Companies and suppliers disagree over payment deadlines

“The Romanian economy has not yet been very seriously affected by the international financial crisis. However, difficulties related to access of financing are beginning to appear, and banks have become more cautious about granting loans,” Toader added. The KPMG survey indicated that some 92 percent of interviewed financial managers said that, in most cases, clients are trying to delay payment deadlines, while 87 percent said that suppliers are demanding that invoices be paid in advance. Only 14 percent of the companies managed to have an accurate cash flow forecast in the past 12 months. Companies that rewarded their managers with bonuses based on performance of the working capital registered far better results in the past three years, and are expecting to be less affected in the coming three years, according to the study. KPMG indicated that companies were more interested in the past few years in profit, to the detriment of efficient financial management.