Audit and verification help to improve client-funder relationship
Hilton-Baird Audit & Survey have been thanked for helping a lender better understand their client’s business model and for providing the insight required to deliver the level of funding the client needed.
As a clothing wholesaler, much of the client’s activity is seasonal and the lender was unaware that they take forward orders for three months of the year on extended credit terms.
This was not only restricting the amount of funding that was available to the client, which they required in order to pay suppliers on time, it was also damaging the client-funder relationship.
But by conducting a thorough audit and debt verification exercise and getting to the bottom of the business model, the lender’s concerns were eased and relationship improved.
What were the challenges?
The client was frustrated at how past audits hadn’t cleared up their business model regarding the forward orders and extended invoices, and were nervous about the impact of any debt verification on their relationship with smaller customers.
However, our Business Analyst quickly gained their trust, demonstrating the professional and sensitive approach to our debt verification work, and was able to complete the exercise unimpeded.
And by understanding the client’s business model, we were able to report back to the instructing lender and provide suitable recommendations for how to improve the running of the facility going forward. This included making the client aware of the confusion caused by occasional direct payments, and encouraging customers to pay the lender directly.
The instruction underlined the importance of going into any audit or survey with a fresh and open mind, treating it as a ‘first’ audit without confusion from past reviews.
