Mayo Computers Ltd has an annual turnover of £20 m before taking into account bad debts of £0.1 m. All sales made by the company are on credit and, at present, credit terms are negotiable by the customer. On average, the settlement period for trade debtors is 60 days. The company is currently reviewing its credit policies to see whether more efficient and profitable methods could be employed.

Only one proposal has so far been put forward concerning the management of trade credit.

The credit control department has proposed that customers should be given a 2 ^1/2 per cent discount if they pay within 30 days. For those who do not pay within this period, a maximum of 50 days’ credit should be given. The credit department believes that 60 per cent of customers will take advantage of the discount by paying at the end of the discount period and the remainder will pay at the end of 50 days. The credit department believes that bad debts can be effectively eliminated by adopting the above policies and by employing stricter credit investigation procedures which will cost an additional £20,000 per annum. The credit department are confident that these new policies will not result in any i reduction in sales.

Calculate the net annual cost (savings) to the company of abandoning its existing credit policies and adopting the proposals of the credit control department. (Hint: In order to answer this question you must weigh the costs of administration and cash discounts against the savings in bad debts and interest charges.)