© 2016 Autodesk © 2016 Autodesk © 2016 Autodesk

Managing a Global Credit and AR Team

Chris Viau

Senior Manager, Worldwide Customer Financial Services

The Autodesk vision is to help people

imagine, design, and create a better world.

The Accounts Receivable and Order-to-Cash Conference is produced by:

May 10-12, 2017

Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts®, Florida

3 5/1/2017

$2.5B 2.58M FY16 Revenue Subscriptions

8,575 Employees

worldwide

First-level bullet style text is set in black, single spaced,

Artifakt ElementOfc 24pt. font.

Second-level bullet style text is set in black, single

spaced, Artifakt ElementOfc 24pt. font.

Third-level bullet style text is set in black, single

spaced, Artifakt ElementOfc 24pt. font.

Fourth-level bullet style text is set in black, single

spaced, Artifakt ElementOfc 24pt. font.

Header title and content slide is set in Artifakt

LegendOfc 30 pt (1 column)

I head up the Credit/AR function at Autodesk, Inc., a $2

billion + NASDAQ listed software company. Started in

customer service, promoted to Credit Analyst as a first

step in the credit dept.

With 15 years of credit experience working in the US and

Asia, I lead a team of over 30 people with shared service

centers on three continents, and have travelled to 20+

countries.

A little about me

A Northern California native, I am a graduate of Sonoma

State University, a Certified International Credit

Professional, a certified Accounts Receivable Manager,

and have a mediation certificate specializing in business

mediation.

In prior professional experiences, I sold advertising,

managed a factory and taught university level courses in

mediation/conflict resolution.

A little more about me

San Rafael, CA

WW Manager

Autodesk Credit Team Locations

Manchester NH

AMER Credit

AR Team

Autodesk Credit Team Locations

Neuchatel, Switzerland

EMEA Credit

Autodesk Credit Team Locations

Singapore

APAC Credit

Autodesk Credit Team Locations

Worldwide Customer Financial Services and

Accounts Receivable (CFSAR) Team

5 teams in three hubs:

Manchester, NH Americas Direct accounts

Manchester, NH Americas VAD/VAR, LatAM

Manchester, NH AR team

Neuchatel, Switzerland CFS EMEA

Singapore, Singapore CFS APAC

WW Manager San Rafael/San Francisco, CA

All teams can support local languages as appropriate

Worldwide Customer Financial Services and Accounts

Receivable (CFSAR) Team Org Chart

WW Sr. Manager

AR Manager

7 Analysts

CFS AMER Mgr Channel

4 Analysts

CFS AMER Mgr Directs

4 Analysts

CFS EMEA Mgr

8 Analysts

CFS APAC Mgr

3 Analysts

What Works 1 Strong managers

Do they have the skills (not just credit but soft skills)?

Do they have the expertise for their locales?

Constant communication

Remote managers need more communication

Be mindful of time zones- someone on the phone at 1 AM is

not an engaged employee

Learning the cultures you manage

Try the local food; learn the local history

Visit the teams once a year at least

Skip level meetings to get information

Secured transactions (UCC1, PPSA, SBLCs, bank

guarantees, etc.).

Nothing beats security. Usually a tough conversation

Collaborate/build relationships with your sales team.

Get customer financials, regardless of region.

Is it in your contract?

Are your invoices localized?

What Works 2 Customer visits; in many regions this is key

Secured transactions (UCC1, PPSA, SBLCs, bank guarantees,

etc.)

Nothing beats security. Usually a tough conversation. Tee it

up in person if you can.

Collaborate/build relationships with your sales team.

Customer visits are a chance build rapport with sales.

Get customer financials, regardless of region.

Is it in your contract?

Are your invoices localized?

What Works 3

Leverage business collaboration tools (Skype, etc).

Does your credit policy differentiate between

countries/regions?

How much do you know about your best and worst

accounts?

Your collections are as good as your data. How is your

reporting?

Are you using the best collection agency in each region?

Are you using the best credit reporting solution for each

region?

Things to watch for 1 M&A w/ different processes

Did the acquired company have a credit policy?

What was their % of bad debt?

Did their customers have free reign?

Did they have a realistic write off policy?

Country credit risk: geopolitical (emerging and mature)

and FX

Not just the traditional risky countries, but now vox

populi risks in developed markets

Sick industries: brick/ mortar retail and recently energy

Things to watch for 2

When you know a bankruptcy is pending, does sales

understand?

Consider the insult to injury nature of the preference

claim process. “Radio Shack is a great customer”…

famous last words.

Are you delivering invoices digitally?

Tax (sales tax, VAT, WHT, etc.) short pays- do you have a

process? As much as 80% of AR disputes= tax.

How much of your cash application is automated?

Things to watch for 3 International Team of ~30 people= HR work.

Watch the local rules, HR rules vary widely by

country/state.

Sounds simple, but how much do you know about

strengths and developmental areas on your team?

Are you promoting what your team does (cash flow,

minimizing bad debt hit to P&L) with senior management

(Finance).

Are you promoting what your team does (partnering with

the business) with sales management?

Questions?

Autodesk and the Autodesk logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affi liates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

© 2016 Autodesk. All rights reserved.