CM December DECEMBER 2018

CREDIT MANAGEMENT
CM
DECEMBER 2018 £12.00
THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND
COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS
INSIDE
2019 DESKTOP
CALENDAR
Consolidated
Thinking
Is it time for the debt
advice charities to
merge?
Why Crown preference
is causing such a stir.
Page 19
What to do with your
leftover turkey!
Page 52

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4
EDITOR'S COLUMN
SEAN FEAST
DECEMBER 2018
www.cicm.com
CONTENTS
20
ASK THE EXPERTS
LAUREN CARTER FCICM
16 – INTERVIEW
Derek Usher discusses the world of debt
purchase, FCA approval and a love of
cricket.
19 – OPINION
A closer look at the restoration of Crown
preference in insolvency.
30 – COUNTRY FOCUS
The finer details of doing business
in Ireland.
34 – FESTIVE APPS
Some handy shortcuts for organising
present shopping.
38 – CAREERS ADVICE
Credit Managers are earning more than
ever before, especially outside London.
52 – MAKE YOUR CASE
Regular contributors answer the most
pressing of festive dilemmas.
30
COUNTRY FOCUS
ADAM BERNSTEIN
CICM GOVERNANCE
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.
Any articles published relating to English law will differ from laws in Scotland and Wales.
38
CAREERS ADVICE
KAREN YOUNG
President Stephen Baister FCICM / Chief Executive Philip King FCICM CdipAF MBA
Executive Board Pete Whitmore FCICM – Chair / Debbie Nolan FCICM(Grad) – Vice Chair
Glen Bullivant FCICM – Treasurer / Larry Coltman FCICM, Victoria Herd FCICM(Grad), Bryony Pettifor FCICM(Grad)
Advisory Council Sarah Aldridge FCICM(Grad) / Laurie Beagle FCICM / Kim Delaney-Bowen MCICM / Glen Bullivant FCICM
Lauren Carter FCICM / Brendan Clarkson FCICM / Larry Coltman FCICM / Victoria Herd FCICM(Grad) / Philip Holbrough MCICM
Laural Jefferies MCICM / Diana Keeling FCICM / Martin Kirby FCICM / Christelle Madie FCICM
Julie-Anne Moody-Webster MCICM / Debbie Nolan FCICM(Grad) / Bryony Pettifor FCICM(Grad) /Allan Poole MCICM
Phil Rice FCICM / Chris Sanders FCICM / Paul Taylor MCICM / Pete Whitmore FCICM
67 – ONE FROM THE ARCHIVE
Credit Management December 1972
included an article on the computer and
how it could aid best practice.
Publisher
Chartered Institute of Credit Management
The Water Mill, Station Road, South Luffenham
OAKHAM, LE15 8NB
Telephone: 01780 722910
Email: editorial@cicm.com
Website: www.cicm.com
CMM: www.creditmanagement.org.uk
Managing Editor
Sean Feast FCICM
Deputy Editor
Alex Simmons
Art Editor
Andrew Morris
Telephone: 01780 722910
Email: andrew.morris@cicm.com
Editorial Team
Imogen Hart and Iona Yadallee
Advertising
Grace Ghattas
Telephone: 020 3603 7946
Email: grace@cabbell.co.uk
Printers
Stephens & George Print Group
2018 subscriptions
UK: £90 per annum
International: £115 per annum
Single copies: £12.00
ISSN 0265-2099
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 3

EDITOR’S COLUMN
Overcoming a
herd mentality
Sean Feast FCICM
Managing Editor
I
love elephants. Did you know that
an elephant cannot run uphill,
spends up to 18 hours a day eating,
and as a result can generate about
a tonne of manure every week?
The biggest elephants can grow up
to three metres tall and weigh an incredible
7,500kg, making them the world’s largest
land mammal. These guys are big, so big
that if one wandered into the room, I think
you’d notice. Which makes me wonder why
it took so long for the debt advice sector to
spot such a little fella.
The elephant I am referring to in this
case is, of course, the issue of funding.
For some time now, there have been
mumblings off stage from certain creditors
and the collections industry as to the
efficiency of the debt advice sector, and
specifically those firms (both charitable
and otherwise) that benefit from the Fair
Share payments. Peter Wyman too, in his
recent report, made specific mention of the
need for the debt advice sector to achieve
greater efficiencies, and to do so quickly.
Whether Fair Share is ‘fair’ or not, or is
paid by those creditors who truly benefit,
is a separate debate; what those current
contributors want to know, is whether their
contributions are being spent delivering
front-line services, or being lost in an evergrowing
overhead of people and property.
The creditors’ argument is that debt
advisors fundamentally deliver the same
‘product’, and why do we need three or four
major players all doing the same thing? The
debt advisors, on the other hand, argue
with some justification that their services
are different, and complementary rather
than competitive.
Now sadly I can’t tell you StepChange’s
position (my entreaties unfortunately
went unanswered so I assume they must
be busy), but of those organisations that
did respond, it’s clear that future funding
is a major concern, and everyone has a
view on what this could look like. Reading
between the lines, they also seem very
aware of the need to justify why separate
organisations are preferred to one larger,
single entity, as has happened in other
sectors.
For the avoidance of any doubt, I am
not knocking the work that debt advisors
do in what are clearly very difficult and
challenging circumstances. (I have a
friend who probably owes his life to the
support he received from one debt advisor
in particular – ironically the one who
wouldn’t come back to me.) And demand
for their services, as we know, is only
going to increase.
But as I have learned from personal
experience, charities who work in similar
areas tend to jealously guard their right to
be there (think of The British Legion versus
Help for Heroes), and that is not always
in their beneficiaries’ best interests. Ego
can do funny things to people. What I also
know is that there are only so many times
that the pitcher can go to the well, and the
more pitchers there are, the more quickly
that well will dry up.
The elephant I am
referring to in this case
is, of course, the issue of
funding.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 4

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The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 5

CMNEWS
A round-up of news stories from the
world of consumer and commercial credit
Written by – Sean Feast and Alex Simmons
Companies House agrees
to act on Short-Firm Fraud
Philip King FCICM
Chief Executive of the CICM
“At this time of year
we see a number of
fake companies being
set up solely with the
purpose of acquiring
IT and electronics
goods by deception.”
PHILIP King, the Chief Executive of
the CICM, and James Campbell,
Secretary of The European Freight
Transport Association (EFTA)
have succeeded in their representations
to Companies House to challenge the
alarming increase in short-firm fraud.
Companies House will take steps to
display a more prominent warning on its
website regarding the efficacy and accuracy
of the information it holds, confirming that
such information has neither been verified
or validated. Companies House has also
agreed to create a dedicated email through
which businesses can raise concerns over
bogus accounts leintel@companieshouse.
gov.uk.
Philip King says the response from
Companies House executives was both
positive and encouraging: “Credit Managers
often rely on information from Companies
House to make important business
decisions, but need to be aware that such
information can, in fact, be fraudulent.
Credit Reference Agencies, similarly, use
information at Companies House to inform
their decision making, so it is in everyone’s
interest to ensure this information is
accurate.”
Short-firm fraud happens when
criminals set up an apparently legitimate
business intending to defraud its suppliers
and customers. Bogus accounts filed at
Companies House make the business look
substantial.
“Before Christmas, new orders and
new business opportunities tend to
increase. Fraudsters take advantage of
these busy periods, and natural ‘spikes’ in
activity, to commit crime. Only by sticking
to best-practice credit management, sharing
knowledge of risk with your employees in
what to look for, and being sure that you
‘know your customer’, can fraud be avoided.”
Philip says that some sectors are more at
risk than others: “At this time of year we see
a number of fake companies being set up
solely with the purpose of acquiring IT and
electronics goods by deception,” he says.
“Anyone witnessing a sudden and
unexpected increase in orders, or the
emergence of a new customer with whom
they have not previously done business,
should be alive to the potential for fraud,” he
adds.
gov.uk/government/organisations/
companies-house
THE Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
has confirmed plans to extend access to
the Financial Ombudsman Service (the
Ombudsman Service) to more SMEs.
The changes will mean that SMEs with
an annual turnover below £6.5 million and
fewer than 50 employees, or an annual
balance sheet below £5 million, will now
be able to refer unresolved complaints to
the Ombudsman Service. Under the ‘nearfinal’
rules now published, around 210,000
additional UK SMEs will be eligible to
complain to the Ombudsman Service.
Respondents to the FCA’s January
FCA extends access to FOS for SMEs
2018 consultation strongly supported the
extension of the Ombudsman Service to
larger SMEs, charities and trusts, and a new
category of personal guarantors.
The changes will allow a wider number
of SMEs to access the service, so they can
seek redress. The criteria for access to the
service have been amended so that SMEs
must only meet the turnover test and one
of either the headcount or balance sheet
total tests, not all three tests as previously
proposed. The FCA made this change in
response to feedback that applying all three
tests would unfairly exclude certain types
of SME, for example those with relatively
low turnover but 50 or more employees.
The FCA has published near-final rules,
so the Ombudsman Service can start
taking practical steps towards putting the
extension of its remit in place, including
starting recruitment of additional staff with
the skills and experience required. The
FCA intends to publish final rules later this
year, following its normal scrutiny of the
Ombudsman Service’s draft business plan
and budget. It expects the final rules on the
SME extension to come into force on 1 April
2019. fca.org.uk
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 6

New team for the digital market
ATRADIUS and Kemiex have launched a
digital trading platform for raw materials in
the pharma, vet, food and feed industries.
Positioned as a new digital market place,
the platform enables buyers and sellers of
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs)
and additives to identify reliable trade
partners and to trade safely. Atradius will
offer support by providing credit risk
insight and trade insurance for trade
partners.
The platform has been designed as an
alternative for existing trading procedures
that are often time consuming, prone to
errors and might be limited to personal
networks. Atradius and Kemiex also
anticipate the need in the human and
animal health and nutrition industries to
comply with strict regulations relating to
quality control. Atradius contributes to the
safety and transparency of the platform
by providing trade insurance for single
transactions through one click on the
Kemiex platform.
The organisations claim that the main
benefit is that buyers and sellers can do
business with reliable parties that comply
with relevant regulations and quality
controls and are credit worthy. Kemiex
estimates whether a company on the
platform complies with quality standards,
whereas Atradius analyses the credit
worthiness of those acting on the platform.
Together, they evaluate companies, their
transactions and the behaviour of traders
in order to ensure that transacting on the
platform is as safe as possible.
atradius.co.uk kemiex.com
>NEWS
IN BRIEF
Senior appointment
TWO Fellows of the Chartered Institute
of Credit Management have been
confirmed in senior positions in the
industry. CICM Executive Board member
and Vice Chair Debbie Nolan FCICM(Grad)
has been appointed as Chief Executive
of Arvato Financial Solutions. She joined
the integrated financial services solutions
company seven years ago as Business
Development Director before becoming
Commercial Director. Colleague and
CICM Chair Pete Whitmore FCICM, has
become Head of Credit Services, EMEA
for Westcon Group. He started as Credit
Risk Manager two years ago at the cloud
solutions provider, and then held the
position EMEA Credit Risk Manager.
arvato.com uk.westcon.com
Climb in complaints
COMPLAINTS against FCA regulated
companies continued to increase for the
fourth successive half year, reaching a
new record level of 4.13 million made
to 3,161 firms. This was a ten percent
increase compared with the previous
six-month period; 98 percent of the
complaints were made to 235 firms. PPI
continued to be the most complained
about product, accounting for 42 percent
of all complaints. The next most
complained about products are current
accounts (15 percent), credit cards
(eight percent) and motor and transport
insurance (six percent). fca.org.uk
£20k Exporting grant
FEDEX Express is offering a grand prize
grant of £20,000 and runner-up prize of
£10,000 to UK SMEs that demonstrate
how they plan to grow their business
internationally. To stand a chance of
winning, business owners must be ready
to provide details on what inspired them to
start their company, their ethical standards,
as well as a clear strategic vision of future
international growth. To apply for the Small
Business Grant, business owners should
register online and demonstrate their
ambitions to FedEx’s judging panel. The
winner and runner-up will be announced on
24 January 2019. uk.grant.fedex.com
New authority
THE leading retail payments authority
in the UK – formerly known as the New
Payment System Operator / NPSO – has
been rebranded as Pay.UK. Its remit
includes working in the public interest
to ensure that the systems the country
relies on for its banking transactions are
safe, open, innovative and resilient. In
2017 it processed more than eight billion
transactions worth £6.7 trillion, through
Bacs Direct Credit, Direct Debit, Faster
Payments, cheques and Paym.
wearepay.uk
CICM index
THE CICM is looking at ways of developing
its current Credit Managers’ Index (CMI)
programme to embrace all areas of the
commercial and consumer credit industry
and include benchmarking statistics. The
Institute welcomes ideas from members to
governance@cicm.com.
CSA recognised for 'outstanding' levels of service
THE Credit Services Association, the
voice of the UK debt collection and
debt purchases sectors, has registered
‘outstanding’ customer service levels
in its first ever assessment under the
independent Investor in Customers (IIC)
assessment process.
In being granted a Silver Award, the CSA
had to demonstrate a strong understanding
and desire to meet its members’ needs.
It was especially strong in the area of
‘delighting’ its customers in matters of
treating customers fairly, and when it came
to ‘engendering loyalty’ it was recognised
for building quality relationships. In both
of these sub categories it attained the Gold
standard.
Comments from customers included:
“Good service, clear user-friendly
information, great people”;
“The CSA provides excellent advice and
resources. We are kept up-to-date with any
industry changes or new requirements”;
“The CSA is a valuable service that
champions on our behalf at times when
we may not have a voice”; and “I would
have no hesitation in recommending the
Association to others, and have already
done so on a few occasions.”
IIC is an independent assessment
organisation that conducts rigorous
benchmarking exercises. These exercises
determine the quality of customer service
and relationships across a number of
dimensions, including how well a company
understands its customers, how it meets
their needs and how it engenders loyalty.
IIC also compares and contrasts the views
of staff and senior management to identify
how embedded the customer is within the
company’s thinking.
Peter Wallwork, Chief Executive of the
CSA is delighted with the Award: “To be
recognised by the IIC for the way in which
we deliver our service is a great accolade
and a tremendous reflection on the hard
work, dedication and commitment of the
head office team.” csa-uk.com
“Good service,
clear user-friendly
information,
great people”
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 7

NEWS
IN BRIEF
FENCA adopts
GDPR code
THE Federation of European National
Collection Associations (FENCA) has
formally adopted a Code of Conduct to apply
the rules of the General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR) to the debt collection and
debt purchase sectors. Acknowledged in this
endeavour by European Commissioner for
Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Věra
Jourová, FENCA is one of the first European
trade bodies to develop a Code of Conduct,
as encouraged by Article 40 of the GDPR. In
close exchange with national Data Protection
Authorities, FENCA will now embark on the
official process of adoption of the GDPR Code
of Conduct by the European Data Protection
Board. fenca.eu
Soggy bottom line
THE total pre-tax profits at the UK’s Top 100
restaurants have plunged 80 percent in the
last year to just £37 million, down from £194
million 12 months ago, research shows by
UHY Hacker Young. The drop means that
pre-tax profits at the UK’s Top 100 restaurant
groups have now fallen 89 percent from £345
million since the first quarter of 2017. UHY
Hacker Young says that the cost of closing
struggling sites has weighed heavily on the
profits of restaurant groups over the past two
years. Household-name groups including
Gaucho, Strada, and Prezzo have all shut a
number of outlets in recent months as the
casual dining sector deals with overcapacity.
uhy-uk.com
Services slowdown
THE UK’s service companies grew by their
slowest pace in seven months in October,
according to IHS Markit's Purchasing
Managers' Index (PMI). The PMI for services
fell from 53.9 to a seven-month low of 52.2,
below City expectations of 53.8. A reading
above 50 indicates growth. Optimism levels
among UK executives also fell to their lowest
point since July 2016.
ihsmarkit.com/products/pmi.html.com/
products/pmi.html
The same cloth
DESPITE Archbishop of Canterbury Justin
Welby saying in 2013 that the Church would
look to compete with payday lenders and
drive them out of existence, figures show that
just 8.8 percent of Anglican churches have
any involvement in social financial projects
or offer debt advice, while only two percent
run advice or lending operations.
CICM and ITN combine
to present 'Credit Experts'
THE Chartered Institute of Credit
Management (CICM) has once again
partnered with ITN Productions to
create a new flagship news-style
programme entitled ‘Credit Experts.’
Presented by national newsreader,
Natasha Kaplinsky, ‘Credit Experts’ will
explore the vital role credit management
plays in keeping businesses in business, will
showcase the latest innovative technologies
and best practices facilitating effective
customer outcomes, and will highlight
industry-leading knowledge and guidance
that is vital for sustaining and growing a
successful business landscape.
The news-style piece will combine key
interviews and reports with sponsored
editorial profiles from leading organisations
and will premiere during Credit Week in
March 2019.
Philip King, Chief Executive, CICM says
now, more than ever, credit professionals
are needed to help guide businesses, large
and small, through unchartered waters and
an uncertain future post-Brexit: “Hearing
from those professionals, learning about
best-practice credit management, and
exploring the increasing role of AI and other
technologies in enhancing the customer
Financial boost for apprenticeships
THE Chancellor has announced the new
rates of National Minimum Wage, National
Living Wage and Apprentice Minimum Wage
from April 2019 as recommended by the Low
Pay Commission (LPC). The LPC estimates
that the increase for the Apprentice
Minimum Wage of 20 pence (5.4 percent) will
benefit up to 36,000 apprentices.
The ten percent fee that small businesses
must pay when they take on apprentices will
also be halved. SMEs will only contribute
five percent to the training, as part of a ‘£695
million package to support apprenticeships’.
Up to £5 million is going to the
Institute for Apprenticeships and National
Apprenticeship Service in 2019-20, to
‘identify gaps in the training provider market
and increase the number of employerdesigned
apprenticeship standards available
to employers’. A figure of £20 million has
been allocated to new ‘skills pilots’ which
will include a £3 million scheme to help
‘employers in Greater Manchester and
surrounding areas to address local digital
skills gaps through short training courses’.
There will also be a £10 million pilot in
Greater Manchester, working with the FSB, to
‘test what forms of government support are
most effective in increasing training levels
for the self-employed’.
A £7 million match funding pilot ‘alongside
employers to provide on-the-job training to
young people not currently in employment,
education or training in Greater Manchester,
and to move them into sustainable career
paths with employers’.
Launch of new Export competition
THE Institute of Export & International
Trade (IOE&IT) has launched the 10th ‘Open
to Export Competition’ – an opportunity for
UK companies to take ownership of their
international strategies and win £3,000
towards implementing them.
Sponsored by Bibby Financial Services
(BFS), ‘Taking UK Plc to the World’ asks
SMEs to create an international strategy
using the online ‘Export Action Plan’ tool
on OpentoExport.com. The tool encourages
companies to take decisions along each step
of their international trade journey – from
journey will make this a compelling
programme.”
Elizabeth Fisher-Robins, Head of Industry
News, ITN Productions, says this programme
builds on the success of ‘Credit Champions’:
“We hope this programme continues to
spotlight the importance of excellent
credit management in supporting business
success and the wider UK economy.”
The programme builds on the success
of ‘Credit Champions,’ a launch initiative
broadcast earlier this year.
For more information, or to participate
in the programme contact James Linden,
Director of UK Programming at ITN
Productions on 0207 430 4228 or
james.linden@itnproductions.com.
selecting a market to delivering products or
services to new customers.
Companies have until 25 January to
enter their ‘Export Action Plans’ into the
competition – giving them all of Christmas
and the key planning month of January. Ten
shortlisted finalists will then be invited to
pitch their businesses at a showcase final at
the end of February. The finalists will pitch
to a panel of expert judges about how they
would use the £3,000 cash prize.
export.org.uk
bibbyfinancialservices.com
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 8

Cedar Rose launches new
late payer warnings app
>NEWS
IN BRIEF
CEDAR Rose has launched a new scoring
system that allows suppliers to rate
business transactions through its ‘Trade
Rate’ system which aims to provide a
more efficient and robust credit reporting
service.
By searching for a company at cedarrose.com,
visitors will see whether
information on the customer is already
available, and the date of any data already
held. By selecting the Trade Rate tab,
users can then rate their customer’s
payment history using a star scoring
system. Companies can be rated from
one to five, depending on whether or not
the client adhered to pre-agreed payment
terms. Once the ratings are verified by the
credit analysts and at least two ratings
are received on the subject from different
sources, the rating will show in the subject
company’s credit report.
Trade Suppliers can also give a full
reference on a company including their
agreed payment terms, maximum credit
limit amount, average invoice amount,
business trend and usual payment
method by completing a simple form.
There is also the opportunity to add
comments, which the user can decide
whether to share with future purchasers
of the credit report, or leave just for
Cedar Rose’s analysts to view. All ratings
subsequently shown in a credit report are
provided anonymously. cedar-rose.com
Once the ratings are
verified by the credit
analysts and at least
two ratings are received
on the subject from
different sources, the
rating will show in the
subject company’s credit
report.
Tech Committee
THE CICM Technical Committee met on
6 November and discussed a number of
important topics including: BEIS Call
for Evidence on Creating a responsible
payment culture; launch of a further
HM Treasury consultation on ‘Breathing
Space’; HMRC returning to the list of
‘Preferential creditors’ from April 2020
and updates on the progress of Pay.UK
and its plans for the payment space. The
Committee also discussed the process,
rules and risk around insolvency
petitions and their advertising; and the
Government announcement on new
measures to boost funding for small
businesses with new laws to arm small
businesses against unfair contracts that
stop them raising money from unpaid
invoices.
Starling murmurs
STARLING Bank has become the first
mobile-only bank to partner with the Post
Office to offer everyday banking services to
its customers. The partnership will allow
Starling current and business account
customers to deposit and withdraw cash
through the Post Office’s 11,500 branches
nationwide. Starling’s business account
customers will be able to see near ‘real
time’ credit into their account from their
cash deposits into Post Offices. It brings
the total number of banks now part of
the Post Office’s Banking Framework
to 28, helping to provide vital access to
banking services, especially in those 1,500
communities across the UK which are
without a bank branch. stateofflux.co.uk
ALARM BELLS
TWO firms that were behind nearly 600,000 nuisance calls attempting to sell home security
systems to people registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), have been fined
a total of £220,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). ACT Response from
Middlesbrough was behind 496,455 live marketing calls to TPS subscribers and has been
fined £140,000. There were 128 complaints made about the company between January
2017 and February 2018. Secure Home Systems (SHS) of Bilston, has been fined £80,000 for
making calls to 84,347 numbers registered with the TPS between September and December
2017, using call lists bought from third parties without screening them. People made 268
complaints about the company over a two-year period. ico.org.uk
CICM to chair conference
THE CICM will once again host a Trade
Credit Conference as a key event supporter
of Credit Week 2019 (18-22 March).
CICM Chief Executive Philip King will
chair discussions that examine the credit
management lifecycle, perspectives on
building an effective credit management
team and regulatory updates.
Philip said he was delighted to be
supporting the week-long series of
conferences, meetings and networking
events: “The series of events bring together
leading consumer and commercial credit
professionals from Europe and beyond, and
provides a great opportunity for networking,
learning and sharing of best practice.
“All of these are fundamental to the
objectives of the CICM and this is a great
example of a professional body working with
a commercial organisation for the benefit of
the credit community.”
The CICM Trade Credit Conference, part of
the Credit Summit, will take place at the QEII
Centre in Westminster on 21 March 2019.
Measuring up
BIBBY Financial Services (BFS) has
provided a funding package of £500,000
to Haddow Group, a West Yorkshire based
clothing manufacturer which designs and
supplies lifestyle products for some of the
UK’s top high street retailers. Based in
Bradford and founded in 1986, the familyrun
business produces a variety of interior,
swimwear, nightwear and beauty ranges for
retailers. Haddow Group has experienced
significant growth since its creation and
now employs a team of around 60 people.
bibbyfinancialservices
CICM INBRIEF
THIS month's briefing includes details of the
new programme with ITN Productions called
Credit Experts, a survey re the BEIS Call for
Evidence, a guest blog by Emma Lovell, Chief
Executive of R3, and an article from Karen
Young from Hays on the benefits of having a
career mentor.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 9

HMRC preferred
status to be restored
THE Chancellor’s plan to give HMRC
preferred status in company
insolvencies has led to dismay
from senior members of the
insolvency profession.
Chief Executive of R3, Emma Lovell,
says the proposal would be a retrograde
and damaging step to UK plc if not thought
through carefully.
“It will amount to a tax on creditors,
including small businesses, pension funds,
suppliers, and lenders, and reverses a status
quo that has been encouraging business
rescue since 2002,” she says. “It may also
make borrowing for small businesses
harder to come by.”
R3’s members say that HMRC could do
more to engage actively in insolvency
procedures, and at an earlier stage. HMRC
has a wide-ranging toolkit to help it to
tackle abuse and evasion, which could be
used more fully, instead of forcing its way to
the top of the queue by legislation.
“HMRC considers itself to be an
‘involuntary creditor’ of businesses, because
it cannot choose which companies to
engage with,” Emma continues. “However,
all suppliers to businesses are ‘involuntary
creditors’ and have to take commercial
risks, and this announcement will
hugely increase the risks taken by small
enterprises trying to do business.”
The Government has moved in recent
months to improve and strengthen the
UK’s business rescue framework, which R3
has welcomed. However, Emma feels this
announcement risks throwing away much
of the recent progress that has been made.
“We hope that the Government will
reconsider this move and listen to concerns
of the insolvency and restructuring
profession as it consults on the issue over
the coming months.”
Frances Coulson goes into more detail on
page 19.
gov.uk/government/organisations/hmrevenue-customs
Emma Lovell
Chief Executive Officer at R3
Debt deceit by nearest and dearest
ALMOST one fifth of Brits (19 percent) would
never inform a partner of their debt situation,
according to research by Equifax. The survey
found those aged 65 and over (29 percent)
are almost twice as likely as those aged 18-24
and 35-44 (both 12 percent) not to reveal their
debt to their significant other.
Only a third of respondents (32 percent)
would inform a new partner of their debt
situation within three months of beginning
a new relationship. Of those, men are more
forthcoming than women – 37 percent vs 27
percent respectively.
Furthermore, over a third (35 percent)
of people who are either married or in a
civil partnership do not have a shared
bank account, with the proportion rising
considerably for people earning less than
£20,000 (71 percent).
Meanwhile, similar findings from research
by the Money Advice Service reveals UK
adults are hiding more than £96 billion of
debt from their friends and family, with the
average amount of hidden debt in the UK
standing at £41,643 per person.
Of those in a relationship, almost a third
(29 percent) say their other half does not
know about all the money they owe. And
five percent admit that their partner is
completely in the dark about their debts.
Almost half (47 percent) say their close
friends don’t know they have any debts at all.
Men are less likely than women to open up
about it; half (50 percent) of men admit that
their close friends don’t have a clue about
their debts, which is seven percentage points
higher than women (43 percent).
The research finds that credit cards
account for the largest quantity of hidden
debt (48 percent). Personal loans from a
bank or building society (17 percent), an
overdraft (16 percent), money owed to friends
and family (12 percent) and store cards (11
percent) follow. Meanwhile, eight percent of
all those with debt hide payday loan debt.
equifax.co.uk
>NEWS
IN BRIEF
Bean counting
UK consumers are spending less
on habitual leisure activities such
as drinking coffee and eating out
compared to last year, according to the
latest findings from Deloitte’s ‘Leisure
Consumer Q3 2018’ report. The quarterly
survey of 3,105 UK leisure consumers
also revealed that, while overall spending
was flat compared to Q3 2017, consumers
increased their spending in both ‘culture
and entertainment’ and ‘gym and sport’
by two percentage points, with the boost
likely caused by the dry weather over the
summer months. Consumers reported
spending less on drinking in coffee shops
than they did in Q3 2017, falling by three
percentage points. In addition, eating and
drinking out saw a two percentage points
fall in net spending year-on-year.
deloitte.com/uk/en.html
Real-time ID checks
EQUIFAX has teamed up with open
banking technology provider consents.
online to allow it to match customer
data and transactions in real-time.
Users will be able to match identity
information such as the consumer’s
name, address and date of birth with
transaction data provided through
open banking, helping them verify who
someone is faster and help avoid fraud.
It will be used within Equifax’s bank
account verifier system that lets lenders
compare sort codes and account
numbers to its own database.
equifax.co.uk
Service charge
SERVICE exports increased to £72.3
billion in the second quarter of 2018, up
from £66.9 billion in the first quarter, and
up from £68.6 billion during the same
period in 2017, according to the Office for
National Statistics (ONS). Exports to the EU
increased by more than any other region
between the first and second quarter.
However, the US remained the UK’s largest
single country trade partner, buying £15.2
billion of British services in the second
quarter. ‘Other business services’ –
including legal, accounting and advertising
– was the biggest type of exported services,
followed by financial services. ons.gov.uk
PPI payout
A total of £3.7 billion has been paid out
following PPI claims since the Financial
Conduct Authority (FCA) launched its
campaign to promote consumer action,
with monthly volumes up 40 percent
since the launch. Since 2011 more than
£30 billion in redress has been received
by consumers.
fca.org.uk
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 10

Bailiff research ridiculed as
‘mathematical gymnastics’ by
enforcement leader
A
senior business leader has
slammed research from Citizens
Advice into the use and actions of
bailiffs as ‘clever, mathematical
gymnastics’ after the charity reported a
24 percent rise in bailiff complaints since
2014 and cited more than half a million
examples of where bailiffs have breached
current rules.
Russell Hamblin-Boone, Chief Executive
Officer of the Civil Enforcement Association
(CIVEA), took the charity to task: “Citizens
Advice has used clever, mathematical
gymnastics to come to the figure of a rule
broken by bailiffs every minute,” he says.
“Bailiffs collected 12 million debts over
the years quoted in the report, so it is
wrong to make those sweeping judgement
about bailiffs who operate against tight
regulations.”
The research took the form of a poll by
YouGov involving 277 people. It suggested
that bailiffs are flouting the laws in a
number of cases, by refusing to accept
affordable payments, misrepresenting their
rights of entry, and taking control of goods
inappropriately. The purpose of the report
was to show that 2014 reforms haven't
worked, and new regulation was required.
Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens
Advice, says too often bailiffs, and the firms
they work for, are a law unto themselves:
“This is inflicting widespread harm on
people and their families and it has to stop.
“The 2014 reforms were well intentioned
but sadly have had little effect on
improving the behaviour of some bailiffs,”
Mrs Guys adds. “Faced with the evidence
we’ve put in front of them, the Ministry of
Justice has no other option but to establish
an independent bailiff regulator.”
Phil Andrew, StepChange Debt Charity
Chief Executive, agrees: “This is completely
unacceptable, especially as the people
on the receiving end are often distressed,
vulnerable and unempowered. Across the
debt advice sector, we are united in the
view that it’s now time for regulation to be
more robust, and for the rules to be properly
enforced. Even some bailiff firms seem
to be realising that the days of informal
regulation need to end.”
But Russell takes a very different stance:
“Some of the things that Citizen’s Advice
are saying is happening are illegal, so why
aren’t they being reported to the Police? We
record our bailiffs – they have video badges
on their jackets and that is reviewed on a
daily basis to make sure they are following
the rules appropriately.
“A visit by an enforcement agent is
always the last resort. In order to receive a
visit you must have ignored final demands,
emails, phone calls and texts. Of course,
agents need to be assertive when chasing
down people who refuse to pay their
council tax or court fines. But if there
is any genuine evidence that agents are
acting illegally then we will investigate
and take the necessary action. But if we
are to continue working together to drive
up industry standards, we must avoid an
emotionally-charged debate and instead
focus on robust facts and strong evidence.”
Citizens Advice has used
clever, mathematical
gymnastics to come to the
figure of a rule broken by
bailiffs every minute.
>NEWS
IN BRIEF
FECMA APPOINTMENT
CHIEF Executive of the CICM, Philip King,
has been elected as Vice President of
Federation of European Credit Managers
(FECMA) during the meeting of its council
in Budapest. He will be serving a second
term as one of the two Vice Presidents.
fecma.eu
Unsustainable
SOME eight in ten organisations are
struggling to include sustainability in their
supply chain management, according to
research by State of Flux. The annual report
surveyed more than 300 organisations
and found only five percent of these can
be classed as ‘leaders’ in supply chain
sustainability. The report also revealed that
47 percent of organisations do very little
or no joint work with suppliers to manage
sustainability. stateofflux.co.uk
Flashing the cash
UK Finance data shows that consumers
spent £10.7 billion using credit cards in
September – the highest monthly total
since records began in 1997. This came
in a month where the amount of money
placed into savings accounts climbed by
0.9 percent, the smallest increase since
2007. Contrastingly, growth in consumer
credit has slowed to its lowest level in
more than three years. Bank of England
data showed that personal borrowing via
loans and credit cards was up 7.7 percent
on an annualised basis in September, the
lowest rate since June 2015. It is also well
below the peak of 10.9 percent recorded in
November 2016. ukfinance.org.uk
Self-employed exhibit debt dilemma
A growing number of small business
owners and self-employed people are
facing high levels of debt as they struggle
to keep their businesses afloat, according
to research from Business Debtline.
Findings show that half (49 percent)
of the people contacting the service last
year had debt totaling £10,000 or more,
with nearly a quarter (23 percent) owing
more than £30,000.
Issues such as late payments, low
and variable incomes and a lack of
essential business management skills are
identified as some of the key challenges
that can lead to financial difficulty and
in some cases business failure. Both
business and personal debts are common
amongst the people helped via Business
Debtline, with the two often intermixed,
further complicating their situation.
While the people helped by Business
Debtline had a wide income range, 39
percent had gross business annual
turnover below £25,000. Low and irregular
income were major challenges and often
prevented small business owners from
saving, investing in the business and
having the financial resilience to deal
with changes in circumstances such
as ill health. More than six in 10 callers
surveyed (61 percent) said they had used
personal credit at some point to pay for
business costs in the past two years.
Nearly half (45 percent) of callers
to Business Debtline surveyed said
they experienced problems with late
payments, where they are uncertain
when the money they have earned
will be paid. The issue was common for
both sole traders and company directors.
Before starting trading, most felt
confident completing a budget (80
percent) but they were less confident
constructing a business plan (59 percent)
and completing tax and VAT returns
(47 percent). After seeking advice from
Business Debtline, 82 percent of callers
reported that they felt more in control
of their finances, with 86 percent saying
they were less likely to find themselves
in a similar situation again.
A significant proportion (69 percent)
considered themselves to be in a
vulnerable situation. Financial difficulty
was the main reason given, with
depression, anxiety and stress commonly
cited. For many, being in a vulnerable
situation caused them to struggle to
trade, further impacting their income.
businessdebtline.org
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 11

INSOLVENCY
Budget 2018
The potential impact on insolvency following
the budget announcement.
AUTHOR – David Kerr MCICM
David Kerr
IN among Philip Hammond’s
jokes and the headlines about
the ending of austerity, one of
the main points likely to attract
interest from creditors is the
announcement regarding the
position of HM Revenue & Customs
in insolvencies. In a surprise move,
after dealing with the new digital tax
on corporate giants in his speech, he
switched to a measure that seems to be
characterised as part of a push on tax
avoidance, saying:
‘We must also make sure people play by
the rules. We’ll make HMRC a preferred
creditor in business insolvencies to
ensure that tax which has been collected
on behalf of HMRC is actually paid to
HMRC.’
This is not a criticism of insolvency
practitioners. The Government removed
the Revenue’s preferential status some 15
years ago as part of an initiative to boost
enterprise and allow more money in
insolvency cases to flow through to other
creditors. At the same time it introduced
the prescribed part rules so that the tax
man’s sacrifice wasn’t entirely eaten up by
secured creditors with floating charges.
While some see the return of HMRC’s
preferential status as a backward step,
it might be viewed in conjunction with
an intention to increase the value of
the prescribed part, and perhaps more
widely in the context of other businessfriendly
Budget measures. Irrespective
of the merits of the Chancellor’s move
(and the Treasury’s argument that this
money should go to fund public services
‘as intended’) and bearing in mind that
the Finance Bill has yet to be passed, the
limited information published to date
makes interesting reading.
The taxes at the heart of the measure
are VAT, PAYE/NIC and construction
industry scheme monies collected or
deducted by companies and not passed
over to HMRC at the commencement of
insolvency. Non-payment of such monies
is already a consideration in director
disqualification cases, but that hasn’t
stopped directors using those funds to
finance trading when companies are in
distressed situations. Other tax payable
by the business is not affected.
The proposed change (alongside other
tax avoidance rules targeted at directors)
will come into force on 6 April 2020, so that
in respect of insolvencies commencing
on or after that date the new preferential
status will apply.
UNSECURED CREDITORS?
A key element of the new proposal is that
in respect of the affected taxes, HMRC’s
preferential status will be secondary to
existing preferential creditors such as
the Redundancy Payment Service. So, the
creditors impacted will be floating charge
holders and ordinary unsecured creditors.
Treasury makes the point that lending
to businesses should not be affected in a
‘material’ way, as fixed charges holders
are unaffected, and the reduced recovery
by floating charge holders represents only
a ‘very small fraction’ of total lending;
some may disagree.
There will of course be a negative
impact on unsecured creditors, but
Treasury argues that most will not be
affected as they are usually unable to
recover their debts in any event (only
four percent of debts owed on average,
it states). Some might argue with these
figures and their assessment of the impact
on unsecured creditors; inevitably, those
cases which produce dividends will
in future be likely to produce smaller
dividends (or none at all) for those at the
bottom of the insolvency pecking order.
It is interesting to be returning to
something that existed for the first half
of the 30-year period since the 1986
Insolvency Act. There is some clue to the
Government’s thinking in the wording
of the HM Treasury statement which
suggests these taxes ‘paid in good faith by
(a business’s) employees and customers’
are ‘held on trust’ by the business. There
has not been any suggestion that they
will be regarded as trust monies in a
way that would create all sorts of legal
complications, merely a hint that HMRC
has a moral case for jumping the queue
and claiming its dues (estimated by
Treasury to be £185 million per annum)
on behalf of the Great British public and
taxpayers.
Finally, there has been no published
information at this stage suggesting a limit
on the new preferential claims, unlike
the position with Revenue preferential
creditor claims pre-2003; also, while
the announcement refers to businesses
and could in theory cover individual
insolvent traders, the focus appears to
be on corporate insolvencies. Further
clarification is awaited on these points.
David Kerr MCICM is an insolvency
practitioner with extensive regulatory
experience.
We must also make
sure people play by the
rules. We’ll make HMRC
a preferred creditor in
business insolvencies to
ensure that tax which has
been collected on behalf
of HMRC is actually paid
to HMRC.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 12

OPINION
First impressions
Philip King FCICM reflects on a busy and exciting
year for the CICM, and a series of ‘firsts’.
Philip King FCICM
THEY say that time flies when
you’re having fun. That may
be the case, and often is,
and it is certainly true that
12 months can go by in a
flash when you are busy,
and the Chartered Institute of Credit
Management has probably had one of
its busiest years since I became Chief
Executive in 2006.
Three key purposes of the CICM are
to raise awareness of the importance of
credit management, drive best practice,
and support credit professionals as their
careers develop.
The launch of our Credit Champions
documentary at the start of the year
ticked all three of those boxes and
more. A collaborative initiative with ITN
Productions, it was launched to wide
acclaim at the Credit Summit in March,
and is a programme we are looking to
revisit in 2019.
Indeed 2018 was a year of significant
‘firsts’: our first venture into television
documentaries; the launch of our
Knowledge Hub, providing members and
subscribers with access to more than 1,000
knowledge resources covering the entire
credit management lifecycle; and the
launch of our CICM Mentor Hub, a simple
yet highly-practical way of matching
suitable mentors and mentees.
We also launched our new CICM branch
in Ireland, (see November 2018 news), and
I have been delighted with the enthusiasm
shown by the newly-appointed officers and
the levels of engagement already being
realised.
The thirst for knowledge around
best-practice in credit management, not
just in the UK but also internationally,
was evidenced by the broad spread of
nationalities represented in recent exams.
Students in no fewer than 17 different
countries, from the UK to the US, chose the
education pathway offered by the CICM,
confirming in my mind the essential
role that the CICM continues to play in
delivering real expertise.
That does not mean we can rest on
our laurels, and as you can read on
page 46, we are continually looking at
how our qualifications can be further
enhanced to meet a new generation of
credit professionals, as well as how we can
support a growing number of apprentices.
Closer to home, we celebrated yet
another successful event with our CICM
British Credit Awards and look forward to
announcing our 2019 Awards winners in
February. The Awards continue to grow in
popularity, as does our CICMQ accreditation
scheme that delivers real evidence of bestpractice
credit management in action.
Of course, we have had our challenges
this year too. I do not always find myself
in agreement either with my Peers in other
leading business organisations, or with our
MPs and public servants. I am continually
frustrated by the late payment debate
being hijacked as a point-scoring exercise
without any real understanding of what
can be a very complex issue.
I will say, however, that by debating
the issue, and challenging other people’s
opinions, we are also managing to promote
the importance of credit management, and
I will continue to champion the value that
professional credit managers can add to
building better businesses.
With that in mind, I wish you all a Merry
Christmas and a happy and prosperous
New Year.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 13

OPINION
Plus Ça
Change?
Is it time for the larger free debt
advice organisations to merge or will
they continue to ignore the elephant in
the room?
AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM
ASK anyone working in
consumer credit about the
debt advice sector, and you’re
likely to hear a broad range
of views, especially when
it comes to how free debt
advice is funded. Amid the calls for a
more level playing field, and for Fair
Share payments to be – well – fair, there
are also murmurs that the sector should
stop squandering limited resources and
consolidate (see boxed out section).
Certainly they would not be the first to
see consolidation as a logical next step. One
only has to think of the examples of Age
Concern and Help the Aged, pooling their
resources and coming together as Age UK, or
the consolidation that led to the creation of
Cancer Research UK.
There are also examples closer to
home. In July 2017, UK Finance came
into being, bringing together various
disparate financial bodies (including the
British Bankers Association, The Asset-
Based Finance Association, the Council of
Mortgage Lenders, the UK Cards Association
etc) under one roof. Stephen Jones, the UK
Chief Executive said at the time that ‘…the
boundaries between banking services are
blurring, enabling the industry to become
more efficient and customer-focused.’
The argument at the time was that
consolidation would save money, maximise
resources, and bring a single, more powerful
and more unified voice to government in what
are essential services for business growth.
Whether it has succeeded in its mission is
rather difficult to tell, and approaches to the
UK Finance Press Office have yielded little
(or indeed nothing) in the way of supportive
facts. Instinctively, however, it feels like the
right thing to have done, even if some of the
larger directors’ salaries do not seem to have
completely disappeared.
Consolidation in the debt advice sector, it
is argued, could similarly save considerable
amounts of cash, and this is money that
could be better spent in supporting the
customer. A glance at various publicly
available accounts might suggest where
savings could be realised.
The outgoing CEO of StepChange Debt
Charity, for example, reportedly earned
more than £180,000 in 2017 (according to its
annual report), while the total remuneration
to senior staff was just shy of £1.2 million.
The chief executive and two deputy chief
executives at the Money Advice Trust (MAT),
by comparison, earned more than £270,000
between them.
Christians Against Poverty (CAP), meanwhile,
states in its annual report that the
total remuneration paid to its four key
management personnel totalled c£300,000
in 2017. If we add to these numbers the
salary of the highest-paid director of Payplan
(Payplan is not a charity but still receives
industry funding) – a salary it should be
noted that has risen by almost 70 percent in
the last 12 months to more than £190,000 –
then c£2 million is paid out to fewer than 30
people. And that figure does not take into
account pension contributions, dividends
etc.
Good people cost money, and there is
nothing to suggest that these executives don’t
earn every penny and possibly more besides.
(There is arguably something incongruous
about high-earners providing services to
the least well-off, but that’s a story best left
to the Red Tops.) And while salaries will
grab the headlines, the real cost is in the
infrastructure and cost of operations.
StepChange has a dozen or so offices
in the UK and employs c1,500 staff. MAT
employs 190. CAP a further 260 at its head
office. Start adding up the staff costs and
total expenditure, and it doesn’t take long
to see that tens of millions of pounds are
being spent by multiple organisations who
are effectively endeavouring to deliver
fundamentally the same thing – helpful debt
advice to struggling consumers.
Those organisations might themselves
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 14

OPINION
Sean Feast FCICM
Not so Fair
DEBT Buying members of the Credit Services Association (CSA) are on
target to contribute at least £25.5 million in voluntary ‘Fair Share’ payments
in 2018 to help fund free-to-customer debt advisers, according to latest
statistics.
This is an increase on the 2017 total of £23 million which at the time
represented 46 percent of the £50 million the Money Advice Service (MAS)
reports as contributed by the financial services sector in its entirety to
StepChange Debt Charity, PayPlan and Christians Against Poverty.
The contribution, which has risen from c£15 million in 2016, an increase
of 70 percent, has led some senior debt industry executives to question
both the existing funding model and whether the debt advice sector itself
should be re-organised.
“The industry is paying more than its fair share of ‘Fair Share’, and not
shirking its responsibilities,” says John Ricketts, President of the CSA. “In
fact, our members’ voluntary Fair Share contributions, when added to the
recent substantial increase in the Financial Conduct Authority levy on debt
buyers to directly fund the Money Advice Service (MAS), means that debt
buyers are being asked to contribute a total of £30 million to help fund debt
advice in the UK.
“Where we should really be looking is at the effectiveness and efficiency
of a fragmented debt advice sector who all fundamentally deliver the same
thing. There certainly needs to be an ongoing review of how all free-to-use
debt advice is funded in the future – it needs to be fair and proportionate
funding from all sectors that benefit including Utilities, Local Authorities
and Central Government.
“But there also needs to be a root and branch review of how debt advice
is delivered and whether consolidating and therefore simplifying those
activities will deliver a better, more cost-effective and more sustainable
service to the consumer. We remain committed to working with the
regulator, the MAS and the debt advice sector in finding a fair, workable
and sustainable long-term funding solution.”
Additional reporting by Ali Bond.
argue, with some justification, that their
services are different. Joanna Elson OBE,
Chief Executive of MAT, says that each charity
has different models and channels, and that
their services are complementary. “That
said,” she explains, “there is a need for even
closer working, to ensure people receive the
right support they need as early as possible,
and that collectively we use the resources
available as cost-effectively as we can.”
Joanna says that MAT is continuing to
explore further opportunities for working
more closely together to ensure it delivers
services in an efficient and effective way:
“We are grateful to our funders and other
stakeholders for their help in ensuring we
collectively operate in a way that meets the
needs of the thousands of clients who need
our help,” she adds.
Alistair Chisholm of Payplan chimes a
similar message and conciliatory tone: “We
believe in consumer choice and working
together with partners to deliver services
effectively, ensuring that advice funding is
used efficiently and spent in a way that is
measurable. We believe in a collaborative
approach to providing debt advice as
this allows each provider to play to their
strengths.”
Christians Against Poverty, in its
submission to Peter Wyman’s [report], is on a
similar page, citing the nuanced differences
in the services that various organisations
provide: ‘CAP’s model is unique because it
is designed to accommodate and support
people with multi-complex needs. As a
result, it is an expensive model that can only
cater for small numbers. There is a need for a
variety of different channels to cater for all in
need of debt advice, but extending a service
due to its cost-effectiveness should not be the
sole dimension of the decision’.
Consolidation, of course, is only ever a
good thing if it results in an improved service
for the customer. There are doubtless many
examples of mergers within the commercial
space that promised much, but in the end
simply resulted in a small number of top
executives filling their boots without any
discernible improvement in the customer
experience. Indeed, by consolidating the debt
advice charities and associated organisations,
it could be a case of ‘be careful what you wish
for’ if the end result is a bloated, inflexible
organisation that loses sight of its real
purpose. Sometimes niche, focused charities
deliver better outcomes.
That said, it’s clear that the issue needs to
be addressed. At the moment, debt collection
agencies, for example, are obliged to
signpost a dozen or so debt advisors in their
correspondence with customers, but how
such a list is meant to make life easier for the
consumer is difficult to fathom. Channelling
those enquiries through a single entity could
be the answer.
In his own report, Peter Wyman says that
at the very least, debt advice organisations
need to redouble efforts to achieve efficiency
savings, and that the sector had to ‘move with
the times’. He also states that the quality of
advice given ‘is not uniformly high’ which
adds another layer of challenge.
It would take a brave executive to lead on
this debate, and an incredibly brave turkey
who voted for Christmas. It would mean
casting egos aside and the point scoring
that is sometimes evident in their PR and
marketing campaigns. But like any huge
elephant in the room, the issue cannot stay
hidden forever, especially in the context of
ongoing rumblings among creditors with
regards future funding.
Creditors, understandably, want to know
that the money they are contributing is being
properly spent, and going to support the
customers who need it, rather than feeding
an inefficient engine that may be in urgent
need of retuning.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 15

INTERVIEW
ON THE
FRONT FOOT
Sean Feast FCICM speaks to
Derek Usher about debt purchase,
customer engagement, and the batting
style of Geoffrey Boycott.
LIKE many senior executives
in the credit industry, Derek
Usher never set out to work in
collections. His parents owned
a small general store in Erith,
Kent, and the family lived above
and behind the shop. His father also worked
nights as a lathe operator in a local factory, so
Derek has always understood the concept of
hard work: “If you work hard then good things
come from it and opportunities will come your
way,” he says.
It certainly seems to be true in Derek’s case.
From comparatively humble, working class
origins he is now the Managing Director for
Cabot Credit Management’s UK debt purchase
business, a role he has held since 2016.
Originally schooled at Southfields in
Gravesend (in 1997, Southfields was named as
one of the worst in the country and put under
special measures!), he found happier times
when his parents move to Felixstowe, and
he attended the local Comprehensive. Derek
proved a capable student: “I was in the top
sets,” he says, “but whereas for some it came
easily, I always had to work hard.”
NARROW CHOICE
Derek remembers little or nothing in the way
of significant careers advice, but does recall
narrowing his choice between being a quantity
surveyor or an accountant. “I was fixated on
who earned the most,” he laughs, “and in the
end decided that being close to the money was
probably the best route!”
It proved a wise decision. At Brighton
Polytechnic he opted for a one-year foundation
course followed by four years of articles, which
he spent with a small, local practice, Chater
Spain. “I had been interviewed by Touche
Ross,” he explains and got through to the
second interview. “Then they wanted me back
for a third as they said it was between me and
one other, and they couldn’t decide. I made
the decision for them and declined. I’d been
offered a job by Chater Spain, and wanted to
work for a company that wanted me.”
It proved yet another wise decision, and
Derek spent a thoroughly enjoyable four
years at the firm, quickly learning the ropes
and working closely with small businesses,
understanding their operations from the
ground up. It was a learning curve that has
proven invaluable ever since.
From Chater Spain he joined Brighton’s
biggest employer, American Express, initially
in a Finance role for Europe, the Middle East
and Africa (EMEA) and then into operations.
This included, in the latter stages, a focus on
the firm’s collections operations: “My role
was to automate processes that were then still
largely manual,” he says.
“American Express was a great business to
work for,” he continues, “and had a fantastic
culture and customer service ethic. Many of
the people I worked with there are still friends
today.”
AMERICAN FRIENDS
Among those friends and colleagues was Ken
Stannard, Derek’s boss today. “Ken said that
I needed to leave before I became part of the
furniture,” he smiles. As it was, Derek received
a call from another former colleague, James
Corcoran (now of New Day), to join him at
Bank One where he was Chief Executive: “I
was initially the Minister without Portfolio,” he
jokes.
That all changed, however, with the sale of
the business to the Halifax: “Coinciding with
my arrival were two profit warnings from the
business in the US, and after the sale our very
small business ended up running Halifax’
credit card business.”
His time at the Halifax was exciting to say
the least. They grew the business quickly and
profitably, at one point adding more than one
million customers in a year. Derek learned
a good many lessons, about what to do and
what not to do! In 2004, however, and although
having been offered a new role in Leeds as Head
of Collections for the Retail Bank, he decided
instead to resign so that he could go travelling
with his wife.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 16

“If you work hard then
good things come from
it and opportunities will
come your way”
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 17 continues on page 18 >

INTERVIEW
AUTHOR – SEAN FEAST
“I knew that if I didn’t do it then, I
might never get around to it,” he explains.
“As it was, the company did not accept
my resignation, and I was able to take a
sabbatical, travelling across South America,
North America, Australia, New Zealand and
India, and spending several weeks skiing in
France. My fondest memory was in Central
Australia, sleeping out under the stars in
a swag bag. It is only then that you realise
how small you are!”
INTEGRATION ROLE
On his return, Derek once more threw
himself into his role, moving to Leeds and
spending four years with the business until
it was taken over by the Lloyds Banking
Group (LBG), by which time he was the
Chief Operating Officer for its Retail
operations, responsible for more than
14,000 staff at its peak. He was latterly the
Integration Director of LBG, and as such
has some sympathy for the IT traumas
recently experienced by TSB as it looked
to migrate systems: “We had every form of
contingency plan but in the end we were
able to stand the team down after a week
as the programme had been a success,” he
says.
The workload, however, was relentless:
“We were working every day, starting with a
conference call at 7-30 in the morning and
finishing with another at 6-00 at night, for
the better part of 18 months,” he continues.
“I was working for Mark Fisher, the COO
for LBG. Mark had led the RBS/NatWest
integration which was the benchmark
project of its time, so knew what it took to
be successful. He was super smart but very
demanding.”
Moving south once again, Derek was
tempted away from LBG with an offer
from Travelex to become the global CIO:
“We’d come to the end of the integration
programme and all of the jobs I might
have been interested in were filled, so the
opportunity came just at the right time.
Travelex was getting ready for a sale; it
operated in 26 countries that had been
somewhat under-invested in terms of
technology, and so there was a great deal of
work to do. In the time I was there, we were
able to significantly improve service levels
and make some general improvements to
systems and processes, but we never quite
achieved everything we wanted.”
Derek stayed on until after the
business was sold, and shortly afterwards
he agreed to join Ken Stannard at Cabot.
“Ken had spoken to me before to get me
to join him at Marlin, and now that the
business had merged with Cabot, Ken’s
role had expanded to include Europe and
he needed a dedicated managing director
for Cabot’s debt purchase operations.
While I had never bought debt before, I
had sold some.”
Using his accountant’s skill in getting
beneath the skin of a business, Derek
identified where further improvements
could be made, especially in the use of
analytics and improving the customer
journey. The business had just become
one of the first to achieve FCA approval,
and was looking to optimise its position in
the market.
“I felt we’d become something of a ‘tickbox’
company,” he tells me, honestly, “in
the way that we engaged with customers.
In one of the first calls that I listened into,
a woman was making her last payment,
and wanted to give us some feedback. She
said that while we had always been very
helpful and polite, she did not have the
same experience with every creditor. Even
then I thought that we could do more, and
so worked hard with the management
team to further improve our customer
engagement and better understand the
customer’s individual position.”
BOARDROOM MEETINGS
Since joining the business, Derek has
instigated a regular Friday morning
Boardroom catch up, involving every
department, listening to calls and
discussing how those calls were handled:
“If a customer cannot pay, they cannot
pay,” he adds. “Yes of course as a Debt
Purchaser, the amount we collect and
over what time period is important. What
is more important, however, is achieving
the right outcome for the customer,
because in doing that you can build a
sustainable business.”
SIZE ADVANTAGE
As the largest Debt Purchasing business
in the UK, Cabot has the advantage of
size. This has enabled it to invest in new
digital technologies such as ‘Eureka’.
Eureka analyses conversations in real
time, converts them into text and defines
‘rules’ that can prompt the consultant
into asking specific questions based on
what has been said. “Our consultants are
very well trained,” he says, “but Eureka
is an excellent tool in helping them help
their customer to the right outcome. They
really like it.”
Size and scale have also been important
in meeting the additional costs involved
in gaining FCA approval: “The FCA
has been a good thing for the industry
overall, because it has led to a focus on
the customer and demonstrating good
customer standards. Yes it has added an
additional layer of cost but arguably this
was needed.”
Derek says that being the best that you
can in whatever you do, is a good mantra
to live by: “You have to make the most of
any opportunities that come your way,”
he explains, “and throw yourself into
whatever you do. But by the same token,”
he adds, “keep life in perspective.”
A keen sportsman and a self-confessed
evangelical ‘green’, Derek still likes to
keep fit by cycling and has set himself a
number of personal challenges for the
year to run 1,000km, cycle 1,000km, and
perform 12,000 sit ups and 12,000 press
ups. He’s on target, but still has 311K left
to run at the time of writing. But Derek’s
particular passion is for cricket; he
coaches a local Under 11’s team and as a
batsman modelled himself on the great
Geoffrey Boycott: “I could bat all day and
still not score many runs,” he laughs.
You have to make the most of any
opportunities that come your way,
and throw yourself into whatever you
do. But by the same token, keep life in
perspective.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 18

OPINION
BUDGET
SURPRISES
Time to dust off your old manuals?
AUTHOR – Frances Coulson
MANY of the initial reports
of the budget
streaming into your inbox
will have cheered
small businesses, focused
as they were on
income tax, digital commerce tax and business
rates cuts. However in the world of insolvency
and therefore in the wider credit
arena, two areas of the budget sent shockwaves
through the finance and insolvency
professions and will have a radical effect on
credit, business start-ups and rescue as well
as the very concept of limited liability.
First, the big announcement, in respect
of which there was no prior warning
or consultation (even, it seems within
HMRC or BEIS) the resurrection of Crown
preference in insolvency. The view is that
VAT, Employers’ NIC, PAYE and CIS are
all taxes collected on behalf of the Crown
and therefore should not form part of the
available funds for unsecured creditors in
an insolvency. For example, Company A
supplies Company B with widgets for £1,000
plus VAT. Company B pays Company A
£1,200 – £1,000 is for the widgets and £200
is for Company B’s VAT payment which
Company A should pay over to HMRC. So far
so logical. However, in a real-life situation
cash fluctuates and all the VAT, to take one
example, is not sitting in a deposit account
for HMRC but is used in the business of
Company A. So long as Company A pays
that VAT over to HMRC on the due date no
problem, but if Company A is insolvent and
the £200 is no longer there, the administrator
or liquidator of Company A will realise its
assets and, where appropriate, bring claims
against directors to replenish the company
pot for creditors. At present, aside limited
preferential creditors such as employees,
the company pot after payment of secured
creditors is paid to the unsecured creditors
– including HMRC – ‘pari passu’.
In administration the Enterprise Act
2002 which abolished Crown preference
also made provision for a ‘prescribed part’
carved out of floating charge realisations
(as floating charge holders were getting
a Crown windfall in the Crown no longer
being preferential) of up to £600,000 for
unsecured creditor then including the
Crown. From 2020 it seems the prescribed
part will change or go. In insolvent estates
HMRC will rarely have trust money in the
form of carefully preserved tax to recover
so will eat into unsecured creditor returns
generally.
At the time of the Enterprise Act
arguments were made that the abolition of
Crown preference was good for business
and for UK plc. They were right. The old
order meant that HMRC were far too quick
to liquidate and make a grab for their cash
when in fact business rescue was feasible.
This is a shortsighted move even if done in
the name of the good of the taxpayer. What
UK plc needs is a good flow of lending, a
good rescue culture, and an efficient pursuit
of those who trade at the expense of their
creditors and fail. Instead lending and trade
credit will tighten and the Crown might well
find that its take goes down not up. All this
at a time when businesses face the Brexit
challenge. While the changes announced
do not usurp the position of secured lenders
with fixed charges, many of the challenger
lenders who have proved so vital in SME
lending do not have fixed charges and might
look harder at their lending criteria.
BARRIER TO BUSINESS
As if this wasn’t bad enough the other
HMRC proposals, which were (briefly)
consulted upon-and apparently universally
condemned-in their ‘Tax Abuse in
Insolvency’ paper, have also been adopted
in the budget. These proposals allow
HMRC – as Judge Jury and Executioner – to
determine when a company is guilty of tax
evasion or avoidance, or phoenixism, and
look directly to directors for recovery. Again,
this must tighten lending. The Treasury has
previously been keen to resist any erosion of
limited liability as a barrier to business, but
it seems that this is all forgotten in a shortterm
land grab by HMRC.
Many now successful businesses
have arisen from early failure. Would
entrepreneurs try again so readily if their
family home is on the line? Would a lender
support them trying again or provide a
distressed business with finance under the
post 2020 regime? Less likely. Fewer and
fewer businesses are built on fixed asset
bases in the SME market. Floating charge
and unsecured lending has enabled such
business to thrive.
Time to tighten your credit policies?
These proposals allow
HMRC – as Judge Jury
and Executioner
– to determine
when a company is
guilty of tax evasion
or avoidance, or
phoenixism, and look
directly to directors
for recovery.
Frances Coulson
Head of Insolvency and
Litigation at Moon Beever
Solicitors.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 19

ASK THE EXPERTS
Passport to Export
How can best-practice credit management support
international growth?
AUTHOR – Lauren Carter FCICM
WE live in uncertain
times, and the
invention of the
all-seeing crystal
ball is still on Elon
Musk’s ‘to do’ list
(perhaps). Political uncertainty is global:
Brexit, Trump’s trade tariffs and China’s
retaliation mean that politics is impacting
international trade in every region of the
world. Changes in global trade links on
this scale are likely to have an increasingly
disruptive effect in the coming years.
But uncertainty and disruption also
produce opportunity: as patterns of
international trade shift, new doors open.
Companies that are prepared to step into
new markets can maximise their chances
of capitalising on new opportunities and
position themselves for success. While
many companies are currently choosing
to delay decisions in the short-term, this
needs to be balanced against the risk of
missing a window of opportunity that
change on this scale can bring.
Companies thinking of trading in new
countries need to know how to expand
their operations into these areas, and the
credit function has a clear role to play
in managing the risk associated with
this. Here we look at factors that can
help credit managers deliver strategic
and operational advantage in unfamiliar
territories.
UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT
Knowledge of political, social and
economic conditions is essential for good
credit management. A country’s sovereign
risk impacts trade at a national level, so it
is important to be aware of the operating
environment. A PESTLE analysis is a
useful tool to aid the understanding of
the factors at play, and staying abreast of
current affairs gives global context to the
trading relationships being set up.
Knowledge of local market conditions
is also important. Not all competitors
operate in all territories, so who are the
local competition? What trading terms
do they offer? How does their offering
compare and what advantages does your
company have? Credit management
always happens within the business
context and so it is essential for credit
managers to understand the strength of
their commercial position on a local basis.
REVIEW YOUR STRATEGY
Entering a new territory should trigger
a review of risk strategy, as it needs to
be adjusted to match the new trading
conditions. New countries may have very
different market conditions, requiring a
new approach to commercial risk. Even
if market conditions are similar, the
competitive forces at play in entering
a new market may require a riskier
commercial position, such as loss leaders
and penetration pricing. Take the time
to set your risk appetite and set out the
policies that naturally follow from that.
For example, if local competition means
you have to set your prices lower, then
a reduction in payment terms will help
support profit margins. Alternatively, if
the company needs to accept a greater
level of credit risk in order to support
growth, then ensure that the bad debt
provision is a true reflection of the
commercial position.
UPDATE YOUR POLICY
The credit policy formalises a company’s
approach to credit and sets out the
processes that will be used, so consider
how this needs to be adapted to include the
needs of trading in the new territory. Set
out what currencies you will accept, and
consider whether a local bank account is
needed. Consider what payment methods
will be accepted, as payment platforms
can have regional prevalence, such as
Alipay in China. Currencies and platforms
may bring a greater risk exposure, but
can be a source of competitive advantage
by making the trading relationship
easier for the customer, so link this into
a commercial strategy. Consider revising
KPIs to ensure they drive performance in
the appropriate way. If payment terms are
reduced, there should be a corresponding
reduction in DSO targets. Bad debt targets
need to be adjusted if the level of risk has
changed.
New territories can require the company
to adopt a different organisational
structure or distribution channel, and
so decisions need to be made to ensure
that roles and responsibilities are clear.
Will the credit team undertake customer
visits, and if so, who will they visit and how
frequently? The policy also needs to set
out who is responsible for accepting the
risk of exceptional transactions for the
territory, who has the authority to put customers
on stop, and who needs to attend
internal risk review meetings.
TAILOR YOUR CONTRACTS
Contracts need to be adapted when trading
in a new country. The requirements for
executing a contract differ around the
world, with some countries needing only
verbal acceptance and others needing a
signed or double signed agreement. Other
countries require a contract to be stamped
with a company stamp. This is important
because in the event of non-payment, a
debt cannot be legally enforced if it is not
supported by a valid contract.
In some countries, an email is sufficient
to form a valid contract, and in others
email is not considered legally binding.
Electronic signature of agreements is
widely but not universally accepted, so
check local precedents before this method
of contracting is deployed as standard
(docusign.com/how-it-works/legality/
global) is a good resource for this.
If you use personal guarantees,
make sure that you understand the
requirements for how this needs to be
drafted and implemented in order to be
legally enforceable in your new territory.
Jurisdictional clauses also need to
be tailored to international trading.
Prescribing that the company’s ‘home’
law governs a contract gives some degree
of certainty over legal risks, however can
restrict debt recovery options. Specifying
that legal action can be brought in a
customer’s jurisdiction can make recovery
quicker and cheaper, so a non-exclusive
clause can be beneficial. Ensure that
whatever is used supports the company
strategy and consider all of the risks.
BUILD YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Developing a knowledge of a few key facts
about a country can help an organisation
avoid common pitfalls. For example,
an understanding of the legal forms of
companies in each country will help in
assessing risk and determining what
assets can be levied in a non-payment
situation; and knowing the relevant
limitation period enables a collections
approach designed to avoid unnecessary
write-offs. In some countries, debt is time
barred after two years so overdue accounts
need to be escalated in a timely manner.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 20

ASK THE EXPERTS
AUTHOR – Lauren Carter FCICM
While many companies are currently choosing to
delay decisions in the short-term, this needs to be
balanced against the risk of missing a window of
opportunity that change on this scale can bring.
Companies selling services need to
be aware that cancellation fees are not
enforceable in some jurisdictions where
there is no provision for a charge where
no service has been rendered. Companies
selling goods need to be aware of local
retention of title (RoT) regulations. Most
countries do acknowledge RoT clauses,
but there are variations in the ease of
implementation and the requirements on
the creditor to notify, so be aware of how
this works.
Finally, a basic understanding of the
local insolvency framework is likely to be
needed, particularly for companies who
tolerate a higher degree of credit risk. An
understanding of the types of insolvency
processes available, and the requirements
and deadlines associated with these
processes will help to maximise the
return to the creditor.
Lauren Carter
DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS
Building relationships is a key part of
good credit management and is essential
when entering a new territory. Strong
customer relationships are as important
as ever, but additionally, relationships
with local partners such as distributors
and shippers can be valuable as a
source of information. Discussions with
collections partners at an early stage
give an opportunity to develop SLAs
tailored to suit the local processes in the
new territory, and to learn from their
in-country experiences.
Contacts can also help to develop
an understanding of local culture
and conditions. It is likely that sales
colleagues will have already travelled to
the new country and can provide valuable
information to the credit team. Informal
discussions with people in your network
can also be a good source of advice and
information on local culture and trading
conditions.
These uncertain times can produce
exciting and profitable opportunities to
those who are prepared to venture into
new markets. I hope these ideas will be
useful to credit managers in supporting
businesses in their strategic goals through
these times of change.
Lauren Carter FCICM is Managing
Director of Vantage Credit
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 21

CICMQ
Teamwork at the heart
Equinix
EQUINIX connects the world’s
leading businesses to their
customers, employees and
partners inside the world's most
connected data centres.
More than 7,000 employees work in some
44 markets across five continents, and
have achieved 62 consecutive quarters of
revenue growth. In August 2018 quarterly
revenues had increased 18 percent year-onyear
to $1.262 billion.
“By involving the team to fully participate
and project manage the accreditation
journey, our people are more engaged
and learn new skills along the way,” says
Nick Williams MCICM, Senior Manager
(EMEA), Credit and Collections Equinix.
“The team members were able to give
“AS part of the development of the
apprentices in our credit academy,
we decided that they should take
responsibility for organising the reaccreditation,”
says Phil Rice FCICM, Head
of Credit, Aggregate Industries. “This was
a challenge because they had never done
anything like this before, but we felt it was
good experience and essential as part of
their development. They also went on to
present their experience at a CICMQ best
practice event.”
The company has a full-time
complement of 34 in the credit services
team that handle inbound payments,
their input based around their practical
experience of our operations and that
makes the processes more robust and fit for
purpose.
“I experienced how proud each individual
feels to be part of the process leading up
to the accreditation, and the jubilation it
brings when you are successful. It was my
target to gain the accreditation within two
years of joining Equinix and I am pleased to
say we did it within 16 months.”
Pam Thomas FCICM, CICMQ Assessor,
said in her report: “Good controls
and policies together with strong
communication continue to be a key
activity in the department. This ensures
that disputes and queries are kept to a
minimum and overdue debt is reduced.”
Apprentices lead the charge
Aggregate Industries
allocation, credit risk, cash collection and
legal. A number are undertaking Level 3
and Level 5 CICM qualifications, and each
has to complete 18 hours CPD each year and
attend an industry conference or workshop.
They also actively participate in CICMQ
workshops and exchange staff with other
CICMQ accredited companies so they can
gain experience and share best practice.
“There have been a significant number
of major developments in the team
since Aggregate Industries completed
its first QICM/CICMQ Accreditation in
2010,” says Chris Sanders FCICM, Head of
Accreditation – CICMQ.
The Right Energy
GAZPROM Energy, the award-winning
supplier backed by one of the world’s
largest energy companies, has achieved
CICMQ accreditation following an
impressive assessment performance
in which it delivered an extremely
detailed and high-level evidence file,
accompanied by support from key
stakeholders within the business.
Sharon Noland MCICM, Credit Risk
Manager at Gazprom Energy, says that
education and future training is crucial
to the organisation: “The company
culture places a lot of emphasis on
people, development and recognition,
which has been very successful and
something we will look to continue.”
Gazprom Energy has 350 employees
operating across three countries,
supplying over 30,000 industrial and
commercial customers across the UK.
Their parent company, Gazprom, are
responsible for 13 percent of global gas
production.
Injection of Quality
PIONEERS in the development of blood
glucose monitoring systems, Roche
Diabetes Care, excelled in a number
of areas during CICMQ accreditation,
including outstanding training and
development plans for staff.
Roche Diabetes Care, part of the
Roche group, was created in 2014 for
the import, market and distribution of
diabetes care equipment, associated
consumables and value adding services
to the UK and Irish healthcare markets.
It employs over 150 people across the
UK and Ireland, and last year reported a
turnover circa £79 million.
Christelle Madie, FCICM(Grad), MSc
Credit Solutions Manager at Roche
Diabetes Care says: “Our aim is to keep
the bar high and continually improve;
the opportunity to access a wider bank
of knowledge through the Best Practice
network is a key advantage of CICMQ.
There is also a keen and growing
interest within the team to embark
on CICM training courses and attend
professional forums.”
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 22

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THE ONLY AML RESOURCE YOU NEED

OPINION
Victory for law and
common sense
Payments due in construction contracts can be
very complicated and a cause of disputes – not easy
for credit managers.
AUTHOR – Peter Walker
IF you should see me in London’s
Leicester Square, I am usually
going to the neighbouring
Chinatown for a meal of Chinese
dim sum, but a winding-up petition
relating to the development and
conversion of Victory House in the Square
instead was recently the concern of a High
Court judge. A creditor, the contractor,
had petitioned for the winding-up of the
employer because of non-payment of over
£800,000 awarded by an adjudicator of an
arbitration.
An unusual element of the case was
that the debt was not disputed, but it was
part of a complicated transaction. The
complication was a counter-claim for more
than the outstanding amount.
The dispute itself arose from a
contractor’s application for an interim
payment under a building contract to
develop and convert Victory House into
a hotel. The contract was governed by
the JCT Design and Build Contract 2011,
and the agreement referred to interim
payments and pay-less notices should
there be disputes about the instalments.
There is also legislation such as the Scheme
for Construction Contracts (England and
Wales) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/649).
These agreements are very complicated:
credit management is very difficult.
The debtor, or employer of the
contractor, therefore challenged the
petition for winding up, and it had made
what is called a Part 8 Application under
the Civil Procedure Rules. A claimant may
use this procedure, where it firstly ‘seeks
the court’s decision on a question which
is unlikely to involve a substantial dispute
of fact’. There may alternatively be a
specified type of proceedings, although this
seemingly did not apply to this situation.
The situation was a building contract
providing for stage payments. The
contractor was to obtain a transformer
or substation from the relevant statutory
authority. Once this had been installed,
work could begin to commission the hotel’s
electrical and mechanical services.
DISPUTED DELAYS
An arbitration and High Court judges
indicate that there were problems. These
included delays and a disagreement
about the entitlement of the contractor
to an interim or stage payment. In
March 2017 the parties to the agreement
tried to resolve the dispute by means
of a Memorandum of Understanding
acknowledging the delays. This included
the information that the contract price
was around £6.6m, but the employer had
paid just over £8 million. The contractor
wanted more funds to complete the job.
The Memorandum allowed for three stage
payments of £200,000 each.
The first two payments were made,
and in June 2017 there was an operating
transformer. The contractor then applied
for a payment under the main contract.
The amount was just over £682,000
plus VAT. The employer objected, and
it asserted that payments were now
governed by the Memorandum.
Time for arbitration! There were
plenty of issues including the allegation
that the third payment required by the
Memorandum had not been made. The
Adjudicator decided that it was legally
binding, but importantly that it did not
supersede the building contract. The
Memorandum suspended the obligation
to make interim payments under that
contract until the transformer had been
installed. The employer should therefore
pay the amount demanded plus of course
interest until the date of payment.
NATURAL JUSTICE
The employer then decided to appeal to
the Technology and Construction Court
in the High Court, where in November
2017 Joanna Smith QC sitting as a deputy
judge reviewed the facts in Victory House
General Partner Ltd v RGB P&C Ltd
[2018] EWHC 102 (TCC). The employer
asserted that there had been a breach of
natural justice, and it suggested that the
adjudicator had gone ‘on a frolic of his
own’.
Joanna Smith QC responded by
referring to the judgment in Cantillon
Ltd v Urvasco Ltd [2008 EWHC 282
(TCC), which stated the obvious, that an
adjudicator must be shown to have failed
to apply the rules of natural justice. The
breaches must be material such as where
the adjudicator has failed to bring to the
attention of the parties an important
issue. An adjudicator’s frolic would apply,
for example, if he or she decided on a
factual or legal issue not argued by either
side.
Edwards-Stuart J in Roe Brickwork Ltd
v Wates Construction Ltd [2013] EWHC
3417 (TCC) refined this ruling. It would
be acceptable for an adjudicator to decide
on the information before him or her,
although neither party had contended it.
They must, however, have been aware of
the material.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 24

OPINION
AUTHOR – Peter Walker
On the facts in front of her Joanna
Smith QC, in her judgment in January
2018, rejected the contention that the
arbitrator had failed to apply the rules
of natural justice. The parties had, for
example, made submissions regarding
the Memorandum of Understanding.
There were other considerations, and
the adjudicator had furthermore posed
specific questions to the parties, who
had the opportunity to answer. Part 8
Procedure was not appropriate in a claim
including disputed facts.
WINDING UP OR WIND-UP
The adjudication debt, however, as
ordered by Joanna Smith QC was unpaid
in February 2018, so the contractor
petitioned to wind up the employer.
The employer applied in the Chancery
Division of the High Court, to strike out
the petition. Morgan J in the resulting
case In re Victory House General Partner
Ltd [2018] 3 WLR 1024 noted that there was
other litigation, not about the judgment
debt, but about a liability to make a
further payment under the contract.
The contractor, for example, had made
an application for a further payment of
around £3 million, and the absence of any
payment resulted in another adjudication.
The adjudicator significantly decided that
the value of the work done was around £7
million, but that the contractor had been
paid around £8.5 million, i.e. there had
been an overpayment.
This did not end the dispute, because
the employer, not the contractor, initiated
a third arbitration. It claimed that there
were defects in the work.
Morgan J considered this background
to the contractor’s winding-up petition.
He noted that, if the employer paid
the judgment debt resulting from the
first arbitration, it would have a crossclaim
against the contractor due to the
overpayment found by the adjudicator in
the second arbitration.
He turned for guidance to the decision
of Coulson J in Grove Developments Ltd
v S&T (UK) Ltd [2018] EWHC 123 (TCC).
This case concerned the construction
of a new hotel at Heathrow Terminal 4.
There was a completion date of October
2016, but the project was not ready until
March 2017. There were three subsequent
adjudications. The first decided that a
Schedule of Amendments was part of the
contract. The second decided that the
contractor was entitled to an extension
of time, but only until January 2017. The
third arose from the employer’s pay-less
notice in response to the contractor’s
application for a stage payment. This is
important to credit management, because
if an employer does not serve such a notice
on time, it is deemed to have accepted
the valuation. This is known as a smashand-grab
claim, whereby a contractor
claims payment of the sums in their
interim application without regard to the
employer’s assessment as to its validity.
The third arbitration concluded that it was
not entitled to do so with the result that
the contractor was entitled to £14 million.
The employer finally started a Part
8 Application, but Coulson J ruled that
the pay-less notice was effective. It was
accompanied by a spreadsheet detailing
the sum to be paid. Coulson J added
that upon payment the employer could
apply for an adjudication of the true sum
due. It could then make a claim for any
consequent financial adjustment.
NO SHORT CUTS
There are consequently no short cuts when
the other party has what Nourse LJ in the
Court of Appeal described as ‘a genuine
and serious cross-claim’. He did not have
to deal with a Part 8 Application, but he
was considering an undisputed debt case
In re Bayoil SA [1999] 1 WLR 1471. Bayoil
had chartered a tanker, but there were
problems with the tanker’s engines and
with the voyage generally. There were
disputes resulting in an arbitration, and
the ship’s owner was awarded over $1
million. When there was a subsequent
petition to wind up Bayoil, it did not
dispute the debt, but its counterclaim
exceeded the awarded amount.
Nourse LJ proceeded cautiously, and he
pointed out the potentially serious effects
of a winding-up order. It was ‘draconian’,
and if it was wrongly made, a company
would have little chance of revival.
Morgan J in the Victory House case
followed this reasoning. The amount
awarded by the adjudicator was not
disputed, but the employer had a
substantial bona fide cross-claim based
on the alleged overpayment. The judge
therefore dismissed the winding-up
petition.
A victory for law and common sense!
A Part 8 Application or winding-up
petition can be the correct procedure
after the award of an undisputed and
unpaid judgment debt, but there are no
procedural short cuts if the debtor has a
justifiable cross-claim. Where there are
complicated building and other contracts
involving stage payments, credit managers
must monitor them carefully.
Peter Walker is a freelance business
writer.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 25

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TRADE TALK
A true collaboration
Working with UK Export Finance to implement the
Government’s Export Strategy.
AUTHOR – Lesley Batchelor OBE FCICM
Lesley Batchelor
OVER the summer the
Government announced
its intention to increase
exports as a proportion
of GDP from 30 percent
to 35 percent. Export
volume has started to increase in the last
couple of years and though much more
work needs to be done to increase national
trade confidence among the UK’s SMEs in
particular, a start has been made towards
making the UK a greater exporting nation.
One of the real success stories of
recent years has been the Government’s
broadening of the support provided
by its export credit agency UK Export
Finance (UKEF). In the past UKEF has
been criticised for serving mostly larger
corporates, however, over the last five years
this has changed. Indeed, in the last five
years it’s provided £14 billion of support to
UK exports in partnership with banks and
brokers.
Its mission is ‘to ensure that no viable
UK export fails for lack of finance or
insurance, while operating at no net cost
Its mission is ‘to ensure
that no viable UK export
fails for lack of finance or
insurance, while operating
at no net cost to the
taxpayer’.
to the taxpayer’, and recently it’s been
moving much more efficiently towards
this end-goal.
At the Institute of Export &
International Trade (IOE&IT) we are
proud of the part we’ve played in this
burgeoning national success story. We
have partnered with UKEF on an ‘Award
in Trade Finance’ qualification, which all
UKEF, Foreign & Commonwealth Office
(FCO) and Department for International
Trade (DIT) staff take to ensure thorough
product knowledge. This creates an
understanding of how these financial
products fit within a commercial setting
in all sizes of business.
Once this is completed, staff can move
on to a Level 5 Diploma in International
Trade which ensures they understand the
fuller context of international trade when
advising companies on key international
business tasks such as international
physical distribution, international
marketing strategy, and of course the
financing of international trade. We do so
in such a way that ties in effectively with
UKEF’s core offerings and services.
For instance, in the part of the course
in which we train UKEF advisers in how
to ensure the security of international
payments, as well as covering key areas
like currency risk, open account trading
and documentary letters of credit, we also
explain how UKEF’s Export Insurance
Policy can be applied. When training
UKEF advisers in how international
working capital cycles work and the role
of bonds and guarantees in supporting
export trade, we also address how UKEF’s
Export Working Capital Scheme is used
to support UK exporters. And we also
evaluate how UKEF’s medium and longterm
export finance support services are
applied, including Buyer Credit, Supplier
Credit, and Direct Lending.
NETWORK TO THRIVE
Not only do we train UKEF’s advisers, but
all of the UKEF managers are members of
the Institute, meaning they receive daily
bulletins about the key developments
in trade, have access to our Technical
Helpline, and can constantly stay on
top of things through our CPD scheme;
our support network and the access to
knowledge and skills we provide have
proved invaluable.
Elizabeth McCrory, an Export Finance
Manager at UKEF who works in Northern
Ireland, recently told me: “As a local point
of contact for exporters I am helping
them to get a better understanding
of their export finance requirements
and, where possible, I’ll identify an
appropriate solution to support their
export transactions. The Diploma in
International Trade has given me a
broader understanding of International
Trade. Being a graduate member of the
IOE&IT gives me added accreditation
and I’m delighted to use the letters MIEx
(Grad) after my name.”
JUST THE START
At our recent World Trade Summit event
in London, we were delighted to be
joined by Louis Taylor, Chief Executive
of UKEF, and Baroness Fairhead CBE, the
Minister of State for Trade and Export
Promotion. Both of these key decisionmakers
made the point that this can only
be the beginning for UKEF, and as the
Department for International Trade looks
to go about producing its second Export
Strategy in as many years, the role of UKEF
looks certain to become even greater.
Our work with UKEF is a great
testament to the importance that
education and training has in any export
strategy as our trade advisers can only do
the job of supporting UK businesses into
international trade if they know how it’s
done themselves. We are always keen to
forge relationships, like the one we have
with UKEF, because it is only through
driving the export skills agenda that any
strategy becomes achievable.
Lesley Batchelor OBE FCICM is Director
General of The Institute of Export and
International Trade.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 27

INTERNATIONAL
TRADE
Monthly round-up of the latest stories
in global trade by Andrea Kirkby.
AFTER months of slightly
nervous trading, the stock
market finally gave way to its
jitters at the start of October.
The S&P 500 lost six percent
in a few days, giving up all but two percent
of its gains for the year, with more than one
commentator suggesting that the tenth
anniversary of the 2008 credit crunch could
see an even bigger crisis.
Certainly, the oil price increase together
with increasing interest rates look similar
to the backdrop to the credit crunch. So,
Stock market sell-off
does the increase in real estate prices since
the trough. But it's trade tensions that were
at the forefront of investors' minds as a
reason for the shock mini-crash; a new cold
war with China would have very serious
repercussions for world economies.
How serious? Don’t get too alarmed. I
saw a report that suggested Euler Hermes
had said global trade would fall 50 percent
by 2020. In fact, Euler Hermes says global
trade growth could fall 50 percent from four
percent to two percent; that's not quite the
same. There are also some technical reasons
for the stock market slump. Rising interest
rates have pushed up yields on bonds.
That's resulted in many investors dumping
their equity holdings to invest in bonds
which deliver the same return for less risk.
Meanwhile, a fund manager at BlackRock
says hedge funds are unwinding 'crowded'
positions – which while it's a reminder of
the risks inherent in the financial system,
isn't really a forecast for the world economy.
What to do? I think I saw the best advice
on a tea towel a few days ago. ‘Keep calm
and carry on.’
Dollar reverse…and changing trade patterns
THE dollar had been strengthening for
a good long while, but that's all over
now. The dollar has suddenly taken on
board the negative prospects for world trade
of a Trump-Xi standoff, resulting in a weeklong
slump against other currencies that
even a Fed rate hike couldn’t stop. While it's
a bit early to bet against the US, I wouldn't
mind betting Donald Trump’s trade war will
result in more damage to his own country
than to China.
It's interesting to see other countries
taking advantage of the situation to improve
their own trade with China. Brazil is
exporting more and more soybeans, and the
'stans' as well as Qatar and Kuwait, who are
focusing more attention on China trade.
It’s not a tectonic shift yet, but if the
standoff continues, it could bring China
more and more into the mainstream of
global trade and make it ever more present
in global supply chains. And those are
the kind of changes that aren't easy to
reverse.
>WATCH OUT FOR INFLATION
THE munificent Jeff Bezos has given Amazon
employees a generous pay rise. An act of pure
generosity? If you’re a cynic, you’d note that
the US labour market is getting very tight; add
two and two together, and you see Amazon
firing a shot across other employers’ bows to
make sure it gets the pick of the crop.
Tight labour markets and rising oil prices,
together with higher interest costs, haven't yet
put the squeeze on consumers or corporates
– but they’re likely to do so over the medium
term. The last couple of months’ inflation
figures from most major economies show
a slight fall in inflation, but don’t be fooled;
inflation is becoming even more of a risk. That
will push central banks to guard against it
by increasing interest rates – and that could
affect currencies, too.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 28

Fallen angels in the making
FIRMS need to watch out for rising interest
rates and inflation. Hikes in interest rates
haven't hurt consumers or corporates yet,
but they will, eventually, put increasing
numbers of companies under pressure.
The damage won't be evenly distributed.
Bond Vigilantes blog identifies some
interesting wrinkles in the ways some
highly indebted companies might be
affected; for instance, some companies
have issued non-investment-grade
bonds with covenants that won't let
them pay dividends unless they have
below a specified leverage ratio, or above
a certain level of interest cover. Quite a
few shareholders run the risk of a major
disappointment in their high-yield
portfolios. Now, you may think that this
is only of interest to finance enthusiasts,
a sector of the population I'll reluctantly
admit I belong to. But actually, there is a
lesson for all credit control departments,
which is not just to rely on the headline
financial information when you're
assessing customers' ability to pay. Do your
research, attach the notes to the accounts,
and make sure you know exactly where you
rank for your pay-out if the worst happens.
CURRENCY UK
EXCHANGE RATES VISIT
CURRENCYUK.CO.UK OR
CALL 020 7738 0777
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HIGH LOW TREND
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GBP/JPY
149.280 143.195 Down
East Africa – booming but risky
EAST African countries are seeing great
GDP growth at the moment; Ethiopia's
growing by eight percent, Kenya by six
percent, and all the East African countries
scoring above the average for sub-Saharan
Africa. Infrastructure development has
been fast and is improving the prospects
for business – once you get reliable 24-hour
electricity, it transforms manufacturing
business's ability to compete – and the
lives of citizens.
But that infrastructure comes at a high
cost; public deficits have been going up all
over the region, and according to Credendo,
what makes matters worse is that these
deficits have been funded by external
RUSSIAN RESILIENCE
IF you were asked for a great export prospect, Russia might not be your first thought –
but it’s not looking that bad. True, expected growth is rather modest at 1.5 percent, and
there’s a high level of business insolvencies, but the country is managing to do reasonably
well despite sanctions. Exports have been diversified, and the manufacturing sector has
strengthened. Russia has also kept an even keel with relatively prudent management of
government finances. Improving oil prices should help this commodity rich country, too.
So far, so good.
debt (though Ethiopia and Tanzania have
managed to attract significant foreign
investment, which reduces their exposure).
Many of the components have to be
imported – there is no local semiconductor
or telecoms manufacturing industry, for
example. And while eventually the export
sector should grow, right now most of
these countries are limited to commodity,
primary exports.
So, there's great potential in these
markets, but also big risks, particularly
in the government sector. Moody's
downgraded Kenya's credit rating earlier
this year, and has Tanzania on a negative
outlook, so mind how you go.
FROM THE FENS
TO THE PAMPAS
ELGOODS brew some great beers in the middle
of the Fens, which most people will tell you
is pretty much the middle of nowhere. Until
2015, they didn't export. Now, they export
to ten countries, have been on four trade
missions, and are just starting to export to
Argentina, which they expect will double their
international sales. Their next target? Japan.
That's a great success story. But it's
interesting that their biggest problem has
been finding reliable buyers. Not marketing,
not changing the product, or labelling, but
just finding the right partners abroad. Never
forget, when you’re running the slide rule over
customer credit, you're dealing with the future
of your business.
DO YOU NEED
A TONIC?
UK gin manufacturers sold £1.6 billion
worth of gin in the year to June 2018, and
£532 million of that was exported. British
gin is on a roll right now with a surge of
popularity helping everyone from the biggest
manufacturers to tiny artisan start-ups.
One big lesson from this? Clustering. Once
an industry starts making a name for itself
in export, it’s that much easier for the next
exporter to get into the market. We’ve done it
in gin – can we do it in other sectors too?
Global geography reappraised
SOMETIMES we trust statistics too much,
particularly when it comes to average. For
instance, do you know anyone who actually
earns the average UK salary?
That's why I liked Euler Hermes' latest
analysis of global corporate debt. Average
net gearing across the world is 53 percent –
but that's about as useful as knowing global
average rainfall or average temperatures. If
you're in South Africa, you will get higher
temperatures – but also the world's least
indebted corporates, with only 38 percent
gearing. (Poland and Australia come close
with 43 percent and 41 percent respectively.)
Alternatively, if you're looking for trouble
to steer clear of, Southern Europe looks like
a hotspot of debt. Portugal has an impressive
96 percent average leverage, with Greece at
68 percent and Spain at 69 percent. Turkey,
at 72 percent, doesn't look as exposed as
Portugal until you think about its high
budget deficit and the rising oil price.
The same goes for sectors – some are
horribly indebted, others not. Paper, transport
and textile sectors are the chief trouble
spots, but there is some good news in store
– energy and metals companies are actually
improving, though still with fairly high debt
levels. Of course, these are still only averages.
Even if you're exporting within a highly
indebted sector and to a highly indebted
country, you can at least choose the most
credit-worthy customers and beat the odds.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 29

COUNTRY FOCUS
The mechanics and
legalities of doing
business in Ireland.
AUTHOR – Adam Bernstein
Ireland: Part two
BUSINESS
MATTERS
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 30

COUNTRY FOCUS
AUTHOR – Adam Bernstein
WITH a framework
not too dissimilar
from that of the UK,
little of the process
should be much
of a surprise to
exporters. Ireland allows businesses to
operate through companies (there are ten
variants from private limited companies,
public limited companies and Societas
Europaea). These of course come with the
usual regulatory duties to report and file
on a public register. The duties placed on
directors are similar to those placed on UK
directors under Companies legislation.
Partnerships are also available to those
wanting to carry on business between
two or more people (without the need for
any formal registration). As in the UK,
partners have unlimited personal liability
for business debts. Again, as in the UK,
a hybrid model exists of limited liability
partnerships where partners are only liable
to the limit of their investment.
PROTECTING PROPERTY
Businesses that depend upon IP rights
benefit from practical protection under
Irish law. Some consider that the Irish
Trade Marks Act 1996 and the Copyright
and Related Rights Act 2000 to be state
of the art legislation which offer better
protection than that afforded by other
European states.
Irish law meets the requirements of the
Berne Convention, the TRIPS Agreement
and the 1996 Geneva Copyright treaties,
as well as all relevant IP EU directives.
Considering that Ireland is one of the
world’s largest exporters of software it’s
not surprising that appropriate protections
have been enshrined in Irish law to protect
these IP rights. The regime is overseen by
the Irish Patents Office at patentsoffice.ie/.
EMPLOYMENT LAWS
As in the rest of the EU, employment law
applies to those working in Ireland, no
matter what their nationality.
Employment law is governed by a
multitude of laws – the Constitution of
Ireland 1937; Irish statutes and EU law;
judicial precedents; common law (including
contract law); statutory regulations that
cover health and safety, redundancy
payments, transfers of undertakings,
collective bargaining agreements; as well
as custom and practice in the workplace
and workplace or industry rules.
The primary legislation regulating
employment includes the Unfair Dismissals
Acts 1977 to 2015; Employment Equality
Acts 1998 to 2015; National Minimum Wage
Act 2000 and the Payment of Wages Act
1991; Terms of Employment (Information)
Acts 1994 to 2012; Maternity Protection
Acts 1994 to 2004 and other protective leave
legislation; Minimum Notice and Terms
of Employment Acts 1973 to 2005; Fixed
Term Workers, Part Time Employees and
Agency Workers Protection Legislation;
Organisation of Working Time Act 1997.
Quite a list, but it should outline where
those with queries should look.
TAX MATTERS
Corporation tax – companies that are
resident in Ireland must pay corporation
tax on worldwide profits and chargeable
capital gains (subject to double taxation
treaty relief). The standard rate on Irish
trading profits is 12.5 percent. To benefit
from this rate, companies must derive
income from a trade that is actively
carried on in Ireland.
A rate of 25 percent applies to nontrading
(for example, rental income
and royalty income) and foreign-source
income.
VAT is charged on certain imports
and on goods and services supplied in
Ireland in the course of business. VAT
ranges from zero to 23 percent depending
on the product or service. There is more
detailed information on this at revenue.ie/
en/Home.aspx together with all the other
taxation information an exporter will be
interested in.
As an aside, it’s worth stating that while
taxes are never much fun other than for
accountants and the tax collector, the
Irish Revenue’s website is well designed
and very easy to navigate.
Employment – individuals who are a
tax resident (183 days or more in a year,
or 280 days or more over a year and the
previous tax year taken together) will pay
income tax on their worldwide annual
taxable income at 20 percent on the first
€34,550 to €43,500 (depending marital
status / children) and 40 percent on the
remainder.
As in the UK, there are individual tax
credits, which vary depending on the
employee’s circumstances, and can be set
off against their income tax liability.
The Universal Social Charge (USC)
replaced the health and income levies in
2011, at rates varying from 0.5 percent (up
to €12,012) to eight percent (income up to
€100,000) with a three percent surcharge
for income over €100,000, depending on
income and age. USC is treated as a tax
rather than a social security contribution
for tax purposes.
Most employers and employees (over
16 years of age and under 66) pay social
insurance (PRSI) contributions into the
national Social Insurance Fund. This is
set at four percent for employees.
VISAS AND PERMITS
Lastly, those from non-exempt countries
must obtain an entry visa before travelling
to Ireland; details of exempt and nonexempt
countries can be obtained from
the Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade (dfa.ie).
Employment permits are required
by all non-EEA/Swiss nationals. The
Employment Permits Acts 2003 to 2014
establish a statutory regime governing
employment permits which is operated by
the Department of Business, Enterprise
and Innovation (dbei.ie). There are three
primary types of permit: Critical Skills
Employment Permits; General Work
Permits and Intra Company Transfer
Permits.
Ireland is a land of opportunity and
an easy gateway into Europe. For a post-
Brexit United Kingdom, Ireland is a
natural place to consider doing business.
Adam Bernstein is a freelance
business writer.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 31

DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE!
What drives debt in your organisation and
whose responsibility is it?
AUTHOR – Chris Sanders FCICM
IT is true that the sales ledger is
the window into an organisation’s
processes. To be more accurate,
it is the window into how good
(or bad!) those processes are.
Any credit management
professional will tell you that 90 percent
of the issues as they appear on the sales
ledger are not of their making, but as
the credit controllers are responsible for
collections, so the expectation is that they
are responsible for resolving the issues.
But while Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) is
seen as a finance measure against which
the success of the credit management
process is measured, credit managers
are rarely measured on their ability to
‘trouble shoot’ and resolve issues that
ultimately impact the debts collected.
Establishing the root causes of debt
should be a fundamental part of the credit
manager’s role, but many seem to just try
to collect the debt as it is presented to
them. Best practice credit management
is more than that; it is about driving the
organisation in the reduction of debt. This
is where Stakeholder Management is a
key requirement of a credit professional
and the reasons why it is one of the six
CICMQ Criteria.
Credit managers rarely have direct
responsibility for the Order to Cash
process so working with stakeholders
becomes important. Identifying who these
stakeholders are is just the beginning.
Stakeholder maps – who these individuals
are, and their level of influence, is the
place to start; stakeholder management
is a constant requirement. The role of the
credit manager here is to find the button
that, when pressed, will change the
behaviour of the business encouraging
them to take action in improving debt.
Looking at the end-to-end Order to Cash
process, there are a number of areas
which drive debt:
Payment Terms – those which are
standard and those which are offered
to customers by sales teams may not
always be the same, but do you as credit
manager have control over this? If not,
how can you get control? Days sales
outstanding is formed of two component
parts Delinquent Days Sales Outstanding
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 32

OPINION
AUTHOR – Chris Sanders FCICM
(DDSO) and Terms DSO. It is the Terms DSO
which your sales can influence.
I recall a client once said to me ‘Sales are
only ever allowed to give payment terms
that are listed in the SAP system.’ When
asked ‘how many payment terms do you
have on the system?’ the answer was an
incredible 238, so this credit team failed to
demonstrate any control over the process
of payment terms and so, unsurprisingly,
DSO was exceptionally high. If you can
understand Terms DSO, working with Sales
to reduce the number of terms offered
would be a start. Putting in place escalation
processes for the approval of non-standard
terms will also help.
New Customer Information – there is a
standard credit mantra that ‘Sales don’t do
admin.’ That may or may not be the case,
but what is essential is that they are good at
the necessary admin. It is the responsibility
of the credit manager to educate the
business on the critical elements of their
role that impact debt and cash. During one
CICMQ client assessment I attended a sales
briefing where the credit manager and one
of her team took the sales team through the
credit application form – one of a series of
presentations they had done. Again, this is
not something that is ‘fire and forget’. This
was something that the credit manager
recognised would have to be an ongoing
process at all sales meetings – educating new
and existing sales people in the importance
of clear and correct customer information.
Billing Accuracy – this is a personal
soapbox of mine and as I have said before
‘the bill is another window into your
processes’. One of the most common
problems with billing is the poor processes
leading up to bill production – pricing
is a frequent root cause. Delays in the
loading of prices and slow rebates for bulk
discounts drive debts. There is a hidden
cost in organisations: billing re-work; the
investigation of disputes; raising of credits;
credit and re-billing etc. If you think about
it, the cost of re-work is more than the cost
of the bill. This is a hidden cost because the
resolution of disputes is spread throughout
the organisation – from receiving the call
to the investigation, raising of the credit,
senior management sign-off and the costs
of credit added to the terms for these delays.
The required ‘segregation of duties’
almost demands that these costs are
distributed so they are difficult to measure.
Start with the measurement of credit notes
to bills as a percentage, and if you struggle
to get traction with finance to create a
‘Billing Assurance’ programme use this
tactic. I once asked a FD of a client what the
billing accuracy was. He said ‘pretty good
actually around 95 percent.’ I said ‘So you
are happy with five percent of your revenue
being billed incorrectly?’ As this was a
major international company, five percent
amounted to a few billion dollars. This was
the button I mentioned earlier that changed
behaviour – two years later that 95 percent
was 99 percent and debt performance
improved dramatically.
Measurement – some years ago I
attended a CICM Masterclass in London
where I first heard the concept of ‘DSO
Drivers’. Essentially, by understanding what
a DSO day is worth you can then attribute
these days to the values of the debts on
your ledger. Presenting this at the senior
managers meeting will enable you to
demonstrate that DSO is not just a finance
measure but one which should be owned by
all of the business. You will also be able to
establish how much is outside the control of
the credit management team.
Organisational Capability – what you
are looking for as a credit manager is an
engaged and motivated team, but a team
that is neither of these things will result in
poor collections performance. There is a
soundbite meme that says ‘think of the cost
if the people we train leave?’ and someone
else says ‘but what is the cost of not training
them and they stay?’ It is very difficult to
quantify a benefit for training in value terms;
it is one of those things that is an enabler.
As one credit manager said at a CICM Best
Practice Event ‘training your staff is like
servicing your car. You are making sure that
it is operating at optimum performance.’
The CICMQ network of organisations invest
in training and as a result it clearly enables
higher performance in cash collection and
debt management.
These elements of the Order to Cash
process are something to consider when
you are seeking to improve the standing and
performance of your credit management
function. These elements also form a part
of the CICMQ programme’s six criteria –
Policy and Compliance, Customer Service,
Performance Monitoring, Personal and
Professional Development and Stakeholder
Management. Putting this together into a
plan of action becomes your roadmap for
improvement. All CICMQ organisations
strive for best practice and share this with
others.
Getting better never stops and, as we
know, the credit manager can never take
their foot off the accelerator, but we need
also to recognise that it is not just the credit
team’s responsibility to manage credit and
debt. Looking at what drives debt in your
organisation and sharing that responsibility
is also part of the credit manager’s role.
For more information please contact
cicmq@cicm.com.
Chris Sanders FCICM
Head of Accreditation – CICMQ.
It is true that the sales
ledger is the window
into an organisation’s
processes. To be more
accurate, it is the
window into how good
(or bad!) those processes
are.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 33

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
CHRISTMASAPPS
Our ongoing series has taken a festive twist. Credit Management takes a look
at the most useful apps for tablets and smartphones to help with financial
planning and gift buying for Christmas.
Got a great app?
Tell us about it at editor@cicm.com
CHRISTMAS GIFT BUDGET
Using Christmas Gift Budget you can add person and gift
budgets, create groups, and it helps to keep track of budget and
gift purchase status as well. One of the best features is a pass
code that keeps your Christmas gift shopping list and budget
secret from others.
AVAILABILITY: Android
COST: FREE
MYSUPERMARKET
mySupermarket lets you compare food prices across the UK’s
biggest supermarkets. You can create shopping lists, and add
alert notifications if products you enjoy drop below a certain
price. And if you’re not sure where to do your main Christmas
shop, you can find out which supermarkets Which? readers
love, using the supermarkets compared guide.
AVAILABILITY: Android/iOS
COST: FREE
WISH
Wish suggests flash deals in categories of your choice such
as dresses, watches and makeup, and allows you to buy them
directly from the app.
AVAILABILITY: Android/iOS
COST: FREE
ETSY
Etsy is the ideal app for finding handmade and vintage presents. There
are four tabs: For You, which recommends products based on your likes;
Etsy Picks, a curated list from Etsy Editors; Local, showing nearby deals;
and the Holiday Gift Guide. Etsy is the app you need if you want to find a
custom gift with a personal touch.
STREETLINK
Christmas is also a time to think of others – StreetLink allows
members of the public to inform local authorities about rough
sleepers in their area and help get them off the streets.
AVAILABILITY:Android/iOS
COST: FREE
NOTONTHEHIGHSTREET
This app picks products from the UK’s best small businesses
that are not on the high street. You can choose from an array
of custom-made jewellery and homeware without having to
search around looking for a different gift for that ‘difficult to
buy for’ person any longer! Notonthehighstreet also has a
variety of experiences on offer, such as urban beekeeping or
gin making.
AVAILABILITY: iOS
COST: FREE
AVAILABILITY: Android/iOS
COST: FREE
VOUCHERCODES
When you open VoucherCodes for the first time you’ll be asked
to list some brands that you like. This determines which offers
appear in the ‘Tailored for you’ section. Many of the codes on
this app are for food, and the Nearby tab is worth taking a look
at if you’re keen to save money on lunch. The VoucherCodes
app also includes advice on the best champagne and the best
Christmas pudding.
AVAILABILITY: iOS
COST: FREE
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 34

The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 35

PAYMENT TRENDS
BAH HUMBUG
The latest monthly business to business payment
performance statistics.
AUTHOR – Jason Braidwood FCICM(Grad)
TIS the season to be jolly, or is it? Last month
saw signs of encouragement as the average
Days Beyond Terms (DBT) figures across
regions and sectors fell back into line
following a blip the month before.
This month, however, things have
fluctuated again, and not in a good way. The average DBT
figures across regions and sectors are on the up again, to
16.0 days and 15.9 days respectively.
SECTOR SPOTLIGHT
The table does not make for particularly pleasant reading
this month, with only five sectors showing improvement.
It has, however, been an encouraging month for the
Energy Supply sector, posting the biggest improvement
across the board with a reduction of 4.0 days and with
that moving off the bottom of the table. Not too far
behind are Wholesale and Retail Trade and Real Estate,
which have reduced their DBT scores by 3.0 and 2.5 days.
It has also been a successful month for Agriculture,
Forestry and Fishing and Public Administration, which
have all reduced their DBT. Hospitality remains at the
top of the table with a DBT of 9.8 days despite a slight
increase.
At the opposite end of the scale, it has been a very
poor month for both International Bodies and Business
from Home, with increases of 6.5 up to 18.6 and 5.9 up
to 19.2 DBT. Meanwhile, Business Admin and Support
continues to slip down the rankings, with DBT now up to
18.7 days. Mining and Quarrying (17.4 DBT), Real Estate
(17.2 DBT) and Financial and Insurance (16.8 DBT) are all
moving in the wrong direction. It has also been another
disappointing month for Professional and Scientific,
now sitting rock bottom with a DBT of 21.6 days.
REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT
The regional standings are also a cause for concern,
with Scotland the only region to show improvement,
reducing their DBT to 16.0 days and ending their lengthy
stint at the bottom of the table. Things only get worse for
London however, with their DBT increasing a further 4.5
up to a worrying 20.7 days.
Elsewhere, the South East, which topped the table
last month with a DBT of 9.7, has experienced a sharp
increase up to 14.4 days. Similarly, Yorkshire and
Humberside’s DBT has jumped from 9.8 to 14.2 days,
demonstrating the fluctuation in regional performance
on a month-by-month basis.
Perhaps it is not the time to panic, but it is a concern
to see the majority of sectors and regions moving in
the wrong direction when it comes to late payments,
especially on the back of an encouraging last month.
Ongoing uncertainty looks like it is here to stay for the
foreseeable future, so will we have to wait and see how
things fare as we enter the New Year and edge closer
towards the dreaded Brexit deadline.
Jason Braidwood FCICM(Grad),
Head of Credit and Collections at Creditsafe Business
Solutions.
Getting Better
-4.0 Energy Supply
-3.0 Wholesale & Storage
-2.5 Transportation & Storage
-1.1 Agriculture
-0.7 Public Administration
Getting Worse
6.5 International Bodies
5.9 Business from Home
3.3 Health & Social
3.0 Other Service
2.4 Water & Waste
Top Five Prompter Payers
Top Five Prompter Payers Oct 18 Change from Sep 18
South West 13.8 1.9
Yorkshire and Humberside 14.2 4.4
South East 14.4 4.7
West Midlands 14.7 1.9
East Anglia 14.7 0.3
Top Five Prompter Payers
Region Oct 18 Change from Sep 18
Hospitality 9.8 0.8
Entertainment 11.7 2.0
Education 12.6 1.4
Public Administration 12.9 -0.7
Wholesale and retail trade 13.1 -3.0
Bottom Five Poorest Payers
Bottom Five Poorest Payers Oct 18 Change from Sep 18
London 20.7 4.5
North West 17.6 3.7
Northern Ireland 17.5 1.9
East Midlands 16.5 3.0
Scotland 16.0 -0.3
Bottom Five Poorest Payers
Region Oct 18 Change from Sep 18
Professional and Scientific 21.6 2.6
Business from Home 19.2 5.9
Business Admin & Support 18.7 1.1
International Bodies 18.6 6.5
Mining and Quarrying 17.4 1.0
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 36

PAYMENT TRENDS
AUTHOR – Jason Braidwood FCICM(Grad)
Perhaps it is not the time to panic,
but it is a concern to see the majority
of sectors and regions moving in the
wrong direction when it comes to
late payments.
SCOTLAND
-0.3 DBT
NORTHERN
IRELAND
1.9 DBT
WALES
2.1 DBT
NORTH
WEST
3.7 DBT
YORKSHIRE &
HUMBERSIDE
4.4 DBT
WEST
MIDLANDS
1.9 DBT
EAST
MIDLANDS
3.0 DBT
LONDON
4.5 DBT
EAST
ANGLIA
0.3 DBT
SOUTH
EAST
4.7 DBT
SOUTH
WEST
1.9 DBT
Getting Better – Getting Worse
0.3
3.0
4.5
3.7
1.9
-0.3
4.7
1.9
2.1
1.9
4.4
East Anglia
East Midlands
London
North West
Northern Ireland
Scotland
South East
South West
Wales
West Midlands
Yorkshire and Humberside
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 37

CAREERS ADVICE
A bright future
Salaries rise faster outside of
London as credit professionals
continue to be in demand.
AUTHOR – Karen Young
THE latest annual Hays Salary
& Recruiting Trends 2019
guide shows that credit
professionals are confident
in their skills and prepared to
move roles as average salaries
rise higher in areas outside of London. As
credit talent continues to be in demand,
salaries have risen steadily again this year
at 2.4 percent, above the UK average of 1.9
percent.
Regionally, the largest increases
witnessed for credit professionals were seen
in Northern Ireland at 7.3 percent, followed
by 6.9 percent in the North West, 6.1 percent
in Scotland and 4.7 percent in the North
East. Credit professionals in these areas
are in particular demand, and as such are
aware of their worth, and this together with
skills shortages, is inflating salaries further.
Encouragingly the steady salary rise seen
over the past few years looks set to continue
as 81 percent of finance employers said
their salaries increased this year, and over
three-quarters (77 percent) hope the same
will happen again next year.
As a result, over half (57 percent) of
credit professionals say they are satisfied
with their salary, an increase from 43
percent last year. Pressure remains however
for employers to continue to keep salaries
above market rate, as close to two thirds (63
percent) of professionals in the industry
expect their salary to increase again in the
year ahead.
Two fifths (40 percent) of credit
professionals said they have moved jobs
in the last 12 months, while a further
37 percent said they had considered
leaving their roles. This figure combined
points towards a large proportion of
professionals who would be tempted
to move for the right offer. With
over two-thirds of employers expecting to
encounter a shortage of suitable applicants
over the next 12 months, organisations
should look to tap into this passive talent
pool.
Looking ahead, over half (54 percent)
of professionals expect to move jobs in
the next 12 months, higher than the year
prior at 49 percent. Over a third (37 percent)
of the 49 percent plan to look for a new job
in the next six months. The top reasons
for professionals wanting to leave their
roles is split equally between salary/and
benefits packages and a lack of future
opportunities – both at 23 percent.
Half of professionals also cited that
an improved salary or benefits package
would tempt them to move jobs indicating
that salary will be an important factor for
employers if they hope to tap into the
talent market in the year ahead.
JOB SATISFACTION
Alongside an increase in salary
satisfaction, over two-thirds (67 percent)
of professionals working in credit say they
are currently satisfied in their roles and 49
percent feel there is scope for progression
within their organisation, an increase
from 34 percent.
While it’s reassuring employers
have clearly been more transparent in
communicating progression pathways
within their organisations, only 39 percent
of credit professionals feel positive about
their career prospects. Although 94
percent of finance employers expect their
organisation’s activity levels to increase
or stay the same over the next 12 months,
it’s evident employees may be more
concerned about future opportunities as
economic uncertainty continues.
WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Over half of professionals (55 percent)
rated their work-life balance as good,
above the UK average of 45 percent. 51
percent of professionals said they would
change their working hours, including
flexible working in order to improve this.
Additionally, 29 percent of professionals
said work-life balance was the most
important factor when considering a
new role with flexi-time cited as the most
popular option. Positively, employers
are aware of the importance of this for
professionals. Aside from salaries, finance
employers say work-life balance including
flexible working was the most important
factor towards helping to attract staff.
While employers may be concerned
about the impact of changing working
hours when already struggling with staff
shortages, offering and promoting these
options is a valuable aid to attraction and
retention.
EMPLOYERS UNAWARE
Our research indicates a clear mismatch
between the benefits professionals in the
industry desire and what employers are
currently offering. Only two of the top five
benefits for employees feature within the
top five benefits offered by employers.
The top benefits for 60 percent of
professionals when looking for a new
role were: over 28 days paid annual
leave; pension provision above the legal
minimum (51 percent); health insurance
or private medical care (51 percent); life
insurance (43 percent); and training and/
or professional certification support (38
percent).
Employers, however, believe the top
five benefits for attracting talent are:
childcare voucher schemes (71 percent);
pension provision above the legal
minimum (54 percent); cycle to work
schemes (51 percent); financial support
for professional studies (49 percent); and
health insurance/private medical care (45
percent).
It’s evident that benefits aid worklife
balance such as a generous holiday
entitlement are attractive to employees
and employers who want to attract the
right talent should think about how they
can tailor their benefits to suit a changing
workforce.
Overall, it’s positive that professionals
in the sector have the confidence to move,
encouraging employers to offer increased
and competitive salaries. Employers
looking to hire in the coming year will
need to act decisively as competition
for talent continues to be fierce. Those
looking for the best talent will require a
clear progression map for their teams, as
employees are not scared to move in order
to build a long-lasting career in credit
management.
Karen Young is Director
at Hays Credit Management.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 38

CAREERS ADVICE
CREDIT SALARIES UK 2019
Credit
Controller
Senior
Credit Controller
Credit Risk
Analyst
Credit Control
Supervisor
Credit
Manager
Group Credit Manager
/ Head of Credit
Credit
Director
Region 2019 2019 2019 2019 2019 2019 2019
East Midlands £23,000 £25,000 £40,000 £30,000 £40,000 £58,000 £80,000
East of England £24,500 £28,000 £40,000 £30,000 £38,000 £55,000 £70,000
London £27,000 £32,000 £50,000 £36,000 £55,000 £72,000 £95,000
North East £21,000 £25,000 £32,000 £26,000 £38,000 £60,000 £75,000
North West £23,500 £26,000 £40,000 £30,000 £42,000 £60,000 £80,000
Northern Ireland £23,000 £26,000 £32,000 £30,000 £42,000 £55,000 £70,000
Scotland £22,500 £26,000 £32,000 £30,000 £40,000 £55,000 £65,000
South East £26,500 £30,000 £40,000 £34,000 £45,000 £65,000 £85,000
South West £24,500 £26,000 £42,000 £27,000 £38,000 £55,000 £70,000
Wales £20,000 £23,000 £30,000 £27,000 £36,000 £52,000 £65,000
West Midlands £23,500 £26,000 £40,000 £31,000 £45,000 £65,000 £85,000
Yorkshire and the Humber £23,000 £24,000 £30,000 £27,000 £38,000 £57,000 £70,000
National Average 2019 £23,500 £26,417 £37,333 £29,833 £41,417 £59,083 £75,833
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 39

LEGAL MATTERS
The European Order
for Payment
How to use an EOP to enforce cross-border debt.
DD +353 1 790 9415
E susan.connolly@dwf.law W www.dwf.law/recover
Susan Connolly –
Senior Associate Commercial
Litigation and Professional Indemnity
THE European Order for
Payment (EOP) is an underused
but highly effective
tool which allows for
enforcement of crossborder
debts. Council
Regulation (EC) 1896/2006 brought about
the EOP process, which allows a creditor
to enforce a debt against a debtor residing
in another European Member State (with
the exception of Denmark). The procedure
is administrative in nature and is faster
and less costly than litigating uncontested
money claims.
For a claim to have a cross border
element, at least one of the parties must
be domiciled or habitually resident in
an EU Member State other than the state
where the Court is dealing with the EOP
application. Article 3(3) of the Regulation
outlines that the appropriate point at which
to determine if a case can be considered
as being of a 'cross-border' nature is the
point at which the application is made as
opposed to the point at which the subject
matter of the claim arose.
The procedure is available for 'civil and
commercial matters in cross border cases
irrespective of the nature of the court
or tribunal'. The Regulation expressly
excludes revenue, customs, administrative
and state liability claims.
Jurisdiction is determined in
accordance with the Brussels I Regulation
except in the cases of disputes arising
from consumer contracts where the
defendant is a consumer. In that instance,
the Brussels I Regulations provides that
the jurisdiction must be the Member State
where the defendant is domiciled.
The EOP procedure is particularly
helpful in money claims for a specific
amount, due and owing at the time the
application is submitted.
The procedure is that the creditor
completes a series of forms in their own
Member State. The initiating document
is a Form A, which sets out the details of
the parties, the amount claimed including
principal, any interest or contractual
penalties, a summary of the claim and
supporting evidence.
The Court first examines the
application but does not consider the
evidence. There is a Form B stage which
affords applicants an opportunity to
rectify applications if the Court deems it
necessary. If the Court rejects the claim, it
will issue a form D. If the Court only finds
that part of the claim should proceed, it
will issue a Form C.
If the Court finds that the claim has
merit, an EOP will issue by means of Form
E. This contains the names and addresses
of the parties and the order to pay the
amount claimed, the interest, contractual
penalties and costs. The debtor is notified
by means of the Form E of the obligation
to (1) pay the amount owed or (2) dispute
the EOP by lodging a statement of
opposition by means of Form F within 30
days. Form E also notifies the debtor that
if a statement of opposition is lodged, the
matter must thereafter be dealt with by
the courts of the Member State of origin.
Form E must be served on the debtor
in accordance with the national law of the
Member State of origin and the method of
service must comply with Articles 13 to 15
of the Regulation.
The procedure to proceed from Form
A to Form E should take no more than
30 days, but this does not include where
a Form B amendment or rectification is
required.
If the debtor wishes to challenge the
EOP a Form F must be lodged. There is
no requirement to state grounds for the
opposition.
If no opposition is lodged, the Court
will issue Form G which is a declaration
of enforceability. Any EOP that has been
declared enforceable in its Member State
of origin is therefore enforceable in other
Member States.
The law of the Member State of
enforcement will determine the means
by which the EOP may be enforced. Any
remedies which are available in relation
to a judgment or order made within a
Member State are also available in relation
to the enforcement of the EOP.
This procedure is well worth
considering as a means to cut through
lengthy and costly procedures when
dealing with debtors outside of your own
jurisdiction. The procedure affords the
opportunity to have an enforceable order
in a very short timeframe. In conventional
civil litigation, the court proceedings can
be lengthy and costly only to be followed
by what can be equally lengthy and
costly enforcement procedures. Where
available, the EOP can have creditors at
enforcement state in the Member State
of enforcement significantly sooner than
they would be if court proceedings were
pursued.
This information is intended as a general
discussion surrounding the topics covered
and is for guidance purposes only. It does
not constitute legal advice and should
not be regarded as a substitute for taking
legal advice. DWF is not responsible for
any activity undertaken based on this
information.
As a CICM member you can receive free legal advice from
DWF. Visit the CICM website and click on the free Advice Line.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 40

A Credit Manager walks into a bar…
…and the Finance Director’s buying. Well, why not? DSO is down,
collections run like clockwork and the Credit Controllers spend their time
building rapport with customers, not ploughing through chase letters
or wrestling complicated spreadsheets.
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We want to find out how we can help you too.
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The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 41

EXCLUSIVE REPORT
RISKY
BUSINESS
A global outlook of business performance in Q3.
AUTHOR – Nalanda Matia
THE global economic
upswing that caused an
uptick in global growth
around mid-2016 and early
2017 has largely sustained
itself, with Real GDP
growth rates for most country groups
continuing to expand before stabilising
in the next few years. While the overall
trend seems to be similar in general, the
outlook for emerging markets remains
more positive. On average, the emerging
nations are expected to maintain growth
rates of about 4.5 percent in 2019, while
the global average hovers around a tame
three percent, although managing to
remain above the post-recession average
of two percent. Divergence will occur
among the advanced economies as well,
as Dun & Bradstreet economists expect US
growth to decelerate post-2019 while the
UK is expected to maintain an accelerated
pace, given the nation is able to achieve
the desirable outcome of a negotiated
Brexit. From an economic perspective,
Brexit negotiations aiming at retaining
open trade with and access to the financial
markets of the European Union will prove
to be most beneficial.
However, some global risks continue
to linger. Markets have been rallying
recently on reports that China and the US
are making headway on trade, but tensions
still remain. Another cause for concern
and a possible threat to global growth
prospects is that China seems to be in the
initial phases of an economic slowdown
that primarily emanates from declining
effectiveness of several key factors like
quality of labour, efficient re-allocation of
capital that fuelled the country’s impressive
economic expansion in the past. On the
other hand, matters have eased slightly on
the prospect of a North American trade war
by the new agreement (USMCA) between
the US, Mexico and Canada. Although final
ratification and implementation of USMCA
remain pending, the agreement went a
long way to allay fears of a possible trade
war in the region impacting sustainable
growth within it and spreading globally.
However, none of the above factors nor the
currency crises in Argentina and Turkey
will have a significant bearing on the
outlook for global growth – at least in early
2019.
According to the Office for National
Statistics, overall UK GDP grew by 1.4
percent on a year over year basis in the second
quarter of 2018. A look into the vertical
specific view shows a wide range of growth
among the key industry segments. The
Services segments, led by the Professional,
Scientific and Technical Activities registered
the most growth (5.3 percent) since Q2 2017,
followed by Manufacturing and Real Estate
which grew 1.3 percent and 0.5 percent
respectively. Other segments like Health and
Social activities, Agriculture and Natural
Resources and the Financial and Insurance
sectors saw some contraction since Q2 2017.
Clearly, imbalances between important
sectors of the British economy as the nation
treads uncertainties surrounding Brexit.
Despite pockets of concern, the UK
labour market fundamentals remain fairly
healthy. Unemployment rate stands at its
post-recession low at four percent. Also,
labour productivity measures by the ONS’
Output per Worker index has continued
to climb since late 2015, with a few dips
along the way. There is some growth seen in
wages (Average weekly earnings), which has
increased by a little over two percent over
the past year – the growth rate being slightly
slower than that seen over the past quarters
and also from what could be expected in the
current job market.
Moving from the fundamentals of the
economy, to that of business health, we take
a detailed look at business liquidations by
industry. Significant variation exists between
sectors, with sectors like Personal Services
and Agriculture showing an increase in the
number of business liquidations over the
past year. Although all these sectors show
an increase in business liquidations during
the current quarter, differences in the trend
exist among them.
A third group of industry segments, led
by Transportation/Comms/Utilities and
Business Services, show a considerable
drop in business liquidations. Although all
these above-named sectors show a certain
outcome (increase/decrease/no change)
from the business liquidations perspective,
during the current quarter, differences in
the trend exist among them and may tell
a more detailed story. For example, for
the Agriculture, Government or the Retail
sector, the number of business liquidations
remain considerably lower than the post-
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 42

EXCLUSIVE REPORT
AUTHOR – Nalanda Matia
recession (2010-11) era while for sectors like
Personal Services, Construction or Machinery
Manufacturing have not seen any significant
reduction in the number of liquidations since
the post-recession period. These latter group
of industry segments may be suffering on the
stability perspective and it needs to be seen
whether or not policies could be put in place to
help businesses continue on the path of stable
and sustainable growth. Overall, the number of
businesses that closed their doors in the past year
has declined by a little over 20 percent. However,
on the whole, the volatility in change of business
failures has declined considerably, businesses
within the UK economy have slowly gained
stability over time, attaining maximum stability
around late 2015 through mid 2017. Business
liquidations seemed to take an upturn on the
annual basis again in the second half of 2017,
but have been steadily declining, achieving the
highest decline since Q1 2016 during the current
quarter – but there are pockets of concern that
need further attention.
A potent leading indicator of business
stability is a business’ payment performance
– how promptly a business has been paying its
creditors and/or suppliers. The 12-month view
of the percentage of prompt payments made
by UK businesses on an average shows that the
metric has been quite stable over this period of
time. For the past year, the percentage of prompt
payments for these businesses have hovered
approximately around the 30 percent mark,
with small improvements around early 2018 and
stabilising around 31 percent currently after a
slight drop earlier in the quarter. This number
Nalanda Matia
In conclusion,
the overall health
of the business
population in
the UK seems to
be fairly robust,
with pockets of
concern present
in some major
industries.
varies considerably for business segments – and
have a strong correlation with business size.
The smallest businesses (by employee counts)
seem to make the highest percentage of prompt
payments – over 35 percent of their account
payables are paid promptly within terms. This
percentage declines systematically, dropping to
14 percent of prompt payments for mid-sized
businesses with 101-250 employees on their
payroll. The percentage of prompt payments for
the largest businesses in the country with more
than 1,000 people under their employ pay only
about six percent of their accounts payable in a
prompt manner. This trend is not only true for
the current recording period, but holds true for
all historical periods as well and clearly points to
the position of confidence that large businesses
enjoy by virtue of their market power and possibly
brand name in the industry. This also brings
to the forefront the plight of small businesses,
that in spite of their incessant cash-constrained
state, they do not have the bargaining power to
attain more favourable terms for their accounts
payable and are obligated to pay a relatively
higher percentage of these in a prompt manner.
This trend can best be addressed by regional and
local authorities by providing special financing
programs for small businesses in need to help
them maintain better payment terms as well as
gain stability and reduced financial stress.
As for all other metrics reviewed above,
the percentage of prompt payments vary
considerably by industry as well. This variation
is usually attributed to the norms set within
an industry which vary considerably from
industry to industry. As can be seen from the
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 43
continues on page 44 >

EXCLUSIVE REPORT
AUTHOR – Nalanda Matia
chart, the Agriculture sector pays close
to 55 percent of their accounts payables
in a prompt manner. This is followed by
Construction at approximately 40 percent
and then the Personal Services Sector
by about 33 percent. The above-named
sectors, specifically the Agriculture and
Construction verticals have a seasonality
element in their operations and earning
cycle and possibly not able to bargain
payment terms beyond their operating
periods and have to pay their suppliers
relatively promptly. For all other industries,
the percentage of prompt payments
remains below the national average of 31.2
percent. It seems that the Government is
able to evoke enough confidence among its
suppliers to be able to pay only 20 percent
of their accounts promptly. The industry
payment pattern is something that is
noticed in historical periods as well – not
just the current one and seem to be wellestablished
norms among businesses in
each sector.
The final segmented look at the
percentage of prompt payments is by
regions. Like the last two segmentations,
the time series view of prompt payments
shows that the pattern of percentage of
prompt payments has remained more or
less stable over the past 12 months.
A glance at the regional breakdown
of percentage prompt payments shows
that the East Anglia region registers the
highest percentage of prompt payments
with 38 percent of their accounts payable
promptly. Greater Manchester, which is on
the other side of the spectrum pays 25.1
percent of their accounts payable promptly.
Businesses in the United Kingdom do not
vary widely in payment manner as they do
by business size or by industry segment.
This indicates some consistency in the
nation’s economic profile as far as the
larger regions are concerned, which will
prove to be as a positive as the country
explores the arduous process of Brexit.
Finally, we take a look at UK business
health under the backdrop of Dun &
Bradstreet’s Failure and Delinquency
scores, classifying business into four
categories based on their risk profiles.
The first category are businesses with the
lowest risk profile, by both delinquency and
failure perspectives. Around 82 percent of
all businesses considered for this study fall
into this segment. These are the ideal set
of businesses to engage in commerce and
will prove to be the ideal customers down
the line. The next segment is made up of
businesses that are marked as the riskiest
with high probability of failure in the next
12 months, but with a low risk of severe
delinquency. These are the businesses
that might be able to cover their payables
before closing their doors but need to be
monitored very closely. It might be worth
to cut as many ties with these businesses
as possible.
The UK economy has approximately
one percent of these businesses that might
face insolvency in the next 12 months.
The third risk segment are businesses
that are in a contrasting situation – with
high risk of delinquency in the next 12
months, but not projecting a high risk
from the standpoint of liquidation. These
businesses are ones under severe financial
duress and having severe difficulties
managing their cashflow. About 13 percent
of all businesses fall into this category and
any relationship with them needs to be
handled with utmost caution. The final
segment – about four percent of the UK
business population – are considered to
be under severe risk. These businesses
face the risk of both severe delinquency as
well as insolvency in the next 12 months.
Any commercial relationship entered
into with these set of businesses has a
very high probability of incurring severe
losses.
In conclusion, the overall health of the
business population in the UK seems to
be fairly robust, with pockets of concern
present in some major industries. With
the country’s inflation hovering above
target, and uncertainties looming in
the next few quarters, monetary policy
is expected to normalise gradually. To
help businesses gain stability and move
towards a sustainable growth path in
this environment, internal policies like
strategic investments and adoption
of productivity-augmenting technologies
may prove to be effective.
Nalanda Matia is Senior Director,
Econometrics Solutions at Dun &
Bradstreet.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 44

“CSA compliance essentials is a
one stop shop to key compliance
changes and highlights.
It helps me keep up-to-date with
factors that could potentially
impact my firm and its clients
and customers, saving me lots of
time having to complete research
myself.”
Hayley Crombleholme
Ascent Performance Group Ltd
CSA compliance essentials
Compliance updates straight
to your inbox
• Monthly compliance updates with accompanying questions to aid learning
• Access to a regularly updated knowledge database
• Email alerts to notify when new content is available
• The ability to trace progress for audit purposes and compliance records
• Annual certification
To learn more contact:
t: 0191 217 3073
e: sales@csa-uk.com
or visit
www.csa-uk.com
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 45

EDUCATION
Have you heard the news?
CICM Qualifications are changing
We are delighted to be launching our new programme of professional
qualifications. With a simpler and more flexible structure to help you and
your teams find the right level and path to become CICM qualified, we are
now offering more flexibility in subject and study methods.
SO WHAT’S NEW? SOMETHING FOR
EVERYONE AND FLEXIBILITY
You can now choose to study a small CICM CPD
‘award’ or unit that you can bank to build up to a
full CICM qualification over time, or you can decide
to study for a Certificate or Diploma leading to
Professional Membership up front.
THE RIGHT LEVEL
We now have combined Credit & Collections
qualifications at three levels:
Entry Level – the benchmark for credit controllers,
collectors and enforcement agents working in
operational roles, with little or no experience in the
profession.
Intermediate – the benchmark for credit
controllers, collectors working in senior operational
roles.
Advanced – the benchmark for credit and
collections management, strategic/managerial level.
THE RIGHT CONTENT AND SUBJECTS
We are offering you and your teams the opportunity
to tailor your qualifications and learning to fit your
needs. With a selection of awards or units for each
level, you can choose to study the areas that fit your
role, business or career aspirations.
THE RIGHT STUDY METHODS
AND TIME COMMITMENT
Whether you want to study in groups, at home or
online, we are offer a wide range of study options.
I AM STUDYING ALREADY –
WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW?
Do not worry. If you are part way through your CICM
qualification we will move you to the new format
automatically if that is the best path for you.
You can stay on the current qualification route if this
suits you better (if you only have one further unit to
pass) and you will have until 2021 to complete the ‘old’
qualification assignments and exams.
LOOK IN YOUR INBOX
We will be contacting our members soon with more
details about the new qualifications and instructions
on what to do if you are part way through your CICM
qualification.
ENTRY LEVEL CERTIFICATE AND
DIPLOMA IN CREDIT AND COLLECTIONS
For professionals working at operational level, or
looking for an introduction to credit, collections or
enforcement.
CHOICE OF 7 CICM AWARDS
Choose one as a CPD
award, or build to the Entry
Certificate or Diploma.
ENTRY LEVEL
CERTIFICATE
2 CICM awards at
Entry-Level
Regulated by the qualifications regulators in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
INTERMEDIATE DIPLOMA IN
CREDIT AND COLLECTIONS
For professionals working in, or working towards,
senior operational roles in credit, collections or
enforcement.
CHOICE OF 10 CICM AWARDS
Choose 1 as a CPD award,
or build to the CICM
Intermediate Diploma.
INTERMEDIATE DIPLOMA
4 CICM INTERMEDIATE
AWARDS
including at least one
mandatory unit
LEVEL 2
ENTRY LEVEL
DIPLOMA
Any 4 CICM awards
at Entry-Level
Regulated by the qualifications regulators in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
ADVANCED DIPLOMA IN CREDIT
AND COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT
For professionals working in, or working towards,
managerial or leadership roles in credit, collections
or enforcement.
CHOICE OF 6 CICM AWARDS
Choose 1 as a CPD award, or
build to the CICM Advanced
Diploma.
ADVANCED
DIPLOMA
Any 4 CICM
Advanced awards
LEVEL 3
Diploma leads to
ASSOCIATE
(ACICM)
MEMBERSHIP
LEVEL 5
Diploma leads to
MEMBER LEVEL MCICM (GRAD)
(must have Intermediate
Diploma or MCICM Experience
Assessment pass)
Regulated by the qualifications regulators in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
See www.gov.uk to compare qualification levels in different countries.
You can get in touch any time to talk to the CICM
qualifications team. They will be able to give you advice on
the next steps. E: professionalqualifications@cicm.com
T: 01780 722909
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 46

CICM
QUALIFIED
your way
CICM qualifications
are changing
In a world where time is your most precious
commodity, we understand that you need flexibility
and different options at different times of your life
and career.
Find out more
T: 01780 722900 W: www.cicm.com
E: qualifications@cicm.com
Where will the new flexible
CICM qualifications take you?
WHAT
ARE YOU
WAITING
FOR?
Entry Level awards, Certificate and Diploma in Credit & Collections (Level 2)
Intermediate awards and Diploma in Credit & Collections (Level 3, leading to ACICM)
Advanced awards and Diploma in Credit & Collections (Level 5, leading to MCICM (Grad)*
* MCICM (Grad) is awarded to those who meet specific criteria. Please call us for more information.
Your choice, your way: subject, study method, place and time
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 47

EDUCATION - LEARNING ONLINE
KNOWLEDGE
TESTS
NEW
Knowledge Hub
Premium
Content
Check your knowledge of key credit management,
collections and enforcement areas with these knowledge tests.
PREPARE FOR A CICM AWARD
Equally valuable as a baseline test of your team’s knowledge on CICM Knowledge Hub, these multiple
choice questions support preparation towards CICM Level 2 and 3 awards and credit controller/
collections apprenticeships.
Each test includes advice on the art of answering multiple choice questions, the opportunity to
practice multiple choice exam questions for each syllabus area working at your own pace, feedback
on the correct answer, a final timed mock exam accessed anywhere/anytime, and a mock exam
completion certificate for learners who complete course evaluations and pass the mock.
KNOWLEDGE TESTS ARE AVAILABLE IN:
• Credit Management (trade, export and consumer)
• Consumer Collections NEW programme
• Consumer Credit Management
• Taking Control of Goods
• Trade Credit Management
• Export Credit Management
• Business Environment
• Business Law
The knowledge test course takes around three hours to complete,
including the pre-reading, mock exam at the end, a course evaluation
and CPD reflection. The course could form part of a taught programme
leading towards a CICM award or stand-alone knowledge test.
You can complete multiple choice questions for each module all
at once or over several visits to suit you. The one-hour mock exam
must be completed in one go, however it can be repeated on more
than one occasion.
Course fees apply
CICM members £25 for 12 month licence * Non-members - £83
Learners studying through a CICM Credit Academy virtual class,
evening class or Learning Support will have free access to the related
test as part of their programme.
The Taking Control of Goods test is part of an online course
sponsored by the High Court Enforcement Officers Association and is
therefore offered free to CICM members (Non-member fee - £50*).
CPD
3
Email: learningsupport@cicm.com or
call 01780 722909 to purchase course
*Fees are subject to VAT

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
cicmmembership@cicm.com
Debt Recovery is
nothing new to Keebles.
Having practised successfully in this
area for many decades, you can be
confident inour experience and ability.
We appreciate the needs of our clients
and understand that each client’s
requirements are different. Whether
you are alarge organisation requiring
regular management reports and file
reviews, or asmall business growing
rapidly, but with little experience of the
debt recovery process, we have the
flexibility tocater for your needs.
We work closely with our clients and
will tailor aservice level agreement so
that we both know exactly what needs
to be achieved and at what cost.
No Recovery No Fee
We do not charge for issuing aLetter
Before Action. Wewill only charge you
commission, at an agreed rate, on any
sums recovered. If we are unable to
recover your debt atthis stage it will
cost you nothing.
No Hidden Costs
For many cases, where itisnecessary
to issue legal proceedings, we can
offer service on afixed fee basis with
no hidden costs and, where possible,
we will make additional claims onyour
behalf for interest and compensation
under The Late Payment ofCommercial
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Success is the Key
Over the past 5years we have
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Call now totalk toamember of
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www.keebles.com

HR MATTERS ROUNDUP
Unintended Consequences
Giving notice but not resigning, searching an
employee’s mobile phone, and the new parental
bereavement act.
CAN an employee ‘resign’ and
not mean it? It appears that
they can following East Kent
Hospitals University NHS
Foundation Trust v Levy.
The claimant, Mrs Levy,
was employed in the records department
of the trust. She successfully applied for
an internal position in the trust's radiology
department, subject to pre-appointment
checks.
After having been given the conditional
offer and following some form of
altercation with another staff member in
the records department, Levy handed in
a letter stating: ‘Please accept one month's
notice from the above date’.
On receiving this letter Levy's manager
wrote back accepting the ‘notice of
resignation’ and referring to her last
working day in the records department.
AUTHOR – Gareth Edwards
Her manager did not complete a staff
termination form and did not deal with
any other outstanding issues, such as
making a payment for accrued but unused
annual leave.
Following the completion of the
pre-appointment checks, the offer of a
position in the radiology department was
withdrawn, prompting Levy to attempt
to retract her notice. The trust refused
to accept the withdrawal of her notice,
stating that her employment would end at
the end of her notice period. Levy made
an unfair dismissal claim stating that she
had not resigned.
The Employment Tribunal (ET) held
that Levy's letter had been ambiguous as
to whether she was giving notice to leave
the records department or the trust. The
ET went on to find that, from the trust’s
actions, it could be shown that the notice
had been taken by the trust to be notice
of Levy's departure from the records
department and therefore Levy had not
resigned. Her unfair dismissal claim was
successful.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal
(EAT) agreed with the ET, holding that
Levy's letter had been ambiguous despite
the use of the word ‘notice’. On these
particular facts, the EAT held that the ET
had been entitled to find that the words
used in the letter related to Levy's position
in the records department.
The decision highlights that employers
should not be too eager to accept an
employee's apparent resignation without
considering the meaning behind it,
particularly where there could be any
ambiguity as to the employee's intentions.
Changing phone passwords without permission
IN what circumstances can an employer
search an employee’s mobile phone? The
High Court case of Richmond v Selecta
Systems Limited offers guidance in that
it found that a search can be conducted
where a company wants to protect its
interests, has a reasonable suspicion that
an employee has openly taken confidential
information, and the mobile phone has
been provided by the employer.
However, in this case, the managing
director's actions of changing the employee's
passwords in relation to personal accounts
(iTunes, iCloud and WhatsApp) while
searching for information, because some
company data was found, was deemed
a step too far. The court found that
the employer had breached their duty of
care owed to the employee who was deprived
of access to his personal accounts and
was therefore awarded £1,000
compensation.
The employer had been in discussions
with the employee who had worked for
the company for over 20 years, as to the
terms of his departure from the company.
The employer knew that the employee
had previously asked for copies of client
information to be made for him to keep
at home. The employee was involved in
a sales role and worked from home from
time-to-time. The information being sought
included customer contact information
as well as discounted price structures for
the company's products. The latter being
commercially sensitive information.
New Parental Bereavement Act 2018
UNDER the Parental Bereavement (Leave
and Pay) Act 2018, parents who suffer the
death of a child under the age of 18, or a
stillbirth from 24 weeks of pregnancy, will
be entitled to two weeks paid leave.
The Act, which is expected to come into
force in 2020, will give bereaved parents
a statutory right to two weeks' pay by
inserting new sections (80EA- 80EE) into
the Employment Rights Act 1996. This new
right will be subject to employees meeting
eligibility criteria similar to that of statutory
paternity pay, which includes having had 26
weeks continuous employment. However,
much of the detail is still unknown as it will
be set out in supporting regulations.
The regulations will detail among other
things the definition of ‘bereaved parent’;
how and when parental bereavement leave
and pay can be taken; and the notice and
evidence which will be required.
Gareth Edwards is a partner in
the employment team at
VWV.gedwards@vwv.co.uk.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 50

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MAKE YOUR CASE
MAKE
YOUR CASE
With the festive season almost upon us,
Credit Management asked some of its contributors for
their top hangover cures and recipes for leftover turkey.
Brendan Clarkson FCICM
Chris Sanders FCICM
Kevin Reed
HANGOVER – drink between half-apint
to a pint of water before you go to
bed, also ensure you have a large glass
of water next to your bed for thirsty
moments in the night. In the morning
start with a decent breakfast, something
hot and stodgy! If this fails, a can of Stella
around 11.01am.
Turkey leftovers – I love a turkey
toasted sandwich. Not some half-hearted
attempt using a pre-sliced loaf but
instead with some thickly cut soda bread
lightly toasted with some melted brie
done under the grill. Add some sliced
turkey which has been warmed in the
microwave and then top with cranberry
sauce and some rocket leaves or baby
spinach. Season with salt and pepper.
Bon appetit!
PERSONALLY, I have never had a
hangover so I wouldn't know. Obviously,
that is nonsense. The best hangover
cure that I know is a full English. Now
the controversial bit – with brown sauce
as is only proper with a full English.
Tomato Ketchup is only for steak, chips,
burgers and Americans. As far as the
sausages in a full English are concerned
(there should be two) these are best cut
lengthways then spread with Marmite.
Yes, you either love it or hate it, but don't
knock it until you try it. Trust me on this I
am a credit manager!
I have two Chocolate Labradors –
believe me when I say there is never
any leftover turkey. So, what to do with
leftover turkey? Get a Labrador or two.
They will help you walk off Christmas
over-indulgence and the fresh air will
clear your head the morning after.
SO, the life of a journalist – freelance or
otherwise – is pretty hectic at Christmas.
Deadlines don’t take breaks in December.
Having said that, advertising
salespeople do like to take a break. So that
means print titles usually drop an issue
over the festive period. So, December can
become a bit of a ‘meetings boozefest’.
Hangover cures? Well, in the old days
I simply wouldn’t have stopped drinking
and a Bloody Mary, pint of stout or even
fizzy lager would sort out the headache.
Nowadays, I can’t keep up that pace.
So, my emergency hangover kit normally
includes salt and vinegar crisps and
Ribena as the first line of offence.
As for leftover turkey – I’d go with it
gently reheated and whacked between
two doorsteps of bread with an inch of
butter either side of said meat, along
with salt, ketchup and stuffing. I should
probably go and get my cholesterol level
checked!
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 52

MAKE YOUR CASE
Karen Young Peter Walker Heather Greig-Smith
AS crazy as it might seem, my best cure
for a hangover is to be brave and do some
exercise! You have to go through a bad
patch at the start as it will get worse
before it gets better, but once your pores
open and you are exercising hard you
will drink more water – sweat it out and
re-hydrate all in one cure.
I’ve got to be honest and say in our
house that the leftover turkey from
Christmas Day usually turns into Boxing
Day dinner i.e. the cold meats put out on
a platter with mashed potato and salad.
Although we always cook some fresh
pigs in blankets which go down a storm
every time. Anything that is left over
from that (unlikely) gets put into a curry
for the day after Boxing Day once I have
done duties of running relatives back
home and things go back to ‘normal’.
THE festive season can be a source of
problems including what to do with the
leftover turkey. When my late wife, a
Chinese from Malaysia, cooked turkey
for the first time, she then had to deal
with the remains. She made a soup stock
– ordinary so far – but she had brought
some shark’s fin from Malaysia, so the
result was shark’s fin soup. That was
back in 1970, but don’t do it today! Sharks
need protection, so make something less
adventurous with that stock.
I was once adventurous with wine
during an evening with some barristers
– this time we were all at a different
bar. I telephoned my tenants from the
tube station. They came to the rescue
and poured me back home. No cure for
the subsequent hangover, but at least I
arrived home safely. I will make such
rescues as an obligation in the tenancy
agreement.
THE best hangover cure has to be going
for a run – rain, shine or snow, a winter
run always leaves me rosy-cheeked and
virtuous (smug), even if it’s utter hell at
the time. A two-hour adventure through
snow-coated fields with an equally
crazy friend or a true crime podcast for
company. Followed by a nice rewarding
gin and tonic. Oh, wait...
What to do with leftover turkey?
Obviously, sandwiches – lots of
mayonnaise and salad. There is always
masses left in our house so we box it
up carefully and put it in the freezer for
future meals/curries, only to dig it out
from the back of the freezer and chuck it
away 12 months later. Must do better this
year!
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 53

SOAPBOX CHALLENGE
High Drama
The editor’s love of all things aviation
does not necessarily extend to flying
with the World’s Favourite Airline.
SOAPBOX
challenge
HAVE any of you, I
wonder, ever taken off
in a passenger aircraft
at the departure time
stated on your ticket?
That, you may argue,
is not a problem as long as you arrive at
your destination on time, and to an extent
I agree. But what really annoys me is the
unnecessary, soap-opera style drama that
we now go through before, during and
after every flight. I shall explain.
Take my recent return from a
business trip to Hamburg. Having been
patronisingly congratulated for boarding
our aircraft on time (‘Cabin crew, boarding
complete’) the Captain then adds that we
will be delayed taking off, cos although
we’re all good to go, there are delays from
Air Traffic Control. There is an audible
groan from the passengers upfront in the
posh seats.
Never fear, we’re told, while the Captain
is speaking to us, the First Officer is busy
on the blower, attempting to negotiate an
earlier slot (yeah, right). Now when I say
‘earlier’, that will of course still be later
than our actual stated departure time, so
let’s not dress it up like he (or she) is doing
us a favour.
Finally, of course, we do get away, 30
or so minutes late, but our Captain Marvel
again comes on the intercom to tell us
that there is a tail wind and he’ll put his
foot down and do his damnedest to get us
there on time, come hell or high water.
Great. Thanks skipper, but you do know
you are just delivering a service we’ve all
paid good money for, don’t you? And it
wasn’t cheap.
Then of course we have the comedy
of approaching London Heathrow, and
being told that we are going to have to
‘hold’ for ten minutes or so to the south.
‘It’s very busy’ our Captain says, ‘but
fingers’ crossed we won’t be delayed too
long.’ Fingers’ crossed? Fingers’ crossed?!
I’ll give you blooming fingers’ crossed old
son. Did you not know it would be busy?
We did, and we knew we’d fly around in
circles ‘cos we always do.
Now of course when we do finally
get the nod from the Gods at Air Traffic
Control (who must be having the time of
their lives down there working out who
they are going to let land and who they’ll
leave up top for a few more minutes),
the skipper announces ‘Cabin crew ten
minutes to landing’ and a collective sigh
of relief can be felt down the aisle.
We land to the news that not only have
we made up the time lost while waiting to
take off, but we are now actually early. It is
trumpeted as though we should be doing
cartwheels with joy and wanting to start
a family with our hero up front. But, of
course, there’s another snag.
Because we’re early, there’s another
aircraft on our stand, and we have to wait
for him to push back. Then the ground
crews are not ready for us, the air wing
isn’t aligned, and the coaches scheduled
to ship us back to the Terminal building
are nowhere in sight. When we do finally
disembark (‘Cabin crew doors to manual
and cross check’), we’re back to being
only a few minutes late again, and the
Captain is out of his cockpit, grinning like
a schoolboy whose Tuck Shop allowance
has just been increased, expecting a high
five for his efforts on our behalf.
Communication, we know, is
important, and it is better for the crew
to say something rather than leave us
guessing, but the speech is the same
speech, every time, regardless of airline.
Indeed, it is wholly unfair of me to single
out British Airways; they are still the best
IMHO (to be down with the kids). Every
airline does it. So, stop the pantomime
fellas; we’re on to you.
Sean Feast FCICM is getting grumpier.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 54

Are you a Leader
or follower?
CICMQ accreditation is a proven model that has consistently delivered
dramatic improvements in cashflow and efficiency
CICMQ is the hallmark of industry leading organisations
The CICM Best Practice Network is where CICMQ accredited organisations
come together to develop, share and celebrate best practice in credit and
collections
Be a leader – Join the CICM Best Practice Network today
To find out more about flexible options to gain CICMQ accreditation
E: cicmq@cicm.com, T: 01780 722900
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 55

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 Marketing on 01780 727273
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
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
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
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 56

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 intelligent, finance automation
solutions that enable customers to get paid
on time and control their cashflow and cash
collection in real time. Rimilia’s software solutions
use sophisticated analytics and artificial intelligence
to predict customer payment behaviour and
easily match and reconcile payments, removing
the uncertainty of cash collection. Rimilia’s
software automates the complete accounts
receivable process improving cash allocation, bank
reconciliation and credit management operations.
www.rimilia.com
DWF is a global legal business, transforming legal
services through our people for our clients. Led by
Managing Partner & CEO Andrew Leaitherland,
we have over 26 key locations and 2,800 people
delivering services and solutions that go beyond
expectations. 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.
www.dwf.law/recover
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
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
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
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
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
The Recognised Standard
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 57

BRANCH NEWS
FOLLOWING feedback
received last year, the 2018
Turner Lecture broke with
tradition as it was held on
a Wednesday evening for
the first time in its 18-
year history. Once again, the intimate
surroundings of the Strand, Fleet and Bell
Suite at the Law Society, Chancery Lane,
was the venue and around 60 members
and guests were in attendance. In addition,
there was a welcome return for Robert
Turner, who was unable to attend the event
last year.
The format this year was an interactive
debate/question and answer session and
Richard Seadon, Kent Branch Committee
Member, introduced the session and acted
as moderator/time-keeper throughout.
Following a drinks reception at 17.30, the
delegates then filed into their seats and,
Turner Lecture
The Law Society
in turn, were duly captivated, cultivated
and even somewhat concerned by the
illustrations and presentations of the three
panellists/speakers.
First up was Richard Mawrey QC of
Henderson Chambers who gave a wry but
informative insight into the new Pre-Action
Protocols that were introduced in October
2017. The talk covered the processes
which now had to be adopted by creditors
pursuing money from individuals, and
highlighted the increased time involved as
well as potential pitfalls and scenarios that
could arise for creditors.
Ruth Duncan, immediate Past President
of the Insolvency Practitioners’ Association
(IPA) then took to the stage to explain what
her role involved, the current status of the
world of insolvency, and then discussed
the new rules affecting the Insolvency Act
1986.
The final slot was reserved for
Matthew Richardson, Barrister at Law
with Henderson Chambers, and worldacknowledged
expert in the field of
Cyber-Crime. Some of the statistics, losses
of money involved, and security breaches
covered by Matthew (all backed up with
real-life examples), certainly gave the
audience a jolt as to just how vulnerable
we all are to our personal data being
accessed.
A brief question and answer session
followed the talks before several of the
guests then adjourned for a delightful
dinner in an adjoining room at the Law
Society. Thanks again must go to Richard
for his efforts in making the event such a
success.
AUTHOR: Kevin Artlett FCICM
New CICM members
The Institute welcomes new members who have recently joined
ASSOCIATE
AFFILIATE
FELLOW
MEMBERS
Anna Maria
Apenit-Mitula
William Nelson
Kirsten Wachs
Daniel Carlton
Katherine Flowers
Matthew Gibson
Lucky Locord
Nelson Rea
Sue Wood
Andrew Birkwood
Sean Feast
Ben Archer
Wayne Damster
Parya Darabi
Philip Elliott
Joycelin Evans
Karen Herron
Massimo Lepri
Sharon Noland
Francine Pearlman
Matthew Radcliffe
Patrick Rawson
STUDYING MEMBERS
Qasam Ali
Carmel Austin
Olabanji Bamiduro
Simona Bengescu
John Buckley
James Burke
Ellie Cheetham-Blake
Joanne Clarke
Mitchel Cooper
Hannah Curtis
Gavin Duxbury
Michael Falzarano
Raffeina Feeney
Nick Glendening
Stuart Gray
Adele Gray
Yvette Grey
Janet Grimm
Lynsey Handley
Donna Hardy
Lianne Hare
Nigel Harris
Rebecca Harris
Michael Hashim
Jess Hill
Charlene Hughes
Emma Hynes
Olivia Ionescu
Francine Jackson
Kirsty Johnson
Eric Kezayo
Eloise Lawrence
Karen McManus
Demitra Michael
Christopher Milner
Christopher Moore
Nicola Newman
Jodie Pratt
Eoghan Rodgers
Edward Sagoe
Carla Scott
Gareth Short
Michael Shubh
Aurelija Sitvenkina
Michala Skuse
Julie Smith
Charlie Smith
George Smith
Karl Smith
Julie Somerville
Tammy Taylor
Annette Thornalley
Jodie Todd
Kelsey Toon
Cristina Turturean
Karolina Vacz Hosszu
Rosie Walker
Claire Watkins
Paul Willard
Chelsey Williecarr
Donna Wilson
Max Young
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 58

BRANCH NEWS
A Successful Re-Launch
North West Branch
EMIRATES Old Trafford was
the iconic venue for a highly
successful re-launch event
for the North West Branch.
Almost 60 delegates
were present to hear
presentations from Philip King, Chief
Executive, and Claire Bishop, Head of
Member Administration, who talked
about the CICM, its history, its work, its
future plans and the various study and
membership options available.
Executive Board member Victoria
Herd followed explaining why credit
management is vital to any business,
along with real-life examples of what can
go wrong when a company neglects best
practice. Victoria went on to describe
the characteristics that go into making
a good credit professional. Christopher
Hardman from Bureau Veritas gave an
amusing and well-received account of his
journey as a CICM Apprentice, drawing
on comparisons with ‘The most famous
apprentice of them all’, Luke Skywalker.
The presentations were rounded off
with a summary from Karen Young,
Director of Hays Credit Management, of
salary and recruitment trends in the credit
profession, with particular emphasis on
the North West Region.
After a round up from Branch Chair
Peter Gent, there was an opportunity
for a lively networking session, over an
excellent buffet provided by the staff at
Old Trafford.
The branch committee would like to
express its thanks to all who attended,
along with Hays for their support; our
presenters for their time and effort; and
the staff at Lancashire County Cricket Club
for their hospitality.
The committee are keen to maintain
the momentum the event has provided
and would like to receive feedback from
members in order to compile a calendar
of future events which will hopefully be as
strongly supported.
Author: David R Thornley FCICM MAAT
Full name:
Mark Clowes.
Current job title:
Credit Control Team Leader.
Current company name:
Hays Specialist Recruitment.
Number of years in credit management:
One and a half.
Number of years in current role: My current
role is my first in credit management.
How did you get into credit management?
I previously worked in payroll and really
enjoyed chasing overpayments we had made
to temporary workers. When a job in credit
control came up I applied and was successful
in getting the role.
What is the best thing about where you work?
I really enjoy the people I work with on a daily
basis. We are all like a little family.
What motivates you?
Career progression, doing my job to the best of
my ability and supporting my team.
What skill do you think has helped you most in
your credit career so far?
I would say my firm but fair approach. You
need to be able to empathise with clients but
at the same time ensure you get the result you
require.
Name three people you would invite to a dinner
party and why?
Donald Trump, Kim Jong-Un and Vladimir
Putin. Being involved in a private conversation
with the most powerful leaders in the world
would be interesting to say the least.
What is your favourite pastime/relaxation
activity?
I like to spend time with my children and
family, socialising with friends and going to
watch the football or boxing.
What is the best/worst quality in a leader?
The best quality is taking responsibility and
ownership for yours and your team’s actions.
The worst quality is to be disengaged and
unaware in what your team are doing
Who is your business or personal hero?
My personal hero is Aleksandar Mitrovic for
pretty much single handily getting Fulham FC
back into the Premier League.
What can't you live without?
I’d say food as I have to have at least three
meals a day.
60SECONDS
WITH
WE WANT
YOUR NEWS!
Get in touch with Andrew Morris by emailing
andrew.morris@cicm.com with your branch
news and event reports. Please only send up
to 400 words and any images need to be high
resolution to be printable, so 1MB plus.
What’s been your most rewarding moment in
your credit career?
When I have worked with a client by agreeing
a repayment plan and the client sticks to that
plan and pays off all of their outstanding debt.
On a personal level, it was being recognised by
my team in our circle of excellence reward and
recognition scheme.
What has surprised you the most about
working in credit?
How difficult it is to get invoices paid.
If you weren’t working in credit management,
what would you be doing?
When I was younger I aspired to be a TV
presenter so probably the next Ant or Dec.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 59

TAKE CONTROL
OF YOUR CREDIT
CAREER
WORKING CAPITAL ASSISTANT
JOIN AN INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRM
London, up to £29,000
Due to a backlog of high volume invoices, this
international law firm is seeking an individual to assist
and make a difference through a 3-6 month fixed term
contract. With a strong focus on invoice amendments,
high volume processing and allocation of fees and
disbursements, this role will require billings experience
and good time management skills to meet deadlines.
You will be able to deal with enquiries and conduct
yourself professionally, ensuring you assist with the
running of a department. This is a fantastic opportunity
to enhance your CV and make a huge impact.
Ref: 3460483
Contact Megan Allen on 020 3465 0020
or email megan.allen@hays.com
ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE ASSISTANT
MANAGE YOUR OWN PORTFOLIO
London, £25,000-£27,000
A well-established and successful media publishing
business is looking for an AR specialist to take full
ownership of the end-to-end Accounts Receivable
function. Managing an ever expanding portfolio of
international accounts, you will responsible for chasing
payment in a proactive manner, with the aim of improving
DSO. Experience dealing with international clients
and multi currencies is essential, and a track record of
implementing controls/processes would be advantageous.
In return, you will work in a modern and happy office
environment with a supportive and friendly team.
Ref: 3450829
Contact Julia Foster on 020 3465 0020
or email julia.foster2@hays.com
JUNIOR CREDIT CONTROLLER
GERMAN SPEAKING WITH
FINANCE EXPERIENCE
London, £28,000 + bonus
This fast-paced, modern and exciting recruitment
company is looking for a credit controller to join its
sociable team. In this role, you will chase the European
ledger and speak to multiple German clients, building
relationships with them. You will also be involved in
allocations and reconciliations with the management of
a £5million plus ledger. To be successful, you will have a
driven and hardworking attitude and be able to fit into
a fun and sociable team. Any finance background will be
suitable but fluency in German is essential.
Ref: 3448464
Contact Holly Parkes on 020 3465 0020
or email holly.parkes@hays.com
CREDIT CONTROLLER
BUILD STRONG RELATIONSHIPS
Coventry, up to £24,000
An excellent opportunity has arisen at a large retail
company for a credit controller with experience working
in a large complex commercial business handling debts of
£1 million upwards. With a strong emphasis on reviewing
credit worthiness, credit limits, risk categories and stops in
respect of existing accounts, this role focuses on building
relationships with large clients who hold high volume and
high value accounts, ensuring that queries are resolved
promptly. As a confident communicator, you will be able
to prioritise your own work and manage your own diary in
relation to chasing the debt.
Ref: 3460095
Contact Janice White on 024 7690 2024
or email janice.white@hays.com
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 60

MULTILINGUAL SENIOR
CREDIT CONTROLLER
MAKE AN IMPACT
Sheffield, £23,000 + benefits
This well-established, market leading company is looking
for a senior credit controller with linguistic capability to
join its finance team. Your duties will include ensuring
cash collection is achieved and payments obtained by
agreed terms through the maintenance and control of
the sales ledger across the entire EMEA region. Previous
credit control experience is essential and you will ideally
be a French or Italian speaker. To be successful, you will
have the ability to work towards and achieve deadlines,
work well as part of a team or on your own initiative,
possess good self-motivational and organisational skills
and excellent Excel skills. Ref: 3178916
Contact Daniel Cherry on 0114 273 8775
or email daniel.cherry@hays.com
SENIOR CREDIT CONTROLLER
MAKE AN IMPACT
Abingdon, £15-£20 per hour
An industry leading manufacturing company requires
a senior credit controller to join its finance team on
a full time temporary basis until February. Reporting
into the Financial Controller, you will be responsible for
maintaining upkeep of the complicated credit ledger
for specified territories, ensuring the company complies
with the group policies on risk management and aged
debt reporting. As an experienced credit controller, you
will have worked at a senior level, dealing with high debt
clients. You will receive a competitive hourly rate in line
with £30,000-40,000, with guaranteed work over the
Christmas period. Ref: 3465957
Contact Imtiaz Khandokar on 01865 727071
or email imtiaz.khandokar@hays.com
CREDIT CONTROLLERS
PROVIDE EXCELLENT
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Worksop, up to £22,000 + bonus
This national services company requires multiple credit
controllers for a central services office based in Worksop.
This is an excellent opportunity to work alongside a
large finance team and develop your experience as an
outstanding credit controller, working to KPI targets
to retrieve and minimise outstanding debt. You will be
driven and competent, keen to enhance your credit
skills and work for a well-known organisation where
progression opportunities are available for strong
performers. Natural progression into future roles will
likely be available if desired for high performers.
Ref: 3442016
Contact Arthur Blyth on 0114 273 8775
or email arthur.blyth@hays.com
REVENUE ASSISTANT
SUCCESS THROUGH EXPERTISE
London, up to £19 per hour (PAYE)
This company is a market-leading software developer and
is one of leading tech companies in London. Due to rapid
growth, this company now requires a revenue assistant
to come in and take ownership of the revenue. You will
be responsible for client billing, cash allocations and
bank reconciliations. To be successful, you will have high
volume invoice experience and be a motivated individual
who can take control of the entire function. The company
is located in modern offices with an open-plan breakout
area and multiple perks.
Ref: 3452877
Contact Nathan Cumine on 020 3465 0020
or email nathan.cumine@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.
hays.co.uk/creditcontrol
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 61

CALENDAR
The rise and rise of
Peer-to-Peer alternative
finance. Page 13
The story behind the
collapse of Toys R Us.
Page 36
THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND
COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS
CM December 2017.indd 1 21/11/2017 13:41
Sean Feast comments
on the Bell Pottinger
saga. Page 4
Are CRAs doing
enough around bogus
accounts. Page 26
THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR
CONSUMER AND COMMERCIAL
CREDIT PROFESSIONALS
CM October 2017.indd 1 21/09/2017 13:47
MARCH 2018 £12.00
People Power
How self-serve is
supporting customer
engagement. Page 14
Taken On Trust
Sean Feast speaks to
Joanna Elson of the Money
Advice Trust. Page 22
THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND
COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS
Winners of the
CICM British
Credit Awards
2018
CM March 2018.indd 1 21/02/2018 13:56
How AI is challenging
our ethical code.
Page 17
The state of the credit
management nation.
Page 34
THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND
COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS
CM April 2018.indd 1 21/03/2018 11:10
Sean Feast talks to
the new CEO of Hoist
Finance. Page 13
How Bexley Council
is improving supplier
relationships. Page 16
THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND
COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS
CM June 2018.indd 1 21/05/2018 11:04
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Full list of events can be found on our website: www.cicm.com/events
CICM EVENTS
1 December
CICM Sheffield and District Branch
SHEFFIELD
Tis The Season To Be Networking
Contact : (0114) 2518850 (239) / 0771 3367588
Paula Uttley
VENUE : Genting Casino, St Paul's Place, Arundel
Gate, Sheffield, S1 2PN
4 December
CICM North East Branch
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
Christmas Quiz
Contact : Email northeastbranch@cicm.com
by 29 November 2018.
Please look out for any further updates on
our Branch forthcoming events at http://
www.cicm.com/branches/north-east/ .We are
actively seeking people who are keen to find
out more about the CICM, and always welcome
non-members and members bringing a friend,
colleague or even their whole team!
VENUE : Old George Inn (upstairs bar)
Old George Yard (just off Bigg Market), Newcastle
upon Tyne, NE1 1EE.
5 December
CICM West Midlands Branch
BIRMINGHAM
German Market Winter Warmer
Contact : Kim Delaney-Bowen: 07581 160 521
VENUE : RSM Office, St Philips Point,
Birmingham, B2 5AF
30 January
CICM South Wales Branch
CARDIFF
Are The Robots Coming or Are They Here
Already? What will you do?
Contact : To reserve a place please email
southwalesbranch@cicm.com
Diana Keeling (07921) 492348
VENUE : Atradius, 3 Harbour Road, Cardiff, CF10
4WZ
OTHER EVENTS
6-7 December
Forums International – International
Telecoms Risk Forum (ITRF)
LONDON
Contact : For more information email
itrf@forumsinternational.co.uk
11 December
Experian Credit Forum – FMCG Ireland
DUBLIN
Contact : Please contact Brent.cumming@
experian.com on 07885 675 092 if you would like
further details.
11 December
Experian Credit Forum –
Oil & Fuelcard Ireland
DUBLIN
Contact : Please contact Brent.cumming@
experian.com on 07885 675 092 if you would like
further details.
12 December
Forums International – Export/International
Credit Forum (ECF/ICF)
LONDON
Contact : For more information email
ecf@forumsinternational.co.uk
VENUE : Moore Stephens, London
CM
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CREDIT MANAGEMENT
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INSIDE
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Life on the edge
Consumers caught
in the debt trap
CREDIT MANAGEMENT
Chain Reaction
The cost of being in
– and out – of debt
THE CICM'S HIGHLY ACCLAIMED MAGAZINE
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APRIL 2018 £12.00
Barrel Role
How the UK wine industry
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Winds of
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Cr£ditWho?
CICM Directory of Services
COLLECTIONS
COLLECTIONS LEGAL
CONSULTANCY
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).
INTERNATIONAL COLLECTIONS
Premium Collections Limited
3 Caidan House, Canal Road
Timperley, Cheshire. WA14 1TD
T: +44 (0)161 962 4695
E: paul.daine@premiumcollections.co.uk
W: www.premiumcollections.co.uk
For all your credit management requirements Premium Collections
has the solution to suit you. Operating on a national and international
basis we can tailor a package of products and services to meet your
requirements.
Services include B2B collections, B2C collections, international
collections, absconder tracing, asset repossessions, status reporting
and litigation support.
Managed from our offices in Manchester, Harrogate and Dublin our
network of 55 partners cover the World.
Contact Paul Daine FCICM on +44 (0)161 962 4695 or
paul.daine@premiumcollections.co.uk
www.premiumcollections.co.uk
COLLECTIONS LEGAL
Blaser Mills Law
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
A full-service firm, Blaser Mills Law’s experienced Commercial
Recoveries team offer pre-legal collections, debt recovery,
litigation, dispute resolution and insolvency. The team includes
CICM qualified staff, recommended in both Legal 500 and
Chambers & Partners legal directories.
Offices in High Wycombe, Amersham, Rickmansworth, London
and Silverstone
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.
Yuill + Kyle
Capella, 60 York Street, Glasgow, G2 8JX, Scotland, UK
T: 0141 572 4251
E: scowan@yuill-kyle.co.uk
W: www.debtscotland.com
Do You Have Trouble Collecting Debts in
Scotland? We Don’t
Yuill + Kyle is one of Scotland’s leading debt recovery and credit
control law firms. With over 100 years of experience, we are
specialists in resolving disputed and undisputed debts. Our track
record for successful recoveries means you have just moved one step
closer to getting your money back.
How we can help you:
• Specialist advice for all of your legal matters
• A responsive and straightforward approach
• Providing you with solutions-driven advice
• Delivering cost certainty and value for money
Our services
• Pre-sue
• Fast track collections
• Judgement enforcement
• Insolvency
• Bankruptcy
• Liquidation
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 business-to-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
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.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 64

FOR INFORMATION,
OPTIONS AND PRICING
PLEASE EMAIL:
grace@cabbell.co.uk
CREDIT INFORMATION
CREDIT INFORMATION
CREDIT MANAGEMENT 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 industryleading
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.
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 3 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.
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
CoCredo
Missenden Abbey, Great Missenden, Bucks, HP16 0BD
T: 01494 790600
E: customerservice@cocredo.com
W: www.cocredo.co.uk
CoCredo’s award winning credit reporting and monitoring systems have
helped to protect over £27 billion of turnover on behalf of our customers.
Our company data is updated continually throughout the day and access
to the online portal is available 365 days a year 24/7.
At CoCredo we aggregate data from a range of leading providers in
the UK and across the globe so that our customers can view the best
available data in an easy to read report. We offer customers XML
Integration and D.N.A Portfolio Management as well as an industry-first
Dual Report, comparing two leading providers opinions in one report.
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.
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
Experian
The Sir John Peace Building
Experian Way
NG2 Business Park
Nottingham NG80 1ZZ
T: 0844 481 9920
W: www.experian.co.uk/business-information/
For over 30 years Experian have been processing, matching and deriving
insights to provide accurate, up-to-date information that helps B2B
organisations to make more effective, fact based decisions, reduce
risks and meet regulatory standards. We turn complex data into clear
insights that help manage UK and international businesses to maximise
opportunities for growth and identify and minimise the associated risks.
Blending our business and consumer data we can offer a truly blended
score for sole traders and enhanced scoring on SME’s to tell you more
about the business and the people behind the business. Experian can
support with new business, acquisition through to collections while
managing KYC requirements online or via our suite of APIs.
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.
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
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.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 65 continues on page 66 >

Cr£ditWho?
CICM Directory of Services
FOR INFORMATION,
OPTIONS AND PRICING
PLEASE EMAIL:
grace@cabbell.co.uk
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
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.
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
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
Operating globally across any sector, Rimilia provides intelligent,
finance automation solutions that enable customers to get paid on time
and control their cashflow and cash collection in real time. Rimilia’s
software solutions use sophisticated analytics and artificial intelligence
(AI) to predict customer payment behaviour and easily match and
reconcile payments, removing the uncertainty of cash collection. The
Rimilia software automates the complete accounts receivable process
and eliminates unallocated cash, reducing manual activity by an
average 70% and achieving best in class matching rates recognised
by industry specialists such as The Hackett Group.
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
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.
FINANCIAL PR
Gravity London
Floor 6/7, Gravity London, 69 Wilson St, London, EC21 2BB
T: +44(0)207 330 8888. E: sfeast@gravitylondon.com
W: www.gravitylondon.com
Gravity is an award winning full service PR and advertising
business that is regularly benchmarked as being one of the best
in its field. It has a particular expertise in the credit sector, building
long-term relationships with some of the industry’s best-known
brands working on often challenging briefs. As the partner agency for
the Credit Services Association (CSA) for the past 13 years, and the
Chartered Institute of Credit Management since 2006, it understands
the key issues affecting the credit industry and what works and what
doesn’t in supporting its clients in the media and beyond.
INSOLVENCY
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 accounting and advisory network,
with offices throughout the UK. Our clients range from individuals
and entrepreneurs, through to large organisations and complex
international businesses. We partner with them, supporting their
aspirations and helping them to thrive in a challenging world.
Our national creditor services team has expert insights in debt
recovery which, combined with their unparalleled industry and
sector knowledge, enables them to assist creditors in recovering
outstanding debts.
LEGAL MATTERS
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 •Reduce risk
•Offer extended terms to customers
•Provide an additional line of bank independent credit to drive
growth •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.
PAYMENT SOLUTIONS
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.
RECRUITMENT
PORTFOLIO
CREDIT CONTROL
Portfolio Credit Control
1 Finsbury Square, London. EC2A 1AE
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.
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.
DWF LLP
David Scottow Senior Director
D +44 113 261 6169 M +44 7833 092628
E: David.Scottow@dwf.law W: www.dwf.law/recover
DWF is a global legal business, transforming legal services through
our people for our clients. Led by Managing Partner & CEO Andrew
Leaitherland, we have over 26 key locations and 2,800 people
delivering services and solutions that go beyond expectations. We
have received recognition for our work by The Financial Times who
named us as one of Europe's most innovative legal advisers, and we
have a range of stand-alone consultative services, technology and
products in addition to the traditional legal offering.
Hays Credit Management
107 Cheapside, London, EC2V 6DN
T: 07834 260029
E: karen.young@hays.com
W: www.hays.co.uk/creditcontrol
Hays Credit Management is working in partnership with the CICM
and specialise in placing experts into credit control jobs and credit
management jobs. Hays understands the demands of this challenging
environment and the skills required to thrive within it. Whatever
your needs, we have temporary, permanent and contract based
opportunities to find your ideal role. Our candidate registration process
is unrivalled, including face-to-face screening interviews and a credit
control skills test developed exclusively for Hays by the CICM. We offer
CICM members a priority service and can provide advice across a wide
spectrum of job search and recruitment issues.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 66

FROM THE
ARCHIVE
Credit Management
magazine from 46 years ago.19
72
In November 1972 Republican Richard Nixon defeated Democrat
George McGovern in a landslide, although the election has
the lowest voter turnout since 1948 with only 55 percent of the
electorate voting. The last executions took place in Paris – the
President Georges Pompidou upheld both death sentences despite
public opinion. Atari released the arcade version of Pong which
became the first generation of video game to achieve commercial
success. In December 1972 Apollo 17 became the last manned
moon mission when the ‘Blue Marble’ picture of Earth was taken.
THE INSTITUTE’S
ANNUAL DINNER
Robert Head, Financial Correspondent
for the Daily Mirror entertained the
crowd at the Crypt of the Guildhall
as one of the guest speakers.
Chairman of Council, Owen Mayo
summarised the year’s progress with
representations to the Department
of Trade and Industry, and a meeting
with the Conservative Credit and
Insurance Trade Committee.
THE COMPUTER – AN AID TO CREDIT MANAGEMENT
Following the Annual Conference of the Institute of Credit Management at the Royal
Garden Hotel on 25 October 1972, AJ Thomas outlines where a computer could assist
credit managers perform tasks such as reviewing credit limits and debt collecting.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2018 / PAGE 67

THE RECOGNISED
STANDARD
CICM British Credit Awards 2019
7 February 2019
Royal Lancaster, London
The shortlist has just been announced. Book your table today!
The entries are in... and the shortlist has just been
announced! To see who made the shortlist for the 2019
awards, please visit: www.cicmbritishcreditawards.com
Don’t miss this fantastic evening of networking and celebration
of all of the incredible achievements across the credit and
collections community. With a fabulous line up of entertainment,
it’s the one event in the credit calendar not to be missed!
The CICM British Credit Awards is central to our ethos, rewarding
outstanding achievement and innovation shown by individuals
and organisations.
BOOK YOUR TABLES TODAY
AND JOIN US ON THE NIGHT
WHERE ALL WINNERS WILL BE
REVEALED
cicmbritishcreditawards.com
Table bookings
Please contact Natasha Witter on:
T: 020 7484 9876
E: natasha.witter@incisivemedia.com
HEADLINE SPONSOR:
SPONSORS:
PALADIN