Why do we always find credit control in the finance function? Because of functional thinking.

In every organisation we have ever worked in, we find the vast majority of ‘credit -control problems’ start life as simple problems (e.g. queries, misunderstandings, errors) but end up as ‘credit-control problems’ because of the way they are handled.

Credit control is a service function. Treating it that way leads to fewer problems and better cash flow.

The place to start is to get knowledge about the type and frequency of problems – as defined from the customers’ point of view – in credit control. It will help you understand where to study other parts of the service system (don’t use this knowledge to allocate blame!).