WHAT DOES A CREDIT AND COLLECTIONS ANALYST DO?
Published: September 10, 2024 - The Credit and Collections Analyst's responsibilities include researching and resolving disputed invoices, assessing creditworthiness through financial analysis, and working collaboratively with various departments to manage customer disputes and inquiries. Tasks also involve conducting risk analysis for setting credit limits, evaluating and improving credit scoring models, and maintaining compliance with company credit policies. The role demands regular communication with customers and coordination with AR Collectors, Sales, and AR Managers to optimize account management and financial terms.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Credit and Collections Analyst
1. Credit and Collections Analyst Duties
- Portfolio Management: Manage from end to end the assigned customer portfolio including oversight of bankruptcy, write-off, and recovery activities.
- Account Reconciliation: Reconcile accounts in a timely manner, conducting research and analysis for resolution of deductions and disputed items, short/over-payments.
- Root Cause Analysis: Identify and resolve order-to-cash root cause issues that impede invoicing, collections, and deduction resolution, including initiating and driving cross-functional resolutions.
- Credit Review: Review orders on credit block and take appropriate actions.
- Project Participation: Participate in projects, driving results to meet individual, team, and department objectives.
- Credit Approval: Recommendations and implementation of credit approval decisions on new accounts.
- Relationship Building: Establish and maintain strong working relationships with customers and other business partners.
- Financial Reporting: Perform period-end analysis and reporting.
- Compliance Management: Ensure internal control compliance and accomplish tasks at internal/external auditors' request.
- Collections: Contact customers with past-due balances to facilitate payment, via phone, letter, or email.
- Invoicing Submission: Submit invoices via online, web-based applications.
- Dispute Resolution: Manage and resolve disputes related to customer accounts.
2. Credit and Collections Analyst Details
- Invoice Dispute Resolution: Research and resolve disputed invoices.
- Cross-Department Collaboration: Work collaboratively with functional departments to resolve customer disputes, inquiries, and requests.
- Credit Review: Review orders on hold to determine the action needed to release, including requests to change customer credit limits.
- Data Analysis: Pull data and create reports to conduct in-depth portfolio analysis to determine trends and opportunities where past dues / DSO / bad debt can be improved.
- Creditworthiness Assessment: Assess creditworthiness based on a credit investigation and financial analysis of new and existing customers/vendors.
- Credit Scoring Improvement: Responsible for testing, evaluating, and improving credit scoring models.
- Terms Impact Review: Review and interpret customer terms' impact.
- Customer Report Analysis: Analyze customer reports and partner with appropriate stakeholders to take necessary action.
- Risk Analysis: Conduct risk analysis for determining credit limits for new and existing customer accounts.
- Credit Policy Enforcement: Uphold all of Airgas’ credit policies, including terms of sale and credit limits.
- Customer Communication: Communicate with customers via phone, fax, email, and letter to discuss financials, terms, and other issues.
- Account Management: Work closely with AR Collectors, Sales, and AR Managers to effectively manage customer accounts.
3. Credit and Collections Analyst Responsibilities
- Customer Relations: Works with customers in assigned portfolios to receive payments.
- Problem Solving: Resolves customer A/R differences to the fulfillment of both SFDC and customers.
- Business Judgment: Uses good business judgment in collaborating with Salesforce.com employees, including Sales, to achieve results.
- Account Management: Initiates contacts on assigned account base.
- Risk Assessment: Exercises good business judgment and due diligence in evaluating the ability/intent to pay within the overall account relationship.
- Payment Facilitation: Facilitates customer payments by providing vital documentation to customers.
- Conflict Resolution: Resolves customer account differences by working with other employees, including Sales.
- Escalation Management: Uses good judgment in balancing issue resolution with the need to escalate to the appropriate person.
- Process Improvement: Participates in operational improvement projects.
- Reporting: Provides reports on the assigned portfolio as requested by A/R Operations management.
- Policy Compliance: Ensures compliance with all company policies.
4. Credit and Collections Analyst Job Summary
- Debt Collection: Collect amounts owed and resolve billing-related issues.
- Accounts Analysis: Analyze delinquent accounts and make recommendations on holding shipments.
- Collaboration: Work closely with internal departments and customers to resolve payment discrepancies.
- Credit Evaluation: Prepare recommendations for credit approval decisions on new accounts.
- Cash Application: Perform cash application of incoming customer payments for multiple entities.
- Accuracy: Ensure timeliness and accuracy of cash posting.
- Audit Support: Provide research and support to internal and external audit requirements.
- Customer Relations: Establish excellent relationships with customers to ensure future payment compliance.
- Inquiry Response: Respond to external and internal AR inquiries.
- Cash Receipt Review: Review incoming cash receipts to ensure appropriate cash application.
- Payment Logging: Log customer payments, including future promises to pay.
5. Credit and Collections Analyst Accountabilities
- SLA Management: Meet defined service level agreements (SLAs) for sending out statements, and responding to inquiries.
- Collections Process Adherence: Follow the company's collections process, including reaching out to customers by email (and phone when applicable) and engaging account managers when necessary to resolve billing issues.
- Financial Review: Be responsible for the customer's financial review analysis.
- Journal Entries & Ledger Management: Prepare journal entries and maintain and reconcile ledger accounts.
- Month-End Accounts Receivable: Perform month-end activities related to accounts receivable.
- Billing Adjustments: Perform billing adjustments within the framework of established policy, including working with accounting to ensure revenue recognition is accurate.
- Audit Participation: Participate in financial audit activities.
- Process Improvement: Identify areas for process improvement that will reduce day sales outstanding and improve customer satisfaction relating to billing.
- Financial Reporting: Prepare global financial reports and presentation decks relating to credit and collections.
- Month-End Reporting Support: Assist team members with month-end reporting and reconciliations within designated time frames.