© 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson LimitedChapter Setting a Credit Policy ◦ Credit policy: Standards set to determine the amount and nature of credit to extend to customers The decision to offer credit depends on the probability of payment Grant credit if the expected profit from doing so is greater than the profit from refusing LO5
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson LimitedChapter If credit is refused, there is no profit or loss. If credit is offered, there is a probability (p) that the customer will pay and seller will make (Rev – cost). This also means that there is a probability (1 – p) that the customer will default and the loss will be the cost: LO5
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson LimitedChapter The expected profit from the two sources of action are as follows: The firm should grant credit if the expected profit from doing so is positive Refuse Credit: 0 Grant Credit: p x PV(Rev – Cost) – (1-p) x PV(Cost) LO5
© 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson LimitedChapter Some general principles ◦ Maximize profit ◦ Concentrate on the dangerous accounts ◦ Look beyond the immediate order LO5