Credit Management magazine October 2017

CREDIT MANAGEMENT 

CM 

NOVEMBER 2017 £10.00 

THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND 

COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS 

Animal Magic 

Down on the 

farm with AB Agri 

Heather Greig-Smith 

considers a single 

regulator for debt. 

Page 32 

Poland: a land 

of opportunity 

for exporters. 

Page 24

STAND OUT 

FROM THE 

CROWD 

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three years, CICM is the recognised standard. 

Find out more about flexible options to suit your 

role and lifestyle. 

Visit qualifications.cicm.com

NOVEMBER 2017 

www.cicm.com 

CONTENTS 

24 

COUNTRY FOCUS: POLAND 

– ADAM BERNSTEIN 

11 – INSOLVENCY 

David Kerr sees both sides of the 

growing debt mountain. 

13 – MONEY FOR NOTHING 

Bitcoin and blockchain – just a flash 

in the pan? Phil Ariss explains the 

origins of cryptocurrencies and what 

lies ahead. 

18 – COVER FEATURE 

Sean Feast speaks to Frank Anderson 

of AB Agri about all things agricultural, 

James Bond and CICMQ. 

24 – COUNTRY FOCUS 

Adam Bernstein gives an overview 

of the history and economy of Poland. 

32 – SINGLE OR RETURN? 

Heather Greig-Smith explores the 

idea of a single regulator for the debt 

collection sector. 

42 – NEVER PAY LATER 

Derek Scott gives a whistle-stop tour of 

his talks that have been heard by some 

3,000 people. 

44 – ASK THE EXPERTS 

Brendon Clarkson looks at how 

creditors should work with IPs to bring 

the best results for all parties. 

CICM GOVERNANCE 

13 

OPINION: BITCOIN 

– PHIL ARISS 

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-Bowen MCICM / Victoria Herd FCICM(Grad) / Edward Judge FCICM 

Christelle Madie MCICM(Grad) / Robert Marr MCICM / 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 

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. 

Publisher 

Chartered Institute of Credit Management 

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Telephone: 01780 722910 

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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 

Imogen Hart and Iona Yadallee 

Advertising 

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Email: anthony.cave@cabbell.co.uk 

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2017 subscriptions 

UK: £90 per annum 

International: £115 per annum 

Single copies: £10.00 ISSN 0265-2099 

The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / November 2017 / PAGE 3

EDITOR’S COLUMN 

Move over celebrity – let’s see 

what a real businessman can do 

Sean Feast 

Managing Editor 

IT has been a long time coming, 

but the Government has at last 

completed on its promise to 

appoint a new Small Business 

Commissioner tasked with 

‘empowering small businesses’. 

The role, so I gather, will be ‘crucial to 

supporting small businesses resolve 

disputes with larger businesses and will 

help drive a culture change in payment 

practices’. 

Firstly, I must congratulate Paul Uppal 

on his appointment. Frankly, I’ve never 

heard of him, though I’ve since learned 

that he has 20-years’ experience as a small 

business owner in the real estate sector, 

where he saw how even sound businesses 

could struggle when faced with a culture 

of late payment by customers. (I’ve been a 

small business owner for longer than that 

but no-one came knocking at my door. 

Perhaps it was that letter I wrote to Mr 

Callaghan when I was still at school?) 

Secondly, I’d like to congratulate the 

Government on resisting the temptation to 

appoint yet another ‘celebrity’ to the role. 

After the likes of Lord Sugar (you’re fired!) 

and various Dragons’ Den cast-offs as 

similar (if not specifically identical) small 

business ‘champions’, it’s good to have 

someone less high profile, though I have 

an inkling that as a former Member of 

Parliament, Mr Uppal will have an inside 

track that may work to his advantage! 

While I remain optimistic, I am already 

concerned by the tone of Greg Clark’s 

announcement that up until this moment, 

no-one has ever done anything to tackle 

late payment, or drive a culture of better 

payment practice. Has everyone forgotten, 

for example, the Better Payment Practice 

Group, ultimately brought down by a lack 

of funding from, yes you’ve guessed it, 

the Government! I worry also about his 

‘small company good, big company bad’ 

approach, and the oft-repeated mantra 

that small businesses are the backbone of 

the economy. Thank you for that insight. 

But I suppose what really concerns 

me is the lack of any reference to existing 

tools that are already in place and would 

be more widely known and often used 

if only the Government would invest in 

their promotion. I have said before, that 

Government should stop re-inventing the 

wheel, or looking for a silver bullet, and 

work harder with what they’ve got. 

It is, I should be clear, only my personal 

view, but I hope the Commissioner’s role 

does not turn out to be a gimmick; one 

man cannot change a culture, but he can 

act as the conduit for bringing together 

those with real knowledge and experience 

of credit management and listen to what 

they have to say. Let’s hope he’s in a 

listening mood. 


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CMNEWS 

A round-up of news stories from the 

world of consumer and commercial credit 

Written by – Sean Feast and Alex Simmons 

CICM urges new 

commissioner 

to recognise 

success 

Philip King 

Chief Executive of the CICM 

THE Government has finally named its 

first small business commissioner 

with a pledge to drive a culture 

change within Britain’s supply chains. 

The appointment comes more than two 

years after news of the position was first 

announced 

Paul Uppal, a former Conservative MP 

for Wolverhampton South West and a small 

business owner in the real estate sector, 

will lead an independent office within 

the Department for Business, Energy 

and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), to provide 

information and advice to owners of small 

firms regarding various matters including 

business disputes. 

The commissioner’s priority, according 

to the Government media team, will be 

leading the attack on late payments from 

large firms to smaller suppliers. The most 

recent research has put the total figure of 

invoices unpaid to small firms in Britain at 

£45 billion. 

In launching the search for a 

commissioner in July 2015, the then-small 

business minister Anna Soubry said the 

commissioner would act as ‘a powerful 

representative for small business interests’ 

and ‘tackle the imbalance of bargaining 

power between small suppliers and large 

customers, and encourage them to get 

around the table and sort out disputes at a 

fraction of the cost going to court’. 

“Running your own business can be a 

very lonely experience and my priority 

will be ensuring small firms feel supported 

as well as helping to create an overall 

impression that business isn’t necessarily 

cut throat,” says Mr Uppal. 

“In fact, successful businesses are 

built on integrity, entrepreneurial spirit 

and trusting relationships and I want to 

highlight that Britain can be the best 

place in the world for new entrepreneurs 

to establish and grow their own 

businesses.” 

Philip King, Chief Executive of the CICM, 

welcomed the appointment: “I hope to be 

able to share with him what we've learned 

from our experience. We’ve seen some 

major successes and the commissioner 

should be vocal in helping to publicise 

these and encourage more businesses 

to make the commitments set out in the 

Prompt Payment Code. It's also vital that 

the Commissioner’s activity collaborates 

with the Code and the two complement 

each other.” 

Philip said that the commissioner has 

an array of tools at his disposal: “As well as 

the Prompt Payment Code, there is also the 

existing and long-standing late payment 

legislation, and the new Duty to Report 

requirement for large companies that will 

start seeing data lodged from this month. 

There are also various alternative dispute 

remedies, and a rising number of 'best 

practice' examples from larger companies 

leading the way on a more responsible 

approach to supply chain relationships. 

“I hope Mr Uppal will recognise the 

importance of sharing good news stories as 

he evangelises his role.” 

>EASY COME, EASY GO 

Some 53 percent of brokers working in the asset finance sector believe 

it has become easier to secure funding for SMEs over the last 12 

months. The findings come from United Trust Bank’s recent broker 

sentiment poll of intermediaries working in the fields of property and 

asset finance. Only five percent of those surveyed felt that funding had 

become harder to secure. More than a third (38 percent) indicated that 

their average deal size had increased in the last year. 

utbank.co.uk 

>CASHLESS CANADA 

Canada is adapting quickest to using cashless systems like phones 

and contactless cards, according to a new study by Forex Bonuses. 

Investigating 20 of the world’s most significant markets, the study looked 

into contactless card saturation, number of debit and credit cards issued 

per capita, usage of cashless methods, growth of these cashless payments, 

and the proportion of people who are aware of which mobile payment 

services are available. Canada just edged out Sweden to the top spot. 

forexbonuses.org 


Online retail sales on the rise 

UK online retail sales were up by 16.4 

percent year-on-year in August, according to 

the latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini 

Online Retail Sales Index. This makes 

August the best month for online retail 

growth so far in 2017. 

The home sector had a particularly strong 

month, with 20.5 percent year-on-year 

growth and an average basket value (ABV) 

of £130. Clothing also showed good growth 

at 17.9 percent, the best performance for this 

sector in 2017, and with an ABV up £9 on 

August 2016. These sectors both contributed 

to the highest overall ABV for the month of 

August in five years. All this comes despite 

August inflation of 2.9 percent, and the 

reported 2.4 percent rise in the price of 

clothing, which has evidently not served to 

deter fashion shoppers yet. 

The August results painted a very 

different picture for electricals, however, 

which suffered its fifth consecutive month 

of negative growth – the longest sustained 

period of negative growth for this sector 

since tracking started it in 2003. 

imrg.org 

LENDY has announced the repayment 

of its largest peer-to-peer loan to date, 

which it claims is one of the biggest seen 

in the UK’s P2P sector. The property 

platform said that the £7.92 million loan 

was secured against a property valued at 

£12.5 million in Kentish Town. It has been 

repaid in full, 21 days ahead of schedule, 

FINTECH CO-OPERATION 

THE Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has entered into a co-operation agreement with 

the Hong Kong Insurance Authority (IA) to enhance collaboration in supporting fintech 

innovation. Under the agreement, the FCA and the IA will cooperate on information 

sharing on innovation and referrals of innovative firms seeking to enter the counterpart's 

market. The FCA had concluded similar agreements with the Hong Kong Monetary 

Authority and the Securities and Futures Commission, to provide a full spectrum of 

co-operation and assistance in Fintech innovation in the banking, securities and 

insurance sectors in both the UK and Hong Kong markets. 

fca.org.uk ia.org.hk 

Lendy funds record loan 

and has returned 12 percent annual interest 

to lenders. The loan, which was made by 

almost 3,500 lenders through the platform, 

was drawn down in late October 2016, on 

a 12-month term. The final payment of 

interest will be made to lenders at the end 

of October. 

lendy.co.uk 

>NEWS 

IN BRIEF 

STEPCHANGING 

PLACES 

PHIL Andrew has been appointed as 

the new Chief Executive of StepChange 

Debt Charity. He will take up the post 

on 20 November, taking over from Mike 

O’Connor CBE. Phil’s most recent role 

was as Chief Executive of Working 

Links which provides interventions to 

disadvantaged and socially-excluded 

groups within the UK, Ireland and the 

Middle East. Prior to this, Phil held a 

number of senior positions in the UK and 

France as Chief Executive for Sodexo 

Justice Services and Chief Financial 

Officer for Sodexo UK and Ireland. 

stepchange.org 

DRYING UP 

OFWAT estimates bad debt currently 

adds an average of £21 to each customer’s 

yearly bill, and says the industry should 

tackle this issue now by identifying 

which customers are having difficulties 

before they owe too much. It says this 

will help reduce business costs and 

improve affordability for consumers. 

The Water Services Regulation Authority 

suggests companies should make 

affordability schemes more available, 

move to more frequent billing to avoid 

the difficulty of having to pay one large 

bill each year, and ensure customers 

are on the most appropriate tariff 

and payment method. The regulator 

also suggests improving customer 

communication services and looking 

to other industries to see how they 

deal with similar problems. Ofwat says 

water suppliers must also do more to get 

money from customers who can afford to 

pay their bills but refuse to do so. 

ofwat.gov.uk 

CSA at Number Ten 

THE Credit Services Association (CSA) 

has welcomed efforts to remove the cost 

to the individual for the completion of the 

Debt and Mental Health Evidence Form 

(D&MHEF). 

At a meeting held recently at Number 

Ten Downing Street, CSA President, 

John Ricketts and Chief Executive, Peter 

Wallwork joined the Minister for Mental 

Health, Jackie Doyle-Price, and senior 

executives from the British Medical 

Association (BMA), the Royal College of 

Psychiatrists, the Money Advice Trust 

(MAT), the Money Advice Liaison Group 

(MALG), UK Finance, the Department of 

Health, and the Mental Health Policy Unit 

(MHPU) to discuss the evidence form 

initiative driven by the Money and Mental 

Health Policy Institute (M&MHPI). 

“There was general agreement that if 

and when the form is considered necessary, 

any cost should not be borne by the 

customer. Though there were, of course, 

different opinions as to how this is best 

achieved,” John Ricketts says. 

“It was a positive start to the dialogue, 

and although there are opposing views, we 

totally support the Government’s ambition, 

and the ambition of the Minister, to 

continue to support the most vulnerable in 

society to ultimately becoming debt free.” 

csa-uk.com 


News in Numbers – provided by the Money Charity 

THE.news . IN 

NUMBERS 

46.2 

MILLION 

PLASTIC 

CARD 

PURCHASE 

TRANSACTIONS WERE 

MADE EVERY DAY IN MAY 

2017, WITH A TOTAL 

VALUE OF £1.927 BILLION 

£46.910 

BILLION 

UK’S TOTAL INTEREST 

REPAYMENTS ON PERSONAL 

DEBT OVER A 12 MONTH 

PERIOD 

£376 

AVERAGE 

RENT FOR A SINGLE ROOM 

IN THE 12 MONTHS TO 

MARCH 2017 

0.1% 

FALL IN 

HOUSE PRICES IN AUGUST, 

ACCORDING TO NATIONWIDE 

£600 

AVERAGE 

RENT 

FOR A SINGLE LONDON 

ROOM IN 12 MONTHS TO 

MARCH 2017 

1.464 

MILLION 

PEOPLE CLASSED 

UNEMPLOYED 

BETWEEN APRIL AND 

JUNE 2017 

£988 

ANNUAL 

AMOUNT 

OF INTEREST PAID FOR 

EVERY ADULT IN THE UK 

3,321 

CONSUMER 

COUNTY COURT 

JUDGMENTS(CCJS) ARE ISSUED 

EVERY DAY, WITH AN AVERAGE 

VALUE OF £1,495 

13 PROPERTIES 

ARE REPOSSESSED EVERY DAY, OR ONE EVERY ONE HOUR 

AND 50 MINUTES 

>NEWS 

IN BRIEF 

UK SMEs failing to 

embrace smartphone 

opportunities 

British small businesses could be failing to cash in on 

the boom in mobile shopping by not having websites 

that automatically adapt for the different screen 

sizes of smartphones and tablets, according to new 

research from PayPal. 

A UK-wide survey of more than 2,000 small 

businesses and 2,000 consumers reveals a growing 

gap between online shoppers’ mobile preferences and 

what small businesses are offering – which could be 

costing them potential sales. 

PayPal research shows that mobile shopping 

growth is outstripping overall online spending by four 

to one in the UK. This trend looks set to continue, with 

30 percent of Brits expecting to use their smartphones 

to shop more often in the next 12 months, rising to 

44 percent for 16 to 25-year olds. Mobile devices are 

already central to today’s shopping experience with 

six in 10 (59 percent) ‘millennials’ browsing for new 

purchases on their smartphone every day. 

Overall consumer appetite for mobile shopping is 

also growing quickly: the estimated annual spend on 

mobile nearly doubled from £13.5 billion to £27 billion 

from 2016 to 2017 and it is estimated to hit £43 billion 

by 2020. Despite this, only 18 percent of UK small 

businesses have a website that is friendly for mobile 

devices, an increase of just 1 percent on 2016. 

paypal.com 

Universal nonsense 

Citizens Advice has warned that thousands of people 

risk getting into debt because of delayed payments 

from universal credit. Citizens Advice has helped 

people with over 100,000 issues with the new benefit 

scheme, and in August the equivalent of 12 percent of 

people applying for the benefit turned to the charity 

for help. In a report published in September, Citizens 

Advice analysed over 50,000 cases where it has helped 

people with their debt problems and found that one in 

five people applying for universal credit are waiting 

longer than six weeks for their first payment. 

citizensadvice.org.uk 

Member benefit 

The CICM has secured a half-price early booking 

offer for members wanting to attend the 2018 Credit 

Summit, where CICM will be hosting the Trade Credit 

Conference. 

The standard creditor price is £799, and the 

special discounted delegate rates for CICM members 

working in operational credit roles are: £400 before 

end December; £500 before end January; £600 before 

end February; and £700 before Conference. Attractive, 

discounted delegate rates are also available for CICM 

members working in the vendor community. 

To secure the special rate, CICM members should 

call 020 7940 4835 quoting their membership number. 

For sponsorship and exhibition rates for vendors 

contact Credit Strategy. 

Further details about the conference are available 

at creditstrategy.co.uk/credit-summit. 


Support for customers with 

addictions and utilities debt 

THE Money Advice Trust (MAT) has 

launched a new face-to-face training 

course designed to help creditor staff 

to better support customers affected 

by gambling, alcohol and substance 

addictions. The course has been developed 

in partnership with the Royal Bank of 

Scotland and NatWest, and can be tailored 

to creditor organisations across a range of 

sectors. 

The course has been developed by the 

Trust’s Vulnerability Lead Chris Fitch, 

who co-authored the University of Bristol 

Personal Finance Research Centre’s recent 

‘21 steps’ research into the experiences 

of collections staff with customers in 

vulnerable circumstances. 

The research found that one in four 

frontline collections staff find addictions 

either ‘very difficult’ or ‘difficult’ to discuss 

with customers – more than any other 

kind of vulnerable situation. Eight 

percent of frontline staff and 28 percent 

of specialist staff said they encounter 

customers with an addiction ‘every day’ or 

‘most days’. 

The Trust’s new face-to-face course 

aims to equip staff to identify, understand 

Global SMEs shun international trade 

NEW research suggests that SMEs across 

the world are shunning international trade 

to focus on their domestic markets amid 

global uncertainty. 

The annual Global Business Monitor 

report, from Bibby Financial Services, 

reveals that nearly two-thirds of SMEs (65 

percent) are concerned about the state of 

the global economy and just seven percent 

say international trade is the greatest 

growth opportunity for their business. 

The study surveyed SME owners and 

decision makers in Canada, the Czech 

Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, 

the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, 

Poland, Singapore, the UK and the United 

States. 

Findings reveal that the political 

situation in the U.S. is seen as the greatest 

threat to global economic growth among 

SMEs (29 percent), followed by Brexit (20 

percent) and conflict, war or terrorism (15 

percent). 

SMEs are significantly more confident 

about the prospects for their domestic 

economies. More than half (53 percent) 

describe the performance of their local 

economy over the past 12 months as good, 

while a third (33 percent) expect their local 

economy to improve over the next year. 

This rises to 53 percent among businesses 

in France. 

In relation to international trade, foreign 

exchange fluctuation is seen as the 

greatest obstacle by one in five businesses 

(20 percent), followed by government 

regulation (14 percent). 

and support customers who are 

experiencing an addiction. The charity 

plans to complement this course with 

a new e-learning option in the coming 

months. 

The Trust has also launched a 

new guide for energy suppliers in 

collaboration with Energy UK to help 

better identify and support consumers 

in vulnerable circumstances. The guide, 

‘Vulnerability, mental health, and the 

energy sector: a guide to help identify 

and support consumers’, provides 

practical tools for frontline staff to use 

with consumers in a range of vulnerable 

situations. 

Consumer vulnerability is high on 

the energy industry’s agenda following 

Ofgem’s recently modified domestic 

Standards of Conduct requiring gas and 

electricity suppliers to better identify 

consumers in vulnerable situations. 

With the number of energy suppliers 

increasing, the Trust says the guide 

comes at an important time to assist 

energy suppliers in training staff to 

improve their support to customers. 

moneyadvicetrust.org 

Despite concerns about the global 

economy, SMEs are optimistic about their 

own future growth. Half (49 percent) of 

businesses said they’ve grown over the 

last 12 months, while more than half (55 

percent) expect to grow in the next 12 

months. 

Canadian SMEs are most confident about 

future sales with 70 percent expecting 

growth. In contrast, SME owners in Hong 

Kong are the least confident in their local 

economy with just over a quarter (28 

percent) expecting sales to grow and a third 

(35 percent) expecting sales to decline. 

Elsewhere, The British Exporters 

Association (BExA) has said that Export 

is not ‘the new black’, and has called for 

the Government to show clearer direction 

to business through a comprehensive, 

cohesive Trade Policy. 

BExA believes that Brexit provides the 

Government with a once in a lifetime 

opportunity to lay foundations for new UK 

export growth; it says that Government 

departments must be energised and coordinated 

to achieve UK export success: 

“BExA calls on the UK Government 

to publish and follow a transparent, 

comprehensive, co-ordinated Trade Policy 

to give UK exporters the tools they need 

to be successful overseas,” says BExA’s Co 

Chairman, Marcus Dolman. 

“Export is not a fad, it is essential to 

the economic success of this country 

and Government needs to give business a 

tangible framework to operate in.” 

bibbyfinancialservices.com 

>NEWS 

IN BRIEF 

Flying high 

IRISH peer-to-peer lending platform 

Linked Finance has appointed Michael 

Cawley, the former Deputy Chief Executive 

of Ryanair, as its new chairman. The 

company has seen lending to Irish SMEs 

in the first half of 2017 increase by 243 

percent on the same period last year. 

Michael will replace Kingsley Aikins as 

Chairman, one of the company’s original 

investors, who will continue to sit on the 

board as a non-executive director. 

linkedfinance.com 

SHORTLIST OUT SOON 

Entries for the 2018 CICM British Credit 

Awards have now closed. The shortlist 

for the awards is due out on 27 November. 

The awards gala dinner is being held at 

the Royal Lancaster in London on 

8 February. To book a table visit 

cicmbritishcreditawards.com. 

Village people 

METRO Bank has provided YMCA London 

South West with £30 million of funding 

to support the planned development 

and regeneration of social housing 

accommodation. Richard James, chief 

executive at YMCA London South West 

says the funding will be used to regenerate 

homes for young Londoners, as well 

as improve and expand its community 

services across East, South and West 

London. 

metrobankonline.co.uk 

Navigation 

Tools 

HOGAN Lovells has launched regtech, a 

new tool to help fintech firms navigate 

through the process of FCA authorisation. 

It will assess their status and 

preparedness for regulation and help them 

to identify specific requirements they need 

address. hoganlovells.com 

CICM 

IN BRIEF 

THIS month's briefing includes details 

of the four companies to be awarded 

CICM Centre of Excellence status, Legal 

Partner DWF discusses fixed fee reforms, 

the CMI Q3 opening, and Company Watch 

becoming a Corporate Partner. 


Four businesses win 

Centre of Excellence status 

THE Chartered Institute of Credit 

Management (CICM) has awarded 

Centre of Excellence status, its 

highest accolade for best practice in credit 

management, to four companies: Aimia 

Foods, The Adecco Group UK & Ireland, 

Aggregate Industries and Veolia ES UK. In 

the case of Aggregate Industries and Veolia, 

their status has been awarded for a second 

time. 

Glenn Hudson, Managing Director of 

Aimia Foods says this is the culmination of 

a huge amount of work undertaken by the 

talented Aimia credit management team: 

“We are very proud of the work they do, 

their strong relationship with the CICM 

and the knowledgeable, focused and 

mutually supportive role they play with our 

customers and our internal teams alike,” he 

explains. “We are therefore delighted, but not 

surprised that they have been recognised by 

the CICM as a Centre of Excellence.” 

Elisabeth Doppelhofer, Senior Credit 

Manager, The Adecco Group UK & Ireland, 

says to obtain the Centre of Excellence 

status has been a firm ambition: “We are 

incredibly proud to be awarded the accolade. 

A huge focus for our management team is 

to ensure team members are professionally 

trained and developed, and for this to 

be recognised alongside our CICMQ reaccreditation 

is fantastic. This award is the 

result of dedication and hard work from 

every single team member.” 

The Head of Education and Professional 

Development, Head of CICMQ Accreditation, 

and CICM Chief Executive review 

applications for CoE status before 

submitting them to the CICM’s Executive 

Board for final review. Decisions are 

announced after Executive Board meetings 

in March and September. Successful 

applicants achieve Centre of Excellence for 

two years. 

Phil Rice FCICM, Head of Credit at 

Aggregate Industries, says being renewed 

as a CICM Centre of Excellence is a great 

reflection of the company’s commitment 

to professionalism, employee training 

and development: “This also highlights 

our credit team's achievements and our 

continued engagement with the wider 

industry,” he says. “We are proud to be one 

of only five companies in the UK to achieve 

this accolade and are dedicated to further 

growth within our credit management 

team, in which every employee is a member 

of the Institute.” 

Sarah Bolas MCICM, Credit Services 

Manager, Veolia ES UK, believes being 

a Centre of Excellence is the ultimate 

accolade: “I am so proud of the team’s 

achievements over the last few months,” 

she says. 

“Our employees are fundamental to our 

team’s success and it is important that they 

possess the skills required to deal with the 

diversity and growth of our business. Over 

the next 12 months we have a structured 

training plan that will develop and 

strengthen our service offering while our 

employees gain qualifications.” 

cicm.com/learning/centreofexcellence 

Going for gold 

CONSTRUCTION giant Kier Group has 

recently achieved CICMQ accreditation 

for the first time, with the successful 

roll out of its Shared Service Centre 

in Manchester. It has been hailed as 

‘managed to an exceptionally high 

standard with objectives set and achieved 

in a relatively short amount of time, and 

key achievements documented along the 

way’. 

Kier is a property, residential, 

construction and services group that 

operates across a range of sectors 

including defence, education, housing, 

industrial, power and utilities. The 

credit team is part of the Order to Cash 

department and made up of 25 people with 

two senior managers who manage over 

30,000 live accounts, with a turnover of 

more than £3 billion. 

Martin Kirby, Head of Order to Cash at 

Kier Group says it was essential we trained 

our staff in the new ways of working, 

being respectful to the old ways but 

ensuring we upped our game: “Ensuring 

our stakeholders were also aligned to 

this vision and realised the value the 

accreditation gives was key.” 

The perfect pint 

THE Marston’s Beer Company is the largest 

cask ale producer in the UK, and part of 

Marston’s PLC has joined the growing list 

of CICMQ accredited companies, and in the 

process has become the first brewer to gain 

this award. 

Marston’s Brewery operates six 

breweries and with brands that include 

Pedigree, Hobgoblin, Wainwright and 

Young’s and Courage. 

Sharon Adams FCICM (Grad) says the 

team worked collaboratively and with 

other departments to develop the 

methods and procedures to meet CICMQ 

Standards: “They enhanced their current 

system to produce a ‘one way of working 

for all', this in turn enhanced the team 

spirit and brought them together creating a 

sense of camaraderie.” 

The team recently won Department of 

the Year at the company conference. 

The elite 

FOLLOWING the third re-accreditation, 

Elisabeth Doppelhofer, Senior Credit 

Manager at Adecco said: “You become part 

of an elite group of companies enabling the 

sharing of knowledge and best practice. We 

are very proud to be viewed as one of the 

industry leaders – cemented through this 

recognition.” 

Adecco UK & Ireland is the largest 

recruitment company in the UK and the 

world. The credit team consists of 59 

members of staff, split into six specialised 

teams collecting approximately £200 

million per month. 

Elisabeth says through its internal reach 

and LPMS programs it has a vigorous 

continuous review process which paved 

the way for the assessment: “Our Shared 

Services Director, as well as heads of the 

other SSC departments are very supportive 

and helped us pull out all the stops to 

ensure we gained the re-accreditation.” 

‘The teams are engaged, producing 

excellent results for their business in 

an environment which is organised and 

professional but at the same time, energetic 

and fun with a real sense of camaraderie,’ 

Sharon’s report concludes. 


INSOLVENCY 

The ‘d’ problem – revisited 

David Kerr sees the debt as a problem for both sides. 

AUTHOR – David Kerr MCICM is the Chief Executive of the Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA). 

David Kerr 

IN last month’s edition of Credit 

Management, David Andrews 

article ‘The d word’ examined the 

growing debt burden in the UK, and 

highlighted that average household 

unsecured debts are expected to be 

nearly £14,000 by the end of 2017, rising to a 

new high next year. Much of this is provided 

by credit cards, with credit being used to meet 

everyday bills. How would a rise in interest 

rates affect debtors’ ability to service those 

borrowings, particularly the three million 

who are paying more in interest and charges 

than capital? 

If there is any good news for creditors, it 

is in the estimates from some advisors that 

four in 10 debtors are in full time work. That 

opens up more opportunities for them, and 

holds out the prospect of some return for 

lenders. Individual Voluntary Arrangements 

(IVAs) are proving more popular than any of 

the alternative formal solutions, but are they 

good for the debtor and creditors? 

Consumer advice is regulated by the 

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), but it 

doesn’t directly regulate the lead introducers 

who identify potential IVA candidates and 

pass their details to IVA providers. Two thirds 

of new IVAs started this year are run by just 

five volume operators who engage Insolvency 

Practitioners (IPs) to supervise those arrangements. 

IPs are regulated by professional bodies 

such as the IPA. More and more people 

are looking to resolve their debt problems 

through a process that provides relief from 

their debt burden, and the alternatives are either 

unattractive or unavailable to them. 

While average debt is close to £14,000, 

those turning to IVAs typically have debts 

greater than the £20,000 limit that would 

otherwise make them eligible to consider a 

Debt Relief Order (DRO), which can provide 

relief for those with little or no net disposable 

income or assets. Bankruptcy still carries 

some stigma, and is not an inexpensive 

option. Informal debt management plans 

are now more closely regulated and do not 

give certainty in terms of debt forgiveness 

or protection from bankruptcy. So although 

disposable income levels are reducing, IVAs 

are still the preferred route for many. If the 

debtor keeps up the monthly payments, then 

the IVA gives protection from creditor action 

and forgiveness at the end of the term. 

Concerns have arisen from some quarters 

about the advice given to debtors, and 

about some aspects of the cost base for IVAs, 

including other services and products ‘sold’ 

to IVA debtors. The IPA is looking closely at 

those areas of practice, but it is worth looking 

at how some of that ‘noise’ translates into 

complaints. 

The number of complaints referred to 

the IPA through the Government’s central 

complaints gateway has been reducing over 

the last three years (2014-2016). Of the 240 referred 

in 2016, just over 100 related to IVAs, 

representing less than half of one percent of 

the number of new IVAs started by IPA IPs 

that year, and a smaller fraction still of the 

total number of IVAs currently running. A 

significant number of those complaints in 

2014 related to concerns about the treatment 

of PPI compensation claims, and those concerns 

have subsided as the legal position has 

become clearer. 

So as IVA numbers increase, complaints 

about them seem to be decreasing. What that 

suggests, is that the current issues around 

the operation of IVAs are being raised less 

by debtors, (who account for about half of all 

complaints through the gateway) but instead 

from creditors and/or their representatives, 

who tend not to use the gateway. Their concerns 

relate more to costs, and that is understandable 

given that in most IVAs the debtor 

pays a fixed amount every month, and the 

return for creditors is a product of the debtor 

contributions less running costs. The problem 

is that certain costs are fixed, so that 

when debtors’ disposable income is reducing 

that means smaller returns for creditors. The 

process of cost recovery could benefit from 

greater transparency, but the inescapable 

truth is that there is a level below which it is 

uneconomic for the provider to run an IVA. 

The economics of IVA provision have seen 

some rationalisation in the IVA provider market, 

reducing the number of operators. That 

has not yet impacted on IVA numbers in total, 

but the viability of the IVA option might 

well soon be hit by decreasing disposable 

incomes. More debtors might look to DROs 

when IVA providers turn away those who 

cannot afford to pay more than £50 a month. 

Who will lose out? Some debtors where 

they might have valued the benefits of an 

IVA; creditors certainly, as low value IVAs and 

the statutory alternatives bring reducing returns. 

The ‘d’ problem, it seems, might be just 

as much one for creditors as it is for debtors. 


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The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / November 2017 / PAGE 12 

Follow us:

OPINION 

Money for Nothing? 

Speaking at a recent CICM Think Tank, Phil Ariss 

explains how cryptocurrencies work, why they are the 

flavour of the month and what the future may hold. 

AUTHOR – Phil Ariss is part of the Regional Cyber Crime Unit (RCCU) at East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU). 


continues on page 14 >

OPINION 

AUTHOR - PHIL ARISS 

IF you cast your mind back to the 

2008 financial crisis, there will 

be many images that come to the 

forefront of your mind. It was 

a genuinely worrying time for 

millions of people across the world 

who feared for their savings, businesses and 

employment. For a small group of people 

this financial event was the tipping point 

of their political beliefs, a group that called 

themselves ‘Crypto-Anarchists’, a group 

who believe that maths-based encryption 

provides users with the ultimate level of 

security. 

In 2008, an online identity by the name 

of Satoshi Nakamoto released a white paper 

titled ‘Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer Electronic 

Cash System’ and the idea behind the 

world’s first de-centralised digital currency 

was born. This was the answer that Crypto- 

Anarchists needed, a currency that was 

removed of any control from any corporate 

or government entity, a currency that was 

controlled and developed by the users. 

Bitcoin was a technical and mathematical 

work of art, and was released as an open 

source project. It was highly regarded, 

being incredibly complex behind the 

scenes and very secure, while allowing ease 

of use for front-end users. 

ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT 

The anti-establishment origins of Bitcoin 

however cannot be ignored. A hidden 

message within Bitcoin was revealed on 

the first ever transaction made. Quoting 

The Times newspaper in January 2009, it 

used the headline from that day to make 

a statement of intent: ‘Chancellor Alistair 

Darling on brink of second bailout for 

banks’. 

The undertone from the creators in 

this message was clear. In essence, their 

message was ‘banks and governments can 

no longer be trusted with our assets, we 

must protect our own assets’. The birth of 

Bitcoin was a quiet and low-key event. The 

currency had little value and usage was 

low, however, the headline benefits to the 

users were clear; a high degree of privacy, 

a de-centralised network and transparency. 

Bitcoin just needed platforms to flourish. 

Adoption didn’t take long. Key events 

for those that have anti-establishment 

views played their part. Firstly, WikiLeaks. 

Overtly supporting and funding WikiLeaks 

via traditional methods was seen as risky 

and raising a flag to authorities. Bitcoin 

allowed those who supported the mission 

of WikiLeaks to fund their service by 

sending Bitcoin, using the privacy and decentralised 

nature to protect their identity. 

Secondly, The Silk Road, the first ‘darkweb’ 

marketplace where illicit items could 

be traded. The Silk Road used Bitcoin as 

This was the answer 

that Crypto-Anarchists 

needed, a currency 

that was removed of 

any control from any 

corporate or government 

entity, a currency that was 

controlled and developed 

by the users. 

their only choice of currency. Bank transfer, 

credit cards and Pay-Pal were all too risky 

as they left a paper/digital trail. Bitcoin was 

seemed as the safest method. 

Since that time Bitcoin has gone from 

strength to strength, and the price has gone 

through the roof. In May 2010, the price 

per Bitcoin was less than $0.01. At the time 

of writing the price per Bitcoin is now in 

excess of $5,200. Those that adopted the 

currency early and invested just small sums 

of money are now incredibly wealthy. 

The way Bitcoin works is very different 

from traditional payment methods, from 

the computer network level, to the public 

and private key cryptography, and the 

mechanics of a transaction. Explaining 

how the currency works is best saved for 

another time or by watching a video on 

YouTube – diagrams are helpful! 

HOW IS IT USED TODAY? 

It’s safe to say that Bitcoin isn’t being used as 

originally intended. It’s not yet reached the 


OPINION 

AUTHOR - PHIL ARISS 

mass adoption as a payment method the 

original white paper wanted it to achieve. 

Yes, it can sometimes be found in shops 

online and in the high street, however 

it’s a rare sight to see the infamous logo 

while out shopping or grabbing a coffee. 

Conversely, Bitcoin seems to have found 

its current market niche as a tradeable 

digital asset, an investment opportunity 

and the way to transfer funds across 

borders with high security and privacy. 

This is where Bitcoin has started to 

become a favourable tool for those that 

are involved in criminality. The benefits 

to the user (privacy, de-centralised 

and high security) make considerable 

challenges for law enforcement and 

for those who work in regulated sectors 

or risk management. Routine areas of 

investigation and disruption tactics 

become extremely difficult or at times, 

impossible. Bitcoin has been used in 

all manners of criminality, however the 

area of most concern is surely money 

laundering. 

Bitcoin is the perfect environment 

for individuals to launder their criminal 

gains in an area that’s completely 

unregulated, and largely out of reach of 

law enforcement. Assets become hidden, 

easily liquidated or used to purchase others 

goods or services. Proving otherwise 

becomes very difficult, with organisations 

and entities existing in a worldwide 

network often out of jurisdiction, 

investigating in this area becomes very 

challenging and time consuming. That’s 

not to say Law Enforcement do not have 

success in this area; there have been 

significant investigations and cases across 

various law enforcement units that show 

that while we may be at a disadvantage, 

opportunities do exist for enforcement 

and assets can be seized and recovered. 

To muddy the waters even further, 

Bitcoin isn’t out there alone. Numerous 

other currencies have been created and 

a whole industry now exists under the 

name ‘Cryptocurrencies’, each offering 

something slightly different, with names 

such as Ethereum, Litecoin and Dash. It 

isn’t just Bitcoin that has seen significant 

increases in value, there is a considerable 

boom in Cryptocurrencies and the latest 

trend, ICOs (Initial Coin offerings) give 

people and organisations an opportunity 

to invest at the creation of a new 

Cryptocurrency while being rewarded 

with a sizeable quantity of the new coin. 

These can be irresistible to investors and 

those looking to emulate the early Bitcoin 

adopter’s success, but there can be no 

guarantee these coins will become widely 

adopted or gain significant value. 

ICOs are the next horizon of law 

enforcement threat. With countless new 

Cryptocurrencies being created in this 

unregulated environment, the danger 

is that some of these coins are created 

through fraudulent schemes, doomed to 

fail from the start, with investors losing 

their cash or their digital assets with no 

return in sight. 

When I speak to people about my area 

of work with Cryptocurrencies, I usually 

get two responses: one of either complete 

disinterest; or complete profound interest 

and a desire to know about this fascinating 

subject, at which point I’m usually asked 

to point them in the direction of buying 

some in the hope of making them rich! 

While I can make no promises, if this 

small, brief insight has piqued your 

interest, I urge you to read more articles 

and watch some videos of how Bitcoin 

works, and you may find yourself down 

a rabbit hole of a fascinating and everchanging 

area of business. 


2018 CICM EVENTS 

NOT TO BE MISSED 

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Industry Workshops 

Fellows’ Lunch 

Webinars 

Law Conference 

Education Conference 

CICM Best Practice 

Just another great reason to be a member 

See full programme at www.cicm.com/events 

The 

www.cicm.com | +44 (0)1780 722902 | events@cicm.com 

The Recognised Standard

THE RECOGNISED 

STANDARD 

CICM British Credit Awards 2018 

8 February 2018 

Royal Lancaster, London 

Last chance to enter the CICM British Credit Awards 2018 

Entries close on Friday 27 October so don’t miss out on 

your chance to win one of the most prestigious awards 

in the industry. 

CICM is the largest recognised professional body in the world 

for the credit management community and is peerless in 

its field of expertise. Promoting best practice in credit and 

collections, CICM delivers resources, training and support 

to members at all levels, and offers a range of qualifications 

that are the recognised standard in the industry. 

The CICM British Credit Awards is central to our ethos, 

rewarding outstanding achievement and innovation shown 

by individuals and organisations. 

START YOUR ENTRIES TODAY! 

cicmbritishcreditawards.com 

SCAN HERE TO VIEW THE 

FULL LIST OF CATEGORIES 

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27 OCTOBER AT 5PM! 

SPONSORS: 

PALADIN 


TOWN AND COUNTRY 

FOOD FOR 

THOUGHT 

Sean Feast caught up with Frank Anderson FCICM 

of AB Agri for his views on the farming sector, CICMQ 

accreditation and James Bond. 


FRANK Anderson is a contented 

man. Since joining AB Agri in 2008, 

a great deal has been achieved. 

A fragmented, de-centralised 

credit management function has 

been brought into one team, and 

a sophisticated ERP system put in place. Bad 

debts have fallen, sales have increased, and 

customer satisfaction risen to new heights. 

But he is far from complacent. This dynamic, 

agri-food industry can have its lows as well 

as its highs, and he and his team have to be 

constantly on top of their game. 

“Brexit is the latest challenge,” he explains, 

“with many farmers worried about the impact 

of likely changes to the agricultural land 

based subsidy, despite assurances from the 

UK Government that the payment will remain 

until 2022. But while dairy farmers may be 

concerned about the pound taking a knock, 

and its impact on raw material costs, pig 

farmers are happy since it is slowing down 

pork imports and increasing demand for their 

products. That’s the thing about the farming 

sector: it is always resilient. Everyone has to 

eat!” 

CALL THE SHERIFF 

Frank came into credit management via an 

interesting route. After schooling in his native 

Glasgow, he joined a Sheriff’s Office and 

learned the business of enforcement. Heading 

south in the 1980s, he spent ten happy years at 

Europcar in Watford, followed by successful 

spells at Dixons and EMAP. “I wanted to stretch 

myself, and not always work in the same 

industry,” he says. “The principles of credit 

management are effectively the same wherever 

you work, it is just that they can be applied in 

different ways.” 

Perhaps his happiest time was as a 

consultant: “It’s like someone hands you the 

key to a house and you can look around and 

fix things, and then give the keys back without 

getting involved in the politics,” he laughs. 

Returning to corporate life, and by now 

having moved to Spalding in Lincolnshire, 

Frank joined AB Agri with a very clear 

brief: “The business at the time had grown 

through acquisition, and as such it had credit 

management teams as far apart as Devon and 

Yorkshire. The advantage of local teams is that 

they are close to the business and the customer, 

but the disadvantage was that there was little 

visibility at a group level, higher costs, greater 

duplication of effort, and inconsistent controls.” 

The solution, Frank says, was to create 

a shared model: “This gives us all of the 

advantages of economies of scale, consistent 

standards and controls, and common systems 

and support, but still enables us to be flexible 

and responsive to meet our customer’s needs. It 

also enables us to disseminate best practice to 

other businesses as they are acquired, or sister 

companies that are part of our parent company, 

Associated British Foods Plc.” 

The cornerstone of the new team is that 

it provides common policies, processes 

and procedures, not just in the UK, but also 

internationally, with customers in more than 80 

different countries. The team is as comfortable 

talking to farmers in Brampton as it is Brazil, 

and it has native foreign language speakers 

who not only understand the words that are 

being said, but also the context and the culture 

behind the conversation taking place. 

“We always try to avoid the word ‘no’,” 

Frank continues, “and ensure that our credit 

teams are closely aligned with the commercial 

teams to help them achieve their objectives. 

Occasionally this results in some ‘healthy 

friction’ between the two, but ultimately, we are 

an enabler to help our business grow, and not 

prevent a sale from taking place.” 

CUSTOMER VISITS 

Two or three times a month, Frank is out of 

the office, visiting customers. The business 

is built on relationships: “You can tell a great 

deal when visiting a farm,” he explains. “From 

the moment you walk into a yard, you get an 

immediate ‘feel’ for the business and what sort 


continues on page 20 >


AUTHOR – SEAN FEAST 

of risk it represents. This in turn determines 

the level of credit you may extend, and the 

limits that you set.” 

Typically, Frank says, there are two ‘types’ 

of farmer: The ‘traditional’, family-owned 

and family run enterprise; and the larger, 

‘business’ farmer, not untypically managed as 

a limited company. Frank and his team have to 

flex their approach to meet the differing needs 

of these customers, but both require the team 

to build long-term customer relationships 

based on real trust and understanding: “With 

family farms, the lines between ‘domestic’ and 

‘business’ bills are sometimes, understandably 

obscured,” he says. 

“Invoices are often still settled by cheque, 

but it's the same chequebook that also meets 

the bills for the household gas or electric. With 

larger farms which may be limited companies, 

farmers manage their income and expenditure 

through the company, and use their tax 

efficiently, In each case, it can sometimes 

make it harder for us to see the whole picture in 

terms of granting credit, which is why personal 

visits and getting to know our customers is so 

important.” 

Frank says that the commercial team also 

plays a crucial role supporting their customers’ 

ambitions: “They are not ‘salesmen’ in the 

traditional sense,” he explains. “The farmers 

trust them to give them best advice and trust 

their expertise. It is less about ‘selling’ and 

more about ensuring the famer has the right 

nutrition solutions for their business. 

The progress made by the credit team in 

the seven years Frank has been in charge has 

been impressive. It now provides an end-toend 

service, from setting appropriate credit 

limits and complying with credit insurance 

policy conditions, to providing in-depth credit 

risk reports and collecting the cash. 

But Frank is honest in saying that some 

doubted whether his ‘new ways’ were an 

improvement on the ‘old’. It was for this 

reason that he approached the CICM to apply 

for Quality in Credit Management 

accreditation. 

EXTERNAL MEASUREMENT 

“It was all very well for me to say that things 

had improved, but we needed an external 

measure to be sure we were on the right path 

and to better understand what ‘good’ really 

looked like. We considered ISO but then the 

CICM launched its new Quality programme 

and so after visiting Shell and learning of their 

experiences we applied and were soon after 

accredited. We have been accredited three 

times since.” 

Frank is modest about his own achievements 

but delighted for his team. In the assessor’s 

report, AB Agri’s credit management function 

was described as ‘well managed, controlled and 

organised with clear policies, processes and 

reporting which everyone interviewed in the 

department and company understand and have 

access to.’ It went on to say that ‘if there were a 

league table on ‘best practice’, AB Agri would be 

very close to the top.’ 

The secret, if there is such a thing, to his 

team’s success, is in its experience: it has more 

than 150 years’ combined experience behind 

it, and an average length of service of seven 

years. Staff retention is particularly critical: 

“The knowledge is all with my people,” Frank 

says, “and is invaluable. They know, with 

every customer, such things as when the best 

“We considered ISO but 

then the CICM launched its 

new Quality programme 

and so after visiting Shell 

and learning of their 

experiences we applied 

and were soon after 

accredited. We have been 

accredited three times 

since.” 

Additional industry statistics provided exclusively 

to Credit Management by Dun & Bradstreet. 



AUTHOR – SEAN FEAST 

time to call is. We don’t use letters or emails, 

every customer interaction is by phone or in 

person, and we keep detailed notes so that we 

have a complete credit history. 

“This is especially important, for example, 

if we have a lapsed customer who comes back 

to us. It is also important for those farmers 

who have a long and good payment record, 

but may need some breathing space, and we 

feel comfortable in helping them through a 

temporary issue. In our experience farmers 

generally tend to do everything in their power 

to settle a debt. It is very unusual for a debt 

to go bad, or to have to go to court to get our 

money back.” 

In terms of the wider credit environment, 

Frank says that the banks have been 

noticeably better in the support they lend 

to the farming community. Yet it is still a 

concern: “The farmers we speak to are still 

anxious, and recently the banks have been 

wanting their debts to be paid down. This 

could be a concern going forward, and why 

it is important for us to maintain a close 

dialogue with our customers.” 

Frank’s passion for credit management 

is matched only by his passion or all-things 

James Bond. His near-obsession takes him and 

a group of fellow enthusiasts to set locations 

all over the globe, including the Far East, to 

pay homage to the world’s most famous Vodka 

Martini drinker. His favourite Bond? Frank is 

disarmingly diplomatic: “There has been a 

right Bond for every generation,” he smiles. 

% Prompt Payments 


HQ PROFILE – MARKETING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS 

Meet the team – Marketing 

and Information Systems 

Continuing our series of profiles on CICM HQ teams, 

this month we learn about the wide-ranging work of the 

‘Marketing and Information Systems’ team. 

Peter Collinson 

Head of Marketing and Information Systems 

Morag Tyler 

Reporting and IT Support Analyst 

Andrew Morris 

Art Editor 

PRIOR to joining CICM, Peter worked in 

IT starting out in an era when computer 

programming was considered a dark and 

mysterious world. He was Director of a 

market-leading HR software and services 

vendor for 15 years, before joining a major 

global outsourcing organisation where he 

headed up the Client Services Division, 

responsible for a £50m+ account portfolio 

delivering managed IT and FM services 

from a shared service centre. 

He joined CICM in 2012 to develop 

the brand and commercial propositions 

for a changing market. His role now 

includes responsibility for all mainstream 

marketing activity including website 

design and content, data analytics, 

marketing collateral, events, webinars, 

and multi-channel campaigns. 

Additionally, Peter has responsibility 

for development and maintenance of 

the Institute’s business systems and 

IT infrastructure, CICM contracts and 

Corporate Partnerships. 

Away from work, apart from having fun 

with his grandson, Peter loves most types 

of music, but particularly jazz, funk, soul 

and progressive rock. He loves live music 

and has played keyboards in various 

bands for over 40 years, continuing to do 

so with his current band, The PC Project. 

AFTER graduating in business studies, 

Morag has over 20 years work experience 

in a variety of industry sectors based in 

the UK and overseas. 

With a strong background in marketing 

her passion is data and using it to facilitate 

‘informed decision-making.’ 

Morag has been at the CICM for over 

six years and is involved in many areas of 

marketing, IT and project management. 

Her major current focus is a redesign 

of the CRM database. Having travelled 

all over the world, Morag is now settled 

in a small village in Rutland with her 

husband Simon and two children James 

and Emily. 

They enjoy camping holidays in 

France, a variety of sporting activities 

and generally getting involved in village 

life. Morag is also Membership Secretary 

at Uppingham Town Cricket Club. 

AFTER leaving Art College, Andrew 

has accumulated more than 20 years 

experience in the creative design industry. 

Andrew started his apprenticeship 

with EMAP, a well-known publishing 

company, learning about print production 

and typography skills. He then progressed 

through the ranks to eventually manage 

the art department where he worked on 

various print and digital design projects. 

He then moved into editorial design 

and began designing news pages as a 

senior designer on various magazines and 

newspapers. 

Andrew has been Art Editor of Credit 

Management magazine for almost four 

years, and has injected a modern and 

contemporary style to the CICM magazine. 

He has several hobbies which include 

surfing, art, aviation history and playing 

guitar, but his biggest passion is riding his 

Harley Davidson motorbike. 

Delivering information, resources, events, 

systems and data that supports our 

members, drives campaigns and enables 

our processes. 


HQ PROFILE – MARKETING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS 

Becki Sharpe 

Event Coordinator 

AFTER leaving college, Becki has spent 

the majority of her working life in 

administration support roles, which is 

where she started at CICM in 2012. After 

a short career break for the birth of her 

daughter, she returned to CICM to take on 

the role of Event Coordinator. 

Her job involves managing the end-toend 

processes associated with planning, 

facilitating, booking and resourcing CICM 

events including workshops, showcases, 

masterclasses, the Education and Law 

Conferences, best practice conferences, 

and the annual Fellows’ Lunch. 

Recently CICM has developed a busy 

webinar programme covering a wide 

range of industry-related topics that 

Becki coordinates, and additionally, she 

is also responsible for health and safety 

at HQ, after recently completing her IOSH 

Managing Safety course. In her spare 

time, she enjoys spending time with her 

husband and two children, shopping and 

is partial to the odd night out with friends. 

Jonny Hodgson 

Website Administrator 

Jonny joined CICM a little over five years 

ago. He maintains website content, 

undertakes mailings for events, courses 

and exams, co-ordinates content for 

InBrief and TechBrief newsletters, and is 

first port of call for internal IT issues. 

Prior to joining CICM, Jonny worked 

for a Christian Distribution company 

in Carlisle for 18 years as a warehouse 

operative before moving into customer 

services, software support and marketing. 

His experience includes online 

marketing, and he has also undertaken 

voluntary work helping former drug and 

alcohol addicts prepare for their European 

Computer Driving Licence exam. 

He is currently involved in youth 

work, and can often be found behind 

the PA mixing desk at his local church 

in Peterborough. He enjoys most sports, 

especially mountain biking, attending 

classic car events, seeing live bands, 

learning the guitar and supports Liverpool 

FC. 

Clare Bradley 

Marketing and Information Analyst 

WITH a degree in journalism, Clare 

started her career working for a boutique 

marketing agency. However, she quickly 

developed a love for problem solving 

and data, and established herself as a 

marketing analyst. 

Clare joined CICM at the start of 2017 

to help assist with data and website 

reporting, develop major marketing 

campaigns, and support marketing 

initiatives and IT projects. Outside of 

CICM, Clare likes to test her creativity 

with painting, graphic design and baking. 

Her current passion is home DIY projects 

– from making footstools to upcycling 

furniture. 

IT systems 

development and 

maintenance 

Marketing 

communications 

and collateral 

Website design 

and content 

management 

Credit Management 

magazine design and 

production 

Marketing 

and 

Information 

Systems 

Data analytics 

and data 

extraction 

Contracts and 

commercial support 

Events 

and webinars 

Marketing campaigns 


COUNTRY FOCUS 

Adam Bernstein 

delves into the Polish 

economy and uncovers 

some interesting 

economic history. 

Part one: 

POLAND 

GETS A 

LICK OF 

POLISH 

Warsaw Castle Square 


COUNTRY FOCUS 

AUTHOR – ADAM BERNSTEIN 

THE roots of the Polish state go 

back more than 1,000 years to 

when an area akin to modern-day 

Poland, under the rule of Miesko 

I, converted to Christianity. 

Sitting at the crossroads of 

Europe, Poland soon rose in prominence yet 

fought many wars and uprisings to maintain 

its freedom. Partitioned at the end of the 18th 

century, the country became independent 

at the conclusion of World War One. But as 

history again demonstrated, its location and 

resources made it a target – this time for 

German occupation in 1939 – before it was 

subsumed into the post war Soviet sphere of 

influence. 

Some say that the fall of communism and 

the collapse of the USSR is partly down to one 

of its sons, the late Pope John Paul II, whose 

visit as pontiff in 1979 indirectly led to the 

creation of the trade union Solidarity and the 

subsequent break-up of the communist-bloc. 

A COUNTRY REBORN 

Poland is now politically stable having gained a 

new constitution in 1997, joined NATO in 1999 

and the EU in 2004. An April 2017 Bloomberg 

Business publication says the country is 

becoming a regional power as it is now the EU’s 

eighth largest economy. In the World Bank’s 

ratings, Poland is classed as a high-income 

economy with a population of 38.5m that has a 

per capita income of around $13,370. 

Poland appears, according to a 2017 Ernst 

and Young report, Doing business in Poland, 

to be ‘making remarkable progress, moving 

from a centrally planned to a market economy. 

Trade liberalisation, economic restructuring, 

privatisation, capital inflows, and gradual 

adaptation of legal and administrative 

standards suitable for market practices have 

improved economic structures dramatically’. 

It’s notable that since 1992, the country has 

not seen a recession but instead, rapid growth 

interspersed with three short periods of 

slowdown. The World Bank has estimated that 

growth stood at 3.9 percent in 2015, 2.8 percent 

in 2016, and will be 3.1 percent in 2017. 

Split into 16 regions, the country has strong 

relations with the UK as evidenced by the 

inflow of Polish nationals into the country 

since accession to the EU. Its consumer market 

is strong and filled with highly-qualified 

workers from the country’s 430 high education 

institutions (30 percent of Poles have a 

degree). The Polish Information and Foreign 

Investment Agency (PAIiIZ) believes that 90 

percent of graduates can speak a language 

other than Polish. 

The country now has expertise in IT 

and other (modern) technologies. In a 2015 

educational ranking, compiled by the The 

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and 

Development (OECD), Poland is said to rank 

as one of the highest among members of the 

European Union – 10th in science, third in 

reading and reading comprehension, and sixth 

in mathematics. 

OPPORTUNITIES 

At the start of September (2017), emergingeurope.com 

stated that the Polish Deputy 

Prime Minister and Minister of Economic 

Development and Finance have drawn up a new 

plan to attract inward investment. Effectively, 

from the start of 2018, the 14 existing special 

economic zones (which cover just 0.08 percent 

of Poland) will be replaced with one that will 

cover the whole of the country. The stated goal 

is to make every village, town, and city equally 

attractive to investors in an attempt to lower 

the general unemployment rate which in some 

localities is around 20 percent. 

The Government wants to ensure that 

going forward, tax incentives will depend on 

the number of quality jobs, number of jobs 

created in total, and the sustainability of the 

project that’s being subsidised. It’s estimated 

that within the first decade the new regulations 

will result in new investment projects worth 

over 117 billion pln złotys (£25 billion), 157,000 

new jobs and four billion pln (£855 million) of 

corporate income tax. 

Of course, different sources suggest different 

openings for businesses. According to the US 

Government’s export.gov website, ‘investors 

represent a wide range of industry sectors 

including automotive, aerospace, information 

technology: hardware and software, food 

products, transportation, pharmaceuticals, 

paper production, appliances and financial 

services. Poland has also emerged as a 

favourable location for business processing 

centres, including call centres, shared services 

centres and research and development 

operations’. 

The UK Government sees the opportunities 

in a different light as the main UK exports are 

electromechanical devices, machinery and 

chemicals. It notes that Poland has maintained 

its position as a huge recipient of EU funding. 

Some 86 billion euros of Structural and 

Investment Funds between 2014 and 2020 is 

being combined with Poland’s own national 

investment of 18.8 billion euros to make a pot of 

104.8 billion euros for investment in transport 

and energy, SME competitiveness, research 

and innovation, the low-carbon economy, 

environmental protection as well as social 

inclusion and labour market participation. 

In terms of market segments, there are many 

worth a closer look. In energy, the country is 

building new nuclear power plants that are 

destined to make up 17 percent of the country’s 

energy supply. There are openings here for 

R&D, consultancy and project management. 

The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / November 2017 / PAGE 25 continues on page 26 >

COUNTRY FOCUS 

AUTHOR – Adam Bernstein is a freelance business writer 

Railways are a priority for the Polish 

Government and between 2015 and 2030 

the network will see 25 billion euros 

of investment. Opportunities exist for 

planning and development, supply of 

technologies, supply of rolling stock, 

maintenance, and management. 

Security and crime reduction has 

not been ignored in a country where 

cybersecurity is a concern. As a result, 

there is scope for the supply of CCTV 

and monitoring systems, access control, 

homeland monitoring and surveillance, 

IT security, and cybersecurity for critical 

infrastructure. 

On defence, there is wide opportunity 

for military material such as combat 

helicopters, drones (air and sea), military 

vessels, tanks, anti-missile systems, 

logistics, R&D, and individual soldier 

equipment. 

With a burgeoning consumer market, 

retail is not to be missed. Those in 

that sector should look for breaks with 

new store openings and malls, online, 

mobile commerce, warehousing, and the 

importation of premium products. 

In 2015, notes the UK Government, 

Poland had Europe’s seventh largest 

market for healthcare (and the second 

largest per capita spend). It’s estimated 

that over the counter medicines will grow 

at six percent, while image diagnostics 

will see 15 percent growth and antenatal 

diagnostics by nine percent. Projections 

suggest scope for specialised medical 

equipment, telemedicine, trials, and 

project investment. 

But it’s also worth remembering 

other sectors. Agriculture, for example, 

employs 11.6 percent of the population 

and contributes three percent to GDP. It is, 

however, fragmented into smallholdings. 

Automotive is a key part of the economy 

Beautiful interior of famous salt mine in Wieliczka, Poland. 

and employs 180,000, who in 2016 made 

677,000 vehicles. Business services have 

grown in five years to employ – say Ernst 

and Young – more than 212,000 people in 

930 plus companies. As might be expected, 

firms in this sector are concentrated in 

urban areas. 

Poland is, in terms of gas, trying to 

wean itself off a single supplier – Russia. 

It’s building new import centres in the 

east and there are new interconnectors 

and new domestic infrastructure. Mining 

in the country is based on large quantities 

of some 50 key minerals such as coal, 

copper, silver, zinc, sulphur and salt. 

Some 80 percent of the country’s energy 

presently comes from coal – it also 

produces 40 percent of European coal 

output. 

It’s interesting to 

note that Polish law 

gives everyone equal 

rights in carrying out 

a business activity. 

However, this doesn’t 

mean that there aren’t 

restrictions in terms of 

who can freely access 

the market. 

EXPORTING TO POLAND 

Apart from being in the EU, Poland 

is also a member of the World Trade 

Organisation (WTO) and has signed up to 

the Schengen Agreement area. Of course, 

what will happen come March 2019 to 

the free movement of people, capital and 

goods is unknown. In the meantime, as of 

2015, Poland is the UK’s 19th largest export 

market which stood at £3.83 billion. 

As with any nation, there are 

different routes to market. Poland is no 

different and offers access via a limited 

liability company (spółka z ograniczoną 

odpowiedzialnością – sp. z o.o.); jointstock 

company (spółka akcyjna – S.A.); 

European Company (Societas Europea) 

(Spółka Europejska – SE); general 

partnership (spółka jawna – sp.j.); limited 

liability partnership (spółka partnerska 

– sp.p.); limited partnership (spółka 

komandytowa - sp.k.); partnership 

limited by shares (spółka komandytowoakcyjna 

– S.K.A.); sole proprietorship 

(indywidualna działalność gospodarcza); 

civil law partnership (spółka cywilna); 

and a branch of a foreign enterprise 

(oddział zagranicznego przedsiębiorcy). 

There is plenty of information on 

these entities at the Polish Investment 

and Trade Agency’s website: paiz.gov.pl/ 

polish_law/forms_of_doing_business. 

It’s interesting to note that Polish law 

gives everyone equal rights in carrying 

out a business activity. However, this 

doesn’t mean that there aren’t restrictions 

in terms of who can freely access the 

market. Non-exhaustively, those with 

greatest freedoms are those from the EU; 

from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein; 

and those from non-EEA countries that 

have a bilateral agreement with Poland. 

Section two on the website goes into far 

more detail. 

The UK Government’s general feeling 

is that direct sales into the Polish market 

can be difficult and it is often more 

effective to approach the market through 

local business partners who can both 

distribute and provide technical support. 

It also notes that licensing and franchising 

are becoming increasingly popular. 


INTERVIEW 

FECMA Country Profile 

In the second in our series of profiles on FECMA members, 

Sean Feast spoke to Robert Dyrcz, Founder of the Polish 

Institute of Credit Management (PICM), a foundation 

registered in the country’s national court register. 

Robert Dyrcz 

The Neptune, bronze 

statue of the Roman 

God of the Sea Poseidon. 

Located in the Old Town 

of Gdansk (Danzig), 

Poland. 

How many members do you have? 

Because the PICM is a foundation, by law 

it has no membership as such. However, 

the statute allows for such a possibility 

to happen, and currently we have two 

members working as PICM development 

coordinators for various regions in the 

country. We are building a network of 

Credit Managers based on regular meetings 

called CREDIT CLUB PICM. 

How is the PICM structured? 

Being only a very recent foundation, we do 

not have any branches yet, but we do have 

our headquarters in Krakow, a major city 

in southern Poland, and we held our first 

ever national conference in June which will 

be repeated next year. We also hold regular 

meetings (every quarter) of the CREDIT 

CLUB PICM. 

What learning and development does 

the PICM provide? 

The PICM currently delivers one-day or 

two-day training courses, to give delegates 

a basic understanding and knowledge of 

Credit Management. A more in-depth, full 

qualification programme is planned to be 

started next year. 

What is your country’s cultural 

attitude to late payment? 

Payment defaults are still a major issue 

in Poland. The concept of modern Credit 

Management is barely known in the 

smaller and mid-size companies. Average 

payment terms allowed to the customers in 

Poland are 20 days. The average time taken 

by the customers to pay, however, is 30 days 

longer, i.e. 50 days. Some small business 

can wait for up to three months to be paid. 

According to the latest reports, the cost 

of late payments in Poland for businesses 

is around US$30 billion every year, even 

though the domestic regulations on late 

payments are more demanding than EU 

Standards. 

Legal action is an option in Poland, 

but the process is long and unpredictable; 

formal proceedings should only commence 

when all other pre-legal collection 

opportunities have been exhausted. 

Collecting debt from insolvent debtors is a 

particularly challenging task. 

Are there any specific laws/policies 

to protect businesses against late 

payment? 

The EU Directive 2011/7/EU which stipulates 

that payments in the EU must be made 

within 60 days was transposed into Polish 

law through the new Act on Payment Terms 

in Commercial Transactions of March 8th, 

2013 (Journal of Laws Dz.U. 2013 item 403). 

The rules in Poland are, however, 

stricter than the EU requirements: as a 

rule, business-to-business transactions 

must be paid within 30 calendar days, 

although payment terms may be extended 

by contract to 60 days if they do not become 

unfair to one of the parties. 

Unless the parties agree on a higher 

interest rate by contract, the creditor is 

entitled to receive late payment interest 

calculated on the base of the National 

Bank of Poland reference interest rate plus 

eight pp (now: 1.5 percent + 8 percent = 9.5 

percent). 

What support does the PICM provide 

to fellow FECMA members? 

There is little in the way of support at 

present but then the PICM is still very early 

in its development. I foresee, however, that 

in 2018, as the PICM network grows, we 

could see some interesting international 

initiatives from our institute. 

In the meantime, every FECMA member 

is welcome with all kind of requests and 

questions regarding payment practices 

and credit issues they may have regarding 

our economy. The growing PICM 

network covers more and more local and 

international companies seated in Poland. 

I will be happy to assist any credit manager 

in the FECMA network! 

Contacts for further information: 

Robert Dyrcz, PICM Founder 

Mobile: +48 600 09 33 72 

e-mail: rdyrcz@picm.pl 


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: 

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& training 

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The Recognised Standard 

Join online today at www.cicm.com 

or call 01780 722900 


FLC

TRADE TALK 

AEO – putting cargo in 

the fast lane post-Brexit 

Lesley Batchelor advises how AEO certification is 

becoming increasingly desirable as an internationally 

recognised tool to keep cargo moving. 

AUTHOR – Lesley Batchelor OBE FCICM is Director General of The Institute of Export and International Trade. 

Lesley Batchelor 

INTERNATIONALLY recognised as 

a mark of quality, an Authorised 

Economic Operator (AEO) certificate 

effectively demonstrates that 

your role within the international 

supply chain is secure, and that 

your customs controls and procedures are 

efficient and compliant. 

While not mandatory, and with no 

current plan to make it so, the EU is 

nonetheless actively encouraging the 

majority of organisations that export 

outside of the EU to sign up to this 

worldwide initiative, which has been 

designed to ensure that international 

supply chains are secure and controlled 

from the point of origin through to the final 

delivery destination. 

Registration is open to all businesses 

in the EU that are involved in trade with 

non-EU countries, including logistics 

operators, carriers, freight forwarders, 

customs agents, importers, exporters and 

manufacturers. 

Although the initiative has been in place 

for several years, the UK lags firmly behind 

other EU countries, with just 599 approved 

AEO registrations compared to Germany, 

which has 6,092, the Netherlands with 

1,539 and France which has 1,533 approved 

registrations. 

The reasons behind this vast disparity 

in AEO numbers may be attributable to 

the respective sizes of the logistics sector 

in Germany and Netherlands in relation 

to the UK. However, there is a growing 

concern that UK businesses that trade 

internationally may lose traction if the 

scheme gains widespread popularity and 

they are not part of that development. 

Bearing that in mind, and within the 

Single Market and the Customs Union 

as we are at present, companies holding 

AEO certification have already had a clear 

advantage when exporting, especially 

to the United States. Post-Brexit, AEO 

certification will become even more 

desirable as UK manufacturers and 

exporters looking to compete with 

their EU equivalents really will need 

AEO to assure overseas clients that 

their shipments will not be subject to 

unnecessary delays. 

Developed as part of the World Customs 

Organisations (WCO) SAFE framework of 

standards, AEO certification was designed 

to secure and facilitate global trade. 

The framework is based on countries 

having mutual recognition agreements 

to give priority clearance to trusted AEO 

exporters and importers across borders. 

To qualify a business must be 

established in the European Union 

(EU), be actively involved in customs 

operations and international trade and 

have an Economic Operator Registration 

and Identification (EORI) number, which 

already applies to most exporters. 

AEO acts increasingly as a quality 

standard with many larger organisations 

insisting on any trading partners having 

this status. As part of the application 

process, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) 

officials will stringently assess, amongst 

other things, a company’s finances, 

site security, shipping procedures, 

compliance with customs requirements, 

and fulfilment of the relevant legal 

and safety regulations. Companies that 

already have IPP and ISO are half way to 

attaining this highly secure accreditation. 

Even though there can be no denying 

that achieving AEO status is a time 

consuming and often daunting exercise, 

the commercial benefits can be immense 

and include: greater access to priority 

clearance; reduced administration; 

traceability of flows of goods; increased 

transport security; fewer delays in 

despatch; improved security between 

supply chain partners; quicker access to 

certain customs procedures including 

some of the HMRC safety and security 

procedures. 

As the number of businesses with 

AEO status increases so will the pressure 

on other companies to comply. Priority 

clearance for AEO-certificated businesses 

will, by default, mean that noncertificated 

organisations will be dealt 

with as a secondary concern. When time 

is of the essence, such delays in delivery 

will inevitably prove ever more costly. 

Although it’s had a slow uptake, AEO is 

gaining traction. That said, it isn’t all plain 

sailing for those seeking certification. 

Customs authorities in the UK need 

to focus urgently on their partnership 

approach and work to achieve continued 

improvements in the AEO standard and 

application process, to ensure it delivers 

the right benefits to companies post- 

Brexit. 

Further information and applications 

for AEO status can be made via the HMRC 

website or the GOV.UK website. 

Priority clearance 

for AEO-certificated 

businesses will, by 

default, mean that noncertificated 

organisations 

will be dealt with as a 

secondary concern. 

The The Recognised Standard / / www.cicm.com / / November 2017 2017 / PAGE / PAGE 29 29

INTERNATIONAL 

TRADE 

Monthly round-up of the latest stories 

in global trade by Andrea Kirkby. 

EUROPE 

STRIKES BACK 

IT'S ironic that just as the UK 

decides to leave an economically 

stagnant EU, the Eurozone 

economy starts to wake up. 

Greece even managed to get 

a debt upgrade from Fitch 

(admittedly it's still rated B but it's a start). 

Unemployment is at its lowest since 2009, 

production is running 3.2 percent up on 

last year, and the economy is growing 

faster than the US. 

Of course, not everything in the garden 

is rosy. Increasing inequality is a concern, 

Italian banks still look dodgy and France is 

still not growing fast enough to create jobs, 

but there are grounds for optimism. I know 

the prevailing political soundbite is that 

we're going to be ‘global’ and trade with 

everybody else except Europe – but if the 

Eurozone is about to see a period of growth, 

you’d be mad to give up those markets. 

There is however a nasty sting in the 

tail of a resurgent Europe. The EU is really 

batting for its exporters, with ongoing 

trade talks not just with Japan, but also 

Australia and New Zealand. I suspect that 

like Canada, the two other Commonwealth 

markets on which the Department for 

Exiting the European Union puts such 

store will end up giving the EU a good deal 

– and unless they have a number of spare, 

experienced trade negotiators, that's going 

to put Britain behind in the queue. 

BRINKMANSHIP over North Korea isn’t helping 

Asian stock markets, but I think there’s a more 

intriguing conclusion to be drawn from events. 

Donald Trump clearly still believes (to borrow a 

phrase from 1066 and all that) that the US is still 

‘Top Nation’ – but in fact it looks to be China that 

has the most influence over the situation. At the 

same time China has quietly moved to reassert 

the Communist Party's control of the economy, 

sending out an edict to restrict investment in 

real estate and tourism and focus it more on the 

OBOR (One Belt One Road) strategy. 

China is growing in confidence and 

influence. That could make life complicated 

for companies exporting to China, if the 

Government starts trying to micromanage 

the economy. But it also shows how great the 

opportunities for exporters are – if you're both 

brave enough and clever enough to ride on the 

back of the dragon. 

DESPITE media concern about whether 

an absence of low-paid EU pickers will 

destroy the UK strawberry market, some 

areas of agriculture are doing well – meat 

exports in particular. The first half of 2017 

saw year-on-year growth of 18 percent in 

UK meat exports, with offal up 21 percent. 

ASIA AND THE NORTH KOREA CRISIS 

PLENTY OF MEAT ON THE BONES 

Asia in particular is a huge opportunity 

with its growing middle class – China is 

a huge market for British pork – and 

though two thirds of our meat exports 

currently go to the EU, emerging markets 

will take a bigger slice of the pie going 

forward. 

And there are some cheering success 

stories in processed meats too. For 

instance, the Burger Manufacturing 

Company in Wales exports to Europe, 

mainly Spain and France – and has been 

so successful it's now paid £4 million for a 

new factory to support its growth. 


US BUDGET SQUABBLE CONTINUES 

THE USA doesn't on the face of it look like 

a failed economy. But Fitch has warned it 

might have to downgrade US debt if it can't 

get its budget in order. Last time there were 

squabbles over the debt ceiling, S&P took 

away the US' AAA rating – but the other 

agencies stood firm. 

If the debt ceiling isn't raised, the US 

Government could actually run out of cash to 

pay its bills. That could force it to default on 

existing loans – and that could bring credit 

crunch 2.0. It would certainly have a major 

effect on global financial markets, as well 

as potentially trashing the dollar. Watch out 

if you have dollar-denominated contracts, 

as political brinkmanship could lead to 

volatility. Of course, it will never happen, but 

didn't they say that about President Trump? 

CURRENCY UK 

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HIGH LOW TREND 

GBP/EUR 1.1435 1.0854 Down 

GBP/USD 1.3589 1.2933 Up 

GBP/CHF 1.3189 1.2700 Up 

ELECTRIC CARS 

The Frankfurt motor show this year has been dominated by electric cars, with BMW, 

Mercedes, and Renault all pushing their products. Is it a flash in the pan? Probably not 

– the UK and France are both banning petrol and diesel cars from 2040, and Hyundai 

reckons more than half the models it sells in Europe will be electric or hybrid by 2020. 

Even though electric cars so far represent just a couple of percent of European car sales, 

things are changing rapidly. Renault is seeing its sales of electric cars rising by 40 percent 

– even if that’s off a low base. 

GLOBAL DOWNGRADE 

THE whole world appears to be less creditworthy 

than a decade or two ago if you 

believe the ratings agencies. The number of 

countries with AAA credit ratings is down 

from 16 in 2009 to just 11 now, according to 

Fitch, while of 99 AAA US corporates in 1992 

only two are left according to S&P. What's 

even more remarkable is that yields are at 

all-time lows, so investors are getting a lower 

return on a riskier investment. 

Some of the downgrades may be due to 

more caution on the part of the agencies – 

they don't want to get caught out again 

after the credit crunch. But I wonder 

whether the statistics also reflect the fact 

that a decade of sluggish global growth and 

low returns hasn't allowed companies or 

governments to rebuild their balance sheets 

the way we might have expected them to. 

With interest rates going up, that could mean 

there's trouble ahead for some – so make 

sure you know your customers' balance 

sheets as well as you know their purchasing 

managers. 

GBP/AUD 1.7168 1.6479 Down 

GBP/CAD 1.6776 1.6069 Down 

GBP/JPY 152.801 

145.502 Up 

LEBANON DOWNGRADED 

MOODY'S has downgraded Lebanon to B3, citing 

weak government finances and a rising debt 

burden. Years of political instability and a trade 

deficit that represents a quarter of GDP already 

weakened the country, and it now also has a large 

population of Syrian refugees to support. 

But reforms are finally being made and there 

are good opportunities for exporters willing to 

take a risk. Lebanon has always had a choosy 

consumer market and food and luxury goods can 

do well, as well as healthcare firms (Lebanon is 

reputed to have the best healthcare in the region). 

But machinery exporters can also find 

interesting opportunities, particularly in the oil 

and gas sector. And HSBC is active in the country, 

making life a bit easier for Brits aiming to enter 

the market. 

WORLD DOMINATION THROUGH EXPORT 

I’M travelling in the Caucasus at the 

moment, and I've noticed a couple of 

things. Mercedes has the minibus market 

in Georgia sewn up, and the only coffee 

you can get in Armenia is Segafreddo. You 

can see where an exporter really took a 

bit of a risk, and it paid off. (There’s also a 

huge market in second-hand commercial 

I also see Georgia has just been upgraded, 

by Moody's from Ba3 to Ba2. The country 

has probably the most stable economy 

in the region, and it's been boosting its 

competitiveness – not least through links 

with the EU. Foreign direct investment is 

piling in, amounting to ten percent of GDP, 

and foreign trade has been liberalised, 

so there are far fewer barriers facing 

British exporters than used to be the case. 

Meanwhile GDP is growing steadily at 

around the three to four percent mark. 

vehicles – I keep seeing trucks with French 

or German signage but Georgian number 

plates). Getting into a market early takes 

guts. It might not pay off for a while, but 

evidently it can be worth it if you get your 

brand established – I think Lavazza could 

have a hard time trying to convert Yerevan 

yuppies to its version of espresso. 

GEORGIA ON THE RISE 

Can you take advantage? Well, the 

construction industry seems to be going 

gangbusters, while tourism is advancing 

steadily – two sectors that need investment 

and expertise. The market for consumer 

goods is also developing fast in the main 

cities. And though the older generation still 

tends to have Russian as a second language, 

youngsters are learning English – I’ve met a 

number of serious little 12-year old girls who 

speak as if they'd been to Roedean – so Brits 

should be in with a good chance. 

MINE’S A PINT 

ON my travels this summer I've found that while 

local beers differ, I can get Velkopopovichky 

Kozel just about everywhere! Perhaps it's been 

helped by previous COMECON contacts, but 

kudos to this Czech brewery (for getting its 

product out to Ukraine, Armenia and Georgia). 

UK beer is also doing well in export markets, 

with one billion pints sold abroad – £600 million 

worth of beer. That's growing fast, too, with 

new breweries, new brands, and new styles of 

craft beer. And some of that may be down to 

the efforts of Sovereign Beverage which helps 

brewers to export; it represents 700 brands and 

is seeing double-digit growth. 


MAKE YOUR CASE 

AUTHOR – Heather Greig-Smith is a freelance business journalist 

SINGLE 

ORRETURN? 

Should there be a single regulator for the debt 

collection industry? Heather Greig-Smith 

asks if change is needed to the way debt 

collection is regulated. 


COLLECTIONS businesses are 

subject to a wide range of 

regulation – from the rigours of 

the Financial Conduct Authority 

(FCA), to specific sector 

regulation for water, gas and 

communications suppliers. With the burden 

of compliance and the consequences of poor 

customer treatment higher than ever, is it time 

for a single system of regulation? 

EOS Solutions UK Chief Executive and 

CICM Think Tank member Stuart Knock thinks 

so. “It would make more sense if the practice of 

debt collection was regulated rather than the 

type of debt being collected,” he says. 

EOS handles both retail finance, which is 

regulated by the FCA, and utility debt – which 

does not fall under that remit. Stuart says in 

practice it is very difficult for collections 

businesses in this situation. “Utilities tend to 

talk about the authorisation standards but they 

don’t fully understand what FCA-authorisation 

means,” he adds. 

The cost of compliance for FCA-regulated 

businesses is significant: “On some utility 

panels you are up against some who only do 

utility debt so can be more competitive in their 

pricing, and more liberal about what they do 

and how they approach the debt.” 

PERFORMANCE DIFFERENCE 

Stuart says he has the impression from nonregulated 

creditors that there is a performance 

difference. “They must be more assertive in 

their negotiations. If there was one regulator 

across the piece that wouldn’t happen.” 

Any suggestion that firms behave in 

different ways for different debts is not 

acceptable, Stuart says, adding that the 

FCA does not expect that approach within 

businesses it regulates. 

With well over 90 percent of Credit Services 

Association (CSA) members FCA-regulated, 

some question whether there is really a 

problem that needs solving. 

“I think it’s a theoretical risk rather than 

an actual risk,” says Sue Chapple, Strategic 

Account Director at Indesser, the joint venture 

between the Cabinet Office and TDX that coordinates 

the collection of £22bn of public 

sector debt. 

“The standard in the market is FCA 

regulation, and in practice creditors are 

already looking for firms that abide by those 

standards,” she says. 

“It’s very easy to say there should be one 

standard but I can also see the cost and effort 

and impact in doing so. The fact that some 

companies have to be FCA-regulated moves 

everybody up – like Treating Customers Fairly 

(TCF) did – it just takes time.” 

Sue adds: “If you’re the owner of the debt 

and are using a DCA it’s up to you to make 

sure that DCA behaves appropriately. How 

you reward your agencies will drive their 

behaviour.” 

PRACTICAL ISSUES 

Even if it were desirable to bring all debt 

collection under one regulatory umbrella, the 

practicalities make it unrealistic, according to 

John Thompson, Head of Compliance at Hoist 

Finance. 

“There is some logic to having a single 

regulator, and a strong argument that it would 

bring a level playing field not only to the 

collections agencies, but also to the consumer, 

who will be treated fairly and consistently 

regardless of the ultimate creditor. But is 

it really practical? The FCA already has to 

regulate tens of thousands of firms in the 

consumer credit space, and is arguably already 

too stretched.” 

He adds: “Creditors in the utilities sectors 

– water, gas, electricity – are heavily regulated 

in their own right, with consumer protection 

at the heart of what they do. It is right that we 

should be looking at the FCA’s experiences, 

and the work undertaken so far, to see what 

lessons can be learned, and whether a set of 

common principles could be adopted. 

“In our experience, agencies that collect 

both FCA-regulated debt, and debt that is often 

referred to (erroneously) as ‘unregulated’, tend 

“It would make more 

sense if the practice 

of debt collection 

was regulated rather 

than the type of debt 

being collected, 

EOS handles both 

retail finance, which 

is regulated by the 

FCA, and utility debt 

– which does not fall 

under that remit.’’ 

continues on page 34 > 


MAKE YOUR CASE 

AUTHOR – HEATHER GREIG-SMITH 

to apply the same high standards across the 

board.” 

Derek Usher, Cabot Credit Management’s 

Managing Director for UK debt purchase, 

agrees that asking the FCA to regulate all debts 

is not practical. 

“Achieving this would mean considerable 

practical difficulties, involving changes 

to legislation and providing the FCA with 

considerably more resources. Existing 

standards have a positive impact, and our 

belief is that the current framework supports 

consistent and fair customer outcomes,” he 

says. 

Dewi Fox, Managing Director of ARC 

Europe and also a CICM Think Tank member 

has similar doubts: “Anything that supports 

a better, more consistent and even-handed 

approach to how customers are dealt with has 

to be a good thing, though whether the FCA is 

currently equipped to regulate across such a 

diverse number of industries and debt types is 

a moot point.” 

CHANGING TIMES 

Change is happening within areas that are not 

subject to FCA authorisation. For example, 

Hammersmith & Fulham Council has entered 

a joint venture partnership with debt buyer 

1st Credit – H&F Ethical Debt Collections – to 

change the way council debts are collected and 

spread an FCA-standard model to other public 

sector bodies. 

Michael Hainge is Hammersmith & Fulham 

Council’s Commercial Director. He says raising 

the quality of collections is important. 

“Debt collection suffers from two-tier 

regulation,” he says. “From the customer’s 

perspective, the current system results 

in unfair inconsistencies, with collection 

approaches based on debt type instead of 

individual circumstances. 

“We have set out to reduce the need for 

bailiffs and bring FCA standards to all debt 

types, believing this is good for councils and 

customers. All collection businesses should be 

held to the same high standards if individuals 

are to be supported through debt repayment 

and into financial rehabilitation.” 

Peter Tutton, Head of Policy for debt charity 

Stepchange, says industry changes such as 

these are welcome. “If it means less intrusive 

enforcement that’s a good thing.” 

However, he says not all local authorities 

are making these efforts and there is nothing 

to compel them to do so. Instead a ‘levelling up 

of standards’ is needed across the board. 

“It isn’t necessarily about having a single 

regulator for debt collection, there are 

possible legal complexities regarding the 

jurisdictions of the various regulators. What 

is critical is to ensure common standards and 

oversight for debt collection practices across 

all currently regulated sectors and ensuring 

proper regulation of areas where it is currently 

inadequate, in particular the bailiffs and 

government debt collection.” 

He adds: “We should expect all creditors to 

treat people in a similar way, setting affordable 

and sustainable repayments and not acting 

aggressively and making debt problems worse.” 

ROGUE TRADERS 

The Credit Services Association does not 

believe the current system of regulation is 

ideal either. President John Ricketts says it 

leaves the industry open to rogue traders. It 

also creates a massive administrative burden 

for debt collection businesses in keeping 

abreast of several sets of codes and standards. 

He adds that there is a perceived two-tier 

system that non FCA-regulated firms can do 

nothing to counter. This would also make it 

unfair for non-regulated creditors to insist on 

using FCA-authorised suppliers. 

“We should expect all creditors 

to treat people in a similar way, 

setting affordable and sustainable 

repayments and not acting 

aggressively and making debt 

problems worse.” 

“Non-regulated DCAs can’t be regulated 

by the FCA because they don’t work credit 

agreement debt – it doesn’t mean they are 

second-class debt collection businesses.” 

John acknowledges the barriers to having a 

single regulator. Instead, the CSA is lobbying 

the existing range of regulators and the UK 

Regulators Network to adopt the CSA Code of 

Practice as a single set of standards that all 

collections organisations can follow. 

“We can’t step into a regulatory role, but our 

code of conduct can play a part,” he says. “It is 

wrong that we have so many regulators all with 

an interest in regulating the debt collection 

sector. We are lobbying UKRN and those 

regulators who don’t have an FCA-equivalent 

approach. If there is a gap in their regulations 

they could fill that gap with the CSA Code of 

Practice.” 

Peter Tutton agrees there is a role for the 

UK Regulators Network to play in coordinating 

standards across its members. He says the 

concept of following one code of practice is 

worth discussing, though it would need careful 

consideration as to whether the CSA’s code was 

the right set of guidelines. 

In the meantime, the industry continues 

its own post-FCA evolution with the hope that 

higher standards for some means the incentive 

for all to rise up and meet those – or face losing 

out to those that do. 


For more information call 01206 322 575 

info@safecomputing.co.uk 

www.safe-financials.co.uk 


OPINION 

TIGHTROPE 

WALKERS 

Chris Sanders considers the impact technology 

may have on debt recovery and litigation. 

AUTHOR – Chris Sanders FCICM is Head of Accreditation – CICMQ 

Chris Sanders 

THE abundance and development 

of new systems is not 

limited to the ‘core’ activities of 

credit management, and many 

organisations are taking advantage 

of new App-based development 

opportunities which are faster, and 

easier to access and deploy. It is tough for the 

major ERP providers – IBM, Oracle, and SAP 

– to keep up with customer and business demand, 

not least as large ERP systems are managed 

by in-house IT teams, and implementing 

even the simplest ‘change request’ can be complex 

and protracted. 

These long-established players remain 

the engine room of many businesses and 

will do for some time, if not forever. I know 

one organisation whose billing system 

is fundamentally the same one that was 

originally designed in 1973; the addition of 

smaller specialist systems are providing the 

real innovation. 

I was at a conference recently and met 

with one of these fast-moving innovators who 

showed me a real-time demo of an HR system 

on his smartphone. The task was a simple 

one that many HR teams struggle with – the 

maternity entitlement for staff. By gathering 

multiple data sets from various HR, Payroll, 

and employee information systems, it took 

less than three minutes to complete a task that 

used to take five days, recalculating salary, and 

holiday start and end dates. This is ‘employee 

self-serve’ and required no HR involvement. 

This is just one of the applications they are 

working on. As this is more of an aggregation 

tool than a specific specialist system designed 

to fix a specific process, it could technically be 

applied to any functional activity. 

PROCESS IMPROVEMENT 

Taking the complexity and manual handoffs 

out of processes and systems is what process 

improvement is all about – driving efficiency, 

but also cutting costs. It has traditionally been 

easier to pass off the complex or difficult 

tasks to third parties like debt collectors and 

solicitors. When you have exhausted all your 

options, outsourcing collections has been 

the accepted norm. The danger is that debt 

collectors and solicitors can become a safety 

net – much like credit insurance can be – and 

‘business as usual’. Don’t get me wrong, there 

is a place for all of these activities, but surely 

if there was no safety net you would ensure 

you were more focused and properly trained 

before you stepped onto the tightrope. 

The difficulty has always been that 

managing debt at the end of the ‘normal 

process’ has been seen as ‘difficult’, and less 

valuable to the organisation. By the time a 

debt is that overdue, contact with the debtor is 

reduced, there are more disputes, customers 

are either not who you thought they were, 

or even where they said they would be, and 

frankly you have bigger fish to fry. Any margin 

you may have had on the product or service 

you have sold would have been lost. Adding 

debt collection charges and solicitors’ fees can 

be seen as throwing good money after bad, and 

that isn’t the ‘mystical margin’, but real money. 

When the debt progresses to ‘legal’ you 

are in the hands of a complex process with 

timeframes that can be protracted and 

expensive if unsuccessful and, in any event, 

by the time it gets to this point, and you 

have decided to use the ‘nuclear option’, you 

have probably given up on the customer 

anyway. (One thing is for sure, the sales guy 


OPINION 

AUTHOR – CHRIS SANDERS 

will have lost interest in assisting you.) So, 

what options do you have? Write-off or give 

it to someone who will take it off your hands 

and try and recover something at least? As a 

credit manager, using a third party means you 

are still seen to be doing something and you 

cannot give customers the impression that 

you are soft touch. 

There has always been a view that getting 

the upfront processes right at the beginning 

will reduce the instance of passing the debt out. 

You could argue that with the development of 

automated and behavioural credit assessment 

and collections systems, the days of the ‘third 

party’ safety net are numbered. 

The issue of the third party in the legal 

area is complex – rules change, fees change 

and managing a ‘legal system’ is therefore 

expensive. However, the new name and 

letterhead they receive is a clear demonstration 

that the situation has now escalated, and this 

strategy alone can produce results. But debtors 

are now more savvy, and know the rules, and 

what to do to delay payment. Determining a 

‘can’t pay’ from a ‘won’t pay’ without proper 

systems and procedures is almost impossible, 

and dealing with difficult customers is worth 

a book in itself. 

TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION 

Back in 1991 we implemented a litigation 

bureau service via a telecoms link. By the 

time we finished, we had a litigation system 

managed by two credit controllers with over 

4,000 cases. No upgrade downtime, no IT 

costs, pure ‘pay as you go’. This system is 

still out there, but now a cloud-based SaaS 

system. (Incidentally, in 1991, the budget 

for the purchase of a litigation system was 

£300,000 with an expectation of a six-month 

implementation time. The actual cost to 

implement the service was £5,000 and we 

were up and running in less than six weeks!) 

Today, more than 25 years later, systems 

have progressed so far that we now have ‘robot 

lawyers’. In the US, for example, the first ‘AI 

Attorney’ is already up and working in the 

bankruptcy practice of Baker Hostetler. AI 

within the litigation space has recently arrived 

in the UK, with one law firm claiming to be 

able to predict at what stage defendants are 

likely to settle claims. 

So how does this new technology 

impact third parties and their use by credit 

management teams to collect debt? Forward 

thinking debt collectors are embracing robotic 

process automation; like everyone else they 

need to drive down costs and improve service. 

But with their clients deploying similar 

systems will there be such a high demand for 

this service other than the need for the ‘third 

party letterhead’ impact? Surely if companies 

get the collections strategies right with the 

predictability of outcome, the demand must 

be reduced? 

Alternatively, will the third-party debt 

collection agencies become your new 

collections team? Will the ‘AI Attorneys’ take 

over what is a very predictable process of debt 

litigation? Will even the most complex debt 

cases be dealt with through research and case 

histories as they are now in other areas of the 

law? 

Ironically, nobody can predict where this 

is going, but what we can say is that cost, 

efficiency and service will be the drivers. Data 

gathering will drive the need for more analytics 

to predict outcomes; more functions will 

merge as end-to-end customer management 

becomes increasingly important. Specialisms 

could be lost and where once we would moan 

about smart lawyers, we may find ourselves 

saying the same about data analysts, as surely 

those skills will be in greater demand. 

For more information about the CICM Best 

Practice Network please contact or visit the 

CICMQ page on the CICM’s website cicm.com. 

There has always been a view that 

getting the upfront processes right at 

the beginning will reduce the instance 

of passing the debt out. You could argue 

that with the development of automated 

and behavioural credit assessment and 

collections systems, the days of the ‘third 

party’ safety net are numbered. 


PAYMENT TRENDS 

Better than average 

Jason Braidwood analyses the latest monthly business 

to business payment performance statistics. 

AUTHOR – Jason Braidwood FCICM(Grad), Head of Credit and Collections at Creditsafe Business Solutions 

INTERESTINGLY, in this month’s 

payment performance figures, the 

average days beyond terms (DBT) 

figures have hit an average of 11 

days across the 20 different sectors 

that we monitor. While this figure is 

still larger than we would ideally like, in the 

context of 2017 as a whole, it sits in the above 

average bracket. And better than average in 

the grand scheme, is not too bad at all. 

Let’s now take a closer look at the 

breakdown of the figures across both sectors 

and regions. 

INDUSTRY SECTOR 

This month, eight out of the 20 sectors either 

improved payment practices or remained 

the same. Of those, the front runner, by some 

distance, is the group of Home Businesses; 

so home-working SMEs, entrepreneurs and 

freelancers, of which there are 2.75million 

currently registered in the UK today. As 

we know, this group provides a significant 

contribution to the country’s economy 

and in many ways, the payment health of 

home-based businesses is a barometer for 

wider economic performance. Given that 

the sector has managed to bring down its 

payment terms by nearly a third from a little 

over 17 days to 12 days, we are hopefully 

seeing some welcome signs of improvement 

more broadly. 

The average/better than average trend 

comes into play from this point. The Water 

and Waste sector takes second place in 

our list of top performers after seeing the 

number of days beyond payment drop by a 

little under three days and falling to single 

figures in its overall DBT (nine days). In 

light of recent figures from the Consumer 

Council for Water, which indicated that 

customer complaints had risen by more than 

40,000 in the last year, it is good to hear that 

complaints are not extending to payment 

performance. 

There are seven other sectors that saw a 

marginal drop in DBT in the last month or 

remained completely static, including Mining, 

Financial and Insurance, Construction, 

Transport, Business Administration, Retail 

and Manufacturing sectors. A particular 

mention must be given to the Transport 

sector, which despite not seeing any change 

in performance, has maintained a twomonth 

stint in single figures and its lowest 

DBT score since 2014 when we started tracking 

this data. 

It was a less convincing (or below average) 

month for the Real Estate and Health sectors, 

which both shifted from single figure DBT 

scores with an increase of over three days. 

Interestingly, the Health sector had a similar 

DBT score this time last year (12), whereas 

the Real Estate sector payment performance 

is nearly 30 percent higher than this time 

last year. We shouldn’t, however, read too 

much into these comparisons as monthly 

fluctuations are inevitable and even more 

so in sectors such as Real Estate, where 

conditions are increasingly volatile. 

Sitting somewhat alone this month is the 

Professional and Scientific Services sector, 

which was by far the worst performing 

sector. With a score that rose by over nine 

days and the highest overall DBT score 

for the month, the industry stands at 17 

days. According to the latest ONS figures, 

jobs growth in scientific and technical 

employment has risen by 4.7 percent, 

placing it in the top three fastest growing 

sectors, behind the transport sector and 

matching the food services sector. However, 

job growth in a sector should not necessarily 

mean an increase in DBT score, so we will 

need to monitor for further adjustments in 

Q4, 2017 to see if the correlation between the 

trends continues. 

REGIONS 

Last month we were in the fortunate position 

of reporting that every region had registered 

a fall in payment term figures. The news this 

month is not quite so positive, but perhaps 

another full-house was a bit too ambitious. 

The lowest recorded score for the month 

comes from East Anglia, but it is Wales that 

claims the top spot on our best performers 

list, following a drop in payment days from 

13 to 11. The South West also registered 

one of the lowest DBT scores, but because 

it remained static or unchanged from the 

previous month, the region has not made it 

into the top performers list. 

While geographically the trend is one of 

little change and average scores, London has 

resisted and turned out a 38 percent increase 

in payment days, rising to well over 15 days. 

We haven’t seen a score this high from the 

Capital since the New Year when a DBT score 

over 16 days was recorded. We’ll have to wait 

and see if this is a blip or a more prolonged 

issue. 


PAYMENT TRENDS 

Sector 

Getting Better 

Business 

from Home 

-5.2 

Water & Waste 

-2.8 

Mining and 

Quarrying 

-1.1 

Financial and 

Insurance 

-0.8 

Construction 

-0.5 

Scotland 

11.5 DBT 

Getting Worse 

Professional 

and Scientific 

+9.4 

International 

Bodies 

+4.0 

Health & 

Social 

+3.8 

Real Estate 

+3.1 

Energy Supply 

+3.1 

Northern 

Ireland 

12.3 DBT 

Bottom Five Poorest Payers 

North West 

South West 

Sector 

1.1 

1.5 

2.2 

Wales 

11.5 DBT 

North West 

11.7 DBT 

Region 

0.0 

0.0 

Scotland 

South East 

Northern Ireland 

Top Five Prompter Payers 

Top Five Prompter Payers September 17 Change from August 17 

Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing 8.5 2.2 

Transportation and Storage 8.7 - 0.1 

Yorkshire Entertainment & 

8.9 1.0 

Humberside 

Water & Waste 9.0 -2.7 

10.6 Financial DBT and Insurance 9.3 -0.8 

West 

Midlands 

10.7 DBT 

East 

Midlands 

9.9 DBT 

London 

15.2 DBT 

East Anglia 8.4 

-1.0 

South West 8.5 0.0 

East Midlands 9.9 -0.9 

4.2 

Yorkshire London 

and Humberside 10.6 -0.5 

West Midlands 10.7 -0.4 

Getting Worse 

East Anglia 

8.4 DBT 

Sector 



There are seven other sectors 

that 

Region 

saw a marginal drop 

in DBT in the last month or 

remained completely static, 


including Mining, 

Business 

Financial 

from Home Water & Waste 

and Insurance, Wales 


Construction, 

-1.6 

-5.2 -2.8 

Transport, East Business Anglia -1.0 

Professional International 

Getting Worse 

Scientific 

Bodies 

Administration, East Midlands Retail -0.9and 

+9.4 +4.0 

Manufacturing Yorkshire & Humberside sectors. -0.5 

Bottom Five Poorest Payers September 17 Change f 

Professional and Scientific 17.7 9.4 

Public Administration 15.3 2.2 

Hospitality 14.5 2.1 

Energy Supply 13.7 3.0 

Mining and Quarrying 13.1 -1.1 

Business 

South EastMining and Financial and West Midlands -0.2 

from Home Water & Waste 

South West 

12.6 Quarrying Insurance Construction 

DBT 


Getting Better 8.5 -5.2 -2.8 -1.1 -0.8 

Region 

DBT 

North -0.5 West 0.0 

Wales -1.6 


South West 0.0 

Professional International Health & Top Five Prompter Real Estate Payers Energy Supply 

Getting Worse 

September 17 Change from August 17 

and Scientific 

Bodies 

Social 

East Anglia -1.0 

Agriculture, +3.1 Forestry & Fishing +3.1 8.5 2.2 

+9.4 +4.0 +3.8Transportation and Storage 

1.1 

8.7 

Scotland 

Scotland - 0.1 

East Midlands -0.9 

Entertainment 8.9 11.5 DBT 

1.0 

1.5 

Water & Waste 9.0 

South -2.7 East 

Yorkshire Getting & Better Humberside -0.5 

Financial and Insurance 9.3 -0.8 

Sector 

2.2 Northern Ireland 

Region September 17 Change West from Midlands August 17 -0.2 

Wales Top Five -1.6 Prompter Payers 


London 15.2 4.2 

4.2 London 

North West 0.0 

Top Five Prompter Payers September 17 Change from August 17 

South East 

East Anglia 

12.6 

-1.0 

1.5 

Agriculture, Forestry South & Fishing West 8.5 0.0 2.2 

Northern Ireland 12.3 Transportation 2.2and Storage 8.7 - 0.1 

Entertainment 8.9 1.0 

North West East Midlands 11.7 -0.9 0.0 

1.1 Scotland 

Water & Waste 9.0 -2.7 

Energy Supply 13.7 3.0 

Scotland 11.5 Financial and 1.1 Insurance 1.5 9.3 South -0.8 East 

Mining and Quarrying 13.1 -1.1 

Yorkshire & Humberside -0.5 

2.2 Northern Ireland 

West 


Midlands 

Wales 

West Midlands -0.2 

10.7 DBT 

4.2 London 

Getting Worse 


Region September 17 

Region 

Change from August 17 

Bottom Five Poorest Payers September 17 Change from August 17 

Getting Northern Worse 

Professional and Scientific Ireland 17.7 9.4 

12.3 DBT 

Public Administration 15.3 North 2.2 West Yorkshire & 

Hospitality 

Scotland 

14.5 11.7 Humberside 

DBT 

2.1 10.6 DBT 

11.5 DBT 

11.5 DBT 

Region September 17 Change from August 17 

East Anglia 8.4 

-1.0 

London 

15.2 DBT 

South West Northern 

8.5 0.0 

Ireland 

South West 

East Midlands 9.9 -0.98.5 DBT 

12.3 DBT 

Yorkshire and Humberside 10.6 North West-0.5 

Yorkshire & 

West Midlands 10.7 11.7 Humberside 

DBT -0.4 

10.6 DBT 


Region September 17 

East 

Change from August Midlands 17 

London 15.2 4.2 9.9 DBT 

South East 12.6 1.5West 

Midlands 

Northern Ireland 12.3 Wales 2.2 

10.7 DBT 

North West 11.7 11.5 DBT 

0.0 

Scotland 11.5 1.1 

London 

15.2 DBT 

South West 

8.5 DBT 

Mining and 

Quarrying 

-1.1 

Health & 

Social 

+3.8 

East 

Midlands 

9.9 DBT 

Financial a 

Insuranc 

-0.8 

Bottom 

Bottom Fiv 

Professio 

Public Ad 

Hospital 

Energy S 

Mining a 

Bottom 

East Anglia 

8.4 DBT 

Region 

London 

South East 

South E 

12.6 DBT 

Northe 

North W 

Scotlan 

East An 

8.4 D 

South Eas 

12.6 DBT

LEGAL MATTERS 

Why DWF? 

Neil Jinks, Client Development Director at DWF LLP, 

Corporate Legal Partner to CICM, explains why he chose 

to work for DWF and why he thinks credit professionals 

should choose DWF. 

M +44 (0)7740 179 515 E neil.jinks@dwf.law W www.dwf.law/recover 

DESCRIBED by market 

commentators as ‘blazing 

a trail’, DWF is an 

international law firm 

and one of the UK’s largest 

legal businesses with 

an award-winning reputation for client 

service excellence and effective operational 

management. 

DWF has officially been ranked in the 

Financial Times Most Innovative Lawyers 

Report as one of the top ten most innovative 

legal businesses in Europe. DWF has been 

independently ranked first of all top 20 law 

firms for the quality of its legal advice, and 

joint first of all national law firms for its 

service delivery and responsiveness. 

Working across the UK, Ireland, 

Germany, France, Brussels, Australia, 

Canada, USA, Singapore and Dubai, our 

talented people apply commercial and 

sector knowledge, make better use of 

technology, and listen and collaborate 

with clients to add more value to the legal 

advice we give. DWF recently announced 

the appointment of Sir Nigel Knowles as 

our new Chairman. 

Sir Nigel Knowles said: "DWF's approach 

is exciting and fresh, its focus has been and 

continues to be centred on its clients – and 

anyone who knows me understands that 

for me, it's all about the clients." 

PEOPLE 

DWF is a people business and employs 

around 2,800. The DWF Debt Recovery 

team is led by a team of four directors, all 

of whom are recommended in The Legal 

500 for debt recovery: 

"DWF’s ‘excellent’ team is led by David 

Scottow, who is valued for his knowledge 

in this area. James Perry has ‘an excellent 

understanding of civil litigation in the 

arena of debt recovery’ and Kevin Feehan 

‘goes the extra mile’. Neil Jinks is also 

recommended. The group acts for retailers, 

insurers, local authorities and water 

utilities companies." 

We train our people to understand the 

whole process rather than only dealing 

with one aspect of it. This is to ensure 

they appreciate the consequences of their 

actions and the likelihood of making a 

recovery in the fastest, most efficient and 

cost-effective way. 

CLIENTS 

Our clients range from FTSE 100 

multinational household names to private 

individuals, from both the public and 

private sector. We currently work with 18 

percent of the FTSE 100 and 32 percent of 

the FTSE 200. The DWF Recoveries team is 

currently servicing a growing client base 

of around 600 live clients. We work in close 

partnership with our clients and tailor our 

solutions to meet their requirements. 

We take time to understand clients' 

businesses; the issues they face and match 

them with the solutions we can provide. 

Working in close partnership means we 

are always aware of how they are feeling 

about things and what is keeping them 

awake at night. We adapt our approach to 

meet their requirements and to give them 

some peace of mind. 

Many of our clients have worked with 

us over a number of years, providing 

us with repeat business in a successful 

partnership, which is mutually beneficial. 

We also have a growing number of clients, 

with new clients regularly coming on 

board. 

SECTORS 

We operate across all sectors and are 

particularly focused on business-tobusiness 

debt although we do deal with 

consumer debt too. The benefit of this 

is that we build an understanding of the 

issues faced in each sector and tailor our 

approach to that particular sector and the 

way in which debtors respond. 

SYSTEMS 

Our case management system has been 

developed over many years to make it a 

leading-edge piece of kit, fine-tuned to 

client-specific requirements and to make 

our service as stream-lined as possible. 

We use the Claims Production Centre, 

which provides us with discounted Court 

fees, that we pass on to our clients as well 

as guaranteed turnaround times for issue 

and service of claims. In addition, we offer 

our clients access to our excellent online 

facility, which we believe to be the best in 

the marketplace. The system provides full 

transparency and real-time data, allowing 

clients to see everything we can see and 

even instruct us and audit us online. 

STRATEGIES 

One of the main things that attracted to me 

to DWF having experienced many other 

similar operations, was its appreciation 

that one size does not fit all. For example, 

the team applies the appropriate portfolio 

management strategies to ensure it 

achieves the best results in a timely 

manner. 

TECHNICAL 

Even when things become complicated 

due to the debtor disputing the debt 

either at the pre-legal stage, or by filing 

a defence after proceedings have been 

issued, we are geared up to deal with such 

matters more efficiently. Our Technical 

team focuses on early-stage resolution 

and cost-effective solutions. 

ONE STOP SHOP FOR DEBT 

RECOVERY 

Our package of services 'DWF Recover' 

provides you with a one stop shop for 

debt recovery, dealing with every aspect 

from front-end collections, through to 

debt litigation, enforcement, insolvency 

proceedings, disputed matters, providing 

consultancy services as well as a whole 

range of ancillary services all under one 

roof. Our compliant and ethical approach 

to debt recovery and reputational risk 

management is applied across all that we 

do for our clients. 

AS A CICM MEMBER YOU CAN RECEIVE FREE LEGAL ADVICE FROM DWF 

VISIT THE CICM WEBSITE AND CLICK ON THE FREE ADVICE LINE 


THE 

CREDIT CONTROL 

RECRUITMENT 

SPECIALISTS 

www.portfoliocreditcontrol.com 

As a market leading credit control recruitment 

specialist, we are proud to have supported the 

credit control sector since 2008, providing unrivalled 

market knowledge and expertise. We provide a 

comprehensive and highly tailored service across 

permanent, contract and temporary recruitment. 

Our highly experienced recruitment consultants match 

the highest calibreindividuals with the most progressive 

opportunities across the credit control profession. 

We recruit into all industry sectors, with clients ranging 

from FTSE100 to SMEs, as well as providing coverage 

to the whole of the UK. 

WE ARE 

AN AWARD WINNING 

RECRUITMENT AGENCY 

An award winning recruitment agency, having won 

places on The Sunday Times 100 Best Small Companies 

to Work For,The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 and The 

Recruiter Hot 100. 

ROLES WE RECRUIT FOR: 

CREDIT CONTROLLER 

PROVIDING SALARY 

BENCHMARKING FOR THE 

INDUSTRY SINCE 2008 

SENIOR CREDIT CONTROLLER 

CREDIT MANAGER 

HEAD OF CREDIT CONTROL 

CREDIT AND BILLING MANAGER 

COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT 

COLLECTIONS MANAGER 

PERFECTLY PLACED TO 

SUPPORTYOUR NEXT 

RECRUITMENT PROCESS 

SALES LEDGER/ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE 

CREDIT ANALYST 

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 020 7650 3199 or contact us at 

recruitment@portfoliocreditcontrol.com. 

We look forward toworking with you. 

020 7650 3199 

www.portfoliocreditcontrol.com 


OPINION 

NEVER 

PAY 

LATER 

Derek Scott reflects on his experiences presenting to 

business professionals, Rotary Clubs, and local Ladies 

Groups on his life in credit management. 

I 

have now passed the 100-mark 

with my ‘never pay later’ talks. 

I have spoken to groups ranging 

from 20 to nearly 200, so if I take 

a moderate average audience 

of 30, I have now presented the 

facts about our profession, including the 

work of the Chartered Institute, to over 

3,000 people. 

These have been my attempt to explain 

the world of real credit management to 

people outside of our profession, and 

whose view is often tarnished by what 

they read in the press! 

Certain undercover TV programmes 

on certain debt collection companies, 

for example, have served to portray us 

as though we are still a group of hobnail 

boot ruffians who will use any method to 

collect money. 

This same audience appear to believe 

we have very few scruples and little 

sense of what constitutes right or wrong 

conduct. Our main problem is that too 

many people read the more popular press 

– the ‘red tops’ – who enjoy publishing 

negative stories, and the positive news 

that appears in the more more ‘up-market’ 

press does not get the recognition it 

deserves. 

Like most things in life, this journey 

started by chance. I met a gentleman 

from down my road late one evening, 

who like myself was walking back home 

having had to leave his car two roads away 

due to the problems in the area with 

parking. He turned out to be a Rotarian 

AUTHOR – Derek Scott FCICM 

and asked if I would like to attend a 

meeting. The outcome was that I joined 

his club! 

It is regrettable that the Rotary Club, 

rather like our own profession, is very 

unfairly portrayed in the media. Members 

are considered as boring, but the 

charitable work this organisation carries 

out is outstanding, and, as I found out, 

in many ways very rewarding. It would 

take several pages to list all the projects I 

became involved with. 

TALK IS CHEAP 

One talk I was asked to undertake was 

a ‘job talk’ and thus the ‘never pay later’ 

presentation was born, and initially 

it seemed to go quite well. Rotarians 

exchanged names of speakers they 

consider good (and probably cheap) and 

I suddenly found myself in demand to 

speak at other clubs in London and the 

Home Counties. 

As I was still involved in running 

my credit management consultancy, it 

limited how many I could undertake, but 

then I had my first stab at retirement and 

moved to the South Coast. 

Here these presentations really took 

off as having joined a new Rotary Club, 

not only was I speaking at other clubs, but 

soon also at Inner Wheels, the WI, and 

other organisations – including a church 

group. This last one I remember very well 

as nearly 200 people showed up and there 

was almost two hours of questions. One 

of the questions I was asked was: ‘what 

did I think of Robert Maxwell jumping 

overboard from his yacht?’ It was not an 

easy one to answer. 

My speaking slots took me all over 

the South, including one presentation 

I remember well in Guildford when I 

bumped into one of the senior partners 

of the firm of Chartered Accountants who 

were my first employers! The partner was 

certainly amazed that this ‘office boy from 

hell’ as he called me was now a successful 

speaker. Fortunately, he did tell me he 

had enjoyed my talk. 

At this time, there were, I suppose, 

what you would call ‘spin offs’. I was asked 

if I did any other presentations, and soon 

found myself talking about a particular 

passion of mine, paper weights. I then 

started to receive requests from ladies 

groups who wanted an hour, and not my 

usual 30 minutes, to undertake double 

handers. So, I would spend my usual 

time on ‘never pay later’, and then follow 

with tea and biscuits and usually paper 

weights. Maybe it was a question of 

economics! 

This led to some interesting encounters 

at one WI meeting. Having answered 

the questions on credit management and 

had my break, the president announced 

that I would speak about weights, 

and then comment on all those that 

members had brought along. As I am 

a collector and not an expert, it was a 

good job I had long learned from my 

credit seminars how to speak ‘off the 

cuff’. 


OPINION 

AUTHOR – DEREK SCOTT 

‘‘I enjoyed both talks. 

Did you know you have 

the biggest aura I have 

ever seen?’’ 

LADY’S NIGHT 

On another occasion at a ladies group in 

Hove, having finished my double hander, 

a lady came up as I was packing my paper 

weights away and said ‘I enjoyed both 

talks. Did you know you have the biggest 

aura I have ever seen?’ That caused some 

concern as you no doubt will appreciate! 

‘Also does the name George mean anything 

to you? Only a man called George was 

standing next to you all the time smiling 

and nodding’. I quickly made a rapid exit! 

I then branched out and started to 

be the guest speaker at dinners and 

banquets. One of the advantages was I 

could use more of my risqué anecdotes, 

although modesty and discretion prevents 

me from repeating them here. Suffice to 

say it involved Jock McTavish and the sex 

encyclopedia and we’ll leave it at that! 

In retirement, I moved to France 

but found that my French audience had 

different views on what they considered 

to be funny, and I was pleased to return 

to the UK and a more receptive audience 

in the villages of North Norfolk where you 

quickly learn in winter that a torch is an 

important part of your equipment if you 

want to find your car. 

From my many talks, the topics 

people are most interested in is how we 

undertake a credit assessment, what, for 

instance, is the real meaning behind the 

wording of a ‘bank reference’, the pros 

and cons of credit reference agencies, 

and the difference between bankruptcy 

and liquidation. 

I hope, in turn, that my audiences 

learn that the way we collect cash is not 

how it is portrayed in the media, and 

the important part that is played by our 

profession in relation to business and 

their lives. I hope also that they recognise 

the work of the CICM in respect of raising 

the standards of credit management and 

in promoting both the standing and image 

of the profession to the wider public. 

GUARANTEED LOANS 

I am asked many types of questions, 

but one which sadly has come up quite 

I hope also that they 

recognise the work of 

the CICM in respect of 

raising the standards 

of credit management 

and in promoting both 

the standing and image 

of the profession to the 

wider public. 

regularly, in general from more elderly 

ladies, concerns guaranteed loans. They 

have acted as a guarantor for a loan to a 

relative without really understanding the 

problems they will face when the person 

does not honour their financial obligations. 

They are often in fear of losing their 

homes when loan companies or banks are 

after them to pay quite often substantial 

amounts. I give what advice I can, but urge 

my audience to keep well away from acting 

as a guarantor as while they maybe kith 

and kin, things do go wrong. 

•All fees Derek has earned from his talk 

have gone to charity and to date he has 

raised more than £30,000 for good causes. 


ASK THE EXPERTS 

Brendan Clarkson 

considers how creditors 

should work with insolvency 

practitioners to ensure the 

best result for all parties. 

AUTHOR – Brendan Clarkson, Head of National Creditor Services at Moore Stephens 

IT goes without saying that 

insolvency practitioners (IPs) will 

try to engage with all creditors 

concerned in an insolvency case. 

They understand a creditor’s 

need for timely and accurate 

information, but what, as a creditor, can 

you do to ensure a faster and more positive 

response from the IPs you’re working with? 

Based on our experience as a top ten 

accountancy and advisory firm, and 

having worked with a large number of 

credit managers on a wide range of cases, 

these would be my five tips to ensure the 

best possible result for all parties: 

1. Be prepared to prove you’re a creditor 

– depending what you’re asking for, an 

IP may not be able to provide you with 

information unless you can prove that 

you are entitled to it. Save time and any 

potential frustration by making sure you 

have any evidence ready. 

2. Read all available information – read the 

reports the IP has already made available to 

creditors thoroughly. This is more efficient 

all round and demonstrates you have a real 

interest in the outcome. 

3. Share your own insight – give the IP 

any information you can regarding your 

dealings with the company and any 

misgivings that you have about it to help 

with the IP’s investigations. Don’t assume 

the IP will know everything you know 

about the company. You may have insight 

from experience or conversations with 

other creditors that could be of significant 

help. 

4. Be reasonably patient – an IP may 

not have the information that you’re 

requesting immediately to hand. If the IP 

isn’t able to give you the information you 

have asked for straight away, ask them to 

provide a reasonable timeframe in which 

you can expect a response. 

5. Take the emotion out of your 

communication – remember that, by and 

large, an IP must consider all creditors 

generally and can’t focus on your 

individual circumstances, no matter how 

much you would like this to happen! 

Insolvency situations can be 

stressful for creditors. Experienced IPs 

understand this and will not be surprised 

if emotions run high at times. But in our 

experience, the more calm and collected 

all participants can be, the better. 

This enables the IP to focus on their 

professional responsibilities and helps to 

ensure that the decisions taken will bring 

the best overall result for creditors as a 

whole. 

For further information, please contact 

Brendan Clarkson, Head of National 

Creditor Services, at Moore Stephens at 

brendan.clarkson@moorestephens.com. 

Insolvency situations 

can be stressful for 

creditors. Experienced 

IPs understand this and 

will not be surprised 

if emotions run high 

at times. But in our 

experience, the more 

calm and collected all 

participants can be, the 

better. 


Don't miss this essential 

legal update if you work in 

credit and collections 

CICM Law Conference 2017 

Thursday 30 November 

DWF LLP, The Walkie Talkie Building, 

20 Fenchurch St, London, EC3M 3AG. 

Reduced 

price for 

CICM 

members! 

The 2017 CICM Law Conference will be chaired and hosted by Corporate Partner DWF 

LLP in London’s iconic Walkie Talkie building. This essential legal update will feature 

high profile speakers from leading law firms, insolvency firms and credit industry 

professionals, who will explain how the legal and regulatory landscape has changed over 

the last 12 months and how the changes impact those working in the credit industry. 

Price for CICM Members £110.00+VAT / Non Members £225.00+VAT 

09.30 – Coffee and registration 

PROGRAMME 

10.00 – Welcome 

David Scottow FCICM, Senior Director, DWF LLP 

10.05 – Pre Action Protocol [PAP] – 2 months in… 

Jeffersen Gledhill, Legal Recoveries & Operations Manager, DWF LLP 

10.45 – Mock Trial involving Debt PAP regime 

Michael Javaherian, Head of Client Relations & Operations, LPC Law 

11.30 – Scottish Recoveries – The new simple procedure 

Susan McGinlay, Lead Paralegal, DWF LLP 

12.15 – Lunch and Networking 

13.00 – Lord Justice Jackson's proposed fixed-costs regime 

James Perry, Director Technical Litigation, Recoveries, DWF LLP 

13.30 – Update on GDPR 

John Benjamin, Partner, DWF LLP 

14:00 – Insolvency Update 

Jeremy Willmont, Head of Restructuring and Insolvency, 

Moore Stephens UK 

14:30 – Q & A – Speakers forum 

15.00 – Close 

Visit our website to book 

your place www.cicm.com

EDUCATION 

Utilities Sector - 

Recipe for Success 

A collections programme developed specifically for the Utilities sector 

that can be tailored further to focus on particular areas, e.g. Water. 

CICM trainers, who are experts in their field, deliver this highly interactive 

programme using a coaching system to give the opportunity to practice techniques 

and improve skills. 

Understanding Collections in the Utility World 

• Understanding collection philosophy in the 

utility world 

• Compliance and best practice when 

collecting utility debts 

• Recognising typical types of defaulters 

• Spotting and dealing with vulnerability 

• How utility customers prioritise their debts 

• Qualities needed for collections 

• Telephone collecting coaching – an 

outbound call structure 

• Interpersonal skills for telephone 

collections 

• Negotiations in collections 

• Coaching - identifying customer types and 

negotiating best outcomes 

• Being and staying assertive when talking 

with customers 

• Using influencing factors when collecting 

arrears 

• The legal consequence of non-payment 

• Handling difficult calls 

• Coaching – putting the theory into 

practice 

• Collection tips – over the telephone 

Give your collections team a boost! 

Contact the CICM In-company Training Adviser to discuss tailoring 

the programme for your team and arranging a date. 

Contact: E: training@cicm.com T: 01780 722907 


EDUCATION 

Train to Gain 

UNITED UTILITIES PLC 

The two-day collections training programme has been a successful start to United 

Utilities' corporate membership journey with CICM. CICM expert trainers, Cliff Poole 

and Jon Kirwin, tailored the training specifically for the income management team. 

The team has also opted to complete CICM assignments related to the training. 

On successful assessment they will achieve CICM Awards in Debt Collection. 

from Kelly Walker Collections Manager – Domestic Retail 

All of us thoroughly enjoyed the training. There were lots of call role plays and listening to our own 

voices! It was great to have all managers from both Whitehaven and Lingley in one place. We have all 

brought back to the business lots of new skills, knowledge and an even greater enthusiasm for collecting 

our debt. We are all eagerly awaiting our first assignment details.” 

Don’t leave it too late – 

‘‘Feedback 

use your budget! 

CICM in-company training helps your credit 

and collections team achieve targets 

Visit www.cicm.com to view CICM 

training directory for example 

programmes, covering all areas of credit. 

Our expert trainers tailor training to 

focus on key areas for your team and 

Please contact the CICM Training Adviser 

to discuss your requirements: 

E: training@cicm.com T: 01780 722907 

sector. Delivery can be arranged at your 

office at a convenient time for you. 

Dates are also available for open training 

in central London for a selection of 

standard programmes. 


EDUCATION 

A Touch of Class 

As the latest CICM members qualify and a new cohort 

starts, Debbie Tuckwood, CICM Head of Education and 

Professional, warns against trying to short cut the 

learning experience. 

WITH CICM qualifications 

being the recognised 

standard for 

credit management, 

few would question 

employers aiming to 

qualify their credit controllers and collectors 

as quickly as possible. Most would also 

understand an interest in reducing tuition 

fees. 

Debbie warns though against short cutting 

the learning experience. “Do you remember 

your teachers? Most people can 

and many have made lifelong friends while 

studying. Although some learners may be 

happy studying by distance learning, they 

miss out on the interaction with their peers 

and teacher. People generally learn better 

from each other. 

“Just as CICM membership brings studying 

members in contact with a wealth of 

expertise, a classroom environment, be 

it face-to-face or virtual, gives access to 

years of collective experience often from 

multiple business environments, while 

discussions between learners contextualises 

concepts and deepens knowledge and 

understanding. Learners are more likely 

to become emotionally invested in their 

learning and the level and intensity of their 

learning soars.” 

Recent CICM examination results support 

this viewpoint. Learners studying at 

college or through a virtual class are three 

times more likely to pass CICM qualifications 

than learners who have studied by 

distance learning. They are also more likely 

to gain a good pass grade and progress 

their studies to the stage when they enter 

an exam or assignment for assessment. 

Debbie is not surprised by the results. 

“CICM qualification programmes are demanding 

so investment in high quality tuition 

delivers a large return in terms of skills 

growth, confidence and progression. This 

is very different to a quick e-learning module 

or recorded webinar which you might 

access to improve a particular skill, or keep 

up-to-date with a new regulation. 

“Only a few, highly motivated and 

self-sufficient learners seem to cope with 

long programmes of study by unsupported 

distance learning. So, next time you are 

being persuaded to economise on qualification 

course fees, don’t forget your own 

experience and make a case for studying 

regularly in a group.” 

Classes start with a range of learning 

providers for CICM Level 3 and Level 5 Diploma 

programmes in January. Places are 

filling up fast for CICM’s popular virtual 

classes and therefore early booking is recommended 

to avoid disappointment. Find 

out more about study options on the CICM 

website, or email professionalqualifications@cicm.com 

to discuss your individual 

requirements. 

CICM qualification 

programmes are 

demanding so 

investment in high 

quality tuition delivers a 

large return in terms of 

skills growth, confidence 

and progression. 


THE 2017 CICM 

TURNER 

LECTURE 

Friday 17 November 

You are invited to the 2017 Turner Lecture, an interactive debate/question and answer session 

focusing primarily on the “The Varied Aspects of Credit Management". Panel members include Mark 

Preston of Dun & Bradstreet, Simon Marshall of Co-Pilot, Adrian Dante of MHA McIntyre Hudson and 

Mike Watson of Funding Business. This event is free of charge to all CICM Members. 

Additionally, after the event, you are invited to join us for dinner, also being held at the Law Society. 

Ticket prices for the dinner are £59.50+VAT 

For more information, please contact Richard Seadon at Richards@tgbaynes.com, 

or to book your place, please visit www.cicm.com/events. 

CICM MEMBER 

EXCLUSIVE 

Your CICM lapel badge demonstrates your 

commitment to professionalism and best practice 

TAKE PRIDE IN 

WEARING YOUR BADGE 

If you haven’t received your badge 

E: cicmmembership@cicm.com 


HR MATTERS 

Psychiatric injury and 

compensation 

Gareth Edwards examines cases of psychiatric 

injury and compensation, voluntary overtime and 

holiday pay. 

AUTHOR – Gareth Edwards is a partner in the employment team at Veale Wasbrough Vizards. gedwards@vwv.co.uk 

EMPLOYEE claims for 

psychiatric injury can expose 

employers to potentially high 

levels of compensation. A 

recent case – BAE Systems 

(Operations) v Konczak – 

has confirmed the approach that should 

be taken by tribunals and courts when 

assessing compensation and emphasised 

the need for medical evidence. 

During her employment, Ms Konczak 

alleged that she was being subjected to 

bullying and harassment, and she was 

subsequently moved to a new team at a 

different location. 

When Konczak’s line manager, Mr 

Dent, suggested at a meeting that she 

should move back to her previous team in 

a different role, she broke down in tears. 

Following this meeting Dent suggested to 

Konczak that women took things in a more 

emotional way than men. Konczak was 

subsequently signed off with work-related 

stress and was eventually dismissed. 

She brought various claims in the 

Employment Tribunal (ET). The ET upheld 

her sex discrimination claim in respect 

of Dent's comment, and found there 

had been a failure to make reasonable 

adjustments, and her dismissal had been 

unfair, discriminatory and had amounted 

to victimisation. 

She was awarded £318,629.66 

compensation for pecuniary loss. BAE 

appealed against this decision on the 

grounds that the ET had failed to consider 

the extent to which events prior to the 

meeting had caused or contributed to 

Konczak’s mental state. 

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) 

remitted the case to the ET, which held that 

the psychiatric injury was indivisible. After 

having their appeal dismissed by the EAT, 

BAE appealed to the Court of Appeal (CA). 

The CA dismissed BAE's appeal. It 

agreed with the ET’s view that Konczak had 

not been suffering with a mental illness up 

until the meeting with her line manager. 

However, the sexist remarks had been the 

'final straw' that caused her to become 

mentally ill. On this basis, the ET had been 

right to reject BAE’s argument that the 

compensation should be apportioned due 

to a pre-existing illness. 

Voluntary overtime and holiday pay 

THERE have been a number of cases over 

the years concerning holiday pay, but one 

area that’s not been settled is whether 

genuinely voluntary overtime forms part 

of a worker's 'normal remuneration'? In 

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council v 

Willetts the Employment Appeal Tribunal 

(EAT) has determined that it can. 

Traditionally, holiday pay in the UK 

has been calculated by reference to 

complicated statutory provisions that 

determine what a week's pay should be. 

In particular, a week's pay for those with 

normal working hours has focused on 

their basic pay, excluding commission, 

bonus, overtime and allowances. 

This approach does not fit with the 

requirements set out in Article 7 of 

the Working Time Directive that says 

workers must be paid their 'normal 

remuneration' while on holiday – which 

might well include commission, bonuses. 

in addition to basic pay. As a result, the 

UK's traditional approach has been 

challenged. 

It should be noted that the challenge 

relates to the four weeks' holiday required 

For each worker or 

group, employers should 

identify whether their 

working patterns are 

sufficiently settled or 

regular to be described as 

'normal'. 

under European legislation. The extra 1.6 

weeks' holiday the UK Government grants 

in our domestic law can still be paid in the 

traditional way if employers so choose. 

Past cases have stressed the need for a 

link between overtime payments and the 

tasks the worker ‘is required to carry out 

under his or her contract of employment’. 

This left open the possibility that genuinely 

voluntary overtime would fall outside the 

scope of holiday pay altogether because 

of a lack of any contractual requirement 

to carry out the work. 

The EAT decided that if voluntary 

overtime is worked for a sufficient period 

of time on a regular and/or recurring 

basis so as to justify the description as 

'normal', it should be taken into account 

when calculating holiday pay. When 

considering the issue of what is 'normal', 

the judgment refers to working patterns 

being 'sufficiently regular' and 'settled'. 

On the facts in the Dudley case, pay 

and call-out allowances received for 

regularly working an overtime rota one 

week in four or one week in five were 

considered normal remuneration, as was 

additional voluntary overtime that was 

not unusual or rare, but regular. 

Going forward, employers should 

identify any workers or groups of workers 

who have normal working hours in their 

contract, but whose pay varies on account 

of overtime, allowances or commission. 

For each worker or group, employers 

should identify whether their working 

patterns are sufficiently settled or regular 

to be described as 'normal'. If so, consider 

if their holiday pay reflects their basic 

pay, or the normal remuneration they 

receive. 


OPINION 

Five best ways to 

prepare for an interview 

Refining your CV in order to secure an interview is the 

first crucial stage of finding a new job. Karen Young gives 

five of the best ways to prepare for interview success. 

AUTHOR – Karen Young – Director at Hays 

Karen Young 

Researching a 

company isn’t 

about standing out 

anymore, you need 

to demonstrate that 

you’ve also thought 

about how they do 

business, and how 

you may be able 

to impact their 

organisation. 

PREPARATION is key in making 

a good first impression and 

researching the company 

or organisation you are 

interviewing for should be 

your initial preparation step. 

Researching a company isn’t about standing 

out anymore, you need to demonstrate 

that you’ve also thought about how they do 

business, and how you may be able to impact 

their organisation. 

Start by looking at the company’s website 

where you’ll find further details, news and 

insight into its culture, recent project and 

accolades. You can also look at their social 

media feeds such as a LinkedIn company page 

– it is also wise to look at the LinkedIn profile 

of your interviewer so you can find out about 

their career history too. 

You should also make time to understand 

the organisation’s products or services and 

its objectives, and find out who the main 

competitors are in the market. Finally, their 

website will also have information about the 

organisation’s values or mission statement, 

which in turn will help you decide if it is a 

company culture you would like to work for. 

UPDATE SOCIAL PROFILES 

Although your interviewer will know about 

your career history, skills and achievements 

from reading your CV, it’s likely they will also 

look you up on social media to see how you 

compare. Make sure your LinkedIn profile 

matches your CV, and if they connect with 

you on LinkedIn it’s always wise to be sharing 

professional relevant news or market insights 

that are relevant to your role. 

For other social networks, such as Facebook, 

make sure you do a quick check of the privacy 

settings. The best advice is if there is anything 

you don’t want a new employer to see, hide 

your profile or make it private to avoid them 

getting the wrong impression of you. 

KNOW YOUR MARKET 

For any professional working in credit you 

should have a good grasp of the market and the 

profession at present. Make sure you keep upto-date 

with relevant industry news by reading 

trade publications, as well as keeping on top of 

finance and economics news. 

Equally, you may be interviewing for a company 

within an industry you were previously 

not familiar with. While the interviewer won’t 

expect you to know everything about their industry, 

you’ll really impress if you are aware of 

the specific challenges they may face, or who 

their competitors are. 

PREPARE YOUR QUESTIONS 

You’ll naturally have questions about the role, 

and if you have conducted thorough research 

of the company, this may create questions 

too. Make sure you have a think about what 

questions you would like to be answered, also 

bear in mind how they might come across. 

For example, if you’re only question at the 

end of the interview is ‘when will I get paid’, 

this won’t impress your interviewer. Instead, 

you need to demonstrate genuine interest and 

show you are inquisitive. An example would be 

‘I saw on your website that you have recently 

changed the structure of your finance team. 

Would you be able to explain some more about 

this, and how the credit management function 

works with the business?’ 

PRACTISE, PRACTISE, PRACTISE 

You will have recently updated your CV, but 

make sure you are truly familiar with it to avoid 

the interviewer asking about something you 

haven’t thought about. Also, if you have had 

any career gaps or weren’t in a previous role 

for long, be ready to address these questions. 

Once you’re confident you can talk about 

your skills and experience, practise your 

responses with a friend or record yourself to 

hear how you come across. You want to make 

sure you are bringing your CV to life and that 

you can really convey your experience to the 

hirer. 

Taking these steps will ensure that you are 

fully prepared for your interview, and have a 

better chance of success in securing the job 

you want. 


MEET THE PARTNERS 

THEY'RE WAITING TO TALK TO YOU... 

For further information and to discuss the opportunities of entering into a Corporate 

Partnership with the CICM, contact Peter Collinson, Director of Business Development 

and Marketing on 01780 727273 or email peter.collinson@cicm.com 

Hays Credit Management is the award winning national specialist 

division of Hays Recruitment, dedicated exclusively to the recruitment 

of credit management professionals in the public and private 

sectors. Whether you are looking to further your career in credit 

management, strengthen your existing team, or would simply like an 

overview of the market, it pays to speak to the market leaders. 

www.hays.co.uk 

HighRadius is the leading provider of Integrated 

Receivables solutions for automating credit, collections, 

cash allocation, deductions and eBilling operations. 

The solutions are delivered as a software-as-a-service 

(SaaS) or as SAP-certified Accelerators for SAP 

Finance Receivables Management. With a track record 

of reducing days sales outstanding (DSO), bad-debt 

and increasing operational efficiency, HighRadius 

solutions help teams achieve payback within a year. 

www.highradius.com 

We offer the most powerful comparable data 

resource on private companies. 

We capture and treat private company 

information for better decision making and 

increased efficiency, so we’re ideally suited to help 

credit professionals. 

Orbis, our global company database has 

information on 250 million companies, and offers: 

Standardised financials 

Financial strength metrics 

Extensive corporate structures 

www.bvdinfo.com 

Sanders Consulting is a niche consulting firm 

specialising in improving Credit Management 

Leadership & Performance for our clients. 

We provide people and process focussed 

pragmatic solutions, consultancy, strategy days and 

performance improvement workshops and we 

are proud to manage and develop the CICMQ 

Programme and the Best Practice Network on 

behalf of the CICM. For more information please 

contact: enquiries @chrissandersconsulting.com. 

www.chrissandersconsulting.com 

Key IVR provide a suite of products to 

assist companies across Europe with credit 

management. The service gives the end-user 

the means to make a payment when and 

how they choose. Key IVR also provides a 

state-of-the-art outbound platform delivering 

automated messages by voice and SMS. In a 

credit management environment, these services 

are used to cost-effectively contact debtors and 

connect them back into a contact centre or 

automated payment line. 

www.keyivr.co.uk 

CreditForce by Innovation Software is the leading 

Collections and Working Capital Management 

Systems used globally in over 26 countries and by 

over 20 percent of the Top 100 Global Law Firms. 

Our systems improve cash flow, reduce DSO, 

automate cash allocation, control risk, automatically 

generate intelligent workflows and tasks, speed up 

query resolution and manage the entire end-toend 

collections cycle. Fully integrated with over 40 

leading ERP and Accounting systems and delivered 

locally or through Microsoft-Azure’s secure cloud 

solutions. 

www.creditforceglobal.com 

American Express is a globally recognised provider 

of payment solutions to the business sector 

offering flexible collection capabilities to meet 

company cashflow objectives across a range of 

industries. Whether you are looking to accelerate 

cashflow, create a competitive advantage to drive 

business or looking to support your customers 

in their growth American Express can tailor a 

solution to support your needs. 

www.americanexpress.com 

Credica are a UK based developer of specialist 

Credit and Dispute Management software. We 

have been successfully implementing our software 

for over 15 years and have delivered significant 

ROI for our diverse portfolio of customers. We 

provide a highly configurable system which enables 

our clients to gain complete control over their 

debtors and to easily communicate disputes with 

anyone in their organisation. 

www.credica.co.uk 


Proud supporters 

of CICMQ 

With over 90 years’ experience, we have an 

in-depth understanding of the importance of 

maintaining customer relationships whilst efficiently 

and effectively collecting monies owed, we deliver 

when it comes to collecting outstanding debts. 

Our Client focus is reflected in the customer 

relationships. Structuring our service to meet your 

specific needs, providing a collection strategy that 

echoes your business character, trading patterns 

and budget. 

www.atradiuscollections.com/uk/ 

Graydon UK provides its clients with Credit 

Risk Management and Intelligence information 

on over 100 million entities across more than 

190 countries. It provides economic, financial 

and commercial insights that help its customers 

make better decisions. Leading credit insurance 

organisations, Atradius, Coface and Euler Hermes, 

own Graydon. It offers its seamless service 

through a worldwide network of offices and 

partners. 

www.graydon.co.uk 

Rimilia provides award winning Cash Application 

& Cash Allocation software products that deliver 

industry leading tangible benefits like no other. 

Having products that really do what they say 

is paramount – add to that a responsive and 

friendly team that are focused on new and 

ongoing benefit realisation and you have the 

foundations for successful long term business 

relationships. 

www.rimilia.com 

Safe’s Credit Control module manages the entire 

credit lifecycle, from credit checking through to 

cash collection and beyond, providing detailed 

analysis of performance. Safe’s single, intuitive and 

easy-to-use application seamlessly brings together 

the necessary data and tools you require to 

achieve your objective of creating a profit centre 

culture within your credit control function. 

www.safe-financials.co.uk 

Dun & Bradstreet grows the most valuable 

relationships in business. Whether your customer 

portfolio spans a city, a country or the globe, Dun 

& Bradstreet delivers the data, analytics and insight 

to grow your most profitable relationships and 

obtain a global, unified view of your customer 

relationships across credit and collections. 

www.dnb.co.uk 

Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ: EPAY) helps 

businesses pay and get paid. Businesses and banks 

rely on Bottomline for domestic and international 

payments, effective cash management tools, 

automated workflows for payment processing 

and bill review and state of the art fraud 

detection, behavioural analytics and regulatory 

compliance. Every day, we help our customers by 

making complex business payments simple, secure 

and seamless. 

www.bottomline.com/uk 

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. 

www.datainterconnect.com 

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. 

www.dwf.law/recover 

Tinubu Square is a trusted source of trade 

credit intelligence for credit insurers and for 

corporate customers. The company’s B2B 

Credit Risk Intelligence solutions include the 

Tinubu Risk Management Center, a cloud-based 

SaaS platform; the Tinubu Credit Intelligence 

service and the Tinubu Risk Analyst advisory 

service. Over 250 companies rely on Tinubu 

Square to protect their greatest assets: customer 

receivables. 

www.tinubu.com 

Moore Stephens is a top ten accounting and 

advisory network. Our national creditor services 

team has expert insights in debt recovery. This, 

combined with unparalleled industry and sector 

knowledge, enables our team to assist creditors in 

recovering outstanding debts. 

www.moorestephens.co.uk 

Organisations around the world rely on Company 

Watch’s industry-leading financial analytics to drive 

their credit risk processes. Our financial risk 

modelling and ability to map medium to long-term 

risk as well as short-term credit risk set us apart 

from other credit reference agencies. With our 

unique H-Score® predicting almost 90 percent 

of corporate insolvencies in advance, it is the risk 

management tool of choice, providing actionable 

intelligence in an uncertain world. 

www.companywatch.net 



AWARDING BODY 

CONGRATULATIONS 

Congratulations to all of the following, who successfully 

achieved Diplomas in Credit Management. 

LEVEL 3 DIPLOMA IN CREDIT MANAGEMENT (ACICM) 

NAME COMPANY LOCATION 

Lyndse Heron Axa Bolton 

Gemma Nicholls BCA Partners Finance Camberley 

Paul Palmer Informa Colchester 

Matthew White Informa Colchester 

James Burkinshaw Jewsons Coventry 

Christina Cotterill Jewsons Coventry 

Michelle Symonds Jewsons Coventry 

Jonathan Amphlett JDA Software Bracknell 

Maria Vanesa Asuncion Marquez WGSN Ltd London 

Amy Bolland BE Fuelcards Leeds 

Andrew Brooks Local World Leicester 

Louise Cornmell UK Fuels Ltd Crewe 

Louise Day 

Lee Denton 

Grimsby 

Christine Fitzhugh MITIE Security Milton Keynes 

Dennis Gibbs Euromonitor International London 

Cheryl Grieve Pertemps Coventry 

Liam Hackett Carpet & Flooring Ltd Redditch 

Chris Hales Trinity Mirror Leicester 

James Holland VOA Europe Ltd Sheffield 

Aneta Krupska Hyster-Yale Group Camberley 

Sean Larkin 

Hove 

Vikesh Madlani Trinity Mirror Leicester 

Thomas Maund WEX Europe Services Ltd Crewe 

Isaac Mireku Harley Davidson Europe Ltd Oxford 

Donna Mortimer 

Wells 

Evgenia Nesterova Boart Longyear LLC Moscow 

Sherelle Senior Right Fuelcard Company Leeds 

Joanne Shenton UK Fuels Ltd Crewe 

Nicole Stone MWUK T/A Alexandra Bristol 

Simran Stoneman 

Bicester 

Terri-Louise Taylor Cooper Lomaz Recruitment Bury St Edmunds 

Prosper Tendai Uzande Tungsten Network Ltd London 

Jacco Versteeg Radius Payment Solutions Crewe 

Claire Daniel Jewsons Coventry 

Claire Wardle Jewsons Coventry 

Johanna Carr-Neal Pricewaterhousecoopers Southampton 

Aiden Collins Newbury Investments (UK) Ltd Newbury 

Diane Finister Tenet Group Ltd Leeds 

Rebecca Fitchie-Andrews Brake Bros. Ltd Ashford 

Sharon Mcmillan Spandex Plc Bristol 

Jonathon Morton Brake Bros. Ltd Ashford 

Daniel Pickering Nationwide Building Society Swindon 

Claire Seaton Myunidays Limited Nottingham 

Laura Stainburn Salus Controls plc Barnsley 

Victoria Taala SG Gaming Oldham 

Sarah Teixeira RPS Group Abingdon 

LEVEL 3 DIPLOMA IN MONEY AND DEBT ADVICE (ACICM) 


Richard Izzard Step Change Leeds 

Darryl Powell 

Chester 

Coleen Souter-Payne 

Cardiff 

Rachel Alsop Bridgewater Support Solutions Ltd Manchester 

LEVEL 4 DIPLOMA IN HIGH COURT ENFORCEMENT 


James Quigley Marston Group Ltd Birmingham 

LEVEL 5 DIPLOMA IN CREDIT MANAGEMENT (MCICM GRAD) 


Wendy Baxter Welwyn Components Ltd Bedlington 

Katherine Harley Mills & Reeves LLP Cambridge 

Iain Young Radcliffes LeBrasseur London 

Helen Felstead Ford Retail The Recognised Ltd T/A TrustFord Standard / www.cicm.com / November 2017 / PAGE 54 Bristol

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 


FORTHCOMING EVENTS 

Full list of events can be found on our website: www.cicm.com/events 

CICM EVENTS 

1 November 

CICM South Wales Branch – Philip King 

FCICM and Atradius – Breakfast Event 

(3 CPD hours) 

CARDIFF 

We are pleased to announce that we will be 

welcoming Philip back to Cardiff on 1 November 

2017 at a Breakfast event at Atradius’ offices 

in Cardiff Bay. This is a double pleasure as we 

welcome Atradius as a corporate partner to CICM. 

Contact : E: southwalesbranch@cicm.com or 

contacting Diana Keeling, Branch Chair on 

T: +44 (0)7921 492348. 

VENUE : Atradius, 3 Harbour Road, Cardiff, CF10 

4WZ 

8 November 

CICM North East Branch – Insolvency 

Insights 

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE 

We’re delighted to invite you to an interesting 

evening of insolvency insights, aimed at 

increasing the knowledge and skills of both credit 

management and accounting professionals. 

18:00 for 18:30 Start 

Contact : To confirm your attendance or for more 

information email: northeastbranch@cicm.com 

VENUE : Muckle LLP, Time Central, 32 Gallowgate, 

Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 4BF 

9 November 

Sussex and Surrey Branch – 

Credit Management Breakfast Seminar 

(3 CPD hours) 

GUILFORD 

Come and join us for our next credit management 

breakfast seminar at the stunning Loseley Park 

Estate. Built in the reign of Elizabeth I, Loseley 

Park stands in ancient Surrey Parkland close to 

the North Downs. 

Contact : To confirm your place please contact 

Sussex & Surrey CICM branch secretary, Natascha 

Whitehead at E: natascha.whitehead@hays.com 

or T: +44 (0)777 078 6433. 

VENUE : Loseley Park, Guildford, GU3 1HS 

10 November 

CICM London Branch – 

Winter in the City 

LONDON 

We would like to invite you to our free event to 

meet your London Branch Committee, your fellow 

members, and other professionals from the credit 

industry. The focus of the evening is simply to 

meet one another in person, and explain how we 

as CICM’s largest branch and indeed the Institute 

itself, are on hand to support you and your 

colleagues, in progressing within the industry and 

your place of work. 

Contact : E: londonbranch@cicm.com or Brendan 

Clarkson E: brendan.clarkson@moorestephens.com 

VENUE : Slug and Lettuce, Corner of Wood St 

& Love Lane, London, EC2V 7JQ 

17 November 

CICM Turner Lecture 2017 

LONDON 

This year’s event will take the form of an 

interactive debate/question and answer session 

focusing primarily on the Varied Aspects of Credit 

Management. 

Contact : Email: Becki Sharpe – events@cicm.com 

or Richard Seadon at Richards@tgbaynes.com 

VENUE : The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, 

London, WC2A 1PL United Kingdom 

30 November 

CICM Law Conference 2017 

LONDON 

Law Conference 

Contact : https://form.jotformeu. 

com/72191825910355 

VENUE : DWF LLP, 20 Fenchurch Street, 

London, EC3M 

TRAINING 

DAYS 

2 November 

CICM WEBINAR - TELEPHONE COLLECTIONS 

VENUE : Online 

2 November 

CICM WEBINAR - TIME MANAGEMENT 


6 November 

CICM WEBINAR - CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN A 

NUTSHELL 


14 November 

INTRODUCTION TO CREDIT RISK ASSESSMENT 

VENUE : London 

15 November 

ESSENTIAL TELEPHONE COLLECTION 

TECHNIQUES 


15 November 

NEGOTIATING AND INFLUENCING SKILLS 


21 November 

DEVELOP YOUR CREDIT CONTROL SKILLS 


6 December 

DEBT RECOVERY THROUGH THE COURTS 


6 December 

WORKING WITH COMPANY ACCOUNTS 


OTHER EVENTS 

6-7 November 

11th Annual European AML & Financial 

Crime Conference 

LONDON 

Essential updates from FATF, EC, EBA, Europol, 

US IRS, regulators, FIUs and leading crossindustry 

experts! Ten percent discount for CICM 

Members who quote ‘Chartered Institute of Credit 

Management’ when booking. 

Contact : Contact Lili on +44 20 8785 6300 - 

http://www.amlpforum.com/euconference/registr 

ation/ 

VENUE : Merchant Taylors’ Hall, London, 

EC2R 8JB 

12-14 November 

ICTF’s Annual Global Trade Symposium 

– Ft. Lauderdale, FL 

USA 

Contact : http://www.ictfworld.org/events/ 

EventDetails.aspx?id=980921&group= 

VENUE : The Ritz-Carlton, 1 North Fort Lauderdale 

Beach Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304, 

United States Minor Outlying Islands 

13 November 

ACCA – Running the UK (Swansea) 

SWANSEA 

Up to November ACCA has hosted seven 

roadshows across the country which will provide 

you with insights on what late payment is, the 

effect it has on business and why it is an issue. 

The roadshows is run in conjunction with Market 

Invoice who will provide practical advice to 

businesses on how to deal with late payments 

and how to speed up collection. 

Contact : Book online - https://events.accaglobal. 

com/ACCA/desktopdefault.aspx 

VENUE : TBC 

16 November 

Forums International – International 

Apparel Credit Forum (IAF) 

COVENTRY 

Contact : Email: iaf@forumsinternational.co.uk 

VENUE : Stonebridge Golf Club, Somers Road, 

Meriden, Coventry, CV7 7PL 

16 November 

BCR Publishing – Alternative and 

Receivables Finance Forum 

LONDON 

https://bcrpub.com/events 

Ten percent discount for CICM members. 

Contact : kate.gallagher@bcrpub.com 

VENUE : Mayer Brown International LLP, 

201 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 3AF 

21 November 

Forums International – Business & 

Office Supplies Credit Forum (BSF) 

NOTINGHAM 

Contact : Experian Offices, Nottingham 

23 November 

Forums International – Fraud & 

Cybercrime Forum (FCF) 

BIRMINGHAM 

Contact : For more information email darren. 

hodder@fraudconsulting.co.uk 


New CICM members 

The Institute welcomes new members 

who have recently joined 

MEMBER 

NAME 

Roopesh Balakrishnan 

Piers Cauthery 

Michael Connolly 

Alexander Efstratoglou 

Stuart Fletcher 

Jaspal Fox 

Jonathan Furminger 

Joanne Kee 

Colin Luckett 

Lisa Phillips 

Neil Presland 

Timothy Ryan 

Luca Saponaro 

Shirley Taylor 

COMPANY 

Unilin Distribution 

Cententia S.A 

RB Healthcare (UK) Ltd 

GM Financial 

Lambert Smith Hampton 

Carmichael Site Services Ltd 

Advanced Collection Systems Ltd 

Marston Group Ltd 

Advanced Collection Systems Ltd 

Apple UK Ltd 

Pulse Healthcare Ltd 

MEMBER BY EXAM 

NAME 

Laza Mununga 

Sarah Walshe 

ASSOCIATE 

NAME 

Michael Barrett 

Hayley Garratt 

Craig Gilchrist 

George Hanton 

Ashley Norton 

Sean Stevens 

COMPANY 

College Francais Bilingue de Londres 

L Batley Pet Products Ltd 

COMPANY 

FDM Group 

Amari Plastics Plc 

Dell 

Informa UK Ltd 

Live Nation Merchandise Ltd 

Honeywell Inc 

AFFILIATE 

NAME COMPANY NAME COMPANY 

Jackie Allen 

Ahmed Al-Qarghuli 

Tanzin Anwar 

Mark Arnold 

Joel Baudet-Ralphs 

Michelle Benoliel 

Yvette Benson 

Leona Blair 

Yvonne Bleazard 

Nicholas Brooks 

Chloe Carrington 

Mathew Carter 

Charles Wai-Chung 

Asha Chikniwala 

Francis Clayton 

Sara Cope 

Amanda Cotton 

Gillian Cowley 

Sacha Daly 

Sarah Dawson 

Alexis DeAllie 

Jack Donaldson 

Michelle Dorey 

Daleen Du Plessis 

Alain Essoki 

Bradley Everitt 

Jack Farrant 

Lynn Farrell 

Zoe Finlay 

Louise Fisher-Blamey 

Thomas Fowler 

Benjamin Franklin 

Mark Garraway 

Tracey Geddis 

Hope Gostelow 

Daniel Green 

Meg Hamilton 

Jamie Harris 

Chris Hoggart 

Thomas Hope 

Li Yin Huang 

Zackery Hudson 

Ross Humphrey 

Sunil Keshwala 

Siobhan Kirk 

James Lane-Pritchard 

Latia Latham-Hopper 

Daniel Lee 

Manying Liu 

Macfarlane Group UK Limited 

Kingston Council 

Al Rayan Bank PLC 

Haggards Crowther 

Adecco Group UK & Ireland 

Western Circle Ltd 

CCS Media Ltd 

Hunter Boots Limited 

Veolia ES UK Plc 

Andrew Wilson & Co 

Grafton Merchanting 

The Sheriffs Office 

Chan 

Bonhams Auctioneers 

Bridgewater Support Solutions Ltd 


Welbillt UK Ltd 

RSK Plc 


Burges Salmon LLP 

Re:Sources UK 

Eversheds 

Venus Wine & Spitit Merchant Plc 

Taylor Made Adidas Golf 

Capita Registrars Ltd 

Bristow & Sutor 

Hilti (Gt Britain) Ltd 



Vink UK Ltd 

Amari Plastics Plc 

Barton Willmore 

Baker Tilly Mooney Moore 

Mathys and Squire LLP 


RMD Kwikform 

Adecco Group UK & Ireland 

Bedford College 

Arvato Financial Solutions 

Appier Inc 

Freeths LLP 

BBC Worldwide 

Breedon Southern Ltd 

Home Delivery Network T/A Yodel 

Brakes 

Brakes 


Orla Lynch 

Jack Martin 

Karl Masters 

Andrew McGregor 

Roderick McLean 

Steven Merritt 

Muhammad Miah 

Wa Than Min Swe 

Cathryn Mitton 

Christian Mouliere 

Jag Mudhar 

Lisa Mulrooney 

Peter Murray 

Zavier Murtza 

Nicola Nairn 

Andreea Necula 

Jade Newband 

Linsey Nohar 

Denise Oldfield 

Adriano Orzelleca 

Jeanette Owen 

Lauren Preston 

Ekua Quartey 

Daniel Ricca 

Marianne Ritter 

Yasmin Roberts 

Kelly Roughley 

Ellanah Rudd 

Giampaolo Scarpaci 

Gianluca Serbolisca 

Janet Shackell 

Priyesh Sharma 

Anna Sharp 

Adnan Siddiqui 

James Sleafer 

Tom Smith 

Kaileigh Sorton 

Tracey Stone 

Emma Strawbridge 

Anthony Stuart 

Rebecca Tavendale 

Richard Thompson 

Mollie Thompson 

Melvyn Utley 

Jamie Ward 

John Webb 

Tamsyn Whitchurch 

Christopher White 

Jamie Zaiger 

Menzies LLp 


First Utility Limited 

Hambury Tilmond Ltd 

Breedon Northern Ltd 



United Response 


Advanzia Bank 

Verizon 

Breedon Southern Ltd 

Insolvency & Law Limited 

Virtual Human Resources 

Home Delivery Network T/A Yodel 

Atlantic Bays Holiday Park 

Encon Insulation Ltd 


RSK Plc 

Nucleus Commercial Finance 

Communisis UK Ltd 

Reed Executive plc 

Skillfinder International 

Capita 

Kodak Ltd 

Roland UK Ltd 

Glen Dimplex Home Appliances Ltd 


Servomex SA 

Rockwell Automation 

Forbes Solicitors 


Christie Digital Systems Inc. UK 

CGS Recovery 

Forbes Solicitors 


JTR Collections Ltd 


Unisys Nederland NV 

ARP Enforcement Agency 

Premier Group Recruitment 

FANUC UK Ltd 

Bond Street Consultants Ltd 

CETCO Europe Ltd 

Amey Group Services Ltd 

Pelican Business Services 

PS Financials 

Ministry of Justice 


ENFORCEMENT AGENTS 

TIME TO PROVE YOUR CONTINUOUS 

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 

Taking Control of Goods CPD package is the cost-effective way to remind yourself 

of enforcement law and best practice regardless of how you initially qualified. 

Access the definitive TCG Guidance, fully updated and 

endorsed by CICM, HCEOA, LACEF and CEAA to ensure you 

cover all important areas. Test yourself anytime, anywhere 

and produce a CPD Certificate to prove to a judge that you 

have kept up to date when you renew your certificate to 

act as an enforcement agent. £53 + VAT. The 60 multiple 

choice questions are also perfect if you are preparing for 

the TCG qualification required for your first certificate. 

CICM runs a one-hour monthly online exam for the Level 

2 Award in Taking Control of Goods in many towns and 

cities throughout the UK to reduce work downtime. Find a 

convenient time before or after work. Results on the day. 

Visit www.qualifications.cicm.com to find out more and book. 

This is the definitive guide for CPD and to 

passing the exam. 

Barrie Minney. Chair, Local Authority Civil Enforcement 

Forum. Senior Enforcement Agent, Brighton and Hove 

City Council 

HCEOA are proud to have developed this Best Practice 

Guidance for the industry and robust qualifying exam which 

can be easily accessed near home or work. 

Andrew Wilson. Chair, High Court Enforcement Officer Association & Solicitor 

With HCEOA, CEAA and LACEF input, this CPD package provides perfectly balanced guidance and the CICM 

Award will be seen as the qualification to study for if you want to become an Enforcement Agent. 

James Bond. General Secretary, Civil Enforcement Agents Association 

High Court Enforcement 

Officers Association 


LACEF 

The Local Authority 

Civil Enforcement Forum

BRANCH NEWS 

Wine and Wisdom 

Kent Branch 

HAPPY Hays won the 

Kent Branch Shield for 

the first time in their 

history at CICM Kent 

Branch Annual Charity 

Wine and Wisdom Event 

(sponsored by Credit Limits International), 

held for the third year in succession at the 

Assembly Rooms in Faversham. Fighting 

off the close challenge from seven 

other opponents, the team from Hays 

in Maidstone, led by Craig Humphrey, 

emerged victorious after the scores from 

the final round were added up. 

A mention must go to Los Tranquilos, 

skippered by Bob Baldwin, former Kent 

Branch Chair, and The Tassells Allstars, 

a local firm of solicitors, who both kept 

the pressure on the winning team all 

the way. Last year’s winners, Team GB 

from TG Baynes, put up a brave fight to try 

to retain the Shield, as did Les Chasseurs 

EARLY arrivals to our event at Newcastle’s 

Dance City were treated to a man dancing 

in the entrance lobby, on his head. Perfect 

justification for our use of this alternative 

venue. 

We gathered to hear Claire Aynsley, 

Head of Regulatory Compliance 

and Standards at the Credit Services 

Association (CSA). Claire explained her 

long job title and the work of the CSA 

before enlightening us on the General 

Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). GDPR 

will replace the Data Protection Act 1998 

on 25 May 2018. 

Claire’s key message was about 

awareness and preparation. To make 

senior management aware that this is 

De Dettes from Credit Limits International. 

As for the Kent Branch Committee Team? 

Well, at least they helped set up the event 

beforehand and tidied up afterwards! 

As ever, the questions were taxing 

but varied, ranging from current topics 

(yes, we even had a Brexit round) and we 

are grateful to Simon Paterson, Branch 

Treasurer, for being our resident Quiz 

Master. 

Proceeds from the entry fee and raffle 

raised £630 for The Ellenor Lions Hospice 

in Gravesend, chosen by the winners from 

a shortlist of local charities nominated by 

the Committee. 

Thanks must again go to Simon and 

Marion for organising the food and 

beverages, Pierre for sponsoring the wine 

and the Committee for its hard work in 

making this another success. 

Author: 

Kevin Artlett. 

GDPR leave you 

dancing on your head? 

North East Branch 

going to happen and to be prepared. GDPR 

will affect any organisation that processes 

personal data, including employee data. 

No business will escape, even leaving the 

EU will not change this. 

We heard about changes in increased 

accountability, more rights for individuals 

and new obligations for reporting 

breaches. There was very much more and 

Claire kindly left us all a copy of the CSA 

GDPR guidance to get us started. We went 

away ready to review our contracts and 

procedures. Some members searched for 

a quiet corner to dance on their head and 

gently weep. 

Author: 

Paul Woodward MCICM(Grad). 

Full name: 

Clare Withers 

Current job title: 

Accounts Receivable Manager 

Current company name: 

Transas Marine 

60SECONDS 

WITH 

Number of years in credit management: 22 

Number of years in current role: 

Four months 

How did you get into credit management? 

I applied for a Sales and Purchase Ledger 

Assistant Role when I was 17, without knowing 

what a ledger was! 

What is the best thing about where you 

work? 

It’s a business that’s going through change and 

it’s very challenging, it’s a global business so the 

chance to work with colleagues of all different 

nationalities is something I really enjoy. 

What motivates you? 

The opportunity to learn/do something new and 

my children motivate me too – I want to set a 

good example to them of what can be achieved 

through hard work. 

What skill do you think has helped you 

most in your credit career so far? 

I think ‘natural’ skills more than ‘learned’ ones, 

I’ve always been quite quick at picking things up 

and I’m naturally quite impatient too, not a bad 

thing when chasing debtors! 

Name three people you would invite to a 

dinner party and why? 

Gene Kelly, Elizabeth I and my Dad, all people I 

admired or loved who are no longer with us and 

who I’d love to meet or see again. 

What is your favourite pastime/relaxation 

activity? 

I do love a boxset binge. 

What is the best/worst quality in a leader? 

Inspiration and fairness are really important to 

me, lack of empathy leaves me cold. 

Who is your business or personal hero? 

My best friend, like me she has no degree or 

formal qualifications but through sheer hard 

work and determination she’s worked her way 

up to Director level in her business before she’s 

40. 

What can't you live without? 

My children. 

What’s been your most rewarding moment 

in your credit career? 

I was the recipient of an award for my work in 

reducing debt and DSO and tightening processes 

around the offering of credit. Nominations were 

submitted to the board with examples of your 

achievements and each year they recognised a 

handful of employees they felt were deserving. 

It was a complete surprise but I was absolutely 

thrilled to receive it. 

What has surprised you the most about 

working in credit? 

That I work in credit! I’m quite a flamboyant 

person by nature and flamboyance and credit 

don’t tend to go hand in hand, but it suits my 

love of people and relationships, we all know 

half the battle is the relationship you build with 

your customer! 

If you weren’t working in credit 

management, what would you be doing? 

I’d be teaching History in a secondary school 

somewhere. 


TAKE CONTROL 

OF YOUR CREDIT 

CAREER 

REVENUE CONTROL TEAM LEADER 

WORK FOR A MAGIC CIRCLE FIRM 

London, up to £52,000 + benefits 

A revenue control team leader is required at one of 

the sectors most influential and respected firms with 

an international presence. You will manage a team of 

revenue controllers, providing motivation, coaching and 

support to ensure they have a clear progression route. 

Other responsibilities include meeting stakeholders and 

partners to ensure monthly billing and processes are 

communicated, making sure work is split evenly and 

the team are kept up to date with any developments 

and changes in process. To be successful, you will have 

revenue experience within a legal firm. In return, the role 

offers excellent benefits. Ref: 3133695 

Contact Radhika Parmar on 020 3465 0020 

or email radhika.parmar@hays.com 


EARN WHILE YOU LEARN 

Shepherds Bush, £25,000 + study support 

This education institution is looking for an experienced 

credit controller to join its finance team. You will be 

responsible for actively chasing a portfolio of customer 

accounts and maximising cash collection in order to 

achieve targets and reduce aged debt balances. You will 

be interacting with internal and external business partners 

across the UK and Europe, therefore a proven record of 

this skillset is essential. The successful candidate will be 

confident and outgoing in nature. This position offers 

outstanding benefits including an excellent pension 

scheme and the opportunity to study a course of your 

choice for free. Ref: 2888462 

Contact April Gunn on 020 3465 0020 

or email april.gunn@hays.com 

CREDIT AND CLIENT SERVICE MANAGER 

GO ABOVE AND BEYOND 

London, £35,000-£40,000 + OTE of up to £80,000 

A successful sports media marketing company is looking 

for an exceptional credit and client service manager to join 

its finance team. Reporting to the FD and managing 

a team of two, the role will be responsible for the full 

credit control and client relationship management 

function. You will be involved from the outset with the 

client on-boarding and work closely with sales regarding 

contracts and amendments. As the central point of 

contact between client and production, relationship 

building, energy and enthusiasm are key. To be successful, 

you will be highly resilient, target driven and possess 

the ability to make things happen. Ref: 3130083 

Contact Julia Foster on 020 3465 0020 

or email julia.foster2@hays.com 

SALES LEDGER CLERK 

PROVIDE EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE 

Kingston, £24,000 

A fantastic opportunity has arisen at a well-known public 

sector organisation providing educational products and 

services. Working in a vibrant team of three, you will 

ensure all invoices and credit notes are processed in a 

timely manner, with a high level of accuracy. Working 

closely with the Receivables team, this role encourages 

support and assistance in credit control and other areas 

of finance. You will be an excellent team player who is 

proactive and attentive, with good organisation skills and 

the ability to work well in a busy, fast-paced environment. 

Ref: 3135627 

Contact Chelya Katende on 0208 247 4042 

or email chelya.katende@hays.com 

hays.co.uk/creditcontrol 



ACHIEVE YOUR FULL POTENTIAL 

Leeds, £22,000 

Due to a period of extensive growth, an innovative 

professional services business based in the Leeds 

city centre is looking for a credit controller to join its 

expanding transactional finance team. Working within 

a team of credit controllers, you will be responsible for 

reducing the aged debt within their insurance division 

through the effective liaison with partners and clients 

to ensure prompt collection or resolution of aged 

receivables. This is an exciting opportunity to join a Top 

5 professional services business looking to nurture and 

develop you, helping to achieve your full potential. 

Ref: 3135950 

Contact Jonathon Brand on 0113 200 3735 

or email jonathon.brand@hays.com 


MAKE AN IMPACT 

Leicester, £20,000 + benefits 

This renowned energy business has built lasting 

relationships with its huge range of clients all across 

the UK and prides itself on offering an unparalleled 

service while maintaining the relationships it has built. 

You will join a busy commercial credit control team and 

undertake responsibilities such as pursing overdue debts, 

authorising release orders, controlling request limits and 

dealing with a high volume of account queries. To thrive 

in this role, you will have extensive experience in credit 

control procedures from start to finish, while also being 

comfortable with other accounting procedures. 

Ref: 3124832 

Contact Kiran Odedra on 0116 251 2288 

or email kiran.odedra@hays.com 

COLLECTIONS ADVISER 

BUILD EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS 

Southampton, £20,000-£22,000 

This Top 4 firm provides essential support to client 

engagement teams across its firm in the collection and 

recovery of outstanding fees and expertise in query 

management, best practice guidance, legal action and 

insolvencies and advocating a cash focused culture. 

You will be part of a diverse team within a global 

market-leading firm. Your main focus will be to 

effectively recover debt from the business client base. 

The ability to be comfortable with the pressures found 

dealing with a HNW/UHNW client base in order to 

effectively build relationships with is essential. 

Ref: 3109030 

Conact Benjamin Reeves on 02382 020104 

or email benjamin.reeves@hays.com 


PROGRESS YOUR CAREER 

London, £13.50 per hour or £25,000 

An internationally recognised media business is 

currently looking for a credit controller to join its team 

on a temporary to permanent basis. Reporting to the 

Credit Manager, you will work in a team and have full 

responsibility over your own ledger, including key clients, 

daily reconciliations and cash allocations. Advanced Excel 

skills and confidence speaking to a number of clients 

on a daily basis are essential. You will also need to be 

immediately available. This is an excellent opportunity for 

someone looking to progress their credit control career 

and work with a global brand. 

Ref: 3133566 

Contact Summer Mostafa on 020 3465 0020 

or email summer.mostafa@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. 


View our digital version online at www.cicm.com 

Log on to the Members’ area, and click on the tab labelled 

‘Credit Management magazine’ 

Just another great reason to be a member 

Credit Management is distributed to the entire UK and international 

CICM membership, as well as additional subscribers 


www.cicm.com The | Recognised +44 (0)1780 Standard / www.cicm.com 722901 / November | editorial@cicm.com 

2017 / PAGE 62

Cr£ditWho? 

CICM Directory of Services 

FOR INFORMATION, 

OPTIONS AND PRICING 

PLEASE EMAIL: 

anthony.cave@cabbell.co.uk 

ANTI MONEY LAUNDERING 

COLLECTIONS LEGAL 

CONSULTANCY 

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 

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. 

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. 

Atradius Collections Ltd 

3 Harbour Drive, 

Capital Waterside, 

Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, CF10 4WZ 

United Kingdom 

T: +44 (0)2920 824700 

W: www.atradiuscollections.com/uk/ 

Atradius Collections Ltd is an established specialist in business 

to business collections. As the collections division of the Atradius 

Crédito y Caución, we have a strong position sharing history, 

knowledge and reputation. 

Annually handling more than 110,000 cases and recovering 

over a billion EUROs in collections at any one time, we deliver 

when it comes to collecting outstanding debts. With over 90 

years’ experience, we have an in-depth understanding of 

the importance of maintaining customer relationships whilst 

efficiently and effectively collecting monies owed. 

The individual nature of our clients’ customer relationships is 

reflected in the customer focus we provide, structuring our 

service to meet your specific needs. We work closely with clients 

to provide them with a collection strategy that echoes their 

business character, trading patterns and budget. 

For further information contact: Hans Meijer, UK and Ireland 

Country Director (hans.meijer@atradius.com). 

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. 

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...” 

STRIPES SOLICITORS LIMITED 

St George’s House, 56 Peter Street, Manchester, M2 3NQ 

W: www.stripes-solicitors.co.uk 

T: 0161 832 5000 

95percent 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. 

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. 

COURT ENFORCEMENT SERVICES 

Court Enforcement Services 

Wayne Whitford – Director 

M: +44 (0)7834 748 183 

T : +44 (0)1992 663 399 

E : wayne@courtenforcementservices.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 

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. 



Cr£ditWho? 




PLEASE EMAIL: 


CREDIT INFORMATION 

CoCredo Limited 

Missenden Abbey, Great Missenden, Bucks, HP16 0BD 

T: 01494 790 600 

E: customerservice@cocredo.com 

W: www.cocredo.co.uk 

Celebrating 15 years in business, CoCredo’s award winning credit 

reporting and monitoring systems have helped to protect and secure 

over £27 billion of turnover on behalf of our customers. Our company 

data is updated 500,000 per day and ensures customers have the 

most current information in the market place. Access to the online 

portal is available 365 days a year 24/7 from anywhere in the world. 

At CoCredo we aggregate data from a range of leading providers 

across the globe so that our customers can view the best available 

data in one easy to use report. We also offer customers XML 

Integration and D.N.A. Portfolio Management. 

From simply looking at a prospect through to acquisition, to 

monitoring, we pride ourselves on helping our customers every step of 

the way. CICM members receive their first five credit reports for free. 

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. 

Credica Ltd 

Building 168, Maxell Avenue, Harwell Oxford, Oxon. OX11 0QT 

T: 01235 856400E: 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. 

Company Watch 

Centurion House, 37 Jewry Street, 

LONDON. EC3N 2ER 

T: +44 (0)20 7043 3300 

E: info@companywatch.net 

W: www.companywatch.net 

Organisations around the world rely on Company Watch’s 

industry-leading financial analytics to drive their credit risk 

processes. Our financial risk modelling and ability to map medium 

to long-term risk as well as short-term credit risk set us apart 

from other credit reference agencies. 

Quality and rigour run through everything we do, from our unique 

method of assessing corporate financial health via our H-Score®, 

to developing analytics on our customers’ in-house data. 

With the H-Score® predicting almost 90 percent of corporate 

insolvencies in advance, it is the risk management tool of choice, 

providing actionable intelligence in an uncertain world. 

BUREAU VAN DIJK 

Northburgh House, 10 Northburgh Street, London, EC1V 0PP 

T: +44 (0)20 7549 5000E: bvd@bvdinfo.com 

W: www.bvdinfo.com 

We offer the most powerful comparable data resource on private 

companies. We capture and treat private company information for 

better decision making and increased efficiency, so we’re ideally suited 

to help credit professionals. Orbis, our global company database has 

information on 250 million companies, and offers: 

• Standardised financials so you can assess companies globally 

• Financial strength metrics using a range of models and including a 

qualitative score for when detailed financials aren’t available 

• Projected financials 

• Extensive corporate structures so you can assess the complete group 

– or take the financial stability of the parent into account 

Credit Catalyst is a platform where you can combine information from 

Orbis with you own knowledge of your customers and get dashboard 

views of your portfolio. 

Register for your free trial at bvdinfo.com. 

CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE 

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. 

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. 

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. 


Cr£ditWho? 




PLEASE EMAIL: 


FINANCIAL PR 

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. 

STA International 

3rd Floor, Colman House, King Street Maidstone , ME14 1DN 

T: +44(0)844 324 0660. 

E: enquiries@staonline.com 

W: 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. 

Proud supporters 

of CICMQ 

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. 

HighRadius 

T: +44 7399 406889 

E: gwyn.roberts@highradius.com 

W: www.highradius.com 

HighRadius is the leading provider of Integrated Receivables 

solutions for automating receivables and payment functions such 

as credit, collections, cash allocation, deductions and eBilling. 

The Integrated Receivables suite is delivered as a software-as-aservice 

(SaaS). HighRadius also offers SAP-certified Accelerators 

for SAP S/4HANA Finance Receivables Management, enabling 

large enterprises to maximize the value of their SAP investments. 

HighRadius Integrated Receivables solutions have a proven track 

record of reducing days sales outstanding (DSO), bad-debt and 

increasing operation efficiency, enabling companies to achieve an 

ROI in less than a year. 

DATA AND ANALYTICS 

Dun & Bradstreet 

Marlow International, Parkway Marlow 

Buckinghamshire SL7 1AJ 

Telephone: (0800) 001-234 Website: www.dnb.co.uk 

Dun & Bradstreet grows the most valuable relationships in business. 

By uncovering truth and meaning from data, we connect our 

customers with the prospects, suppliers, clients and partners that 

matter most, and have since 1841. Whether your customer portfolio 

spans a city, a country or the globe, Dun & Bradstreet delivers the 

data, analytics and insight to grow your most profitable relationships 

and navigate credit risk. By combining your insights with our own, 

Dun & Bradstreet facilitates a global, unified view of your customer 

relationships across credit and collections. 

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 

Moore Stephens 

Moore Stephens LLP, 

150 Aldersgate Street, 

London EC1A 4AB 

T: +44 (0) 20 7334 9191 

E: Brendan.clarkson@moorestephens.com 

W: www.moorestephens.co.uk 

Moore Stephens is a top ten accountancy and advisory network, 

with offices throughout the world. 

Our clients range from individuals and entrepreneurs, through to 

large organisations and international businesses. 

The Moore Stephens Creditor services team understands the 

creditors don’t always have the time needed to pursue debts 

thoroughly once a company or debtor goes into administration, 

liquidation or bankruptcy. Nor do they necessarily have adequate 

access to the information they need to take appropriate decisions. 

This is where we can help. 

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. 



Cr£ditWho? 




PLEASE EMAIL: 


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. 

Bottomline Technologies 

115 Chatham Street 

Reading 

Berks RG1 7JX | UK 

T: 0870 081 8250 

E: emea-info@bottomline.com 

W: www.bottomline.com/uk 

Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ: EPAY) helps businesses pay 

and get paid. Businesses and banks rely on Bottomline for domestic 

and international payments, effective cash management tools, 

automated workflows for payment processing and bill review and 

state of the art fraud detection, behavioural analytics and regulatory 

compliance. Businesses around the world depend on Bottomline 

solutions to help them pay and get paid, including some 

of the world’s largest systemic banks, private and publicly traded 

companies and Insurers. Every day, we help our customers by 

making complex business payments simple, secure and seamless. 

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, 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 

PORTFOLIO 

CREDIT CONTROL 

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. 

ATTENTION 

PRODUCT 

& 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 


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CREDIT CONUNDRUM 

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 

Musical Instruments 1 - Word Search 

Find the words hidden in the grid of letters. 

X D B F W N E K E Y B O A R D X E 

X B J M Y O O L T E B X D I K X Z 

W I O P M O F N T U L L E B W O C 

E T W W A S R Q G S K E Y A L Y F 

U E R S R S M L B A I S L Q K R I 

P D E O I A E A B A W H R U E D A 

H K T A M B O U R I N E W N K K C 

O W A R B B T D P A D J C N X U I 

N V N O A W O I Y R C H O G I Q D 

I I I V S T C N O L H A T R Z T O 

U O R R S C I C E O N H S K Z F L 

M L A X O G E S R Y C H I M E S E 

G A C L H R D N I K U O Z U O B M 

H Y O B R I T Y D R U G Y D R U H 

Large Print Word Search Puzzles 

http://www.puzzles.ca/large_print_word_search.html 

Copyright © 2012 Livewire Puzzles 

MONTHLY PRIZE CROSSWORD 

For all email entries for the crossword please email: andrew.morris@cicm.com 

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 

THREE PRIZES OF £20 

DRAWN EVERY MONTH 

BANJO 

BASSOON 

BOUZOUKI 

BUGLE 

CHIMES 

COW BELL 

EUPHONIUM 

FRENCH HORN 

HURDY GURDY 

KEYBOARD 

MARACAS 

MARIMBAS 

MELODICA 

OCARINA 

PICCOLO 

RECORDER 

SITAR 

TAMBOURINE 

TIN WHISTLE 

TROMBONE 

TUBA 

UKULELE 

VIOLA 

ACROSS: 

1. Sail supports 

6. Contributes 

10. Jump up and down 

14. Permit 

15. Gait faster than a walk 

16. Test 

17. Cunning 

18. Story 

19. 10 cent coin 

20. Unappeasable 

22. Biblical garden 

23. Black gunk 

24. Thorny flowers 

26. Attach 

30. It pumps blood 

32. Bring upon oneself 

33. A variety of mandarin orange 

37. Sun 

DOWN: 

1. Wise men 

2. Astringent 

3. Faux pas 

4. Fee 

5. Cardigan 

6. Fragrant oil 

7. Blah 

8. A girl's toy 

9. Cheapest accommodations on a ship 

10. Walker 

11. Any compound of oxygen 

12. Contests 

13. Portent 

21. Tin 

25. Mineral rock 

26. Clenched hand 

27. Initial wager 

28. Fraud 

29. Paint thinner 

CLOSING DATE: 13 November 

6 1 3 5 8 

9 7 1 

5 

8 6 

1 8 2 7 

4 9 

7 

3 1 4 

3 7 6 2 9 

Daily Sudoku: Mon 2-Oct-2017 


38. Go by car 

39. Chilled 

40. Not permanent 

42. New Zealand native 

43. Foe 

44. Unable to 

45. Ebbs 

47. Vulpes velox 

48. Sodium chloride 

49. Likeness 

56. 53 in Roman numerals 

57. False god 

58. A worker of stone 

59. Baking appliance 

60. Where a bird lives 

61. Flip over 

62. Heredity unit 

63. Deep cut 

64. Plateaux 

30. Hirsute 

31. Covetousness 

33. Streetcar 

34. Computer symbol 

35. Roman emperor 

36. Modify 

38. Bandaging 

41. Half of a pair 

42. Not minimum 

44. Mountain pass 

45. Do without 

46. Extraterrestrial 

47. Grime 

48. Plod along 

50. Bright thought 

51. Nonvascular plant 

52. Adhesive strip 

53. Applications 

54. Spanish lady 

55. Terminates 

LAST MONTH'S 

CROSSWORD WINNERS 

Tony John FCICM, Sarah Dawson and Peter McDonald MCICM(Grad) 

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. 

(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2017. All rights reserved.

Abrand new 

way tosave face with your 

collections team. 

Coming soon. 

tel. +44 1634 812 300 

info@e-mailguardian.com 

e-mailguardian.com

Credit Management magazine October 2017

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