Factris Head of Risk Edmundas Volskis: “What we have achieved proves that we were on the right track in developing a factoring company!”
This is a person who can definitely be called a Factris (formerly Debifo) veteran in Lithuania. “I was the first employee at this company, aside from the manager at the time, of course,” says Edmundas, who has been working in the company for four years. During this time he grew professionally and contributed to the development of the company as a whole.
“Previously, I had a chance to work in the fields of data analysis and business consulting. One day I just realised that working in a large organisation leaves less room for inventiveness as you have to adhere to the established discipline. Meanwhile, at smaller, growing companies, you can deal with various aspects of business specifics that I find very interesting. This aspiration brought me to Debifo. I started here as an operations specialist. After a year, I became head of the Operations and Risk Department, and a bit later, after merging with Factris – the Head of Risk for Lithuania and Latvia. I’m now working at the international level,” says Edmundas, sharing the story of his progress.
From a potential client to a real client
“If you asked me to describe my responsibility in simple terms, I’d say that together with my team we are the ‘last stage’ that the salesperson has to pass for a potential client to become a real client of our company. I analyse potential clients’ financial data and creditworthiness reports, and work with the salespersons to evaluate the needs of the client until we finally make a financing decision,” says Mr. Volskis about his everyday activities.
Actually, it doesn’t stop there. A potential client, who becomes a Factris client isn’t, as Edmundas says, left to himself. “We monitor what’s going on with our clients – what changes are occurring in their activities and finances. The financing conditions are periodically reviewed. Of course, in addition to all this, there is also report preparation and factoring portfolio analysis. Basically, there is really a lot of different work that has to be arranged and done, but I find it very interesting,” says Edmundas.
Since Factris is committed to delivering an initial financing proposal to the client in just one working day, the job naturally demands speed and utmost precision. “The final decision also depends on the client himself – when he will be able to provide all of the necessary information. It is in our interest to ensure that we cooperate with the client in an effective and efficient way,” says the Head of Risk at Factris.
First, customer must feel the need of factoring
Edmundas recalls that when the company just started, it was quite difficult to present the benefits of factoring to business. “Companies knew little about the factoring service, so we had to play a certain education role, but we are seeing significant progress over the years of operation. Companies are interested and taking the initiative themselves, and together we find the best solutions. This is very gratifying and makes you realise that all of your work has not been in vain,” says Mr. Volskis.
Edmundas advises companies that are considering applying for a factoring service first of all to think about why a factoring service is necessary and beneficial to them. “The company has to feel a real need for additional funding – for expansion or additional projects that need investment. You have to evaluate whether the profit margin allows them to use of a factoring service. Of course, we are there to help our customers to evaluate all this. True, sometimes we also have to deal with cases where the managers of the companies or the heads of units are unaware or not knowledgeable about their operational processes, and are not familiar with financial statement items or are unable to answer simple questions about their business specifics. This does not make a good impression, and in that case cooperation does not always result. Our goal is to help companies grow and we strive to make it a reality and deliver real benefits, so naturally we need to properly assess the risks,” says the Head of Risk at Factris.
Only focused work produces results
“I can confidently state that my work at the company has broadened my worldview and I have become acquainted with many business processes. The specifics of factoring force you to learn fast, and if you make a mistake, you have to respond here and now, so I must admit that the ability to adapt to the situation, speed and self-control are essential in my everyday activities,” says Edmundas.
He says that he firmly believes that nothing comes easy, and that only focused work produces results. “When I look back and reflect on how our company developed, I can swear that all of the work has not been in vain – from a small team of a few people huddled around two tables to an international company! We are definitely doing something right and we don’t plan to stop!” says Mr Volskis, not hiding his enthusiasm.
As Edmundas says, he doesn’t like to sit around after work. “Wakeboarding, trail running, boxing, travelling – all this motivates me to move forward and maintain a work-life balance, which is really necessary,” says the young man speaking about his leisure activities.