Solution to cutting back on company share losses
Sir Anthony O’Reilly’s Independent News & Media today revealed a range of cost cutting measures to reduce the company’s debt pile, including axing the dividend and putting a number of assets under review.
In an unscheduled trading statement today, the group said it had given up on finding a permanent buyer to take over affairs for its stake in Australian and New Zealand media business APN. The update did not completely specify exactly what the Dublin based company has in mind for The Independent Newspaper whose fate is the subject of intense speculation ahead of their move to share numerous offices with Associated Newspapers and following last week’s sale of the Infamous London Evening Standard to Russian Oligarch Alexander Lebedev.
However, INMs promise to focus on asset tracking for any losses that the business have made suggest that it would be open to any offers.O’Reilly is understood to be un-willing to sell the newspaper firm as it has always been a part of his cherished empire but considering recent economic events it will be hard to hold onto the company. Fixed asset tracking would of helped with matters but now it is simply too far gone.
However given the state of emergency at the company – which has seen its share price slump 95% in the last two years – his hand may now be forced if a high bidder is forthcoming. Attention will inevitably be focused on Lebedev, who picked up loss-making Standard for just £1 last week, but who has so far brushed off rumours that he is also interested in taking over the British Newspaper, The Independent. It is a shame to see one of the most popular newspapers fall in such a frustrating financial time but I suppose it is un-avoidable. I have always admired the Independent as they are almost completely un-biased in their writing and give a fair judgement on everything. If the newspaper does go down the trash can it will be a horrible end to such a great history for the company.
Helping You Employ Collection Agency Services
As a business owner you know how important it is to keep on top of the accounts receivable. Of course, you also know that it is not the easiest task and it is very time consuming as well. That is why hiring one of the debt collection agency services that are available will save you a great deal of time and effort. You need to focus your attention on the more core tasks of running a business rather than on bad debt collection. Hiring an agency to do this will also help to add more revenue to the company from accounts that may have otherwise been written off.
If you decide to check out hiring one of these companies, then be sure you check them out thoroughly. Are the companies able to perform collections in your particular business? Whether it is commercial debt collection or bad check collection, it makes a difference. You want to make sure that all of the collectors working in the company are trained to deal with your customers. They are going to be representing you and tempers tend to run high in collections; one bad conversation can have lasting repercussions.
Be sure to ask for references, as a good agency should have no trouble providing them to you. Since there are many different approaches to collections that different companies employ, make sure you approve of the methods the company you have hired will use. Collections laws vary from state to state and out of the country so be sure that the collection agency services company that you hire is up to date on all current laws and regulations.
Normally, when you have accounts that are behind on payments and in collections, you are going to have some that have “skipped,” meaning they have moved and left no forwarding information. These skips cost businesses a lot of time and money, so most debt collection services also offer some type of skip-tracing service. The costs involved vary greatly from company to company and will also depend on how much time it takes to look for a debtor.
The major tool for any collection agency is the series of letters they send to the debtor. Requesting a copy of those letters allows you to compare several different agencies to see how they measure up. Since the telephone is their second major line of communication, most of them have different scripts they use when speaking with a debtor. Asking each collection agency services company for copies of their phone scripts will allow you to further compare them against each other so that you can make an informed decision.