Credit Management December 2019

OPINION
David Sheridan FCICM,
Operations Director, ARC Europe.
“We are massively dependent on a
vibrant consumer economy and yet we
seem to be hell-bent on removing access
to credit under the catch-all banner
of protecting vulnerable customers.
Creditors no longer lending seems to
be met with applause from the media,
government and consumer watchdog
stalwarts and yet behind the scenes
firms are trying to assess how they
can operate and provide vital credit
services in the face of regulators’ who
sit on the side-lines and do nothing
to deal with vexatious and predatory
Claims Management Companies (CMC)
firms who are fuelling the drive for
compensation for alleged and in many
cases unfounded breaches of lending
standards.
“What I want for Christmas can be
summed up as having confidence that
providing credit in a responsible manner
has a future in the UK and that the
quest for consumer interest includes a
vibrant and sustainable consumer credit
industry fit for the many! Otherwise, I’d
like everyone to have everything they
need to meet their lifestyle requirements
for free forever!”
Jason Braidwood FCICM(Grad),
Head of Credit and Collections at Creditsafe.
“Almost every commercial business
has debt owed at some point – even
businesses in our industry! And it’s
the people skills, problem solving and
business acumen that gets that cashflow
going. In my 25 years working mitigating
financial risks for companies I have
come across my fair share of challenges.
“Top of my wish list for what
would make working life easier would
be accessing more trade payment
data information. Businesses don’t
necessarily like to provide their Accounts
Receivable data as they feel it may not
be confidential enough – even though
it’s an anonymous programme. From a
credit management and risk perspective
I’d benefit in my role along with others as
this information is real-time and would
aid in the collections environment – it
would give me a much better payment
profile of our own customers and how
long it takes for them to pay their debts.”
Richard Leonard, Head of Data
Partnerships at Experian.
“NEW, high quality data is at the top
of the Christmas list for any credit
reference agency (CRA), and Experian
is no different. I would like to see the
Government make more data available to
the industry. For example, if HMRC was
to share data on small businesses then
it could help Experian and other CRAs to
score small businesses more accurately,
while also reducing financial crime. A
lack of financial data holds back many
smaller organisations from accessing the
growth funding they need to take their
company to the next level – new data
sources can unlock their potential.”
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / December 2019 / PAGE 53