CM magazine May 2019

INTERVIEW
CICMQ
course anymore; they leave someone else to
carry the can. Creditors are often impacted;
debts are either sold or written off, and there
are incidences of banks offloading a large book
of business simply to get it off their balance
sheet.”
Another ongoing challenge to the profession
is pre-packs: “They are a good example of what
can happen when there is limited liquidity
in the market to allow trading to continue.
Pre-packs can be positive in saving jobs and
protecting value, but there are often tensions
in the process and a conflict of interests since
over-transparency can erode value.”
CROWN PREFERENCE
The proposed re-introduction of Crown
Preference is also vexing the industry. Stuart
sees it as a retrograde step: “The £185 million
that the Government suggests it will recover is a
mere fraction of what’s being lost in Brexit and
the cost to the revenue in comparison. It was
abolished for good reason but by re-introducing
it without any warning and on the basis of only
flimsy evidence will undoubtedly impact the
banks and other lenders. If the Government is
seeking to stimulate the economy and get the
banks to lend, this is not the right way to go
about it.”
Stuart also warns against over-regulation in
some areas, including corporate governance:
“It is a case of be careful what you wish for,”
he smiles. “Bad cases make bad law, and just
because there are challenges in the market (e.g
through examples such as BHS) we should be
looking at existing remedies and not new ones
with potentially unforeseen circumstances.”
He has been working closely with the
Insolvency Service during his term of office,
and is keen to further enhance the reputation
of the insolvency profession. Regulation, he
says, has made a real difference in weeding out
those who transgress from the high standards
demanded.
Stuart hands over the reins to Duncan Swift,
the incoming President of R3, at 12:00 noon on
3 May. He stays on, however, as an immediate
past-President to help with a smooth handover
and retains his place on the Governance
committee. With whatever free time he has,
he is determined to keep singing: “My mother
was a trained opera singer, and I am currently
50 percent of the tenor section in our company
choir.”
He also hopes to get his golf handicap down
(“I play all the right shots but in the wrong
order,” he laughs, stealing a line from the great
Eric Morecambe) and watch Leeds United in
the Premier League.
He is not sure which one is more likely.
AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM
“I remember a Consett
steel works that had a
Dantés Inferno-esque feel
about it, and standing
on top of a blast furnace
where the soles of your
shoes began to melt.”
R3, the UK’s insolvency and restructuring trade association, was
founded in 1990 in the wake of the overhaul of the insolvency
framework triggered by 1986’s Insolvency Act. The newly licensed
insolvency profession felt there was a need for an organisation, separate
to the insolvency regulators, which could bring together individuals
from different licensing bodies and offer support, networking, training
regardless of background, and which could allow the profession to
speak with one voice. As the profession continued to develop, there was
increased focus on the importance of using insolvency procedures to
support business rescue. As a result, the SPI became the Association of
Business Recovery Professionals in 2000 – better known as R3 (Rescue,
Recovery, and Renewal). Over the past 30 years, R3 has been a home
for the insolvency and restructuring profession – led by members,
for members. R3 supports its members as they go about their work
supporting the UK’s economy.
All round audit
THE credit team of eleven at
Ab Agri now manages annual
accounts receivables values
in excess of £1 billion, an
impressive uplift since it last
achieved CICMQ re-accreditation in 2016.
Ab Agri was originally accredited in 2010
following the creation of its credit control
team. The structure is flat with direct
reporting into the Group Credit Manager
with each credit controller responsible
for their own area/division of the business.
The majority of the team have been in
their roles since the inception of the
centralised team, some nine and half
years ago.
Frank Anderson FCICM, Group Credit
Manager, at AB Agri says this is the fourth
re-accreditation the team has achieved:
“While we are assessed by internal and
external auditors on our financial control
framework every year, the CICMQ is credit
specific and is a more rounded appraisal
of our people and processes. It also avoids
any risk of complacency – what was good
yesterday needs to be good today and needs
to be better tomorrow.”
CICMQ Assessor, Pam Thomas FCICM
said in her report: ‘The credit policy
remains an excellent document, and
all areas which serve the business are
covered serving as a basis for sound
credit management principles. All team
members and stakeholders have complete
awareness and clarity of responsibilities
and authorisation levels.’
Hays ticks all the boxes
HAYS is the leading global specialist
recruitment group and market leader in
the UK that has recently achieved CICMQ
re-accreditation for the third time. The credit
team is comprised of 63 credit professionals
who manage a ledger worth c£180 million,
collecting c£150 million per month in
payments.
Mark Phillips MCICM, Credit Control
Support Manager of the Finance Shared
Service Centre, says a number of significant
improvements have been made: “Over the
last couple of years our internal processes
within the credit department have changed,
so going through the re-accreditation
process was a great way of putting those
improvements to the test’’.
CICMQ Assessor Pam Thomas FCICM said
in her report: ‘The use of links to detailed
Standard Operating Procedures enables
a large number of topics to be included
without cluttering the policy; as a result,
it has a fresh clear feel and enables the
document to remain relatively succinct.
‘Personal and professional development is
taken seriously by credit team management.
It is evident that team behaviours and
having the right people in place is extremely
important. Interviews were held with a
number of team members, all of whom
presented themselves very positively. It was
a pleasure to observe how proud they were to
be part of the team and recognised that there
is scope to develop and progress’.
Sweet taste of CICMQ
success for Britvic
BRITVIC Soft Drinks Ltd, the largest
supplier of branded still soft drinks
in the UK, has achieved CICMQ
accreditation after demonstrating
outstanding results throughout the
process.
The newly-installed Credit
Management team at Britvic is made
up of ten credit controllers and was led
through the CICMQ process by Ciaran
Grace MCICM, Sales Operation Manager
at Britvic.
“Along with the development of our
people, the accreditation highlights to
key external and internal stakeholders
that Britvic is committed to best
practice and maintaining the highest
standard and continuous progression in
all areas of credit,” says Ciaran.
Britvic Soft Drinks Ltd is one of the
leading branded soft drinks businesses
in Europe and South America, operating
in and exporting to over 50 countries.
That's entertainment
SONY DADC Europe, part of the Sony
Entertainment Group, has achieved
CICMQ re-accreditation, with its
procedures and processes demonstrating
Quality in Credit Management.
Sony DADC, based in Enfield, provides
distribution services to the home
entertainment industry, as well as
providing warehousing facilities. The
credit control team is 30 strong, with 15
based in the UK office and 15 based in
the Czech Republic.
Paul Saunders MCICM, Head of Credit
and Collections at Sony DADC Europe,
says achieving CICMQ re-accreditation
provides an excellent benchmarking
tool: “Not only does it provide internal
confirmation of approved processes
but also external confirmation to our
clients. Following re-accreditation, we
will continue to review and update all
of our policy and procedure documents
regularly to ensure our processes remain
at the highest possible standard.
“We currently have a few team
members who are following the
education routes available with the CICM
and we are encouraging more to sign up.”
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / May 2019 / PAGE 16
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / May 2019 / PAGE 17