Debt Management Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Credit Managers, Accounts Receivable Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-FM-109

Before you join: Participants should understand basic financial statements, invoices, payment terms and the purpose of accounts receivable.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Late payment, weak credit decisions, unresolved disputes and unreliable debtor data can tie up cash, increase write-offs and distract commercial teams from profitable growth. Finance professionals need to balance customer relationships with firm collection discipline, while maintaining accurate forecasts, defensible credit decisions and clear escalation routes. This course addresses the operational and financial controls required to reduce overdue receivables and manage debt exposure with confidence.

Participants examine the full debt management cycle: credit assessment, customer onboarding, credit limits, invoicing, cash application, collections, dispute resolution, impairment and write-off control. They build and interpret ageing reports, calculate DSO and cash conversion cycle measures, create 13-week cash forecasts, and prioritise collection actions using risk and value criteria. The course also covers debt capacity, covenant monitoring, refinancing risk and the relationship between receivables control and liquidity management.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with financial cases, group analysis, collection simulations and practical planning tasks. Participants work with realistic scenarios involving commercial customers, public-sector buyers, distributors and financially stressed counterparties. They leave with a debt management toolkit containing an ageing analysis model, credit assessment scorecard, collection escalation matrix, dispute log, cash forecast structure and 90-day improvement plan. A certificate of completion is issued to participants who complete the course.

The course suits finance, credit, collections and treasury professionals responsible for improving cash collection, controlling customer credit exposure or reporting debt risk to management. It is also relevant to commercial managers who influence payment terms, customer onboarding and dispute resolution.

What you will be able to do

  • Build a 13-week rolling cash forecast from receivables, payroll and supplier commitments
  • Analyse ageing reports using DSO, overdue percentages, concentration and collection risk indicators
  • Apply the Five Cs of Credit to assess customer creditworthiness and set limits
  • Design a collection escalation process with contact cadence, promises-to-pay and referral criteria
  • Resolve invoice disputes using root-cause analysis, ownership controls and closure targets
  • Calculate expected credit loss inputs using probability of default, loss given default and exposure at default
  • Monitor debt covenants, maturity profiles and refinancing risks using lender-defined metrics
  • Produce a 90-day debt reduction plan with owners, milestones, targets and reporting measures

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Make defensible credit-limit recommendations supported by financial and trading evidence
  • Identify collection priorities quickly from ageing, exposure and dispute information
  • Improve discussions with customers using structured payment and escalation approaches
  • Prepare clearer debt-risk reports for finance leaders and commercial stakeholders
  • Build a practical record of debt-management tools for immediate workplace use

For your organisation

  • Reduce overdue receivables through disciplined prioritisation and escalation
  • Improve short-term liquidity forecasts using receipt-based cash forecasting
  • Lower bad-debt losses through stronger credit assessment and impairment evidence
  • Reduce avoidable disputes through clearer ownership and root-cause controls
  • Strengthen governance over credit limits, write-offs, settlements and covenant reporting

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can connect receivables performance to working capital, liquidity and collection priorities.

  • Working-capital cycle mapped from order acceptance through cash application
  • Days sales outstanding reconciled with ageing buckets and invoice data
  • Cash conversion cycle calculated using receivables, inventory and payables days
  • Receivables concentration assessed by customer, currency, sector and contractual terms
  • 13-week rolling cash forecast built from receipts, payroll and supplier commitments
  • Collection priorities ranked using value, delinquency, dispute status and risk

Participants can produce reliable debtor analysis and identify the drivers of overdue balances.

  • Ageing buckets defined by invoice due date, not posting date
  • Debtor ledger reconciled to general ledger control account balances
  • DSO calculated using ending receivables, average receivables and credit sales
  • Collection effectiveness index compared with DSO and overdue percentage
  • Pareto analysis identifies customers driving overdue value and collection workload
  • Promise-to-pay performance measured by amount, date, fulfilment and breakage
  • Trend analysis separates seasonal patterns from deteriorating payment behaviour

Participants can assess credit risk and establish proportionate customer credit terms and limits.

  • Five Cs of Credit applied to new-account assessment
  • Credit application evidence specified: legal identity, ownership, bank and trade references
  • Financial statement ratios tested for liquidity, gearing, coverage and profitability
  • Credit limits set through scorecards, exposure caps and approval authorities
  • Payment terms aligned with margin, bargaining power and funding cost
  • Guarantees, letters of credit and retention-of-title clauses evaluated
  • Customer master data controls prevent duplicate accounts and unauthorised limit changes

Participants can reduce preventable payment delays through stronger invoice-to-cash controls.

  • Invoice accuracy checked against purchase orders, contracts and delivery evidence
  • Electronic invoicing requirements documented for customer portals and public buyers
  • Cash application matched using remittance advice, references and tolerance rules
  • Unapplied cash investigated through customer contact and bank statement analysis
  • Pre-due reminders timed by customer segment, invoice value and payment history
  • First-contact collection scripts focus on facts, commitments and next actions
  • Contact records capture dispute codes, promises, owners and follow-up dates

Participants can manage collection activity through structured segmentation, contact plans and escalation decisions.

  • Collection segments defined by balance, days overdue, risk and strategic value
  • Dunning schedules sequence reminders, calls, notices and account restrictions
  • Promises-to-pay recorded with amount, due date and evidence requirements
  • Negotiated payment plans tested against affordability, security and approval limits
  • Escalation matrix assigns actions for broken promises and unresponsive debtors
  • Settlement offers evaluated against recovery probability, cost and precedent risk
  • Collection agency referrals governed by documentation, authority and performance measures

Participants can control invoice disputes and prepare overdue cases for appropriate recovery action.

  • Dispute log categorises pricing, quantity, quality, delivery and documentation failures
  • Root-cause analysis traces recurring disputes to process owners and corrective actions
  • Undisputed balances separated from disputed amounts before collection decisions
  • Dispute service levels assign response deadlines, evidence standards and escalation paths
  • Recovery files assemble contracts, invoices, correspondence and delivery documentation
  • Legal referral criteria consider limitation periods, recoverability and jurisdiction
  • Customer communication preserves commercial relationships while protecting payment rights

Participants can report receivables risk and support impairment and write-off decisions with evidence.

  • IFRS 9 expected credit loss stages distinguished from operational delinquency statuses
  • Probability of default, loss given default and exposure at default estimated
  • Specific provisions separated from portfolio allowances using documented evidence
  • Bad-debt write-off approvals tied to recovery evidence and accounting policy
  • Ageing reports reconciled to general ledger control accounts and subledgers
  • Collection metrics reported: DSO, overdue percentage, promise-kept rate and recovery yield
  • Management commentary explains movements, concentrations, risks and corrective actions

Participants can assess how borrowing terms, covenants and maturity profiles affect liquidity planning.

  • Debt capacity estimated from EBITDA, free cash flow and covenant headroom
  • Interest coverage and net debt ratios interpreted under lender definitions
  • Fixed-versus-floating rate exposure compared using base-case and stress scenarios
  • Debt maturity profile examined for refinancing concentrations and liquidity gaps
  • Covenant compliance certificate assembled from agreed reporting definitions and source records
  • Facility drawdowns, repayments and fees reconciled to treasury cash forecasts
  • Lender communication plans address forecast variance, waiver requests and covenant pressure

Participants can establish governance controls that protect receivables, cash receipts and debt decisions.

  • RACI matrix assigns ownership for credit, collections, disputes and write-offs
  • Segregation of duties protects customer amendments, receipts and credit notes
  • Delegated authorities define limit approvals, settlements and exception escalation
  • Monthly control account reconciliations identify unapplied cash and posting errors
  • Internal audit evidence retained for collection decisions and impairment judgements
  • Fraud indicators reviewed in bank-detail changes, refunds and credit notes
  • Policy exceptions tracked by reason, approver, duration and financial exposure

Participants can create a targeted debt reduction plan supported by measures, owners and review routines.

  • Current-state diagnostic converts ageing, DSO and dispute data into priorities
  • Root-cause analysis separates process failures from customer-specific payment risks
  • 90-day debt reduction plan assigns actions, owners, milestones and measures
  • Collection dashboard specifies targets, thresholds, cadence and escalation triggers
  • Stakeholder communication plan aligns sales, finance, operations and senior sponsors
  • Benefits tracking links cash released, losses avoided and cost-to-collect
  • Personal application commitments schedule first-week actions and review dates

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. 13-week rolling cash forecast template
  2. Customer credit assessment scorecard
  3. Receivables ageing and DSO analysis model
  4. Collection escalation matrix
  5. Invoice dispute log and root-cause tracker
  6. 90-day debt reduction action plan

Who should attend

  • Credit Managers — need consistent credit decisions, limits and collection controls
  • Accounts Receivable Managers — need to reduce overdue balances and improve cash application
  • Finance Managers — need reliable debtor reporting, forecasts and impairment evidence
  • Collections Supervisors — need structured escalation, promise tracking and dispute management
  • Treasury Analysts — need receivables forecasts and visibility of liquidity pressures
  • Commercial Managers — need payment terms and customer actions aligned with credit policy

Skills and tools covered

Cash flow forecastingCredit risk assessmentCollections managementReceivables analysisCovenant monitoringDebt governance

Tools and standards

Five Cs of Credit, 13-week rolling cash forecast, IFRS 9 expected credit loss model, RACI matrix

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, followed by worked cases, group analysis, spreadsheet-based calculations and collection simulations. Participants interpret ageing reports, assess customer credit evidence, prepare cash forecasts and decide escalation actions for overdue accounts. Cases include disputed invoices, distressed customers, concentration risk and lender covenant pressure. Facilitated discussion compares alternative decisions and their cash, customer and control consequences. The final sessions focus on translating findings into a practical 90-day debt management improvement plan.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic financial statements, invoices, payment terms and the purpose of accounts receivable. Experience in finance, credit control, collections, treasury, sales operations or customer service is helpful, particularly where participants work with customer balances or cash forecasts. Participants should be comfortable reading simple spreadsheets and performing percentage calculations. Prior study of accounting standards, lending documentation, financial modelling or debt recovery law is not required. The course explains technical concepts before applying them to cases and operational decisions.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should understand basic invoices, payment terms, receivables and financial statements. Prior credit-control, treasury or accounting experience is useful, but no specialist debt recovery or accounting-standard knowledge is required.

Bring a laptop if possible, as some activities use spreadsheet-style financial analysis. Participants may also bring anonymised examples of ageing reports, credit policies or collection challenges for use during application planning.

It is designed for credit, accounts receivable, collections, finance and treasury professionals. Commercial managers with responsibility for payment terms, customer onboarding or overdue accounts will also benefit.

The course includes practical collections and dispute management, but extends further into cash forecasting, impairment, borrowing, covenants and governance. It links operational debtor control to liquidity and financial management decisions.

Participants leave with reusable templates for cash forecasting, credit assessment, ageing analysis, dispute tracking and escalation. The final module converts their priority issues into a 90-day plan with measurable actions and owners.

The programme runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day and provides about 6.5 contact hours daily. Time is divided between instructor input, cases, calculations, discussion, simulations and structured application planning across ten modules.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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