CCP Intermediate Level
Collections Management cheat sheet
Every chapter's key points, formulas and definitions on one page, for the last week before the exam. Each heading links to the chapter that explains it.
Credit control and collections
- Collections is where earlier credit decisions are converted into cash: however well credit was granted, liquidity and profitability depend on collecting what is owed.
- Centralised collections give a consistent process but less local and relationship knowledge; decentralised collections sit closer to the customer but are less consistent; larger Kenyan banks and SACCOs often run a hybrid of the two.
- The collection officer's dual objective is to maximise recovery while preserving the customer relationship where it still has value, which is why collections is a distinct discipline from legal recovery.
- Consumer credit runs shorter, standardised reminder cycles; trade credit follows invoice terms with a more negotiated approach; export credit cycles are longer, document-dependent and complicated by jurisdiction and currency.
- Manual collection suits high-value or complex accounts, while automated, system-triggered reminders at days-past-due milestones suit high-volume, lower-value consumer portfolios.
Key terms
- Centralised collections
- One dedicated unit handles collections across the organisation, consistent process but less local/relationship knowledge.
- Decentralised collections
- Collections handled within business units or branches, closer to the customer relationship but less consistent practice.
- Hybrid structures
- Common in larger Kenyan banks and SACCOs: a centralised early-stage collections/call-centre function, escalating to relationship managers or a specialist recoveries unit for larger or more complex accounts.
- Consumer credit
- Typically shorter cycles, standardised reminders (SMS, call, letter) escalating on a fixed timetable, common for Kenyan bank personal loans, mobile lending apps, and SACCO loans.
- Trade credit
- Business-to-business, cycles tied to invoice terms, often with a relationship-based, more negotiated approach given the ongoing commercial relationship at stake.
- Export credit
- Cross-border cycles, longer and more document-dependent (see the chapter on documentary collections), complicated by jurisdictional and currency factors.
- Manual process
- Individually reviewed accounts, personalised calls and letters, resource-intensive but suited to high-value or complex accounts.
- Automated process
- System-triggered reminders (SMS, automated calls, email) at defined days-past-due milestones, standard for high-volume, lower-value consumer portfolios, e.g. Kenyan digital lending apps that auto-trigger SMS reminders the day a repayment is missed.
The rest of the sheet covers
- Communication and personal skills
- Collection methods and techniques
- Documentary collections
- Collection policy and measurement
- Debt rearrangement schemes
- Computerised collection systems
- Collection risks
- Regulation and the industry
- Exam technique and revision
- Glossary