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PART IV: WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

Link-sets

Check 21 Credit & Collections Electronic Check Conversion

Electronic Commerce Microcredit Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA)

• ABCs of Figuring Interest. Nice online booklet (with links) explaining figuring interest on loans/mortgages courtesy of the Chicago Fed.
  http://www.chicagofed.org/consumer_information/abcs_of_figuring_interest.cfm
• About.com: Logistics/Supply Chain. About.com's Logistics and Supply Chain Management Knowledge Development Center.
  http://logistics.about.com/industry/logistics/library/bllogscmkdc.htm
• Association for Financial Professionals (AFP). Formerly the Treasury Management Association (TMA). Also, see their Standards of Ethical Conduct and learn about the Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) Program. For a northern exposure, try Treasury Management Association of Canada.
  http://afponline.org/
• The Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT). A UK gateway to information on corporate treasury matters. Be sure to check out their magazine, The Treasurer.
  http://www.treasurers.org/
• Banking Strategies Magazine. Selected articles from the current and archived issues. A number of articles deal with cash management and short-term financing issues.
  http://www.bai.org/bankingstrategies/
• Bureau of the Public (U.S.) Debt Online. Everything to do with the public U.S. debt -- including a wealth of information on government securities and regulations. And, be sure to visit T-bills, Notes, and Bonds.
  http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/bpd/bpdhome.htm
• Business Finance Magazine. Also visit Web Resources for some helpful links.
  http://www.businessfinancemag.com/
• Business Week e.biz. Electronic business information.
  http://www.businessweek.com/ebiz/
• CCH Business Owner's Toolkit. Information on financing, taxes, regulations, laws, and marketing. Learn about the Common Types of Bank Loans (working capital lines of credit, collateral, etc.) and the thinking behind Delaying Cash Outflows (when to take a trade discount, using the float, etc.).
  http://www.toolkit.cch.com/
• The Center for Research in Electronic Commerce.
  http://cism.mccombs.utexas.edu/
• CFO.com. Online version of CFO Magazine magazine plus additional resources and links. Also, visit CFO Europe, CFO Asia, and CFO China magazines. Also, see their special feature: How Low Can It Go? The 2006 Working Capital Survey.
  http://www.cfo.com/
• Check 21 (Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act) Web Sites
  1. "Ask Alice About Check 21". CCH Business Owner's Toolkit's online advice columnist, Alice Magos, does a great job in explaining Check 21. Also visit "Ask Alice!" Archive for other excellent business columns. http://www.toolkit.cch.com/advice/04-081askalice.asp
  2. BAI's Check 21 and Image Exchange Resource Center. An array of information about a law known as "Check 21," which lets banks exchange digital images of checks. Links to source documents are available, but the center's focus is on implementation and implications.
     http://www.bai.org/check21/
  3. BankersOnline Check 21 Center. Information and links related to Check 21 (Check Truncation Act).
     http://www.bankersonline.com/check21/
  4. Check 21. Great Check 21 educational material, including audio/slide presentations, courtesy of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.
     http://www.ffiec.gov/exam/check21/
  5. Check 21 Glossary. Courtesy of Wells Fargo Company.
     http://www.wellsfargo.com/com/check21/glossary.jhtml
  6. FDIC Consumer News: Check 21. FDIC report on Check 21.
     http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/cnsum04/
  7. FRB: Consumer Guide to Check 21 and Substitute Checks. This guide explains your rights under Check 21 as they relate to substitute checks.
     http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/check21/consumer_guide.htm
  8. How New Electronic Check Law Affects Consumers. Questions and Answers About the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, "Check 21," courtesy of Consumers Union.
     http://www.consumersunion.org/finance/ckclear1002.htm
  9. "Impact of Check 21 on Corporate Cash Management" White Paper courtesy of Phoenix-Hecht, Inc.
     http://www.phoenixhecht.com/treasuryresources/pdf/Ck21_CorporateImpact.pdf
• CIO.COM. Resources for information executives.
  http://www.cio.com/
• Clearing House Interbank Payments System (CHIPS). Information about the automated clearing system used primarily for international payments.
  http://www.chips.org/
• Context Magazine. Devoted to business strategies for the digital age.
  http://www.contextmag.com/magazine/setMagazineMain.asp
• Credit & Collections Web Sites
  1. @rating. Free company and country risk ratings courtesy of Coface, the leading French company for credit information and receivables management. Information is available in a number of languages.
     http://www.cofacerating.com/rating/
  2. Credit Collections & Risk World. Online resource for credit and collections professionals. Includes a link to Credit Collections & Risk World Magazine -- the magazine for collections and credit policy professionals.
     http://ccr.faulknergray.com/
  3. Credit Guru.com. Articles, links and a discussion forum on credit, collections, financial statement analysis, bankruptcy and other creditor and debtor related topics.
     http://www.creditguru.com/
  4. Credit Today Online. UK online news magazine for the consumer and commercial credit industry.
     http://www.credittoday.co.uk/
  5. Creditworthy. Business credit management information.
     http://www.creditworthy.com
  6. CRF Online. Credit Research Foundation (CRF) Web site emphasizing education and research activities to aid business credit, accounts receivable and customer financial managers.
     http://www.crfonline.org/
  7. Dun & Bradstreet Information Services. Information about this commercial credit reporting agency plus helpful business tips (e.g., How to Make Better Credit Decisions).
     http://www.dnb.com
  8. Experian (TRW) -- Business Credit. The Experian (formerly TRW) credit reporting agency describes a sample business credit report called a "Business Profile."
     http://www.experian.com/business/bcr.html
  9. Extending Credit. Extending credit tutorial courtesy of The Entrepreneur's Help Page.
     http://www.tannedfeet.com/extending_credit.htm
  10. FTC Fast Facts: Scoring for Credit. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) tells you all about "credit scoring" -- a system used by some creditors to determine whether to give you a loan or credit card.
      http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre24.htm
  11. The Institute of Credit Management (ICM). Resources provided by the largest professional credit management organisation in Europe.
      http://www.icm.org.uk/
  12. Manage Business Accounts: Collections and Receivables. Workshop courtesy of American Express.
      http://home3.americanexpress.com/smallbusiness/Tool/collections/manage.asp
  13. myFICO: Credit Scoring Booklets. Two excellent online booklets to help you better understand your credit score, or FICO score.
      http://www.myfico.com/Downloads/Brochures.aspx
  14. National Association of Credit Management.
      http://www.nacm.org/
  15. RMA: Principles for the Exchange of Commercial Credit Information. The Risk Management Association (RMA) provides a framework for the responsible exchange of credit information for commercial transactions.
      http://www.indianarma.org/exchange_of_credit_information.htm
  16. Secret History of the Credit Card. TV program Frontline (working with The New York Times) created this revealing investigation into credit cards. View entire program and read articles. Website also has a credit card quiz, a teacher's guide, and a place to leave feedback.
      http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/
  17. "Trade Credit: Why Do Production Firms Act as Financial Intermediaries?" Article examines the motivations for providing trade credit, which remains the largest source of short-term business credit in the U.S. and other nations around the world. The article is courtesy of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
      http://www.phil.frb.org/files/br/brq303mb.pdf
  18. VideoCreditScore.com. Video-based credit score and credit rating education including the keys to higher credit scores.
      http://www.videocreditscore.com/
  19. "What's the Point of Credit Scoring?" Good article explains the basics of credit scoring, discusses some of the models used, and looks at some of the implications of the wider use of credit scoring.
      http://www.phil.frb.org/files/br/brja97jw.pdf
• The Credit Process: A Guide for Small Business Owners. Complete text of a FRBNY booklet offering guidance to small business owners who are seeking outside financing for the first time.
  http://www.newyorkfed.org/education/addpub/credit.html
• ebusinnessforum.com. Global e-business intelligence for senior executives (and us) from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
  http://www.ebusinessforum.com/
• Economic Order Quantity (EOQ). Nice EOQ tutorial and online EOQ calculator.
  http://www.pafis.shh.fi/~stecon02/afis/ws2/
• Edward Lowe PeerSpectives. (Formerly "Entrepreneurial Edge.") Many business resources (e.g., links, articles, tutorials). Visit the FastTrac Business Builders Library where you will find articles on more than 60 topics of interest to entrepreneurs (and discerning business students too).
  http://peerspectives.org/
• Electronic Check Conversion Web Sites
  1. E-Checks (Electronic Check Conversion). E-check facts for consumers courtesy of the US Federal Trade Commission.
     http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre31.shtm
  2. FRB: Electronic Check Conversion. US Federal Reserve's brochure When Is Your Check Not a Check?.
     http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/checkconv/
• Electronic Commerce Web Sites
  1. E-Commerce Times. A cornucopia of e-commerce news and information.
     http://www.ecommercetimes.com/
  2. Electronic Commerce. The Electronic Commerce section of USC's Digital Commerce Web site.
     http://www.ec2.edu/dccenter/ecommerce/index.html
  3. Electronic Commerce. Fine collection of links arranged in three categories: 1) General Issues of E-Commerce and EDI; 2) Taxation of E-Commerce; and 3) Vendors of E-Commerce Software.
     http://www.willyancey.com/ecom.htm
  4. Electronic Commerce and the European Union. A wealth of e-commerce information sponsored by the Information Society Project Office of the European Commission.
     http://europa.eu.int/ISPO/ecommerce/
  5. The Electronic Commerce Guide. Check out their e-commerce education site.
     http://ecommerce.internet.com/
  6. Electronic Commerce in Canada. Official Web site of the Canadian Task Force on Electronic Commerce. (Français).
     http://e-com.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/inecic-ceac.nsf/en/home
  7. Finfacts Ireland. The Irish Finance and Business Portal.
     http://www.finfacts.ie/
  8. Guide to E-Commerce. Resource from Catherwood Library at Cornell University.
     http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/library/subjectGuides/ecommerce.html
  9. Research Guide: Electronic Commerce. Excellent electronic commerce research resource from the Rutgers University Libraries.
     http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/rr_gateway/research_guides/busi/ecomm.shtml
• Electronic Payments in the U.S. Economy: An Overview. Article courtesy of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
  http://www.kc.frb.org/publicat/econrev/PDF/4q99wein.pdf
• Factoring Articles. A collection of articles on factoring courtesy of The Invoice Bankers Corporation (a factoring company).
  http://www.invoicebankers.com/factoring_articles.html
• fed101. Information on the US Federal Reserve System and economic education. It contains a number of features dealing with working capital topics such as check collection and electronic payments.
  http://www.federalreserveeducation.org/fed101/index.htm
• Federal Reserve Financial Services. Information about the Federal Reserve System's financial services and products offered to U.S. financial institutions (e.g., ACH and Funds Transfer). Check out, for example, their Retail Payments Research Project results.
  http://www.frbservices.org/
• The Federal Reserve System. All about the Federal Reserve System, its publications, its regulations, and links to related sites.
  http://www.federalreserve.gov/
• Fedpoint 28: Estimating Yields on Treasury Securities. How to compute yields on Treasury securities -- discount yield and investment yield methods.
  http://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/fedpoint/fed28.html
• Finance onLine. Trema Group's digital newsletter discusses current issues in the financial markets and in information technology.
  http://www.trema.com/finance_online/
• "Financial-Chain Management". Excellent article from eCFO talks about applying the advances made in supply-chain management to the "financial chain."
  http://www.cfo.com/article/1,5309,5289|||3,00.html
• Firmbuilder.com. Information on outsourcing and outsourcing service providers; designed to be educational and interactive.
  http://www.corbettassociates.com/firmbuilder/home.asp
• FRBNY Fedpoints. This Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) site contains on-line "Fedpoint" publications covering such topics as Automated Clearing Houses (ACHs), Fedwire, and float.
  http://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/fedpoints.html
• FRED® -- Economic and Financial Database. Provides historical U.S. economic and financial data, including daily U.S. interest rates, monetary and business indicators, exchange rates, balance of payments and regional economic data for Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.
  http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred/
• FTA: The Finance and Treasury Association. Association for finance and treasury professionals in Australia, Asia and the Pacific -- providing technical information and ongoing professional development.
  http://www.finance-treasury.com/
• GE Capital's Guide to Asset Based Lending. View the entire contents of this 61-page booklet.
  http://www.gelending.com/Clg/Resources/PDF/guide/asset_guide.pdf
• iMoneyNet. Features money market mutual fund information for individual and institutional investors. Visit their Money Fund Basics section.
  http://www.ibcdata.com/
• Industry Week's The Value Chain. Information on value-chain management (a theory of management that considers every step of manufacturing a product, from raw materials "right down to disposing of the packaging after use"). Includes news, regular columns, FAQs, and a newsletter.
  http://www.iwvaluechain.com/
• Information Security: Radio Frequency Identification Technology in the Federal Government. This US Government report provides good background reading for students, executives, and IT professionals who are interested in studying and/or adopting RFID technologies.
  http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05551.pdf
• The Institutional Money Market Funds Association (IMMFA). Provides information about IMMFA and its members and about triple-A rated money market funds. See especially their About MMFs section.
  http://www.immfa.org/
• Instruments of the Money Market. The full content of this popular book is provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
  http://www.rich.frb.org/publications/economic_research/instruments_of_the_money_market/
• International Treasurer. The Journal of Global Treasury and Financial Risk Management.
  http://www.intltreasurer.com/
• Internet World. Daily Internet news and information plus.
  http://www.internetworld.com/
• Inventory Control Related Sites. A host of useful inventory management links.
  http://www.cris.com/~kthill/sites.htm
• InventoryOps.com. Source for information on inventory management and warehouse operations.
  http://www.inventoryops.com/
• Investopedia.com: Money Market. Tutorial on the money market plus descriptions of the key money market instruments.
  http://www.investopedia.com/university/moneymarket/
• ITtoolbox E-Business. Portal for e-business material -- news, links, job bank, articles, and more.
  http://ebusiness.ittoolbox.com/
• ITtoolbox Supply Chain Management. Portal for supply chain management material -- news, links, job bank, articles, and more.
  http://supplychain.ittoolbox.com/
• The Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce.
  http://www.arraydev.com/commerce/JIBC/
• Kanban: An Integrated JIT System. An introduction to Kanban (literally, visual signal), Kaizen (continuous improvement), JIT and more.
  http://www.msc-inc.net/Documents/Kanban_Integrated_JIT_System.htm
• LAWDOG Center. Source for business law basics covering credit, collection, and bankruptcy.
  http://www.lawdog.com/
• "Lockbox Banking -- Pro & Con". Nice article courtesy of the National Check Fraud Center.
  http://www.ckfraud.org/lockbox.html
• Logistics Management. Web-based extension of "Logistics Management" magazine that includes additional resources and links to other news sources.
  http://www.logisticsmgmt.com/
• Microcredit Web Sites
  1. Gameen -- Banking for the Poor. Learn about microcredit from the bank that shares the Nobel Peace Prize for 2006 with Professor Muhammad Yunus.
     http://www.grameen-info.org/
  2. Kiva.org -- Loans that Change Lives. Kiva lets you loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence.
     http://kiva.org/
  3. Microcredit Summit Campaign. Working to ensure that 100 million of the world's poorest families, especially the women of those families, are receiving credit for self-employment and other financial and business services by the end of 2015.
     http://www.microcreditsummit.org/
• Money Markets: Fundamentals. Excellent tutorial courtesy of The Learning Curve.
  http://www.financial-guide.ch/ica/markets/money_markets/fundamentals/index.html
• Mutual Fund Advisor. Articles on mutual funds, a glossary of mutual fund terms, listed mutual funds by family and information about them, news, historical facts and more.
  http://www.mutual-funds-advisor.com/
• NACHA: Electronic Payments, EBT, EFT, ACH . Learn about NACHA (National Automated Clearing House Association), ACH, "direct deposit/direct payment," Financial EDI, cross-border payments, and more.
  http://www.nacha.org/
• Outsourcing Center. A hub for outsourcing information and articles.
  http://www.outsourcing-center.com/
• The Outsourcing Institute. A neutral outsourcing resource dedicated to providing outsourcing information, research, networking opportunities and customized services and solutions to the outsourcing industry. Membership is required, but it is free.
  http://www.outsourcing.com/
• Partnership Sourcing. A joint British government/private sector site devoted to helping companies understand and implement the process of partnering and supply chain benchmarking.
  http://www.pslcbi.com/
• Payment Cards Center. Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia site established to serve as a source of knowledge and expertise on credit cards, debit cards, smart cards, stored-value cards, and similar payment vehicles.
  http://www.phil.frb.org/pcc/index.html
• Payment Systems Research Center (PSRC). Portal for information on payment systems such as electronic banking, payment cards, e-cash, e-commerce, consumer protection, privacy, security, technology, etc.
  http://www.chicagofed.org/paymentsystems/index.cfm
• Phoenix-Hecht Internet Guide. Comprehensive guide to treasury-specific Web resources. And, check out their two-page list of Books for Treasury Managers.
  http://www.phoenixhecht.com/treasuryresources/Internet_Guide/Index_Sites.html
• Process Mapping and Flow Charting. Nice collection of articles on flow charting processes courtesy of i Six Sigma.
  http://www.isixsigma.com/tt/process_mapping/
• Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Home Page. Home for information on RFID technologies -- high-tech ways of physically tracking inventory items.
  http://www.aimglobal.org/technologies/rfid/
• Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA)
  1. ECB: Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). Overview of SEPA courtesy of the European Central Bank.
     http://www.ecb.int/paym/pol/sepa/html/
  2. European Payments Council (EPC). Website of organization dedicated to supporting and promoting SEPA.
     http://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/
  3. SEPAWorld. SEPA information and opinion, including a a library of knowledge, documentation, and news.
     http://www.sepaworld.com
• studyfinance.com. Visit this site's Overview (Tutorial) related to Working Capital Management.
  http://www.studyfinance.com/
• Supply & Demand Chain Executive. Sourcing, procurement, operations, and demand management features, online magazine, and more.
  http://www.sdcexec.com/
• Supply Chain & Logistics Canada. Non-profit organization of business professionals interested in improving their logistics and supply chain management skills through a comprehensive program of education, research and networking opportunities.
  http://www.sclcanada.org/
• Supply Chain Management Review. Online version of magazine plus supply chain news features.
  http://www.scmr.com/
• Supply Chain Today. Supply chain and B2B portal for news, advice, research, solutions, and discussion.
  http://www.supplychaintoday.com/
• SWIFT. News and information channel for the SWIFT community. SWIFT is the financial industry-owned co-operative supplying secure, standarized messaging services and interface software to thousands of financial institutions in more than 200 countries. You can also download current and past issues of their Dialogue magazine.
  http://www.swift.com/
• TheManageMentor - Finance - Baumol's Model. A tutorial on Baumol's cash management model courtesy of TheManageMentor.
  http://210.210.18.114/EnlightenmentorAreas/finance/CFA/baumols_model.htm
• TheManageMentor - Finance - The Miller-Orr Model. A tutorial on the Miller-Orr cash management model courtesy of TheManageMentor.
  http://210.210.18.114/EnlightenmentorAreas/finance/CFA/miller.htm
• TheManageMentor - Manufacturing - The Kanban System. Nice explanation of the Kanban inventory system courtesy of TheManageMentor.
  http://210.210.18.114/EnlightenmentorAreas/mfg/SupplyChain/kanban.htm
• TMMK: The Toyota Production System. Learn about TPS courtesy of Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc., and check out TPS Terminolgy.
  http://www.toyotageorgetown.com/tps.asp
• Treasury & Risk Magazine.
  http://www.treasuryandrisk.com/
• Treasury Institute for Higher Education. Designed to be the first "port of call" for senior treasury officers of educational institutions seeking to learn, share, and benchmark the best practices in treasury management.
  http://www.treasuryinstitute.org/
• Treasury Management Association (TMA). Now known as the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP).
  http://afponline.org/
• Treasury Management International. Links to TMI Magazine, a Research Library, and more.
  http://www.treasury-management.com/
• TreasuryDirect. Purchase U.S. Treasury securities directly via the Internet. Also provides basics on Treasury securities and a nice frequently asked questions (FAQs) area.
  http://www.treasurydirect.gov/
• Uniform Commercial Code (UCC).
  http://www.law.cornell.edu/ucc/ucc.table.html
• Unisys: Financial Services, Insights, White Papers. Articles, white papers and reports about the issues facing the finacial services industry courtesy of Unisys Corporation.
  http://www.unisys.com/financial/insights/index.htm
• Web Economy B***S*** Generator. Pssst! Want to sound like a Dot.com guru and learn to say stuff like "monetize scalable supply chains"? This is the place for you!
  http://www.dack.com/web/bullshit.html
• "What is asset-based lending?" Nice discussion of asset-based lending courtesy of the Commercial Finance Association.
  http://www.cfa.com/What_is_ABL/what_is_abl.asp
• "What's the Point of Credit Scoring?" Good article explains the basics of credit scoring, discusses some of the models used, and looks at some of the implications of the wider use of credit scoring.
  http://www.phil.frb.org/files/br/brja97jw.pdf
• "Why Has the Nonfinancial Commercial Paper Market Shrunk Recently?" This article does a nice job of examining a dramatic decline in commercial paper issuance. And, be sure to read the short Appendix 1: An Overview of the U.S. Commercial Paper Market.
  http://www.kc.frb.org/PUBLICAT/ECONREV/Pdf/1q03shen.pdf

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