Christopher Lee

The recession has hit the accounts receivable management industry in a different way than most sectors of the U.S. economy. But the impact is similar: less money coming in.

So large ARM companies have been dealing with the pain. And in what can only be called a progressive move, some are cutting at the top. NCO Group said last week that its executives did not receive cash bonuses for 2008. Asset Acceptance is cutting an executive position altogether (“Asset Acceptance Eliminates Executive Position: VP of Strategy and Analysis,” April 3).

And that’s where Mr. Lee comes in. He was the holder of the position that Asset Acceptance cut: Vice President – Strategy and Analysis.

News of the cut prompted some interesting responses on insideARM. Some applauded Asset Acceptance for cutting one large fish rather than many smaller ones. Others argued that eliminating top talent, especially someone responsible for things like strategy and analysis, at a time like this is crazy talk.

But ARM companies aren’t traditionally very top-heavy, at least as it relates to executive structure. The line workers – collectors and collection management – can be much more important than a full suite of executives. Asset Acceptance obviously agreed with this notion.