in-depth case studies and expert strategies for taking the time and cost out of accounts payable, accounts receivable and legacy decommissioning.
Financials 2010, March 16-19 in Orlando, offers case studies, strategies and education for teams that use, evaluate, deploy, and support SAP® solutions for financial management. Learn about Dolphin’s solutions platform and talk to experts at booth #545.
Dolphin experts and customers will speak at the following sessions:
Key tips and techniques to optimize cash flow and working capital in SAP ERP Financials (http://www.financials2010.com/session.cfm?uid=4466f65d-8d09-45f8-8e78-2de31d1dd052&u=us&s=)
Brian Shannon, Director of Business Process Automation, Dolphin
Wednesday, March 17, 4:00 pm - 5:15 pm
Business process optimization expert Brian Shannon uses real-world examples to illustrate how to automate and streamline organizations’ accounts payable and accounts receivable processes to optimize cash flow. The approach leverages standard SAP functionality, such as SAP Business Workflow and the SAP Content Server, to support organizations’ working capital needs.
Shannon delivers proven tips to streamline the Accounts Payable process, reform Accounts Receivable cash bottlenecks, forecast cash flow and early pay discount opportunities, and improve the overall transparency and analytical capabilities of both of these critical working capital process components. In addition he discusses how to integrate existing Order-to-Cash or Procure-to-Pay processes and components seamlessly and will help attendees understand third-party solutions, such as e-Invoicing, OCR, Process Tracking Dashboard, Document Navigation, and Analytics that can help deliver automation and transparency to improve cash flow.
Bringing Home Accounts Payable to Gain Control of the Process (http://www.financials2010.com/session.cfm?uid=761c63e4-efb0-4325-86c4-665abf2edcc1&u=us&s=)
Dolphin customer with more than 150 plants worldwide.
Thursday, March 18, 11:45 am - 1:00 pm
Find out how this manufacturer tackled issues surrounding their outsourced accounts payable program by bringing these processes back in-house. Understand what deficiencies and gaps the current outsourced accounts payable and reporting solution created and how they developed an in-house process to resolve such issues. Hear firsthand details of the process they now use to address invoice receipt, workflow initiation, approvals and exceptions, posting, payments, and analytics.
Best practices for consolidating and retiring legacy systems without compromising access to important financial data and documents (http://www.financials2010.com/session.cfm?uid=444c3ebc-9b79-4852-ac15-76cbefe3ac43&u=us&s=c1&u=us&s=)
Thomas Langner, Product Manager-ILM Suite, Dolphin
Thursday, March 18, 11:45 am - 1:00 pm
Not all legacy environments are created equal. Dolphin’s Langner uses real-world examples to spotlight the tools and options available for system consolidation and legacy decommissioning, focusing on how to retain and manage critical historical financial data and documents while gaining significant cost savings by retiring and migrating data from multiple legacy systems to a single SAP global archive server.
Attendees can visit Dolphin at booth #545 to learn about the Dolphin platform and talk with experts on business process optimization, information lifecycle management and legacy decommissioning.
About Dolphin
Dolphin makes crucial business operations like data management, data archiving, accounts payable, accounts receivable and order management run better and smarter for organizations using SAP solutions. Focused on improving business performance through Information Lifecycle Management and Business Process Management, Dolphin produces the right solution for each customer, faster, through its unmatched experience in SAP technologies, and its proven best practices, tools and add-on applications for SAP solutions. Dolphin solutions improve business and IT performance, lower total cost of ownership and deliver high return on investment.
The company was founded in 1995 and has offices in Philadelphia, PA and San Jose, CA. Dolphin solutions are implemented across North America and around the world. For more information, visitwww.dolphin-corp.com, or contact sales at 888-305-9033.
SAP and all SAP logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.
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Atlanta Debt Collection Law firm Receives Prestigous Recognition
The distinguished law firm of Howe & Associates of Atlanta, Georgia is proud to announce their law firm’s rating of 'AV Preeminent' by the Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory.
For the past 130 years the Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory has been rating lawyers nationwide through a series of complex scoring formulas and criteria. With only a small percentage of attorneys in the country attaining this respected 'AV Preeminent' status, and only the most experienced being considered as candidates, the AV Rating is a testament from peer legal professionals and judges that the firm “clearly indicates a demonstration of the highest professional knowledge and ethical standards”. It is, in fact, the highest rating available and indicates the firm of Howe & Associates has reached the top level of legal expertise and competence.
An Atlanta personal injury firm representing those injured on the road or at work in the State of Georgia, Howe and Associates has over 120 years of litigation and trial experience. Their peers in both the legal and medical profession recognize the firm’s lawyers as top legal counsel.
Founded in 1985, Howe & Associates is a civil trial law firm representing clients in cases of personal injury. It doesn’t matter what your case is, whether an auto accident, trucking accident, construction accident, slip and fall injury, burn injuries, premises liability, or wrongful death suit, the law firm of Howe and Associates will scrutinize every detail until we find evidence that will help strengthen your case.
Their attorneys are also expert Atlanta debt collection lawyers representing clients in cases of debt collection, including collection of bad checks, breach of contract disputes, credit card collection, foreclosure collection and judgment enforcement. The firm offers its clients high collection percentages, legal expertise and skilled advice in virtually all aspects of the collection industry.
Their debt collection lawyers will provide advice to their creditor clients on the creation of credit application forms, contracts, deeds to secure debt, UCC liens, as well as creditor representation in bankruptcy proceedings.
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Executive Change: ACA International Announces New PR Director
ACA International has hired Mark Schiffman as its new director of public relations. Schiffman is a highly skilled public relations/public affairs leader with more than 20 years experience in the creation, implementation and management of effective communication strategies. Before joining ACA, he spent 14 years providing strategic counsel to clients at Himle Horner, a Midwest public relations/public affairs firm, and his own one-person practice, Drawbridge Consulting. His client experience includes trade associations, businesses, nonprofits, and local, regional and state government.
In addition to his professional experience, Schiffman spent 12 years in local government for the fast-growing Twin Cities suburb of Waconia (population 10,000) as mayor, city councilmember and planning commissioner. He teaches government and PR courses at the University of Phoenix Minneapolis/St. Paul campus and the Public Relations in the Public Sector course at Hamline University School of Business Department of Public Administration, an elective course Schiffman created.
A Minnesota native, Schiffman earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Minnesota-Duluth; master's degree in public administration from the Hamline University Graduate School of Public Administration and Management; and a certificate of public relations from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.
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Aspect Positioned in the Leaders Quadrant for 2010 Magic Quadrant for Contact Center Infrastructure Worldwide
CHELMSFORD, Mass. — Aspect, a global provider of unified communications (UC) and collaboration services and software, today announced it has been positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the leaders quadrant of the 2010 Magic Quadrant for Contact Center Infrastructure, Worldwide report. Gartner has evaluated Aspect based on completeness of vision and ability to execute. Additionally, Aspect states that its forward-looking strategy and proven product value are enhanced through its equity relationship with unified communications leader, Microsoft.
As stated by Gartner, they evaluate “contact center infrastructure providers on the quality and efficacy of the processes, systems, methods and procedures that enable contact center performance to be competitive, efficient and effective and to positively affect revenue, retention and reputation. Ultimately, they are judged on their ability to capitalize on their vision.”
“Aspect believes the positioning underscores our visionary leadership in creating unified communications applications on a unified platform to help contact centers achieve their business objectives and further emphasizes the company’s confidence in our strategic direction,” said Jim Foy, president and chief executive officer, Aspect. “Our focus today is on the next generation contact center that positions our valued customers to take advantage of and participate in exciting new advances in communications and collaboration, and to help them address dynamic customer requirements in the age of consumer-generated content.”
The Gartner Magic Quadrant analyzes the vendors in an industry and categorizes them in the “leaders,” “challengers,” “visionaries,” or “niche players” quadrants.
Gartner “Magic Quadrant for Contact Center Infrastructure, Worldwide” by D. Kraus, S. Blood, G. Johnson, February 22, 2010.
About the Magic Quadrant
The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted 2010 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
About Aspect
Aspect is a global software and IT services firm specializing in applying Microsoft unified communications and collaboration to help customers achieve optimal results through enhanced business processes across the enterprise and in the contact center. Aspect provides IT consulting, integration services and business applications. For more information, visit www.aspect.com. Follow Aspect on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/AspectUC.
Executive Change: Bill Barnshaw Named COO of MRS Associates
Cherry Hill, NJ: MRS Associates, Inc. (MRS) announced the promotion of Bill Barnshaw to the position of Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Barnshaw joined MRS as Senior Vice President of Analytics and Strategy in August of 2006, after 8 years with Capital One.
“We were seeking a strong, disciplined, and results-driven leader to manage our business operations. We realized very quickly that we did not need to look very far. Bill is a perfect match for this role. He strikes the right balance between the art and science of collections. While highly analytical, he is also very creative and not afraid to take calculated risks. He is supremely qualified and well deserving of this promotion,” said Jeff Freedman, MRS Co-Chairman/CEO.
“As we realigned specific divisions in operations to Bill, the performance of those departments quickly and rapidly improved. Bill’s combination of collection expertise and the understanding of our client’s needs makes him the quintessential COO,” adds Saul Freedman, Co-Chairman/CEO.
In his new position, Mr. Barnshaw will be responsible for managing all aspects of MRS’s collection divisions and its three call centers. While ensuring that client expectations are being met and exceeded, Bill’s focus will be on the increased use of analytics, devising new strategies to drive better performance, identifying cost-saving opportunities, and spearheading the company’s continued operational expansion both domestically and internationally.
MRS Associates (www.mrsassociates.com) is a nationally licensed, full-service accounts receivable management company that specializes in accounts receivable management, customer relationship management, and back office management.
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Asset Acceptance Reports Loss for Q4 and Full Year 2009 on Impairments
Accounts receivable management firm Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. (Nasdaq: AACC) reported significant losses late Wednesday for the fourth quarter and full year 2009 on massive impairment charges taken in the last three months of the year.
The Warren, Mich.-based debt buyer said that it recorded a net loss of $16.4 million, or $0.54 per share, for the full year 2009 compared to net income of $15.7 million, or $0.51 per share, in 2008. In the fourth quarter alone, Asset Acceptance reported a net loss of $20.2 million.
Much of the loss was attributed to a non-cash net impairment of purchased receivables of $32.4 million in the fourth quarter. The company recorded an impairment of only $4.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Rion Needs, President and CEO, commented in a press release, "The operating environment in 2009 has been one of the most challenging periods in our Company's history, with the fourth quarter proving to be one of the most difficult quarters of the year. The macroeconomic environment continued to adversely impact our cash collections, particularly on our older vintages. In connection with the preparation of our financial statements for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2009, we observed a significant difference between actual and projected cash collections in some of these older portfolios, which caused us to perform a more in depth review of our expectation of future cash collections. This resulted in a large non-cash impairment charge of $32.4 million, or $0.66 per share, net of the tax benefit. As a result, we reported a net loss for fourth quarter and the year. We are hopeful that this action will aid in minimizing non-cash impairments going forward."
The large impairment drove down revenues in the fourth quarter. The company reported total revenues of $18.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to total revenues of $55 million in the fourth quarter of 2008. Total revenues in the fiscal year 2009 were $172.5 million versus $234.2 million in 2008.
Asset Acceptance reported cash collections of $74.8 million in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2009, versus cash collections of $83.3 million in the year-ago period. For the full year, the company reported cash collections of $334 million compared to cash collections of $369.6 million in 2008.
The company reported an even split between traditional collection channels and legal collections for the year, with traditional channels accounting for $142.4 million and legal collections bringing in $141.7 million. The remainder, $49.9 million, was classified as “Other” (bankruptcy, collection agency forwarding and probate).
"While the economic headwinds persisted throughout the year, the pricing environment remained attractive as supply of charge-offs from issuers continued to expand and the overall demand remained soft,” said Needs. “We continued to ramp up our purchasing during the back half of the year, and expect this initiative to pay dividends as we move through 2010 and collect on the newer vintage.”
The company invested $121.9 million to purchase charged-off consumer debt portfolios with a face value of $4.5 billion, for a blended rate of 2.73 percent during 2009, compared to $154.2 million with a face value of $3.8 billion, for a blended rate of 4.05 percent in 2008.
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Top 30 Things to Do at EXPO 3.0
Please note: links to the booths will not work until Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 9am est.
Learn
- Expert predictions at Kaulkin Ginsberg’s State of the ARM Industry webinar – 1 PM ET in the Webinar Center
- Changes affecting the healthcare market in the Spotlight on Healthcare Collections webinar – 10 AM ET in the Webinar Center
- 2009 ARM M&A activity and what to expect in 2010 – 2 PM ET in the webinar center
- The latest on ARM industry legislation with Rozanne Anderson, Mike Ginsberg, Adam Peterman, and Patrick Lunsford – 3 PM ET in the Webinar Center.
- 20 things about the credit card collection market like you’ve never heard before, in Pardon the Interruption, – 11:30 AM in the webinar center
- 12 AR Best Practices Essential to Every Organization – a white paper available at The Accounts Receivable Network booth
- Five Ways to Improve Your Collection and Recovery Rates: key guidelines for the integration of C&R systems, networked communications and analytics to help you achieve better results – at the FICO booth
- The Top 100 Movers and Shakers in the UK credit industry - Download this popular supplement at the Credit Today booth
- Solving the Blended Challenge: Controlling your highest value calls to maximize recoveries – a free whitepaper available at the LiveVox booth
- “10 Ways to Save on Your Mail Costs in 2010” and “10 Questions to Ask Every Letter Vendor” – two tip sheets that could save you thousands of dollars, available at the DANTOM Systems booth
- Collection laws for all 50 states – a complimentary summary available at the National List of Attorneys booth
- Free portfolio estimator tool – download it at Senex’s booth
- Brand new charts comparing employee satisfaction in collections vs. firms nationwide, plus data about what makes a Best Place to Work in Collections– in your Briefcase
- Primer on the legislative agenda facing Congress and the ARM Industry in 2010 – in your Briefcase
Win
- Netbooks, premium research, free job postings, and more -- random tokens of appreciation throughout the day from insideARM
- $100 AMEX Card – register at The Edge Consulting booth
- Canon 10 MP digital camera - Stop by CR Software’s booth to learn about Titanium Ore and be entered to win
- Apple iPod Touch 8GB - Visit the Teleperformance/Alliance One booth and enter to win
- $50 AMEX gift card - Visit LiveVox’s booth and get a chance to win
- AMEX $100 Gift Card - Drop by the Southwest Credit booth for the chance to win
- and discover who referred the most attendees to EXPO 3.0 and will win the grand prize of a free Dell netbook from insideARM.
Network
- Healthcare analyst Michael Klozotsky will host a live Q&A – 10:30 AM ET at the Kaulkin Ginsberg booth
- Interior Concepts president David Kendrick will chat live about “Furniture & Site Design for the New Decade” --10:30 AM ET or 2 PM ET at the Interior Concepts Booth
- Phillips & Cohen president & general counsel Howard Enders will chat live about “Deceased Care in Today’s ARM Market” - 12:30 PM ET at the Phillips & Cohen Booth
- Industry M&A experts Mark Russell and Michael Lamm will answer your questions – 2:45 PM ET at the Kaulkin Ginsberg booth
- Weltman, Weinberg & Reis managing partner Alan Weinberg will chat about “The New Kind of Debtor: Why Please and Thank You Just Doesn’t Work Anymore” – 4 PM ET at the Weltman Weinberg & Reis booth
- Greystone Alliance president Tony Frisicaro and chief operating officer Rick Corica will be available to chat all day at the Greystone Alliance booth
- Senex President and VP of Sales and Marketing will be available to chat all day at the Senex booth
- Zenith Acquisition’s CEO, CFO or Director of Client Relations will be available to chat about upcoming debt sales and recovery projects – all day at the Zenith Acquisition booth
…and as a Bonus, View Hot Videos at these Booths!
DAKCS Software Systems (our TOP PICK!)
http://events.unisfair.com/rt/insidearm/index.jsp?id=46&seid=29
West Asset Management
http://events.unisfair.com/index.jsp?eid=458&seid=29
Teleperformance Accounts Receivable Management /AllianceOne Receivables Management
http://events.unisfair.com/rt/insidearm/index.jsp?id=295&seid=29
FMS Inc.
http://events.unisfair.com/rt/insidearm/index.jsp?id=351&seid=29
insideARM.com
http://events.unisfair.com/rt/insidearm/index.jsp?id=164&seid=29
Merlin Information Services
http://events.unisfair.com/rt/insidearm/index.jsp?id=31&seid=29
Kaulkin Ginsberg
http://events.unisfair.com/rt/insidearm/index.jsp?id=49&seid=29
ACA International
http://events.unisfair.com/rt/insidearm/index.jsp?id=147&seid=29
Resource Management Services
http://events.unisfair.com/rt/insidearm/index.jsp?id=268&seid=29
IAT
http://events.unisfair.com/rt/insidearm/index.jsp?id=35&seid=29
PCI Group
http://events.unisfair.com/rt/insidearm/index.jsp?id=155&seid=29
CR Software
http://events.unisfair.com/rt/insidearm/index.jsp?id=48&seid=29
Sentinel - eCollections
http://events.unisfair.com/rt/insidearm/index.jsp?id=157&seid=29
Stephanie Eidelman is the publisher of insideARM.com and also oversees all operations for Kaulkin Ginsberg. She has more than twenty years of experience in operations management and consulting, both for start-ups and large established firms. She can be reached at 240-499-3806 or by email.
Numbers from the ARM Industrys First Virtual Trade Show
The accounts receivable management industry’s first virtual exhibit hall -- insideARM’s EXPO 3.0 -- turned a once daunting task into a Jetsons-like experience for more than a thousand ARM professionals.
EXPO 3.0 is a free-to-the-attendee tradeshow that allows exhibitors and visitors the opportunity to network with fellow peers from their desktop computers.
The show opened on February 16, 2010 and ran all day, with exhibitors manning their booths with staff. Over 1,000 people attended and spent more than 5,916 hours visiting 10,249 areas and downloading 5,372 information files from 58 booths.
One attendee commented, “I was amazed that you could do something like that online, as if you were actually there.”
But even those that were not able to log on the day of the event still have a chance to participate. The unique electronic platform allows booths to remain open for another three months. Visitors can browse exhibitor offerings and download information even if there is not a representative to directly interact with.
“I am glad to see we will still have access to the site, one day just wasn’t long enough,” an exhibitor noted.
In addition, five educational webinars were conducted throughout the day -- “State of the ARM Industry,” “Spotlight on Healthcare Collections,” “M&A in the ARM Industry: Activity and Trends,” “ARM Legislative & Regulatory Update” and “Pardon the Interruption: Credit Card Collections” -- are still available at the webinar center.
“Excellent initiative,” another attendee commented on a follow-up survey by insideARM.
Exhibitors averaged 87 visits each on the opening day. One pleased exhibitor commented, “Two words...VERY IMPRESSIVE!!!”
EXPO 3.0 can still be accessed, for free, until May 16, 2010. Returning visitors can simply log in at http://www.insidearm.com/expo/ to access the exhibitions and webinars; new visitors can quickly register at the same link.
The National List of Attorneys, Live at their EXPO 3.0 Booth in March 2010
The National List of Attorneys, an organization that has provided quality legal representation to the credit and collection industry nationwide since 1900, had a great time exhibiting at Expo 3.0, the first online trade show for the ARM industry. However, we didn’t feel that one day of being live at our booth was nearly enough to answer all of the questions.
If you missed us live on February 16th or if you have more questions for us, good news! We will have a live representative at our booth for the next three weeks, every Thursday from 9-11am CST starting March 11th. We want to give anyone who may have missed out a chance to visit us and ask questions while the Expo is still live.
Each week there will be a theme where you can come learn more about the National List and what we can do for you. You can get information from one of our experienced staff members and interact live.
March 11th’s theme will be: Who we are and what we do. The National List is much more than just a directory of contingency fee collection attorneys, we provide a myriad of services to our clients. Even if you know us, stop by our booth to make sure you are taking advantage of all we have to offer.
March 18th’s theme will be: The attorney screening process. We have an extensive process that we go through to ensure that the attorneys we recommend make a good match for our valued clients. On this day we will discuss in detail our screening process.
March 25th’s theme will be: Insuring your claims. This will give you an overview of exactly what the insurance policy covers, what you need to do to insure your claims and why this is important. This is an uncertain time in our economy; it’s a little bit of peace of mind that comes at no cost to you.
Of course you don’t have to stick to the theme, we promise to answer all of your other questions as well. Stop on by and see us.
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The National List of Attorneys Announces CreditorsRightsLawFirms.com
The National List of Attorneys, an organization that has provided quality legal representation to the credit and collection industry nationwide since 1900, is proud to announce the launch of CreditorsRightsLawFirms.com the premier online directory of experienced creditors' rights and FDCPA defense attorneys nationwide.
The world of collections is getting more and more challenging. With the rising number of FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) and FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) lawsuits surfacing, the need for experienced attorneys that focus their practice on creditors' rights and FDCPA defense is evident now more than ever. Nationwide, there are roughly 800 suits filed against debt collectors each month, this is a record number that is increasing. CreditorsRightsLawFirms.com was established to address the growing need for experienced creditors' rights attorneys. The site boasts over 65 listings of creditors’ rights firms nationwide with more being added weekly.
CreditorsRightsLawFirms.com lists attorneys that are experienced and want to put that knowledge to work for your company. The attorneys you will find here concentrate in creditors’ rights, commercial litigation, FDCPA Defense, FCRA defense, Truth in lending act and/or class action defense. They are experienced in FDCPA, other collection laws and litigation. They can represent your company in bankruptcy proceedings and provide compliance counseling in collections matters.
For more information please contact Rose Heeb at (800) 227-1675 ext 108 or rheeb@nationallist.com.
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