201512 CM December

OPINION
ANNUS MIRABILIS
(WITH APOLOGIES)
By Philip King, Chief Executive of the
Chartered Institute of Credit Management
WHAT an incredible year it has
been. So much has happened;
so much has been achieved.
A true Annus Mirabilis – a
Wonderful Year.
Of course our elevation to Chartered
status at the start of the year set the tone
for what followed. Outwardly, it changed
our name. It made us ‘look’ different to
the outside world, and we celebrated
by refreshing our brand. But it has done
much more than this. On the one hand, it
has changed the way that others see us;
perhaps more importantly, it has changed
the way we see ourselves.
Our members have a voice, and we
are increasingly using that voice to make
ourselves heard in government across
many departments, from the MoJ and
the Insolvency Service to HMRC and the
Cabinet Office. This work is ongoing,
and engagement with our colleagues
including the new Ministerial team at the
Department for Business, Innovation and
Skills (BIS) will continue throughout 2016
as we are consulted on direction and
policy.
Often we share a platform with other
business organisations, and have the
opportunity to share our thoughts, insights
and opinion with the national, local and
business media, and this work similarly
continues. We are invited to take part in
many different consultations and initiatives
with interested third parties, and this will
also continue as people and organisations
learn more about who we are and the value
that we can bring.
As a Chartered Institute, serving
the needs of our members remains our
number one priority. I am pleased to say
that we continue to maintain and grow
our membership, and that many more are
seeking training and formal qualification
through the CICM. More members
are recognising the importance
of staying up to date, informally
through reading this magazine
(which itself improves with every
issue) and our regular briefings, as
well as more formal learning, and
recording it using our Continuous
Professional Development (CPD)
Scheme. A scheme which now also
applies to all forms of CICM learning.
Third party research is now underway to
help us better understand our members,
their needs, and their aspirations. Please
respond to the survey you will receive
early in 2016; the results will help us set
the blueprint for the next few years and
it’s important we have as wide a range of
views as possible.
At a corporate level too we are seeing
more companies recognising the benefits
of CICMQ – the benchmark for quality
excellence in credit management – and
greater numbers seeking accreditation and
re-accreditation on a regular basis. We
are also seeing more companies taking
advantage of other initiatives that enable
us to work even more closely with the
industries we serve, such as our Corporate
Partnerships.
We know that we are hitting the mark,
quite literally, because we can monitor the
number of hits to our new website as well
as the numbers of those who engage in
our quarterly Credit Managers Index (CMI);
and through our social media channels
indeed more than half a million visits were
recorded this year of visits to our website
as the go-to destination for credit-related
resources, which is extremely pleasing
for those who work so hard to ensure
members and non-members alike have
access to the sort of information they need
to support their ongoing development.
I have talked previously about
the CICM community – a community
that informs, supports, and drives
professionalism, and I see it everywhere
I look. In 2016, of course, we want to
do more, and with the support of our
fantastic Headquarters staff, and our
volunteers who do such sterling work in
the branches, I am sure we can achieve it.
As individuals, find ways to become even
more engaged where you can, either by
attending branch meetings or standing for
election to our Advisory Council. Respond
to surveys so we can see and hear what
you’re thinking, and how we can take
our great organisation and make it even
better for our members. And think too
about what more you could do to support
new members, those starting out as
apprentices or at university, helping them
to carve a professional career in credit
management.
But for now, let us celebrate all that has
been achieved in 2015. From everyone
here at CICM headquarters, I wish you all
a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
12 December 2015 www.cicm.com
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