Credit Manager Job Description: Role, Duties and Requirements

The Credit Manager job description sets out the purpose, responsibilities and required skills for a professional responsible for managing an organisation's credit risk and accounts receivable function. This role is suitable for candidates with experience in credit control, debt recovery and financial analysis who can lead credit policies, support cash flow objectives and work collaboratively with sales and finance teams.

Credit Manager Job Profile

The Credit Manager manages credit risk, customer creditworthiness and collections to protect working capital and minimise bad debt. The role involves establishing credit limits, implementing credit policy, monitoring receivables and ensuring timely recovery of outstanding balances.

The postholder provides strategic oversight of credit processes, delivers regular reporting on credit performance and supports continuous improvement initiatives to optimise cash flow and customer relationships.

Credit Manager Job Description

The Credit Manager oversees day to day credit control operations and defines credit strategies aligned with company objectives. This includes setting credit terms, approving limits, reviewing customer credit files and conducting periodic credit reviews to identify and mitigate risk. The role requires liaison with sales, finance and legal teams to resolve disputes and agree recovery plans while preserving customer relationships where appropriate.

The role requires production of management information on ageing, days sales outstanding and bad debt provisions to inform senior management decisions. The Credit Manager leads and develops a team of credit controllers, ensures compliance with regulatory and accounting requirements and drives process improvements to increase efficiency in receivables management.

Credit Manager: Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain credit policy, procedures and approval processes to manage risk
• Assess customer creditworthiness using financial analysis and credit references
• Set and review customer credit limits and payment terms
• Manage the collections process to reduce days sales outstanding and overdue balances
• Investigate and resolve billing disputes and liaison with sales and operations to agree resolutions
• Authorise credit decisions within delegated authority and escalate higher risk cases
• Oversee debt recovery actions including negotiated payment arrangements and legal escalation where necessary
• Prepare regular reports on receivables, ageing, provisions and credit exposure for senior management
• Forecast cash inflows from receivables and contribute to cash flow planning
• Manage and develop the credit control team through coaching, performance management and training
• Ensure compliance with accounting standards and regulatory requirements relating to credit and collections
• Identify and implement process improvements to enhance efficiency and reduce credit risk
• Coordinate with finance on bad debt provisioning and year end audit queries
• Maintain accurate customer credit files and documentation for audit and review purposes

Credit Manager: Requirements and Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, business or related discipline
• Minimum of five years experience in credit control, accounts receivable or credit management
• Strong understanding of credit assessment, risk management and debt recovery practices
• Proven ability to lead and develop a credit control team
• Excellent numeracy and analytical skills with attention to detail
• Strong negotiation and communication skills for dealing with customers and internal stakeholders
• Experience preparing management reports and credit performance metrics
• Knowledge of relevant financial and regulatory compliance requirements
• Ability to make sound credit decisions and manage competing priorities
• Proactive approach to process improvement and controls
• Good organisational skills and ability to work under pressure to meet targets
• High level of integrity and professionalism in handling confidential financial information