Recession: Never again by Josef Busuttil
18/02/2010
It is beginning to look as if the world is slowly hauling itself out of the deep pit of recession. Some countries and industries are in better shape than others, some further along the recovery road than others, and some even left with fewer anvils of debt hanging round their necks than others.
The cry that has gone up, however, seems to be the same all over the world, and Malta is by no means an exception - "Never again".
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Fraudulent Behaviour by Josanne Cassar
31/01/2010
We’ve all heard the stories. Someone sets up a business or company, entering into financial arrangements with third parties who are never paid. When the business fails, they declare bankruptcy leaving a trial of unpaid debts behind them… only to set up a new business and do it all over again. Josanne Cassar looks into the financial and legal issues of commercial fraud as well as the psychological profile of a typical fraudster
One cannot speak about commercial fraud in a vacuum; it has to be considered within the context of the economic climate in general.
Whoever is in business can affirm that one of the most difficult tasks in today’s business environment is that of getting paid on time, says Josef Busuttil, Director General of the Malta Association of Credit Management.
“Defaults in payments cause cash flow problems to businesses and make profits even slimmer. Credit does not come for free. The supplier has to manage it appropriately and find money to fund it somehow – usually by means of an overdraft, for which interest has to be paid. All this is to the detriment of cash flow, profit and the well being of the economy at large.”
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Late payments hinders economic growth
05/11/2009
People in business know well that in Malta, customers request long credit terms from their suppliers, sometimes running to 120 days – depending on the industry – and still fail to honour these credit terms by paying later than these agreed credit terms, or even worse issue post-dated cheques upon due date. Hence continue to benefit from the suppliers’ money.
In some industries, the Government is far from leading by example. Some local suppliers are owed substantial amount of money from the Government with the consequence that they are unable to restructure appropriately in order to face the new challenges and opportunities of today’s market demands.
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