Credit Management Course

Lesson 1 • What Credit Management Means

Defines credit management and its strategic importance to organizational cash flow. Establishes the vocabulary and conceptual framework used throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • Regulatory and Ethical Framework

Outlines the compliance obligations and ethical standards governing credit practices globally. Grounds students in responsible lending principles before technical skill-building begins.

Lesson 3 • The Credit Lifecycle

Maps the end-to-end process from credit application to final settlement or write-off. Connects each stage to departmental responsibilities and decision points.

Lesson 4 • Credit Risk Fundamentals

Introduces default risk, concentration risk, and counterparty risk as core exposure categories. Provides the risk vocabulary needed for all subsequent analytical chapters.

Lesson 1 • Communicating Policy Internally

Addresses how to train staff and embed policy compliance into daily workflows. Reduces policy breaches through clear communication and accessible documentation.

Lesson 2 • Policy Review and Maintenance

Defines triggers and schedules for policy updates in response to market or portfolio changes. Ensures the policy remains current and enforceable over time.

Lesson 3 • Purpose and Scope of Credit Policy

Explains why a written credit policy reduces inconsistency and legal exposure. Defines the boundaries of policy coverage across customer segments and product lines.

Lesson 4 • Approval Authority and Delegation

Establishes delegation-of-authority matrices for credit decisions at different exposure levels. Prevents unauthorized commitments and ensures accountability across the organization.

Lesson 1 • The Five Cs of Credit

Applies the character, capacity, capital, collateral, and conditions framework to structured assessments. Provides a consistent evaluation lens applicable to any customer type.

Lesson 2 • Making and Documenting the Decision

Guides students through structuring a credit recommendation with supporting rationale. Proper documentation protects the organization and enables future portfolio review.

Lesson 3 • Gathering Credit Information

Identifies internal and external data sources used to build a customer credit profile. Establishes information-gathering as the first step in objective credit decisions.

Lesson 4 • Credit Scoring Models

Explains how statistical scoring models quantify risk and support consistent decision-making. Students learn to interpret scores and understand model limitations.

Lesson 1 • Collateral and Security Interests

Explains how physical and financial assets are pledged as security and how security interests are perfected. Connects collateral quality to credit limit and pricing decisions.

Lesson 2 • Personal and Corporate Guarantees

Covers the structure, enforceability, and limitations of personal and corporate guarantee arrangements. Teaches when guarantees add meaningful protection versus when they are insufficient.

Lesson 3 • Letters of Credit and Bank Guarantees

Explains documentary letters of credit and bank guarantees as payment assurance instruments in trade. Distinguishes standby from commercial letters of credit and their use cases.

Lesson 4 • Trade Credit Insurance

Introduces trade credit insurance as a tool for protecting receivables against buyer default and political risk. Covers policy structure, coverage limits, and claims processes.

Lesson 1 • Receivables Performance Metrics

Defines DSO, best possible DSO, collection effectiveness index, and bad debt ratio. Connects metric trends to process improvement and management reporting.

Lesson 2 • Dispute and Deduction Management

Provides a structured process for logging, investigating, and resolving customer disputes and deductions. Reduces revenue leakage and maintains customer relationships during conflict.

Lesson 3 • Cash Application and Reconciliation

Explains how incoming payments are matched to open invoices and reconciled in the ledger. Accurate cash application reduces false delinquency and improves reporting integrity.

Lesson 4 • Invoicing and Billing Best Practices

Covers accurate invoice creation, delivery timing, and documentation standards that prevent payment delays. Establishes billing quality as the first line of collections defense.

Lesson 1 • Third-Party Collections and Write-Off

Covers the decision to place accounts with external agencies and the write-off authorization process. Ensures proper documentation and accounting treatment for uncollectible balances.

Lesson 2 • Negotiation and Payment Arrangements

Teaches structured negotiation techniques for securing payment plans and partial settlements. Equips collectors to reach agreements that maximize recovery without litigation.

Lesson 3 • Late-Stage Collections and Escalation

Addresses accounts 60 days or more past due, including escalation to senior collectors and legal referral. Balances recovery urgency with legal compliance and relationship risk.

Lesson 4 • Early-Stage Collections Techniques

Covers proactive outreach, reminder communications, and relationship-preserving tactics for accounts 1–30 days past due. Prevents early delinquency from progressing to serious default.

Lesson 1 • Portfolio Risk Concentration

Analyzes how concentration in industry, geography, or single obligors amplifies portfolio risk. Introduces diversification strategies to manage concentration exposure.

Lesson 2 • Probability of Default Concepts

Defines probability of default and explains how it is estimated from historical data. Connects default likelihood to pricing, provisioning, and limit decisions.

Lesson 3 • Stress Testing Credit Portfolios

Applies scenario analysis and stress tests to estimate portfolio losses under adverse conditions. Prepares students to support management reporting and capital planning.

Lesson 4 • Loss Given Default and Exposure

Covers loss given default and exposure at default as components of expected loss. Demonstrates how collateral and recovery rates reduce net credit loss.

Lesson 1 • Building a High-Performance Credit Team

Covers hiring, training, and retaining credit professionals with the right technical and behavioral competencies. Develops leadership capability to scale the credit function as the business grows.

Lesson 2 • Working Capital Optimization

Analyzes how credit terms, collections velocity, and payment behavior affect the cash conversion cycle. Teaches levers credit managers control to improve working capital efficiency.

Lesson 3 • Aligning Credit Strategy with Business Goals

Connects credit policy and risk appetite to revenue growth, market expansion, and profitability targets. Positions credit managers as strategic partners rather than gatekeepers.

Lesson 4 • Cross-Functional Collaboration

Addresses how credit managers work with sales, finance, legal, and operations to resolve conflicts and align objectives. Builds influence skills needed to drive credit decisions across the organization.