Credit Management Jan:Feb 2019

BRANCH NEWS
Kicking things off
Ireland Branch
Glyn Powell FCICM, Branch Chairman presenting the award to the Irish Collections Team of the Year.
THE newly formed Ireland
branch is up and running
with a group of committed
and enthusiastic members,
whose knowledge and
combined experience
will benefit the entire credit community
in Ireland. Following the inauguration
meeting in Croke Park, the committee was
elected as follows: Glyn Powell, Branch
Chair; Paul Whittaker, Secretary; Massimo
Lepri, Treasurer; Ian Finnie, VisionNet;
Ralph Montforts, Maxim Integrated;
Declan Flood, CEO of Irish Credit
Management Training; Jane Kloska, KPMG;
and Michael Burke, National Lottery.
In November, we co-hosted an excellent
All Ireland Utilities Conference in the
City North Hotel in conjunction with
the Northern Irish Branch. This was a
full day event with expert speakers on
topics relevant to all working in this
sector including: ‘Robotics, Automation
and Artificial Intelligence in Credit and
Customer Management’ by Brian Morgan
FCICM from Rimilia; ‘Recruitment,
Development & Retention Strategies’
from Orlagh Reynolds of Hays
Recruitment; and two sessions on
vulnerable customers from Pauline
Brown of St. Vincent de Paul and Debbie
Tuckwood, Head of Education and
Professional Development at CICM. We
also looked at areas including fraud and
regulations with an open forum with a
panel of experts on hand to answer specific
questions from the audience.
There have been a number of
committee meetings and there is a full
calendar of events planned for 2019. On
the Education front we are launching
the CICM Diploma course in Dublin in
conjunction with Irish Credit Management
Training (ICMT), starting in UCD, Belfield
on 21 February 2019. It will be classroombased
and the first term will cover Credit
Management and Business Environment
for ten weeks and hope to attract a large
number of students to gain a valuable
qualification. We are also offering a
selection of assignment-based subjects,
where students will attend four half day
sessions to learn, prepare and finalise
their assignments on a number of valuable
credit related topics.
It is our intention to grow an active,
valuable and informative organisation in
Ireland for everybody working in the area
of credit management.
AUTHOR: Declan Flood FCICM
The Journey Ahead
Sheffield and District Branch
SHEFFIELD and district branch members
and guests had an interesting and
enjoyable evening taking part in The
Journey Ahead workshop at the cuttingedge
AMP Technology Centre facility in
Sheffield. Following refreshments and an
opportunity to network with like-minded
credit professionals guests were seated
and presentations began.
Daniel Cherry of Hays was able to give
a sneak peek into the upcoming Hays
UK Salary Survey and Recruiting Trends
guide 2019. At the time of writing the
official launch was weeks away and CICM
members had a preview of top secret
statistics on the current employment
market with a focus on credit. Some
surprisingly optimistic findings were
observed.
Simon Johnson delivered a presentation
on interpreting company accounts and
credit reports. This was an in-depth
lecture looking at case studies within
credit delivered by the top talent within
the industry. A fantastic opportunity
to learn, absorb and ask questions for
both experienced and budding credit
professionals. Simon was able to give an
invaluable insight into how he has been
able to reach his position as UK Credit
Director at SIG.
Finally, CICM Vice President Laurie
Beagle gave a highly informative and
personable update on all things CICM.
Laurie guided us through the many
benefits of membership and the more
varied study options now available as
well as how to get more involved with
the branch. Laurie was able to give his
account on how CICM has facilitated so
much throughout his career.
Following the presentations, the
members of the committee relished the
opportunity to speak to members and
potential new members on a one-to-one
basis to share knowledge and experiences.
It was a real joy to spend time with
credit professionals starting out on their
journeys.
As the evening came to an end after
much food for thought, members and
guests were delighted to leave with a CICM
goodie bag containing coffee cup, drink
mat, pen and even a stick of CICM rock!
Many thanks to CICM HQ, AMP
Technology Centre, Simon Johnson,
Laurie Beagle and all attending members
and guests for making the evening a
great success. The committee would like
to thank all sponsors and members for
their continued support of the branch
and its events in 2018. We look forward
to seeing you all again and welcoming
new members and promoting credit as
a profession across the region in 2019
further. Author: Daniel Cherry
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / January / February 2019 / PAGE 57