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Reasons to Request Financial Statements
Trade creditors should ask applicants (potential customers) for two years of financial statements, including their year-end Balance Sheets and Income Statements. Generally, a customer willing to share its financial statements will be viewed more favorably by the credit department than customers that will not share this important information. (Of course, this does not hold true if the financial information provided indicates that the applicant is in serious financial trouble).
If a prospective customer is approved, the initial financial statements can serve as a benchmark for future comparative analysis. Comparative analysis makes it easy for credit professionals to spot trends and changes over time.
The dollar amount of the expected credit exposure and the importance of your product or service to the customer are factors that will influence your ability to convince customers or applicants to share their financial data. For example, if the customer is requesting a small line of credit, and you sell a generic product, chances are fairly good that a privately held customer is not going to send its financial statements. On the other hand, if you sell a proprietary product, or the applicant has requested a large credit limit, chances are good that you will receive the requested financial statements. Why? Because you have the leverage necessary to demand this information from the applicant and they know it.
A final comment: Some creditors provide a lengthy explanation of their need for financial data from a customer or applicant. Other creditors simply assume the debtor or applicant does not need a detailed explanation about a request for financial data sent by a creditor.
© 2011 by Michael C. Dennis. All Rights Reserved. Michael is the author of "1001 Collection Tools and Tips."