Analysis of Gas Sales Receivables in the National Iranian Gas Company with an Emphasis on the Optimization of Receivable's Liquidation Methods

Designation of incentive mechanisms to increase the speed of liquidity of receivables is one of the leading options for streamlining domestic resources in the field of oil and gas industry financing. The main objective of this research is to investigate and optimize the liquidity methods of gas sales receivables in line with the requirements of the National Iranian Gas Company. After a deep review of literature, we extract methods and legal platforms for receivables liquidation methods. The current research is an applied and descriptive-analytical research in terms of its purpose and methodology. The data analysis is a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods and required data for this study including the amounts and duration of deferred receivables by different categories of subscribers of the NIGC during 2012 to 2018. Subsequently, in order to visualize the data in the form of heat tables, Microsoft's Business Intelligence software is applied to understand the process of creating and settlement of receivables, cluster receivables by the different categories of subscription and, finally, reveal the subscriber behavior patterns in disbursements. Finally, using theoretical foundations and experts' opinions, a set of optimal methods has been recommended to accelerate the process of collecting current receivables, depending on the behavior of different groups of subscribers. Based on the results of the interviews, NIGC should apply IT-based methods, incentive policies and deterrent (punitive) strategies to accelerate the liquidation of receivables in household and commercial subscription.