Major responsibilities of a credit controller or debt collection agent include recovering unpaid money from different businesses or people. This professional usually works at a third party collection agency or debt buying organization and is responsible for gathering debts from businesses (commercial collection) or people (consumer collection). Besides, a credit controller can be employed in a company's finance or credit department, where the latter is responsible for chasing late payments from suppliers and customers.
Required Qualifications and Experience
A credit controller is required a good standard of general education and high level of mathematics. Computer skills and experience of office and customer service work is highly desirable as well. Sometimes employers ask for some GCSEs (A-C) including mathematics, and some qualifications in book-keeping or accounts. Looking for a job, consider what qualifications and experience is required.
Further Training and Development
Necessary training usually includes credit law, telephone techniques, court orders and insolvency procedures as well as taking qualifications from the Credit Services Association (CSA) or the Institute of Credit Management (ICM). If you’d like to become a credit manager, CSA or ICM qualifications may be of great help. Study for CSA or ICM courses part-time or via distance learning.
Qualifications necessary for a credit controller are:
CSA/City & Guilds Diploma for the Debt Collecting Industry
ICM Level 3 Diploma in Credit Management (introductory course)
ICM Level 5 Diploma in Credit Management (somewhat advanced course including legal proceedings and insolvency)
ICM Foundation Degree in Credit Management.
Throughout the career one should constantly renew and improve the skills and knowledge of credit law. The ICM and CSA will be of great help for your professional development.
Credit Controllers should control and protect the debts owed by customers to their businesses. They’re employed by organizations selling goods or services, as well as hire purchase companies, building societies, banks, and credit card companies. Two types of credit controllers are known which are:
Commercial credit controllers (work with corporate customers)
Consumer credit controllers (work with private individuals).
Bigger organizations employ credit control team leaders who manage a team of credit controllers who do daily administrative work, leaving the decision making and tasks requiring specialized knowledge to the credit controllers. In smaller companies, the credit manager does the whole work personally.
Major areas of work include:
Risk assessment - presupposes analyzing the financial information gathered on the customers creditworthiness, and making decisions concerning offering credit to the customer.
Debt collection – means attending the customer and giving advice concerning repayment of the debt, or taking legal action if the latter proves difficult.
Insolvency work may require participation of credit managers in meeting with other creditors, recovering goods, or arranging for a liquidator to wind up a company and sell off its assets.
Employers require minimum four GCSEs. To become a credit manager one should work as a credit controller at first. One may become a credit manager due to experience in banking. Professional qualifications of the Institute of Credit Management(ICM) are desirable.
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