Serving credit professionals everywhere...since 1899
Monthly news & updates
June 2020
Welcome Message from our President & CEO, Jon Flora
Upcoming Events
See what's happening this month... and beyond
Industry Groups

NOTE: All Group meetings are being conducted online until the Coronavirus subsides .


Puget Sound

Thursday, 6/11
11:30 Floor -- ONLINE

Tuesday, 6/16
11:30 a.m. HVAC -- ONLINE

Wednesday, 6/17
11:00 Tacoma Construction -- ONLINE
1:00 Food -- ONLINE

Thursday, 6/18
11:00 Eastside Construction -- ONLINE
1:00 Wholesale Electric -- ONLINE

Alaska

Wednesday, 6/17
1:00 (AKDT) Alaska Suppliers -- ONLINE

Hawaii

Tuesday, 6/16
11:30 (HST) Hawaii Hospitality -- ONLINE

Friday, 6/19
11:30 (HST) Hawaii Building -- ONLINE

Education and Events

Monthly Webinar: Best Practices in Collection Techniques (Free)

June 4 @ 12:00 p.m.


Dun & Bradstreet: Is your Bad Debt Reserve Optimized? (Free)

June 16 @ 11:00 PDT, 2:00 EST


Conferences

Tempe, AZ - RESCHEDULED TO
July 16-17

Las Vegas - CHANGED TO ONLINE
Click below for further information about online offerings.

September 23, Las Vegas
Covid Updates from region
Business Outlook
Senate Passes House-Backed Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act
The Payment Protection Program (PPP) Flexibility Act is intended to allow businesses that haven’t been permitted to reopen by government mandate the flexibility to use PPP loan proceeds and more easily qualify for forgiveness.

Small-business credit conditions are negative, outlook depends on developments with Covid-19
After only one quarter there is no doubt the theme of 2020 is COVID-19. Unrelated to the pandemic and subsequent shuttering of a swath of economies across the world, delinquencies rose in the first quarter. 2020 will be a year of deteriorating performance and rising bankruptcies for small enterprises.

Check out the latest Main St. Report from Experian and Moody's


S&P US chief economist: How we can add $5.7 trillion to the US economy
The US economy is cratering and in need of an enormous boost. The government's economic relief package, as well as the Fed's stimulus measures, will likely help the economy — but it is not nearly enough.

It's not too late to change our trajectory, though. An investment in infrastructure would help.
CNN
Corporate America is very bullish on economic recovery
Business leaders predict the United States will swiftly dig itself out of the deep downturn driven by the coronavirus pandemic.

The end of life as we know it? Get real.
Hardly a day goes by that some otherwise sober and well-grounded observer offers a sweeping prediction that the coronavirus will change just about everything. Not so fast.

Past due and final notices the debt never ends. Over white.
Specter of Negative Rates Is Putting Bankers on Edge
U.S. banks have long looked with pity at overseas lenders coping with negative interest rates. Now, they’re grappling with the fear they may join the crowd.

Tidy your financial papers before 'extra time at home' is gone
Whenever life returns to normal, there will still be a to-do list left undone, chores and tasks for which there wasn’t enough time.

One big chore, financially speaking, involves getting rid of unnecessary paperwork, and it’s especially important now because so many offshoots of the pandemic are financial.



Education
Mitigating fraud during a crisis
June 11 @ 10:30 PDT
In 2019, 3 in 5 businesses noticed an increase in fraud over a 12-month period. Today, in the face of COVID-19, it’s safe to assume that these numbers have increased.
In this Sip and Solve session , Experian's commercial fraud expert, Li Mao, discusses the process of introducing friction into credit processes to discourage fraudsters. He'll also dive into:
  • The most common types of fraud you can expect during COVID-19
  • What first party fraud is and how you can detect it
  • Tips on how you can combat first party fraud and more
Multipliers and the effectiveness of government policies
The unprecedented economic shutdown in Hawaii and elsewhere due to COVID-19 has been met with a historically large government fiscal response. The effect of these policies may be large, once both direct and indirect effects on local spending are taken into account. Read more from the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization

NACM BCS helps Best Buddies
Best Buddies is the world’s largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Their programs empower the special abilities of people with IDD by helping them form meaningful friendships with their peers, secure successful jobs, live independently, improve public speaking, self-advocacy and communication skills, and feel valued by society.

NACM BCS is providing office space to the new Washington chapter. If you're interested in getting involved, drop us a note at; [email protected] or you can learn more below:

Is your Bad Debt Optimized?

Are you confident telling your CFO that they can sign-off that your company’s process for calculating Bad Debt Reserve is optimized? Even if CECL accounting standards are not on your roadmap for 2020, how are you benchmarking and validating that your Bad Debt Reserve is maximizing profitability to reflect changes in economic conditions?
Dun & Bradstreet can help you ensure that your process is able to:
  • Integrate future looking risk estimates
  • Change based on Portfolio Risk changes


June 16, 11:00 PDT, 9:00 HST, 10:00 AKDT
As global economic conditions evolve, finance teams are expected to do more than ever – including keeping up with higher credit application volumes from some industries, while still ensuring that there is no increase in risk to their organization. There are tools available to help you during these uncertain times. 
The COVID-19 U.S. Business Risk Index was developed by Experian Business Information Services to help businesses better understand the impact COVID-19 may have on their commercial operation based on several key factors. This methodology combines business risk, anticipated impact on business industries and real-time COVID-19 case data to help businesses better simulate various impact scenarios down to the state level to help develop enterprise strategies.
If you would like more information about how your company can use this tool, please call NACM Business Credit Services at 800-423-5710
Regional Business News
Washington tourism statistics show major decline from COVID
Figures released today by the Washington Tourism Alliance (WTA) indicate that tourism in Washington State logged double digit growth during the past five years – generating $10.9 billion in direct state GDP in 2019 alone – before the industry’s near total shut down in 2020 due to COVID-19.

WTA
SeaTac passenger numbers down 93.6% year over year
April passenger numbers are lowest since 1967. A new data dashboard has been created to provide key indicators for governments and industry to track the recovery. Click below for more from the Port of Seattle, a member of NACM BCS:

Hawaii hotel occupancy down 88% year over year
Fewer than one out of every 10 hotel rooms was occupied in Hawaii in April as the coronavirus lockdown devastated one of the nation’s top hotel markets.

These latest hotel figures show that Hawaii tourism, which supplies 17% of the state’s gross domestic product, finally fell off the cliff in April.

Royal Caribbean scraps all Alaska, Hawaii sailings impacting $1.7 billion industry for Seattle and Alaska
As expected, Royal Caribbean has been forced to cancel all northbound cruises out of US ports.

That means an end to the much delayed 2020 Alaska season due to the cruise ship ban imposed by Canada.

Seafood companies to merge parts of Alaska operations
Ocean Beauty Seafoods (and NACM member) and Icicle Seafoods Inc. announced plans Friday to merge parts of their Alaska shoreside operations under a new company.

Ocean Beauty and Icicle Seafoods each will own a 50% stake in the new company, OBI Seafoods LLC.

Banks to liquidate RavnAir group assets
Alaska’s largest rural airline is working to prevent a liquidation of its assets sought by a bank representing lenders seeking payment of $90 million in debt.

Despite pandemic, Seattle region’s pending home sales outrun last year’s level
Buyers of single-family homes overcame the obstacles of the coronavirus shutdown and managed to clinch more deals last week than in the comparable week of 2019. The pace of sales was more than double the recent low point at the end of March.

New Tools for the Future
Our partner, High Radius, has announced the launch of RadiusOne A/R Suite for mid-sized businesses . With a simpler user experience and faster time-to-value, the new solution reinforces HighRadius’ investment in innovation and vision to make Accounts Receivables automation a key catalyst for business growth.

With out-of-box integration with Netsuite, MS Dynamics, Sage Intacct, and Infor, the RadiusOne A/R Suite is pre-loaded with configurations based on industry-specific best-practices and can be deployed in a few weeks with minimal IT intervention. 

If you would like to know more about this new cost-effective solution, please call us at NACM BCS at 800-423-5710.
Employment Information
Looking for a job or trying to fill a position in your company?
Take advantage of the Job Center at nacmbcs.org. You will find current listings as well the opportunity to post your openings. It's a free service that comes with membership in NACM BCS.

Reopening U.S. economy will mean creating all kinds of new jobs
In the wake of a pandemic that’s put millions of Americans out of work, a new crop of jobs is emerging. Companies racing to get back to business are creating roles to keep employees and customers safe from a highly contagious virus, positions that may become even more in demand the longer time passes without a vaccine or a treatment.

Stress stressful stressed businessman sleep tension laptop
As the class of 2020 graduates into the coronavirus pandemic, Seattle millennials share how they rebounded from the Great Recession
Graduates that enter the job market during a recession start with lower pay and it takes much longer to catch up - if they ever do.

Making the best of Stay Home - Stay Healthy
Light hearted moments from your quarantined association staff
Over the last 10 weeks, our NACM BCS staff members have been staying active as we strive to get through this pandemic in one piece. While serving members has been our top priority, all of us have engaged in a number of things to help pass the time. Here’s a partial list for your reading pleasure and inspiration:

Important Research
In recent weeks, our staff has conducted a serious study to determine how well pineapple from Costa Rica compares with the golden fruit from Hawaii. The research began when the Hawaiian product made a rare appearance in Puget Sound area grocery stores a few weeks ago. The findings: Costa Rican pineapple is best turned into mulch. Hawaiian pineapple is outstanding - especially when accompanied by a properly made Mai Tai. This research was done as a public service to our members and customers.

Favorite binge-watching
  • Back to the Future trilogy - That's a lot of Michael J. Fox and a souped-up DeLorean.
  • Broadchurch - Captivating British murder mystery on Netflix.
  • The Windsors - Clever bashing of the Royal family - in a British humor way. Makes one look forward to the next season of The Crown. Speaking of which...
  • The Crown - You'll learn why Harry and Megan wanted out.
  • Spying on the Royals - We sense a theme here. The government spied on King Edward and Wallis Simpson. Today, it's done by the British tabloids.
  • Sailing SV Delos - A couple of guys quit their jobs, sail around the world, and live off the grid.
  • Schitt's Creek - Popular with many of our crew. You'll find out why.
  • The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - The lady is hysterical and has an amazing wardrobe.

Favorite Movies
  • Blazing Saddles - Almost as funny as it was in 1973. Probably couldn't be made today.
  • UP - A sweet movie about an old man with a helium complex.
  • Ernesto's Manifesto - It has a happy ending.
  • Cinema Paradiso - A wonderful Italian film from 1988. If you can't find it, we have it.
  • The Commuter - Suspenseful story about a guy who commutes to work on train.
  • Moneyball - Brad Pitt, a sidekick with a computer, and baseball. What else do you need?
  • Midway - A remake about the WWII battle. Spoiler alert: We win. The 1977 original is better.
  • All the James Bond movies - Shaken not stirred.
  • Hail Caesar - Another one from Coen Brothers.
  • Diehard - It's a Christmas movie. Really.

New Cocktail Creations (recipes available - send an email to [email protected] )
  • Tequila Daisy
  • The General's Mai Tai
  • Sarsaparilla Manhattan
  • Vieux Carre Cocktail
  • A proper Mai Tai (inspired by our research and sponsored by our friends at UTA)

It would seem we're ready to get back to the office soon. Wash your hands, everyone!
NACM Business Credit Services
www.nacmbcs.org | 800-423-5710

Serving commercial credit professionals.
Since 1899