ACA speakers present best practices on working with accounts receivable management industry regulators and overcoming burnout.
3/24/2021 16:00
ACA International’s virtual conference focused on innovation, ACA IGNITE, was off to a great start Wednesday with attendees interacting and learning online together.
ACA IGNITE features 23 sessions including six on “Fueling Operation Transformation” and six on “Compliance, The New Tomorrow,” as well as 10 Innovation Stage sessions presented by sponsors.
Click here to read about the main stage presentation from keynote speaker Betsy Ziegler and the Women in Collections Resource Council special event on mentoring.
Here are some takeaways from Wednesday’s sessions.
In the “Compliance, The New Tomorrow,” track, Dennis Barton III, owner and managing attorney at The Barton Law Group LLC, and Elizabeth Conklin, director, organizational training and development, State Collection Service Inc., presented a session titled “Highlighting the CFPB’s Biggest Concerns and How to Avoid Them.”
The session focused on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s January 2021 Supervisory Highlights report and takeaways on what the CFPB identifies as the biggest areas of noncompliance.
The review of the report served as a primer to help agencies identify areas of focus for compliance and highlighted training best practices.
Barton and Conklin explained how members can address, avoid or correct concerns within their own companies.
Training is critical to mitigate compliance risks, according to Conklin, and Barton reminded attendees to prioritize areas that create the most exposure to enforcement actions, such as third-party disclosures and credit reporting.
Make sure to have a documented course of action and a remediation plan in place, and regularly audit your policies and procedures and collection calls to help identify areas for improvement.
Wednesday’s education sessions also focused on operations.
In an afternoon session, “Burnout Blues,” Kristen Rowles, director of organizational development and training at CBE, presented tips on identifying burnout and how to overcome it in 2021.
The interactive session, moderated by Harry Strausser III, president of Applied Innovation Inc., brought together accounts receivable management industry professionals to discuss the challenges of the last year and new ways to connect employees working remotely and in the office.
Suggestions included engagement activities such as trivia games and virtual book clubs.
Presenters encouraged leaders to keep in mind that employees are working at home while their families and pets are there, which may present distractions, while others are alone and may be struggling with other stressors.
Companies can try creating weekly or monthly “blackout” days without meetings, allowing employees to dedicate certain days to projects without interruption, Rowles explained.
Day two of ACA IGNITE will feature the conclusion of education on operations and compliance as well as more Innovation Stage and Sponsor Showcase presentations with product ideas and solutions for businesses. Make sure to visit the ACA Central link in the Sponsor Showcase for information on ACA products and education curriculum.
Here are a few things to know for the remainder of ACA IGNITE:
All sessions except for the WICRC event and the virtual escape room happy hour will be recorded and available on-demand through April 30, 2021. Ziegler’s keynote presentation will also be available on-demand.
Game Prizes
Three prizes are available for our top three event movers and shakers. These include: Apple AirPods, a Kate Spade weekender tote and an Amazon gift card. For full details on how to earn points, visit the Social Lounge in the IGNITE event platform.
Text Messaging
Stepping away from your desk between sessions? Text “IGNITE21” to 77513 to receive event reminders on your phone. Alerts are sponsored by Solutions By Text. Text messaging and data rates may apply.?
Swag Boxes
Swag boxes were curated to spark creative brain breaks in an otherwise task- and deadline-driven world. Sponsor ezPay365 helped provide the one-of-a-kind ACA coloring book. Limited quantities of swag boxes were available and mailed out to attendees who requested one. If you didn’t get a swag box but want to check out the coloring book, head to the Resource Center in the virtual platform to find a PDF copy.
Thank you to our IGNITE sponsors: Applied Innovation Inc., FICO, Interactions, Observe.AI, Attunely, NobelBiz, WebRecon LLC, Renkim, Payscout, Repay, Prodigal, Solutions by Text, Debt$Net Collection Software, VoApps, Collectors Insurance Agency, ezPay365, Learn.net Inc., American Business Communication, CT Corporation, Interprose, LiveVox Inc., KG Hawes, RevSpring, Oliver Technology Corporation and Text Request.