Top A/R Pros Drive Compliance and Production
Compliance with federal and state regulation has made and destroyed accounts receivable organizations. It is the pillar on which respect in the accounts receivable industry rests. Collection Advisor reached out to leaders in the industry for nominations for accounts receivable professionals who not only strive to discern and adhere to regulation but educate professionals around them to improve the industry as a whole.
Collection Advisor is proud to present the Who’s Who in Compliance 2018. Each of those selected provides their response to the question: What is something first and third party accounts receivable professionals should act on regarding compliance in 2018?
JOE ADAMS CCCO, CRCP, CIA
Executive Vice President | Hampton Pryor Group
“Reviewing all aspects of their Compliance Management System to ensure that the proper controls are in place to guarantee its effectivity and success.”
JOHN H. BEDARD, JR.
Managing Attorney | Bedard Law Group, P.C.
“Act on your data! Data is the raw material of analysis. ARM professionals hold the most comprehensive source of collectioncycle data in the marketplace. Analyze that data. Study that data. Mine the gold out of that data! Drive compliance and production using one of the very best resources you possess – your data!”
LESLIE BENDER
Chief Strategy Officer & General Counsel | BCA Financial Services, Inc.
“In 2018 top compliance priorities need to include data security and ongoing aware- ness training and reminders for an organization’s workforce.”
LADONNA BOHLING
VP of Special Ops | Contract Callers, Inc.
“ARM Professionals should focus on vulnerability and risk assessments; more specifically their internal and external auditing processes, their examination cadences and their remediation efforts. Weakness in ongoing protections versus the managing of potential threats systematically requires consistent improvements.”
RICK BONITZER
President/CEO | Credit Collection Partners
“Surround yourself with good people; specifically, vendors. Your vendor partners should have your back from a compliance standpoint. Visit with them often and ask pointed questions about how they are keeping you compliant.”
DAVE CHERNER
Attorney | Moss & Barnett
“Make a commitment to converting unstructured compliance data (complaint narrative, phone calls, etc.) into structured information that can be incorporated with your account management software. Integrating usable compliance information with production data is the key to improving exception reporting and finding the needles without digging through the haystack.”
DEBRA CISKEY
Chief Compliance Officer | Wakefield and Associates, Inc.
“Compliance officers must become data analysts. Valid or not valid, complaints from consumers drive the enforcement activity of regulators, so use data the way they do to spot potential problem areas in our agencies, then correct practices that drive complaints. Think like a consumer and a regulator.”
DEBBIE DIRUBBIO
Collection Manager | CBHV Collection Bureau of the Hudson Valley, Inc.
“A compliance management system has an absolutely necessary place in the accounts receivable operation, but we can’t lose sight of the end game – which is, of course profitability. We shouldn’t sacrifice one for the other – balance is key.”
MIKE FROST
Chief Compliance, Sales Officer and General Counsel | CBE Companies, Inc.
“In 2018, all first and third party accounts receivable management professionals should consider the various forms of consumer communication and how those forms of communication may align within their respective compliance management system. The manner in which we communicate is continuously evolving and innovative standards warrant immense consideration from a compliance perspective.”
KATIE GRZECHNIK NEILL
Compliance & Litigation Counsel | ARS National Services Inc.
“While things are relatively quiet in early 2018, compliance professionals should button up their company’s change control procedures for the anticipated changes coming in 2018. A honed-in change control process will make implementing new regulatory requirements a smoother experience.”
NICK JARMAN
Owner | Right Away Consulting
“They should act on and embrace the latest technology. There is a myriad of technology available to the ARM industry that is relatively new such as VoApps, Solutions by Text, and InterProse to name a few. To succeed in the future, it is important to embrace technology in the present.”
ALICIA S. MCKEIGHAN
Chief Compliance Officer | Afni, Inc.
“The industry’s compliance focus should shift to technology solutions such as automation of compliance controls designed to decrease risk, and machine learning tools that give us more visibility to risk. The regulatory landscape may be shifting from regulation by enforcement to real rules, potentially allowing us to make technological advances that are mutually beneficial for the industry and our consumers.”
JOANN NEEDLEMAN
Leader – Consumer Financial Services Regulatory & Compliance | Clark Hill PLC.
“2018 presents a unique opportunity for first and third parties to establish long-term regulatory clarity. Industry must be actively engaging federal regulators now to craft workable and reasonable guidance in order to avoid compliance disruptions with every administration change.”
HARRY A. STRAUSSER III
Scholar, Fellow, MCE, IFCCE, CCCO ARM Industry Consultant | Interact Training and Development
“Active participants in the collections industry must pledge a compliant culture in 2018 as the very foundation of their organization. A company grounded in a solid, compliant mindset assures respectful relationships with consumers, acceptance by regulators and ongoing corporate growth and survival.”
NICOLE M. STRICKLER
Partner | Messer Strickler, Ltd.
“Letter review, letter review, letter review. I cannot stress enough how important it is to have your letters reviewed by outside counsel, preferably someone who regularly defends consumer claims. Defense litigators are generally the first to become aware of the new theories being advanced by consumer counsel. Moreover, lawsuits based upon letters have seen a noticeable uptick in the last year.”
ALEX REED
SVP, Operations | CBE Companies
“We must shift from focusing on pure operational efficiency to contact efficacy: reduction of wrong party contacts, and even preempting contact with low yield and compliance-risky debtors. Targeting the right yield – avoiding those that come with baggage.”
ANNE THOMAS
Chief Compliance Officer | Cavalry Portfolio Services, LLC
“Continuous improvement is what a Compliance Management System should achieve. Communication and education are crucial components for compliance pro- fessionals in order to help drive this goal. Equally important, is a strong compliance monitoring program – this allows senior management, compliance and audit to an- swer the question – “How do you know?”