March 2017 Credit Management magazine

CM
CREDIT MANAGEMENT
MARCH 2017 £10.00
THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND
COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS
CELEBRATING
SUCCESS
THE BEST OF THE
BEST IN CREDIT

Wherever you fit...
• Customer risk assessment & take-on
• Credit terms & funding
• Relationship-building & sales growth
• Sales transaction processing
• Invoicing & dispute resolution
• Collecting payment & cash allocation
• Debt recovery
• Litigation
• Insolvency
we’re here to help and support you.
Membership benefits:
Qualifications
& training
Resources &
Industry updates
Networking
events
Credit
Management
magazine
92%
of members are likely to
recommend CICM to
non-members
The Recognised Standard
Join online today at www.cicm.com
or call 01780 722900
FLC

CONTENTS
MARCH 2017
www.cicm.com
REGULARS
4 Editor’s column
6 News
16 CICMQ news
24 Legal Matters - DWF
30 International Trade
60 HR Matters
67 Forthcoming Events
69 New members
75 Cr£ditWho? directory
79 Crossword
33
XX
FEATURES
10 FROM THE CHAIR
Laurie Beagle FCICM considers how
important member engagement is to
the CICM.
11 INSOLVENCY
What changes will the new Standard .
Financial Statement bring? David Kerr .
MCICM explains.
12 RAISING THE BAR
Lucy Armstrong reflects on the
independent Standards Framework
for invoice finance and asset-based
lenders.
14 STAND AND DELIVER
How does the Federation of Small
Businesses work with the CICM? Sean .
Feast met with Mike Cherry to find out.
18 TIPPING POINT
Debbie Tuckwood says the new
apprenticeships will really help to
transform the industry, and urges
credit professionals to get involved.
20 RECOVERY POSITION
How to reduce unnecessary costs in ......
litigation? Amir Ali MCICM explores new ...
proposals.
22 THE FUTURE IS NOW
Pierre Haincourt MCICM gets his head
around the technology of today and
tomorrow.
26 FAST MOVERS
David Sheridan considers the trends that
will affect debt recovery in 2017.
29 TRADE TALK
Currency fluctuations are a feature of
political uncertainty. Lesley Batchelor OBE,
MCICM explains the importance of strategy.
33 CICM BRITISH CREDIT AWARDS 2017
........................................
Comprehensive coverage, including .......
judges' comments for the winners at the
CICM’s annual awards.
52 PAYMENT TRENDS
The latest monthly business-to-business ...
payment performance statistics.
52
14
CICM GOVERNANCE
PRESIDENT
Stephen Baister FCICM
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Philip King FCICM CdipAF MBA
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Laurie Beagle FCICM – Chair
Glen Bullivant FCICM
Sue Chapple FCICM
Larry Coltman FCICM
David Thornley FCICM(Grad) – Treasurer
Pete Whitmore FCICM – Vice Chair
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Laurie Beagle FCICM
Jason Braidwood FCICM(Grad)
Glen Bullivant FCICM
Sue Chapple FCICM
Larry Coltman FCICM
Kim Delaney MCICM
Eleimon Gonis MCICM
Victoria Herd FCICM(Grad)
Christelle Madie MCICM(Grad)
Debbie Nolan FCICM
Bryony Pettifor FCICM(Grad)
Allan Poole MCICM
Phil Rice FCICM
Charlie Robertson FCICM
Chris Sanders FCICM
Richard Seadon FCICM
David Thornley FCICM(Grad)
Debra Weston FCICM
Pete Whitmore FCICM
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 3

CREDIT MANAGEMENT
CM
THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND
COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS
THE
EDITOR’S
COLUMN
APPRENTICES: YOU’RE HIRED!
THERE was an interesting piece in The
Times last month reporting on research
from the Institute of Fiscal Studies
(IFS) that was less than complimentary
about the Government’s new apprenticeships
scheme. The long and the short was that the
new levy, that starts in April, won’t actually
do much, if anything, to create a more skilled
workforce, and that those apprentices who
are lucky enough to sign up won’t be much
cop. It is feared that quality will be sacrificed
for quantity.
The report certainly exercised the mind
of Fiona Macaskill, Head of Learning and
Development at the CSA, who described
the report as ‘unhelpful and misguided’. She
believes that it ‘fails to take into account
the boost it will give to some of the more
under-invested areas of the financial services
community, and in particular those working
in collections and credit management.’ (see
news page 8).
I believe the IFS has missed the point
too. Apprenticeships are not just for new
recruits; existing employees can also be
funded through this route, and there is no
upper age limit on those who can apply. Of
course, the levy might be used as an excuse
for channelling current training investment into
apprenticeships; but I believe it provides an
opportunity of creating something genuinely
‘new’, and significantly raising the bar in an
area that has been previously overlooked.
Our own Debbie Tuckwood, CICM Head
of Education and Professional Development,
takes a similar view. She sees apprenticeships
as the ‘tipping point’ and something that is
little short of a ‘revolution’ for our industry:
‘The creation of an environment where there
is the expectation that those working in credit
management and collections are qualified
would transform the image and influence of
the profession,’ she says (see article page 18)
The Government aims to have more than
three million apprentices by 2020. Debbie
is urging credit and collections managers to
join the apprenticeship revolution, to qualify
teams and transform the profile of the credit
management profession. ‘A community of
highly trained and qualified professionals
will surely establish credit management
and collections as the essential heart of a
business,’ she argues. And who would argue
with that.
CM MAGAZINE | CONTACT AND PUBLISHING DETAILS: ISSN 0265-2099
Publisher
Chartered Institute of Credit Management
The Water Mill
Station Road
South Luffenham
OAKHAM
LE15 8NB
Telephone: 01780 722910
Fax: 01780 721333
Email: editorial@cicm.com
Website: www.cicm.com
CMM: www.creditmanagement.org.uk
Managing Editor
Sean Feast
Deputy Editor
Alex Simmons
Art Editor
Andrew Morris
Telephone: 01780 722910
Email: andrew.morris@cicm.com
Editorial Team
Tom Berger, Imogen Hart and Iona Yadallee
Advertising
Anthony Cave
Telephone: 0203 603 7934
Email: anthony.cave@cabbell.co.uk
Printers
Warners (Midlands) Plc
2017 subscriptions
UK: £90 per annum
International: £115 per annum
Single copies: £10.00
View our digital version online at www.cicm.com Log on to the Members’
area, and click on the tab labelled ‘Credit Management magazine’
Credit Management is distributed to the entire UK and international CICM
membership, as well as additional subscribers
Reproduction in whole or part is forbidden without specific permission. Opinions expressed in this
magazine do not, unless stated, reflect those of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management. The Editor
reserves the right to abbreviate letters if necessary. The Institute is registered as a charity. The mark ‘Credit
Management’ is a registered trade mark of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management.
4
March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

Choose the
partner leading
companies use
Solutions for: cash allocation, cash application, bank
reconciliation, cash forecasting and credit management.
At Rimilia, we believe our customers are our best salesforce.Our intelligent
finance solutions satisfy the needs of adiverse range of blue-chip businesses
from across the globe.
“My team have been really
impressed with Alloc8;
Rimilia havedelivered an
excellent product. This is
complemented by afirst-class
level of service and on-going
support, by the Rimilia team.”
Leigh Dicks,
Credit Control Manager
Six Degrees Group
“Alloc8 is an innovative
solution that fully leverages
technology to drive
efficiency and cycle time
improvement within the
Sodexoshared service
environment.”
Lee Duckworth,
Head of Credit,
Sodexo UK&I
“Alloc8 is amazing! We have
managed to achieve more in
one day at our busiest time
of year than we would have
previously been able to
complete in 3or4days, and
the best of it is, it’strue too!”
Alison Maconachie,
Sales Ledger Manager,
Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation
Bookademonstration...
01527872123
enquiries@rimilia.com • www.rimilia.com
The recognised standard
Follow us:
www.cicm.com March 2017 5

CMNEWS
A
round-up
of news stories
from the world
of consumer and
commercial
credit.
By By Sean Feast and Alex Simmons
FSB AND CICM CREATE NEW
MANAGING CASHFLOW GUIDE
THE CICM and the Federation of Small
Businesses (FSB) have published the
Managing Cash Through Brexit guide
to highlight the basic principles of
cashflow and credit management to help steer
businesses through the current uncertainty.
The guide poses a series of questions to
help small businesses assess their current risk
and exposure, and provides helpful advice
in the form of ‘Ten Top Tips’ to help manage
cash. These include understanding and
documenting payment terms and having a
basic process for following up on invoices and
ensuring payment is promptly received.
It also includes advice on how a business
can protect itself against any retrospective
changes to terms that may be to the supplier’s
detriment, as well as the role of the Prompt
Payment Code (PPC) and how it can be used
to challenge poor practice.
Philip King, the Chief Executive of the
CICM and author of the new Managing
Cashflow Guide, says that sticking to the
basics are even more important in times of
change: “Fixing the roof while the sun is still
shining will help to head off potential issues in
the future.
“Assessing your customers’ plans post-
Brexit, and understanding your role within the
supply chain, is critical to future prosperity.
This means being thorough and organised,
with documented processes and terms, and
understanding where help is available should
you need it both now and in the future.”
Mike Cherry, FSB National Chairman adds:
THE Government has started its long-awaited
search for the UK’s first Small Business
Commissioner to help tackle the issue of late
payment. The role, which was first announced
as part of the Enterprise Act in 2015, is
now being advertised on the Cabinet Office
website, an interview panel has been formed,
and the successful candidate is scheduled to
be announced by the end of June.
In welcoming the news, the CICM’s
Philip King, stressed that there was still no
silver bullet to the issue of late payment: “A
combination of good credit management,
Managing Cashflow Guides
Managing cash
through Brexit
www.cicm.com | www.fsb.org.uk
The Managing cash through Brexit Guide is produced by
the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the Chartered
Institute of Credit Management (CICM) in association with the
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
#11
“Our research shows that the average value
of each late payment to small businesses
stands at £6,142, mainly due to the failure of
larger companies to pay on time. FSB further
calculates that if all payments were made on
time, 50,000 more businesses could be kept
open whilst the UK economy would receive a
£2.5 billion boost.
“We are now working closely with the
Government to ensure its proposed corporate
governance reforms ensure that supplier
interests are represented at the board level
in large firms. We’re also delighted to work
with CICM to produce this helpful guide for
small businesses, so they understand current
measures available to help them ensure they
receive payments on time.”
Elsewhere the Forum of Private Business
(FPB) has welcomed the announcement from
BEIS that late payment of small business
invoices is to be a focus of the Minister
for Business. It claims that the issuance of
SEARCH FOR A TSAR!
greater transparency between customer
and supplier, and sharing best practice,
complemented by effective legislation and
non-legislative measures such as the Prompt
Payment Code, can dramatically reduce
both the impact and the frequency of late
payment,” he added.
Philip said that the Code, hosted and
administered by the CICM for BEIS, continues
to play an important and successful role
in changing payment culture: “Alongside
the appointment of a new Small Business
Commissioner, we will collectively help
guidance to large businesses on how to pay
on time is ‘probably unnecessary’, as most
know the procedure, but just fail to follow it.
Having to disclose payment practices every
six months will ensure that those who do fail,
risk having their names made public.
The Forum is lobbying for two particular
measures: firstly in the shaming of late payers;
and secondly in providing clear guidance for
the small businesses suffering at the hands of
the late payers.
Chief Executive of the FPB, Ian Cass says
many small businesses fail to quote purchase
order and reference numbers, fail to quote
their payment terms, and fail to add late
payment interest clauses:
"We will be working to support the Small
Business Commissioner, when their longawaited
appointment is confirmed, to focus
on this aspect, and also will be pressing for
a simple route to claim both payment and
penalties without the need for expensive court
procedures.
“Additionally we would like the
Commissioner to be given powers to act
against big business, beyond finger wagging
letters, when they do not respect the
published guidelines, and we will be lobbying
hard on this issue. Late payment is one of
the biggest headaches for small businesses
and they need all the support they can get in
resolving it.”
cicm.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/
CICM_MCFG11_BREXIT.pdf
See our interview with Mike Cherry on page 14
to support small businesses in resolving
payment disputes and helping them to avoid
payment issues in the future.”
But late payment, he stressed, was also
not just an issue that was exclusive to small
businesses: “It is not always, or only, big
businesses that exploit the small; some
small businesses behave badly too and that
shouldn't be overlooked," he said.
gov.uk/government/news/searchunderway-for-uks-first-small-businesscommissioner
6
March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

INSOLVENCY LEVELS
TO INCREASE
UK business failures will rise by five percent
in the next 12 months as the economic
slowdown, rising input prices and increased
late payment risks begin to take their toll,
according to credit insurer Euler Hermes.
This is in sharp contrast with the rest of the
continent, a report claims, where insolvencies
will fall by four percent in Western Europe and
one percent in Central and Eastern Europe
this year. Consumer consumption, support for
exporters from a weaker Euro and supportive
fiscal policy from the European Central Bank
will help boost Western European economies
and corporate profitability.
The company’s latest Economic Insight,
Insolvencies: tip of the iceberg, reveals that
the UK will record the largest increase in
bankruptcies of any EU economy in 2017,
with the number of businesses going insolvent
predicted to reach a total of 20,254. The
forecasted upswing in failures will be the first
rise in the UK since 2010 and follows a three
percent cent fall in 2016.
Euler Hermes attributes the increase in
UK business failures to the slowdown in GDP
growth that has been apparent since 2015, the
ongoing depreciation of sterling – which is set
CSA APPOINTS NEW PRESIDENT
JOHN Ricketts MCICM has succeeded Leigh
Berkley as President of the Credit Services
Association (CSA). His appointment was
confirmed at the CSA Annual General Meeting
(AGM) in Leicester in February.
A former Managing Director of iQor in the
UK and Canada, and the current Commercial
Director of AIC, John has worked in the credit
services industry for almost 40 years including
board positions at Robinson Way, and the
Infocheck Group. He has also held senior
positions at Dun and Bradstreet and Experian.
He has been a member of the CSA Board
since 2009, and Vice President since 2014.
To coincide with John’s appointment, Nick
Cherry has also been confirmed as the CSA’s
new Vice President. Nick is Managing Director
– International, at Phillips & Cohen Associates
(UK) and has over 20-years’ experience in
the credit industry including previous roles at
Citi-Financial, The Funding Corporation, and
Red2Black Collections. He joined the CSA
Board in 2013.
Five further Board directors have also been
announced: Leigh Berkley, Director of External
Affairs at Arrow Global; Sara de Tute, Legal
and Compliance Director at Lowell Group;
Business Insolvency Worldwide
Economic
Outlook
no. 1230-1231
November-December 2016
www.eulerhermes.com
Insolvencies:
The tip of the iceberg
Special focus on state-owned enterprises
around the world
to push up inflation and input prices and put
downward pressure on profit margins – and a
decline in investment activity following the EU
referendum.
eulerhermes.co.uk
TALKING TECHNICAL
Economic Research
THE latest meeting of the CICM’s Technical Committee discussed the following
subjects: the BEIS call for evidence – Review of Limited Partnership Law; the
Government’s guidance to help large businesses report on how quickly they
pay their suppliers; Lord Justice Jackson’s review of fixed recoverable costs,
commissioned by the Lord Chief Justice and Master of the Rolls; activity on the
modernisation of Scottish Corporate Insolvency rules; and the new government
referral scheme.
Eddie Nott, CEO of 1st Credit; and Denise
Crossley, CEO/CRO of Motormile Finance,
were all re-elected; Stuart Sykes, Operations
Director at Secure Recoveries, is appointed to
the Board for the first time.
csa-uk.com
NEWS IN BRIEF
RICE LITTLE EARNER
JAPAN Centre, a UK-based distributor of
Japanese goods, and its restaurant business
Shoryu Ramen, have agreed an asset finance
facility exceeding £450,000 from Aldermore.
Shoryu Ramen is currently expanding across
London and is also looking to move into other
UK cities, recently opening its first restaurant
in Manchester. Aldermore supported the
Japan Centre Group and Shoryu Ramen with
the funding of various soft assets such as a full
kitchen fit-out for one of their recently opened
restaurants as well as various other appliances
including refrigeration and air conditioning
units.
aldermore.co.uk
NEW BIBBY BOSS
BIBBY Financial Services (BFS) has appointed
Phil Tobin as Managing Director of Trade and
International, as the business looks to expand
its focus on export and trade finance in 2017.
Phil has 24 years’ experience in the invoice
finance sector, and has held the role of Head of
Operations for BFS’s construction finance team.
Prior to joining BFS, he held a variety of roles
at Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance, including
Senior Client Manager and Area Director.
bibbyfinancialservices.com
GREATER PROTECTION
THE UK’s first central register to protect
vulnerable consumers against further debt
or financial stress opens its doors on 1 March
2017. The Vulnerability Registration Service
(VRS) is a private sector initiative designed
to help organisations identify vulnerable
consumers, and will act as a single reference
point for individuals and organisations. It
does not replace businesses’ responsibilities
in identifying and counselling vulnerable
consumers, but provides a ‘decision agnostic’
platform as an additional safeguard. The VRS
will be accessible via a dedicated portal.
vulnerabilityregistrationservice.co.uk
ROYAL OPENING
HRH The Princess Royal opened the
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
(ACCA) global operational centre at 110 Queen
Street, Glasgow. Welcomed by Helen Brand
OBE, ACCA’s Chief Executive, and ACCA’s
President Brian McEnery, Her Royal Highness's
visit marked a new episode in ACCA’s history
in Glasgow and Scotland, where it has had
operations since the 1970s.
accaglobal.com/uk
CICM IN BRIEF
THIS month's briefing gives details of the
offers available to members to attend
Credit Week, the new award for cash
application and allocation for CICM,
record results for CICM qualifications,
and add your views to the BEIS call
for evidence on Review of Limited
Partnership Law.
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 7

CICM NEWS
SIX QUARTER HIGH IN BUSINESS CONFIDENCE
A
RESURGENCE in economic
divergence in Q3 2016,” he says.
over 60.0 points; and London (which fell to a
confidence was experienced by credit The CMI retracted by 1.4 percent in Q3 concerning 50.2 in Q3 2016) has risen over
professionals in the final quarter of while the All Share rose 2.3 percent. “This the threshold to close at 59.0.
2016, according to the UK’s latest compares to the CMI’s 8.1 percent and All “It is very important for London as the
Credit Managers’ Index (CMI). Yet bad debt
remains a risk with only 13 percent of credit
managers expecting a decline in 2017.
Full results from the quarterly barometer of
the CICM have now been released; the CMI’s
headline Index closed up 0.5 points to 59.8,
ending a successive three-quarter fall. It is
the highest result since Q2 2015 and only the
fifth time in the CMI’s seven-year history it has
climbed above 59.0.
The Index measures confidence in
manufacturing (up 6.2 points to 61.2) and
services (up 3.6 points to 59.0), in what
the CICM’s Philip King highlights as rising
optimism from credit professionals across the
board:
“What is also good to see is the Index is
back on its historical tracking of the FTSE
All Share, following the brief and negative
Share’s 3.1 percent rises in Q4,” Mr King
adds. “Which means the CMI has easily
mitigated its Q3 losses, and is now back on
track with one of the UK’s most important
measures of economic confidence.”
The survey also found 32 percent of
respondents saw bad debts increase across
2016, with only 13 percent expecting bad
debts to drop in 2017. 20 percent expect
debts to continue rising, but most worryingly
a further 28 percent remain unsure about
how debts will change, and are budgeting for
rises.
Further analysis of the results show
regional differentiation – Wales, Northern
Ireland and Yorkshire and Humber have
all dipped below a 52-point threshold; six
regions including the North West, South West
and East Midlands are reporting scores of
driving force of the UKs economy to display
positive results, and it is good news to see
that its decrease was only short-term,”
Philip adds.
Of the 19 sectors measured in the CMI,
16 have a CMI score above the 52-point
threshold. Only Personal and Household
Goods (44.0), Automobiles and Parts (45.0)
and Banks (47.0) reported lower than
hoped-for results.
“Meanwhile, volatility levels are
continuing to stabilise and that may signal
a positive future in terms of economic
confidence and the outlook for growth,”
Philip continues. “But the uncertain geopolitical
circumstances surrounding the
new US administration and Brexit have the
ability to do lasting damage to our economic
indicators.”
REPORT SHOWS LOVERS LIE ABOUT THEIR CASH
THE CSA has criticised a report from the
Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) that suggests
only a fraction of the cash being raised by a
new levy on firms of a certain size from April
will be spent on apprenticeships.
The CSA also disagrees with the IFS’ claim
that increasing the number of apprentices
‘could sacrifice quality for quantity’.
Fiona Macaskill, Head of Learning and
Development at the CSA, says that the report
is both unhelpful and misguided: “It fails to
take into account the boost it will give to
some of the more under-invested areas of the
financial services community,” she explains,
“and in particular those working in collections
and credit management.
“Perhaps what people don’t realise
is that there is no upper age limit to an
apprenticeship, and neither are this new
generation of apprentices necessarily starting
at the bottom rung of the ladder. The levy is
not an excuse for channelling current training
ONE in four secretly check their partner’s
bank statements and 9.7 million Brits in
a relationship have lied to their other half
about money, so Experian has created a
guide to help people understand money and
relationships.
Financial infidelity – such as lying to a
partner about spending, savings or debt – is
increasingly common among British couples.
In fact, one in four admits that they keep
tabs on their partner’s spending by secretly
checking their bank statements without their
knowledge, that’s according to new research
by Experian.
Moreover, a quarter (28 percent) of those
in a relationship say they have lied to their
CSA DISMISSES IFS REPORT
investment into apprenticeships; it provides an
opportunity of creating something genuinely
‘new’.”
Fiona says that as long as the employee is
gaining substantive new skills and the training
is materially different from any other training
previously provided, then they qualify: “It
allows employees not only to move up but
also across your business into new areas and
with new opportunities to develop. The levy
will raise the employer’s commitment to – and
awareness of – training and development, and
provide them with more control of the design
and quality of the apprenticeship training that
is delivered.”
The new levy, due to start in April, is
a 0.5 percent tax on all employers with a
wage bill of £3 million or more. Despite the
Government’s ambitions to create some
600,000 new apprentices, the IFS believes
that employers will use the new scheme as
an opportunity to re-badge existing training
partner about spending money, whilst
more than one in four (26 percent) would
not trust their partner to make any financial
decisions for the both of them. It’s hardly
surprising then, that of those who check their
partner’s monthly expenditure, over half (53
percent) admitted to doing so on a regular
basis.
When it comes to our own finances, 21
percent say their partner is not fully aware of
the amount of savings they have, and one in
ten have not been open about their debt. But
our heartstrings are still strung tightly as 60
percent would not break up with their current
partner if they found out they had lied to them
about money. experian.co.uk
schemes as apprenticeships, rather than pay
twice.
Fiona does not agree: “Within our own
industry of debt collection, a number of
specific apprenticeship standards have been
created that will be offered and supported
by the CSA,” she says. “These range from
the new standard in Financial Services Credit
Controller/Collector through to the most
advanced Senior Compliance/Risk Specialist
Apprenticeship standard. Many of our
members are exploring specialist routes as
well including IT, Accountancy, and Law.
“It serves as a very tangible illustration of
the broad nature of the training now available.
It also serves to show how debt collection –
for a long time the ‘Cinderella’ of the financial
services industry – is fast becoming a part of
the mainstream, and due to the empathetic
skills required to work in the industry, the
concept of a career in debt collection is now a
reality.” csa-uk.com
8 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

News in Numbers – provided by the Money Charity
THE.news . IN
NUMBERS
84.5%
Public MILLION
CASH MACHINE TRANSACTIONS
DEBT AS A PROPORTION OF GDP
WERE MADE EVERY DAY IN
NOV-16, VALUING £356 MILLION
£50.574 1
BILLION
BRITONS WOULD PAY IN INTEREST
OVER A YEAR
£139
million
AVERAGE TOTAL INTEREST
REPAYMENTS ON PERSONAL DEBT
A DAY
8.7
£3.25
SPENT
PER HOUSE ON WATER, GAS
AND ELECTRICITY DAILY
PEOPLE
IN THE UK
OWED £1.512 TRILLION AT
THE END OF NOV-16
HOUSEHOLD
DEBT predicted
TO REACH £2.294 TRILLION IN Q1 2022, ACCORDING TO THE OBR.
15 properties
ARE REPOSSESSED EVERY DAY –
ONE EVERY 1H 32MINUTES
INTRUM JUSTITIA
INTRUM Justitia has acquired UK debt purchaser 1st
Credit from private equity firm Bridgepoint for an
enterprise value of £130 million.
Headquartered in Reigate, 1st Credit was acquired
by Bridgepoint in 2004. It has customer arrangements
of more than £300 million and authorised by the
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Intrum has
retained the existing UK management team, led by
Chairman Leith Robertson and Chief Executive, Eddie
Nott.
Mikael Ericson, President and CEO of Intrum Justitia
AB, says the UK market is one of the largest and most
developed in Europe: “With 1st Credit, we acquire a
strong unit with a solid organisation which we believe
can grow into one of the market leaders in the UK in
the coming years.”
Meanwhile, 1st Credit has become the first in its
field to be externally assessed to the requirements of
the ISO Standard BS 18477:2010 – Requirements for
identifying and responding to consumer vulnerability.
An assessment from an independent certification
body took place in January 2017, and the team
successfully demonstrated how vulnerable individuals
are identified by call centre handlers and directed to
specialist support staff.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Sir,
I note with interest and anticipation the
forthcoming 'Duty to Report' on payment practices
and performance from April.
While this is a positive step towards exposing
poor payment practice, the devil is well and truly
in the detail. I know only too well that a report is a
very different beast than data. The former portrays
only an interpretation of the latter.
Take the case of disputed or incorrect invoices.
Should companies exclude these figures and
report adjusted payment stats, or include these
in their report and suffer the penalty, statistically
speaking, of a creditor issuing incorrect invoices?
Alas, then the interpretation of what constitutes
a 'dispute' becomes a hot topic and one that can
be used widely if needed to portray a favourable
number.
And then there's the question of what the
Government intends to do with those companies
exposed as poor payers. Perhaps let's wait and
see what the reports show first!
Yours,
Scott Padbury LLB (Hons), ACICM
Revenue Controller. RPCw
UPSIDE DOWN
AUSTRALASIA’S provider of SME working capital
solutions, Scottish Pacific Business Finance, has
acquired UK-based trade and debtor finance
specialists Sterling Trade Finance (STF). The firm
says that the acquisition of STF will expand Scottish
Pacific’s distribution and product offering in the UK
and will provide greater funding options for SMEs in
manufacturing, wholesale, retail, distribution, import
and export who are looking for trade and invoice
finance solutions. The expanded business will be
known as Scottish Pacific Business Finance (UK) and
will be based in new Central London offices, with
further expansion expected, including a presence in
the north of England.
scottishpacific.com
The recognised standard www.cicm.com March 2017
9

FROM THE CHAIR
ENGAGEMENT
PARTY
Laurie Beagle FCICM says that one of the key measures of the CICM’s
success is the level of engagement from its members.
FIRSTLY, I would like to congratulate all the
finalists and winners at the CICM British Credit
Awards in London in February. The evening
gets even bigger and better each year. Also
thanks to the organising team who are so important to
the success.
As I said in my first column, the branch network is
very important to the continued success of the CICM.
The volunteers at branch committee level and the
regional representatives provide a vital link to our
members.
I have been Chair of the Sheffield and District
Branch for the past four years. At this year’s AGM,
I stepped down, but I am continuing to support the
branch by staying on the committee, and would like to
pay tribute to my colleagues for their active support
over the years.
We recently discussed in the Advisory Council
the importance of our branch network and how it fits
into our future strategy. Some branches enjoy great
success in the events they hold, the careers fairs they
support and in their association with local education
establishments.
With best practice events and the Members’
Library of over 50 presentations, the CICMQ
programme is now the widely recognised
Best Practice Standard for our industry. Chris
Sanders and his team are doing a sterling job
in accrediting new companies to this exclusive
club. CICMQ is an accolade that I would urge
every business to aspire to.
For the first time, I joined the regular monthly
Interactive Briefing chaired by Sue Kettle. The call
was very interesting and inspiring, with a live webinar
from Gary Baker of the Thames Valley Branch talking
about the work he and his colleagues are doing at
local careers events. Encouraging further ideas on
how branches can share ideas and further interact is
something I very much support.
Disappointingly, not everyone was able to join the
call, and so I would encourage all branches to take
full advantage of what is undoubtedly an excellent
investment of your time. And if you’re not already
involved in your branch, then this is just one of the
many reasons your should be. Let me know your
views by getting in touch at governance@cicm.com.
The future looks exciting and, I am sure,
challenging. Article 50 will be triggered this month
and negotiations will get underway. We will all be
looking at to how this affects our businesses. Do we
need to upskill our teams? How can we support sales
as they look for new markets to sell into? We also have
the Trump effect to consider; every day is a revelation.
However, there was good news with the CICM
Index bouncing back following three successive falls.
Q4 2016 saw a surge in economic confidence and a
positive outlook on business growth, according to the
UK’s Credit Managers Index (CMI). Let’s hope this is
the start of a positive trend.
I am a big supporter of CICMQ (formally QICM)
which was first awarded in 2009. We now have more
than 50 organisations with the accreditation, two
International accreditations, and recently the first
AICMQ awarded by the Australian Institute of Credit
Management. The standard and workshop approach
provide different and flexible ways of achieving the
accreditation and the CICMQ Best Practice Scorecard
enables organisations to measure themselves against
the six criteria and other accredited organisations in
the CICM Best Practice Network.
With best practice events and the Members’
Library of over 50 presentations, the CICMQ
programme is now the widely recognised Best Practice
Standard for our industry. Chris Sanders and his team
are doing a sterling job in accrediting new companies
to this exclusive club. CICMQ is an accolade that I
would urge every business to aspire to. Being ‘Best in
Class’ has so many positives for you, your teams, your
businesses and the future of our profession. I am so
pleased to read the CICMQ page each month in the
magazine, and my congratulations to all those new to
CICMQ.
Before writing this column, I put together a list
of the topics I wanted to cover. One item that I have
left until last is CPD. My Treasurer at the Sheffield
branch was very proud of the number of CPD hours
he claimed each year. In fact, he left us all in his wake.
Over the last year many members have asked about
how it works, and how you can sign up. More details
can be found on the website.
May I wish you all every success in 2017 and thank
you for supporting the CICM.
Laurie Beagle FCICM EIICM is the Chair of the CICM
Executive Board.
10 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

INSOLVENCY
STANDARD FINANCIAL
STATEMENT
With the SFS coming into force in April, David Kerr MCICM,
explains the entry process and its benefits.
FROM the beginning of March this
year, multiple advice providers
will start to use the new Standard
Financial Statement (SFS) when
advising debtors and assessing their ability
to repay debt. The SFS is a single set of
common fixed and flexible expenditure
categories developed by the Money Advice
Service (MAS) as part of its statutory duty
to enhance understanding about financial
matters and improve the quality and
consistency of debt advice across the UK. It
has been developed in collaboration with
advice providers, creditors, trade bodies and
regulators.
The SFS replaces separate models used
by the sector previously (three in England
and Wales alone), and it introduces some
new elements designed to build financial
resilience for debtors and help with the
sustainability of any repayment plans they
enter into.
The roll out of the SFS has involved
preparation with creditors so that they are
ready to receive information in the new
format, and dialogue with local authorities
and Government departments including the
Insolvency Service, and members of the IVA
Standing Committee overseeing the working
of the IVA Protocol. MAS has presented
information about the SFS and its launch at
various events, including the IPA’s Personal
Insolvency Conference. Throughout this
month, there will be a period to allow advice
providers to transition to the SFS, alongside
using some of the previous models for a time,
with full implementation expected from 1
April, when those previous model statements
(such as the Common Financial Statement)
should be ‘switched off’. The Accountant in
Bankruptcy in Scotland also intends to switch
to the new SFS from 1 April.
One of the changes is an allowance for
savings – up to £20 a month in a debtor’s
budget. This should build resistance to
financial shocks, and major creditors have
supported this as a sensible move. Guidance
to debt advice providers will cover use
of this provision and other aspects of the
new Statement. Other changes include
recognising travel, school and health costs as
‘fixed’ in most budgets and ensuring proper
account is taken regarding those essential
items. Spending guidelines have been
derived using data on typical household
expenditure, and will be updated annually.
Debtors shopping around for advice
will receive more consistent responses
on what is allowable and what creditors
expect. And where debtors move into a
new debt solution or through advisors to
an Insolvency Practitioner they should find
the same approach being adopted. The new
standardised system should help creditors
reach decisions on debt plans more quickly,
as familiarisation with the new SFS grows.
Creditors voting on IVAs and reviewing
other proposals will want to be sure that
application of the new SFS is fair not only
to debtors but also to creditors, and that
allowances for expenditure do not become
new norms or upper limits in each category,
reducing the sum available for repayment.
However, one standard statement used by all
in the sector, including the Official Receiver
in bankruptcy cases, and in Scotland too,
represents a significant improvement on the
current position. It brings a fairer and more
consistent method of assessment, and should
give much greater certainty in calculations
of what debtors can afford to repay their
creditors.
Further information may be obtained
from MAS via its website https://sfs.
moneyadviceservice.org.uk
David Kerr MCICM is the Chief Executive of the
Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA).
One of the changes is an allowance for savings – up to £20
a month in a debtor’s budget. This should build resistance
to financial shocks, and major creditors have supported
this as a sensible move.
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 11

OPINION
RAISING THE BAR IN
COMMERCIAL FINANCE
The independent chair of the Asset Based Finance Association’s (ABFA) Professional Standards
Council, Lucy Armstrong, considers the regulation of financial services provided to SMEs and looks
forward to the year ahead.
Lucy Armstrong
THIS year will see the fourth anniversary
of the independent Standards
Framework for invoice finance and
asset-based lenders, which was
established in 2013 and which covers the
Members of the ABFA.
Established by the ABFA and now
overseen by the independent Professional
Standards Council (PSC) – which it has been
my privilege to chair since its inception –
along with the PSC itself, the Framework
incorporates an independent Complaints
Process provided by the specialists at
Ombudsman Services, and the ABFA Code.
The latter sets the standards that ABFA
members commit to meeting in the treatment
of their clients, and the former provides an
independent means of investigation and,
where necessary, redress if those standards
are not met.
It is an interesting moment to reflect on
the Standards Framework. Its development
preceded much of the work undertaken by
the FCA since it published its paper on the
protection provided to SMEs as users of
financial services at the end of 2015, the
response to which is eagerly awaited.
The Framework has certainly been
designed to address familiar challenges.
These have included: how to establish
a system that focuses on principles and
outcomes rather than processes; recognising
that SMEs come in all shapes and sizes and
the needs of the very smallest businesses
will be very different to those of a mid-sized
corporate; and where the balance should
be struck between the rights of a small
business as a user of financial services and its
responsibilities as the same.
These are all thorny questions of
course. They are also the ones that the
Lending Standards Board (LSB) is currently
considering in the development of Standards
of Lending Practice for businesses. It is hard
to claim that we have found all the answers,
though we believe that the approach taken
forward by the ABFA and the PSC (which is
voluntary as providers choose to follow it and
are not obliged by law to do so) has so far
been effective for both clients and finance
providers.
Indeed, the buy-in from ABFA Members
has been the most striking feature of this
journey. In establishing and supporting the
system, the industry has recognised the
importance to its future growth of providing
a clear statement of the standards that will
be met, and an accessible and independent
means of redress if they are found not to have
been. In short, the industry has shown it is
willing to take responsibility for its own future.
The Framework will continue to evolve,
however, and we were pleased to contribute
to the wider debate around the FCA paper
and look forward to continuing the discussion.
Turning to evolution, from January the
Framework expanded to also cover the
ABFA’s revised Inter Member Transfer
Process. This process is designed to make
it as easy as possible for a client business
to switch invoice finance provider and sets
out more clearly the commitments that the
ABFA members involved will meet. If they
are not met, the client can bring a complaint
against the member through the independent
Complaints Process. In the PSC’s experience
this has not been a particularly contentious
area for clients, but this development is all
part of the longer-term work to make the
industry’s products and services even more
accessible.
Finally, the ongoing work to merge a
number of the financial services’ trade
associations including, potentially, the ABFA,
has had some profile recently. The PSC is
agnostic on the wider issue – how financial
services firms choose to organise their
representation and advocacy is up to them.
The PSC’s objective is to ensure that there
is no detriment to users of financial services
in terms of the protections afforded, and the
methods of redress available, to them. If the
merger goes ahead with the ABFA involved
then we will be expecting that the delivery of
the objectives of the Standards Framework
will be safeguarded, even if it may be done
through different mechanisms in the future.
Lucy Armstrong is Independent Chair of the
Professional Standards Council.
abfa.org.uk/standards
lucy.armstrong@the-alchemists.com
12 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

IS AMLCOMPLIANCE
DRIVING YOUNUTS?
There’s no need to make life complicated, you have three problems;
we have one solution!
We deliver AML, Sanctions &PEP checks “all-in-one” search, individual
checks take 5seconds, business checks take longer, 1-2 minutes!
Daily monitoring of all your clients for Sanction &PEP changes for
the lifetime of your contract is included at no extra cost. Automatic
enhanced due diligence, biography, adverse media and
photographic evidence is also included.
You’d benuts not to view our demonstration.
Call us now to book afree demonstration on:
0113 333 9835
THE ONLY AML RESOURCE YOUNEED
Or vist us online:
SMARTSEARCHUK.COM
SmartSearch delivers UK and International Business checks, plus Individual checks along with
Worldwide Sanction &PEP screening, daily monitoring, email alerts and full enhanced due
diligence intelligence.
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 13

INTERVIEW
STAND AND DELIVER
Mike Cherry tells Sean Feast about how the FSB is working with the CICM
and others to make a stand on late payment.
THERE are few people in the world of
business who care more about the
prosperity of smaller firms than the
National Chairman of the Federation
of Small Businesses (FSB), Mike Cherry.
There can be few people, also, who have
campaigned more passionately on the issue
of late payment, and the damaging impact
that poor payment practices have on the small
business community.
First and foremost, Mike is a small
business owner himself, and is still engaged
with the family timber business providing
specialist products to the brewing, leathercraft
and high-tech gifts industries.
This first-hand, real-world knowledge of
business and the supply chain led Mike to join
the FSB some 20 years ago:
“I felt strongly that small businesses were
not being fully understood, and I wanted to
help them to get their issues raised and their
voices heard,” he says.
In joining the FSB, Mike immersed himself
in re-establishing and re-invigorating the
local branch in the West Midlands, taking on
various roles including Policy Unit Chairman
for the region and securing various other
portfolios until ultimately being elected
National Chairman in 2016 .
In that role, he chairs the Board of
Directors and the General Meetings of the
membership, and with them, leads the
FSB by overseeing and being responsible
for the management of all aspects of the
organisation. He has worked tirelessly to
highlight the issues his members face, and
those of small businesses more generally,
getting out and speaking to companies across
the country to offer his support. And perhaps
the biggest issue of all is prompt payment.
“The FSB has always been heavily
engaged in the vexed problem of what
happens when a small business is not being
paid on time by its larger customer,” he
continues. “There are still too many household
names who take advantage of the supply
chain.”
Mike speaks anecdotally of one FSB
member being roundly abused by a customer
with payment terms of 180 days. Another
multinational he cites has a 90-day payment
term, take it or leave it: “This is absolutely
unacceptable,” he says, “and fundamentally
wrong, especially when larger businesses
can borrow money at cheaper rates than are
available to smaller firms.”
Names such as Marks & Spencer,
Debenhams, and Mars have already been
removed from the FSB’s Christmas card list
for their poor treatment of the supply chain,
and Mike highlights the actions of others,
such as Premier Foods, that told a member
in Devon that he would have to pay just to be
included on the supplier list, without any actual
guarantee of future business.
Government has, of course, introduced
various initiatives over the years to support
small businesses, with varying degrees of
success. Small firms have long been able, for
example, to charge interest on late payment,
but they have been loath to do so for fear of
upsetting the customer relationship.
The Prompt Payment Code (PPC),
administered by the CICM for the Department
for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy,
has also played its role, notably in stating
maximum payment terms of 60 days, though
Mike would like to see this reduced further:
“We would like to see a 30-day maximum
payment term,” he says, “and even greater
sign up to the Code by big businesses. I
cannot see any reason why all of the FTSE 100
have not yet signed up to the Code,” he adds.
In the longer term, Mike is looking forward
to the appointment of the long-awaited
Small Business Commissioner, and retains
a positive outlook on their appointment:
“If the Government gets it right, and the
Commissioner is given the appropriate support
and resources required to fulfill their remit,
then this will be a positive step,” he continues.
“It means we can put even greater pressure on
abuses and sharp practice, and make them a
thing of the past.”
Crucial to the appointment, Mike says, is a
figure with sufficient status to gain the support
of senior leaders within the UK’s largest firms:
“They need to be able to pick up the phone
– to the chief executive of a multinational and
help them understand that late payment is a
main board issue, and not something that is
only of concern to the financial director.”
Understandably, there is clear frustration
in many parts of the business community
regarding the appointment, or more
specifically, the time it is taking for them to
take office. As yet the appointment has not
been announced, and is not expected until
the summer in which case they will not get
their feet under the desk until the autumn. No
specific date has been decided.
In the meantime, however, the FSB is
working on other initiatives closer to home,
including a new version of the CICM’s
Managing Cashflow Guides and specifically
one entitled: ‘Managing cash through Brexit’:
“One of the comments we hear is that small
businesses can find it challenging when
submitting their invoices,” he says, “so any
tool that helps them in getting it right first time
has to be welcomed.”
Mike believes that failing to adopt best
practice, allows larger firms to exploit their
smaller suppliers: “Including a Purchase
Order number on all delivery notes and
invoices will speed up payment,” he says.
“Conversely, if the invoice is not made out
correctly, then some firms will wait until the
last day of the month before saying it has to
be re-submitted, and then you are in another
payment cycle.”
The FSB actively seeks to engage with
all like-minded business organisations in its
quest to champion the small business cause.
As such, Mike is delighted with this latest
collaboration with the CICM and its Chief
Executive, Philip King: “The CICM shares our
commitment to helping change the culture
of late payment and bringing about better
payment practices,” he adds.
Mike remains chipper about the future, and
says that not all corporates treat payments
in the same way: “We do see examples of
large firms who clearly do see the value in
supporting the supply chain, and how this
reflects positively on their bottom line,” he
concludes, “but more needs to be done.
“We can no longer tolerate the abuses and
sharp practices that many small businesses
face.”
14 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

One of the comments we hear is
that small businesses can find it
challenging when submitting their
invoices, so any tool that helps them
in getting it right first time has to be
welcomed.
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 15

CICMQ NEWS
‘INFECTIOUS BUZZ’ AT HAYS
FIRST-time CICMQ accreditation has been
achieved by Hays Recruitment, the UK
operations of Hays, the publicly listed business
that operates in 33 countries. In the last
financial year, Hays placed almost 300,000
candidates into permanent and temporary
positions.
The UK business has approximately 2,400
employees based across 100 sites and a
previous year’s turnover of over £1.5 billion.
Invoicing around £75,000 per month, the credit
team is made up of 66 employees who bill and
collect £1.8 billion per annum. Therefore its
processes must be thorough.
“We recognised that achieving CICMQ
would give our customers a degree of
confidence in our business,” says John
Harrington, Finance Director at Hays UK and
Ireland. “As a CICM premium corporate partner,
it is essential that our credit team reflects the
high standards the Institute represents.
“The accreditation has demonstrated
the importance of continually reviewing and
evolving the way we work,” he adds. “So
achieving accreditation is not the end of the
process for the credit team.”
Involving the team was key to Hays’
success, and John explains that being
fully transparent with regard to intentions
and next steps is important: “It will help to
set expectations and get buy-in from the
relevant stakeholders. Seeking feedback and
responding to suggestions is a positive step,
helping to make improvements based on good
ideas.”
This was reflected in the Assessor’s report,
which explained that the team is ‘professional
and committed’ and that there is a ‘buzz and
enthusiasm around the area which is infectious.’
“You can never over communicate,” John
continues, “and the fact we came through
the process successfully emphasises the
adaptability of our team and demonstrates that
we planned and timed our implementation just
right.”
SHELL HITS FOUR-TIME ACCREDITATION MARK
OVER the last two years the main challenge
for the credit department at Royal Dutch
Shell has been the low oil price that
triggered a re-organisation with the aim of
reducing operational costs and increasing
efficiency. But this hasn’t stopped it being
successful in obtaining International CICMQ
accreditation for the fourth time.
Thomas Thies, Policy and Compliance
Officer, says the business is planning its
activities based on a ‘lower for longer’
assumption with regard to the oil price:
“From a credit perspective this means that
we are dealing with lower credit exposure
and reduced credit risk (quantitative and
qualitative), and therefore need to reduce
our costs. A factor picked up in the
Assessor’s report which complemented
the team as having an ‘impressive ability to
look inwards, make changes to headcount
numbers and review processes while
still maintaining a highly professional,
knowledgeable and high-performing global
credit management function.’
In taking on this increased risk, Thomas
ensures processes and procedures are
first-class: “CICMQ adds to the appeal
of a career within our function and it
also helps our image factor vis-à-vis our
stakeholders.’’
THE latest in a string of names to achieve
CICMQ accreditation is Sony DADC,
emphasising the significance that multinational
corporations place on credit
management.
Sony DADC is a disc and digital solution
provider for the entertainment, education
and information industries, offering optical
media replication services, digital and
physical supply chain solutions and software
services. Its network consists of offices and
facilities around the globe, and the credit and
collections team provides services for all of
the group’s companies as well as outsourced
solutions to over 50 organisations.
Therefore processes and procedures
NEW ROLE TO ADD ‘GRAVITAS’
have to be efficient, and Nick Head MCICM,
Director of Credit and Collections at Sony
DADC, says benchmarking his department
against the best credit teams in the UK was a
good way of ensuring this:
“I have always felt we are a highperforming
team that operates solid and
innovative business practices,” he explains.
“Achieving the accreditation has given us a
sense of recognition and the confirmation for
the team that it performs well.”
Sony DADC’s Senior Management
supported the process: “It gave me the
independence to proceed as necessary and
even further than that by actively encouraging
our employees to study with the CICM.” Nick
continues. “Some 50 percent of the team are
members now.”
Nick has also recently created a new
project and compliance position within the
credit team to ensure standards are being
upheld, something that CICMQ Assessor
Jenny Oakley FCICM picked up on in her
report: ‘The new compliance role will add
additional gravitas to the structure and allow
Nick to build on the strong base he has
created.’
“Going through the accreditation must
involve the entire department,” Nick adds.
“Bringing them in early in the process and
assigning them tasks or a specific role will
help the team to own the achievement.”
16 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

DRIVING FORWARD
IT’S an ‘understated excellence’ that is
running through the core of the 27-strong
credit team at Ford Retail, whose 65 car
dealerships trade under the TrustFord brand
– a part of the Ford Motor Company.
The sites, situated throughout the UK, sell
new and second hand cars, motability and
commercial vehicles, and also offer servicing,
repairs and MOTs.
Now in the two-time CICMQ bracket of
UK businesses, the Bristol-based credit team
can consider itself as one of the top credit
teams in the UK. The Assessor’s report,
compiled by Chris Sanders FCICM, concurs,
describing the team as ‘always striving
for the next goal, delivering continuous
improvement and thriving on challenges.’
Certainly from the perspective of Joanna
Carnell ACICM, Group Credit Manager at
TrustFord, CICMQ is an opportunity for selfreflection
as a department: “We are always
changing and improving all of the time,” she
ONE of the first companies to achieve CICMQ
has now joined the elite ranks of four-time
accreditation. AB Agri, which initially achieved
the accolade in 2010 and has been reaccredited
every other year since, was praised
in a report by CICMQ Assessor Sharon Adams
FCICM as being ‘motivated, enthusiastic and
talented’.
The agricultural division of Associated
British Foods that employs over 3,000 people,
AB Agri sells its services and products into 70
countries – and a ten-strong Peterboroughbased
team manages its credit function.
Led by Frank Anderson FCICM, Group
Credit Manager, the AB Agri credit team
has come a long way since it underwent a
centralisation process in 2009: “We were
essentially given a blank canvas in how to
operate,” he explains. “Now we are expanding
CICMQ accreditation has given the credit
department at Yankee Candle Company
credibility for the important role it plays in
the business, according to its Accounts
Receivable Manager, Denise Ashley MCICM.
“From a company perspective, the
accreditation recognises us as leaders in best
practice in a pivotal area of the business,” she
says, “and we can ensure cash collection for
optimal working capital management.”
CREDIBILITY PLUS
explains. “In this fast-paced environment it is
important to step back and look at ourselves
to ensure progress is positive and standards
are maintained.”
Discussing one of the central benefits
of becoming CICMQ accredited, Joanna
says a number of the team’s improvements
have been inspired by other accredited
companies: “We have found the Best
Practice Network very opening and
welcoming, with events and conferences
proving to be an excellent opportunity to
discuss processes with like-minded people
and teams.”
In fully involving the department with the
Best Practice Network, Joanna has put the
team in a positive viewpoint with internal
stakeholders at TrustFord, a point that was
also picked up in the Assessor’s report: ‘It is
obvious from the testimonials provided by the
key stakeholders that the team is held in high
regard for the support it offers the business.’
FOURTH CICMQ SUCCESS FOR AB AGRI
and adding bilingual resources following the
company’s acquisition strategy in 2015/16. On
top of this, we have retained 85 percent of our
initial credit employees.
“CICMQ has been used as a checkpoint to
maintain our strategy pillars and innovate our
credit management tradecraft,” Frank adds.
“The accreditation helps us to answer the
‘what does good look like’ question; we now
have a two-year audit on performance that’s
benchmarked against UK best practice.”
Frank advises those starting the CICMQ
process to involve as many employees as
possible: “This needs to happen from the
outset, giving you the opportunity to cover
the most ground and the ability to share in the
success of accreditation when it comes – and
that sense of success is hugely important to
our overall morale.”
The Assessor’s report backed this up,
explaining that the accreditation will ‘reinforce’
the team’s profile while bringing ‘recognition
and even greater motivation.’
Four team members are currently studying
for CICM qualifications, and Denise says the
CICMQ process has helped the team to think
differently: “When I joined the company I had
a great opportunity to update our policies and
procedures starting from opening an account.”
RAISING PROFILES
WITH CICMQ
LIVERPOOl-headquartered law firm
Weightmans LLP is the latest to add
CICMQ accreditation to its success.
Operating across 12 business areas,
the 1,400 employees – including 180
partners – turn over £95.1 million annually.
Managing that is Christine Griffiths
MCICM, Billing and Collections Manager,
and her team of 11 credit controllers.
“We received support from all senior
management after the decision was made
to go for CICMQ accreditation,” Christine
explains. “It’s really important to get the
whole team to embrace the process in
a positive manner and be results driven,
so we all know where improvements are
required.
“Having achieved the accreditation we
are considered best-in-class, and that has
a positive effect on our reputation with
lawyers and their clients,” Christine adds.
“Now everyone at the firm is aware of
the importance of credit management, and
the sharing of information every month
helps to continue to promote the team
and shows how integral our work is to the
business.”
JOINING THE
THREE-TIME RANKS
SYNSEAL Extrusions remains the only
business in its sector with CICMQ
accreditation, and it has just passed into
the third-time accredited ranks.
The manufacturer of window and
conservatory systems that employs 1,470
staff across five sites in the UK, has
acquired two businesses since its previous
accreditation in 2014.
“This has coincided with other
significant challenges including staff
reductions and an increase in business
transactions,” says David Hughes, Senior
Credit Manager.
“But we have undergone significant
changes to our processes, have
streamlined and improved our efficiencies,
and introduced a new matrix score that
helps us to better assess credit risk,
particularly with high-risk individuals,” he
adds.
“The accreditation means that we can
share knowledge and ideas with and from
our peers in other businesses through
the Best Practice Network, ensuring we
can find ways to further enhance our
processes.”
The recognised standard www.cicm.com March 2017
17

APPRENTICESHIPS
TIPPING POINT
Could apprenticeships be the tipping point which transforms the profile of credit management?
Debbie Tuckwood, CICM Head of Education and Professional Development, believes they could
if credit managers join the apprenticeship revolution.
CREDIT management is a great career
and encouraging people to be part
of it is an exciting challenge. Creating
an environment where there is the
expectation that those working in credit
management and collections are qualified
would transform the image and influence of the
profession.
If Chartered recognition was a fundamental
step, the new credit management
apprenticeships are surely the tipping point.
The new apprenticeships mean funding for
qualification and the establishment of clear links
between job roles and qualifications. Potentially,
credit and collections managers could qualify
whole teams while favourable funding is in place,
as well as recruiting new, young talent to the
profession.
FAVOURABLE FUNDING
Employers can draw down all costs for
apprenticeship training from their apprenticeship
levy, if this is large enough, or they can make
significant savings on training fees if they are
a non-levied company because of favourable
government funding. Apprenticeships are not
just for new recruits; existing employees can be
funded through this route. Under new Trailblazer
Apprenticeship arrangements, there are no
age limits to accessing funding or changes to
terms and conditions of employment for existing
employees, although those on the programme
would need time to study during work time.
Even employees qualified to degree level are
eligible for funding for Level 3 Diploma in Credit
Management programmes, thus providing
a funded fast-track pathway to higher level
professional qualifications and CICM Graduate
Membership.
APPRENTICESHIP LEVY
From May 2017, companies with an annual
wage bill of over £3 million pa must contribute
0.5 percent of their pay bill (minus £15,000
allowance) to an apprenticeship levy which they
can only use to pay for apprenticeship training.
Non-levy paying companies will be
able to use Government funding to deliver
apprenticeships by contributing 10 percent of
the apprenticeship cost with the Government
paying the other 90 percent. Small employers
(with less than 50 employees) will be able to train
16-18 year olds at no cost.
APPRENTICESHIP
OPTIONS
There are three levels of relevant
apprenticeships. Each includes a
range of professional qualifications
including CICM Diplomas:
OPERATIONS LEVEL
(Funding cap £5,000)
Level 2 Credit Controller and
Collector Apprenticeship.
ADVANCED
PRACTITIONER/
SUPERVISOR/TEAM
LEADER LEVEL
(Funding cap £9,000)
Level 3 Advanced Credit
Controller and Debt Collection
Specialist Apprenticeship.
Level 3 Compliance/Risk Officer
Apprenticeship.
SENIOR
PRACTITIONER/
MANAGER/
DEPARTMENTAL HEAD
(Funding cap £27,000)
Level 6 Senior Compliance/Risk
Specialist Apprenticeship.
Level 6 Financial Services
Professional Degree
Apprenticeship (in development)
18 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

From May 2017, companies with an annual
wage bill of over £3 million pa must contribute
0.5 percent of their pay bill (minus £15,000
allowance) to an apprenticeship levy which they
can only use to pay for apprenticeship training
QUALIFICATION EXPECTATIONS
FELLOW... FCICM, FCICM(Grad)
AFFILIATE
MEMBER .................... MCICM, MCICM(Grad)
ASSOCIATE ............................................................ ACICM
PROFESSIONAL LETTERS
Certificate
Credit operations
Certificate
L2 Apprenticeship
L3 Diploma
L5 Diploma
Advanced practitioner Senior practitioner
Supervisor
Manager
Team leader Department head
L3 Apprenticeship L6 or Degree Apprenticeship
LEVEL 2 CREDIT CONTROLLER/COLLECTOR APPRENTICESHIP
This programme develops the knowledge and skills required to
be a qualified credit controller/collector. At the end of the course,
apprentices could achieve a CICM qualification in addition to the
Level 2 Apprenticeship.
Apprentices are required to complete a range of work-based
activities and attend regular technical classes to build their
knowledge and skills in the areas outlined in the apprenticeship
standard. Classes cover credit control or consumer collections, and
business communications and personal skills which the learning
providers deliver by regular face-to-face or virtual classes. In
addition, coaches supply support over 12 – 18 months.
CICM assesses the apprenticeship by two assignments completed
towards the end of the apprenticeship and a professional
discussion. These two methods check achievement of the Level 2
apprenticeship standard.
The Institute also recommends CICM apprenticeship
membership and completion of a CICM cash collection or debt
collection negotiation assignment during the programme for
feedback on progress before end-point assessment. This has
the additional benefit of giving enough credits for the CICM
Level 2 Certificate in Credit Management on completion of the
apprenticeship.
LEVEL 3 ADVANCED CREDIT CONTROLLER APPRENTICESHIP
This programme develops the knowledge and skills required
to be a qualified advanced credit controller or debt collection
specialist. At the end of the course, apprentices will have
achieved highly respected professional qualifications in
addition to the Level 3 Apprenticeship and recognition, for
example as an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Credit
Management (ACICM).
Apprentices complete a range of work-based activities over two
years with the support of a coach and their employer to help
build their knowledge and skills in the areas outlined in the
apprenticeship standard. In addition, they study for the CICM
Level 3 Diploma in Credit Management or another recognised
professional qualification to build their technical knowledge.
There are various options available for the CICM Level 3
Diploma in Credit Management, but the Institute recommends
completion of examined units in credit management, business
environment, accounting principles and business law in order
to maximise progression opportunities, e.g. to the Level 5
Diploma in Credit Management.
CICM assesses the apprenticeship by an assignment to
showcase skills learnt throughout the apprenticeship and
a professional discussion to check achievement of the
Level 3 apprenticeship standard. Apprentices must pass
their professional qualification before entering for this
apprenticeship end point assessment.
The Government has made wide-reaching
changes to apprenticeships in an attempt to
kickstart a skills revolution. They aim for over
three million apprentices by 2020. The CICM
believes this could be the tipping point for credit
management and urges credit and collections
managers to join the apprenticeship revolution
to qualify teams and transform the profile of the
credit management profession. A community
of highly-trained and qualified professionals
will surely establish credit management and
collections at the essential heart of a business.
CICM is happy to advise on options. Contact
apprenticeships@cicm.com for advice or see
the CICM website for further information. If your
company has a preferred learning provider,
CICM can advise on how they could support
delivery of these apprenticeships.
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 19

OPINION
RECOVERY
POSITION
Amir Ali MCICM explores Lord Justice
Jackson’s fixed recoverable cost proposals.
LORD Justice Jackson proposes that the
current regime of fixed recoverable costs be
extended to include all civil claims up to a
value of £25,000.
There have been many responses to the recent
consultation from across the legal spectrum.
In my role as chair of the CCUA (Civil Court
Users Association) I responded on behalf of
members to the consultation on the extension of
fixed costs, as proposed by LJ Jackson. I would like
to share that feedback with you.
FIXED COSTS
The membership of the Association issues more
than 85 percent of all money claims in England
and Wales. Much (but by no means all) of the work
undertaken by our members tends to be based
around procedures with fixed steps, such as debt
recovery and possession claims.
We agree that transparency is best, whenever
possible, and that such work can be ideally suited to
fixed costs. However, regardless of the type of work
and in order to ensure that there is no detrimental
impact upon access to justice, we believe that
whenever possible and appropriate, it is absolutely
essential that fixed costs should be adequate to
enable the party to recover their costs in full.
Additionally, it is clear to our members that the
cost of litigation is often unnecessarily increased by
poor behaviour by the opposing party, to the extent
that this can ultimately thwart the action and deny
justice.
CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES
The Association’s view of the Civil Procedure Rules
is that they are inspirational and utopian in the sense
that they anticipate that everybody will play by the
rules, with very little teeth if a party fails to do so. A
failure to abide by the rules by one party generally
incurs expense to the opposing party, which is often
irrecoverable.
We have considered for some time that this
should be addressed by the introduction of
transparent cost consequences within the rules,
stating clearly that if specific rules or deadlines are
Additionally, it is clear to our members that
the cost of litigation is often unnecessarily
increased by poor behaviour by the opposing
party, to the extent that this can ultimately
thwart the action and deny justice.
not followed on time and without good reason, costs
will automatically be awarded to the opposing party
for immediate payment.
We believe that this would not only benefit
access to justice by preventing claims from being
rendered uneconomic, but would also greatly speed
and assist the progression of cases, to the benefit of
the court and all court users.
SMALL CLAIMS TRACK
Such incorrect behaviour is a particular issue in
the Small Claims Track, where, of course, costs are
currently extremely limited. As the sums being
claimed are smaller, it is easier for an unscrupulous
party to render an opposing claim uneconomic.
We often hear it suggested by others that
the absence of costs in the Small Claims Track
increases access to justice, empowering litigants
in person to proceed without fear of adverse
consequences.
In our experience, any such supposed
advantages are often outweighed by litigants in
person becoming out of their depth and unable
or unwilling to seek help and advice from
professionals due to the cost involved which they
would then be unable to recover. (Or alternatively,
where an unscrupulous party can currently
behave quite disgracefully and with no intention
of generally trying to resolve the matter, with very
little risk of any adverse consequences to them.)
We appreciate that costs are theoretically
available for unreasonable behaviour under CPR
27.14, but in our experience these are rarely
awarded.
FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS
With these points in mind, we would suggest
that extending fixed costs to the Small Claims
Track would assist both the parties and the court,
particularly by allowing claims to progress more
fairly and efficiently.
We appreciate that this may well be a
situation where the size of the debt may make
it disproportionate for such costs to adequately
cover the full expense incurred, but even a partial
recovery would be beneficial.
We additionally feel that the introduction of
transparent and immediate costs for specific
breaches of the CPR would be particularly
beneficial in the Small Claims Track, and even more
so if it is ultimately decided not to extend fixed
costs more generally within that Track.
20 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 21

OPINION
THE FUTURE IS NOW
Pierre Haincourt MCICM looks back at significant advances in human
technology and ponders what’s next
LAST year, invited by the French Credit
Managers Association to represent the
CICM and CICM Kent Branch, I went
to L’Association des Credit Managers
et Conseils (AFDCC) Credit Day which was
held on 18 November at the sumptuous and
prestigious Pavillon Dauphine in Paris for the
third consecutive year.
Just as the CSA featured Andrew Neil at
its 2016 conference, AFDCC secured Nicolas
Bouzou as its guest speaker. On his twitter
feed, Nicolas describes himself as a flying
economist, writer, avgeek, space geek…
his 10th book is called Innovation will save
the world. Along the lines of: ‘Should you
believe Schumpeter or Malthus?’ and ‘Would
you rather follow the Sparta or the Athens
model?’ Nicolas Bouzou presented his vision
of Evolution.
Starting from today’s tech revolution and
in the light of the key changes that have
taken place in the past centuries, here’s what
Nicolas’ flamboyant, futuristic and optimistic
presentation was about.
The greatest technological mutation ever
experienced by our world is underway. So,
let’s try and understand what is going on using
our experience of previous economic and
industrial revolutions in our history. Such huge
changes are always ‘creative destructions’ as
Schumpeter liked to call them.
10,000 YEARS AGO
Antiquity: the fourth, fifth and sixth centuries
BC (the Age of Pericles) saw the move from
a neighbouring barter economy to a distant
and impersonal monetary economy. This
was the start of globalisation, banking, first
currency payments and maritime loans – the
ancestor of credit insurance. The ‘ancients’
(Spartans) and the ‘modernisers’ (Athenians)
had conflictual ideas about what constituted
progress. The Spartans were protectionists
and the Athenians, who invented democracy,
wanted to continue conquering the world. In
the end, they had a war, the Spartans won
it and imposed an authoritarian regime that
lasted for a very long time and diminished
Greece’s economic power.
The Renaissance: since the end of the
13th century, innovations such as the windmill
would stimulate everything that was going to
happen at the end of the 15th and early into
the 16th centuries. This is very similar to what
is happening today: many innovations and
many more to come. Florence was the richest
city at the end of the 15th century. At that time,
the great countries of Portugal and Italy had
protectionist policies in place. Why? Because
they were scared of change. This would mark
the start of their downfalls. At any time in
history, wherever you look, protectionism has
resulted in decline. The Renaissance started
in southern Europe and travelled to northern
Europe.
The 19th century brought the Industrial
Revolution. In fact, it started in 1770 with the
steam machines – trains, boats, electricity,
cars, aeronautics…economic growth seriously
took off all over the world. This time it started
in the north of Britain to gradually descend
towards France and southern Europe, the
reverse journey to that of the Renaissance.
FUTURE OF INNOVATION
Innovations are still coming in thick and
fast – robotics, genetics, 3D printing…these
innovations are happening around the
three key sectors of health, mobility and
sustainable development, exactly as during
The Renaissance and the 19th century. These
innovations are still disruptive, but for the first
time they get deployed over a short period of
time and everywhere on the planet at the same
time, sometimes with huge surprises; nobody
anticipated that Rwanda would be the largest
hub for technology and innovation in Africa!
The current issue: climate change. We
have never had so many resources in energy
as we do today. We have 80 years’ worth of
reserves in fossil energy. Our problem is global
warming, a real issue that can have drastic
consequences. Good news however: we’re
in our fifth consecutive year of reductions in
CO2 emissions on the planet, and for the first
time in 2016, China has contributed to that
reduction. Germany has increased its CO2
emissions. This illustrates that the price to pay
for the right to pollute is still too low.
22 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

THE THREE OBSESSIONS OF THE SILICON
VALLEY ENTREPRENEURS:
1. Increasing our life expectancy through
curing all diseases. Mark Zuckerberg
Foundation’s objective is to eradicate
all diseases by 2100 when our life
expectancy will reach 120 years, which
is apparently how we are genetically
programmed. After this, efforts will be
focused on slowing down ageing, the
second priority – so we’ll be younger for
longer but we still won’t live beyond 120
years old. Damn.
2. Space conquest, or rather controlling the
spatial ecosystem: colonising Mars (Elon
Musk’s project).
3. Finding and developing new and less
polluting sources of energy.
All such innovations are killing the old
world order. The conflict between Uber
and the taxi companies is an illustration of
all the Schumpeterian conflicts (creative
destructions) that we will see in the next ten,
20, 30 years to come, and which will certainly
not be limited to the taxi example.
Many economists are currently Malthusians.
They are wrong. They want us to believe
that all these innovations are optical
distortions, that they do not contribute to
economic growth, and only carry negative
consequences. Worse, some digital business
owners say that their own tech companies
destroy jobs! Surprisingly the progress made
in healthcare is perceived by some as a worry
when it should be celebrated. They worry
about the necessary but complicated reforms
our healthcare systems need to undergo,
the ever-increasing price of medication, and
they ask: what are we going to do until 120 if
we have to live that long? In the end, there’s
always going to be a time gap between
innovations and the resulting growth. Artificial
intelligence will probably not take over all
of our jobs but it will surely trigger a deep
mutation in our work roles with a much
stronger polarisation.
Today, averagely skilled jobs disappear to
the profit of either unskilled or highly-skilled
jobs. So long as differences between man
and machine remain, both will continue to
be complementary and for as long as this
lasts, employment shortages will only be the
result of bad economic policies. What we
need is training and flexibility to anticipate the
inevitable changes that are currently taking
place. For example, in 15 to 20 years from
now there will no longer be ambulance, coach,
lorry, delivery or taxi drivers. Technology is
already here but only ‘we’ are slowing down
the driverless revolution thinking: ‘What are we
going to do with these millions of redundant
drivers?’ They need to be retrained for the
new jobs of the future.
What we should say and repeat: innovation
is always progress. The ‘it was better before’
always gets proven wrong historically. As
Mermoz famously said: ‘There’s nothing worse
than dying in one’s bed.’ We need to embrace
innovation, talk about the future and explain
what it’s good for and how to get organised
around changes. We need to continue to think
big, be ambitious, invest, do better, do more
and keep progress going, and if we don’t
do this, there will be more negative political
nationalism and more extreme religious
fundamentalism. The current problem in
our society is that there is too much media
coverage of the radical speeches, when we
should get to hear more from the moderates
on how great the future looks and on how best
to prepare for it.
All in all, it was a great presentation by
Nicolas Bouzou and I was very sad to only
catch the last ten minutes. The unfortunate
thing about a day trip to Paris is that even
if you get on the first Eurostar you lose an
hour on the way out and you arrive late. I
would like to thank my friend and colleague
Christophe Nobillet, CEO of France Créances
and Committee Member of ANCR (the French
Association of Debt Collection Agencies)
whose passion in reiterating Nicolas’
speech during the coffee break and whose
comprehensive notes enabled me to write this
article.
Pierre Haincourt MCICM, Credit Limits
International.
Innovations are still coming in thick and fast –
robotics, genetics, 3D printing…these innovations
are happening around the three key sectors of health,
mobility and sustainable development, exactly as
during The Renaissance and the 19th century.
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 23

LEGAL MATTERS
FAIRNESS V COLLECTION -THE FCA
CREDIT MANAGER'S DILEMMA
In this article, David Wood, a partner at DWF LLP's finance litigation team and an expert on
consumer credit regulation examines some hot topics for credit managers operating in this sector.
DD 0161 603 5226 E david.wood@dwf.law W www.dwf.law
David Wood
ARREARS handling in the FCAregulated
sector involves a different
mindset from collections in other
sectors. The key considerations are
the requirements to treat customers fairly
and to communicate in a way which is clear,
fair and not misleading. With a customer in
arrears there is a requirement for forbearance
and due consideration, with the emphasis
on rehabilitation rather than collection. The
fair treatment of vulnerable customers is
also a clear priority, with the definition of
vulnerability wide enough to cover many
whose vulnerability is clearly a result of their
financial circumstances.
For firms that are not lenders but who are
authorised for consumer credit debt collection
the obligations extend even to exempt
agreements.
Firms that have one foot in the regulated
sector, but also deal with unregulated
businesses, have additional challenges. Cash
is king but a collections strategy that focuses
introspectively on collection, rather than
customer outcomes, can impact upon FCA
cultural requirements.
FCA THEMATIC REVIEW – EARLY ARREARS
MANAGEMENT IN UNSECURED LENDING
The recent Thematic Review has highlighted
some of the principal issues. Earlier in
its business plan for 2015/2016 the FCA
identified, as one of its five key objectives in
its supervision of the consumer credit market,
the need to ensure that firms were treating
customers fairly and exercising appropriate
forbearance when seeking to recover debts.
The underlying theme of the Review relates
to culture – this will significantly influence how
much due consideration and forbearance is
afforded to customers in arrears difficulties.
The press release that accompanied the
Review stated: “We found that firms who
put customers at the heart of what they
do saw the benefits of positively engaging
with customers and agreeing sustainable
repayment solutions. However, we found
that firms whose culture was not motivated
by securing fair customer outcomes were
focused on securing payment as quickly as
possible…we expect firms to embed a culture
of doing the right thing for the market and
consumers”.
FCA ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY
Arrears practices have featured highly in
recent FCA enforcement activity. More latterly,
HSBC has had to address past practices
of firms it has taken over overcharging
customers in arrears. This highlights the need
to ensure transparency and fairness in arrears
fee charging – do these fees truly reflect the
additional costs incurred in managing the
arrears? And is adequate provision made
in arrears handling policies for waiving
these fees to assist customers who are in
financial difficulties? Previously, the payday
loan market has been forced into expensive
remediation schemes for customers who
were in financial difficulties and not being
treated fairly. Other enforcement cases focus
on fair customer outcomes. In the residential
mortgage sector, delays in identifying and
addressing customers who were in financial
difficulties, a key requirement of FCA rules,
has led to an expensive remediation scheme
for one particular lender.
OUTSOURCING
Outsourcing causes particular issues, not
merely the need to thoroughly vet and audit
your agents but also to ensure that the
correct authorisations are in place. Offshore
outsourcing presents specific challenges
particularly with regard to ensuring that those
agents are lawfully able to carry out the
activity. An overseas firm may not be able
to directly secure FCA authorisation due to
its inability to meet threshold conditions and
relying upon appointed representative status
can also be challenging. This is particularly
due to the appointed representative being
subject to the approved persons' regime.
The FCA's recent review on appointed
representatives in the Insurance Sector
contains some valuable insight into the
considerations that a firm should take into
account before any form of outsourcing.
CONCLUSION
So the key to meeting FCA compliance is,
firstly, establishing the right culture and,
secondly, having a clear written and compliant
forbearance policy that is regularly reviewed
and on which agents are assessed for
compliance on a regular basis. Culture can
only be directed from the top down and senior
management engagement is essential to
achieve this.
MEET THE DWF CONSUMER CREDIT TEAM
David Wood has spent a large part of his
35-year career as a litigation and recoveries
specialist in banking, asset finance and
consumer credit. In recent years he has
concentrated on advising clients on
compliance issues. Partner John Perez, who
heads the team, is a legal and compliance
advisor to the motor finance sector. Partner
Julia Williams heads the firm's lender services
volume collections operation.
David L Wood Partner, Asset Finance and
Consumer Credit Regulation, DWF LLP
This information is intended as a general discussion
surrounding the topics covered and is for guidance
purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice
and should not be regarded as a substitute for taking
legal advice. DWF is not responsible for any activity
undertaken based on this information.
AS A CICM MEMBER YOU CAN RECEIVE FREE LEGAL ADVICE FROM DWF
VISIT THE CICM WEBSITE AND CLICK ON THE FREE ADVICE LINE.
24 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

celebrating
credit week
FREE webinars
Open to members and non-members
MONDAY 27 MARCH
10:00...........Arguably the most varied and interesting job in a business – find out
about careers in credit management and how to get started
13:00 ..........Do you know the legal status of your customer?
TUESDAY 28 MARCH
10:00...........Getting customers to pay you quicker with the
Managing Cashflow Guides.
13:00...........The Importance of a Credit Policy.
WEDNESDAY 29 MARCH
10:00...........Credit Control/Collections Apprenticeships in a
nutshell.
13:00...........Building your Personal Brand.
THURSDAY 30 MARCH
10:00...........Payment terms, tools and methods.
13:00...........Has the political rollercoaster of 2016 impacted the employment
market and recruitment plans for 2017?
FRIDAY 31 MARCH
10:00...........The Prompt Payment Code - its purpose, the benefits, and the process.
13:00...........Discover the DNA of a Credit Manager.
For more information and to register,
please visit www.cicm.com
CICM ARE PROUD SUPPORTERS OF:
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 25

OPINION
FAST
MOVERS
David Sheridan of ARC (Europe) considers the year ahead, the role
of smaller collections agencies, and the outlook for the Debt Recovery
sector in the UK.
THE UK Debt Recovery sector has undergone a
seismic transformation in recent years heralded
by the appointment of the Financial Conduct
Authority (FCA) as the industry’s new Regulator.
What went before was a relatively broad framework
of operational compliance requirements that in practice
gave firms a significant amount of leeway. What we have
now, is regulation that is very prescriptive and includes
a rigorous assessment of business models that must put
the Customer at the heart of the business and embed
the principles of Treating Customers Fairly (TCF). This
is further augmented by the need for all firms to have in
place robust governance assurances frameworks. This
has meant significant change for all organisations in the
sector.
I would argue that this has perhaps been more
challenging for the smaller firms in this sector. Whilst
they can be more responsive, they have had to inject
resources (be it temporary or permanent) to cope
with the additional compliance burden that the new
environment has created. Larger firms, by their
nature, have larger resources that can support these
requirements, and therefore are arguably better placed
to manage the increased workloads without impacting
‘business as usual’ activities. Smaller firms have had to
juggle both.
I am not aware of any business that has
more than ten percent of their collection levels
coming from their online capabilities. This really
is an exciting area of opportunity. Customers
want instant service – so the more firms can do
to mirror great retail experiences the better.
DETAILED SCRUTINY
Last year, we saw businesses in this sector undergo
detailed scrutiny by the regulator as their interim
licenses were reviewed. Many of us, I am sure, worked
hard to deliver a robust application and then continued
to work very closely with clients to discuss and agree
operating standards that supported their own required
standards of compliance.
Notwithstanding this overwhelming need to
secure authorisation, firms still had to maintain their
profitability. I believe that the industry has seen some
very lean years in terms of profit as the burden of focus
has been so heavily balanced on meeting the demands
of the new regulator. Lending levels have fallen, new
credit is tough to come by for customers, and collection
levels are down because affordability must be absolutely
endemic throughout any customer contact point. In
addition, back office costs have increased because
the level of scrutiny by clients and their oversight
requirements have increased (often disproportionately),
which means that the bottom line for many firms is
evaporating quickly.
I do believe though, that common sense is starting to
emerge regarding the need to balance both conduct and
commercial objectives. It is in the customer’s interest to
be free of debt sooner, and it is in the firm’s interest to
understand customer situations and establish affordable
and sustainable repayment plans. This will mean that
default rates will lessen, and therefore the need to have
lengthy, and sometimes intrusive, financial assessment
calls with customers also decreases.
This brings me back to the challenge faced during
these times by the smaller firms – does the sector
benefit by having a strong makeup of smaller to medium
size collection firms?
26 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

TAILORED SERVICES
I believe it does. Smaller firms typically serve a varied
client base who want responsive, tailored collection
services. They don’t want to be a small cog within a very
large machine; if things go wrong, they want to be able
to pick up the phone and get it fixed immediately. If they
have a bright idea for doing something new or indeed
a new requirement, they want a firm who values this and
delivers it. Smaller firms who have their own systems
and development resource play a vital role here. Smaller
firms are able to utilise ‘pay as you go’ infrastructure that
satisfies even the most demanding information security
requirements. You don’t need to be a large-scale player
to take advantage of these technologies; in fact, smaller
firms have a distinct ‘first-mover’ advantage with these
technologies. As consumers, we are so used to instant
service – Uber and Amazon are clearly pioneers at
this – so why should it be any different when it comes
to our expectations of service and standards from our
collection partners?
Debt Recovery strategies are starting to change,
reflective again of the influence of regulation and market
consolidation. Not everyone wants to sell debt; indeed,
we are seeing some clients challenge this approach,
given the potential of rehabilitation, and some clients
have taken the view that having control over the asset
is a fundamental requirement. Asset sale is hence no
longer part of some clients’ strategy. We are also seeing
some clients start to look seriously at their commercial
models. In the past few years, there has been a race to
the lowest fee driven by clients’ forensic approach to
costs, regardless of the net return impact. Things are now
starting to change.
THREE KEY TRENDS
Looking ahead, I see three key trends developing
for the sector. The first trend is the placement and
remuneration model. Clients realise that their partners
in debt recovery have a similar burden of compliance
as their own. Market consolidation has meant fewer
players and more opportunities for those firms to serve
these clients. It’s no longer a race to the bottom in terms
of fees – firms realise that business-wide activities (not
just front line agent/customer interaction) in support of
debt recovery services need to be considered. Some
clients are adopting much longer placement-only
strategies, and some are adjusting their fee models with
a move away from payment by collection results. This
is an encouraging sign as the cost/return economics of
the ‘traditional’ contingency collection model does not
support the new world of professional debt recovery at
the commission rates many creditors were offering.
The other key industry development is the rising
impact of technology. Many firms are already reaping
the benefits of Cloud computing and Software as a
Service (SaaS) solutions for their business. Technological
advances are happening all the time and one of
the most interesting aspects of this, I believe, is the
customer engagement developments. We are starting
to see AI (artificial intelligence) and Speech Analytics
(SA) develop into specific products – Amazon’s Alexa
being the prime example – but further afield we have
businesses starting to use AI solutions within call
centres.
I appreciate that collections is a more complex
proposition than general customer enquiries, but where
customers can access easy tech that saves them time
and offers better convenience, they will use it. Just
consider how many customers no longer visit their bank
in person, and have ‘converted’ to doing their banking
online.
TECH SOLUTIONS
Now that the collections industry has got to grips with
the obligations and standards of operating a regulatory
business model, I believe 2017 will see the industry
start to really focus on tech solutions that improve the
customer experience and the bottom line. The key
statistic that always surprises me, given the amount
of shopping we do as consumers online, is how little
collection businesses actually process through their
online platforms. I am not aware of any business that has
more than ten percent of their collection levels coming
from their online capabilities. This really is an exciting
area of opportunity. Customers want instant service – so
the more firms can do to mirror great retail experiences
the better. The ‘fast movers’ recognise that the more we
can do to engage with customers, and provide them with
great service experiences, the better the outcome for all
stakeholders.
The third key trend that is influencing the sector is
the ongoing market consolidation. There are a number
of factors influencing this: the increasing scale of Debt
Purchasers; the burden of regulation, meaning some
firms have decided to exit the market; and the fact
that barriers to operating a collection business are
demanding, since the UK is already a mature market.
I see the market shaping between very large-scale
businesses and the small niche players and I think they
can operate in conjunction with each other.
Niche business can provide clients with responsive
tailored services; scale business can offer low cost, scale
solutions, working with different clients with different
needs. I see an exciting opportunity, though, for those
niche business that can take advantage of the rich
technological capabilities – capabilities that offer the
advantages of scale without the burden of scale!
The recognised standard www.cicm.com March 2017
27

We manage the risks, you grow your business
RMC is essential for managing our credit risk and monitoring the
credit standing of our customers. Having visibility into the current
and long-term financial performance of these buyers helps us
qualify customers and then determine reasonable credit limits
once we sign them.
Tinubu Square is now part of the culture at Fraikin. More than
300 people use the Tinubu Risk Management Center daily to
assist them in their trade credit decision making.
RISK MANAGEMENT CENTER (RMC)
Tinubu Risk Management Center (RMC) is a cloud software solution that gives
greater visibility and improved control of your risk.
It is a secure SaaS cloud-based platform with a full range of integrated credit
management features that helps you to:
Optimise credit management and risk transfer
Mitigate a company’s risk and grow its business
Some of the largest multinational corporations trust us
Founded in 2000, Tinubu Square is a software vendor, leading expert in trade credit risk
management. Tinubu Square enables organizations across the world to significantly reduce
their exposure to risk, and their financial, operational and technical costs with best-in-class
technology solutions and services. Tinubu Square provides IT solutions and services to
different businesses including credit insurers, receivables financing organizations, and
multinational corporations. For more information, visit our website www.tinubu.com.
www.tinubu.com
28
Paris London New-York Montreal Singapore
March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

TRADE TALK
WHAT FUTURE FOR FOREIGN
EXCHANGE OPTIONS?
Lesley Batchelor OBE, FCICM warns businesses with exposure to currency
fluctuations to be certain of their strategy.
IT’S perhaps a sad irony that whenever
we most need a financial product such
as insurance or credit, that can be the
time when it’s denied to us. For example,
when faced with serious illness, health
insurance is suddenly out of our reach. Or if
our neighbourhood suffers floods, we may
find it difficult to get property insurance. And
of course, when a business or an individual
applies for a loan, it seems like they have to
firstly prove they don’t really need it.
Given this somewhat cynical view of
financial services, it’s not really surprising
that rumours have been growing in response
to the decisions by certain financial services
companies to withdraw from the Foreign
Exchange Options (FX Options) market. This
has occurred as banks are reporting that a
growing number of international traders are
reverting to traditional methods of securing
payments such as letters of credit (despite
their inevitable costs and documentary
burden), as well as relying on the relative
security of credit card payments for smaller
transactions, in spite of the expense and
unpredictability of the final value of such
transactions.
FX Options are a long-established facility
that enables exporters, and other companies,
who regularly buy or receive funds in foreign
currencies to manage the risks of currency
fluctuations by fixing a future price on the
currency they expect to receive or require.
Although widely used by companies in the
United States, FX Options have traditionally
been a service that only the largest European
companies have sought. But more recent
reports are suggesting that such facilities have
been enjoying increasing demand from British
and European SMEs in recent years.
So it came as a surprise when at least one
major UK company announced that they were
withdrawing from the FX Options market.
Some observers have looked to market
conditions for an explanation. It is certainly
true that it has come at a time when
movements in major currencies have been
particularly strong and difficult to predict.
Sterling fell by more than 15 percent
against the US dollar and the euro after the
EU Referendum last year, while the dollar
itself has been unusually volatile since the
presidential election in November, and the
euro continues to face strong headwinds due
to the ongoing uncertainty about Greece.
World prices for key commodities such as oil
have also continued to move erratically. In
these circumstances, perhaps it wouldn’t be
surprising to see service providers becoming
reluctant to keep carrying the risk.
Is this news the start of more changes for
the financial exchange market? The decision
relates only to options, the most flexible
facility where the client has the right to buy at
a future date, with no obligation. Companies
exposed to foreign exchange risks can still
avail themselves of forward contracts, where
they are tied in to the exchange contract.
Although this doesn’t have the same flexibility,
it does offer the benefit of knowing in advance
the value of the transaction in the customer’s
own currency. FX Options, in particular, carry
a greater level of risk for those who provide
them. They offer the client a choice about
whether to take the offer when it matures or
not and the provider stands to lose heavily if
market prices move significantly in the wrong
direction, with less chance of reaping a benefit
if rates move the other way. For this reason,
FX Options tend to be relatively expensive,
particularly for smaller businesses.
Is this move a response to customer
demand, rather than any concerns about
conditions in the exchange market itself?
So far at least, there doesn’t seem to be any
evidence that other companies are planning to
exit the FX Options market.
But the developments ought to serve as a
prompt to credit professionals to review their
management of currency fluctuations and
consider the most appropriate actions in view
of the continuing uncertainties. The methods
available to exporters and importers may be
about to change significantly, and companies
with greater exposure to currency fluctuations
ought to consider whether they are following
the best strategies.
And with ongoing uncertainties about
Brexit, the Trump presidency, and the
continuing difficulties in the Eurozone, there
do seem to be plenty of reasons to expect
changeable conditions to continue for the
foreseeable future. In fact, in relation to FX at
least, we can be certain of only one thing: we
can’t be certain about anything.
Lesley Batchelor OBE FCICM is Director
General of the Institute of Export.
The recognised standard www.cicm.com March 2017
29

INTERNATIONAL
TRADE
MONTHLY ROUND-UP OF THE LATEST STORIES
IN GLOBAL TRADE BY ANDREA KIRKBY.
POOR POLISH PAYMENT PRACTICE
WATCH out for late payments if you’re
dealing in Poland. Coface points
out that you’ll wait ten days longer
to be paid than in Germany – and
that's on average; if you're in the transport
sector, you'll do a lot worse, with overdues of
112.9 days. The construction sector also has
a high proportion of overdue payments, and
given the high percentage of their revenues
represented by such payments, there’s a big
risk of default and insolvency in that sector.
Coface points out that your chances of
payment decrease with each day overdue, and
once a payment delay exceeds six months
you’ve only got a one in five chance of getting
paid at all. So, letting customers get away with
it doesn't just increase your working capital
– which you’ve got to fund somehow – it also
gives a much higher risk of losing money. A
good reason to keep very tight control of the
purse strings if you’re dealing in an economy
which, like Poland, doesn't seem to prioritise
timely payment.
CHERRY-PICKING EMERGING MARKETS
ATRADIUS already warned that global growth
is tailing off, so it's not a surprise that its
pick of emerging markets focuses on strong
domestic economies rather than exporters.
That could help, too, if protectionism
spreads from the US to other markets.
Youthful demographics and business-friendly
governments also feature strongly in the
decision, putting India, Indonesia, Kenya and
Cote d’Ivoire in the frame along with Peru,
Chile and Bulgaria.
But one problem with emerging markets
is that high growth comes with higher
risks, and the likely path of increased US
interest rates could put pressure on emerging
countries' currencies and borrowing costs.
India, Peru and Bulgaria are relatively well
insulated.
Atradius doesn’t mention Algeria, but
that's another country that could do well – it
was seeing pressure on its foreign exchange
reserves, but is now seeing some benefit
from increased oil prices, and is speeding
up diversification of the economy as well as
reducing the current account deficit.
So, who's on the danger list? Turkey
has not only seen increased political risk,
but is also vulnerable to a rise in the cost
of its borrowings – as are South Africa and
Argentina. Meanwhile Mexico faces the
brunt of Trump’s protectionist measures, and
Ecuador is in recession after low oil prices
coupled with imprudent fiscal management
have left the economy badly weakened.
Two thousand seventeen could be a
reasonable year for emerging markets – but
whereas after the credit crunch, pretty much
all emerging markets outperformed, this time
it’s not like shooting fish in a barrel. You’re
going to have to keep your ear to the ground
and be choosy about where you extend credit
or increase your exposure.
CLOUDS ON
THE HORIZON
REGULAR readers know that I love the Baltic
Dry Index, and the tip-off it gave me last
year that stock markets were on the way
up seems to have been a good one. But the
shipping index could be in for a period of
stormy weather – it's currently down from
its November 2016 high of 1,257 to just 925,
and that suggests global trade is going to be
subdued for the foreseeable future.
BREAK OUT
THE BUBBLES
OR rather, break out the British sparkling
wine, 2016's big export success – 27 countries
from Japan to the US now toast with British
fizz. Instead of producing plonk, British
winemakers have gone for quality, and
it shows – I'm a great fan of Nyetimber's
Sussex-produced sparkling wine, and wasn't
surprised when it beat the 'real thing' in a
recent wine tasting. The lesson? Quality pays.
NOT SUITABLE
FOR WORK
Agri-tech is an interesting sector and one
in which Britain competes quite strongly. But I
wasn't quite prepared for the news that we're
now exporting pig semen to, er, revitalise
the Punjabi pig population. It's taken three
years of patient preparation…and now I've
got coffee all over my desk. Excuse me while
I wipe it up...
30 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

NEWS IN BRIEF >
ACCESS ALL AREAS
PROTECTIONISM RAMPANT
PRESIDENT Trump has already started his
offensive with a warning to BMW that he
could slap a 35 percent tariff on Mexicobuilt
Beemers if it goes ahead with a
Mexican plant. He also complains that while
Yanks buy Beemers, Germans don't drive
Chevrolets, so obviously the rules are unfair
to America.
He's missed a couple of points. First,
Mexico has grown its auto industry not
just thanks to lower labour costs, but also
due to the fact that it's gone out and got
over 40 different free trade agreements so
DEMONETISATION TAKES ITS TOLL
DEMONETISATION may have been widely
approved of by Indian voters as a way of
reducing corruption, but it is taking its toll
on the economy. Cash-driven sectors such
as retail, agriculture, and transportation
have seen demand fall as 85 percent of
total currency in circulation has basically
disappeared.
It now seems likely the high-growth Indian
economy will take a breather next year.
That wasn't in most people's plans with a
pro-business PM. And although it's unlikely
you're dealing with the cash economy if
you export to India, bear in mind that many
companies which pay workers in cash have
had their operations severely impacted by the
new measures. The textile sector has been
particularly badly affected.
Will this derail India completely? That
seems unlikely – the progress that the
country has been making for years, and
the advantages of a well-educated young
population, won't disappear overnight. But
mind how you go, and keep an eye on the
details.
A recent blog post in Global Recruiter got
me thinking. Finance departments usually
track their customers’ financial data and
days sales outstanding, but there are plenty
of other signs of financial distress that
you probably don’t pick up. For instance,
turnover in senior management roles – not
always at board level, but just below; if four
or five operations managers get replaced in
short succession, trouble could be brewing. (I
know one treasurer who always tries to meet
the finance director; if the financial director is
it can trade globally. Put America behind a
protectionist barrier and who's going to buy
an American-made car?
And secondly – well, German Finance
Minister Sigmar Gabriel said it better than
I could. Asked how Trump could get more
Americans to buy American cars, he said:
“Build better cars.”
Seriously though, protectionism is an easy
sell for politicians, and Trump is selling it
hard. If you're exporting to the US you need
to stay on top of what's happening – and
maybe diversify your options.
WHERE TROUBLE BREWS
a weed or a yes-man, he says, that customer
gets less credit.) The post suggested, too,
that you should look out for companies that
are changing banks (and I'd add auditors,
too) – they may have found a better deal,
or their bank manager may have run out of
patience.
The lesson is that you really can't have
too much information – and you need to
look past the numbers to the reality of
the business when you're making a credit
decision.
UGANDA had its debt downgraded by
Moody's in November, mainly because
of the country's high debt burden. But
economic growth at five percent plus makes
it a potentially interesting export market.
Oil discoveries mean there's now potential
for exporters in the oil and gas sector,
whether providing machinery or services,
and the country's infrastructure needs in
road, rail and energy sectors are another
huge opportunity. But firms in the education
and ICT sectors shouldn't overlook the
fact that the country is rapidly becoming a
regional education hub. Relevant educational
materials should sell well – and in English.
Plus, Uganda is a member of the East African
Community, so while trading across the block
is not completely friction-free, you can use
Uganda to access markets in Kenya, Burundi,
Tanzania, Rwanda, and South Sudan with 150
million population.
A REPRIEVE?
THE pound got a bit of a lift against the Euro
after Theresa May's speech and at €1.17 is
sitting well above recent lows. (It's still way
below the pre-referendum €1.29 though. If
Brexit is a success so far, remind me what
failure looks like.)
However, the bounce may not last. Some
observers are now saying the pound could
trade at parity to the Euro and the dollar
by the end of the year. You need to put your
entire business through the microscope and
look at the impact of changing currency
rates - and ensure that you’re managing your
export contracts to make sure you stay on the
right side of any volatility.
CURRENCY UK
FOR THE LATEST EXCHANGE
RATES VISIT CURRENCYUK.
CO.UK OR CALL 020 7738 0777
Currency UK is authorised and regulated
by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
HIGH LOW TREND
GBP/EUR 1.1793 1.1306 Up
GBP/USD 1.2699 1.1993 Up
GBP/CHF 1.2647 1.2113 Up
GBP/AUD 1.6753 1.6013 Up
GBP/CAD 1.6616 1.5752 Up
GBP/JPY 144.738 136.912 Up
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 31

0101100
1101010
32 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

Supplement special
THE CICM
BRITISH CREDIT
AWARDS 2017
THE RECOGNISED STANDARD IN CREDIT MANAGEMENT
As the largest professional body in the world for the credit management community, the CICM
is the centre of expertise for credit management, and promotes excellence and best-practice
achievement. The British Credit Awards is central to this, rewarding outstanding performance
and innovation shown by individuals and organisations across the UK.
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 33

Shortlisted for the CICM award for ‘Credit Information
Provider of the Year’ 2017
• Work more efficiently
• Identify risk quickly
• Make better quality decisions
Data, analysis, automation and monitoring combined in one platform
Register for your free trial at bvdinfo.com
020 7549 5000 bvd@bvdinfo.com
34 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

FEATURE
SPECIAL
REWARDING EXCEPTIONAL TALENT
IN CREDIT MANAGEMENT
IT has been another incredibly busy year
for our industry, the Chartered Institute
of Credit Management (CICM), and our
members in helping to transform the UK
economy to a new period of growth and
prosperity.
Our elevation to Chartered status last
year has changed the way that others
see us; perhaps more importantly, it has
changed the way we see ourselves. It has
given us a new confidence, and greater
recognition.
Our members have a voice, and we
are increasingly using that voice to make
ourselves heard in government, amongst
our peers, and across the many thousands
of businesses that benefit from the services
of professional credit managers whose role
has never been more important that it is
today.
It is the credit manager and the credit
and collections teams who keep the cash
flowing through the business, managing
payments, identifying and mitigating risks,
and enabling new business by deploying
flexible credit strategies in close cooperation
with the wider business.
The CICM understands the importance of
being recognised, and there are few greater
paths to recognition than the judgment of
your peers as demonstrated in the CICM
British Credit Awards which represent the
pinnacle of outstanding achievement in our
industry.
Since the initial submissions were
received some six months ago, we have
been working hard to create a shortlist of
potential winners. Our distinguished panel
of judges has now reviewed each shortlisted
entry in detail, and through lively debate
has determined the very best of the best of
those businesses taking part.
We are proud to be the name behind
these prestigious awards and proud also
to be working hard to raise the profile of
professional credit management to a wider
business audience.
Philip King FCICM
Chief Executive
Philip King FCICM
Chief Executive
Chartered Institute
of Credit Management
JUDGES:
SPONSORS:
Dr Stephen Baister FCICM (Chair), President, Chartered Institute of Credit Management
Andrew Tate, President, R3
Lesley Batchelor OBE FCICM, Director General, Institute of Export (IOE)
Sean Feast, Director, Gravity London,
Managing Editor of Credit Management magazine
Nigel Fields MCICM, Director of Credit, Twentieth Century Fox
International Corporation
Debbie Nolan FCICM (Grad), CICM Advisory Council – Consumer representative, CICM
Technical Committee Member, Business Development Director, Arvato UK
Jeff Longhurst FCICM, Chief Executive Officer, Asset Based Finance Association
Brenda Linger FCICM, Vice President, CICM
Jackie Ray FCICM, Partner – Blaser Mills LLP
Karen Young, UK Director, Hays Accountancy & Finance
Amir Ali MCICM, Vice Chairman, Civil Court Users Association
Charles Wilson FCICM, Managing Director, Lovetts Plc
PALADIN
EQUINOX
GLOBAL
HOSTED BY:
CHARITY:
In partnership with
TWITTER:
@CICM_HQ
#CICMcreditawards
To view more photographs of the event visit:
www.cicmbritishcreditawards.com
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 35

CREDIT INFORMATION
PROVIDER OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Cashpundit Inc
Judges' comment: “Cash Pundit showed clear innovation
in its thinking and integration with wider business
programmes.”
Finalists
Bureau van Dijk / CoCredo /
Graydon UK / PurplePatch
Presenter: Luke Broadhurst, Strategy Magazine
Collector of award: Andrew O’Kelly, collecting the award on behalf of cashpundit INC
CREDIT INSURANCE
SPECIALIST OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Credit & Business Finance
Sponsored by
Judges' comment: “This is a smaller insurer that places
the customer first and supports its people in new roles as
they grow.”
Highly Commended
Nexus CIFS
Finalists
Equinox Global
Presenter: Mike Newman, Business Development Director, Company Watch
Collector of award: Trevor Price, Managing Director
36 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

Winners
Choose
Rimilia!
Rimilia at the British Credit Awards
Rimilia were delighted to support the CICM British
Credit Awards and see so many people and
organisations get recognised for their achievements
over the last year. Well done to all the winners and we
were especially delighted to see Rimilia customers
excelling.
Many congratulations to the team at Aggregate
Industries for winning Project of the Year, the team at
Sodexo for winning Commercial Credit Team of the
Year, and Imran Hariff at Royal Mail Group for winning
Unsung Hero of the Year along with all other winners!
Forecast
Cash Allocation
World class cash
allocation solution
with unrivalled match
rates and fast ROI.
Cash Forecasting
Intelligent Payment
Behaviour
Driven Cashflow
Forecasting.
Credit Management
Alloc8 Collect’s
predictive analytics
decision making to
increase value call out.
Cash Reconciliation
Automated self-learning
bank reconciliation
software with
unrivalled benefits.
E-Commerce
Reconciliation
Works in any country,
using any payment
type and currency.
Book a demonstration...
01527 872123
enquiries@rimilia.com • www.rimilia.com
Follow us:
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 37

RISK MANAGEMENT
ACHIEVEMENT OF
THE YEAR
WINNER
Graydon UK Ltd
Judges' comment: “Despite being an established player,
this firm has continued to enhance and futureproof its
thinking and technology.”
Highly Commended
SIG
Finalists
Avnet Technology Solutions
Logical & The Energy Credit Consortium
Quantifi
Presenter: Lesley Batchelor OBE FCICM, Director General, Institute of Export
Collector of award: Alex Schwendtner, Managing Director
CONSUMER
CREDIT TEAM
OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Shaw Healthcare Group
Judges' comment: “A company that showed tangible
improvements in key areas and had made some important
changes to further enhance performance.”
Finalists
Elevate Credit International - Sunny Marketing Team
Elevate Credit International - Sunny Operations Team
Presenter: Dr Stephen Baister, President of the CICM
Collector of award: Zara Bailey, collecting award on behalf of the winner
38 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

COMMERCIAL
CREDIT TEAM OF
THE YEAR
WINNER
Sodexo UK&I
Sponsored by
PALADIN
Judges' comment: “An entry that impressed the judges by
demonstrating how it is possible to see more being achieved
with less.”
Finalists
Avnet Technology Solutions / DTP Group
Ian Williams / Local World / Lynas Foodservice
Hays Specialist Recruitment / National Grid
Siemens - Cash Collections Services
Westcoast
Presenter: Molly Earley, Collections Manager
Collector of award: Lee Hunter, Credit Manager
COMMERCIAL
COLLECTIONS TEAM
OF THE YEAR
WINNER
OpenTable International
Sponsored by
Judges' comment: “This entry reflects a considerable
achievement by Open Table and a turnaround in
performance which is notable.”
Finalists
Aggregate Industries UK / Arco / Canal & River Trust
DTP Group / Funding Circle / John Lewis Partnership
Phoenix Healthcare Distribution / Veolia UK
Presenter: Gareth Hughes, Chief Executive,
Collector of award: Nargis Rasool, Sr. AR Analyst
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 39

THIRD PARTY DEBT
COLLECTION TEAM
OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Themis Global
Judges' comment: “The use of technology to enable the
business to engage with their clients and their customers
made this the stand out entry.”
Finalists
Credit Management Group UK / STA International
Waters & Gate
Presenter: Sean Feast, Managing Editor, Credit Management magazine
Collector of award: Michael Court, Director and Co-Founder and Mark Robertson, Director
and Co-Founder
LEGAL TEAM
OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Shakespeare Martineau
Sponsored by
Judges' comment: “In another fiercely contested category,
this is an impressive team showing an innovative and
thoughtful approach to collections, the development of staff
(through its buddy system), and a clear focus on customers.”
Highly Commended
Blaser Mills
Finalists
Bennett Williams Solicitors
Presenter: Wayne Whitford, Director
Collector of award: Jayne Gardner, Partner
40 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

YOU
MATTER
TO US
We are proud to be the most
progressive and forward-thinking
High Court Enforcement provider
in the UK, and are even prouder of
our relationships with our clients.
As part of the award-winning
group Marston Holdings, we are
pleased to be recognised for our
continuous efforts to provide the
best service for our customers,
regardless of their circumstances.
We are an ethically led
business, meeting the
highest standards in
audit, compliance and
governance.
We are professional in
our approach and offer
a streamlined process,
ensuring our clients are
always at the heart of
what we do to ensure
we deliver every time.
We are proud of our
impressive results.
We process one third
of writs in the country
and collect more money
than any other business
on behalf of our clients.
For more information, contact:
David Lynch, Business Development Director
07809 086 908
Email: david.lynch@marstonholdings.co.uk
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 41

PROJECT OF
THE YEAR
WINNER
Aggregate Industries UK
Sponsored by
Judges' comment: “Results were clearly presented and
immediately apparent with clear co-operation with key
stakeholders.”
Finalists
Anixter Ltd / Aggregate Industries UK Ltd / Avnet
Technology Solutions
HM Revenue & Customs - Accelerated Payments Team
Ingram Micro UK / Local World / Phoenix Healthcare
Distribution / Sony DADC
Presenter: Charlotte Turner, Director – Portfolio Credit Control
Collector of award: Phil Rice, Head of Credit
BEST USE OF CREDIT
TECHNOLOGY
WINNER
Addison Lee
Sponsored by
Judges' comment: “Addison Lee demonstrated how
a modern-day problem can be tackled in a new and
innovative way.”
Highly Commended
HM Revenue and Customs
Finalists
Aggregate Industries UK / BrightHouse
Dentsu Aegis Network / iwoca / Veolia UK
Presenter: Henry Pooley, Director Business Payment Solutions
Collector of award: Mark Wilson, Security & Revenue Protection Manager
42 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

LEARNING AND
DEVELOPMENT IMPACT
WINNER
Verizon Enterprise
Sponsored by
Judges' comment: “The results speak for themselves and
the time, commitment and passion for credit management
has clearly paid dividends.”
Highly Commended
HM Revenue and Customs
Finalists
Aggregate Industries / HM Revenue & Customs - Debt
Management Telephone Centre (Livingston)
HM Revenue & Customs, Debt Technical Office
(Liverpool) / Menzies Distribution / Phoenix Healthcare
Distribution / Places for People Group / Sony DADC
Trust Ford
Presenter: Brian Morgan, Operations Director at Rimilia
Collector of award: David Scott, International Bill to Cash
EMPLOYER
OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Talon Outdoor
Sponsored by
Judges' comment: “This was a stand-out entry. A young
company that is clearly going places, with real evidence of
employee engagement.”
Finalists
Adecco UK & Ireland / Aggregate Industries UK
Avnet Technology Solutions / John Lewis Partnership
Marston Holdings
Presenter: Mr Kabir Gulabkhan, Hays Credit Management
Collector of award: Iain Webb – Financial Accountant
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 43

UNSUNG HERO
OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Sponsored by
EQUINOX
GLOBAL
Imran Hariff - Royal Mail Group
Judges' comment: “In one of the strongest and closest
categories, Imran Hariff was chosen as the sort of person
that any credit manager would love to have in their team.
He puts his work and colleagues first before his own
personal gain.”
Finalists
Amy Sahota - Adecco UK and Ireland
Rachael Costello - Aggregate Industries UK
Dee Weston - Avnet Technology Solutions
Caroline Churchill - HM Revenue & Customs, Debt
Management Telephone Centre (Exeter)
Joanne Barras - HM Revenue & Customs, Debt
Management Telephone Centre (Livingston)
Vinod Kerai - Munnelly Support Services
Richard Fallows - HM Revenue & Customs, Debt
Technical Office (Colchester)
Sam Orchard - Trust Ford
Presenter: Duncan Davies, Senior Underwriter
Collector of award: Imran Hariff, Credit Control team leader
RISING STAR
OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Steve Bramhall - Anixter
Sponsored by
Judges' comment: “In yet another hard-fought category,
‘Macro man’ has clearly suggested, developed and
implemented many procedures and fixes to improve the
productivity of his department.”
Highly Commended
Marie Rowan - Veolia
Finalists
Emma Hovell - Aggregate Industries UK
Daniel Davies - Veolia UK
Ben Melia - Phoenix Healthcare Distribution
Kay Patel - Viasat World Ltd
Stephanie White - Westcoast
Presenter: Ceinwen Wilson, Director
Collector of award: Steve Bramhall, Credit Risk Analyst,
44 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

High Court Enforcement
That Will Empower You!
Who we are:
• The UK’s fastest growing High Court Enforcement Company
• Experienced team with track record for innovation and compliance
• New transparent approach for our clients
How we can help:
• We offer a personal, proactive & tailored service to meet your needs
• Guaranteed individual attention for each client
• CCJ Transfer up - fast & free administration service
• Exceptional Recovery Rates - consistently outperforming traditional rms
• Unique client access of your cases in real time via our Award-winning Field App
• Tracing, Process Serving & Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR)
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 45

RESPONSIBLE APPROACH
TO CONSUMER
WINNER
Marston Holdings
Judges' comment:“Understanding that
leadership is vital in creating a culture of
customer first, Marston has demonstrated
a clear approach to treating customers
fairly and managing the most vulnerable in
society.”
Finalists
Elevate Credit International
HM Revenue & Customs - Debt Management Telephone
Centre / MYJAR
Presenter: Laurie Beagle, Chair of CICM
Collector of award: Deborah Cooper, Group Organisational Development Director,
Marston Holdings
CREDIT PROFESSIONAL
OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Gareth Hughes - Marston
Sponsored by
Judges' comment: “As a professional working in the
credit industry, Gareth’s drive, energy and enthusiasm
over the last ten years is clearly apparent.”
Highly Commended
Phil Rice - Aggregate Industries (UK)
Finalists
Janet Chapman - Canal & River Trust
Diana Keeling - Ian Williams
Renée Arcangelo - DTP Group
Julie Harris - DPD (UK) Limited
Lisa-Marie Edwards - Westcoast
Presenter: Sue Morley, Client Services Director
Collector of award: Gareth Hughes, Chief Executive, Marston Holdings
46 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

Presenter: Brenda Linger, CICM Vice-President
Collector of award: Debbie Tuckwood, collecting award on
behalf of the winner
THE SIR ROGER
CORK PRIZE
Jacqueline Barber
Presenter: Alex Schwendtner, Managing Director
Collector of award: Talon Outdoor team
WINNER
OF WINNERS
WINNER WINNER Sponsored
Talon Outdoor
by
This award is for the candidate who achieved the highest aggregate
CICM examination pass-mark within the calendar year 2016.
“A young and vibrant business with a proven ability to attract diverse
talent within their organisation.”
The recognised standard www.cicm.com March 2017
47

48
March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 49

BE ONE CLICK AWAY
FROM OUR WEBSITE
How to set up a great one click link to the CICM website on
your mobile phone. Follow these four simple steps...
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4
Go to cicm.com > Click highlighted icon at bottom of screen > Click add to Home screen icon
> Click add icon at top right of screen > CICM icon will appear on your screen
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4
Open cicm.com in Google Chrome browser > Tap Menu button > Tap add shortcut to Home screen
> Icon will appear on your screen. Menu button on other Android devices may be displayed differently.
THE RECOGNISED STANDARD IN CREDIT MANAGEMENT
T: +44 (0)1780 722900 | WWW.CICM.COM
50 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

5 years in succession as winners and finalists -
Says it all really!
Nexus Cifs Ltd, a member of the Nexus Group, has a proven track record of
consistent performance and reliability as one of the foremost credit insurance
providers in the UK.
Five consecutive years as finalists in the British Credit Awards is a testament to our
continued success, driven by our commitment to customer focus and innovation.
Visit www.creditindemnity.com or contact
Sue Morley - Client Services Director
DD: 0203 011 5619
BB: 07715 701 916
E: sue_morley@creditindemnity.com
The recognised standard
Nexus CIFS Ltd
150 Leadenhall Street
London EC3V 4QT
T: +44 (0) 20 3011 5700
W: www.creditindemnity.com
E: info@creditindemnity.com
www.cicm.com March 2017 51

PAYMENT TRENDS
SLOW AND STEADY
WINS THE RACE
Jason Braidwood FCICM(Grad), Head of Group Credit and
Collections at Creditsafe Business Solutions analyses the latest
monthly business to business payment performance statistics.
IN the world of credit management,
slow and steady arguably very rarely
wins the race, but it feels like a suitable
metaphor for the January performance.
Slow in the sense that the frost on the ground
is yet to thaw in the same way that our
industry sectors have yet to recover from the
December dip; and steady because despite
some worsening performances Getting sector-wise, Better
the regional outlook is extremely positive and
a hint at what we hope +1.7 to be a Scotland positive 2017
with payment delays on the way out.
When it comes North to West winning the -4.6 race, it is far
too early in the year to be placing any bets,
0
but if January’s performance is anything to go
by then the
West
Entertainment
Midlandssector -1.6
is off to a
surprising and excellent start.
As ever, East we monitor Midlands these figures -3.3 on a
month-by-month basis to track trends and
highlight anomalies. East Anglia A movement -5.8 in the right
direction, however slow, can only be a good
thing, but we must be Wales cautious -5.2 in making
judgements at the start of the year, which may
all change. South West -0.1
6 5 4 3 2 1 0
Yorkshire & Humberside
South East
INDUSTRY SECTORS
I’m pleased to report
London
that it’s a continued
good news story for the Retail sector this
month, Northern which has Ireland seen a return -2.3 to an
improved DBT score of just over 13, nearly
four days better Getting than we Worse saw in December.
This is not quite on par with the DBT score
of a little over ten in October but it is a step
in the right direction and back on track with
the improving trend seen in Q3 2016. With
Christmas now a far distant memory, it’s good
to see that the unnecessary baggage of the
seasonal slump in payment performance is
also moving out of focus.
In reverse fortunes, the Hospitality and
Financial and Insurance sectors have both
seen worsening performance when it comes
to overall payment. Both sectors experienced
just over 13 days before payment back
in October, but in a change of fortunes,
January DBT slipped down by five days for
the Hospitality sector and seven days for
Financial and Insurance sector.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
-2.4
-5.0
On a more positive note, the biggest
and best performing sector in January was
Entertainment. Featuring in third place in our
‘Top Five’ doesn’t quite give this performance
the recognition it deserves – a decrease in
nearly five days DBT from December and a
return to a performance seen early in Q4 2016.
While we can put this down to a seasonal
anomaly, it’s good to see that this usually
steadily performing sector only suffered a
short-term blip.
It is a similar tale in the Transport sector,
which also saw a sudden negative shift in
DBT in December compared with previous
performance earlier in the quarter. In what
we hope is indicative of a longer-term trend,
the sector has returned to its frequently seen
average of 12 payment days in January.
Elsewhere in the more traditional heavy
industries of Construction and Manufacturing
the outlook is more of a mixed bag, which
makes it trickier to draw solid parallels with
wider economic outlook and performance.
Construction saw little movement from the
end of 2016 when it was averaging out at 13
days DBT. In a more positive step change,
Manufacturing showed some encouraging
signs of improvement and a return to
performance seen in the earlier half of Q4
2016.
Sector
Getting Better
Getting Worse
Real Estate
-6.2
Financial
& Insurance
+2.2
Top Five Prompter Payers
Professional
& Scientific
-5.2
Bottom Five Poorest Payers
52 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard
Sector Jan 17 Change on Dec 16
Sector Jan 17 Ch
Hospitality
+1.4
REGIONS
Regionally we have seen a positive bounce back
from the average increase we saw across the
board in December. While no region is coming
in under the ten DBT mark, happily, none are
tracking at over 20 days in January. So the
overall picture is slow but steady yet again.
The award for the most improved on
December is fairly split three ways between
East Anglia, Wales and (sharp intake of breadth)
London, which all saw a decrease in payment
days of five days or more. A consistent mainstay
of our ‘Poorer Payer’ list, London has seen one
of its best DBT scores in the past two years,
which is great news and hopefully signals more
to come in a similar vein for the capital in 2017.
It is also good times for East Midlands and
the North West, which have both welcomed
2017 with a much improved performance on
December when they were either included,
or not far off being listed, with the poorest
performing pack.
In fact, the only region that is bucking this
positive trend overall is Scotland, which saw
an increase of nearly two days on payment
terms. This is quite a shift from December’s
figures when the region sat comfortably in our
‘Prompter Payers’ list. Hopefully with post Burns
Night blues out of the way, we’ll see a return to
form for Scotland in next month's figures.
Sector
Business
from home
-5.1
Public
Administration
+1.0
Entertainment
-4.8
Construction
+0.1

ting Better
Getting Better
st
e
ds
ds
lia
es
st
st
n
d
rse
Yorkshire Public & Humberside
Construction
Administration
+0.1
+1.0
Sector
East Midlands -3.3
East Anglia -5.8
Bottom Five Poorest Payers
Professional
Real Estate
& Scientific
Bottom Five
Getting Better -6.2
Poorest Payers
Wales -5.2 -5.2
Scotland
Sector Jan 17 17.8 Change on Dec 16
DBT
Financial
Hospitality
Getting Financial Worse and Insurance South West 20.5 -0.1 +2.2
& Insurance
Business Admin & Support 19.3 0 +1.4
+2.2
International Bodies South East 18.3 -2.4 -3.6
Hospitality 17.0 +1.4
London -5.0
Mining and Quarrying 16.9 -1.0
Northern Ireland
Top Five Prompter Payers
Northern
Top Five Prompter Payers
Region
Top Five Prompter Payers
Top Five Prompter Payers
-4.6
0
Education 10.5 -3.1
Transportation and Storage 12.2 -4.7
Entertainment 12.5 -4.8
Real Estate 12.5 -6.2
IT and Comms 12.7 -3.8
-1.6
-3.3
-5.8
-5.2
-0.1
West Midlands
0
-1.6
-2.3
Region
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
Business
from home
-5.1
North Construction West
+0.1
Yorkshire +1.0 & Humberside
Public
Administration
Top Five Construction Prompter Payers
+0.1
Region Jan 17 Change on Dec 16
East Anglia Scotland 11.2 -5.8
East Midlands 17.8 DBT 12.3 -3.3
Wales 12.3 -5.2
London 12.3 -5.0
North West 12.7 -4.6
Northern
Ireland
12.8 DBT
Region
Entertainment
-4.8
West Midlands
Wales
12.3 DBT
0
North West
12.7 DBT
West
Midlands
16.5 DBT
South West
14.0 DBT
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
-1.6
East Midlands -3.3
Bottom Five Poorest Payers
East Anglia -5.8
Financial and Insurance 20.5 +2.2
Wales -5.2
Business Admin & Support 19.3 0
International Bodies
South West
18.3 -0.1 -3.6
East
Midlands Hospitality 17.0 +1.4
12.3 DBT
Mining and Quarrying 16.9 -1.0
Getting Better
JanNorthern
Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Ireland
+1.7 Scotland
12.8 DBT
North West Yorkshire &
12.7 Humberside
DBT
-4.6
17.2 DBT
Wales
Ireland
12.3 DBT
Getting 12.8 Worse DBT
Sector Jan 17 Change North on West Dec 16Yorkshire & Sector Jan 17 Change on Dec 16
12.7 Humberside
DBT
17.2 DBT
Wales
12.3 DBT
South East
London
-2.4
-5.0
Region
Yorkshire &
Humberside
17.2 DBT
East
Midlands
12.3 DBT
London
12.3 DBT
West
Midlands
16.5 DBT
South West
14.0 DBT
Professional
Business
Real Estate
& Scientific
from home
LondonBottom Northern Five Poorest Ireland Payers -2.3
Getting 12.3 Better DBT -6.2 -5.2 -5.1
Region Jan 17
South East
Change on Dec 16
South West
Region 14.0 DBT
Getting Worse Jan 17 Change on Dec 16
East Anglia 11.2 Financial 17.8 Hospitality
Worse
+1.7
& Insurance
East Midlands 12.3 -3.3
Yorkshire and Humberside 17.2 +1.4 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
+2.2
Wales 12.3 -5.2
West Midlands 16.5 -1.6
-5.8 14.0 Getting DBT
Scotland
London 12.3 -5.0
South West 14.0 -0.1
North West 12.7 -4.6
South East 14.0 -2.4
Professional
Real Estate
& Scientific
Bottom Five Poorest Payers
-6.2 -5.2
Bottom Five Poorest Payers
West
Midlands
16.5 DBT
Region Jan 17 Change on Dec 16
.7
Scotland Financial
ting Worse
17.8 Hospitality+1.7
& Insurance
+1.4
Yorkshire and Humberside 17.2 0
+2.2
West Midlands 16.5 -1.6
South West 14.0 -0.1
South East 14.0 -2.4
A movement in the right
direction, however slow,
can only be a good thing,
but we must be cautious
in making judgements at
the start of the year, which
may all change.
It is a similar tale in
-2.4 the Transport sector,
which also saw a sudden
-5.0 negative shift in DBT in
December compared with
-2.3 previous performance
earlier in the quarter. In
what we hope is indicative
of a longer-term trend, the
sector has returned to its
frequently seen average
of 12 payment days in
January.
Business
from home
-5.1
Public
Administration
+1.0
Entertainment
-4.8
East Anglia
11.2 DBT
20 17.4 17.3
15.7 15.8 16.2 16.1 16.0
17.1 16.9 1
15
10
5
0
East
Midlands
12.3 DBT
London
12.3 DBT
Public
Administration
+1.0
Getting Better
Entertainment
-4.8
East Anglia
11.2 DBT
South East
14.0 DBT
25
20
15
10
5
Rea
Bottom
-
Region
O
East Ang
11.2 D
South East
14.0 DBT
Constr
+0
0
Getting Worse Scotland
Yorkshire
West Mid
South We
South Eas
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 53

ADVERTORIAL
CREDIT DEPARTMENTS
DRIVE PROFITABLE
GROWTH IN 2017
Tim Vine
GROWTH is every company’s mandate.
Yet, driving growth in a profitable,
sustainable way can elude even wellrun
companies. To help spur profitable
growth, many are turning to their finance
teams alongside their revenue-driving sales
teams – and to the historically back-office
function of credit.
The finance department exists at the centre
of every organisation – it’s where everything
comes together. The CEO and business
leaders look to finance for information and
insight into how to run the business. A highly
crucial component of finance’s success in
managing these high stakes is its partnership
with credit teams and the accuracy of their
data when it comes to managing risk. The
effective management of risk and data might
just provide some of the keys to new sources
of profitable growth.
While there’s more data available today
than there has ever been before, there are
also more moving parts. In tandem with this
growing complexity – or perhaps even the
cause of it – is globalisation. As companies
become increasingly global, the ability to
scale effectively – without sacrificing customer
relationships – becomes more critical.
The value of a partnership between finance
and credit departments to determine risk
and opportunity then becomes even more
important – if not vital – for drawing insight
from the data that resides within credit
departments.
As finance roles become more complex
and automation replaces administrative tasks,
the dynamic of the credit team is shifting; in
many cases, credit teams are getting smaller.
This complexity and difficulty scaling puts
teams across the industry in a bind to find
ways to do more with less, and to make
decisions faster than ever. Traditionally, credit
teams are primarily responsible for helping
their organisations avoid unnecessary risks by
providing analyses of prospective customers.
In doing so, credit departments possess and
manage a wealth of customer data – much of
which goes untapped – but could be used to
identify new business opportunities and grow
revenue.
As organisations begin to look to finance
leaders to drive revenue, they’re starting to
look at this customer data in a whole new
light. By leveraging their data for insights in
this way, finance and credit teams are able to
connect with sales, technology, operations
and even product development. Teams can
monitor what their competitors are doing, how
the industry is evolving as a whole and other
information that contributes value that spans
across the organisation.
Although credit professionals may want
to work with sales teams to drive revenue,
their hands are often tied. Credit departments
are typically compensated based on the
level of risk within their portfolios, while
sales professionals are rewarded based on
commissions. Credit professionals can even
be reprimanded for lax credit standards,
causing them to act more cautiously in order
to minimise bad debt and slow pay, and avoid
other risks. Additionally, the lack of integration
between the two teams’ information systems,
databases and processes hinders knowledge
sharing. Until this necessary collaboration
is made simpler and faster, credit teams
simply won’t be able to take the risks that are
necessary for growing the business – despite
the desire to do so.
Both finance and sales departments
want to see the company grow its revenue
and profits while maintaining consistent
and predictable credit policies. When credit
and sales teams collaborate, they can each
combine their unique knowledge and insight
to help the other succeed. This starts with
finance and credit teams shifting towards
more efficient and transparent processes.
However, in order to accomplish this, new
systems must be put into place to support
teams through this change.
We recommend a four-pronged approach:
1. Make cross-functional collaboration a
priority
2. Leverage automation to do more with
smaller teams
3. Segment data to show which customers
pose good or bad risk
4. Analyse customer data to identify growth
opportunities
With automation for pre-screening and
approval, companies can push their internal
credit policies to the point of sale. Additionally,
sales teams won’t need to waste their time
pursuing prospects who won’t help the
business grow. Credit departments have the
potential to contribute to profitable enterprise
growth, but the right prioritization model and
tools are essential.
To learn how Dun & Bradstreet can help
you achieve data-inspired risk management
with D&B Credit, visit dnb.co.uk/nextgen, and
sign up for a free 30-day trial.
Tim Vine, Head of Trade Credit, Europe,
Dun & Bradstreet.
54 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

65
APR
2015
MAY
2015
JUN
2015
JUL
2015
AUG
2015
AUG
2015
OCT
2015
NOV
2015
CURRENT
2015
Deliquency Risk
ncy A Data-
A Growth-
Moderate High Undetermined
access the most comprehensive, reliable credit data in the world more efficiently than ever before,
Inspired Decision
Inspired Team
Low 3,455
1,678
70
100
To
9,4
Moderate
2,957
200
45
100
1,2
Low Risk
High Risk
High
100
ndetermined
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
JAN
2015
25
100
8,766
FEB
2015
NEXT-GENERATION RISK INTELLIGENCE
MAR
2015
-
100
1,965
APR
2015
Failure Risk
250
100
100 100
475 400
Moderate
Low
Low 3,455
2,957
MAY JUN High JUL
AUG
25
D&B
2015
Credit lets
2015
you access
2015
the most comprehensive,
2015
reliable credit data in the world more efficiently
Undetermined 100
than ever before, so you have more time to invest
in the relationships that matter most. The ones with
customers…and the Total ones with your 8,766 colleagues.
Start your free trial now at dnb.co.uk/nextgen.
AUG
2015
3
4
12,
Mo
1
2
1
1
In the UK Dun & Bradstreet Limited is authorised
and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
© Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. 2017. All rights reserved.
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 55

56 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 57

CREDIT TO
THE EXPERTS
SHARING SUCCESS
We believe a job well done should be celebrated.
That’s why we’re pleased to have sponsored the
award for ‘Employer of the Year’ at the recent
CICM British Credit Awards.
We are proud to have been involved in an event that
raises the profile of the industry, recognises and rewards
credit professionals for their hard work and commitment
and promotes credit management as an exciting career.
Whether you are looking for a credit risk analyst, team
leader or credit control administrator, we can find the
best talent to help meet your requirements, across the
public and private sectors.
We work exclusively in corporate partnership with the
CICM, providing invaluable careers advice and support
to our candidates and clients.
Congratulations to all the winners and all those
shortlisted for the awards.
Whether you’re looking to recruit or considering your
next career move, we have the expertise to help you.
Contact your recruitment expert on 020 3465 0017
or visit hays.co.uk/offices.
Proud sponsors of the
CICM British Credit Awards 2017
hays.co.uk/creditcontrol
58 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 59

HR MATTERS
THE GDPR AND
YOUR BUSINESS
Gareth Edwards discusses the changes businesses will
need to make on implementation of the GDPR in 2018.
DATA protection law has recently been updated
by Europe and will be in place in less than two
years. The General Data Protection Regulation
(GDPR) was finalised at the end of April
2016 after four years of discussion, disagreement and
negotiation and will directly affect all member states
from May 2018.
But a question arises: now that we’re scheduled to
leave the EU will the GDPR still matter? The answer is
yes – it will. The Secretary of State for Culture, Media
and Sport, Karen Bradley, before a House of Commons
committee at the end of October 2016, formally stated:
“We will be members of the EU in 2018 and therefore it
would be expected and quite normal for us to opt into
the GDPR.”
LARGE PENALTIES
The view is that the GDPR is not a monster but it needs
to be taken seriously. Changes will be required, and
if the required changes are not made then firms risk
considerable fines and reputational damage. Indeed,
under the GDPR, those organisations that breach the
law could face a fine of up to four percent of annual
worldwide turnover or €20 million (whichever is the
greater). This is markedly higher than the £500,000 that
the Information Commissioner (ICO) can levy now.
The present data protection regime, under the Data
Protection Act 1998 (DPA), protects a person's rights in
respect of their personal data and is built upon eight data
protection principles. These require that personal data
is processed fairly and lawfully; obtained and used for
specified and lawful purposes only; adequate, relevant
and not excessive in relation to their purposes; accurate
and up-to-date; not kept for longer than is necessary;
processed in accordance with the individual’s rights;
kept secure; and not transferred outside of the EEA
without adequate protection.
Apart from these there are other points to note
about the present law. The first is that there are extra
obligations when handling sensitive personal data such
as information about ethnic origin, sexual life, trade
union membership etc. Further, individuals have a right
via a Subject Access Request (SAR) to find out what
information is held about them.
NEW RIGHTS
Rights of the individual: individuals have a right to know
what is going to be done with their data, and who it is
The GDPR confers new rights such as having
inaccuracies corrected, to have information
erased, to prevent direct marketing and a right
to data portability (because of this firms will
have to provide data electronically).
going to be shared with. A website privacy notice
can tell people about this. Under the GDPR there is
additional information that must be provided: firms
will need to tell data subjects – users – the legal basis
for processing their data, the data retention period;
and of their right to complain to the Information
Commissioner.
The GDPR confers new rights such as having
inaccuracies corrected, to have information erased, to
prevent direct marketing and a right to data portability
(because of this firms will have to provide data
electronically).
Presently, firms have 40 days to respond to a
subject access request (SAR) but under the GDPR
this will drop down to a month. Refusing a request
will require a firm to have appropriate policies and
procedures in place. There will also be obligations
to provide additional information such as data
retention periods and the right to have inaccurate data
corrected.
CONSENT FOR DATA PROCESSING
For many, the most challenging area under the DPA
is that of ‘consent’ and consent to use personal data
cannot be inferred from silence, pre-ticked boxes or
inactivity. The GDPR requires that consent must be
freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous.
If a firm is going to rely upon ‘implicit consent’ then
it must be ready to deal with a challenge as to how
unambiguous the consent was.
OTHER OBLIGATIONS
There is presently no general obligation to report any
data breaches, but the GDPR radically changes this
and creates an obligation to report data protection
breaches that could cause an individual harm within
72 hours. Firms should consider how they would deal
with this new obligation. They should be asking: how
secure are their systems? What training do staff have?
Is personal data encrypted? What breaches might
result in an obligation to report? How would the harm
to individuals be mitigated? Do the procedures in
place around data breaches allow these obligations to
be met?
One solution to compliance is obvious – appointing,
a capable, interested person with the responsibility for
ensuring that the obligations are met.
The GDPR is a real and present threat to firms
and organisations of all sizes and the financial
consequences for ignoring the new rules are severe.
However, those that plan and who choose to follow
their obligations should have little to worry about.
Gareth Edwards is a partner in the employment team
at Veale Wasbrough Vizards. gedwards@vwv.co.uk.
60 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 61

62 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

THE
CREDIT CONTROL
RECRUITMENT
SPECIALISTS
www.portfoliocreditcontrol.com
Portfolio Credit Control are committed to supporting the CICM
and the Credit Control industry, not by just recruiting the
best credit controllers in the market but providing Credit
Managers and teams with the tools to ensure they
can attractand retain the best talent in the industry.
Portfolio Credit Control have compiled afreedefinitive
detailed salaryguide for 2017/2018 for London and
the Home Counties to help you when benchmarking
salaries within your team or for when recruiting your next
vacancy. Please contact one of our specialist consultants to
request acopy of the guide today.
Call the Credit
Control Specialists
today to receive
YOUR FREE COPY
of our 2017/2018
salarysurvey.
We look forward to hearing fromyou.
Give us acall on 020 7650 3199
or email recruitment@portfoliocreditcontrol.com
www.portfoliocreditcontrol.com
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 63

Supported by
28 Mar Parliamentary Reception
28 Mar DBC for Collections Live Debate
29 Mar CDSP: European NPL
29 Mar C-Suite Dinners
30 Mar Credit Summit
30 Mar Credit 500 Gala Dinner
How do I get involved?
Visit creditweek.co.uk
Call 020 7940 4835
Follow Twitter hashtag #creditweek
Sponsorship enquiries call 020 7940 4812
With consumer credit growing
faster than at any time since
2006, and economic growth
surpassing forecasts for the last quarter
of 2016, a short-term risk outlook for
some retail banks might actually be more
benign than Brexit mania suggests.
As is their wont, the red and blue-top
national press went to town on the
extremes they could muster from the
Prime Minister’s EU speech last month –
in which the announcement on
exiting the single market caused
most consternation.
So while the short-term macro
elements suggest demand to borrow
is demonstrably clear, longer-term
prospects remain clouded.
There’s no doubt about the
ramifications of a single market exit
for financial services in this country,
but plenty of it around the extent to
which swathes of staff and operations
will move across the English Channel.
So far, HSBC’s chief executive
Stuart Gulliver has gone on record to
say the bank will relocate staff
responsible for generating around a
fifth of its UK-based trading revenue
to Paris. He told delegates at the
annual meeting of the World
Economic Forum that “we will
move in about two years when
Brexit becomes effective”.
This has prompted various
questions on the level of risk HSBC
perceives for the impact on its UK
retail banking services, and where its
risk appetite might settle leading up
to Britain’s actual divorce.
Some of these questions will be
answered at our own Credit Summit, at
which HSBC’s chief risk officer (CRO) for
retail banking and wealth – Cyrille Salle
de Chou – will appear as part of a
keynote panel.
He will be joined by Mark
Thundercliffe, chief risk officer at
Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banking
Group (CYBG). They will appear
alongside Rahul Pakrashi, CRO at
64 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

Proudly supported by
Attractive discounts and
early bird extensions
are available for a limited
period for CICM members wishing
to attend Credit Summit.
To find out more information:
Call 020 7940 4835
Email events@creditstrategy.co.uk
Note, supplier rates are different but the same level of
CICM member discount will be applied to those rates.
For new bookings only. T&Cs apply. Call 0207940 4835
for more information.
Funding Circle and Stewart Livingston,
chief credit officer at Santander. They
will all be revealing the impact of Brexit
on their respective organisations’
risk appetites.
So far, CROs have told Credit
Strategy privately that one of many
Brexit concerns will be determined by
the impact on property prices. One
aspect of this is whether rich foreign
owners of UK property begin to up sticks
and sell up in droves.
Delegates at the Credit Summit will
be able to probe the panellists’ outlook
for consumer and corporate lending
over the next 12 months and how
they’re tackling current challenges.
“CROs have told Credit Strategy privately that
one of many Brexit concerns will be determined
by the impact on property prices”
Branching out
Breaking from the Brexit agenda,
inevitably the CRO panel will tackle the
implications of a consumer-driven digital
revolution in banking, and widespread
closure of branches. Yorkshire Building
Society (YBS) will this year axe its
Norwich & Peterborough (N&P) brand
and shut nearly 50 regional branches. It
will close 20 Yorkshire Building Society
branches in May and 28 N&P branches
from September. YBS attributed the
move to “an increasing desire among
customers to transact digitally rather
than on the high street”.
We can expect more of these
announcements this year, but in the
meantime we can expect some
substance on what Brexit means for risk
in retail banking at the Credit Summit.
Marcel Le Gouais,
Editor, Credit Strategy
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 65

Congratulations from
CWC to all the winners
and finalists of The CICM
British Credit Awards!
CWC is a specialist recruitment consultancy dedicated
to recruiting credit professionals at all levels, including
credit control, sales ledger, billings, credit risk/analysis,
credit management, and order to cash.
We have over 35 years of credit control and credit
management recruitment experience. We are true
experts within our field, and have built up an unrivalled
network of contacts and established relationships
within the industry.
We are passionate about the credit management industry,
and pride ourselves on offering a personal, efficient and
consultative service to both candidates and clients.
Contact us today to discuss your recruitment needs.
It pays to speak to the experts.
Ceinwen Wilson
07738 948848
ceinwen.wilson@cwcrecruitment.com
Sarah Chandler
07738 948844
sarah.chandler@cwcrecruitment.com
www.cwcrecruitment.com
66 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Full list of events can be found on our website: www.cicm.com/events
CICM EVENTS
9 MARCH
CICM NORTH EAST BRANCH – EMPLOYMENT
LAW UPDATE
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
We are pleased to announce that the Association of
Accounting Technicians’ North East Branch (AAT) have
invited the CICM North East branch to join them at their
monthly meeting next month for an employment law
update. From 18:00 arrival for 18:30 start.
CONTACT : Please look out for any further updates on
our Branch forthcoming events at http://www.cicm.com/
branches/north-east/
VENUE : Centre for Life, Times Square, Newcastle upon
Tyne, NE1 4EP
18 MARCH
CICM KENT BRANCH ANNUAL GENERAL
MEETING AND DISTILLERY TOUR
CHATHAM
The CICM Kent Branch are pleased to invite you to their
Annual General Meeting.
Time: 10:30am
Cost: AGM – FREE (CICM Members only)
Tour & light buffet £7 for CICM Members and £10 for
guests. We would also like to extend a warm welcome to
members of our Wessex, London, Thames Valley & Sussex
and Surrey Branches.
CONTACT : Please email Kevin Artlett FCICM, Branch
Secretary at E: kentbranch@cicm.com to confirm your
attendance and make payment in advance.
VENUE : The Copper Rivet Distillery, Pump House no.
5, Leviathan Way, Chatham Dockyar, Chatham, ME4 4LP.
22 MARCH
CICM LONDON BRANCH – ANNUAL GENERAL
MEETING AND PRESENTATION (2 CPD HOURS)
LONDON
The London Branch is holding an Annual General Meeting
at 18:30.
CONTACT : For further details, please contact the branch
direct at E: londonbranch@cicm.com
VENUE : HAYS, 107 Cheapside, London, EC2V 6DN
23 MARCH
CICM BRISTOL AND WEST BRANCH – ANNUAL
GENERAL MEETING AND PRESENTATION
(2 CPD HOURS)
BRISTOL
The Bristol and West Branch is holding an Annual General
Meeting at 18:00.
CONTACT : E: bristolandwestbranch@cicm.com
VENUE : The Bristol Golf Club, Blackhorse Hill,
Almondsbury, Bristol, BS10 7TP United Kingdom
27-31 MARCH
CICM SUPPORTING CREDIT WEEK 2017
LONDON
Where the UK and European credit industry descends on
London for a week of conferences, meetings, industry
networking and events. Join high street and alternative
non-traditional lenders to understand the regulatory
requirements, operational best practice and future areas of
growth for consumer and commercial lending.
Attractive discounts and early bird extensions are available
for a limited period, for CICM memberswishing to attend
credit summit
Book by end of February – £540 saving £160 on full price
From end of February – £675 saving £25
*Note supplier rates are different but the same level of CICM
member discount will be applied to those rates
CONTACT : http://www.creditweek.co.uk/
VENUE : LONDON
TRAINING DAYS
8 MARCH
WORKING WITH COMPANY ACCOUNTS
VENUE : LONDON
16 MARCH
ADVANCED CREDIT RISK
VENUE : LONDON
16 MARCH
DEBT RECOVERY THROUGH THE COURTS
VENUE : LONDON
21 MARCH
COLLECTING WITH CONFIDENCE
VENUE : LONDON
OTHER EVENTS
2 MARCH
NATWEST WEBINAR - CASH INJECTION
WITHOUT BORROWING A PENNY
WEBINAR
Is your business suffering due to unpaid invoices? Do you
know how you can improve your cash flow? This webinar
will provide an insight into effective credit management
and collection strategies to help you consider the best
approach for your business. This will be brought to life with
real case studies on the generation of cash into businesses
and how this assisted them in becoming more successful.
Time: 10am.
VENUE : ONLINE
9-10 MARCH
FORUMS INTERNATIONAL –
INTERNATIONAL TELECOMS RISK FORUM
(ITRF)
WARSAW
CONTACT : For more information email:
itrf@forumsinternational.co.uk
VENUE : WARSAW, POLAND.
15 MARCH
FORUMS INTERNATIONAL – FRAUD AND
CYBERCRIME FORUM (FCF)
BIRMINGHAM
CONTACT : For more information email darren.hodder@
fraudconsulting.co.uk
VENUE : BIRMINGHAM TBC
16 MARCH
9TH UTILITY WEEK CONSUMER DEBT
CONFERENCE.
BIRMINGHAM
The 9th Utility Week Consumer Debt Conference is taking
place on 16 March 2017. This event, chaired by CICM Chief
Executive Philip King, will address developing approaches
in debt strategies in the utilities sector, driven by fresh
technology, regulation and mounting competition. Experts
will also give insight into the next hurdles they face as they
continue the mission to eliminate bad debt. Confirmed
speakers include: British Gas, Ofgem, Ofwat, First Utility,
Npower and Southern Water amongst others.
Please note that CICM members are entitled to a 15%
discount on registration fees. Quote the promotional code
PARTNER15 during online registration to benefit from this
rate.
CONTACT : To register, visit http://events.utilityweek.co.uk/
debt/
VENUE : Holiday Inn Birmingham, City Centre, Smallbrook
Queensway, Birmingham, B5 4EW
16 MARCH
FORUMS INTERNATIONAL – BUSINESS AND
OFFICE SUPPLIES CREDIT FORUM (BSF)
LONDON
CONTACT : For more information email bsf@
forumsinternational.co.uk
VENUE : MOORE STEPHENS, 150 Aldersgate, London,
EC1A 4AB
21 MARCH
AMLP FORUM – THE FINANCIAL CRIME AND
CORRUPTION ASSOCIATION
LONDON
Annual Anti Money Laundering Professionals Forum – 13th
Annual Financial Crime Seminar.
To view both the full programme and to register, please
click here and take advantage of the 10% discount rate if
you are a CICM member.
CONTACT : Visit website: http://www.amlpforum.com/
events/seminars/
VENUE : LONDON - TBC
23 MARCH
FORUMS INTERNATIONAL – INTERNATIONAL
APPAREL CREDIT FORUM (IAF)
AMSTERDAM
CONTACT : For more information email:
iaf@forumsinternational.co.uk
VENUE : NIKE, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 67

www.portfoliocreditcontrol.com
Portfolio Credit Control
PROUD SPONSORS OF PROJECT OF THE YEAR AWARD
would like to congratulate all the nominees and winners
at the CICM Credit Management Awards 2017
At Portfolio Credit Control we pride ourselves
on our commitment to service delivery,
business ethics, honesty and integrity
and ensuring our service exceeds your
expectations every single time.
If you are planning to recruit or looking
for the next step in your career please
get in touch with the
Credit Control Recruitment Specialists
on 0207 650 3199 or contact us at
recruitment@portfoliocreditcontrol.com
We look forward to hearing from you.
Call the Credit
Control Specialists
today to receive
YOUR FREE COPY
of our 2017/2018
salary survey.
Give us a call on 020 7650 3199
or email recruitment@portfoliocreditcontrol.com
www.portfoliocreditcontrol.com
68 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

NEW CICM MEMBERS
THE INSTITUTE WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS WHO HAVE RECENTLY JOINED
HONORARY FELLOW
NAME
COMPANY
MEMBER
NAME
COMPANY
Mark Thundercliffe
Clydesdale Bank Plc
Olajide Oni
Simon Ripley
Brett Rutland
Robert Syms
Christian Terry
Vodacom Business Nigeria
S Three plc
Pentland Brands Plc
Parrott & Coales LLP
Deloitte Consulting
ASSOCIATE
NAME
COMPANY
Ronda Jackson
Darren Trowers
Jacksons Credit Recovery Services Ltd
Thomson Reuters
AFFILIATE
NAME COMPANY NAME COMPANY
Carine Stewart
Lauren Strawbridge
Jason Suthers
Joanna Swist-Mekaeil
Christie Swords
Max Taylor
Joseph Thomas
Murat Uslu
Kay Walsh
Charlotte Warris
James Whitford
Hannah Whittaker
Jasmin Wills
Ewen Windham
Sophie Windle
Stuart Wood
Damian Wright
Kelly Wright
Bartosz Zimniewicz
Julie Allen
Carley Allum
Rebecca Arnold
Lisa Baker-Reynolds
Zubair Bana
Richard Barton
Lauren Berks
Georgina Blackburn
Elizabeth Bowden
Terry Brittain
Phillip Burne
David Busfield
Paula Carlton
Pauline Chevallier-Kierzek
Toni Churms
Robert Colbourne
Angelina D'Abbraccio
Daniel Davies
Zita Delgado
Kajal Desai
Aaron Diprose
Susan Donaldson
James Elliott
Makala Elliott
Gary Embleton
Farrah Essardaoui
Zsigmond Farkas
Lianne Faulkner
Justine Fenton
Chloe Foley
Jason Ford
Joanne Fordham
Helen Foster
SC Johnson Eurafne Ltd
NG Bailey Ltd
WSS Security Services
Kodak Ltd
Chandlers Limited
Bristow & Sutor
E.ON UK
Wincor Nixdorf
StepChange Debt Charity
StepChange Debt Charity
DPD Group
Menzies Distribution Ltd
Imperial College London
StepChange Debt Charity
StepChange Debt Charity
Turner & Townsend
Chandlers Limited
CPC (Combined Precision Components)
DPD Group
Thomson Reuters
ForFarmers UK Ltd
Daniel Owen Ltd
Moreton Smith Receivables Ltd
360 International
Firstport
Allied Healthcare (UK) Ltd
Newbury Investments (UK) Ltd
Blake Morgan LLP
Bristow & Sutor
MLM Consulting Engineers
Hays Credit Management
Callitech Ltd t/a Moneypenny
Williamson Dickie Europe Ltd
Schneider Electric Ltd
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Freightliner Ltd
Brake Bros. Ltd
Hobs Studio
MorningStar UK
Vivo Barefoot
Bristow & Sutor
SRCL Ltd
Hitachi Capital (UK) Plc
VF Northern Europe Ltd
Firstport
NHBC National House Building Council
Saul D Harrison & Sons plc
Crystal Legal Services
Motofix Accident Repair Centres
UK Fuels Limited
Stacey Gibbons
Julie Griggs
Craig Healy
Joanne Holmes
William Hopkins
Lorette Hovell
Vivianne Jagar
Graeme Jones
Nia Jones
Viktoria Kalmarova
Chelya Katende
Katie Larcombe
Loren Leaver
Laura Loveday
Jack Lyon
Emma McAleese
Tracey McIver
Jason McKinlay
Jennifer Merrilees
Osman Mir
Isaac Mireku
Subashnie Moodley
Timothy Moore
Philip Morton
Robert Mottershead
Robert Murphy
Kelly Nichols
Vicki O'Donnell
Krisztina Pality
Sejal Patel
Gregory Pattyson
Caroline Plumb
Raymond Radley
Chandra Rana
Sukhjinder Sangha
Hannah Scott
Amy Seymour
Lea Sison
Vanessa Spence
Lisa Thomas
Katharine Thompson
Michelle Tuck
Keith Valentine
Catrina Valiandis
Kate Vickerstaff
Joanna Walker
Holly Watters
Charlotte Wood
Chris Wright
Karen Yates
Antoine Young
Firstport
Wincanton Group Ltd
Palmer & Harvey McLane Ltd
British Ceramic Tile Ltd
Newbury Investments (UK) Ltd
Thomson Reuters
Northamber plc
Age Cymru Gwynedd a Mon
Palmer & Harvey McLane Ltd
Hays Credit Management
Hays Credit Management
McKechnie Aviation
Hitachi Capital (UK) Plc
CCS Media
Novae
Stripes Solicitors Limited
Crowcon Detection Instruments
Venesky-Brown Recruitment Ltd
Rate Setter
British Gas plc
Crowcon Detection Instruments
Bristow & Sutor
WYG Group Ltd
Allied Healthcare (UK) Ltd
Andrew Wilson & Co
HML Andertons
Mott MacDonald Group Ltd
Hays Credit Management
Merlin Entertainment
Bristow & Sutor
Fluidly
Brighton & Hove City Council
Motofix Accident Repair Centres
Novae Group Plc
ForFarmers UK Ltd
WSP Group Ltd
IP Solutions Uk Ltd
Symphony Group Plc
Hays Credit Management
Wanzl Ltd
SGS Tool Europe Ltd
Bristow & Sutor
Middlesex University Business School
ADT Fire & Security Ltd
Firstport
Scott Sports SA (UK Branch)
Veolia ES UK Plc
Worldpay (UK) Ltd
Medela UK Limited
Duty Free Caribbean
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 69

ENFORCEMENT.
TIME FOR CHANGE.
ARE YOU
GETTING THE
BEST OUT OF
YOUR CURRENT
PROVIDER?
CONTACT HIGH COURT ENFORCEMENT GROUP
FOR ALL YOUR ENFORCEMENT NEEDS
• JUDGMENT ENFORCEMENT
• EVICTIONS
• EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL ENFORCEMENT
• ACAS AWARDS ENFORCEMENT
• FOREIGN JUDGMENT ENFORCEMENT
• COMMERCIAL RENT ARREARS RECOVERY
• COMMERCIAL FORFEITURE
• COMMON LAW EVICTIONS
• PROCESS SERVING AND TRACING
Instruct us today – call 08450 999 666
www.hcegroup.co.uk
70 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

ARRANGE
YOUR CAREERS
BANNER STAND
NOW
NEW CICM
CAREERS STAND
Keen to promote careers
in credit management?
Talk to Thames Valley Branch which has created a buzz
around credit by attending 14 school events over the last two
and a half years.
Order your own stand for the Branch or book the HQ
Careers Stand for your schools or university careers events
from CICM Events Co-ordinator at events@cicm.com
NAME
JONATHAN DEAN
COMPANY NAME
Northgate Vehicle
Hire UK
NUMBER OF YEARS IN
CREDIT MANAGEMENT
30 years
NUMBER OF YEARS IN
CURRENT ROLE
Four months
HOW DID YOU GET INTO CREDIT
MANAGEMENT?
By accident, I started working for
a regional newspaper as a Trainee
Accountant but I felt the role wasn’t
for me and moved over into the Credit
Control team.
WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT
WHERE YOU WORK?
There is never a dull moment in the
vehicle rental industry as it is so fast
moving.
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?
Helping colleagues to achieve their full
potential.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MEAL?
Something traditional like a Sunday roast
beef dinner.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE HOLIDAY
DESTINATION?
Anywhere in the UK, my particular
favourites include The Cotswolds and The
Lake District.
NAME THREE PEOPLE YOU WOULD
INVITE TO A DINNER PARTY AND WHY?
James Stewart - not only for his film career but
he has the funniest joke on YouTube.
Jackie Stewart – I am a huge motor sport fan.
Billy Connelly – For obvious reasons!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PASTIME/
RELAXATION ACTIVITY?
Watching motor sports especially
Formula One.
IF YOU WERE TO HAVE ONE SPECIAL
POWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
I have a terrible memory so I would like
to be able to remember everything.
WHAT IS THE BEST/WORST QUALITY IN
A LEADER?
The best quality is to have humanity and
be able to relate well to people. The worst
has to be arrogance and indifference.
WHO IS YOUR BUSINESS OR PERSONAL
HERO?
Sir John Harvey-Jones MBE - he is well
respected for his success in growing
BP during his time with them and also
well known by the public for his BBC
television show Troubleshooter.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE QUOTE OR
MOTTO?
“The biggest concern for any
organisation should be when their most
passionate people become quiet”
IF YOU WEREN’T WORKING IN CREDIT
MANAGEMENT, WHAT WOULD YOU BE
DOING?
I would probably follow in my parents
footsteps and be a Tax Inspector!
60SECONDS
WITH
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 71

DON’T MISS YOUR
NEXT BIG CAREER
MOVE IN CREDIT
CREDIT RISK ANALYST
IMPLEMENT CHANGE AND MINIMISE RISK
Milton Keynes, £40,000-£45,000
This globally-recognised banking organisation is
looking for a credit risk analyst to implement and
deliver change through development and testing
of the risk policy. In this 12-month fixed-term contract,
you will be responsible for ensuring changes are
delivered to agreed timescales and provide analysis
and user acceptance testing along the way. You will
have experience in credit risk and change, with
working knowledge of advanced Excel, VBA and SAS.
This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a leading
organisation voted one of the best big companies
to work for in the UK.
Ref: 2941759
Contact Joshua Graham on 01908 870254
or email joshua.graham@hays.com
LEGAL CREDIT CONTROLLER
MAINTAIN AND DEVELOP THE LEDGER
London, up to £30,000 + benefits
This emerging legal firm is looking for a motivated credit
controller to join its expanding finance team. With a
strong emphasis on debt management strategies, the role
focuses upon maximising collections whilst building long
lasting relationships with clients. You will also maintain
the accounts receivable function including collection of
outstanding debt, processing and posting all incoming
receipts and reconciling and allocating cash. Previous
experience within the legal industry is desirable, along
with experience dealing with partners, fee earners and
legal entities. This role would suit an individual looking
for the next step in their career and to join a successful,
growing company. Ref: 2934826
Contact Joshua Brown on 020 3465 0020
or email joshua.brown4@hays.com
CREDIT MANAGER
DRIVE COLLECTIONS PERFORMANCE
West Yorkshire, £28,000-£34,000 + excellent benefits
A leading global business seeks a high-calibre credit
manager to drive the performance of the UK and Ireland
credit team. Driving the collections performance of the
team, you will continually reduce DSO and aging balances
through effective people and performance management
as well as customer and internal stakeholder relationship
management. To be successful, you will be a proven people
manager within a credit control environment, ideally with
experience gained in a large, complex organisation or
shared service environment. Strong Excel skills and the
ability to present to senior management are essential.
CICM Level 3 qualification or above is also desirable.
Ref: 2946955
Contact Catherine Hill on 0113 200 3735
or email catherine.hill@hays.com
CREDIT CONTROLLER
MAKE AN IMPACT
West London, up to £28,000
This private healthcare company is a leading organisation
within its sector, catering to a large number of clients
across the UK. It is now looking for a credit controller to
join its team on a four month temporary basis, with the
possibility of extension. To be successful, you will have
experience with high volume ledgers, ambitious and
confident, with a passion for credit control. You will
also have excellent control skills, as well as the ability
to build relationships and rapport with clients on
their ledger.
Ref: 2853769
Contact Summer Mostafa on 020 3465 0020
or email summer.mostafa@hays.com
hays.co.uk/creditcontrol
72 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

INTERNATIONAL CREDIT CONTROLLER
EXCELLENT PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES
London, £28,000 + bonus
Due to recent growth, this well-recognised business
is looking for a credit controller to get involved with
international clients as well as be given various project
opportunities. With huge opportunity for growth, you
will join a large, enthusiastic team and be part of a work
hard, play hard environment. You will have previous
experience in a credit control, strong Excel skills and an
understanding of withholding tax and multi-currencies.
Knowledge of SOX compliance would also be a benefit.
This is an exciting opportunity for a driven individual
with a pro-active attitude to take the next step in
their career.
Ref: 2954557
Contact Hannah East on 020 3465 0020
or email hannah.east@hays.com
CREDIT CONTROLLER
PROVIDE EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE
Leeds, £20,000-£23,000 + excellent benefits
+ full CICM study support
A forward-thinking, innovative business at the cutting
edge of its sector seeks a high-calibre credit controller
to join its CICM accredited team. Reporting to the
Credit Manager, you will be responsible for managing
a busy, high volume ledger. You will proactively manage
a complex ledger to reduce debtor days and aging
balances. You will also be responsible for effectively
managing customer queries, credit limits and accounts
on hold. The successful candidate will be an experienced
business-to-business credit controller used to working
in a fast-paced, telephone-driven environment.
Ref: 2935850
Contact Catherine Hill on 0113 200 3735
or email catherine.hill@hays.com
AR ANALYST
MANAGE COMPLEX ACCOUNTS
Belfast, £20,000-£23,000 + excellent benefits
This global business has recently established a finance
centre in Belfast, providing accounts analysis and support
to internal stakeholders across the world. You will be
responsible for pre-legal situations, negotiating payment
plans, investigating and resolving complex issues and
producing reports and analysis to stakeholders. As an
experienced credit professional, you will confidently take
on this new role and autonomously manage a complex
portfolio of customers. Exceptional communication skills,
negotiation ability and refined analytical and reporting
skills are key factors for success. This is an exciting
opportunity to join a vibrant team as they build an
expert finance function. Ref: 2950948
Contact Nicola McCallum on 028 9044 6911
or email nicola.mccallum@hays.com
JUNIOR CREDIT CONTROLLER
FLUENT ITALIAN SPEAKING
West London, up to £23,000 + benefits
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a fluent
Italian speaking, ambitious credit controller to work
for a rapidly growing global retail business near
Hammersmith. In this role, you will be responsible
for your own portfolio of high-end clients. The ability
to work to tight deadlines and provide a high level
of customer service is essential. In return, the company
offers fantastic benefits including private health and
dental care, 25 days annual leave and an annual
clothing allowance.
Ref: 2953725
Contact Julia Foster on 020 3465 0020
or email julia.foster2@hays.com
This is just a small selection of
the many opportunities we have
available for credit professionals.
To find out more email hayscicm@hays.com
or visit us online.
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 73

Paladin Commercial would like to congratulate
Sodexo UK & Ireland
as winners of
Commercial Collections Team of the Year 2017
At the CICM British Credit Awards 2017
www.paladincommercial.co.uk
Contact: george@paladincommercial.co.uk
74 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

Cr£ditWho?
CICM Directory of Services
FOR INFORMATION,
OPTIONS AND PRICING
PLEASE EMAIL:
anthony.cave@cabbell.co.uk
COLLECTIONS
Controlaccount PLC
Compass House, Waterside
Hanbury Road, Bromsgrove
B60 4FD
T: 01527 549522 (Sales dept)
E: sales@controlaccount.com
W:www.controlaccount.com
Controlaccount has over 30 years of Credit Management and
Debt Recovery experience, helping National and International
SMEs and blue chip organisations, across a wide range of sectors.
We provide a fast, proactive collection service on a no-collection,
no-fee basis, and for some clients a zero cost option,
utilising the late payment act to fund collection procedures. Our
trained collectors take into account your need to recover debts,
whilst maintaining your reputation and preserving customer relationships.
If we can’t recover your outstanding debts through our
collection process, then our service won’t cost you a penny; and
with our additional in-house legal & Trace service as well as our
credit reporting and corporate monitoring services we are ready
to help you every step of the way.
Blaser Mills LLP
Rapid House
40 Oxford Road, High Wycombe,
Buckinghamshire. HP11 2EE
T: 01494 478660/478661
E: Jackie Ray jar@blasermills.co.uk or Gary Braathen
gpb@blasermills.co.uk
W: www.blasermills.co.uk
Established in 1888, leading multi-disciplinary law firm Blaser
Mills specialises in services for businesses and individuals.
The Firm has particular expertise in Dispute Resolution and
Debt Recovery working with experienced credit managers and
finance directors providing solutions to both contested and
uncontested claims.
Blaser Mills provides an experienced team including CICM
qualified legal representatives and the Firm is cited in the
Legal 500 law directory based on quality of work and strong
client feedback.
Offices in Aylesbury, London (Central), London (Harrow), Old
Amersham, Rickmansworth, Staines-on-Thames.
Think Inspire and Create Ltd
T: 0844 414 6056
E: info@thinkinspireandcreate.com
W: www.thinkinspireandcreate.com
Think Inspire and Create Ltd - No Ordinary Consultancy
The newly-launched consultancy offers an inspired service that
supports businesses and encourages their people to embrace
change. If you want to drive forward sustainable change in your
business, Think, Inspire and Create Ltd can optimise the way you
deliver your strategy.
Using a unique Think, Create and Inspire ethos the team works with
businesses, embedding cross-skilled consultants within companies,
to facilitate creative thinking, set goals and find enduring solutions
to challenges.
Think, Inspire and Create Ltd is committed to sharing its passion and
experience in the following areas:
• Credit management • Performance management • Operational
design & Management • People Engagement • Process Change
Management • System design and deployment • Organisation
design.
Our vision is to make sure that the changes you create are sustainable
and enduring. Find out more www.thinkinspireandcreate.com
COURT ENFORCEMENT SERVICES
Premium Collections Limited
Office 3, Caidan House Business Centre, Canal Road,
Timperley, Altrincham, Cheshire, WA14 1TD
T: 0161 962 4695.
F: 0333 121 3843
E: enquiries@premiumcollections.co.uk
W: www.premiumcollections.co.uk
Premium Collections Limited has the credit management solution
to suit you. Operating on a national and international basis we
can tailor a package of products and services to meet your
requirements. Staffed by dedicated professionals with over 60
years combined experience of handling virtually every type of
debt issue, the company was formed in December 2002 and
is owned by our Managing Director, Paul Daine FCICM. Paul’s
particular areas of expertise are the motor finance, insurance
and international debt collection sectors. Services include B2B
collections, B2C collections, international collections, absconder
tracing, asset repossessions, status reporting and litigation
support.
INTERNATIONAL COLLECTIONS
Lovetts Solicitors
Lovetts, Bramley House, The Guildway, Old Portsmouth
Road, Guildford, Surrey GU3 1LR
T: +44(0)1483 457500 E: info@lovetts.co.uk
W: www.lovetts.co.uk
Lovetts has been recovering debts for 30 years! When you
want the right expertise to recover overdue debts why not use a
specialist? Lovetts’ only line of business is the recovery of
business debts and any resulting commercial litigation.
We provide:
• Letters Before Action, prompting positive outcomes in more than
80 percent of cases • Overseas Pre-litigation collections with
multi-lingual capabilities • 24/7 access to our online debt
management system ‘CaseManager’
Don’t just take our word for it, here’s recent customer feedback:
“...All our service expectations have been exceeded...”
“...The online system is particularly useful and is extremely easy
to use... “...Lovetts has a recognisable brand that generates
successful results...”
CONSULTANCY
Court Enforcement Services
Wayne Whitford – Director
M: +44 (0)7834 748 183
T : +44 (0)1992 663 399
E : wayne@courtneforcementservices.co.uk
W: www.courtenforcementservices.co.uk
High Court Enforcement that will Empower You!
We help law firms and in-house debt recovery and legal teams to
enforce CCJs by transferring them up to the High Court. Setting us
apart in the industry, our unique and Award Winning Field Agent
App helps to provide information in real time and transparency,
empowering our clients when they work with us.
• Free Transfer up process of CCJ’s to High Court
• Exceptional Recovery Rates
• Individual Client Attention and Tailored Solutions
• Real Time Client Access to Cases
CREDIT INFORMATION
M.A.H. INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
Breitenweg 6, 6370 Stans, Switzerland
Ms. Melina Schuler – Business Development Manager
T: ++41 41 618 30 54
F: ++41 41 620 90 26
E: m.schuler@mah-international.com
W: www.mah-international.com
M.A.H. is a global leader in Export Debt Collection & Trade
Dispute Resolution Services. Our head office is located
in Stans, our group law office in Zurich. We specialise in
resolving cross-border cases swiftly and amicably (99
percent of our cases are settled out of court).
We have recovered payments from 112 countries on all five
continents for exporters and other B2B customers of all sizes
in all industries. We rank as first choice among international
export companies, export credit insurers, and governmental
organisations.
Our mission is to ensure that all creditors receive full payment
for products or services sold out of the UK without expensive,
stressful, and lengthy litigation.
Contact us to benefit from our personalised, full-package,
No Collection – No Fee services, provided by our qualified
multilingual global negotiators, collection attorneys, and
affiliate local partner law firms in 65 countries.
The recognised standard
Sanders Consulting Associates Ltd
T: +44(0)1525 720226
E: enquiries@chrissandersconsulting.com
W: www.chrissandersconsulting.com
Sanders Consulting is an independent niche consulting firm
specialising in leadership and performance improvement in all
aspects of the order to cash process. Chris Sanders FCICM, the
principal, is well known in the industry with a wealth of experience
in operational credit management, billing, change and business
process improvement. A sought after speaker with cross industry
international experience in the business-to-business and businessto-consumer
markets, his innovative and enthusiastic approach
delivers pragmatic people and process lead solutions and significant
working capital improvements to clients. Sanders Consulting are
proud to manage CICMQ on behalf of and under the supervision
of the CICM.
CoCredo Limited
Missenden Abbey, Great Missenden, Bucks, HP16 0BD
T: 01494 790 600
E: helpdesk@cocredo.com
W: www.cocredo.co.uk
We provide live online company credit reports and related business
information within the UK and overseas. We have direct feeds from
Dun & Bradstreet, Companies House and other premium providers.
We provide business information on over 256 million companies
across 221 countries. Our information is updated over 500,000
times per day and we have some excellent tracking mechanisms
which provide proactive daily monitoring of changes in the global
information on record. We can offer a wealth of additional services
including XML Integration, D.N.A portfolio management, CoData
marketing information, Companies House documents, Consumer
and Director Searches. We pride ourselves in delivering award
winning customer service, offering you unrivalled support and
analysis to protect your business.
www.cicm.com March 2017 75

Cr£ditWho?
CICM Directory of Services
FOR INFORMATION,
OPTIONS AND PRICING
PLEASE EMAIL:
anthony.cave@cabbell.co.uk
Company Watch
Centurion House, 37 Jewry Street, LONDON. EC3N 2ER
T: +44 (0)20 7043 3300
E: info@companywatch.net
W: www.companywatch.net
What would happen if one of your key customers failed? Do
you rely on company information that is up to 18 months’ old?
Company Watch provides a credit management system that’s
predicted around 90 percent of company failures. Not only
that, our interactive system allows you to input more up-to-date
accounts, and to stress-test company financials to generate an
instantly updated analysis of a company’s financial health. With
a portfolio and email alert system, and a user interface showing
5-year trends along with everything you need to know at a
glance, Company Watch is an invaluable resource in the credit
management process.
CREDIT INFORMATION
Graydon UK
66 College Road, 2nd Floor,
Hygeia Building, Harrow,
Middlesex, HA1 1BE
T: +44 (0)208 515 1400
E: customerservices@graydon.co.uk
W: www.graydon.co.uk
Graydon UK is a specialist in Credit Risk Management and
Intelligence, providing access to business information on over
100 million entities across more than 190 countries. Its mission
is to convert vast amounts of data from diverse data sources into
invaluable information. Based on this, it generates economic,
financial and commercial insights that help its customers make
better business decisions and ultimately gain competitive advantage.
Graydon is owned by Atradius, Coface and Euler Hermes, Europe's
leading credit insurance organisations. It offers a comprehensive
network of offices and partners worldwide to ensure a seamless
service.
EFCIS Limited t/as ICBA UK
Specialist Trade Credit Insurance Broker
The Office, Mill House Farm, Mill Street, Hastingwood,
Essex, CM17 9JF
T: 01279 437662
E: amoylan@efcis.com
W: www.efcis.com
EFCIS Limited - Trade Credit Insurance, Debt Collection, Dispute
Resolution and Legal action for small/medium & multinational
businesses. EFCIS secures limits for clients where the financials
alone do not support the full limit. We are tenacious when
negotiating settlement of claims, securing full payment for claims
and proactively working with our clients in claims avoidance.
We are the industry’s only Broker to develop policy compliance
software to ensure client’s maximum benefit and protection
from the policy. We believe that a well-managed ledger supports
business growth within increased profit and an improved return
on investment.
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
Creditsafe Business Solutions
Bryn House, Caerphilly Business Park, Van Rd,
Caerphilly, CF83 3GG
T: 0292 088 6500.
E: ukinfo@creditsafeuk.com
W: www.creditsafeuk.com
Creditsafe is Europe’s most used supplier of credit & business
intelligence. Creditsafe have helped over 60,000 customers
across Europe and the USA with a range of products which
includes our UK, European and International Company Credit
Reports, which reach over 129 countries and 90m companies;
customer and supplier Risk Tracker and our 3D Ledger product
which has captured over 35 million Trade Payment Data
Experiences since its launch in 2012. All of which will help
companies manage their exposure to risk, make informed
decisions in relation to credit limits whilst looking at how you
can identify gaps within your sales ledger to prioritise collections
and leverage sales.
Top Service Ltd
2&3 Regents Court, Farmoor Lane, Redditch,
Worcestershire, B98 0SD
T: 0152 750 3990.
E: enquiries@top-service.co.uk
W: www.top-service.co.uk
Top Service is the only credit reference and debt recovery
agency to specialise in the UK construction sector. Top Service
customers benefit from sector specific information, detailed
payment history intelligence and realtime trade references in
addition to standard credit information. There are currently
3,000 construction sector companies subscribing to the service,
ranging from multi-national organisations to small family firms.
The company prides itself on high levels of customer service
and does not tie its customers into restrictive contracts. Top
Service offers a 25 percent discount to all CICM Members as
well as four free credit checks of your choice.
BUREAU VAN DIJK
Northburgh House,
10 Northburgh Street,
London,
EC1V 0PP
T: +44 (0)20 7549 5000
E: bvd@bvdinfo.com
W: www.bvdinfo.com
We specialise in company information with extensive company
coverage, financial risk metrics and comprehensive corporate
structures.
Our information helps you make better quality decisions.
•Assess financial risk and corporate stability
•Get insight on the financial health of individual companies and across
your portfolio
•Manage your data more efficiently
Our Credit Catalyst combines our international, standardised financial
data with a bespoke credit platform, so you can work more efficiently,
make better quality decisions and spot risk quickly.
•Comprehensive coverage of companies across the globe
•Standardised reports so you can benchmark and compare companies
•Financial strength indicators from a range of providers
CREDIT INSURANCE
Arthur J. Gallagher
Insurance Brokers Limited
7 Floor, Temple Point, 1 Temple Row
Birmingham B2 5LG
T: 0121 203 3127
W: www.ajginternational.com
With the risk of default by customers still a major threat to UK and
Global companies there has never been a better time to consider
trade credit insurance. Arthur J. Gallagher’s Credit and Surety team,
which now includes the 2014 – CICM award winning ‘broker of
the year’ team, has considerable experience and market influence
and recognises the unique nature of the credit insurance market.
Our team of experienced professionals deal with a wide range of
businesses, from SME to large corporate and global risks. Please
contact us to discuss how a specifically tailored trade credit solution
can benefit your business
Innovation Software
Innovation Software, Innovation House,
New Road, Rochester, Kent, ME1 1BG.
T: +44 (0)1634 812300
E: jay.inamdar@innovationsoftware.uk.com
W: www.creditforceglobal.com
Innovation Software are the authors of CreditForce, the leading
Collections and Working Capital Management Systems. Our solutions are
used in over 26 countries and by over 20 percent of the Top 100 Global
Law Firms.
Our solutions have optimised Accounts Receivables processes for over
20 years and power Business Intelligence, with functionality to:
• improve cash flow • reduce DSO • control risk
• automate cash allocation • speed up query resolution
• improve customer relationship management
• automatically generate intelligent workflows and tasks
• manage the entire end-to-end collections cycle.
Fully integrated with over 40 leading ERP and Accounting systems,
including SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics and product partners with
Thomson Reuters Elite we can deliver on either your own computing
infrastructure or through Microsoft Azure’s award winning and secure
cloud service.CreditForce remains the choice solution for world class
businesses.
Book a demonstration by calling T: +44 (0)1634 812 300 or visit
www.creditforceglobal.com for more information.
Co-pilot Limited
73 Flask Walk, London, NW3 1ET
T: +44(0) 20 7813 2182
E: info@co-pilot.co.uk W: www.co-pilot.co.uk
Credit Managers who manage large or multiple ledgers have come to
realise that they need to use specialist software to achieve or maintain
performance improvement – be that risk, collections or both.
For many Credit Managers a key question is where to start. How do
you examine and evaluate the options? How and when do you start the
budgeting process? What are the steps?
Co-pilot has advised on credit management software for a number of
years. We have good knowledge of the available solutions, what’s good,
how they work and what type of solution best fits given situations. We
combine this with considerable experience of credit management Best
Practice so that you can pull everything together into one place and
achieve a flexible and sustainable position going forward.
We work with you through a structured evaluation process which is
designed to enable you to have a clear view of what you can achieve
going forward, what is practicable, the business case implications,
the preferred supplier(s) and what the implementation process would
sensibly look like (in our opinion, there is no such thing as “Plug and
play”).
76 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

Cr£ditWho?
CICM Directory of Services
FOR INFORMATION,
OPTIONS AND PRICING
PLEASE EMAIL:
anthony.cave@cabbell.co.uk
Prof. Schumann GmbH
innovative information systems
Weender Landstr. 23, 37130 Göttingen, Germany
T: +49 551 38315 0 F: +49 551 38315 20
E: info@prof-schumann.de W: www.prof-schumann.de
Our Credit Application Manager (CAM) is a leading credit risk
management solution for major corporations, as well as insurance,
factoring and leasing companies. In their daily work, CAM allows
credit and sales managers to call up all the available information
about a customer or risk in a few seconds for decision support: realtime
data from wherever they are. CAM keeps an eye on customers
whose payment behaviour stands out or who have overdue invoices!
CAM provides an up-to-date forecast of customers’ payments.
Additionally, CAM has automated interfaces for connecting to
leading suppliers of company credit data, payment record pools and
commercial credit insurers. The system is characterised by its great
flexibility. We have years of experience in consulting and software
support for accounts receivable management.
Safe Computing Limited
20, Freeschool Lane, Leicester, LE1 4FY
T: 0844 583 2134
E: info@safecomputing.co.uk
W: www.safe-financials.co.uk
Designed to manage your customer credit accounts effectively,
Safe Credit Control enables your credit management team to:
• Improve cash flow
• Reduce debtor days
• Increase customer service
• Cut the cost of cash collection
• Eliminate manual processes
• Speed up the query resolution process
Safe’s unique approach is centred on changing the perception
of the credit control function from a series of reactive processes
to proactive ones. Credit controllers are traditionally regarded
as an essential element in business to chase late payments
and respond to customer queries. Safe Credit Control has taken
the concepts of customer relationship management (CRM) and
applied it to the credit control function, providing a softer,
service orientated team of customer service representatives.
The recognised standard
Credica Ltd
Building 168, Maxell Avenue, Harwell Oxford,
Oxon. OX11 0QT
T: 01235 856400
E: info@credica.co.uk
W: www.credica.co.uk
Our highly configurable and extremely cost effective Collections and
Query Management System has been designed with three goals in
mind:
• To improve your cashflow
• To reduce your cost to collect
• To provide meaningful analysis of your business
Evolving over 15 years and driven by the input of 1000s of Credit
Professionals across the UK and Europe, our system is successfully
providing significant and measurable benefits for our diverse
portfolio of clients.
We would love to hear from you if you feel you would benefit from
our ‘no nonsense’ and human approach to computer software.
STA International
3rd Floor, Colman House,
King Street , Maidstone , ME14 1DN
T: +44(0)844 324 0660.
E: enquiries@staonline.com
W: http://www.stainternational.com
GETTING BUSINESS PAID
STA is an award winning B2B and B2C debt collection, confidential
credit control and tracing supplier. ISO9001 quality accredited, and
with the CSAs Collector Accreditation Initiative, duty-of-care is as
important to us as it is to you. Specialising in international debt, in the
past 12 months we’ve collected from 146 countries worldwide. “Your
Debts Online” gives you transparent access to our collection success
and detailed management information, keeping you in control of your
account. We look forward to getting your business paid.
Tinubu Square UK
Holland House,
4 Bury Street, London
EC3A 5AW
T: +44 (0)207 469 2577
E: uksales@tinubu.com
W: www.tinubu.com
Tinubu Square offers companies across the world the appropriate
SaaS platform solutions and services to significantly reduce their
exposure to risk, and their financial, operational and technical
costs. Easy to implement, our solutions provide an accurate
picture of a customers’ financial health through the entire
order-to-cash cycle, improve cash flow, and facilitate control
of risk across the organization whether group-wide or locally.
Founded in 2000, Tinubu Square is an award winning expert in
the trade credit insurance industry, with offices in Paris, London,
New York, Montreal and Singapore. Some of the largest
multinational corporations, credit insurers and receivables
financing organizations depend on Tinubu to provide them with the
means to drive greater trade credit risk efficiency.
Data Interconnect Ltd
Unit 7, Radcot Estate, 7 Park Rd, Faringdon,
Oxfordshire. SN7 7BP
T: +44 (0) 1367 245777 F: +44 (0) 1367 240011
E: sales@datainterconnect.co.uk
W: www.datainterconnect.com
Data Interconnect provides integrated e-billing and collection
solutions via its document delivery web portal, WebSend. By
providing improved Customer Experience and Customer Satisfaction,
with enhanced levels of communication between both parties, we
can substantially speed up your collection processes.
Rimilia
Corbett House, Westonhall Road, Bromsgrove, B60 4AL
T: +44 (0)1527 872123
E: enquiries@rimilia.com
W: www.rimilia.com
Rimilia excels in the design, development and implementation of
Intelligent Finance Solutions that drive value from existing manually
intensive finance processes associated with accounts receivable,
cash allocation, credit management, bank reconciliation and cash
forecasting. Based in the heart of the UK, our operations extend to
Europe, USA and Asia. Experienced in the field of technology and
accounting, our approach to business revolves around integrity
and enabling organisations to unlock their full potential though
innovation. Rimilia is proud to be a leading innovative supplier of
finance solutions that make a positive change to the blue chip clients
it supplies.
FINANCIAL PR
Gravity London
Floor 6/7, Gravity London, 69 Wilson St, London, EC21 2BB
T: +44(0)207 330 8888. E: sfeast@gravitylondon.com
W: www.gravitylondon.com
Gravity is an award winning full service PR and advertising
business that is regularly benchmarked as being one of the best
in its field. It has a particular expertise in the credit sector, building
long-term relationships with some of the industry’s best-known
brands working on often challenging briefs. As the partner agency
for the Credit Services Association (CSA) for the past 13 years,
and the Chartered Institute of Credit Management since 2006, it
understands the key issues affecting the credit industry and what
works and what doesn’t in supporting its clients in the media and
beyond.
INSOLVENCY
STRIPES SOLICITORS LIMITED
St George’s House, 56 Peter Street, Manchester, M2 3NQ
W: www.stripes-solicitors.co.uk
T: 0161 832 5000
95% success rate in disputed litigation
cases over several decades
Stripes technical excellence, tenacity and commercial insight has
led to this 95 percent success rate over several decades. We have
been particularly recommended as a leading law firm by the Legal
500 in the litigious field for representing clients with significant and
complex issues.
Our specialist commercial debt recovery and insolvency team work
with businesses ranging from SMEs to larger PLCs recovering
business debts on a no cost or fixed fee basis and often
recovering debts within days. We aim to understand your business
and tailor our services to suit your requirements. Our online service
provides you with 24/7 access to manage your account, to upload
new debtor cases and to generate new legal instructions.
www.cicm.com March 2017 77

Cr£ditWho?
CICM Directory of Services
FOR INFORMATION,
OPTIONS AND PRICING
PLEASE EMAIL:
anthony.cave@cabbell.co.uk
LEGAL MATTERS
DWF LLP
Neil Jinks FCICM – Director
M: +44 (0)7740 179 515
T: +44 (0)121 516 7462
E: neil.jinks@dwf.law
W: www.dwf.law/recover
Described by market commentators as “blazing a trail”, DWF is one
of the UK’s largest legal businesses with an award-winning reputation
for client service excellence and effective operational management.
Named by the Financial Times as one of Europe’s most innovative
law firms and independently ranked first of all top 20 law firms for
quality of legal advice and joint first of all national law firms for service
delivery and responsiveness. DWF offers a full range of cost effective
debt recovery solutions including pre-legal collections, debt litigation,
enforcement, insolvency proceedings and ancillary services including
tracing, process serving, debtor profiling and consultancy.
PAYMENT SOLUTIONS
American Express
76 Buckingham Palace Road,
London
SW1W 9TQ
T: +44 (0)1273 696933
W: www.americanexpress.com
American Express is working in partnership with the CICM and is
a globally recognised provider of payment solutions to businesses.
Specialising in providing flexible collection capabilities to drive a
number of company objectives including:
•Accelerate cashflow
•Improved DSO
•Offer extended terms to customers
•Provide an additional line of bank independent credit to drive
growth
•Reduce risk
•Create competitive advantage with your customers
As experts in the field of payments and with a global reach,
American Express is working with credit managers to drive growth
within businesses of all sectors. By creating an additional lever
to help support supplier/client relationships American Express is
proud to be an innovator in the business payments space.
PROFESSIONAL BODIES
Chartered Institute of
Credit Management (CICM)
The Water Mill, Station Road, South Luffenham,
OAKHAM, LE15 8NB
T: 01780 722910 E: info@cicm.com
W: www.cicm.com
The Chartered Institute of Credit Management (CICM) is Europe’s
largest credit management organisation. The trusted leader
in expertise for all credit matters, it represents the profession
across trade, consumer, and export credit, and all credit-related
services. Formed over 70 years ago, it is the only such organisation
accredited by Ofqual and it offers a comprehensive
range of services and bespoke solutions for the credit professional
(www.cicm.com) as well as services and advice for the
wider business community (www.creditmanagement.org.uk).
PROFESSIONAL BODIES
CICMos (CICM Online Services)
WWW.CICM.COM
T: 01780 722 907.
E: training@cicm.com
W: www.cicmos.com
CICMOS has been designed to help busy credit managers by
providing them with a suite of online tools to support and
quickly develop their teams. The virtual learning centre is an
open platform system, accessed via the website, which is
easy to use, modular and each module is completely optional,
which means the system can be tailored to suit specific
requirements and time constraints. This wide ranging system
is more than just a training tool it is easy to set up and use
and can be accessed securely via the CICMOS website for a
low annual subscription.
RECRUITMENT
PORTFOLIO
CREDIT CONTROL
Portfolio Credit Control
Portfolio Credit Control, New Liverpool House,
15 Eldon Street, London, EC2M 7LD
T: 0207 650 3199
E: recruitment@portfoliocreditcontrol.com
W: www.portfoliocreditcontrol.com
Portfolio Credit Control, solely specialises in the recruitment of
permanent, temporary and contract Credit Control, Accounts
Receivable and Collections staff. Part of an award winning
recruiter we speak to and meet credit controllers all day everyday
understanding their skills and backgrounds to provide you with tried
and tested credit control professionals. We have achieved enormous
growth because we offer a uniquely specialist approach to our
clients, with a commitment to service delivery that exceeds your
expectations every single time.
Hays Credit Management
107 Cheapside, London, EC2V 6DN
T: 07834 260029
E: karen.young@hays.com
W: www.hays.co.uk/creditcontrol
Hays Credit Management is working in partnership with the CICM
and specialise in placing experts into credit control jobs and
credit management jobs. Hays understands the demands of this
challenging environment and the skills required to thrive within
it. Whatever your needs, we have temporary, permanent and
contract based opportunities to find your ideal role. Our candidate
registration process is unrivalled, including face-to-face screening
interviews and a credit control skills test developed exclusively
for Hays by the CICM. We offer CICM members a priority service
and can provide advice across a wide spectrum of job search and
recruitment issues.
ANTI MONEY LAUNDERING
THE ONLY AML RESOURCE YOU NEED
SmartSearch
Harman House, Station Road,
Guiseley, Leeds, LS20 8BX
T: 01132387660
F: 0113 238 7669
E: info@smartsearchuk.com
W: www.smartsearchuk.com
ATTENTION
KYC, AML and CDD all rely on a combination of deep data with
broad coverage, highly automated flexible technology with an
innovative and intuitive customer interface. Key features include
automatic Worldwide Sanction & PEP checking, Daily Monitoring,
Automated Enhanced Due Diligence and pro-active customer
management. Choose SmartSearch as your benchmark.
PRODUCT AND SERVICE PROVIDERS
You can connect with them all now by having a listing in CreditWho.
For just £1,247 + VAT per annum:
- your business will be listed in Credit Management magazine, which goes out to all our members and
subscribers and has an estimated readership of over 25,000.
TO BOOK YOUR LISTING IN CREDITWHO CONTACT:
ANTHONY CAVE ON 020 3603 7934
For even greater exposure to our membership and a closer association with CICM, why not
enquire about becoming a Corporate Partner.
To find out more contact Peter Collinson (07584 993548).
CICM Corporate Partners now get CreditWho included.
78 March 2017 www.cicm.com
The recognised standard

MONTHLY PRIZE CROSSWORD
CREDIT CONUNDRUM
FOR ALL EMAIL ENTRIES FOR THE CROSSWORD PLEASE EMAIL: ANDREW.MORRIS@CICM.COM
Puzzle by © 2012 Mirroreyes Internet Services Corporation. All Rights Reserved - CROSSWORD March2017
NAME ....................................................................................................................................
ADDRESS ..............................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................
POST CODE .................................. TELEPHONE NUMBER .....................................................
The CICM is registered with the UK’s Information
Commissioner under the Data Protection Act 1998
(the "Act"). All the data contained on this form, is
held and processed electronically in accordance
with the Act.
The Institute holds and processes your personal
data in order to give you the full benefits of being
a member and for administrative purposes.
We might from time to time notify you by post or
email of details of CICM events or other similar
CICM services or products which we think
September be of interest to you. If you do not wish
to receive such notification please tick here q
If you subsequently decide that you do not wish
to receive such notifications please email the
Institute at unsubscribe@cicm.com or write to the
Data Controller at the address given below.
The Data Protection Act gives you the right at any
time to see a copy of all the data that we hold
about you. If you would like a copy, please send a
letter requesting this information together with a
cheque for £10 payable to :
The Chartered Institute of Credit Management
to: Data Controller, CICM, The Water Mill,
Station Road, South Luffenham, OAKHAM,
LE15 8NB.
£20 CROSSWORD PRIZE
THERE WILL BE THREE PRIZES OF £20 EACH FOR
THE FIRST THREE NAMES DRAWN EVERY MONTH
ACROSS:
1. Explosive devices
6. Venician magstrate
10. Head of hair
14. A religion based on sorcery
15. Desiccated
16. Distinctive flair
17. Tableware
19. A box or chest
20. Artist's workroom
21. Tin
22. Listen
23. Staggers
25. In a weak manner
26. Pear variety
30. Bodyguard
32. Empower
35. Rational
39. Sweet wattle
DOWN:
1. Physiques
2. Death notice
3. List of options
4. Musical group
5. Arab chief
6. Black bird
7. Seer
8. Fire opal
9. Biblical garden
10. Robotic
11. Extraterrestrial
12. Twangy, as a voice
13. Vestibule
18. Caviar
24. Center of a storm
25. Four-wheeled toy cart
26. Grizzly
27. A single time
28. Male deer
40. Gentle
41. Sailing competition
43. Roman household gods
44. Therefrom
46. Dregs
47. Portion
50. Gawks
53. Timbuktu's land
54. Precious stone
55. A Native American tent
60. Ear-related
61. Primary
63. Blue-green
64. Novice
65. Coarse edible red seaweed
66. Being
67. Anagram of "Cabs"
68. River muds
29. A small scar
31. Style
33. Church offering
34. Tardy
36. Give as an example
37. Away from the wind
38. Not more
42. Cherubic
43. Liveliness
45. Photographic necessity
47. Clobbered
48. Despises
49. Assumed name
51. French for "Summer"
52. Dispatches
54. Obtains
56. Decorative case
57. Gloomy atmosphere
58. At one time (archaic)
59. Visual organs
62. Unruly crowd
CLOSING DATE: 13 MARCH
CROSSWORD WINNERS FOR JAN/FEB
Juliet Stadden, Steve Rawlings ACICM & Katherine Harley ACICM
For the chance of winning £20, forward your completed solution to:
Art Editor, Andrew Morris, Chartered Institute of Credit Management,
The Water Mill, Station Road, South Luffenham, OAKHAM, LE15 8NB.
The recognised standard
www.cicm.com March 2017 79

WorldClassCredit Management Software
Powerful
Features
Trusted
Globally
Intuitive
Design
Cloud
Solutions
Proven
Results
Rapid
ROI
In an environment that
constantly changes can you
afford to stay off thepulse?
Our state of the art
software systems are
proven to improve Cash
Flow and reduce risk
whateveryour business.
With clients in over 26
countries and integration
with over 40 of the world’s
leading ERP systems, you
can have confidence in
making CreditForce the
centre of your revenue and
collections management
processes.
Book ademonstration
+441634 812 300
info@innovationsoftware.uk.com
Learn more
www.creditforceglobal.com