2021 July-August Interconnection Newsletter

The InterConnection VOLUME 9

n

ISSUE 4

n

JULY/AUGUST 2021

NACM Connect's NEW Online Community Lillian Novak, CGA Chief Communications Officer

W

e’ve been teasing the membership about our new online community, InterConnections, since early spring.

Now, it’s just about a reality.

In early August all active members of NACM Connect will receive an invitation to join our community.

Once you join, you will be able to communicate in real time with other members of the Association and share best practices, ask for recommendations on services, get basic legal questions answered, etc. Think of the community as a faster, more efficient way of getting information from other members than our current survey process.

The only thing you won’t be able to do is talk about your customers – antitrust always comes first!

Currently there are three groups in testing for InterConnections: NACM Connect Home, Legal Issues in Credit and Department of One. By accepting the invitation to NACM Connect Home and filling out the registration form you

will be able to ask to join the other two groups. NACM Connect Home is, just as the title implies, our home base within the community. And the number of sub-groups on various topics will continue to grow. For example, we can add groups for construction industry credit, deductions, credit software… whatever topic for which there is a demand.

Of course, this new benefit is completely free to members in good standing of NACM Connect. You can

ask to have your staff members invited or any member of the financial teams in your company.

The platform for our community will be showcased in sessions at the upcoming NACM Connect conferences. We hope to see you at one of them and we look forward to having you join our new communications and networking community! ■

NACM Connect Staff Promotions Lillian Novak, CGA Chief Communications Officer

P

resident Phil Lattanzio, CCE and COO, announced on Friday, June 11th the following promotions:

Kerry Jensen, CPA, Chief Financial Officer Lillian Novak, CGA, Chief Communications Officer Paula Slyder, CGA, Vice President Client Relations and Support

THE INTERCONNECTION

Additionally, Dawn Federico has been promoted to Director of the Commercial Law League of America, an Association managed by our Association Management Company sub, Tollview Management Group.

Please join us in congratulating all! ■

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 1

2021-2022

Board of Directors CHAIRPERSON Mike Hill, CCE MiTek USA, Inc. VICE CHAIRPERSON Kevin Stinner, CCE, CCRA Pinnacle Agriculture Distribution TREASURER Brendon Misik, CCE, CICP Nutrien DIRECTORS—TERMS ENDING 2022 Joe Lange, CCE, CCRA Brenntag Great Lakes, LLC John-John McEvilly, CBA, CICP Encore Presentation Services Adam D. Ross, CCE Feralloy Corporation George Valletti, CFO/COO Ginsey Home Solutions DIRECTORS—TERMS ENDING 2023 Curtis Litchfield, CCE Land O' Lakes/Purina Mills Luz Moreno, CCE, CICP Klein Tools Jeff Weber Uline Yazmin Yepez, CBF, CCRA, CICP Mitsubishi Electric Automation Inc. DIRECTORS—TERMS ENDING 2024 Edward Patrick, MBA American Refining Group Deb Rollman, CICP Burnham Holdings, Inc. Dale Semple The Equity Jared Silver M. Holland Company Regina Stricklin, CBF Robert Bosch Tool Corporation PRESIDENT Phillip J. Lattanzio, CCE, COO NACM/Chicago-Midwest SECRETARY Kerry Jensen, CPA Chief Financial Officer COUNCILOR Patrick Nelson, MBA ACCO Brands, Inc. EDITORIAL STAFF EDITOR Linda Herbst Senior Marketing Administrator ASSOCIATE EDITORS Lillian Novak, CGA Chief Communications Officer Margaret Krafft Senior Marketing and Education Specialist THE INTERCONNECTION

In This Issue NACM Connect's NEW Online Community

1

NACM Connect Indiana/Michigan/Ohio Local Industry Group Meetings

17

NACM Connect Staff Promotions

1

NACM Connect Nebraska Local Industry Group Meetings

17

2021 Institute of Credit Class Schedules

3 4

NACM Connect National Industry Credit Group Meeting

18

Back to the Future NACM Connect Credit Conference Save-The-Date

5

NACM Connect New York Local Industry Credit Group Meeting

18

FREE WEBINAR: The Journey to Smarter Accounts Receivable Management with AI

Events

19

Back to the Future GATEWAY Credit Conference: Registration Open!

6

Why Should You Join CFDD?

19

Credit Reporting Solutions

20

Back to the Future CHICAGO Credit Conference: Registration Open!

8

Welcome New Members and Reps

22

Common Themes in SEC Enforcement of Financial Statement Fraud

24

Institute of Credit Courses

26

Credit 101, 102 & 103

27

Caine & Weiner 2021 Quarterly Giveaways: July, August, September

28

Why You Should Use a CLLA Certified Agency

29

NACM Southwest 2021 Quarterly Giveaways: July, August, September

30

Merritt Search

31

FREE WEBINAR: Using UCC Filings and Mechanic's Liens to Make Your Company a Payment Priority

10

NACM Connect Membership Awards

11

NACM Connect Welcomes 2 to the Marketing Staff

11

Illinois Construction Stuff and Stuff

12

Have We Gotta Group For You!

14

NACM Connect Illinois/Wisconsin Industry Credit Group Meetings

16

NACM Connect Missouri /Kansas Local Industry Group Meeting

16

NACM Connect Pennsylvania Local Industry Group Meetings

16

NACM Connect Mission Statement To provide a forum to its members within the credit profession for education, networking and business resources.

Vision Statement Striving to have the most comprehensive and leading NACM affiliate serving the commercial credit profession by consistently exceeding the members’ expectations.

Value Statement We are committed to the highest ethical standards and recognize that our Association must take a leadership role in our profession.

Through our integrity and dedication we will earn the respect of our members as we know that our success as an Association depends on their trust in us. By creating strong relationships we will attain the loyalty of our members and alliance partners. We continuously seek to build an environment for learning to enhance the knowledge and expertise of our members.

The InterConnection newsletter is published bimonthly by NACM Connect, a not-for-profit Association affiliated with the National Association of Credit Management. For membership information, visit our website at www.nacmconnect.org, call 800.935.NACM or fax us at 847.253.6685. NACM Connect Headquarters is located at 3005 Tollview Drive, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008.

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 2

Institute of Credit (IOC)

S

Education Digest

tart the process of earning your professional designation. If you would like more information, please contact the NACM Connect Education Department at 800.935.6226 or email Margaret Krafft at margaret.krafft@nacmconnect.org.

SUMMER/FALL 2021 Tuition Must be Paid Before the First Class Begins.

Review Classes Rolling Meadows

CBF Available via Live Videoconference

Tuesday, October 5

VIA ZOOM Rolling Meadows, IL

CCE Available via Live Videoconference

Thursday, October 7

VIA ZOOM Rolling Meadows, IL

CBA Available via Live Videoconference

Tuesday, October 12

VIA ZOOM Rolling Meadows, IL

Credit 101, 102 & 103 Rolling Meadows

Credit 103 Available via Live Videoconference

Wednesday, July 14

VIA ZOOM Rolling Meadows, IL

Credit 101 Available via Live Videoconference

Wednesday, September 8

VIA ZOOM Rolling Meadows, IL

Credit 102 Available via Live Videoconference

Wednesday, October 6

VIA ZOOM Rolling Meadows, IL

All Credit 101, 102 & 103 classes are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Institute of Credit Courses Rolling Meadows

Business Credit Principles (CBA) Available via Live Videoconference

Mondays, August 23

VIA ZOOM Rolling Meadows, IL

Credit Law (CBF) Available via Live Videoconference

Wednesdays, August 25

VIA ZOOM Rolling Meadows, IL

Thursdays, August 26

VIA ZOOM Rolling Meadows, IL

Financial Statement Analysis l (CBA) Available via Live Videoconference

No Class on September 6 (Labor Day) and September 22.

Learning as a Lifelong Process…

It is the mission of NACM Connect to provide quality education and comprehensive career training in a supportive environment and to build a foundation of excellence.

We endeavor to produce competent individuals who can serve the credit/ finance community in an active, productive and meaningful role.

We understand the importance of ethics, values, governmental and legislative issues and learning as a lifelong process. We are dedicated to providing an educational environment that develops the best attributes of the credit professional.

New classes start in August!

S

Online registration only through www.NACMConnect.org. Registrations will not be accepted past the registration deadline. Classes are subject to cancellation based on enrollment. Questions?

Contact Margaret Krafft at 847.483.6420 or send an email to margaret.krafft@nacmconnect.org.

E THE DAT V E A

DESIGNATION EXAM DATES & DEADLINES Exam Dates Monday, July 26, 2021 Sunday, October 10, 2021 Credit Congress, Kansas City, MO Monday, November 8, 2021

Application and Paperwork Deadlines Friday, May 28, 2021 Friday, August 6, 2021 Friday, September 10, 2021

THE INTERCONNECTION

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 3

SAVE THE DATE! GATEWAY

September 15-16

CHICAGO

October 20-21

OHIO

November 10-11

PROFESSIONAL EDUCATIONAL

The Journey to Smarter Accounts Receivable Management with AI

WEBINARS

FREE WEBINAR

Tuesday, July 13

2–3 p.m. Central Time (12–1 p.m. PT; 3–4 p.m. ET) ABOUT THE WEBINAR Accounts Receivable Automation is a top priority in many companies. Artificial intelligence, automation and analytics, the trifecta deliver exponential advantage. Find out how you can plan for a successful deployment of a unified end-to-end AI-driven accounts receivable platform. Learn from the journey of a leading global medical supplies manufacturer how to prioritize and plan for large scale digital transformation of end-to-end AR including credit, collections, deductions and cash application.

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS VEENA GUNDAVELLI Emagia

Veena Gundavelli is the Founder & CEO of Emagia and also an award-winning serial technology entrepreneur with extensive experience in the fields of artificial intelligence, data analytics, automation for enterprise financial services.

She is highly recognized for her visionary ideas and paradigm-shifting innovations. Under her leadership, Emagia emerged as the leader in order-to-cash automation solutions with its award-winning Gia, AI-powered enterprise digital finance workforce for enterprises and the awardwinning Emagia AI-powered order-to-cash platform which processes several billions of dollars in receivables and payments for many global companies. She is an avid speaker on AI and digital transformation. She is also a recognized philanthropist serving on the Board of Touch-A-Life Foundation, a digital kindness exchange and is involved with other nonprofits helping entrepreneurs, women, youth and the underprivileged.

DEXTER PEAVY Emagia

Dexter Peavy is the Director of Order-to-Cash Transformation for Emagia. With over 25 years of hands on and consulting experience, across multiple industries, Dexter not only ensures the successful delivery of the Emagia solution set, but offers Emagia’s clients best practice process design and the relevant metrics to drive collections, minimize risk, improve cash flow and provide senior management with quality information to support the decision making process. Dexter’s areas of expertise include: Business transformation, Credit and collections, Order entry and Customer service, Invoice presentment, Dispute management, and Cash application Dexter works with his clients to introduce and utilize automation technologies to reduce re-work and non-value activities – this can range from RPA for cash application or Machine Learning to read a customer remit-to email, automated prioritizations for collections and digital assistants for collecting small balance accounts. All of these tools allow the client to focus more of their time on Key account issues. “What’s nice about working for Emagia is that we produce tangible benefits for our customers”. In his spare time Dexter enjoys woodworking and fly fishing.

THE INTERCONNECTION

Participation points are available for this webinar

WEBINAR REGISTRATION All registrations for NACM Connect educational events are taken online at nacmconnect.org.

Questions?

Contact Lillian Novak at lillian.novak@nacmconnect.org or call 847.483.6478

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 5

GATEWAY September 15-16

REGIST O

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN THE INTERCONNECTION

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 6

wednesday, september 15

7:30 — 8 A.M. VENEZIA | REGISTRATION AND BREAKFAST

8 — 8:15 A.M. | WELCOME REMARKS — NACM Connect President, Phil Lattanzio, CCE

8:15 — 9:15 A.M. | YOU’RE MISSING A GREAT GAME: LIFE LESSONS ON AND OFF THE COURT Opening Keynote Speaker: Randy Fox 9:15 – 9:45 A.M. VENEZIA

| BREAK

9:45 — 11:00 A.M. MILANO FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS Curtis Litchfield, CCE, Senior Credit Manager, Land O’Lakes

9:45 — 11:00 A.M. TRAVIA SKIRTING THE POST OFFICE - CONVERTING YOUR CUSTOMERS TO ELECTRONIC Joe Batie, Chief Commercial Officer, Caine & Weiner; Michael Williams, Vice President Strategic Partnerships, United*Tranzactions

11:00 – 11:30 A.M. VENEZIA | BREAK 11:30 A.M. — 12:30 P.M. MILANO ETIQUETTE FOR ONLINE TOOLS Staci Cima, CCE, Corporate Credit Manager, Huttig Building Products

11:30 A.M. — 12:30 P.M. TRAVIA THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF YOUR CREDIT CAREER Panelists: Elaine Fry, CCE; Mike Hill, CCE, Director of Credit, Mitek USA, Inc.; Lillian Novak, CGA, Vice President of Education NACM Connect

TRATION IS OPEN! 12:30 – 1:130 P.M. VENEZIA | ALL CONFERENCE LUNCHEON

1:30 — 2:45 P.M. MILANO 1:30 — 2:45 P.M. TRAVIA MANAGING THE REMOTE CREDIT DEPARTMENT COMING OUT OF COVID - A Roundtable Discussion Dominic Biegel, Senior Manager, Sales Process Lead Brent Heizelman, Credit Manager; Mid Kansas Cooperative Association; Ken O’Rear, Assistant Vice President-Client Services, Caine & Weiner; Troy Wangen, Managing Director, True Partners Consulting 2:45 – 3:15 P.M. VENEZIA | BREAK

3:15 — 4:30 P.M. MILANO LITIGATION 101 Thomas Fawkes and Brian Jackiw, Tucker Ellis LLP

3:15 — 4:30 P.M. TRAVIA RETHINKING RECEIVABLES: AI-DRIVEN CASH MANAGEMENT Christopher Rios, Vice President, Dun & Bradstreet

4:30 — 5:30 P.M. VENEZIA | RECEPTION AND NETWORKING EVENT — Hosted by the Exhibitors

thursday, september 16 8— 8:30 A.M. REGISTRATION AND BREAKFAST 8:30 — 9:45 A.M. MILANO general session | NACM CONNECT UPDATES – INSIGHT2 REPORTS, INDUSTRY ANALYSIS REPORT AND INTERCONNECTION ONLINE COMMUNITY NACM Connect Staff: Phil Lattanzio, CCE; Lillian Novak, CGA; Rochelle Wilson, CGA; Rich Steinkoenig, CGA 9:45 – 10:15 A.M. VENEZIA | BREAK 10:15 — 11:30 A.M. MILANO CREDIT APPLICATION REVIEW Thomas Fawkes and Brian Jackiw, Tucker Ellis LLP

10:15 — 11:30 A.M. TRAVIA ANATOMY OF A CREDIT DECISION Curtis Litchfield, CCE, Senior Credit Manager, Land O’Lakes, Inc.

11:30 – 1 P.M. VENEZIA | ALL CONFERENCE LUNCHEON 1 — 2 P.M. MILANO USING SECURITY TO EXPAND YOUR CREDIT BOUNDARIES Jerry Bailey, Executive Sales and Education Services Manager, NCS

1 — 2 P.M. TRAVIA THE NEW MULTIGENERATIONAL WORKFORCE – A Roundtable Discussion Facilitators: Dale Semple, Director of Credit, The Equity; Tiffany Sudduth, American Metals Supply; Derrick Swaney, MiTek USA, Inc.

2 – 2:15 P.M. VENEZIA | Break 2:15 — 3:30 P.M. | HONORING OUR REAL HEROES 3:30 — 4:30 P.M. | NETWORKING HOUR (ROOM A) — Open Bar & Silent Auction Wrap-up

CHICAGO

October 20-21

attendee guide

wednesday, october 20

7:30 — 8:15 A.M. | REGISTRATION AND BREAKFAST

8:15 — 8:30 A.M. | WELCOME REMARKS — NACM Connect President, Phil Lattanzio, CCE

8:30— 9:30 A.M. | GET COUNTER-CULTURAL: CREATE A CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE AMIDST A CANCEL CULTURE Opening Keynote Speaker: Randy Fox

| BREAK 9:45 — 11:00 A.M. | room b SKIRTING THE POST OFFICE: CONVERTING YOUR CUSTOMERS TO ELECTRONIC PAYERS 9:30– 9:45 A.M.

Joe Batie, Chief Commercial Officer, Caine & Weiner; Frank Dispensa, Vice President, Client Operations, Caine & Weiner; Dean Middleton, President, United*Tranzactions; Michael Williams, Vice President Strategic Partnerships, United*Tranzactions

11:00 – 11:30 A.M. | BREAK 11:30 A.M. — 12:30 P.M. | room b NATIONAL TRADE CREDIT REPORT UPDATES AND ENHANCEMENTS Gina Calabrese-Sylvester, EVP, NACM Tampa; Phil Lattanzio, CCE, President, NACM Connect; Molly Zeser, Group Services Coordinator, NACM Tampa

9:45 — 11:00 A.M. | room c USING SECURITY TO EXPAND YOUR CREDIT BOUNDARIES

9:45 — 11:00 A.M. | room d FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS – PART 1

11:30 A.M. — 12:30 P.M. | room c NACM CONNECT’S ONLINE COMMUNITY - INTERCONNECTIONS

11:30 A.M. — 12:30 P.M. | room d THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS – PART 2

Jerry Bailey, Executive Sales and Education Services Manager, NCS

Panelists: Leslie Harrison, CGA, SPHR, VP of Membership & Human Resources, NACM Connect; Lillian Novak, CGA, Chief Communications Officer, NACM Connect

12:30 – 1:30 P.M. | ALL CONFERENCE LUNCHEON 1:30 — 2:45 P.M. | room b 1:30 — 2:45 P.M. | room c US CHINA TRADE WAR MANAGING THE REMOTE CREDIT Bill Niu, President, NaviAsia Advisors DEPARTMENT

Curtis Litchfield, CCE

Curtis Litchfield, CCE

1:30 — 2:45 P.M. | room d CASH FLOW ANALYSIS John Jaeger, CCE

Dominic Biegel, Senior Manager, Sales Process Lead, Bectran

2:45 – 3:15 P.M. | BREAK 3:15 — 4:30 P.M. | room b LITIGATION 101

Thomas Fawkes and Brian Jackiw, Tucker Ellis LLP

3:15 — 4:30 P.M. | room c BUILDING AND MOTIVATING HIGH PERFORMING TEAMS

3:15 — 4:30 P.M. | room d CASE STUDY John Jaeger, CCE

Nicole Caley, MBA, APM, ARM, APSC, President & Founder, Payables Solutions Partners, LLC

4:30 — 5:30 P.M. | RECEPTION AND NETWORKING EVENT — Hosted by the Exhibitors

thursday, october21 8— 8:30 A.M. REGISTRATION AND BREAKFAST 8:30— 9:45 A.M. | room b PREPARING FOR PREFERENCES Randall Woolley, Askounis & Darcy, PC

9:45 – 10:15 A.M. | BREAK 10:15 A.M. — 11:30 P.M. | room b RETHINKING RECEIVABLES: AI-DRIVEN CASH MANAGEMENT Christopher Rios, Vice President, Dun & Bradstreet

8:30— 9:45 A.M. | room c MURDER BY ZOOM

Marie Genevieve Pawlak, Managing Principal, Prime Alchemy

10:15 A.M. — 11:30 P.M. | room c WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU ASKED: “WHY”

Bob Starinsky, Management Consultant, Tradewinds Group, Inc.

11:30 A.M. – 12:45 P.M. | ALL CONFERENCE LUNCHEON 12:45 — 2:00 P.M. | room b WRITING A BUSINESS CASE

George Schnupp, CCE, ALB, ALC, Director, Global AR Operations, Anixter Inc.

12:45 — 2:00 P.M. | room c COMING OUT OF COVID – A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION

Susan Fattore, CICP, MBA, Director of Credit, M. Holland Company; Joseph Lange, CCE, CCRA, Credit Manager, Brenntag Great Lakes, LLC

2:15 – 2:30 P.M. | RAFFLE AND GAME PRIZE DRAWINGS 2:30— 3:30 P.M. | WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE ECONOMY TODAY? Closing Keynote Speaker: Charlie Munro 3:30— 4:30 P.M. | NETWORKING HOUR (ROOM A) — Open Bar & Gift Card Auction Wrap-up

PROFESSIONAL EDUCATIONAL

Using UCC Filings and Mechanic’s Liens to Make Your Company a Payment Priority

WEBINARS

FREE WEBINAR

Wednesday, August 11

2–3 p.m. Central Time (12–1 p.m. PT; 3–4 p.m. ET) ABOUT THE WEBINAR Businesses prioritize how, when and which vendors are paid and often pay secured creditors ahead of unsecured creditors. But why? In this webinar, we will review how you, as a trade creditor, can use secured transactions to ensure you are a payment priority for your customer, and the legal protections available should your customer default or file for bankruptcy protection.

We will discuss: • Benefits of being a secured creditor.

• The necessary elements to a secured transaction.

• Overcoming objections to UCC filings and preliminary notices.

• What to do in the event of customer default or bankruptcy.

This webinar will: • Help minimize write-offs | increase working capital.

• Increase your credit knowledge and value to your company.

• Answer your questions about developing a program that’s right for you!

ABOUT THE PRESENTER JERRY BAILEY | NCS

Jerry Bailey Jerry Bailey is currently the Executive Sales and Education Services Manager for NCS and has been with the company since 1995.

Prior to coming to NCS, Jerry was a Corporate Credit Manager in the manufacturing industry for 10 years, during which time he gained a very thorough hands on experience with both UCC filings and Mechanic’s Lien filings. Jerry consults with companies daily and has spoken to groups nationwide about Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, Revised Article 9, the nuances of Construction Credit, and the benefits of selling through secured transactions. His presentations cover not only the legal protections brought about by the mechanic’s lien and UCC filing processes, but also practical solutions of how and when to use these tools.

THE INTERCONNECTION

Participation points are available for this webinar

WEBINAR REGISTRATION All registrations for NACM Connect educational events are taken online at nacmconnect.org.

Questions?

Contact Lillian Novak at lillian.novak@nacmconnect.org or call 847.483.6478 JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 10

NACM Connect News

NACM Connect Membership Awards Lillian Novak, CGA Chief Communications Officer

W

ith the recent lifting of restrictions, May and June finally gave NACM Connect Phil Lattanzio, CCE, COO NACM/ Chicago-Midwest and Chief Communication Officer Lillian Novak, CGA, an opportunity to deliver some very well deserved awards from both 2020 and 2021.

Tiffany Sudduth was also recognized as the 2020 Member of the Year for her work on the Missouri Advisory Board, the Gateway Education Committee and her involvement in her industry credit group and educational offerings.

Mike Hill, CCE (left) receives the 2020-2021 Robert M. Healy Credit Executive of the Year Award from Phil Lattnzio. and Rochelle Wilson.

Dave Beckel, CCE (center) receives the 2020 NACM Credit Excellence Award from Phil Lattnzio (left) and Rochelle Wilson.

During May, they travelled to St. Louis to present several awards, accompanied by Rochelle Wilson, Regional Manager. Dave Beckel, CCE received the 2020 NACM Credit Excellence Award, bestowed on one member holding an NACM professional designation and a rich history of involvement with NACM. Not only has Dave been extremely active and supportive of NACM Connect - Missouri, he has also in the past served on the National Board and was Board Chairman in 2009.

Finally in St. Louis NACM/ChicagoMidwest Chair Mike Hill, CCE, received the 2020-2021 Robert M. Healy Credit Executive of the Year Award. This award goes to a CCE in good standing voted on by past recipients of the award. Robert Healy announced Hill’s award at the 2021 NACM Connect Virtual Annual Meeting. While there, Hill was also given his Chairman’s gavel for fiscal year 2021-2022.

Gabriel Castillo joins the NACM Connect management as the new Marketing Manager.

A transplant from Texas, he has been living in the Chicago area for almost 18 years. Gabe is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a Master’s from Aurora University.

He most recently served as President & CEO of his own consulting firm.

Prior to that, he worked in municipal government as a Marketing Manager and other various rolls for 15 years.

Additionally, he has volunteered his time since 2009 as the Communications and Marketing Board Member for the Illinois Parks & Recreation Association. He is a former Adjunct Instructor at Aurora University and is a national speaker with ten years experience speaking at conferences and workshops. Have a marketing idea you would like to share with Gabriel? Feel free to reach out to him at Gabriel.castillo@nacmconnect. org.

Carlos Tabora is a University of Illinois graduate with a diverse background in several areas of marketing.

Throughout his career he has developed a passion for membership and enthusiast-driven organizations having worked for the American Society of Home Inspectors, CO-OP Financial Services and Dog Fancy/Cat Fancy magazines.

Patrick Nelson, MBA (center) receives a service award from Phil Lattanzio (left) and Erica White, CCE.

Tiffany Sudduth (center) receives the 2020 Member of the Year Award from Phil Lattnzio (left) and Rochelle Wilson.

NACM Connect Welcomes 2 to the Marketing Staff

Back in Rolling Meadows, Lattanzio and Novak joined National Board Member Erica White, CCE, in thanking Patrick Nelson for his leadership as Chairman of NACM/Chicago-Midwest’s Board of Directors in one of our most unusual years.■

THE INTERCONNECTION

He is excited to join the NACM Connect team as Marketing Coordinator and looks forward to working with the Association’s members, staff and partners. Carlos has a devotion for internet marketing and music. When he’s not working on an NACM Connect marketing campaign you can find him on the piano writing his next hit song. ■ JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 11

Illinois Construction Stuff and Stuff

Illinois Construction Stuff and Stuff Norm Cowie, CCE

T

his little story starts with the first time I went to an electrical distributor’s group meeting. Or, more precisely, when I tried to.

I was brand new in Chicago, having moved here from Michigan, so I was still learning my way around town when my boss, Bill, asked me to represent our company Wesco at the monthly electrical distributor’s meeting held in the dining room of a golf country club outside the city.

This was before we had computerized voices in our cars and cell phones to help guide us around, and I’m going to really date myself because it was also before cell phones themselves. Yeah, it was a bit harder to get around town back then.

But Bill said it was an easy drive with just a few streets. He said, “Just take 94 to the Kennedy and…”

Which to this day I say was his mistake, because where I came from, a highway had one name, not several.

I knew where Route 94 was since I took that highway every time I went back to Michigan. And I knew where Kennedy Avenue was because it was the first exit in Indiana, also on the way to Michigan. I knew nothing about ‘the’ Kennedy, which I knew only by its other name, Route 90.

An hour later, much to his amusement I called him completely lost from a phone booth in Indiana.

After that belated attempt, I started attending the meetings where I got more and more uncomfortable at what some of our competitors were saying in the meeting. There was talk of future action, and other things that made me think of antitrust liabilities, so I went back to Bill and suggested we pull Wesco out of the organization. When I told him my concerns, he agreed, and we reluctantly pulled out of the group, despite the many benefits that came from being able to exchange information on joint customers.

Soon after that, I took the job of Credit Manager at Evergreen Oak Electric (prior to our merger with Paramont to become Paramont-EO), but kept in

“

former competitors in a new Electrical Distributors Credit Group, now as a part of NACM, or CMCMA as it was called back then (told you I’m dating myself).

So over all those decades, I became a leader rather than a follower, and NACM has always been so supportive, so open to new ideas and concepts, and frankly, just there for me.

touch with my old boss, since I left on very good terms. One day we were talking and Bill mentioned NACM might be a good fit as a moderator for a new distributor’s group. I didn’t know much about NACM back then, but agreed we should give it a shot.

So we contacted NACM, who gladly hosted our old group for an informational meeting, and we quickly decided it was a good fit, since NACM would help make sure we were in compliance with the anti-trust laws.

Bill and I happily were able to reunite Wesco and Evergreen Oak with our

THE INTERCONNECTION

Once I learned what NACM was all about, I started getting involved. One of my interests has always been law, so I joined the Legislative Committee and started regularly attending. Then something happened that changed me from a participant to a leader. The Bulk Sale Act, part of the UCC laws, was repealed in Illinois … without much backlash or really any input by our committee. The Bulk Sale Act protected trade creditors by making it a requirement for a company that was selling off its assets to inform its creditors. This usually indicated an insolvency might be ahead and a JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 12

Illinois Construction Stuff and Stuff creditor might start taking protective action.

But it quietly went away, and we never even knew it until after the fact.

It also illustrated something that I felt was a failing of the committee. We paid attention to nationwide issues like the bankruptcy law, but put little thought on state issues, like the Bulk Sale Act repeal or, more importantly to me, the Illinois Mechanics Lien Statutes.

So I went up to Bill Dearhammer, who was President of CMCMA at the time, and who attended our meetings and said, “Hi, Bill. Who decides on the agenda for our committee?”

He smiled, and said, “The Chairman.”

I frowned. “Okay, so how does one go about becoming the Chairman?””

He saw where I was going with this and his smile widened. “That person would need to be on our Board of Directors.”

I nodded. “Uh, huh, so, um, how does someone get on the Board of Directors?”

Within a year I was Chairman of the Legislative Committee, and we started paying more attention to state happenings, rather than being focused on national. While it was too late in Illinois, we were able to help prevent Wisconsin from having their bulk sale act repealed. And Bill found a company that could monitor bills in Springfield that might affect us, and he’d pass them along as he received them.

us hundreds of thousands of dollars in postage and manpower, and our lien laws were fine, and didn’t need a drastic revision. If anyone wanted to pre-lien a job in Illinois, the statutes as written didn’t prevent it.

Then I asked if they had an Illinois chapter of their committee. They said they didn’t, so I offered to start one for them. To my relief, they agreed, and I quashed the whole concept of copying Ohio’s statutes in a subsequent committee meeting.

I believe I might still be the embodiment of the Illinois Improved Construction Practices Committee to this day.

When they learned what a geek I was about the lien law, NACM started asking me to teach the lien statutes, so soon I was giving speeches at seminars.

Sometime later, we got wind that NACM National’s Improved Construction Practices Committee was planning to come to town to discuss rewriting our lien laws to match those in Ohio, which they considered a model all states should follow. Ohio is a prenotice state, so they have to notice every job in order to have lien rights.

Did you hear me? Every job. Imagine the paperwork and extra expenses required. Unless you do business in Ohio, and you wouldn’t have to imagine.

When they learned what a geek I was about the lien law, NACM started asking me to teach the lien statutes, so soon I was giving speeches at seminars. Then, somewhere along the way, they learned I liked to write, and I started writing a column for their newsletter breaking down the lien statutes section by section and simplifying it so you didn’t have to be an attorney to understand it. When I got to the end of the statutes, Lillian encouraged me to keep writing and I’ve been writing this column ever since. In 2006, my articles won NACM National’s Best Article award and in 2016, NACMConnect published an assembled book of my articles.

Bill successfully wrangled us an invitation to the meeting, and during the meeting I explained this would cost

Because I wanted to be more proactive about the lien statutes I became a member of ASA’s Governmental

THE INTERCONNECTION

Relations Committee, where we have introduced legislation, including the recent change that mandates retention being reduced to no more than 5% when a project is 50% completed.

I also convinced my local legislator to introduce a bill that would require owners and GCs to accept conditional waivers. Unfortunately, the large banks were able to kill that idea for now. I think the reason it died is they rewrote the bill from my original draft into a mess which confused too many people.

I still think my original language would have been accepted, but I dropped the idea for now, as we were fighting some other battles.

So over all those decades, I became a leader rather than a follower, and NACM has always been so supportive, so open to new ideas and concepts, and frankly, just there for me.

I hope you enjoyed this little bit of history, and more, I hope it inspires you to partner with the very cooperative and energetic staff at NACM to educate yourself, protect your companies, and even more, assume the leadership mantle.

See ya later, and be careful on the Kennedy. Or you might end up in Indiana.

Norm (BTW, My most recent book, MOONED, is now available in hardcover. MOONED is a young adult book adults can read about a dog and cat turned into were humans by their werewolf master. Fun action. Check it out on Amazon.) ■ Norman Cowie, CCE is Director of Credit for Paramont-EO, Inc. He has written articles appearing in the Chicago Tribune, Cynic Magazine, Business Credit and the Herald News. His current book titled, "The Illinois Mechanics Lien Statutes … and other construction stuff" is available for sale through NACM Connect. He also has ten published humor/ fantasy novels, some through traditional publishers Echelon Press, Quake Books and Draumr Publishing, although more recently he has transitioned over to Indie publishing.

Norm can be reached at norm.cowie@paramont-eo. com, or feel free to visit him at www.normcowie.com which features past NACM Connect articles.

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 13

NACM Connect Industry Groups

Have We Gotta Group for You! Make better choices, reduce outstanding delinquent receivables and write-offs by joining a group today!

New groups are formed every day!

Network with other credit executives in your industry by joining an NACM Connect Industry Credit Group. Group members share invaluable factual credit information that may be used to make independent decisions with respect to the extension of credit. Discussions include shared information on common customers, the latest in technology for credit management and other creditrelated topics.

Group members have access to expanded tradeline data from 12 additional NACM affiliates participating in this valuable database enhancement at no cost.

Group activities are monitored by NACM trained and certified administrators to ensure compliance with the Federal Antitrust Regulations.

Stay Connected with NACM Connect!

Face to face group meetings are the best way for group members to meet, network and discuss industry payment trends and hot topics. Group members need to stay connected with each other and stay on top of how the current pandemic is affecting their industries.

Our Group Administrators are working with each group to see when we can safely meet again in person. Every city and state has different rules regarding capacity limits in restaurants and hotel meeting rooms. Several of our local industry credit groups have already met in person. Other groups are planning to meet again in person this summer or in the fall.

In a climate of uncertainty, getting back to the basics of good old-fashioned communication is keeping our groups grounded and in touch. Participating and exchanging information confirms the value of being a member of an industry credit group. Group members always follow federal, state and local Anti Trust rules and regulations during all meetings. ■

* To qualify for the $50 American Express gift card, the referring Member must contact the prospective Group Member and provide their contact information to a representative from NACM Connect to follow up. Prospect must join an NACM Connect Credit Group.

THE INTERCONNECTION

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 14

NACM Connect industry Groups

Join Today!

NATIONAL

• Agricultural Credit Conference • Architectural Metal & Glass • Auto Glass • Circuit Board Suppliers • Christian Suppliers • Coated Paper & Film Manufacturers • Construction • Consumer Products Manufacturers • Electrical Manufacturers • Firearms & Ammunition • Foodservice Distributors • Garage Door & Operating Devices Manufacturers

• Home Centers & Building Materials • Home Healthcare Suppliers • Horticultural Distributors • International Flat Rolled Steel • Leisure Living Manufacturers • Lawn & Garden • Manufactured Housing • Meat Packers • Metal Buildings & Components • Metal Industry Raw Material Suppliers

• Metal Producers • Musical Instruments • Nursing Home Suppliers • Paper Packaging • Plumbing, Pipe & Heating Manufacturers

• Professional Apparel Manufacturers • Steel Mill Industry • Tool & Accessories Manufacturers • Truck, Trailer & Waste Equipment Manufacturers

• Underground Utilities • Water Products

Contact Themis Vlahos, CCE, CGA, Director of Group Services at (800) 935-6226 x6428 or themis.vlahos@nacmconnect.org ILLINOIS | NEBRASKA | WISCONSIN

• Advertising Media • Basic Material • Building Suppliers • Electrical Distributors • Floor Covering & Wall Tile • Institutional Credit Association • International Credit Professionals • Masonry • Metal Distributors • Northern IL Heating & Plumbing Wholesalers

• Nebraska Builders & Industrial Suppliers

• Wisconsin Best Practices INDIANA | MICHIGAN | OHIO

• Automotive Suppliers • Cincinnati Construction Suppliers • Cincinnati/Dayton Wholesale Electric Supply

• Cleveland/Akron/Canton Food Suppliers

• Columbus Wholesale Electric Supply

• Ft Wayne Building Materials • Grand Rapids Electrical/Industrial Suppliers Grand Rapids Lumber & Building Materials

• Indiana Electrical Suppliers • Indiana Wholesale Floor Covering • Indianapolis Building Trade Suppliers

• Indiana Best Practices • Metal Service Center • Michiana Credit Association – Manufactured Housing

MISSOURI

• Agricultural • Caterpillar Dealers • Central Illinois Electrical Distributors • Electrical Distributors • Kansas City Building Materials • Mid Missouri Construction • Midwest Regional Food Service & Supply Purveyors

• Refrigeration & Warm/Cool Air Suppliers

NEW YORK

• Albany Building Supply • Best Practices • Buffalo Building & Construction • Buffalo Plumbing and Electric Supply

• Central New York Building Supply • Central New York Food & Beverage Supply

• Rochester Building Supply • Rochester Plumbing and HVAC • Western New York Food & Beverage Supply

PENNSYLVANIA

• Pittsburgh/Altoona Building Trades • Pittsburgh Construction, Plumbing & Heating

• Pittsburgh Electrical Suppliers • Pittsburgh Food Suppliers • Northeast Regional Metal Distributors

USER AND SPECIALTY GROUPS

• Law Firm Forum • National SAP Credit & A/R Users

• Michigan Electrical Supply • Plumbing & Heating Wholesalers • West Michigan Heating Wholesalers

THE INTERCONNECTION

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 15

Credit Group Meeting Calendar NACM Connect - Illinois/Wisconsin Local Industry Credit Group Meetings DATE

GROUP

MEETING LOCATION

July 8

Northern Illinois Heating Wholesalers Credit Group

Wildfire, Schaumburg, IL

July 13

Electrical Distributors Credit Group

Zoom

July 14

Eastern Wisconsin Best Practices

Riverdale Country Club, Sheboygen, WI

July 14

Institutional Credit Association Credit Group

Ditka's, Oakbrook, IL

July 15

Ad Media Credit Group

Zoom

July 20

Metal Distributors Credit Group

Ditka's, Oakbrook, IL

July 20

Builders Suppliers Credit Group

Yard House, Lombard, IL

July 22

Basic Material Credit Group

Ditka's, Oakbrook, IL

August 10

Electrical Distributors Credit Group

Zoom

August 12

Northern Illinois Heating Wholesalers Credit Group

Weber Grill, Schaumburg, IL

August 17

Metal Distributors Credit Group

Ditka's, Oakbrook, IL

August 17

International Credit Professionals Credit Group

Zoom

August 18

Floor Covering & Wall Tile Credit Group

Conference Call

August 26

Basic Material Credit Group

Ditka's, Oakbrook, IL

NACM Connect - Missouri/Kansas Local Industry Credit Group Meetings DATE

GROUP

MEETING LOCATION

July 15

Kansas City Builders Credit Group

Tabards Ale House, Overland Park, KS

July 21

Electrical Distributors Credit Group

Bartolino's, St Louis, MO

July 23

Refrigeration & Warm/Cool Air Suppliers Credit Group

Bartolino's, St Louis, MO

August 6

Central Illinois Electrical Distributors Credit Group

Bella Milano, Springfield, IL

August 12

Kansas Building Materials Credit Group

TBD

August 18

Electrical Distributors Credit Group

Bartolino's, St Louis, MO

August 20

Refrigeration Warm/Cool Air Suppliers Credit Group

Bartolino's, St Louis, MO

NACM Connect - Pennsylvania Local Industry Credit Group Meetings DATE

GROUP

MEETING LOCATION

July 14

Building Trades Group

Marzoni's, Altoona, PA

July 20

Construction/Plumbing & Heating Group

Bravo, Cranberry Township, PA

July 21

Food Group

Bravo-Waterfront, Homestead, PA

July 27

Electrical Suppliers Group

Bravo-Waterfront, Homestead, PA

August 11

Building Trades Group

Marzoni's, Altoona, PA

August 17

Construction/Plumbing & Heating Group

Bravo, Cranberry Township, PA

August 18

Food Group

Bravo-Waterfront, Homestead, PA

August 24

Electrical Suppliers Group

Bravo-Waterfront, Homestead, PA

THE INTERCONNECTION

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 16

Credit Group Meeting Calendar NACM Connect Indiana/Michigan/Ohio Local Industry Credit Group Meetings DATE

GROUP

MEETING LOCATION

July 8

Lumber & Building Materials Credit Group

Conference Call

July 8

Indiana Wholesale Floor Covering Credit Group

Conference Call

July 8

Michiana Credit Association Credit Group

Sheraton Four Points, Elkhart, IN

July 8

Columbus Wholesale Electric Supply Credit Group

Conference Call

July 13

Electric Industrial Supply Credit Group

Brann's, Wyoming, MI

July 13

Fort Wayne Building Materials Credit Group

Don Halls Gas House Restaurant, Fort Wayne, IN

July 14

West Michigan Heating & Plumbing Wholesalers Credit Group

Brann's, Wyoming, MI

July 15

Cincinnati Dayton Wholesale Electric Credit Group

Century Inn,Cincinnati, OH

July 20

Indiana Electrical Suppliers Credit Group

Conference Call

July 20

Automotive Suppliers Credit Group

Conference Call

July 21

Metal Service Center Credit Group

Antonio's, Canton MI

July 21

Indianapolis Building Trade Suppliers Credit Group

Blakley Corp. Conference Room Indianapolis, IN

July 22

Michigan Electric Supply Credit Group

Antonio's, Canton MI

July 28

Plumbing & Heating Wholesalers Credit Group

Ferguson Enterprises Conference Room Indianapolis, IN

July 28

Cincinnati Construction Suppliers Credit Group

Rusty Bucket Restaurant & Tavern, Liberty Township, OH

July 28

Cleveland/Akron/Canton Food Suppliers Credit Group

Papa Joe's, Akron, OH

August 10

Electric Industrial Supply Credit Group

Brann's, Wyoming, MI

August 10

Fort Wayne Building Materials Credit Group

Don Halls Gas House Restaurant, Fort Wayne, IN

August 11

West Michigan Heating & Plumbing Wholesalers Credit Group

Brann's, Wyoming ,MI

August 12

Columbus Wholesale Electric Credit Group

Conference Call

August 12

Michiana Credit Association Credit Group

Sheraton Four Points, Elkhart, IN

August 17

Indiana Electrical Suppliers Credit Group

Conference Call

August 17

Automotive Suppliers Credit Group

Conference Call

August 18

Indianapolis Building Trade Suppliers Credit Group

Blakley Corp. Conference Room Indianapolis, IN

August 18

Metal Service Center Credit Group

Antonio's,Canton, MI

August 19

Michigan Electric Supply Credit Group

Mojave Cantina, Clawson, MI

August 19

Cincinnati Dayton Wholesale Electric Credit Group

Century Inn, Cincinnati, OH

August 25

Plumbing & Heating Wholesalers Credit Group

Ferguson Enterprises Conference Room Indianapolis, IN

August 25

Cincinnati Construction Suppliers Credit Group

Rusty Bucket Restaurant & Tavern, Liberty Township, OH

August 25

Cleveland/Akron/Canton Food Suppliers Credit Group

Papa Joe's, Akron, OH

NACM Connect - Nebraska Local Industry Credit Group Meetings DATE

GROUP

MEETING LOCATION

July 13

Nebraska Builders Credit Group

Conference Call

August 10

Nebraska Builders Credit Group

Conference Call

THE INTERCONNECTION

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 17

Credit Group Meeting Calendar NACM Connect National Industry Credit Group Meetings DATE

GROUP

MEETING LOCATION

July 13

National Musical Instruments Credit Group

Zoom

July 14-15

National Water Products Credit Group

Zoom

July 14-15

National Home Healthcare, Nursing & Food Groups

Zoom

July 15

National Garage Door & Operating Devices Credit Group

Zoom

July 20

National Professional Apparel Credit Group

Zoom

July 21

National Recreational Vehicle/Manufactured Housing Credit Group

Zoom

July 21-22

National Tool & Accessories Manufacturers Credit Group

NACM Connect, Rolling Meadows, IL

July 23

Meatpackers of America

Courtyard By Marriott, Boise, ID

August 10

National Metal Industry Raw Material Group

TEAMS

August 11

Northeast Regional Metal Distributors

TEAMS

August 12

National Firearms & Ammunition Credit Group

Doubletree Hotel , Collinsville, IL

August 12

National Christian Suppliers Credit Group

Zoom

August 19

National Horticultural Credit

Zoom

August 20

National Circuit Board Group

Zoom

August 23-24

National Plumbing, Pipe & Heating Credit Group

Marriott Courtyard Mag Mile, Chicago, IL

August 24-25

National Home Centers Credit Group

Marriott Courtyard Mag Mile, Chicago, IL

August 26-27

National Consumer Products Credit Group

Marriott Courtyard Mag Mile, Chicago, IL

NACM Connect - New York Local Industry Credit Group Meetings DATE

GROUP

MEETING LOCATION

July 9

Buffalo Building/Construction Group

Eagle House, Buffalo, NY

July 13

WNY Food and Beverage Supply Group

Eagle House, Buffalo, NY

July 14

Rochester Plumbing/HVAC Group

Conference call

July 15

Rochester Building Group

Cerames, Rochester, NY

July 20

CNY Building Group

Colemans, Syracuse, NY

July 27

Buffalo Plumbing & Electric Credit Group

Eagle House, Buffalo, NY

August 10

WNY Food

Eagle House, Buffalo, NY

August 11

Rochester Plumbing & HVAC Credit Group

Conference call

August 16

Albany Building Credit Group

Conference call

August 17

Central New York Building Credit Group

Colemans, Syracuse, NY

August 19

Rochester Building Credit Group

Cerames, Rochester, NY

August 24

Buffalo Plumbing & Electric Credit Group

Eagle House, Buffalo, NY

THE INTERCONNECTION

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 18

Event Calendar TIME

PRESENTER / INSTRUCTOR(S)

Zoom Videoconferencing

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. CST

Veena Gundavelli Dexter Pevey

NACM Connect CREDIT 103

Zoom Videoconferencing

9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

CST

Dave Condon, CCE

August 11

NACM Connect FREE Webinar Using UCC Filings and Mechanic’s Liens to Make Your Company a Payment Priority

Zoom Videoconferencing

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. CST

Jerry Bailey

August 23

Business Credit Principles 8-23 through 11-1

Zoom Videoconferencing

5:30 – 8:30 p.m. CST

Jason Borgardt, CCE

August 25

Credit Law 8-25 through 10-27

Zoom Videoconferencing

5:30 – 8:30 p.m. CST

John Jaeger, CCE

August 26

Financial Statement Analysis 1 8-26 through 10-28

Zoom Videoconferencing

5:30 – 8:30 p.m. CST

Curtis Litchfield, CCE

DATE

EVENT

July 13

NACM Connect FREE Webinar The Journey to Smarter Accounts Receivable Management with AI

July 14

LOCATION

Why Should You Join CFDD? Credit Financial Development Division (CFDD) is the educational branch of NACM. A CFDD Chapter is a group of credit professionals organized with a focus on education, networking, and professional support for employees of member firms of the National Association of Credit Management.

Local chapters provide monthly meetings on topics of interest to the credit professional as well as seminars and workshops. Scholarships for local, regional, and national conferences are made available. Since 1990, more than $1.5 million has been awarded from local chapters and CFDD National for scholarships. Personal contact with other credit and financial professionals as well as mentor/mentee opportunities aid in problem solving and sharing of experiences. Growth is made available through the chance to serve on committees and boards, strengthening leadership and personal skills. All these activities contribute toward Roadmap points and help lead to professional certification.

We offer scholarships for Credit Congress, our National Conference, designations, Business Center Magazine, our National Newsletter, NACM Knowledge Center, and much more.

CFDD has local chapters across the United States, and three are located within the NACM Connect territory in Kansas City, Omaha and Wichita.

We also have Direct Memberships available.

If you would be interested in more information about CFDD please email Sam Bell, CFDD National Board of Directors Chairperson, at sam.bell@louisvilleladder.com or contact Kelly Shock, CCRA, CCE, Vice Chair – Member Services and Publicity, at kellyshock24@gmail.com.

Or, please check out our website https://nacm.org/cfdd-home.html

THE INTERCONNECTION

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 19

Credit Reporting Solutions

ACCESS ALL

THE SOLUTIONS IN ONE PLACE Shop and compare all these credit Bureaus with one contact person. Be sure to ask about our FREE trial offers.

We provide a full suite of credit reporting solutions exclusively to NACM Connect members at deep discount pricing. We pass big savings to you through our volume purchasing and National Buying Discount. We assist with setup, training and support for all products and solutions. Let us help you increase efficiency, reduce costs and maximize profitability for your organization.

INTERNATIONAL OPTIONS

U.S. OPTIONS OPTION

OPTION

OPTION

OPTION OPTION

OPTION

OPTION

OPTION OPTION

(CONSUMER) OPTION OPTION

(CONSUMER) OPTION

Questions? Contact Craig Smith @ craig.smith@nacmconnect.org or call 847.483.6484 THE INTERCONNECTION

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 20

Member News

e m o elc ers

W rsb beem m M e M w w

Ne

Welcome New Members & Reps

Ne

Artur Express Terri Beilstein

Phil Donnelly Bunge North America

Elizabeth Osuna Lapham-Hickey Steel Corporation

Conserv FS Mark Musial

Rick Williams Cameron Ashley Building Products

Julie Swann Medela LLC

Curtis Lumber Josiah St. John

Elizabeth Gonzalez CF Industries Enterprises, Inc.

Suzanne Riffle MFS Supply LLC

ECHO Realty Gary Jordan

Tony Sheffo Chelsea Building Products, Inc.

Rob Carmean Mike-sells Snack Food Co.

Eiko Sharon Doris

Joseph Marks Civil and Environmental Consultants Inc.

Joel Hood North Star Bluescope Steel LLC

Ferguson Enterprises Zachary Ciekutis Fifth Wheel Freight Noah Gardner Frensco Building Products Lisa Geth GL Precision Tube, Inc. Chris Dodson Haworth Inc Ellen Greene OSI Group, LLC Debbie Dixon Remke Industries Inc. Kathleen Knudson Uline Matt Mezger Wesco Distribution Inc Wanda Ptak

NEW REPRESENTATIVES Kim Madrigal All Tile / CCS Inc. Karen Rocco American Textile, Inc. Marcia Whiten Bennett Supply of Ohio LLC Brian Caldarelli Best Line Equipment Inc

Helen Derringer CL Products International, LLC David Fischer Clark Dietrich Building Systems Daniel Knippen Crane Composites Inc. Elton Gove Creekstone Farms Premium Beef LLC Mandy Madlem Dicor Group Gary Hofmann Elmhurst-Chicago Stone Company Chris Meister Hannon Electric Company Lisa Twiggs Hartzell Fan, Inc. Marisol Hernandez High Radius Gloria Bianchi Horizon Global Americas Scott Morrish Hyundai Construction Equipment USA

Jacob Smith Oil Dri Corporation Of America Philip Martin Penns Valley Building Supply Jackie Kirsch Profile Food Ingredients Tony Wood R3 Safety LLC Cristen Szalay Rochester Midland Rebecca Eisele St. Louis Boiler Supply Inc. Matt Kocsis TIGG LLC Jignesha Patel Urschel Laboratories Inc Amanda Schindler Weyco Group Inc Amanda Seider Willert Home Products Robert Lykins Wiseway Inc.

Dan Iosue JM Smucker Geoffrey Cummins Johnstone Supply Of Central New York Tracie Jefferson Lapham-Hickey Steel Corporation

THE INTERCONNECTION

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 22

CASH APPLICATION AUTOMATION TAKE THE EFFORT & ERRORS OUT OF RECONCILIATION Esker’s Cash Application automation solution streamlines the cash application process by auto-matching all types of incoming payments to open invoices and intelligently capturing remittance data to provide 3-way matching and accurate reconciliation. As a result, your business benefits from optimized cash flow, receivables visibility and collections efficiency.

IMPROVE AR ACCURACY CENTRALIZE PAYMENT INFO

via real-time visibility of AR performance & incoming cash

by retrieving remittances & payment files in one place

www.esker.com/AR

INCREASE PROCESS EFFICIENCY

by accelerating cash application & exception management

News

Common Themes in SEC Enforcement of Financial Statement Fraud Editorial, NACM

I

mproper revenue recognition, reserves manipulation, and inventory misstatement among the most prevalent financial statement fraud schemes, according to analysis of SEC data.

An Anti-Fraud Collaboration report finds common themes among SEC enforcement actions of financial statement fraud, including the types of fraud schemes, industries, perpetrators and company size. The report provides insights for deterring and detecting fraud at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic heightens the risk of financial reporting fraud.

The most common type of fraud incident was improper revenue recognition (43%). Reserves manipulation (24%), inventory misstatement (11%) and loan impairment issues (11%) were other common financial statement fraud schemes.

Collaboration, a cooperative of financial reporting stakeholders dedicated to enhancing the effectiveness of financial fraud risk management. The report reveals results from the review of 531 Accounting and Auditing

The report reveals 140 financial statement fraud schemes across 204 enforcement actions.

Some industries were charged more frequently than others. Technology services companies (17%) were the most commonly charged, followed by finance (13%), energy (11%) and manufacturing (9%).

The report, Mitigating

the Risk of Common Fraud Schemes: Insights from SEC Enforcement Actions (https://publication.thecaq.

org/mitigating-the-risk-of-commonfraud-schemes/mitigating-therisk-of-common-fraud-schemes/ ) was released by the Anti-Fraud

Enforcement Releases (AAERs) filed between 2014 and 2019, finding 140 financial statement fraud schemes across 204 enforcement actions.

The report finds that members of public company management were more frequently charged in SEC enforcement actions than any other individuals. Chief financial officers (54%) were the most commonly charged employees, followed by chief executive officers (31%).

The SEC took enforcement action against issuers of all sizes. Seventy-

THE INTERCONNECTION

nine AAERs (39%) were filed against companies with less than $250 million in market capitalization. Forty-four AAERs (22%) were filed against smallcap companies. Twenty-two AAERs (11%) were filed against mid- and large-cap each.

The report also examines the circumstances that could have contributed to fraud. In the AAERs, the SEC cited as contributing factors the tone set by company management, a high-pressure environment and a lack of adequately experienced personnel.

According to the report, public companies can effectively fight fraud by exercising professional skepticism, focusing attention on high-risk areas across companies as well as on company-specific risks, and conducting regular quantitative and qualitative risk assessments.

“Past crises have proven that, in times of disruption or stresses on the economy or an industry, companies should be prepared for the possibility of increased fraud,” said Peter Gleason, CEO of the National Association of Corporate Directors. “This remains true amid COVID-19.” ■ JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 24

BEST-IN-CLASS PEOPLE, BEST-IN-CLASS PARTNER 24/7 Online Services

Increase Efficiency

Reduce Labor Costs

Manage Entire Project Lifecycle

Customer Support

The Job App

Custom API

Disaster Recovery Plan

We partner with you to evaluate your specific situation. We want to know your issues and concerns. What are you trying to accomplish, fix, or avoid? Have you suffered through a customer’s bankruptcy? Are you nervous about getting paid in this economy? Do you need to improve your working capital performance?

At NCS, we focus on customized solutions to fit your budget and organizational requirements, giving you the best value for protecting your money.

Throughout your AR life cycle, we have resources to help get you paid. From beginning with UCC and Mechanic’s Lien services to end with our Collection services, we have you covered.

Contact us today to secure more sales! ®

Securing Your Tomorrow ®

NCScredit.com 800.826.5256 NCSsales@NCScredit.com

Collection Services | UCC Services | Notice & Mechanic’s Lien Services | Education & Resources THE INTERCONNECTION

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 25

Institute of Credit (IOC)

Institute of Credit 3005 Tollview Drive Rolling Meadows, IL 60008 Phone: 847-483-6478 Fax: 847-253-6241 nacmconnect.org

2021 FALL Course Schedule

All courses are available through live videoconferencing!

COURSES

FALL CBA

Business Credit Principles

Mondays August 23 – November 1*

Financial Statement Analysis I

Thursdays August 26 – October 28

(10 weeks)

(10 weeks)

CBF Wednesdays August 25 – October 27

Credit Law (10 weeks)

* No Class on September 6 (Labor Day).

PLEASE NOTE: All mid-terms and finals will be administered online during regular business hours.

Please contact Lillian Novak at lillian.novak@nacmconnect.org if you have any questions.

COURSE FEES Member – $450 (plus textbook fee**) Two coupons are valid per person.

Non-Member –$900 (plus textbook fee**)

**Additional rush charges may occur if registration is not submitted two weeks prior to start of class.

Evening Class Times: 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.

As a remote student, you can take live classes via our videoconferencing platform from the comfort of your home or office.

Questions?

Contact Margaret Krafft at 847.483.6420 or margaret.krafft@nacmconnect.org

Tuition Must be Paid Before the First Class Begins.

All registrations for NACM Connect educational events are taken online at nacmconnect.org Absolutely no registrations will be accepted after one week prior to the class date. No exceptions.

While registering online, you will have the opportunity to choose your payment method.

We are happy to take a credit card online or invoice you. You will also have the opportunity to apply coupons as allowed.

Classes are subject to cancellation based on enrollment.

Questions? Contact Lillian Novak at lillian.novak@nacmconnect.org or call 800.935.6226 THE INTERCONNECTION

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 26

Credit 101, 102 and 103

Members: $230 (per class) Non-Members: $460 (per class) Two coupons are valid per person

All classes are from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. CST Location: Zoom Classroom

CREDIT 101

CREDIT 102

CREDIT 103

-----

-----

-----

-----

-----

July 14

September 8

October 6

November 10

Zoom Classroom Questions?

Contact Margaret Krafft at 847.483.6420 or margaret.krafft@nacmconnect.org All registrations for NACM Connect educational events are taken online at nacmconnect.org While registering online, you will have the opportunity to choose your payment method. We are happy to take a credit card online or invoice you. You will also have the opportunity to apply coupons as allowed.

Please Note: • • • •

Payment must be received one week prior to class date “No Shows” will be responsible for full amount Classes subject to cancellation based on enrollment 0.6 CEUs available

Cancellation Policy: Cancellations must be received in writing (via fax, email or mail) no later than one week prior to the class date to qualify for a full refund. Cancellations received later than one week prior to the class date do not qualify for a refund of registration fees. Sorry, phone cancellations cannot be honored. A 20% surcharge applies to late registrations and rebooking. If you have any questions, email info@nacmconnect.org.

Register online at nacmconnect.org THE INTERCONNECTION

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 27

Caine & Weiner Giveaway

$150

2021 Quarterly Giveaways

JULY | AUGUST | SEPTEMBER Place a collections claim with Caine & Weiner anytime during the months of July, August and September and become eligible to win a $150 gift card good towards Chili’s, On The Border or Maggiano’s Restaurants.

Each claim you place will be eligible for the drawings.

Enter as often as you like!

For information on placing claims, please contact Jim McGee at 847.407.2348.

You may also place a claim online at www.caine-weiner.com.

THE INTERCONNECTION

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 28

CERTIFIED BY CLLA ENDORSED BY IACC

WHY YOU SHOULD USE A CLLA COMMERCIAL COLLECTION CERTIFIED AGENCY Maximum dollar recovery

10 REASONS

Prompt remittance of funds Adherence to rigorous Code of Ethics Minimum Surety Bond protection Separate trust accounts Reputable collection practices Agency stability Mandatory continuing education for agency executives Audited annually by an independent third party CPA firm Endorsed by the International Association of Commercial Collectors (IACC)

Since 1975, the Commercial Law League of America (CLLA) has been certifying commercial collection agencies who have earned the right to be recognized as industry experts. CLLA certification is a voluntary, in-depth examination process that requires agencies seeking certification to meet or exceed standard financial guidelines. Look for the CLLA/IACC Certification Seal.

CLLA Certified Agencies are members of the Commercial Law League of America • www.clla.org

To find a CLLA Certified Agency near you visit www.clla.org/certification THE INTERCONNECTION

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 29

NACM Southwest Giveaway

$150

2021 Quarterly Giveaways

JULY | AUGUST | SEPTEMBER Place a collections claim with NACM Southwest anytime during the months of July, August and September and become eligible to win a $150 gift card good towards Chili’s, On The Border or Maggiano’s Restaurants.

Each claim you place will be eligible for the drawings.

Enter as often as you like!

For information on placing claims, please contact Kelly Hall at 317.225.4281.

For more information visit www.nacmconnect.org.

THE INTERCONNECTION

JULY/AUGUST 2021 PAGE 30

One of the best tools we use in the Chicagoland market is Merritt Credit Bureau. With their services we can check out a job to see if there are any mechanics liens or foreclosures. Between Merritt and our NACM Distributors Group, we can see almost everything going on in our marketplace. I heartily endorse both organizations.

Norman Cowie, CCE, Director of Credit Paramont-EO, Inc.

avoid getting involved in a project that already has lawsuits with other suppliers, tax liens or mechanics liens in the chicagoland market.

YOU HAVE A NEW RESOURCE AVAILABLE! County coverage includes: Cook | DeKalb | DuPage | Grundy | Kane | Kankakee Kendall | Lake | McHenry | McLean | Peoria | Will Winnebago and more..

Cost for each search:

To request a “Merritt History” search, complete the form located on the NACM Connect website under the Services tab. Choose Merritt Search from the dropdown menu. Your request will be submitted to Merritt Credit Bureau, Inc. Results will be returned directly to you.

►

Company name (as plaintiff & defendant) search: $40

►

Owner/Member/President search: $40

($36 when requested as an additional search w/company name)

►

Job site address search: $40

►

State of Illinois UCC Search: $40

►

Copies of UCC: $2 per page

►

No information/Search fee applies: $40

For additional information, please contact Paula Slyder at 937.401.2710 or paula.slyder@nacmconnect.org

The InterConnection

800.935.NACM

Stay Connected