Barometer 2008 for the receivables management of European companies

Report Germany (Dec. 2007)

Expectations of enterprises in Germany are positive for 2008

70% of the interviewed middle-sized companies expect an increase of their turnover in 2008. The raised expectations regarding business operations (44%) and profitability (48%) support forecasts of an increase in their investments: 80% of them count on robust or rising investment costs in comparison with 2007.

Bad debts occur comparatively frequent in Germany; payment targets are clearly shorter than in other European countries

79% of the German companies are affected by bad debts. This quota has been decreased by 17%, which is still a high percentage compared to the European average (74%). The payment period of German SMEs average 41 days (38 days in Europe). The payment term has been shortened in total by one week during the last two years.

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