Credit Management magazine December 2017

INTERVIEW
FECMA Country Profile
Sean Feast speaks to Ludo Theunissen at the Belgian
Instituut voor Kredietmanagement – IvKM.
BELGIUM, officially the
Kingdom of Belgium, is a
sovereign state in Western
Europe. It is a small, densely
populated country which
covers an area of 11,787
sq miles and has a population of about 11
million people.
Belgium has two main linguistic groups:
the Dutch-speaking, mostly Flemish
community, which constitutes about 59
percent of the population, and the Frenchspeaking,
mostly Walloon population, which
comprises about 40 percent of all Belgians.
Additionally, there is a small one percent
group of German speakers who live in the
East Cantons.
Belgium is a federal constitutional
monarchy with a parliamentary system of
governance. It is divided into three regions
and three communities, that exist next to
each other. Its two largest regions are the
Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the
north and the mostly French-speaking
southern part of the Wallonia region. The
Brussels-Capital Region is an officially
bilingual (French and Dutch) enclave within
the Flemish Region. A German-speaking
Community exists in eastern Wallonia.
Belgium's linguistic diversity and related
political conflicts are reflected in its political
history and complex system of governance,
made up of six different governments.
Belgium is one of the six founding
countries of the European Union and
hosts the official seats of the European
Commission, the Council of the European
Union, and the European Council, as well
as a seat of the European Parliament in the
country's capital, Brussels. Belgium is also a
founding member of the Eurozone, NATO,
OECD and WTO, and a part of the trilateral
Benelux Union. Belgium is a developed
country, with an advanced high-income
economy and is categorised as ‘very high’ in
the Human Development Index.
Belgium has a globalised economy and is
at the heart of a highly industrialised region
– the world's 15th largest trading nation
in 2007. In January, it had a population
of 11,303,528, and last year an estimated
nominal GDP of $470 billion. Belgium is
the world leader in terms of export per
capita and can justifiably call itself the
'world's largest exporter'; its main exports
are machinery and equipment, chemicals,
finished diamonds, metals and metal
products, and foodstuffs.
Ludo Theunissen
How many members do you have?
We currently have 95.
How is the Intituut run?
We don’t have a branch network, as
such, because it is only a small country,
but every year we have a members’
conference, and throughout the year
we organise a series of seminars and
workshops. We also have an annual
Credit Manager of the Year Award.
We don’t, however, run any formal
qualifications.
What is Belgium’s cultural attitude to
late payment?
Professional credit management is only
really evident within larger business,
and many of the smaller companies
appear not so aware of how critical
professional credit management can be.
In terms of late payment, many smaller
companies simply ‘accept’ that they will
be paid late. Statistics for the average
DSO for the country vary depending on
the source, but are anything from 45 to
52 days.
Are there any specific laws to protect
against late payment?
None that are specific to Belgium,
beyond the EU Directive on late
payment which is EU wide. There are,
however, a number of private initiatives
underway to create better awareness of
the issue and the regulations.
What support do you provide to fellow
FECMA members?
We collaborate closely with our
colleagues in the Nederlandse
Vereniging voor Credit Management
(VCVM) in the Netherlands and the
Bundesverband Credit Management
(BvCM) in Germany. We also publish our
own magazine.
Contacts for further information:
Ludo Theunissen
E: ludo.theunissen@ivkm.be
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2017 / PAGE 30