At Your Service.

Estimating Payback

"Recent findings from the Commercial Law League of America indicate that without a predictive tool in place, a company has only a 72-percent chance of recovering an account through collections after three months, and only a 28-percent chance after a year," notes Allen Mills, vice president of marketing at Experian, a global information solutions company. Therefore, Experian developed Collection Priority Intelliscore, an automated, predictive receivable scoring service tailored for collections. Mills says the product "helps a business determine whether it will recover at least 50 percent of a commercial account through collections within a year, and provides a clearer picture of the associated costs and risks."

Thus, companies can decide which collections to work internally and which to outsource to a collection agency. The score can also be adapted to insure proper staff account assignments. For example, high-risk accounts might be given to an experienced collector, while low-risk collections would go to the less experienced collector. A company also can use the scoring methodology and strategy to define the collections portion of its credit policy.

Experian is at 600 City Parkway. W., Orange, Calif. 92868, [phone], or at www.experian.com.

Combat Computer Fraud

Fundamentals of Computer Fraud is a basic-level, self-study course applicable to accountants, internal and external auditors, computer security specialists and others with fraud prevention and detection responsibilities. The video/workbook set covers Internet fraud and e-commerce, investigating computer crimes and security auditing and testing. It also describes future trends in computer crime, including computer-enabled embezzlement and theft. The video and workbook can be purchased individually, and a 20-question examination may be returned to the publisher, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, for 20 CPE credits.

For information about this and other products the association offers, call [phone] or [phone], e-mail [e-mail] or visit www.cfenet.com.

At Your Service Bookshelf

* Capital Markets Handbook from Aspen Law & Business is a resource for anyone involved in crafting public offerings and a tactical manual for those who deal professionally in today's capital markets. It covers securities law, documentation, underwriting, pricing, distributions, settlements and aftermarket trading, and helps you locate service providers and other external resources. $165. Call [phone] or visit www.aspenpublishers.com.

* Intellectual Property in the Global Marketplace from John Wiley & Sons is one in a new line of intellectual property books aimed at business professionals. It can help a CFO to evaluate a business from a knowledge perspective and see intangible assets as real assets. Volume 1 discusses valuation, protection and electronic commerce. Volume 2 covers exploitation and provides country-by-country profiles. $250 for the set; $155 per volume. Wiley books are available at local bookstores or by calling [phone] [in Canada, call [phone]].

* Securities Regulation in Cyberspace from Bowne Publishing Division suggests practical applications and realistic solutions for the electronic revolution in securities regulation. Chapters include information on electronic posting and delivery of SEC documents, finding capital through the Internet, creating electronic stock trading markets, international offerings, online proxy materials and cyberspace securities fraud. $225. Contact Bowne Publishing Division, 345 Hudson St., New York, N.Y. 10014, [phone] or [e-mail].