Western European firms have become wiser

According to the 2014 edition of the Atradius Payment Practices Barometer, in Western Europe in the first quarter of 2014 only 42.4 percent of sales realised by companies were on credit, while in Q1 2013 this ratio was 45 percent.

This indicates that companies in the examined 13 Western European countries have become wiser, learning from the negative experiences caused by worsening payment practices. Balázs Vanek, country manager of Atradius Credit Insurance pointed out that Western European firms have started to manage their finances – including debt collecting – much more consciously than a year before. They select their business partners more carefully and use debt management services more and more frequently. Days sales outstanding (DSO) reduced from last year’s 56.6 days to 52 days this year.