Minimum Requirements for Credit Management (MRCM)

Current studies confirm that inadequately performed credit management in the sense of management of debtor risk represents one of the major reasons for the insolvency of companies. At the same time, however, there were no recognised guidelines for credit management. The MRCM are eliminating this gap for Switzerland. Building on the outstanding work of the German “Bundesverband für Credit Management e.V.”, our association was able to assume the minimum requirements for credit management already in use in Germany and adapt them to conditions in Switzerland. At this point we would like to thank the Bundesverband für Credit Management e.V. for graciously allowing us to use their guidelines. We would also like to express our appreciation to the many credit management officers of major Swiss companies who assisted us in revising the MRCM for Switzerland. With the Minimum Requirements for Credit Management (MRCM), interested companies now have a guideline in which the basic elements of a functioning credit management system are described. In line with our goal of developing guidelines "from practice for practice", we took special pains to ensure that the minimum requirements can be applied in widely differing companies. The minimum requirements definitely are not to be understood as a "best practice guide" but rather as the basic requirement for the further development of a company's own credit management system all the way to the "best practice". The possibility of certification of internal processes of a company thus is merely a logical step for making it possible to document to interested third parties, such as shareholders or creditors, that the company meets the minimum requirements for credit management and thus has satisfied an important condition for the sustainability of the company.