CM April 2020

CREDIT MANAGEMENT
CM
APRIL 2020 £12.50
THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND
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17
POINT OF
REFERENCE
Sean Feast FCICM
APRIL 2020
www.cicm.com
CONTENTS
27
THE GRAY MATTER
Yvette Gray
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.
32
COUNTRY FOCUS
Adam Bernstein
President Stephen Baister FCICM / Interim Chief Executive Sue Chapple FCICM
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)
24
LEGAL MATTERS
Peter Walker
Advisory Council Sarah Aldridge FCICM(Grad) / Laurie Beagle FCICM / Glen Bullivant FCICM / Lauren Carter FCICM /
Larry Coltman FCICM / Victoria Herd FCICM(Grad) / Philip Holbrough MCICM / Laural Jefferies FCICM / Diana Keeling FCICM /
Martin Kirby FCICM / Christelle Milojkovic FCICM / Julie-Anne Moody-Webster FCICM(Grad) / Debbie Nolan FCICM(Grad) /
Ute Ogholoh MCICM / Bryony Pettifor FCICM(Grad) / Allan Poole MCICM / Phil Rice FCICM / Chris Sanders FCICM /
Paul Taylor MCICM / Pete Whitmore FCICM.
12 – Advanced Thinking
Claire Bishop considers the value of
CICM membership.
17 – Point of Reference
Are Credit Reference Agencies doing
enough to support the vulnerable?
20 – Aire Supply
Sean Feast talks to the CEO of a newlylaunched
consumer CRA, Aneesh
Varma.
24 – Fast and Furious
Peter Walker explains how a property
developer rode fast and loose with an
RBS loan.
27 – The Gray Matter
Credit Management caught up with
Yvette Gray of Atradius Collections.
32 – Rising Star
Vietnam has come a long way in a short
time.
35 – Stand and Deliver
How do you make your presentation
stand out from the crowd?
36 – Information Exchange
Businesses are in a race to acquire
better information.
49 – Inspiring the Future
Brenda Linger describes how she’s
supporting the next generation of credit
managers.
50 – Nations State
What is changing for employers of EU
nationals?
Publisher
Chartered Institute of Credit Management
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CMM: www.creditmanagement.org.uk
Managing Editor
Sean Feast FCICM
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Art Editor
Andrew Morris
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Email: andrew.morris@cicm.com
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ISSN 0265-2099
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 3

EDITOR’S COLUMN
We all like a good moan
but it’s time for positivity
Sean Feast FCICM
Managing Editor
I
was intrigued recently to learn
of the launch of a new pressure
group to promote the interests of
small businesses. It’s called Small
Business Britain and has been
started by entrepreneur and parttime
government advisor Michelle Ovens
MBE.
I have absolutely no idea if it will succeed
or not, but I was instantly drawn to its
message of promoting the ‘good’ rather
than constantly whingeing about the ‘bad’
that goes on in the world of small business.
In what I think most of us took to be a
thinly-veiled swipe at organisations like
the Federation of Small Businesses, who
appear to disagree with everything as a
point of principle, Michelle says that it is
time for ‘positivity’. Hallelujah. And she’s
not even auditioning for the X Factor where
a ‘journey’ and ‘positivity’ are the preferred
language of those who know no better.
Now to be honest we all like a good moan
now and again, and I think it’s healthy.
But it can also become a little tiresome.
It’s not wrong, for example, to highlight
poor payment practice and call businesses
out when they transgress. It’s not wrong
to challenge government and politicians
about whether they are doing enough to
support small businesses with practical
as well as financial help, especially in the
very strange times we live in today. But it
is wrong to do so at the expense of talking
about some of the good stuff that’s also
going on. While I appreciate the old adage
that good news doesn’t sell newspapers,
perhaps it’s time we started reversing that
trend?
Having been immersed fully in
promoting the Prompt Payment Code since
its launch, I absolutely know what it’s like
to be fighting a constant rearguard action.
It’s frustrating when you see a good idea
constantly criticised, for the most part
unfairly. It’s especially frustrating when
you know that if the detractors took the
time and trouble to understand what was
going on behind the scenes, they would
marvel that it ever achieved anything at all.
That, perhaps, is a story for another day.
Now the PPC has a new home, under
the auspices of the Small Business
Commissioner and we wish it bon voyage
and every success. People can talk about
‘strengthening’ the Code as much as they
wish, but the bottom line is that it all comes
down to resource, and by that, I mean
money. Managing the Code to the level
required will need serious investment.
As our interim Chief Executive says in
the news: “A properly resourced Code
with a clarity of purpose can make a real
difference.”
Now that’s positivity.
“A properly resourced Code with a clarity of
purpose can make a real difference.”
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 4

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CMNEWS
A round-up of news stories from the
world of consumer and commercial credit.
Written by – Sean Feast FCICM
Late payments are ‘business as usual’
for small businesses in difficulty
LATE payments from customers are
‘business as usual’ for many small
business owners in difficulty,
with nearly half (45 percent) of
callers to Business Debtline experiencing
problems with late payments from
customers, with most typically having to
wait up to two months beyond payment
terms to receive the money they are
owed.
Worryingly, only 41 percent of Business
Debtline callers affected by late payments
said they knew what to do to chase
customers who had not paid on time,
and only 16 percent knew where to turn
for advice on dealing with the problem.
Almost four in 10 (39 percent) worried
that if they chased late payments, they
would lose future business – but 84
percent said they had done everything
they could to resolve the problem.
Part of Money Advice Trust, Business
Debtline claims to have helped more
than 52,400 self-employed people and
other small business owners last year
with their debt issues. The charity has
written to newly-appointed Minister
for Small Business, Paul Scully MP,
recommending stronger measures to
tackle late payments in the wake of the
government’s recent call for evidence on
payment practices.
These recommendations include relaunching
and strengthening the Prompt
Payment Code, with a commitment
from all signatories to pay their small
business suppliers within 30 days or
less where faster payments/fintech
solutions are already in place. They also
include introducing fines for persistent
late payers, and expanding the Small
Business Commissioner’s remit to
include late payments between small
businesses. They would also like to see a
review of how statutory interest on late
payments of commercial debts is used
and could be strengthened as a means of
improving payment practices.
Joanna Elson OBE, Chief Executive of
the Money Advice Trust, says that paying
late has become business as usual: “This
can have serious consequences for both
the viability of the businesses they run
and their personal wellbeing,” she says.
“The government has already taken
several positive steps on late payments,
including requiring mandatory reporting
on the payment practices of large
businesses, and creating the Office of the
Small Business Commissioner.
“Stronger actions are necessary,
however, to deliver the scale and pace of
change required in payment practices
we need to fundamentally change the
culture – so that late payments are no
longer seen as an acceptable business
practice.”
Philip King FCICM, the Government’s
Interim Small Business Commissioner
welcomed the report as underlining
the negative impact on well-being that
can result from late payment: “It can do
huge emotional damage,” he told Credit
Management. “I hope it will serve as
a timely reminder of government’s
imminent consultation into broadening
the remit of the Small Business
Commissioner and encourage more
small businesses to respond. It’s an
important topic and will benefit from a
wide range of views.”
Sue Chapple FCICM, Interim Chief
Executive of the CICM, says that the
research also highlights how more
needs to be done to make small
businesses aware of the help that is
available: “Business Debtline could
seriously help small businesses
by actively directing them to
the CICM’s Managing Cashflow
Guides which have been
written specifically to support
small businesses in good
times and bad.”
www.businessdebtline.org
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 6

New guide to help customers with
mental health and debt problems
A
new guide has been published to
help financial firms — and other
creditors — better understand and
support customers struggling with
both debt and mental health problems.
Money and Mental Health, in partnership
with the Money Advice Trust — and with
support from UK Finance — have produced
‘The Need to Know’, a free new guide to help
creditors support customers affected by debt
and mental health problems.
The guide is aimed primarily at staff
working in debt collection teams in
essential services firms. It features detailed
information about how specific mental
health conditions may affect a customer’s
ability to manage and earn money. The
guide is also said to offer practical advice on
improving support to customers affected by
these issues, including how to get the best
out of conversations with customers about
their experience of mental health problems,
and when it is appropriate to ask for further
evidence about a customer’s mental health
problem, and when this may be the wrong
course of action.
Katie Alpin, Interim Chief Executive
of the Money and Mental Health Policy
Institute, says that getting conversations
right can make a huge difference in
Credit Managers braced for Coronavirus impact
CREDIT Managers are uncertain as to the
full impact of the Coronavirus, although
a number are already reporting cancelled
meetings, flights and non-essential travel
instead opting for conference calls and
remote working.
Almost half (47 percent) of those
responding to a straw poll conducted at
the beginning of March said that there had
currently been little or no impact on day-today
operations although a handful reported
the cancellation of forums/industry events
and supply chain interruption, especially
from those with suppliers/partners in the Far
East.
Nearly all (97 percent) had contingency
plans in place, primarily working from
home, but also including an acceleration
helping those people resolve their money
problems and avoid unnecessary distress:
“We hope this guide can equip creditors
with the information they need to better
understand how a customer’s mental health
can impact on their financial situation, and
to improve the support they offer in those
circumstances.”
Research by the Money and Mental
Health Policy Institute suggests that half
of all people in problem debt in England
also have a mental health problem which
can affect their ability to manage and earn
money, and to communicate with their
creditors. Further research by the Personal
Finance Research Centre shows that
during a single year in debt collection, a
frontline staff member will receive over 140
disclosures about customer mental health
problems.
Nadine Dorries MP, Minister for Mental
Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient
Safety, believes debt can have a devastating
impact on people's lives: “This practical
advice will help arm creditors with the vital
knowledge they need to empathetically
assess and support a customer’s financial
situation, and marks another positive step
forward in tackling the everyday injustices
those living with mental illness face.”
of invoicing and other credit management
practices in order to minimise the impact
on cashflow. All appear to be following the
Government’s advice on health and hygiene,
suggesting that the message of ‘wash your
hands’ is getting through.
Sue Chapple, Interim Chief Executive of
the CICM says that there is no doubt that
the virus is already impacting global trade:
“The outbreak has the potential to cause
severe economic and market dislocation,
but the scale of the impact will ultimately be
determined by how the virus spreads which
is almost impossible to predict,” she says.
“All our members can do is ‘be prepared’
and take what mitigating actions they can to
support their businesses in keeping the cash
flowing.”
“This practical
advice will help arm
creditors with the vital
knowledge they need
to empathetically
assess and support a
customer’s financial
situation’’
“The outbreak has
the potential to cause
severe economic and
market dislocation, but
the scale of the impact
will ultimately be
determined by how the
virus spreads which is
almost impossible to
predict.”
Entrepreneur launches new small business group
A new organisation to represent the interests
of 5.8m smaller businesses in the UK has been
launched by entrepreneur Michelle Ovens. Small
Business Britain is seen as direct competition
to the Federation of Small Businesses, but will
take a more positive stance in promoting small
businesses. Quoted in the Financial Times,
Michelle said the government had found her
approach ‘refreshing’, and had been ‘very
receptive’. “The lobby groups all do amazing
work,” she said, “but it’s time for some positivity.
2020 is a new decade.”
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 7

NEWS
IN BRIEF
New CEO at R3
LIZ Bingham OBE has been appointed
CEO of R3, the insolvency and
restructuring trade association.
She joins R3 after a 35-year career
in the insolvency and restructuring
profession, during which she was
a Managing Partner at EY, and was
R3 President in 2013-14. Liz replaces
Emma Lovell, who is leaving R3 to
become CEO of the Lending Standards
Board (LSB).
As R3 CEO, Liz will oversee R3’s
work to protect and promote the
strong restructuring and insolvency
framework which is required to
enable the association’s members to
fulfil their vital role in the economy
and in society. She will also manage
the execution of R3’s Strategic Plan,
which was launched in 2019 and is
the association’s roadmap for the next
three years.
R3 President Duncan Swift says
that Liz is taking charge of R3 at a
crucial time: “The insolvency and
restructuring profession plays a really
important role in the economy. From
returning money to creditors to helping
turn around distressed businesses,
and of course helping people access
debt relief, the profession’s work is
absolutely vital in supporting lending,
trading and investment, and the overall
smooth functioning of the business
environment.
Technically
Speaking
THE Technical Committee met in
early March to discuss a variety
of recent announcements and
consultations, including a ban on
gambling businesses allowing
people to use credit cards to place
bets and advice from the FCA
for credit card firms to review
their approach to persistent debt
customers. The potential impact
of the proposed reinstatement
of HMRC preferential status
was also discussed, alongside
the implementation of a 60-day
breathing space.
The committee debated the
increase in number of fraud cases
across several areas, including
within insolvency, enforcement and
tax, and Lord Mendelsohn’s Private
Members Bill (reported in last
month’s CM). The new requirement
for authenticating confirmation of
payee details when making online
payments was considered, as
well as further discussions around
Companies House, the validation of
information it stores, and the impact
on information providers.
Cross party group
urges Government to
act on bailiff reform
A
group of cross-party MPs and
Peers has joined a coalition
of debt advice campaigners
in urging the Government to
break its silence on bailiff industry
reform.
It is now more than a year since the
Ministry of Justice closed its call for
evidence on the bailiff industry, but
despite what campaigners claim is
overwhelming evidence of the need for
wide-ranging reform, the Government is
yet to give a comprehensive response.
The Taking Control coalition, made
up of 11 charities and debt advice
organisations, claims it has routinely
seen its clients suffer at the hands of
bailiffs. New figures show that since
February 2019, Citizens Advice alone
has been contacted by 41,121 individuals
with 111,081 issues specific to bailiffs.
Meanwhile 83 percent of callers to
National Debtline who experienced
bailiff action reported the bailiff
visit had a negative impact on their
wellbeing.
Backing the coalition’s call is a group
of cross-party politicians, including
Rachel Reeves MP and Lord Pickles,
who have written to Justice Secretary
Robert Buckland MP highlighting
the urgent need for bailiff reform as
recommended by the Justice Select
Committee last April.
“We’ve waited long enough
for the kind of meaningful
reform that has successfully
reduced harm in other areas
of debt recovery.’’
The Committee endorsed the
charities’ call for the introduction of
an independent complaints body, a
statutory, independent regulator for
the enforcement agent industry and
regular reviews of bailiff fees. Currently,
the bailiff industry is self-regulating.
To date the only commitment made by
the government is making body-worn
cameras mandatory for private bailiffs,
but, without independent regulation,
this measure will not be enough.
Phil Andrew, CEO of StepChange,
says that lives have been turned upside
down by the unregulated bailiff sector:
“We’ve waited long enough for the
kind of meaningful reform that has
successfully reduced harm in other
areas of debt recovery. The simple truth
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 8
is that, on bailiffs, the Government is
woefully behind the curve. We have the
evidence, we have support from across
parliament and the Lords - it’s now time
for the Government to act.”
Dame Gillian Guy, Chief Executive
of Citizens Advice, claims that the
Government has been dragging its
feet: “Someone seeks our help every
three minutes with an issue related to
bailiffs and this cannot continue. Only
independent regulation of bailiffs will
protect vulnerable people from the
stress, anxiety and financial hardship
they face right now.”
Russell Hamblin Boone, the CEO of
CIVEA, is, however, frustrated by what he
sees as ‘unfair allegations’ that continue
to be aimed at enforcement agents.
While he understands the concerns
about problem debt being attributed
to Council Tax payments, he believes
it is worrying that debt advice groups
believe that stopping enforcement will
solve the problem: “There is a persistent
stream of poor research that is used
to criticise enforcement practices,” he
told Credit Management. “For example,

“Our own evidence based on first-hand
experiences of frontline agents and the local
government ombudsman shows that the
regulations introduced in 2014 are meeting
their original objectives.’’
recently Citizens Advice construed
some recommendations based on FOI
responses from local authorities. In fact,
the questions were so inappropriate that
most councils were unable to respond
and the gaps were filled by assumptions
in the report.
“Our own evidence based on firsthand
experiences of frontline agents and
the local government ombudsman shows
that the regulations introduced in 2014
are meeting their original objectives.
There are fewer customers receiving
doorstep visits, and therefore incurring
smaller debts; lower complaint levels
due to the simplified process and fixed
fees; improved awareness and training
in all aspects of vulnerability and the
development of specialist staff; and
significant investment in technology to
maintain professional standards within
the enforcement sector.”
In addition to this, Russell says,
the industry has responded positively
and proactively with the launch of
its independently-monitored code of
practice that sets a new standard for
enforcement agents: “All members
“Councils use enforcement as
a last resort when debtors have
failed to respond to all attempts
to make contact or have
defaulted on payment plans”
of the Civil Enforcement Association,
representing almost the entire market
employing enforcement agents, have
signed up to self-regulation,” he adds.
Russell believes that the code is a
commitment by the enforcement industry
to continue driving up standards and sets
a high bar for anyone wanting to join the
profession. As such, he is disappointed
that the debate continues to be defined
by what he calls ‘poor research and low
level of knowledge about the role of
enforcement’.
“Councils use enforcement as a
last resort when debtors have failed to
respond to all attempts to make contact
or have defaulted on payment plans,” he
says. “The regulations for enforcement
are distinct from standard debt collection,
but the two functions continue to be
conflated leading to calls for tighter
controls on enforcement agents. In fact,
restricting enforcement agents will not
stop people getting into problem debt and
local authorities would collect fewer fines
and taxes.
“This is important because over half
a billion pounds is collected each year
by enforcement agents and 27 percent
of Council Tax goes direct to councils,
who spend 60 percent on support for
vulnerable people.”
>NEWS
IN BRIEF
One third of Brits would
go into debt to solve a
gap in their finances
MORE than three out of ten British adults
(34 percent) say they would be most
likely to take on extra debt if they were
faced with a sudden gap in their finances,
according to new research from R3, the
insolvency trade body.
Thirteen percent of over 2,000 people
surveyed for R3’s latest Personal Debt
Snapshot say they would use a credit
card if they were faced with a sudden
gap in personal finances. Eleven percent
would ask family or friends for a loan,
seven percent would use their overdraft,
two percent would apply for a bank loan,
and one percent would apply for a payday
loan (a combined 34 percent).
Positively, nearly half (48 percent)
of respondents say that they would be
most likely to use personal savings as a
solution to an unexpected gap in their
personal finances.
R3 President Duncan Swift says that
a high proportion of British adults are
very vulnerable to financial shocks: “It’s
encouraging that almost half of British
adults have a financial cushion available
to them, but it’s equally discouraging
that plenty of others would feel forced to
borrow to cover a gap in their finances,”
he says. “Low interest rates do make
borrowing more affordable in the short
term, but getting into debt can make that
gap in finances even bigger over time.
It can lead to a cycle of debt and stress
which is hard to break, especially when
emergency borrowing is added to preexisting
debt.”
Cash on Go Gone
CASH on Go, trading as Peachy.co.uk
and Uploan.co.uk, was placed into
administration on 5 March. Adam
Stephens, Gilbert Lemon and Henry
Shinners of Smith & Williamson LLP
were appointed as Joint Administrators.
Cash on Go is a high cost short term
lender, otherwise known as a payday
lender, which lends small sums to
customers until the next payday or up to
12 months. The Joint Administrators will
update customers as soon as possible.
CICM
Essentials
TO stay up-to-date with all that
is happening at the CICM – from
qualifications to training, and
membership to events – see the weekly
e-newsletter CICM Essentials.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 9

Prompt Payment Code moves to Small
Business Commissioner’s office
THE CICM has confirmed it has
transferred the hosting and
administration of the Prompt
Payment Code to the Small
Business Commissioner’s office in line
with the Government’s stated ambition to
bring all late payment initiatives under a
single umbrella.
Since its launch in 2008, the Code has
played an important part in promoting a
culture of prompt payment, committing
signatories to pay 95 percent of invoices
within 60 days and work towards 30 days
as normal practice. In the last 12 months,
businesses that have failed to honour
those commitments have been removed,
and only re-instated when a suitable
remedial plan has been approved by the
PPC’s Compliance Board.
Sue Chapple FCICM, the CICM’s
interim Chief Executive, says it makes
perfect sense to streamline payment
issues under the Commissioner’s remit.
She says it makes particular sense to
transfer the Code now following the
appointment of the Code’s originator,
Philip King FCICM, to the post of
interim SBC: “Small businesses want a
single body to whom they can turn for
advice,” she says, “and by transferring
responsibility for the Code to the
Commissioner’s office, we can ensure
the Code receives the investment
and resources it needs to continue its
success in transforming the payment
landscape and promoting best practice.”
Plans were first proposed to transfer
the Code in the Government’s 2019
consultation, ‘Creating a responsible
'We will be working with the
Commissioner and trade
bodies including the CICM to
help increase the number of
businesses on the Code.'
Payment Culture’. The Government said
at the time: ‘We want to increase the
number of people signed up to the Code,
where good practice can be recognised
by their customers and suppliers.
Signing up to the Code is voluntary, so we
will be working with the Commissioner
and trade bodies including the CICM to
help increase the number of businesses
on the Code, including targeting those we
know are already meeting the standard
through their PPR data.’
To date there are more than 2,500
signatories to the Code. In the last 12
months, and a change in policy to allow
those who had failed to honour their
Code commitments to be named publicly,
55 businesses have been suspended
and 26 re-instated, the latter having
demonstrated a substantial improvement
in payment performance that warrants
re-instatement.
“This is the Code working at its
best,” Sue continues. “Throwing people
off is the easy part, but what encourages
me, and shows that the Code has real
power, are the actions taken by half
of all those suspended to have their
businesses re-instated. That says to
me that they want to be seen
to be fair to their suppliers, and
they recognise the harm
that can be done to their
brands by failing to
comply.
“A properly
resourced Code with a
clarity of purpose can
make a real difference.”
Philip King FCICM
Credit professionals lose fight
in preferential status row
THE Budget has confirmed plans to
grant HMRC ‘preferential status’ in
insolvencies from December 2020,
leading business groups, including R3
and the CICM, to describe the move as ‘a
threat to business lending and business
rescue.’
From December, debts owed to HMRC
by insolvent businesses will be repaid
in advance of those owed to ‘floating
charge’ lenders, other businesses, and
pension schemes.
Floating charge lending is a key form
of finance for retailers and SMEs and
has been increasingly popular over the
last two decades. Lenders have warned
that the Government’s policy will limit
the availability of this type of finance.
Duncan Swift, R3 President, says the
Government has ignored advice from
across the business landscape that the
policy should be reviewed, or that steps
should be taken to mitigate its impact:
“The return of HMRC’s preferential
status in insolvencies is a badly-timed
and ill-considered blow to the UK’s
enterprise culture. It will damage
business lending and business rescue,
and will affect jobs, livelihoods and the
economy.
“It’s perverse that on the day that
the Bank of England has taken steps to
boost business lending, the Government
has taken a step in the opposite
direction. It is beyond frustrating that
the Budget has confirmed the policy
will be introduced without meaningful
changes from what was first proposed.
The plans were first announced in
2018 with no consultation and, since
then, there has been near unanimous
opposition to them. Business groups
and lenders have been clear that the
policy will be a short-term gain for
HMRC at the expense of a long-term
cost for the economy.”
Duncan says that the slight delay
in implementation until December
changes nothing: “A bad policy in April
is still a bad policy in December,” he
continued. “It is scarcely believable
that the Government has turned a deaf
ear to these concerns and has ignored
sensible suggestions for how the
negative consequences of the policy
could be mitigated. This has been a
policymaking failure from start to
finish. “At a time when businesses
are facing economic headwinds, they
need the Government to help them,
not elbow them out of the way. Priority
repayment for HMRC in insolvencies
will reduce what can get repaid to other
businesses, pension schemes, and
lenders. Reduced returns to lenders
will increase the costs of borrowing
and availability of finance, especially in
rescue situations.
“Ultimately, dropping the policy
entirely would be the only way to
avoid its harmful side effects. The
Government would see much better
results if HMRC were to engage
proactively and commercially in
insolvencies rather than trying to skip
the repayment queue.”
Sue Chapple, interim Chief Executive
of the CICM, is similarly aggrieved:
“Sadly the Government has persisted
with the folly of reintroducing Crown
preference, and the impact on trade
creditors, their revenues and their
cashflow will be substantial. While
it may appear to be a simple way of
growing the Government's tax receipts,
any benefit will be far outweighed by
the damage done to
businesses and the
wider economy
and the proposal
should have been
confined to the
waste paper bin."
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 10

INSOLVENCY SPECIAL
REGIME CHANGE
Insolvency Practitioners Association publishes
its first benchmark report
AUTHOR – Michelle Thorp
Michelle Thorp
MANY will be aware of the
significant changes to
the Individual Voluntary
Arrangement (IVA) and
Protected Trust Deed
(PTD) market in recent
years.
Personal debt is unfortunately on the rise
in the UK. IVAs and PTDs (in Scotland) are
common solutions for people in debt. The
number of people utilising these insolvency
processes has increased significantly in
recent years. In 2010, there were 27,543 live
IVA cases. By 2014, this annual figure had
risen to 46,751. The most recent figures we
have, from December 2019, give this number
as 277,262 – a significant rise indeed.
On PTDs, available in Scotland only, the
total number of registrations stood at 6,681
in 2013/2014, rising to 28,226 as of December
2019.
Correlating with this change in the market,
the firms that administer these debt solutions
have grown. A handful of companies now
control the market, undertaking far higher
volumes of cases than ever seen before in
the profession. The firms also use new,
technology enabled processes to conduct
their business.
As I’ve mentioned before, after discussions
with creditors, debt charities, the Government
and insolvency practitioners (IPs), we at the
Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA)
designed a new, bespoke regulatory scheme
for these volume provider (VP) firms in
November 2018. The scheme was put into
action in January 2019 and extended to cover
PTDs in July of the same year.
CONTINUOUS MONITORING
Departing from large-scale annual reviews of
these providers, we have moved to a regime
underpinned by an industry-first system of
continuous monitoring. Information has
been made easier for IPA Inspectors to access,
and we have stepped up the number of inperson
and remote monitoring visits on the
VPs. This way of measuring VP performance
is more in tune with their business models
and ways of operating.
I’m delighted by the publication of our
first benchmark report on the scheme, which
has now had the chance to be fully embedded
and is starting to produce results.
We cover almost 70 percent of the IVA
market with the scheme and 57 percent of the
PTD market. This means that the majority of
the UK’s insolvencies are covered by the IPA.
It’s crucial that people entering a
voluntary insolvency process make a fully
informed decision to do so and are aware of
the potential consequences of the process
failing. This is important not just for the
person in debt, but of course for their
creditors and other stakeholders. There have
been concerns about the level and quality of
advice that is made available to prospective
clients by firms controlling high numbers
of IVA and PTD cases. In response, we made
this a focus in 2019, undertaking 305 indepth
reviews of advice calls between the
VP and the individual, each review taking up
to three hours to complete. This gave us an
excellent opportunity to ensure that scheme
members are abreast of their responsibilities,
identify improvements and take action where
necessary. It’s important to keep in mind that
the number of complaints we received in
2019 relating to scheme members was low, at
0.04 percent of IVAs and 0.03 percent of PTDs.
In the same way as the advice call reviews,
we have focused on the practice of VPs
accepting referrals from lead generation
firms to secure new business. In another
industry-first, we are requiring VPs to only
accept referrals from introducers who
are authorised by the Financial Conduct
Authority (FCA), in advance of a professionwide
requirement. We have also turned our
attention to VP marketing and advertising,
and the rates of failure for IVAs and PTDs.
Our changes to regulation should ensure
that there is no doubt as to VP responsibilities,
but nothing stands still in regulation, so we
will continually adapt the new scheme to
ensure that we match this fast-moving area of
the insolvency profession.
Input from the creditor community
and IPs was instrumental in the scheme’s
design and implementation, as were the
VPs themselves, who took a leading role.
It takes time for change to be realised, but
strong foundations have been put in place
to produce what I’m sure will be positive,
permanent change. We will continue to look
to all stakeholders, including other regulators
and government, for support in continuing
to make improvements to the regulatory
landscape.
You can access the benchmark report
via the IPA’s website at: www.insolvencypractitioners.org.uk/press-publications/
recent-news.
Michelle Thorp is CEO, Insolvency
Practitioners Association.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 11

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Advanced Thinking
The value of CICM membership and beyond.
AUTHOR – Claire Bishop
IF you are reading this then I will
assume that you work in or have
an interest in credit management
as a profession. Maybe you are a
member, or you have picked this
magazine up at work. So if I asked
you ‘What does the CICM, your professional
body, do for you,’ what would you say?
Having worked in professional bodies
for a good 15 years, I am constantly
reminded that most people do not know
what the real value of a professional body
is or could be. Answering ‘I work for a
professional body’ to the ‘And what do you
do?’ question in a work or social situation
usually leads to a strange look of horror on
the face of the asker that says ‘Ooh, I was
hoping for an answer I could talk about
and I have no idea what to say next.’
But I am passionate about what we do,
and what we stand for at the CICM, and
given half a chance I will wax lyrical about
it. That is usually when I get the response
I was hoping for, and believe we deserve:
‘Wow, that must be really interesting and
challenging’ and it is.
A CLEAR PLAN
I wanted to share with you that over the
last 12 months we have been evaluating
our reason for being: checking that our
energy, planning and passion is directed
to the right things, talking to members,
professionals at every stage of their career,
and the wider profession. The result is a
clear plan for 2020 and beyond.
CICM MEMBERSHIP
Workshops
and events
M
Mentor hub
-
Networks
K
Benevolent
fund
Online
advice and
resources
! ,
Member
Advice
Service
Webinars
Qualifications
Apprenticeships
ADVANCING THE CREDIT PROFESSION
ó
Magazine
Knowledge
Hub
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 12

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
AUTHOR – Claire Bishop
It is clear in our minds, and it should be in yours,
that you are part of a diverse and challenging
profession that is at the heart of business success.
THE CICM’S REASON FOR BEING AND
VISION
As the largest recognised professional body
in the world for the credit profession, CICM’s
reason for being is to advance the credit
profession. This is not an empty tag line, this is
our plan, our vision: let’s just take a look at the
two main elements of this statement.
1: Use of the word advance: to move forward in
a purposeful way, to make progress.
2: The credit profession. I have been party
to some conversations and debate around
what constitutes a profession, particularly
around the credit profession. If you are
working in credit management then you
have a specialised set of knowledge and
understanding, and tasks to complete. The
credit profession requires specific training,
skills and knowledge. It is clear in our minds,
and it should be in yours, that you are part of
a diverse and challenging profession that is at
the heart of business success.
SO, HOW DO WE ADVANCE THE
CREDIT PROFESSION?
We help individuals and organisations of
all sizes manage credit and maximise cash
collection efficiently and professionally,
in an increasingly challenging business
environment.
We put our members and the business
community at the centre of everything we
do. As the trusted leader and expert in credit
management, we provide our members and
the credit community with support, advice,
connections and career development.
Through our work networks and collaboration
with other bodies, we provide the credit
profession (members and beyond) with a
strong and influential collective voice to steer
government policy and direction.
Through a comprehensive programme of
publications, helplines, conferences, events
and webinars, qualifications and workshops,
we keep CICM members up-to-date and
equipped to meet the demands of the crucial
role they perform in modern business.
As a professional body and a charity, we are not
here solely for our members. While our focus
is on helping our members, providing tools and
advice to help them be successful in their work
and careers, we also have the wider picture to
consider. It is our responsibility to promote the
importance of credit management and the best
ways to achieve success in managing credit.
Our recent work on the Prompt Payment Code
is an illustration of how your professional
body works with and influences government
to change payment culture and policy across
industries.
WHAT ARE WE AIMING FOR?
THE CICM VISION
Advance thinking: As thought leaders and the
centre of expertise for credit management, we
are the strong and influential collective voice
of the profession.
Advance best practice: Setting the standard
for credit management and gaining universal
recognition that this is what keeps business in
business.
Advance careers: Supporting credit careers
at every stage, from advice for getting into
the profession, to qualifying, to leadership
development and support in hard times.
Advance skills: Improving skills and standards
through a growing membership and delivery of
high-quality qualifications and training.
Advance connections: Acting as the catalyst
for sharing of insight, information, support,
ideas, innovations and debate across the credit
profession.
CICM: YOUR UNIQUE CREDIT
COMMUNITY
The real power and value of the CICM as your
professional body is in the numbers: together
we are stronger, learn more, support each
other, gain more insight, share more ideas
and have a louder voice. We are your unique
community, with one goal in mind: to advance
the credit profession.
What is the CICM?
A professional body
A membership body
A standard setter
A thought leader
A voice for the profession
A community
A training provider
An awarding body
A publisher
A charity
A source of news
An events organiser
CICM Membership
Gives you peace of mind
Community
Professional recognition
Career advancement
Your chance to influence
policy
ADVANCING THE CREDIT PROFESSION
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 13

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Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 14

SOAPBOX
CHOICE CUTS
We sometimes have to make difficult choices,
especially when it comes to knives and forks.
AUTHOR – Glen Bullivant FCICM
Glen Bullivant FCICM
THE question before me was
straightforward, namely which
to tackle first – the North
Face or the South Face? Both
displayed equal challenges
and in truth whichever way
you looked at it, the meat and potato pie was
daunting. Just go for it was the only practical
decision. Easy to do at home but more
problematic in a public environment, where
standards have to be seen to be maintained.
Take for example the recent CICM British
Credit Awards 2020 Dinner where I was
confronted by a place setting consisting of
more cutlery than in my kitchen drawer
at home and no less than four glasses for
drinks of different colours. No worries really,
because my mum had always said to start at
the outside and work inwards as far as knives
and forks were concerned, and the waiter
would always know which glass was for which
– my choice determined that outcome, i.e.
red or white. The waiter also filled one glass
with water and the mystery of the fourth glass
was solved when our redoubtable Managing
Editor appeared from behind a bottle of
champagne offering each diner a tipple at
well below market rate.
All in all, it was a splendid evening and a
great success. It is true that the lovely young
lady on my left did nick my bread roll having
chosen to go to her right rather than her left,
but she was from Lancashire so that was
perfectly understandable. All the glitterati
were in attendance including one young credit
professional looking as if he had just come to
the dinner hotfoot from an audition for Peaky
Blinders. Everyone there had made choices
in their career paths, their determination to
be the best at what they do and to win, win,
win. All awards nominees shared that same
passion – they had all made the right choices.
EXTENSIVE CONSULTATIONS
Government has choices to make all the
time, and decisions often involve extensive
consultations with those considered to be
interested parties. This process begs two
important and fundamental questions – who
do you ask, and what do you ask them? In
the case of HS2 (and I take no sides in that
debate), I suspect that business leaders have
one view and the passenger another. I have
little doubt that if government canvassed the
opinion of the CEO of Ripoff & Scarper PLC,
he or she would wax lyrical on the benefits
of knocking time off the journey from Leeds
to London. Put the same question to the
embattled credit manager scrambling for the
07.40 LNER Leeds to King’s Cross and his or
her priorities would be a train, a seat and on
time departure and arrival in that order.
I travel frequently to Liverpool (my
passport is up to date) and never fail to be
amazed by the fact that the line between
Manchester and Liverpool is pretty much as
it was when first laid down 190 years ago at
least in terms of the basic civil engineering
of bridges, viaducts and the like. Not many
years after 1830 came the line from Leeds to
Manchester and again the same basic civil
engineering is in place – bridges, viaducts and
tunnels. Reducing the journey time between
Hull, Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool would
involve more than just a tweak here and an
alteration there, so if government found it
hard to bite the bullet on HS2, just wait till
they have to tackle HS3.
The more astute reader will have noticed
that when referring to the CEO and the credit
manager above, I was careful to make sure
that either role could be well filled by a he
or a she. I am totally committed to gender
equality across all walks of life, though I
would have to confess that in spite of my
advancing years (as subtly pointed out by
aforementioned Peaky Blinders contender), I
am still interested in the opposite sex even if I
cannot remember why.
There is, however, one bit of gender
equality correctness which I find very hard to
accept – the decision by the Scottish Maritime
Museum and Lloyds List to refer to ships as
‘it’ rather than ‘she’. Ships have been female
gender since men and women first went to
sea and that was always the case whatever
the name given to the vessel at launch or
completion. The Royal Navy has two new
aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth
(female) and HMS Prince of Wales (male)
and both are crewed by men and women
and I doubt very much that either would be
referred to as an ‘it’ by any crew member,
regardless of their own gender. I have made
my choice – ask me about HMS Victory and I
will say she is beautiful.
Glen Bullivant FCICM is almost past it.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 15

*Learners can enrol up to six weeks after cohort start date.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 16

CREDIT REFERENCE AGENCIES
Point of Reference
Are Credit Reference Agencies doing enough to
address regulatory and consumer concerns?
AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM
CONSUMER Credit Reference
Agencies (CRAs) are
at something of a crossroads.
Often misunderstood
by consumers and
the media alike, their
industry is under constant scrutiny, and
perhaps stand accused of not doing a
better job at their own PR. But is that fair?
Jayadeep Nair, Chief Product and
Marketing Officer at Equifax, certainly
sees the lack of a general understanding
of credit scores, and their role in granting
credit, as a key issue:
“A credit score is a tool used by lenders
to help determine whether an individual
qualifies for a particular credit card, loan,
mortgage or financial service. Using the
information on their credit report and any
additional information they have supplied
as part of their application lenders use
a mathematical model to calculate a
numerical score that represents their
credit history. This helps to indicate what
kind of borrower they are, and how likely it
is that they will manage their repayments.
“Throughout a customer’s life, credit
scores can play a key role in the financial
products they take out. For example, when
applying for a credit card or mortgage,
their credit score could be used to help
determine whether their application is
accepted and what interest rate they end
up paying. People with a higher score are
often seen as lower risk, which means
lenders are more likely to give them credit.
“It’s worth remembering that every
lender follows a different policy for credit
scoring. So, if a customer doesn’t meet
the criteria of one lender, they may still
be able to get credit from someone else.
Customers should find out why they were
turned down before making another
application. They should also be aware
that too many credit searches in a short
time period may be viewed negatively by
lenders.”
Satrajit ‘Satty’ Saha, CEO of TransUnion
in the UK, agrees that lack of consumer
awareness and understanding is a hurdle:
“Two thirds of British consumers (66
percent) don’t know their credit score,
and just 38 percent are confident that they
know what information is stored in their
credit report, according to research we
carried out for our recent white paper.
“As we’ve seen in the US, greater
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 17
continues on page 18 >

CREDIT REFERENCE AGENCIES
AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM
consumer awareness around credit scores
leads to a generally more well-developed
credit market. Educating consumers is
essential and CRAs like ourselves have a
responsibility here, along with finance
providers and other organisations that use
credit information to help make informed
decisions.”
ONGOING RESPONSIBILITY
James Jones, Head of Consumer Affairs at
Experian UK&I, concurs that the industry
has an ongoing responsibility to raise public
awareness about how the credit system
works. But what have they been doing thus
far to overcome this issue and what more
could they be doing in the future?
“At Experian we’ve been running public
awareness campaigns to help educate people
about credit and credit reporting for several
decades. Our annual Credit Awareness
Campaign, which is four years old this year,
aims to do precisely that – build public
understanding about the way the credit
information system works and educate
consumers about the steps that they can take
to take control of their financial information
and access more appropriate and affordable
credit.”
Satty has a similar view: “As CRAs, we hold a
privileged position in enabling trust between
finance providers and their customers
through the use of data, ensuring each
person is reliably and securely represented.
At TransUnion, we call this Information for
Good. We have seen an emerging but clear
desire for more education and understanding
of credit and finance among consumers,
and this is something TransUnion is actively
focused on.
“We support UK finance providers in
educating their customers and building trust
with our interactive CreditView tool. We also
work closely with our partners Credit Karma,
TotallyMoney and MoneySuperMarket to
help consumers take control of their credit
information, and we are educating UK
students about their credit report and its
uses through our initiative with secondary
schools.”
Equifax says it is addressing the challenge
with its Equifax Knowledge Centre: “The
Equifax Knowledge Centre provides a range
of resources to help consumers understand
all elements of credit reference agencies,
as well as articles about general areas of
financial management and fraud protection,”
Jayadeep explains.
FINANCIAL EXCLUSION
As well as ‘education’, arguably the biggest
single issue facing the consumer CRA
industry currently is tackling financial
exclusion from mainstream finance. James
Jones says that great strides have been made in
the last decade to make it quicker and easier to
apply for everyday financial products such as
credit cards, loans and even mortgages: “Our
research, however, shows there are around
5.8 million people in the UK who can find
themselves excluded from the mainstream
financial system owing to lack of accessible,
relevant financial data.
“For these ‘credit invisibles’ such services
can remain far out of reach, but we’ve sought
to tackle this issue by using new innovative
data sources which we think can, in time,
reduce the UK’s credit invisible population
and get more people access to affordable
finance. “More broadly,” he adds, “there’s
a real opportunity to help people from all
backgrounds through data-led financial
innovation.”
The industry recently came into the cross
hairs of the Financial Conduct Authority
(FCA) with the launch of a market study
and concerns surrounding the coverage and
quality of credit information available. But
have these concerns any foundation in truth?
Satty is circumspect in his answer: “The FCA
market study of the credit information sector
is a natural development for the industry,
which plays an increasingly important role
in assisting businesses to ensure responsible
lending and helping consumers access the
credit needed for everyday life; such as mobile
phone contracts, car finance plans, credit
cards, loans and mortgages.
“We believe this study aligns with our
aims of supporting businesses to ensure that
credit provided to customers is affordable –
promoting financial inclusion – and helping
consumers to better understand their credit
report and score so they can take control of
their financial information to help them
achieve their goals. We are constantly
innovating and investing to ensure that our
products and services meet these needs, with
the consumer firmly at the forefront of all that
we do.”
Jayadeep plays a similarly straight bat: “The
FCA’s Credit Information Market Study is a
welcome development,” he says. “It is vital
that the credit information market works
well and helps protect vulnerable consumers,
improve financial inclusion and ensure people
can access appropriate financial products.
Equifax is committed to a credit information
market that works in the best interests of
consumers, increases awareness and provides
deeper understanding of credit reporting and
responsible lending.”
VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS
So are vulnerable customers more
disproportionately affected by the way
credit information is used? Jayadeep says
Equifax is alive to the suggestion: “Financial
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 18

CREDIT REFERENCE AGENCIES
AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM
“Companies need
to be aware of the
extra pressures their
customers may face and
treat them appropriately
when they are struggling
to meet payments. This
can be achieved by
developing strategies
for these customers that
proactively engage with
them to offer additional
support.’’
vulnerability and debt are issues that cut
across CRAs, regulatory bodies, charities
and government,” he says. “An FCA
study found that some consumers find
communicating with large organisations,
or accessing products, difficult.
Financially vulnerable consumers can
also find that they are unable to obtain a
flexible, tailored service that meets their
specific needs.
“Companies need to be aware of the
extra pressures their customers may face
and treat them appropriately when they
are struggling to meet payments. This can
be achieved by developing strategies for
these customers that proactively engage
with them to offer additional support.
We urge individuals struggling with debt
repayments to talk to their creditors as
soon as possible and compel creditors
of all types to use data-driven methods
to identify customers at risk of financial
difficulties and support them in accessing
high quality advice.”
Satty says that TransUnion is already
providing access to data that can
be utilised by businesses to support
those that are in vulnerable financial
circumstances, and evolving technology
further enables this: “Open Banking, for
example, is showing much promise in this
area by offering consumers more control
over access to their financial information
and helping businesses more accurately
assess creditworthiness.”
Identifying how data and technology
can be used to better support vulnerable
customers is something TransUnion
says it is actively involved in. Satty says
it recently contributed to the Financial
Inclusion Policy Forum’s Fair4All
consultation which considers the role of
data in the affordable credit market, and
whether new data sources could improve
providers’ ability to make appropriate
lending decisions for those who find
themselves excluded from affordable
credit or are in vulnerable financial
circumstances.
“We place great importance on
leveraging data to help clients better
identify consumers who are in financial
difficulty or showing signs of financial
vulnerability,” Satty continues. “Based on
this analysis they can ensure consumers
are supported and offered forbearance
where appropriate. Done well, it can
help clients identify pre-emptive lead
indicators and take action that helps
consumers who, for example, could be in
persistent debt as a result of affordability
problems, leading to better outcomes for
all involved.”
Satty says that as a business, TransUnion
has a strong legacy of developing solutions
that help enable responsible lending
and protect consumers: “As far back as
2006, we launched our first affordability
solution in the UK – an industry first at
the time – and we continue to look for
other opportunities to assist clients and
ultimately consumers.”
OPEN BANKING
Continuing the Open Banking theme,
James says that Experian was the first
large credit reference agency to receive
FCA accreditation to supply Open Banking
services: “We now work across with a wide
range of organisations to bring its benefits
to people,” he says.
“For example, Money Advice Scotland
is piloting our open banking technology
which could help them to significantly
speed up the initial stages of debt advice.
The money charity’s new webchat service
uses Experian’s open banking tool to
gather crucial income and expenditure
data, as well as a statement of consumer
credit debts. It takes just minutes, as
opposed to the weeks and months it
can take to gather this information over
several advice appointments.”
Such innovation from Experian is
matched by similar developments
amongst its peers.
In 2019 TransUnion introduced new
products to the UK market that can help
support both consumers and businesses
alike: “TransUnion’s CreditView is a
white-labelled, interactive tool that
helps finance providers to educate and
empower their customers by providing
access to their credit report and score,”
Satty explains. “Our research has shown
that 40 percent of those who actively
engage with their credit score typically
see it increase within the first six months
of regular monitoring. This ensures
access to competitive rates and enables
finance providers to tailor offers for the
individual’s needs.
“We also introduced our TrueVision®
trended data solution which helps deliver
better outcomes for both businesses
and consumers, by providing a more
nuanced and comprehensive picture of
an individual’s financial standing. This
allows financial institutions to leverage
new consumer insights and looks beyond
a single snapshot to a person’s financial
standing over time to help lenders better
understand and evaluate their customers’
credit risk.”
LATEST INNOVATIONS
Equifax has also been innovating. One
of its latest developments, in partnership
with AccountScore, is a new credit risk
index for the consumer lending sector:
“The index is based upon the
transactional information found within
a consumer’s bank account and takes
advantages of the opportunities provided
by Open Banking to develop new products
that better understand consumers,”
Jayadeep explains.
Equifax says the index can be taken as
a standalone product or combined with
traditional credit risk metrics to provide
a fully-rounded understanding of the
affordability of the credit to a customer
and the customer’s creditworthiness. It
combines AccountScore’s custom built
transaction categorisation engine with
the Equifax transaction data behavioural
characteristics – identified as being
leading predictors of creditworthiness
and affordability.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 19

CREDIT REFERENCE AGENCIES
AIRE SUPPLY
Sean Feast FCICM meets the founder of Aire and
learns of the importance of context in credit scoring.
ANEESH Varma is a man on a
mission. After working for a
number of the big banks (J.P
Morgan, Credit Suisse and
Morgan Stanley) and having
a healthy appetite for risk, he
was somewhat frustrated when he relocated
from New York to the UK a decade or so ago
and struggled to get credit. “It was a frustrating
experienced for many in the expat community,”
he explains, “and I was determined to do
something about it.”
Though not initially a business idea, Aneesh
began researching the consumer credit reference
agency landscape, meeting Government
officials, politicians and policymakers who
all agreed it was a problem that needed to be
addressed: “I got a pat on the back for raising the
issue but little else. It was only later, with time
and money on my side, that I set out to build my
own company to change things from the inside.”
Aneesh’s research suggested that the industry
was stale, and in need of an upgrade: “We saw
it as an opportunity to re-invent the industry
from the ground up,” he continues, “rather than
trying to fix it with duct tape. The world we lived
in when the first consumer reference agencies
were launched was very different from the world
we live in today. It means that the data sets from
the ‘big three’ can be a bit ‘patchy’. It means also
that younger consumers, the self-employed, and
the gig generation are being left behind, and a
big opportunity missed.”
VITAL INGREDIENTS
Aneesh’s thinking was that the underlying set of
data used for decision making was not only out
of date but missing one vital ingredient: context.
The challenge was how to engage directly with
the consumer: “With the current approach, the
user has no input into the system. But that’s like
someone writing a CV for you and you having no
involvement.”
Like most new business start-ups, the journey
to launch has been a long one. The name –
AIRE – started out as an acronym for Artificially
Intelligent Risk Engine and has stuck for its
simplicity and consumer-facing appeal. Aneesh
worked closely with the regulator, the Financial
Conduct Authority (FCA) in one of the first
ever ‘Sandbox’ initiatives, and more recently
has been working with and through lenders to
demonstrate the proof of concept and that there
are no negative outcomes for the consumer. It
has been almost five years of work behind the
scenes to arrive at the formal launch of its Credit
Insight Suite.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 20

CREDIT REFERENCE AGENCIES
AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM
“I got a pat on the back for raising the issue but
little else. It was only later, with time and money on
my side, that I set out to build my own company to
change things from the inside.”
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 21
continues on page 22 >

CREDIT REFERENCE AGENCIES
AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM
CREDIT INSIGHT SUITE
The Aire Credit Insight Suite is designed to offer
UK lenders greater decision-making power
when it comes to assessing customers for credit
risk and affordability. Operating across the
customer lifecycle, Aire enables lenders to make
fairer, more accurate credit decisions about
their customers: from scoring those with limited
or non-existent credit histories, to optimising
decision-making across acquisition, customer
management, pre-arrears and collections.
Aire anticipates that its services will improve
access to financial services for people with
incomplete or unconventional credit histories,
including 8.3 million UK consumers who are
currently excluded from large parts of the
market due to a lack of detailed historic credit
and affordability information.
Developed to integrate at scale into lenders’
existing credit application and decisioning
systems, Aire’s Credit Insight Suite is said to
improve lenders’ ability to assess credit risk and
affordability by providing what the company
calls ‘a unique range of insights based on firstparty
data’.
Aire gathers detailed financial and lifestyle
information from consumers through an
Interactive Virtual Interview (IVI), interrogates
the data for accuracy using sophisticated
machine learning algorithms and validates it to
calculate scores that inform decision-making
across the lending lifecycle.
“We believe that
when it comes to
credit everyone
has a future, not
everyone has a
past – and it’s our
mission to solve
that.”
ENCOURAGING RESULTS
Results have so far been encouraging: to date
it claims to have scored more than $10 billion
of credit; lenders using Aire at the point of
customer acquisition boosted acceptance
rates by up to 14 percent without increased
marketing spend, risk appetite or default
rates; in collections trials, Aire helped lenders
engage with customers and accelerate the
recovery of outstanding credit by 25 percent
with no increase in referrals to debt-collection
agencies.
Aneesh describes Aire as bringing greater
equilibrium to consumer credit by filling a
significant knowledge gap for lenders, providing
them with brand new data directly from the
consumer: “We know that a reliance on only
historic data falls down when lenders score
consumers without detailed credit histories - it’s
this lack of evidence – and a lack of context –
that stops accurate decision-making. By putting
the consumer in control, we are solving the
thin-file problem for lenders and providing new
insight to improve marginal decision-making,
providing lenders with a faster, fairer way to
assess credit risk and affordability.
“We’ve long believed that the best possible data
source for lenders is the consumer themselves.
By validating and interpreting this data, we offer
lenders better insights that accurately reflect the
current financial situation of their customers.
This provides lenders with greater decisionmaking
power and provides consumers with the
right credit they both deserve and can afford to
pay back.”
Aneesh is keen to stress that Aire is not
designed to replace existing CRAs, but rather
work alongside what’s currently available:
“When lenders switch from one CRA to another
it is a complicated process, and for us to success
we don’t need to displace any of the big three,”
he adds.
DUAL PROTECTION
Aire, he says, helps to protect the lender and the
consumer alike, for as well as allowing credit
to be extended to consumers who are currently
being unfairly excluded, it can also alert lenders
to how a ‘better’ risk might in fact be on the verge
of financial distress: “Traditional scoring might
suggest the creditworthiness of a consumer
that additional insight will show is in fact
vulnerable,” he says. “Algorithms are only ever
one part of the solution; context is everything.”
Aneesh’s plans are big. He’s raised $25 million
in funding and opened an office in Washington
DC to add to its headquarters in London. Step
One, he says, is to fill the gaps left by traditional
CRAs and show that Aire’s Credit Insight Suite
can work; step two, is to roll-out the concept
in the US. “We believe that when it comes to
credit everyone has a future, not everyone has a
past – and it’s our mission to solve that,” he
concludes.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 22

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Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 23

LEGAL MATTERS
FAST AND FURIOUS
What do you get if you combine fast cars, a jet
aeroplane, a yacht, a property portfolio and a loan
agreement? The answer is trouble.
AUTHOR – Peter Walker
NO financiers in their right
minds would lend me
money to buy fast cars, a
yacht or a jet aeroplane,
even if the loan was
mostly intended to finance
a sound business, yet they were all
ingredients in a £75m loan to a property
developer.
This loan was the essence of a BBC
news item on 28 January 2020, which also
reported that ‘more than 12,000 companies
were also pushed into ‘the Royal Bank
of Scotland’s controversial restructuring
group’. There were accusations of
‘exploiting firms and acquiring their
assets at knockdown prices.’ Credit
Managers need a cool analysis in these
circumstances, and this was provided
in the High Court by Mr Justice Kerr in
Morley v the Royal Bank of Scotland plc
(2020) EWHC 88 (Ch).
He considered the facts presented
before him, and they were less sensational
than the newspaper headlines. The
Claimant was a developer of commercial
properties, and he borrowed money to
purchase and improve them. The rental
income would cover the interest. The Law
Report states that his bank’s relationship
manager ‘admired the high occupancy
levels’ of the properties. A useful statistic
is the ratio between the number of
units available to let and the number of
occupied units – when I worked for an
investment banking company, I used this
ratio.
The bank (RBS) was satisfied, and
in 2005 entered into a loan facility
agreement. The Claimant now had a
facility of £75m to refinance his activities,
and add more properties, RBS permitted a
‘bonus payment’ for his personal use. He
would have to repay the loan of course,
and the interest was one percent above
the bank’s base rate. That would increase
to three percent above that base rate in
the event of a default.
LIST OF DEFAULTS
The list of defaults included an interest
cover ratio, which would come into effect
if the rental income was less than 1.3
(increasing to 1.4) times interest payable.
If there was a breach of this and other
specified defaults, the bank could call in
the whole amount. The Claimant had to
provide security initially on 21 properties.
In addition to these arrangements the
Claimant entered into a three-year collar
agreement as a hedge against interest rate
changes.
Once the bank and the Claimant had
settled the details of the loan, he paid off
two loans at other banks, and earmarked
£10m for the purchase and development
of other properties. He then could have
some fun with the ‘bonus payment’, and he
made some investments. He bought land
in the South of France, on which he built
a luxury villa. He then bought a yacht,
which he sailed on the Mediterranean.
He had other residences in England,
and he acquired some fast cars. He
needed extra finance, a mortgage, to
buy a jet aeroplane.
In addition to his acquisition of
these assets he added to the property
portfolio, there were interest rate
rises, and the Claimant asserted that
the effect of the collar was to increase
his liability for interest payments.
There were breaches of covenant,
but the bank granted waivers in
exchange for fees. In 2007 the bank was
unwilling to ignore such breaches, and it
proposed a new financing arrangement.
This would include a new fixed interest
rate swap to replace the collar, and there
would be a new development facility for
two more properties. The Claimant tried
to negotiate.
STORMY NEGOTIATIONS
Negotiations, stormy at times, continued,
and by the end of 2008 there was no
agreement. The value of the properties
had fallen below the principal amount
of the loan. The bank considered the
involvement of its much-criticised Global
Restructuring Group (GRG) intended to
deal with customers whose businesses
were in difficulties. Throughout 2009
there were other attempts to reach an
agreement.
There was also ‘the Banking Crisis’,
and the bank entered into an agreement
with the Commissioners of HM Treasury,
and it joined the Asset Protection Scheme
(APS). The Government was prepared
to underwrite some losses in respect
of ‘Covered Assets’ defined in the APS
scheme.
This was the background to the
negotiations with the Claimant, and CRG
was involved too. At the end of 2009 the
Claimant made some proposals, and both
the CRG and the APS officials would have
to approve them. For the moment that
was unnecessary, because the various
attempts to resolve the situation had
failed. Events worsened, when a fire
destroyed one of the properties, and the
insurance company refused to pay out.
The value of the portfolio decreased.
The properties nevertheless were
an important element in the various
proposals to resolve the problem, and
finally in July and August 2010 there were
agreements. The Claimant retained a
proportion – less than half in value – of
the portfolio, for which he paid the bank
£20.5 million. The rest of the portfolio
was transferred to West Register (Property
Investments) Limited (‘West Register’), a
subsidiary of the bank.
BREACH OF DUTY
The Claimant was not satisfied, and he
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 24

LEGAL MATTERS
AUTHOR – Peter Walker
brought claims in tort and in contract. He
claimed in tort that the bank had failed to
provide banking services with reasonable
care and skill. He furthermore asserted
that the bank had a duty to act in good
faith and not for a purpose unrelated to
the bank’s commercial interests.
In this respect Kerr J referred to a
decision of the judges of the Court of
Appeal in Property Alliance Group Ltd v
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (2018) 1
WLR 3529. A borrower had entered into
an interest rate hedging instrument,
an interest rate swap. If the borrower
terminated early and interest rates
had declined, there would be significant
break costs. That is what happened,
and the borrower claimed that (a) the
bank had negligently failed to disclose
the worst-case scenario, (b) the bank by
using the word ‘hedge’ had misrepresented
the borrower’s interest rate risks, and (c)
the bank had impliedly misrepresented
that it would not manipulate interest
rates.
The judges found that on the facts none
of these allegations applied. The purpose
of the hedging agreement was favourable
to the bank, but it protected the borrower
from rises in interest rates with their
consequent risk that the borrower
would be unable to pay interest to the
bank. The judges of the Court of Appeal
said that the power in the arrangement
could be exercised in the bank’s interest
without the need to balance it against
the customer’s interest. The power must
not be used to ‘vex’ the customer nor, for
example, be for a purpose unrelated to the
bank’s legitimate interests.
One of the interests of the bank in the
Morley case was in the money lent to the
Claimant, and Kerr J observed that on the
facts it was ‘an ordinary loan agreement’.
Any contractual discretions had to be
exercised as identified in the manner of
the judgment of the court in the Property
Alliance Group case, e.g. no vexing and
the purpose must be related to the bank’s
legitimate interests.
BONUS PAYMENT
There were other complications such as
the ‘bonus payment’ for the Claimant’s
own use. Kerr J noted that he had spent
it on various items including a yacht, a
jet aeroplane and fast cars. There was
nothing put aside for a rainy day, and it
had rained. At that time there was little,
The bank (RBS)
was satisfied, and
in 2005 entered
into a loan facility
agreement. The
Claimant now had
a facility of £75m
to refinance his
activities, to add
more properties,
and RBS permitted
a ‘bonus payment’
for his personal
use.
or no, market for such assets, and the
Claimant’s omission to keep sufficient
money in reserve meant that he lost the
chance to salvage the whole property
portfolio. Kerr ruled that the Bank was not
at fault. There was, however, the threat to
expropriate the portfolio by making a prepack
Administration transfer of assets to
the bank’s subsidiary, West Register. Kerr
J regarded this and the other incidents
as being ‘a commercial response’ to
the Claimant’s request for more time.
He finally considered the Claimant’s
allegations of intimidation and economic
distress. Kerr J was not convinced. The
Claimant was an experienced property
developer, and he ‘must have been well
aware of the remedy of receivership
available to a secured creditor bank in
case of default.’ The bank was furthermore
correct in its view that the Claimant had
affirmed the agreements, because, for
example, he had not taken any steps to set
them aside for five years.
The Claimant therefore lost his case,
and there are lessons to be drawn from
the bank’s victory. Credit managers of
businesses, which are financing projects,
must insist that the borrower regularly
provides information such as reports of
interest cover ratios, perhaps supported
by independent auditors. These should be
specified in the loan agreement.
If there are failures to meet the targets,
there must be no reluctance to accept
deviations, even if fees are payable. The
value of the security must be regularly
reviewed – share prices, for example, have
recently been volatile.
Then if the borrower sails off into
the sunset in a yacht, flies away in a jet,
or flees in a fast car, there are assets of
enough value to pay off the loan.
Peter Walker is a freelance business
writer specialising in legal matters
relating to credit management.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 25

Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 26

INTERVIEW
THE GRAY
MATTER
Sean Feast FCICM speaks to Yvette Gray
about commercial collections, the value
of CICMQ, and personal fitness training.
YVETTE Gray might have been
a personal trainer. Having
represented Team GB in Japan
for aerobic gymnastics at
the world championships, the
thought of turning a passion into
a career was never far from her mind. She also
toyed briefly with the idea of becoming a police
officer, or cabin crew.
So how, then, did she end up working in
credit, and rising to the top job of one of the
UK & Ireland’s largest commercial collections
businesses?
“I knew I wanted to work and to get out into
the big world beyond the small town in which
I was born, I wanted to escape to the city,”
she explains. “A friend of mine worked for the
Export Credit Guarantees Department (ECGD)
and said there were vacancies, so I applied for
a job and started working on a three-month
temporary contract. Thirty years later, and I am
still here!”
Born in the small town of Mountain Ash, 20
or so miles to the north of Cardiff (the city to
which she hoped to escape), Yvette was educated
locally and though she enjoyed school, knew
that university was not for her: “I liked English
and sport, and though I was fairly academic, I
had more interest in getting a job.”
To say she landed on her feet would perhaps
be a pun too far, but she certainly loved her job
from the off: “I was in the claims and recoveries
team,” she explains, “and what I really liked was
the international feel of what we were doing.
Although our customers were UK based, their
debtors could be almost anywhere in the world,
and the cases I was dealing with were always
varied. In my first role as a Recoveries Officer
I found myself responsible for France and the
Middle East and found it all really interesting.
I was also working with some great people
(including Gideon Jones who is still with the
business) who had so much experience you
could learn from.”
DOMESTIC BOOK
With the privatisation of the ECGD in 1991, and
its evolution into NCM, Yvette was part of the
team developing the company’s domestic book,
working closely with Insolvency Practitioners,
Debt Collection Agencies, and lawyers to
understand and advise their customers (who
at the time were all NCM credit insurance
policyholders) on the collections process, and
what they could expect. She was also one of
the first members of the organisation’s Special
Risk Management (SRM) team, identifying and
monitoring those businesses deemed to be
most at risk, usually because of a deteriorating
financial position.
It was perhaps inevitable that what started
out as an ‘advice’ team to support policyholders
ultimately evolved into a dedicated recoveries
and collections business. It was also perhaps
inevitable that the business should not only act
for policyholders, but would also actively seek
third-party, non-insured businesses.
“We set up the collections business in
1997 initially so our policyholders had our
total support, both in paying a claim and
also in recovering any outstanding debts,”
she continues. “It was later, as the business
expanded and we opened more offices in more
regions, that we extended our service to include
non-insured businesses.”
The growth has been considerable. From
comparatively modest beginnings, the
Collections business now has 33 offices around
the globe, and collected more than €350
million [last year] from around 100,000 cases
and has an average success rate of 79 percent
globally, excluding insolvencies and customer
withdrawals.
“We now have offices in nearly every major
continent, and have recently opened offices
in Dubai, Morocco and Romania. Where we
don’t have a physical presence, we still work
through agents, for example in some of the
more esoteric Eastern European markets.” Our
mission as Atradius is to support our customers
to trade around the world and when there is
a non-payment issue they can count on our
local expertise and knowledge to help them to
recover the debt.
Yvette says that being part of a major credit
insurer (NCM became Atradius in 2003 having
merged with the German credit insurance
group Gerling Credit and briefly becoming
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 27
continues on page 28 >

Gerling NCM) is a major advantage: “It gives us
added leverage,” she says. “If a buyer fails to pay,
then it impacts their credit score and their ability
to get credit insurance.”
ECONOMIC DOWNTURN
The downturn in 2008 was a tough time for
Atradius across all of its businesses, and Yvette is
understandably circumspect in her response to
my questioning: “There were well-documented
challenges across all of the industry,” she says,
“and it’s fair to say we have learned the lessons
from those times. It has meant that in more recent
economic difficulties, we have been much better
connected with customers and brokers in how we
manage difficult cases and are more agile in our
approach.
“Conversations are much more transparent
and open, and the quality of data has particularly
improved. The data available today is much more
current and up-to-date and provides a better
picture of a company’s true financial position.
This is helping customers make even betterinformed
decisions.”
Yvette was engaged early in the process
of establishing Atradius Collections and
setting up the customer services teams.
She also took on a global sales manager’s
role, expanding the company’s portfolio
into both globally insured and noninsured
businesses. She also had a spell in
Programme Management, looking at ways
of best servicing their clients on a global
basis:
“Although based in Cardiff, it involved
plenty of travelling to meet customers
and colleagues and working out ways of
ensuring our customers had a consistent
service, regardless of what sector or
market they were involved in. It also meant
understanding and addressing different
expectation levels, and how these varied
across disparate cultures.”
Whereas the appetite for using an outsourced
collections service is a concept that is well
understood in Europe, in other markets it was
more challenging: “Credit managers in the UK
and Europe are far more likely to be comfortable
working with an external third-party, but in Asia,
for example, the practice is not so well established.”
(Atradius Collections publishes an International
Debt Collection handbook each year, a
comprehensive document which sets out the
different approaches required to collecting debts
“I knew I wanted to work and to get out into the big
world beyond the small town in which I was born, I
wanted to escape to the city”
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 28

INTERVIEW
from 48 countries worldwide, as well as each country’s
attitude to debt, cost of recoveries and required
documentation. Under each country heading,
the handbook also details the relevant actions/
requirements for the three stages of the company’s
approach to collections: amicable collections; legal
collections; and insolvency proceedings.)
COLLECTIONS TEAM
Yvette’s appointment as Country Director, UK &
Ireland for Atradius Collections means she now heads
up a team of 25 in Cardiff and Dublin, comprising
sales, account management, collections and finance:
“I have a tremendous team and am very proud of
what they do. They make it very easy for me to lead
them,” she says.
“Working with other people is the bit I enjoy most
about work,” she adds. “There is such a diverse mix.”
The quality of the team will soon be tested.
Atradius Collections has applied for Quality in Credit
Management recognition (CICMQ), and by the time
this interview appears in print, Head of CICMQ
Chris Sanders will have completed his preliminary
workshop: “We have always had a good relationship
with the CICM and see the value in benchmarking
ourselves for Quality,” she says.
“We work with credit managers all of the time,
either collecting money for them or from them, so
getting closer to CICM members is an important part
of our strategy.”
So what does Yvette see are the biggest challenges
moving forward? “It’s still about data,” she continues.
“Credit managers demand more data and more insight
and being able to use that data intelligently to predict
outcomes is becoming increasingly important. Our
role is to help our customers do business and support
them to improve their credit management processes
and tools.”
SELF-SERVICE PLATFORM
In terms of latest developments within the business,
Atradius Collections recently-launched an online
self-service platform for SMEs, enabling them to get
a quote in one minute, place debts for collections and
monitor the progress. Perhaps even more innovative,
is a UK pilot of a video channel to engage with
debtors: “By using video we can see who has engaged,
when they engaged, what they viewed and when,”
Yvette explains.
“The real advantage in capturing this data is we
can use it to inform and adjust our own collection
strategies, as well as feeding this information back
to our customers to show who is more likely to pay
in what countries and sectors.”
Yvette is excited about the future and the
challenges ahead. It is a full job that demands
much of her time, but she still finds time
outside of work to be a mum of four and to run
the odd half marathon. Life is full speed ahead
for Yvette and her sporting instincts keep her
on track. She even, for a time, held personal
fitness training classes in-house. So what
advice would she give her younger self today?
“To take a chance,” she says emphatically.
“Trust your gut. You always regret the things
you didn’t do.”
“We work with
credit managers all
of the time, either
collecting money
for them or from
them, so getting
closer to CICM
members is an
important part of
our strategy.”
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 29

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Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 30

CAREERS ADVICE
Demonstrating Skills
What core skills do credit employers really look for,
and how can you demonstrate that you have them?
AUTHOR – Karen Young
ANY professional working in
credit needs to be aware of a
number of core skills which are
integral to roles of this nature.
Having worked in finance
recruitment for over 24 years, I
have come across a great many candidates with
a variety of backgrounds. However, some skills
have stood out to me as being core skills to credit
functions and ones which aspiring professionals
in the sector ought to have.
As employers are still facing the challenge
of ongoing skills shortages, possessing some or
all of these core skills is crucial to make sure
talent is continuously entering the industry. I
encourage all credit professionals to reflect on
their own skillset in light of my four core skills
below, especially those who are considering
applying to a new role.
IT ABILITIES
It shouldn’t come as much surprise that strong
IT skills are vital in credit. Credit professionals
can expect to use a variety of IT systems which
are predominately used to handle data, manage
repayment schemes, record payments and check
credit records and will need to be confident
using these systems as part of their day-today
role. This comes hand in hand with strong
numerical skills which is a must in almost all
accountancy and finance roles.
For those entering the world of credit,
undertaking any formal training or qualifications
should provide thorough exposure of the
required IT skills, as well as the chance to start
building these skills. Highlight this as a focal
point of your CV by putting listing it in either
the first or second section, so a recruiter or
hiring manager scanning through picks up on it
immediately. If you don’t have much experience
behind you, it might be worth mentioning any
IT-related pursuits to demonstrate that you have
a genuine interest in this area.
ADAPTABILITY
The technology involved with working in credit
is constantly changing, which brings me on to
the second skill I believe to be core to credit
roles which is adaptability. It’s crucial to be able
to work with new technology and systems which
are changing rapidly across accounting and
finance, and stay open-minded to innovation
entering the workplace. Furthermore, working
with a variety of clients on different issues
means that it’s beneficial to stay on your toes by
remaining adaptable in different situations.
A skill like adaptability is harder to
demonstrate in a CV than those represented by a
qualification, but it’s certainly worth mentioning.
An interview is the ideal opportunity to
demonstrate this skill to a recruiter or potential
employer, and I’d recommend using the STAR
method (situation, task, action and result) to
structure your answer if asked about this. Don’t
forget to mention what you achieved as a result
of using this skill.
COMMUNICATION
Good communication is the difference
between bringing an innovative idea to the
table and using it to have a proper impact on
your organisation. It’s a core skill for credit
managers who need to take part in discussions,
listen to others and present their point of view
professionally and convincingly. These skills
are required internally when working across
teams and departments but also externally with
customers and clients with whom you need to
build a positive relationship. As was the case
with demonstrating adaptability, certainly
mention strong communication skills in your
CV. However, be aware that many recruiters and
employers come across this phrase on a regular
basis due to the number of applications they
look at. If you are calm and professional in your
interview, your strength as a communicator will
come across.
WILLINGNESS TO COLLABORATE
The fourth core skill I think is worth mentioning
is the willingness to collaborate – or in other
words, being able to work well in a team. Credit
professionals will find themselves working
with many different colleagues across different
departments when managing the needs of
their clients and customers, making effective
teamwork vital. It is arguably a core skill of
almost any job, so make sure to get this across
in your application. ‘Teamwork’ is another
buzzword often used in CVs, so if you are
referencing this skill, try to stand out by
using phrases such as ‘open-minded’, ‘flexible’
and ‘willing to compromise’. This will help
the recruiter or employer see that you are
someone who suits working in a collaborative
environment and fits in easily with new teams.
Hopefully you notice some or all of these
skills in your own skillset, but if not, don’t worry.
While I believe these are core skills in credit,
much of being a good credit professional comes
with experience. Don’t be afraid to identify
personal areas of focus or improvement in your
application, as it can help demonstrate that you
recognise the core skills which are required and
your commitment to gaining them.
Karen Young is Director at Hays
Credit Management.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 31

COUNTRY FOCUS
Ignore the history,
Vietnam is a great place
to do business
Part One: Vietnam
Rising Star
NOT that very long ago,
Vietnam was a place
associated with third world
conditions, communism
and war with France, the
US and then Cambodia.
Vietnam carried stigma and most certainly
was vilified by the American media.
But history is exactly that, a record
of what has gone before. Vietnam now
would be unrecognisable to anyone from
the 1950’s, 60’s or 70’s. It is now one of
Asia’s – and the world’s – fastest growing
economies with a GDP that is estimated to
have grown 7.3 percent in 2018 albeit with
a forecasted drop to around 6.4 percent in
2020. It’s notable that GDP per capita has
grown by 350 percent since 1991, second
only to China.
Vietnam is party to more than 40 free
trade agreements including the WTO
and regional forums, ASEAN and its
Economic Community, an EU-Vietnam
Free Trade Agreement and the Trans-
Pacific Partnership. Further, it’s situated
in the Mekong region that along with
Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and
the south of China offers exporters access
to more than 250 million people.
In other words, the Vietnam of 2019
is as far removed from a B52 bomber
as the Wright Flyer is to the Lockheed
Martin F-35. While it’s worth noting that
Vietnamese culture and civilisations goes
back more than 30,000 years through
various dynasties from 3000BC to modern
times, the reality is that Vietnam is now
an up and coming nation that exporters
would be insane to ignore.
IN NUMBERS
In numbers – quoted by KPMG – the
population stood at 96.4 million in 2018
but is expected to reach 98.2 million by the
end of 2020. Population density is similar
to that of the UK since it has a landmass
of some 330,000km2 compared to the
UK’s 242,495km2 which is home to (just)
66.44 million. Just under 70 percent of the
population work and they earn around
$2,500 a year – which is not bad but well
below that of China’s average income of
$12,500 or even the US at $52,300. Growth
is driven by a growing domestic market
and a young, educated and hard-working
population and the fastest-growing middle
class in South Asia.
GDP is rising from $239bn in 2018 to an
anticipated $270bn in 2020. But where the
figures get interesting is in imports and
exports data. In 2018, Vietnam imported a
total of $237.5bn worth of goods, chief of
which were $42.5bn worth of computers
and electronics, $33.7bn of machinery
and instruments, $16bn of telephones and
allied products, $15.3bn of textiles and
fabrics, and $9.8bn of iron and steel.
In comparison, the country exported
(again, in 2018) goods to the value of
$244.7bn – $50bn of telephones and allied
products, $30.4bn of textiles and garments,
$29.4bn of computers and electronics,
$16.5bn of machinery and instruments
and $16.3bn of footwear.
These numbers are not to be sniffed at
when set against those for the UK – which,
according to a September 2019 report
from the Office for National Statistics
noted that the UK exported £634.1bn and
imported £665bn (approximately $824bn
and $864bn respectively) for the preceding
12-month period.
FOREIGN INVESTMENT IS STRONG
Recalling the earlier reference to
foreign direct investment, new deals
approved in 2018 saw opportunities in a
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 32

COUNTRY FOCUS
AUTHOR – Adam Bernstein
number of Vietnamese sectors – industrial
manufacturing (585 new projects and
$5.88bn of new capital), real estate and
construction (203 new projects and $5.1bn),
textiles and garments (352 new projects and
$2.27bn), energy and natural resources (26
new projects and $1.72bn), food and drink
(121 new projects and $391mn) and other
($2.61bn). It’s clear from the numbers that
some very large infrastructure projects have
been set up.
While these investments are interesting,
so too is the origin of the investment: 37
percent comes from Japan, 20 percent from
South Korea, eight percent from Singapore,
seven percent from Thailand, seven percent
from China, and 21 percent from elsewhere.
One thing that Vietnam has going for
it – for the moment at least – is that it is a
beneficiary of the US/Sino trade war as
international firms look to reorganise their
operations to offset the impact of the tit-fortat
tariffs. It also helps that Vietnam’s labour
costs are low compared to those in China and
the country is relatively easy to do business
in compared with other low-cost locations.
According to the World Bank’s 2019 Doing
Business report, New Zealand is ranked
first, the US sixth, the UK eighth, India 63rd,
Vietnam 70th, Cambodia 144th and Somalia
was 190th. In other words, Vietnam is in a
good place and towards the top of the Easy
banding.
But Vietnam needs to tread carefully
and could suffer the wrath of President
Trump and his trade policy. According to US
government statistics, US goods and services
traded with Vietnam totalled an estimated
$58.2bn in 2017 (latest data available) –
exports were $10.5bn and imports were
$47.8bn. The goods and services trade deficit
with Vietnam stood at $37.3bn in 2017. A
former arch-enemy, the US has imposed
huge tariffs on Vietnamese steel imports. But
Vietnam quickly responded by saying it’ll buy
more from the US to neuter Trump’s anger.
CHALLENGES EXIST
As noted earlier, Vietnam is considered ‘easy’
to do business with. Starting a company
is much easier now that it takes just eight
procedures now compared to more than 100
required a few years ago.
RED TAPE
First off, firms must have a company address
and a lease signed before registering an
entity. There are conditions and limits placed
on some foreign investments with some
undertakings – those dealing with certain
types of drugs, chemicals and minerals,
some biological businesses, and firecrackers
are banned from foreign investment. And it
shouldn’t be a surprise that paperwork must
be completed in Vietnamese and any foreign
paperwork must have certified Vietnamese
translations which have been certified
by courts in the home country, and then
authenticated by a Vietnamese embassy.
Licenses are also issued in Vietnamese.
Vietnam is a country on the move,
but there is still enough bureaucracy to
infuriate; it doesn’t help that there’s a lack
of transparency compounded by regulatory
regimes, commercial law and overlapping
jurisdictions of some government ministries
– policies can seem inconsistent. Similarly,
the country is developing its corporate
culture meaning that standards, disclosure,
and a lack of financial transparency can
make due-diligence tricky.
Adam Bernstein is a freelance
business writer.
Ho Chi Minh City (commonly
known as Saigon) is a city in
southern Vietnam famous for
the pivotal role it played in the
Vietnam War. It's also known for
its French colonial landmarks,
including Notre-Dame Cathedral,
made entirely of materials imported
from France, and the 19th-century
Central Post Office. Food stalls line
the city’s streets, especially around
bustling Bến Thành Market.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 33

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Learn more here: dnb.co.uk/modernfinance © Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. 2020
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 34

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
STAND AND
DELIVER
How do you make your presentation
stand out from the rest?
AUTHOR – Clive Hawkins
Clive Hawkins
YOU have been invited to
speak on a topic and now
need to decide what you are
going to say. Not always an
easy task - how often have you
sat through presentations
and been bombarded with slides which are
crammed with content and contain complex
graphs or tables of data that don’t relate to
your interests. This ‘death by powerpoint’
is not the experience you had hoped for!
So, how do you avoid repeating this when
crafting your own presentation?
START FROM THE END
Whether you are producing a presentation
from scratch, adapting a previous version or
using one that has already been prepared,
you need to go through the same process –
determine your audience’s needs, provide
engaging content, use eye-catching imagery
and link it with a compelling narrative.
To help with this approach, think about
how you read a book. You are introduced
to the story at the start, discover more
information in subsequent chapters and
reach the end with a memorable finale;
hopefully inspiring you to read the author’s
other works. To achieve this experience,
writers often know how they want the
story to end from the outset, and then work
backwards. This helps them structure their
writing and ensure every part of their book
is aligned to take the reader on a journey and
deliver the perfect ending. This approach
can equally work well for developing a
presentation.
THE WORDS YOU USE
Once you have decided on your presentation
structure, you need to consider content.
Beware - this is where information overload
can creep in! You need to reduce your subject
knowledge into short, meaningful and
memorable phrases. This can be difficult as
there is a tendency to include vast amounts
of information in a presentation ‘for
completeness’, which can lead to an influx
of additional content and data. In reality,
it will be hard enough for an audience to
retain more than a few key points from your
presentation so don’t pad out your delivery
unless it is absolutely necessary.
PAINT A PICTURE
The phrase, ‘a picture is worth a thousand
words’ is never better exemplified than
in a presentation. Powerful imagery
can be emotive, thought-provoking and
memorable. It can help convey information,
enhance a key point and create an ambience
in the room to support what you are saying.
Yet, all too often images are used that are
too complex, not relevant or are simply dull!
Only show a picture if it is going to enhance
what you are saying. Visual aids can be
an alternative to showing images. A great
example is shown in the masterclass TED
Talk given by Bill Gates to raise awareness of
malaria and public health in Africa: https://
www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_mosquitos_
malaria_and_education.
STRUCTURED COMMUNICATION
Once you have firmed up on the structure,
words and imagery you wish to use,
this needs to be pulled together into the
presentation. This is where PowerPoint
slides come into their own. They are an
invaluable resource for presenters to show
graphic or technical information and use
the multi-media capabilities to bolster
credibility and professionalism, as long as
they are used correctly!
Slides should complement - not consume
- your presentation and only be used to
accentuate what you are saying. The choice
of font, type size and use of colour needs to
be taken into account when designing slides
to achieve maximum audience impact.
Above all, be aware that whatever you show
on a screen will distract your audience. This
is fine if you want to show them something;
if you don’t, quickly move on or blank out
the slide whilst you are talking, to retain the
audience’s attention on you.
In summary, the more you focus on
crafting a powerful presentation, the greater
the likelihood you will satisfy an audience’s
needs, communicate your memorable key
points effectively, and provide an all-round
enjoyable experience.
Clive Hawkins is Senior Associate at Spoken
Word Communications.
clive@spokenwordgroup.co.uk
spokenwordgroup.com
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 35

OPINION
INFORMATION
EXCHANGE
Corporations are engaged in a data
arms race to acquire more information
faster than their competitors.
AUTHOR – Cato Syversen FCICM
IT is a universal truth that all solid
business strategy, planning and
decision-making begins and ends with
information and data. A combination
of internal and external information
drives analysis, confirms or amends
approaches and leads ultimately to growth.
In addition, beyond the bigger picture we
all use data to drive the day-to-day processes
of running any commercial operation, whether
as accountants, sales and marketing teams,
operational planners or the hard-pressed
risk assessors within credit management
departments. Of course this has always been
the case but in the current information age
many of us risk being swamped by the rising
tide of information available to us at the click
of a mouse and end up either missing that vital
nugget of information or entering a neverending
labyrinth of analysis never to make a
decision at all.
The cliché about not being able to see
the wood for the trees has never been truer.
However, the fact is that data is indeed useless
unless it is usable.
INTERNET DAWN
When we launched Creditsafe way back at the
dawn of the internet age in 1997, commercial
business and credit information was only
available to that privileged, and deep-pocketed
few who could afford to pay for it and had the
time and resources to wade through dense,
printed reports requiring individual analysis.
Many of those companies also had reasonable
levels of customer information but inevitably
these were held within hand-written ledgers
or on record cards kept in filing cabinets and
usually with different information being
recorded and kept separately within different
departments. Internal data was very rarely if
ever fully joined up and certainly not integrated
with the business information supplied
externally.
Fast forward 23 years and we are at first sight
in a very different place indeed. With a wealth of
data and statistics available to them successful
businesses have been (and indeed still are)
transforming themselves into information
companies. The business that knows the most
is primed to succeed and corporations are
engaged in a data arms race to acquire more
information faster than their competitors. I’m
personally proud of the part that Creditsafe has
played in disrupting the world of business and
credit information, making key information
available and affordable to a wider and wider
range of companies in markets across the globe.
However far too often, the basic problems of
integration and usability of all that data remains
with rarely accessed corners of multi-terabyte
data servers having taken the place of those
dusty ledgers and filing cabinets.
It is also true that the wider landscape has
changed and the resulting rise in awareness by
data subjects, either corporate or consumer,
has driven further change. Twenty years
ago businesses would be surprised by the
information available on them that could be
accessed via a credit report, but an environment
where data subjects can understand
information’s availability, value and potential
for misuse has inevitably led to concerns by
subjects and by legislators stepping in. GDPR
may be the most obvious example so far but
regulation and legislation is increasingly
impacting those of us who source and supply
data as well as all of us who are data users.
Governments have woken up to the accessibility
of information and are passing on responsibility
for the use of that access onto data users. Issues
around AML legislation, PEP and sanctions
lists, anti-corruption, and identification of child
labour and modern slavery can be interrogated
by individual data users and can be interrogated
on an international basis.
NO EXCUSES
Responsibility for making those checks lies
with the user and ignorance or saying that you
couldn’t access the information is no excuse.
In addition more and more businesses and
their key stakeholders, and perhaps even more
importantly their customers and consumers,
are demanding that companies observe what are
seen as the minimum level of ethical behavior
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 36

OPINION
AUTHOR – Cato Syversen FCICM
throughout their supply chain. And where does
this responsibility land up? More often than not
it is with the people who access the data.
No longer are credit professionals solely
judging financial and commercial risk;
legislative and reputational issues are also
piling up in their in-trays. However, they should
not be seeing this as a problem. Dealing with it
professionally and successfully is yet another
way of proving the value of the function and the
business intelligence that is accessible by credit
professionals. It is the role of their suppliers to
help make that as easy as possible by not just
providing information but solutions, providing
information in a usable form. We should be
across the legislation as it develops, anticipate
its impact and magnitude and automatically
Alongside our
increasing focus
on integration we
are also ensuring
that our risk
analytics and
scoring solutions
are of the highest
possible accuracy.
integrate the outcomes needed by users within
our product suites.
We are increasingly entering an era of data
co-operation. Information from a business
information provider on its own will never be as
powerful or as usable as when it is successfully
integrated with our customers’ data and
embedded within their systems. As a business
and an industry we are increasingly focused
on developing and delivering stable and robust
integrations based on simple APIs that not only
make our data deliver the information required
but ensure full compliance with the full range of
changing legislative needs. Our industry needs
to be providing solutions that are constantly
updated, but that can also learn and adapt to
ensure that the credit and risk management
professionals we are serving are always in a
position to make the very best decisions.
Alongside our increasing focus on integration
we are also ensuring that our risk analytics and
scoring solutions are of the highest possible
accuracy. We have already launched four new
scorecards across several markets in the last two
years and will continue to speed up that rate of
change through 2020 and beyond. Developments
in machine learning and artificial intelligence
mean that we will soon be able to increase
the pace of change while seamlessly updating
customers’ solutions.
TWO-WAY STREET
This need not just be a two-way street however,
the flexibility of an approach like this enables
our customers to put themselves at the heart
of their very own joined up network, not just
sharing their data with us and integrating it with
our full suite of global business intelligence,
but reaching out to their own customers and
encouraging the next level of integration
with their customers benefitting from the
advantages of further data exchange. As this
putative multi-level network grows then the
exchange, verification and updating of the
wider information base allows the quality of
analysis to improve, better decisions to be made
and legislative compliance to be assured.
As an industry we’ve come a long way from
delivering printed manual reports to a select
few credit managers in a tiny proportion of
the world’s businesses. We’ve gone through the
ready supply of online reports and the widening
availability of information at an affordable price
for the many to an increasingly commonplace
integrated approach which joins up a customers’
internal data with our external information.
However, I am now genuinely excited to see
the next step taking place where we develop
new intelligent networks, constantly updating
and developing themselves and delivering fresh
reliable usable solutions for us all.
Cato Syversen FCICM is CEO Creditsafe Group.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 37

INTERNATIONAL
TRADE
Monthly round-up of the latest stories
in global trade by Andrea Kirkby.
Have we passed ‘peak growth’?
A
comment on project-syndicate.org ransom. There’s the US, which by all accounts
caught my eye recently. Writer Jim is due a recession any day now.
O’Neill reckons that global growth On a positive note, O’Neill thinks that
for the last decade will eventually India is heading to a good place, and with the
stand at around 3.5 percent per year – a right reforms – if prime minister Narendra
number which compares favourably to the Modi can manage it – could easily achieve
3.3 percent of the 1980s and 1990s. However, annual growth of eight- to 10 percent. But
O’Neill thinks that that number should have let’s not forget Africa, which as a region has
been higher considering the growth in the a GDP close to India’s. As O’Neill commented:
size of the global workforce and rising levels “If enough of its major economies can
of productivity.
achieve strong growth, the effects will be
The problem as he sees it is that the 2020s felt more broadly. The rise of Africa seems
might not look as good and global annual both desirable and inevitable. Whether the
growth could be heading for a fall. He points continent can drive global GDP growth will be
to a peak in the growth of the Chinese
a key question in the 2020s.”
workforce while the populations of Japan, So, the question exists – have we passed
Germany, Italy and other leading nations peak growth? Who knows, but one thing is
are both ageing and in decline. The EU is in certain – firms should take the data, and find
a state of turmoil, no matter how it’s billed. those countries with growth potential and get
Brazil and Russia are highly commoditised into bed with local importers before anyone
countries which are held to market price else does.
Deutschland nicht über alles
THE powerhouse that is Germany isn’t in
recession, but it’s not far off. Its economy
stagnated with zero growth in the fourth
quarter of 2019, giving a total growth of 0.6
percent for that year. On a positive note, it is
expected, that the European Commission will
bounce back to 1.1 percent growth in 2020.
It appears that both household and
government spending slowed down in the
fourth quarter, a problem made worse by
Germany’s exposure to the ongoing trade war
between the US and China.
The German economic ministry also sees
risks to the economy from abroad increasing
due to coronavirus. It’s entirely possible that
the virus could push Germany into recession as
Chinese demand falters. So, while the number
of people in employment rose 0.3 percent
across the eurozone in the fourth quarter,
and by 0.2 percent in the European Union, UK
firms doing business in Europe, and especially
Germany, should brace for cutbacks in orders.
It’s entirely possible that the virus could push
Germany into recession as Chinese demand falters
ACCORDING to the Ed Conway in
the Times there’s plenty of hot air
when it comes to working out the
value of a firm. Conway makes the
point that firms used to own assets
involved in production which made
valuing corporates easy. But not
anymore – firms, including airlines,
now lease assets which raises
questions about the very nature
EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES
of their businesses.
To drive the point home he details
the recently rescued Flybe which had
a ‘predictably threadbare’ balance
sheet but which owns a ‘handful’ of
Heathrow landing slots ‘worth tens
of millions of pounds a pop’; such as
McDonald’s which makes more money
from property than hamburgers; and
Coca Cola which sells rights to other
firms which make, bottle and sell its
drinks. It appears that although firms
can grow quickly, they can also
collapse at the same rate, especially
those who have few assets and tons of
goodwill. Selling to UK businesses in
this situation is not a great proposition
but add an overseas dimension to the
buyer and exporters could be in for
tricky times.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 38

Good news for Greece
FOLLOWING on from the expectation –
noted by Reuters in November 2019 – that
the Greek economy was improving and
expected to grow 2.8 percent in 2020,
Fitch Ratings has recently upgraded
Greece’s credit rating to ‘BB’ from
‘BB-‘ because fiscal prudence and GDP
growth is keeping government debt at
sustainable levels.
The country is still two levels
below investment grade, but it’s a long
way from junk. All of this follows the
removal of Greek capital controls in
September 2019 which were originally
implemented during the 2015 financial
crisis; investment should now flow back
to Greece as capital can move freely.
What does all of this high-level
finance have to do with the world of
export? Loads – for it means that the
odds of a localised economic crash are
receding and instead, the conditions for
greater consumption are rising. In other
words – exporters should begin to make
hay while the sun shines… but not while
drinking Ouzo.
Be careful not to drink Corona (virus)
THE web is a very poor substitute for common sense.
Consider the impact of the Coronavirus. With its epicentre
in China’s Hubei province, the daily increase in new
coronavirus infections and deaths appears to be slowing
(at the time of writing – 19 February). World Health
Organization data notes that coronavirus cases stood at
over 75,000 and deaths at over 2,000 while seasonal flu
affects three- to five-million people globally each year,
resulting in 300,000–600,000 deaths.
That hasn’t stopped Coronavirus having a damaging
effect on the Chinese economy. Factories remain closed,
workers are restricted from travelling, and local demand is
falling. Deloitte China has cut its 2020 China GDP growth
forecast from 5.8 percent to 5.3 percent –5.5 percent and
the International Energy Agency expects a quarterly
contraction in global oil demand for the first time since the
global financial crisis.
But the trouble doesn’t end there. Singapore has
lowered its 2020 economic growth forecast and has
unveiled measures to deal with the virus. Singapore Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong commented that recession
was a possibility. And in Japan, the impact of the virus is
expected to knock the current quarter’s figures, fuelling
fears of recession - a worry as the world’s third-largest
economy is already falling at its fastest rate since 2014.
All of this will have an effect on firms both needing to
buy goods and having the financial wherewithal to make
payments.
If you’re targeting the Far East tread carefully. And
the reference to the web? Yes, you guessed it, Google
has revealed that many are actively searching for ‘beer
coronavirus’ or similar phrases. Corona beer seems to be
guilty by association and nothing else. Those searching for
the phrase are just plainly guilty.
Hungary is hungry for business
HUNGARY’S 2019 growth rate of 4.9
percent would make the UK very
happy, but we’re a long way off that
rate. The forecast for Hungary in 2020
may not be looking so rosy, but it’s
still expected to be 3.5 percent. Its
government shouldn’t be too downbeat
as all things are relative… the UK’s
growth rate this year is likely to be,
according to PwC, just one percent.
Right wing Hungarian prime
minister, Viktor Orban, said during his
annual state of the nation address: “I
see dangerous years ahead ... We need
to take serious steps to defend what we
have achieved so far.”
His plans for stimulus include
reducing labour and small business
taxes; maintaining growth against the
backdrop of stagnation in the euro
zone, its main export market. Further,
his government is actively moving
toward a climate protection plan,
tighter environmental regulations
for multinational firms, and a sixfold
increase in solar power capacity over
10 years.
Now if that isn’t a green light for
the UK’s exporting renewables sector I
don’t what is.
What's new Buenos Aires?
ONE of the largest economies in South
America, Argentina, is again in trouble and
is postponing a $1.47bn principal payment
on one of its bonds until September, citing
‘unsustainable debt’. The government will
still make scheduled interest payments
on the bond, but investors may still ‘frown’
on Argentina changing payment terms
without speaking to bondholders. It is a
unilateral decision that does not create
goodwill in the market.
The news came as the IMF (International
Monetary Fund, not Tom Cruise’s
Impossible Missions Force - although it
should be) headed to Buenos Aires to see
how president Alberto Fernández plans
to tackle over $320bn of total borrowings.
Things are not looking great for the local
economy and anyone doing business
with an Argentinian client should take
precautions.
Goodbye Dubai?
MOST think of Dubai as an oil-based
country, and oil is important there but,
it’s not the be-all and end-all. Even
so, Dubai’s diversified economy with
key hotspots of travel and tourism
is showing signs of strain as the
non-oil private sector worsened for
the third straight month. It appears
that employment is falling, a problem
made worse as the local economy has
led to worker cutbacks as companies
try to cope with weak demand. A
falling property market and rising
global trading tension isn’t helping.
It might just be time to look at other
parts of the world to trade into.
CURRENCY UK
EXCHANGE RATES VISIT CURRENCYUK.CO.UK
OR CALL 020 7738 0777
Currency UK is authorised and regulated
by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
HIGH LOW TREND
GBP/EUR 1.20424 1.05333 Down
GBP/USD 1.31871 1.14781 Down
GBP/CHF 1.27919 1.112828 Down
GBP/AUD 2.07840 1.93117 Up
GBP/CAD 1.79967 1.66986 Flat
GBP/JPY
144.89766 124.60645 Down
This data was taken on 19th March and refers to the
month previous to/leading up to 18th March 2020.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 39

GET YOUR CREDIT CONTROL
SALARY SURVEY TODAY!
This year we have partnered with Croner
Reward, the experts in Pay &Benefits
benchmarking, to bring you our annual Salary
Survey. Our 2020 report isthe definitive guide
on the market, solely focused on credit sector
salaries, interim pay rates combined with
further information on employee benefits,
recruitment trends and our own unique
market insight.
In your copy you will find salaries and
benefits for Credit professionals that we
recruit for around the UK. The roles include:
Credit Administrator
Credit Controller
Credit Supervisor
Sales Ledger Clerk
Accounts Receivable
Team Leader
Credit Risk Manager
Head of Credit
TO REQUEST YOUR COPY VISIT:
www.portfoliocreditcontrol.com/salary-survey
WE ARE RATED 9OUT OF 10
LONDON | 0207 650 3199
MANCHESTER | 0161 836 9949
www.portfoliocreditcontrol.com
recruitment@portfoliocreditcontrol.com
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 40

CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP
CICM agrees new Corporate
Partnership with Menzies LLP
MENZIES LLP, a top 20 UK
accountancy firm, has
become the Chartered
Institute of Credit
Management’s newest
Corporate Partner to
increase the visibility of its Creditor Services
team to CICM members, as well as promoting
its services to the wider credit management
profession.
The Menzies Creditor Services team
advises creditors on the best way to protect
a business’ position when a business
or individual enters, or is approaching
insolvency proceedings – acting in a variety
of cases, from a straightforward single asset
bankruptcy or owner-managed liquidation,
through to large, complex cases that may
involve detailed forensic investigations, and
international jurisdictions.
Bethan Evans, Head of Menzies Creditor
Services team, says that Menzies aims to help
CICM members, and the businesses they
work for, to improve financial outcomes:
“We have extensive industry and insolvency
sector experience and expert insights,” she
says. “Our Creditor Services offering aims
to support credit managers and reduce the
administrative burden upon them when
something goes wrong. Ultimately we want
to improve their financial outcome and
simplify what can be a daunting process.
We will help navigate the paperwork by
reviewing and analysing all insolvency and
other related correspondence, completing
and lodging claim forms, proxy forms and
monitoring dividend prospects – to name a
few.
“As well as this, our dedicated team of
specialists can also help with retention of
title claims, recovering debt, both within
the UK and internationally, raising finance,
financial restructuring and providing
representation at creditors meetings to
guide, inform and support our clients. Our
team will collaborate with CICM members
in order to ensure any areas for investigation
are reviewed to maximise the chances of a
return to them.”
Menzies has seven offices across the UK,
with the Creditor Services team operating
out of London and Cardiff. Its Creditor
Services offering is an initiative launched by
Menzies Business Recovery which consists
of seven insolvency practitioners and over 40
corporate recovery professionals. Menzies is
also an active member of HLB International
– a global network of independent advisory
and accounting firms – which provides
Menzies with access to specialist support in
over 150 countries worldwide. This elevates
their Creditor Services capability when it
comes to dealing with international disputes,
recovering international debt, and providing
other forensic services internationally such
as investigations into fraudulent trading,
unlawful dividends and asset tracing.
Sue Chapple FCICM, Interim Chief
Executive of CICM, is delighted to welcome
Menzies as a corporate partner: “It is our first
accountancy firm to join the other partners
who are all committed to advancing the
credit profession and best practice within
the credit industry,” says Sue.
“We are currently working with Menzies
to identify a programme of events and
packaged information that will add the most
value to our membership. We look forward
to announcing a number of activities across
the year which will include round table
events and webinars.”
For further information on Menzies
Creditor Services offering, and how Menzies
can assist CICM members, please visit
their website: www.menzies.co.uk/creditorservices
or contact Bethan Evans on 02920
447512.
Alternatively, for more information about
the CICM’s Corporate Partnership scheme,
interested companies can contact Sue
Chapple, Interim Chief Executive on sue.
chapple@cicm.com or call 01780 722912.
“We are currently working
with Menzies to identify a
programme of events and
packaged information that
will add the most value to
our membership. We look
forward to announcing a
number of activities across
the year which will include
round table events and
webinars.”
Sue Chapple FCICM
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 41

INTRODUCING OUR
CORPORATE PARTNERS
For further information and to discuss the opportunities of entering into a
Corporate Partnership with the CICM, please contact corporatepartners@cicm.com
Hays Credit Management is a national specialist
division dedicated exclusively to the recruitment of
credit management and receivables professionals,
at all levels, in the public and private sectors. As
the CICM’s only Premium Corporate Partner, we
are best placed to help all clients’ and candidates’
recruitment needs as well providing guidance on
CV writing, career advice, salary bench-marking,
marketing of vacancies, advertising and campaign
led recruitment, competency-based interviewing,
career and recruitment trends.
T: 07834 260029
E: karen.young@hays.com
W: www.hays.co.uk/creditcontrol
The Company Watch platform provides risk analysis
and data modelling tools to organisations around
the world that rely on our ability to accurately predict
their exposure to financial risk. Our H-Score®
predicted 92 percent of quoted company insolvencies
and our TextScore® accuracy rate was 93
percent. Our scores are trusted by credit professionals
within banks, corporates, investment houses
and public sector bodies because, unlike other credit
reference agencies, we are transparent and flexible
in our approach.
T: +44 (0)20 7043 3300
E: info@companywatch.net
W: www.companywatch.net
HighRadius is a Fintech enterprise Software-as-a-Service
(SaaS) company. Its Integrated Receivables platform
reduces cycle times in the Order to Cash process through
automation of receivables and payments across credit,
e-invoicing and payment processing, cash allocation,
dispute resolution and collections. Powered by the RivanaTM
Artificial Intelligence Engine and Freeda Digital
Assistant for Order to Cash teams, HighRadius enables
more than 450 organisations to leverage machine
learning to predict future outcomes and automate routine
labour intensive tasks.
T: +44 7399 406889
E: gwyn.roberts@highradius.com
W: www.highradius.com
Forums International has been running Credit and
Industry Forums since 1991 covering a range of
industry sectors and international trading. Attendance
is for credit professionals of all levels. Our forums
are not just meetings but communities which
aim to prepare our members for the challenges
ahead. Attending for the first time is free for you to
gauge the benefits and meet the members and we
only have pre-approved Partners, so you will never
intentionally be sold to.
Chris Sanders Consulting (Sanders Consulting
Associates) has three areas of activity providing
credit management leadership and performance
improvement, international working capital
improvement consulting assignments and
managing the CICMQ Best Practice Accreditation
programme on behalf of the CICM. Plans for
2019 include international client assignments in
India, China, USA, Middle East and the ongoing
development of the CICMQ Programme.
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.
T: +44 (0)1246 555055
E: info@forumsinternational.co.uk
W: www.forumsinternational.co.uk
T: +44(0)7747 761641
E: chris@chrissandersconsulting.com
W: www.chrissandersconsulting.com
T: +44 (0) 1302 513 000
E: sales@keyivr
W: www.keyivr.co.uk
American Express® is a globally recognised
provider of business payment solutions, providing
flexible capabilities to help companies drive
growth. These solutions support buyers and
suppliers across the supply chain with working
capital and cashflow.
By creating an additional lever to help support
supplier/client relationships American Express is
proud to be an innovator in the business payments
space.
T: +44 (0)1273 696933
W: www.americanexpress.com
Operating across seven UK offices, Menzies LLP is
an accountancy firm delivering traditional services
combined with strategic commercial thinking. Our
services include: advisory, audit, corporate and
personal tax, corporate finance, forensic accounting,
outsourcing, wealth management and business
recovery – the latter of which includes our specialist
offering developed specifically for creditors. For
more information on this, or to see how the Menzies
Creditor Services team can assist you, please
visit: www.menzies.co.uk/creditor-services.
T: +44 (0)2073 875 868 - London
T: +44 (0)2920 495 444 - Cardiff
W: menzies.co.uk/creditor-services
Building on our mature and hugely successful
product and world class support service, we are
re-imagining our risk awareness module in 2019 to
allow for hugely flexible automated worklists and
advanced visibility of areas of risk. Alongside full
integration with all credit scoring agencies (e.g.
Creditsafe), this makes Credica a single port-of-call
for analysis and automation. Impressive results
and ROI are inevitable for our customers that also
have an active input into our product development
and evolution.
T: 01235 856400
E: info@credica.co.uk
W: www.credica.co.uk
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 42

Each of our Corporate Partners is carefully selected for
their commitment to the profession, best practice in the
Credit Industry and the quality of services they provide.
We are delighted to showcase them here.
THEY'RE WAITING TO TALK TO YOU...
With 130+ years of experience, Graydon is a leading
provider of business information, analytics, insights
and solutions. Graydon helps its customers to make
fast, accurate decisions, enabling them to minimise
risk and identify fraud as well as optimise opportunities
with their commercial relationships. Graydon
uses 130+ international databases and the information
of 90+ million companies. Graydon has offices in
London, Cardiff, Amsterdam and Antwerp. Since 2016,
Graydon has been part of Atradius, one of the world’s
largest credit insurance companies.
T: +44 (0)208 515 1400
E: customerservices@graydon.co.uk
W: www.graydon.co.uk
The Atradius Collections business model is to support
businesses and their recoveries. We are seeing a
deterioration and increase in unpaid invoices placing
pressures on cashflow for those businesses. Brexit is
causing uncertainty and we are seeing a significant
impact on the UK economy with an increase in
insolvencies, now also impacting the continent and
spreading. Our geographical presence is expanding
and with a single IT platform across the globe we can
provide greater efficiencies and effectiveness to our
clients to recover their unpaid invoices.
T: +44 (0)2920 824700
W: www.atradiuscollections.com/uk/
Shoosmiths’ highly experienced team will work
closely with credit teams to recover commercial
debts as quickly and cost effectively as possible.
We have an in depth knowledge of all areas of debt
recovery, including:
• Pre-litigation services to effect early recovery and
keep costs down • Litigation service • Insolvency
• Post-litigation services including enforcement
As a client of Shoosmiths, you will find us quick to
relate to your goals, and adept at advising you on the
most effective way of achieving them.
T: 03700 86 3000
E: paula.swain@shoosmiths.co.uk
W: www.shoosmiths.co.uk
Dun & Bradstreet Finance Solutions enable modern
finance leaders and credit professionals to improve
business performance through more effective risk
management, identification of growth opportunities,
and better integration of data and insights
across the business. Powered by our Data Cloud,
our solutions provide access to the world’s most
comprehensive commercial data and insights
supplying a continually updated view of business
relationships that help finance and credit teams
stay ahead of market shifts and customer changes.
T: (0800) 001-234
W: www.dnb.co.uk
Improve cash flow, cash collection and prevent late
payment with Corrivo from Data Interconnect.
Corrivo, intelligent invoice to cash automation
highlights where accounts receivable teams should
focus their effort for best results. Easy-to-learn,
Invoicing, Collection and Dispute modules get collection
teams up and running fast. Minimal IT input required.
Real-time dashboards, reporting and self-service
customer portals, improve customer communication
and satisfaction scores. Cost-effective, flexible Corrivo,
super-charges your cash collection effort.
T: +44 (0)1367 245777
E: sales@datainterconnect.co.uk
W: www.datainterconnect.com
Serrala optimizes the Universe of Payments for
organisations seeking efficient cash visibility
and secure financial processes. As an SAP
Partner, Serrala supports over 3,500 companies
worldwide. With more than 30 years of experience
and thousands of successful customer projects,
including solutions for the entire order-to-cash
process, Serrala provides credit managers and
receivables professionals with the solutions they
need to successfully protect their business against
credit risk exposure and bad debt loss.
T: +44 118 207 0450
E: contact@serrala.com
W: www.serrala.com
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.
T: +44 (0)207 469 2577 /
E: uksales@tinubu.com
W: www.tinubu.com.
C2FO turns receivables into cashflow and payables
into income, uniquely connecting buyers and
suppliers to allow discounts in exchange for
early payment of approved invoices. Suppliers
access additional liquidity sources by accelerating
payments from buyers when required in just two
clicks, at a rate that works for them. Buyers, often
corporates with global supply chains, benefit from
the C2FO solution by improving gross margin while
strengthening the financial health of supply chains
through ethical business practices.
T: 07799 692193
E: anna.donadelli@c2fo.com
W: www.c2fo.com
Esker’s Accounts Receivable (AR) solution removes
the all-too-common obstacles preventing today’s
businesses from collecting receivables in a timely
manner. From invoice delivery to cash application,
Esker automates each step. Esker's automated AR
system powered by TermSync helps companies
modernise without replacing their core billing and
collections processes. By simply automating what
should be automated, customers get the post-sale
experience they deserve and your team gets the
tools they need.
T: +44 (0)1332 548176
E: sam.townsend@esker.co.uk
W: www.esker.co.uk
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 43

INTRODUCING OUR
CORPORATE
PARTNERS
Onguard is a specialist in credit management
software and a market leader in innovative solutions
for Order to Cash. Our integrated platform ensures
an optimal connection of all processes in the Order
to Cash chain and allows sharing of critical data. Our
intelligent tools can seamlessly interconnect and
offer overview and control of the payment process,
as well as contribute to a sustainable customer relationship.
The Onguard platform is successfully used
for successful credit management in more than 50
countries.
T: +31 (0)88 256 66 66
E: ruurd.bakker@onguard.com
W: www.onguard.com
Don't miss out
on the exciting
upcoming events
in 2020
Workshops
Round
Table Events
CICM On Tour
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.
T: 0870 081 8250
E: emea-info@bottomline.com
W: www.bottomline.com/uk
CICM Best Practice
Webinars
Shared Services Forum UK Limited
Shared Services Forum UK is a not-for-profit
membership organisation. with one vision, to form
the largest community of people from the business
world and facilitate a platform for them to work
together to mutual benefits. Benefits include; networking
with like-minded professionals in Shared
Services. The criteria is a willingness to engage in
our lively community and help shape our growth
and development.
T: 07864 652518
E: forum.manager@sharedservicesforumuk.com
W: www.sharedservicesforumuk.com
Just another great
reason to be a member
See full programme at
www.cicm.com/events
www.cicm.com | +44 (0)1780 722902
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 44

www.cicm.com
‘‘
CICM offered the
prospect of qualifications,
but as soon as I became
a member, loads of other
opportunities came to
light that I hadn’t initially
realised were available.
Molly Kane
ACICM
The value
of CICM
membership
Molly Kane ACICM
Senior Credit Controller Executive
Oxford University
Read more about her story and join your
credit community by visiting:
www.cicm.com/value-of-cicm-membership/
info@cicm.com
www.cicm.com
01780 722900
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 45

$
Advancing
Careers
Advancing
Best Practice
Advancing
Connections
Advancing
Skills
Advancing
Thinking
Advancing
Business
ADVANCING THE
CREDIT PROFESSION
01780 722900 | www.cicm.com

STATISTICS
Payment Trends
A round-up of payment data supplied by the Creditsafe Group
Top Five Prompter Payers
Region Feb 20 Change from Jan 20
South West 11.8 0.4
South East 12.4 0.7
Wales 12.5 1.1
Scotland 12.8 -3.8
Yorkshire and Humberside 13.6 -0.4
Bottom Five Poorest Payers
Region Feb 20 Change from Jan 20
Northern Ireland 20.8 5.2
East Midlands 15.3 0.3
East Anglia 14.8 -3.2
North West 14.6 -0.2
West Midlands 14.1 0.5
Getting Worse
Mining and Quarrying 4.3
Dormant 2.6
Hospitality 2
Entertainment 1.7
Education 1.1
Financial and Insurance 1
Health & Social 0.5
Wholesale and retail trade 0.2
Getting Better
International Bodies -9.8
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing -6.3
Professional and Scientific -5.4
Business from Home -4.7
Public Administration -4.3
Water & Waste -3.9
Other Service -1.9
Real Estate -1.5
Business Admin & Support -1.4
Construction -1.1
Top Five Prompter Payers
Sector Feb 20 Change from Jan 20
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 8.2 -6.3
Public Administration 8.5 -4.3
Health & Social 9.3 0.5
International Bodies 9.7 -9.8
Professional and Scientific 9.7 -5.4
IT and Comms -0.9
Transportation -0.6
Energy Supply -0.4
Manufacturing -0.1
Bottom Five Poorest Payers
Sector Feb 20 Change from Jan 20
Mining and Quarrying 27.5 4.3
Energy Supply 17.8 -0.4
Dormant 16.7 2.6
Business Admin & Support 16.4 -1.4
IT and Comms 16.4 -0.9
SCOTLAND
-3.8 DBT
Region
Getting Better – Getting Worse
-3.8
-3.2
-0.4
-0.2
5.2
1.1
0.7
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
Scotland
East Anglia
Yorkshire and Humberside
North West
Northern Ireland
Wales
South East
West Midlands
South West
East Midlands
London
NORTHERN
IRELAND
5.2 DBT
SOUTH
WEST
0.4 DBT
WALES
1.1 DBT
NORTH
WEST
-0.2 DBT
WEST
MIDLANDS
0.5 DBT
YORKSHIRE &
HUMBERSIDE
-0.4 DBT
EAST
MIDLANDS
0.3 DBT
LONDON
0.2 DBT
SOUTH
EAST
0.7 DBT
EAST
ANGLIA
-3.2 DBT
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 47

presents
www.ddisoftware.co.uk
sales@ddisoftware.co.uk
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 48

OPINION
Inspiring
the Future
“By going into local schools
and chatting about the job
you love and your route to
achieving it, you can help
to spark young people’s
imaginations about what
they can achieve in their
futures.”
Supporting the future generation of credit managers.
AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM
POLITICIANs and governments
often talk loudly
about wanting to inspire
future generations, but
it is frequently left to the
charitable sector to deliver.
This certainly seems the case with Education
and Employers, and its dedicated
‘Inspiring the Future’ initiative. As Katy
Hampshire, Director of Operations and
Programmes, explains: “By going into
local schools and chatting about the job
you love and your route to achieving it,
you can help to spark young people’s
imaginations about what they can achieve
in their futures,” she says.
Over 50,000 people have already
registered to visit a school near where
they live or work to chat informally to
young people through the Inspiring
the Future programme. How it works
is simple: volunteers sign up online
and teachers can then invite them to
visit: “You can decide what you want
to do,” Katy continues.
“You could chat informally to small
groups of kids, answering questions about
your career, or give feedback on CVs or
tips on interview techniques or just
explain how the subjects you studied are
relevant to the job you do. There is even
potential to express interest in becoming
a school governor if this is of interest.”
One of those who has already
volunteered is a CICM Honorary Vice
President, Brenda Linger FCICM: “I
signed up to Inspiring the Future in June
2015 having heard about them via a radio
programme,” she explains. “As I had never
met anyone who chose a career in credit
when leaving school/college I felt it was
an opportunity to meet with pupils from
primary and secondary schools to give
them an insight into a career in credit.
“I have always loved my job and being
given the opportunity to talk about it
and share insights and career path with
those who might be about to start their
journey or those even younger seemed
like a gift,” she continues. “The last one I
attended was in January under the banner
of ‘What’s My Line’. It was a careers
related learning for a primary school and
after some incisive questioning we were
then asked to explain to small groups
of pupils about our roles and answer
further questions. I have also taken
part in a Careers Insights Day and Mock
Interviews.”
Brenda says the programme fits well
around her schedule: “Helpfully once
you have signed up you are not inundated
with emails and via the website it is
easy to accept or decline invitations you
receive. Many of us have been helped
in our career by someone who took the
time and trouble to care, and this is a
brilliant way to give something back that
just takes a few hours a year.”
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 49

Nation State
What's changing for employers of EU Nationals?
AUTHOR – Gareth Edwards
THE UK left the European
Union at the end of January,
some 10 months later than
originally planned, and
while there was much debate
about how such an historic
event would be marked, many employers
will be wondering what happens next.
The simple answer is nothing. Yet.
Following Brexit, the UK will enter a
transitional period which will last until the
end of 2020. During this time the UK will
continue to comply with EU law, which
from an employer's perspective means that:
• EU free movement rules will continue
until 31 December 2020
• there will be no changes to the Right of
Work checks employers conduct on EU,
European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss
nationals and their family members until
1 January 2021
• EU, EEA and Swiss nationals (and their
non-EEA family members) resident in the
UK by 31 December 2020 will be eligible
to apply for settled or pre-settled status
under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• the deadline for applications to the EUSS
is 30 June 2021
The government plans to introduce a new
immigration system that will come into
force as the transitional period ends. The
Migration Advisory Committee (MAC)
published a report at the end of January
on minimum salary levels and how
the UK might learn from points-based
immigration systems in other countries
which the government will consider
when designing their new system. The
government announced mid-February that
low-skilled migrants won’t get visas and
that visa applicants will need 70 points plus
to work in the UK.
RECRUITMENT ACTIVITY
In the meantime, recruitment activity this
year will be largely unaffected by Brexit,
except for those situations where new
employees will not start work until 2021,
in which case anyone who is not a British
or Irish citizen will need to prove that they
have been granted immigration permission
to work in the UK. For EU, EEA and Swiss
nationals this might be status under the
EUSS, but for those who arrive in the UK
from 1 January 2021, they will be subject to
the new immigration system along with the
rest of the world.
So what employers should do now?
While there is no requirement to do so, it
is best practice for employers to inform
employees about the EUSS to ensure
maximum awareness that some will need
to make an application in order to continue
living in the UK.
The government has an Employer
Toolkit that has been specially designed
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 50

HR MATTERS
AUTHOR – Gareth Edwards
for employers who want to provide
information to their employees about
the EUSS. The Toolkit contains leaflets,
briefing packs and factsheets to help
employers communicate accurate
information on the EUSS to their
employees and can be either circulated
electronically or printed out and placed
in communal workplaces.
Additional information that might
be worth circulating to employees can
be found on the government's website
including a link to the EUSS application
form.
Some firms may have employees who
do not need to apply themselves, but have
family members who will need to apply,
so it is suggested circulating information
to all members of staff regardless.
WORKFORCE AUDIT
The difficulties which employers will face
if existing members of staff are no longer
able to work do not need spelling out
here. For those employers who have not
already done so, it’s recommended that
they conduct an audit of their workforce
to identify those members of staff who
are EU, EEA and Swiss nationals. To
ensure that those who need to apply do
so, employers should ask members of
staff to provide them with confirmation
that they have been granted status under
the EUSS. Company records can then be
updated and – as the deadline approaches
– steps can be taken to remind employees
who have not applied of the requirement
to do so. This is one way employers can
have some comfort that there will be
minimal disruption to the workforce as
2021 approaches.
Employers should think about the
most appropriate way of conducting such
a review and communication in ways
which do not fall foul of any accusations
of discrimination or victimisation.
From the MAC's report and what the
government has said so far, it seems likely
that employer sponsorship – similar to the
current Tier 2 immigration arrangements
– will continue to form the backbone of the
UK's work visa routes. Employers without
a sponsor licence may wish to consider
applying for one now, particularly those
who are likely to continue recruiting EU
nationals in the future.
For those employers with a Tier 2
licence, they would be advised to review
current compliance to ensure that
their licence is not at risk and that it
can continue to be used when the new
immigration system comes into force.
Gareth Edwards is a partner in the
employment team at
VWV. gedwards@vwv.co.uk
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 51

ADVERTORIAL
A SUCCESSFUL
BUSINESS IS A
PEOPLE BUSINESS…
Paula Swain, who heads Shoosmiths’ debt recovery
operation, maintains that investing in ongoing training for
the communication skills required for dispute resolution
is key for everyone in the team – including partners,
experienced lawyers, legal executives and paralegals – to
ensure continued success.
CLIENTS, such as Robert Marr, Head
of Legal, Apogee Corporation,
have commented that Shoosmiths’
commercial recoveries service
is ‘at a much higher level than
that provided by an ordinary
commercial debt recovery solicitor’. Chambers,
the highly respected guide to leading UK lawyers
and trusted source of legal market intelligence for
over 30 years, seems to support that view, ranking
Shoosmiths as National Leaders (outside London)
in 2019 for the work of its dispute resolution
lawyers based across England, Scotland and
Northern Ireland.
Shoosmiths’ Scottish team, led by partner
Andrew Foyle, underlined its increasing national
presence and success by achieving the accolade
Debt Recovery Team of the Year at The Herald Law
Awards of Scotland 2019 – the fourth consecutive
year that the litigation and recoveries team in the
Edinburgh office has won the coveted award.
The firm’s relationship as legal partner to the
CICM itself further reinforces the regard in which
Shoosmiths operation is held. Shoosmiths will
shortly assist the CICM with an event in Northern
Ireland, through its recently opened and rapidly
expanding Belfast office and with Gillian Crotty as
the lead litigation partner there.
LOCAL PRESENCE
Paula comments that a key factor in Shoosmiths’
continuing success and recognition, which the
Scottish award and all the other recognition
reflects, is undoubtedly its genuinely national
reach: “Given our spread of locations in 13 offices
across the UK, you are never far from Shoosmiths.
If we do need to value-add our service then we
can provide a single source solution by calling
‘‘If a case is being
handled in our
Solent office for
example, but a
settlement meeting
would be more
conveniently held
in Manchester –
or Edinburgh or
Belfast – then we
can accommodate
that.’’
on the expertise of litigation colleagues across
our network at a location convenient for the
client. This is supplied without the additional
inconvenience and expense of travel that would
otherwise be passed on. If a case is being handled
in our Solent office for example, but a settlement
meeting would be more conveniently held in
Manchester – or Edinburgh or Belfast – then we
can accommodate that.”
That national presence is made even more
attractive by a coherent and consistent approach,
using the same case management systems,
the same billing systems and structure and an
identical approach to team management and
client handling and reporting. Teams focus on
a small group of client accounts, building a
commercial understanding of the client’s business
and credit management function. This includes
how they deal with their trade suppliers in order
to get a real understanding of the client’s aims and
objectives.
Monthly meetings involving the full national
recoveries team discuss service delivery,
improvement and CRM issues and how best
to deliver value. Clients require the benefit of
Shoosmiths’ expertise and commercially savvy
advice on the right tactical approach. There is
little point in offering a solution that pursues a
legal principle if that would cost more than the
debt itself.
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
But Paula still maintains that, overarching all
these important considerations, is the need to
recognise that the firm’s only real assets are
its own people and how they communicate,
interact and deal with others. This conviction that
communication skills and the ongoing investment
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 52

ADVERTORIAL
The firm’s relationship
as legal partner to the
CICM itself further
reinforces the regard
in which Shoosmiths
operation is held.
Paula Swain
“Our clients expect
and demand highly
skilled staff, who
are increasingly
competent in smart
query management
and commercial
dispute resolution.’’
in training for them are paramount is driven
partly by her own belief and by proven
experience – i.e. it gets the desired result –
but also by customer demand: “Our clients
expect and demand highly skilled staff,” says
Paula, “who are increasingly competent in
smart query management and commercial
dispute resolution, capable of dealing with
disclosures of vulnerability while complying
with data protection law. Where possible,
this approach is designed to recover debt
without the need to resort to the costlier
extremes of the legal process.”
Paula believes that the growing
significance of query resolution in the
work of the recoveries team nationwide is
also a reflection of a trend she has noticed
of reducing head count in client credit
management operations: “The completely
understandable business imperative of
controlling costs by reducing headcount does
seem to have had an impact on the volume
and the nature of the work we do. Queries
that perhaps would have been resolved by an
in-house client team drift and escalate,” she
explains, “meaning we increasingly have to
take on that query resolution function which
demands a slightly different approach.
Consequently, our pre-litigation collections
solution becomes even more significant and
much broader in scope, demanding different
sensitivities and different skill sets.”
For Shoosmiths, change the last para to
say: Shooemiths' breadth of service, from
auditing and reporting, a ‘triage’ style case
review to assess readiness for court action
and a pre-litigation collection solution
to specialist litigation support, remains
as important as geographic presence
for its clients. However, as far as Paula
is concerned, it’s having the tools and
giving her people the skills to do their job
effectively, efficiently and empathically that
are the most important considerations in
providing a recoveries service that is out of
the ordinary.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 53

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Get in touch with the CICM by emailing branches@cicm.com
with your branch news and event reports. Please only send up to 400 words
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Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 54

THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND
COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS
CM April 2016.indd 1 22/03/2016 11:42
THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND
COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS
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THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND
COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS
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THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND
COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS
CM June 2016.indd 1 20/05/2016 11:19
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
contact: cicmmembership@cicm.com
CM
Credit Management magazine for consumer
and commercial credit professionals
CREDIT MANAGEMENT
CM
APRIL 2016 £10.00
FALLING STAR
THE INDUSTRY SPEAKS OUT
ON THE EU REFERENDUM
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CREDIT MANAGEMENT
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THE CHALLENGE OF DOING
BUSINESS IN SAUDI
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SPEAKING OUT ABOUT
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Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 55

www.cicm.com
‘‘
Since being a
member I am kept
updated on latest changes
to laws and regulations,
good governance and
not forgetting the
wealth of knowledge.
Laural Jefferies, FCICM
The value
of CICM
membership
Laural Jefferies, FCICM
Head of Accounts Receivable,
Fashion Edge Ltd
Read more about her story and join your
credit community by visiting:
www.cicm.com/value-of-cicm-membership/
info@cicm.com
www.cicm.com
01780 722900
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 56

IT’S A FUNNY OLD WORLD…
Taking the Michael
An occasional look at the more absurd side of life
from the credit industry and beyond.
AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM
THERE is a famous story in
advertising circles of a bank
some 30 or so years ago who
wanted to target high-net
worth individuals with a
direct marketing campaign.
Rather than opting for the tried, tested
and safe route in early drafts of starting
the latter with ‘Dear (insert name)’
or something similar, the copywriter
opted instead for ‘Dear Rich Bastard’.
Unfortunately for him, and the bank, the
joke was never picked up, and an entire
marketing programme was despatched
to hundreds of rich bastards, addressing
them as such. (Reports that I was said
copywriter have been greatly exaggerated.
Ed).
One would have thought, therefore,
that such a thing could never happen
again. I have no doubt that the insurance
giant Aviva probably thought so too,
but they managed to go one better. Last
month they were obliged to apologise
after sending out thousands of emails
where they addressed all of their clients
as ‘Michael’. They said that a temporary
technical error was behind the blunder
– adding that there had been no wider
privacy issues relating to people’s personal
data.
The official statement read: ‘We
sent out some emails last week to
existing customers, which, as a result
of a temporary technical error in our
mailing template, mistakenly referred to
customers as ‘Michael’. We’ve apologised
to these customers and reassured them
that the only error in the email was the
use of the incorrect name as a greeting.
There was no issue with personal data;
the remainder of the email and its content
was correct.’
The apology prompted several ‘real’
Michaels to take to Twitter, especially
those who had been apologised to
for no apparent reason, thus further
compounding the farce. One newspaper
also decided to helpfully inform us
that there were only 869 babies born in
England and Wales called Michael in
2018. So there you go.
Killing time
VERY occasionally a story reaches the
editor’s ear that is clearly not meant for
publication but is nonetheless so funny
that it deserves special attention. So to
protect the innocent, I have changed the
name of the organisation concerned and
all of the characters involved.
I want you to imagine an important
organisation sitting down to a board
meeting. I want you to imagine also that
this same organisation has decided that
instead of minuting the meeting in the
usual way, they will trial a new voice
recording and transcribing technology
(called Otter.AI) to save time and improve
accuracy of any notetaking.
It all sounds like a genius plan, until
such time as they need to review the
transcript from the meeting. No-one
now knows what was done or said, but
I can confirm that neither Barack
Obama nor Caitlin Jenner were in the
meeting, there is no such thing as ‘an
inscribed pan’, and no-one has ordered
a ‘hit’ on a well-known member of the
credit community. Unless, of course, you
know different.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 57

Wouldyou benefit from
collecting 90%ofyour aged
debt in 14 days?
FROM 8% NO WIN-NO FEE COMMISSION
www.tauruscollections.com
01332565 350/ info@tauruscollections.com
Elections 2020
NOMINATIONS NOW CLOSE 13 APRIL 2020
The Advisory Council influences the future direction of the Institute.
Its members reflect the diverse range of skills and experience amongst the
Institute’s membership, and bring valuable expertise and knowledge.
Being a member of the Advisory Council is your opportunity to:
• Share your knowledge and expertise to help the CICM advance the credit profession
• Assist in steering the strategy and future direction of the Institute
• Contribute to raising the profile of the largest recognised professional body in the
world for the credit management community
There are 23 Advisory Council positions open for nomination representing our
11 regions and the trade, consumer, international and credit services sectors.
There is still time to submit your nomination…
Visit www.cicm.com/elections-2020/ or email elections@cicm.com
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / September 2019 / PAGE 58

BE ONE CLICK AWAY
FROM OUR WEBSITE
How to set up a great one click link to the CICM website on
your mobile phone. Follow these four simple steps...
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4
Go to cicm.com > Click highlighted icon at bottom of screen > Click add to Home screen icon
> Click add icon at top right of screen > CICM icon will appear on your screen
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4
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ADVANCING THE CREDIT PROFESSION IN CREDIT MANAGEMENT
T: +44 (0)1780 722900 | WWW.CICM.COM

TAKE CONTROL OF
YOUR CREDIT CAREER
CREDIT COLLECTIONS MANAGER
Stevenage, £40,000-£55,000 + bonus + benefits
A progressive and innovative organisation based in Stevenage
is recruiting for a credit and collections manager. In this newly
created role, you will take a lead on the mission of improving
the debt strategy and collection process to enhance cashflow.
You will have experience working within financial services,
banking, leasing or property and business to consumer collections.
Ref: 3767459
Contact Charlotte Clarke on 01923 205286 or
email charlotte.clarke@hays.com
CREDIT MANAGER
Birmingham, £35,000-£40,000 + annual bonus
A large global business that has its shared service centre in
Birmingham city is looking for an experienced credit professional
to manage a team of credit controllers and cash allocation
administrators. The successful candidate will have the drive
and resilience to manage change and improve behaviours.
Ref: 3736576
Contact Peter Kidd on 07387 157254 or
email peter.kidd@hays.com
REVENUE CONTROLLER
London, £42,000 + bonus
A top 30 international law firm based in London is looking
for a revenue controller to join its team. In your new role, you
will be responsible for producing reports, analysis of billable
time and reviewing and updating WIP provisions. You will be
a highly motivated individual with excellent interpersonal,
time management and organisation skills.
Ref: 3759228
Contact Joe Morris on 020 3465 0020 or
email joe.morris@hays.com
CREDIT CONTROLLER
Richmond upon Thames, £27,000 + benefits
A unique opportunity is available for an innovative and
experienced credit controller to join a vibrant and growing events
company. You will be organised, proactive and a driven credit
controller that can build and develop a new operation within the
events sector. This is a fantastic opportunity where you can achieve
results and be rewarded accordingly. Ref: 3720445
Contact Mark Ordona on 020 8247 4042 or
email mark.ordona@hays.com
hays.co.uk/creditcontrol
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / September 2019 / PAGE 60

CREDIT CONTROLLER
Central Reading, £25,000 + flexible benefits
A leading national top 60 law firm with over 300 fee earners
and multiple offices located round the UK is looking for a credit
controller on a six month contract. You will have previous legal
experience, be well organised with a methodical approach and
ability to prioritise. You will also have excellent communication
skills and be a reliable and adaptable team player with the ability
to work well under pressure. Ref: 3750904
Contact Molly Nobbs on 01189 070321 or
email molly.nobbs@hays.com
CREDIT CONTROL ADMINISTRATOR
Kettering, £19,000
A fast-growing IT based company is looking for a credit control
administrator. You will report into the Credit Manager and support
the credit control team with administrative duties. Other duties will
include processing invoices, raising sales orders and updating the
database with client information. This is a fantastic opportunity to
kickstart your career in credit control. Ref: 3765014
Contact Alex Smith on 01604 621733 or
email alex.smith@hays.com
This is just a small selection of the many opportunities we
have available for credit professionals. To find out more visit
us online or contact Kabir Gulabkhan, Hays Credit Management
UK Lead on 020 3465 0020

WHAT'S ON
We are inviting all members to bring a colleague to a CICM membership event,
free of charge. Book online on our website www.cicm.com/cicm-events
CICM EVENTS
1 April
CICM Qualifications
Members Surgery Linkedin
ONLINE
Open All Day
Want quick answers to your questions from our
experts? Join our live Linkedin chat.
2 April
Seminar – Optimising credit and risk
management for effective cashflow and growth
London
Join us for this free event in London’s iconic
Gherkin to receive insight from top specialists
in the field of Credit Management.
Book online at www.cicm.com/cicm-events or
email events@cicm.com for more information.
Venue: Searcys at The Gerkin
30 St Mary Axe, London, EC3A 8EP
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED
OTHER INDUSTRY EVENTS
21 April
CICM East Midlands Branch
Derby
Take Control of your Invoice-to-Cash Process –
Book online at www.cicm.com/cicm-events or
email events@cicm.com for more information.
Venue: Radison Blu Hotel
Herald Way, Pegasus Business Park, East
Midlands Airport, Derby, Derby, DE74 2TZ
CPD
1
8 April
Key IVR Webinar – Breaking Down the Barriers &
Maximising Collections in Your Organisation
ONLINE: 13:00 – 14:00
Chasing debt or reconciling accounts can be a
tricky, costly and time consuming task for many
organisations. Listen to Key IVR discuss methods
of how to maximise collections efficiently, whilst
reducing costs and improving daily operations.
Book online at www.cicm.com/cicm-events.
8 April
CICM Qualifications
Members Webinar
ONLINE: 13:00 – 14:00
Want quick answers to your questions from our
experts? Join our Q&A session webinar where our
Credit Academy team focus on the Credit and
Collections qualification.
21 April
CICM Qualifications
Members Surgery Facebook
ONLINE: 12:30 – 13:30
Want quick answers to your questions from our
experts? Join our live Facebook chat.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 62

More reasons to be a member
Make connections and keep up-to-date
with our exclusive events.
Announcement
Due to the latest
public health concerns,
our events calendar is
changing daily.
OTHER INDUSTRY EVENTS
28 April
CICM Qualifications
Members Surgery Twitter
ONLINE: 12:30 – 13:30
Want quick answers to your questions from
our experts? Join our live Twitter chat.
23 April
Forums International
Stratford-upon-Avon
IT Distributor & Reseller Credit Forum
Book online at www.cicm.com/cicm-events or
email events@cicm.com for more information.
Venue: Stratford Manor Hotel, Warwick Road,
Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 0PY
23 April
Let’s Talk Credit
Oxford
FMCG (Food, drink, tobacco) UK
For further details contact:
brent.cumming@letstalkcredit.co.uk
Many of our events are
now available online,
along with a series of
live webinars - so please
check our website for
updates, further details
and instructions on how
to register.
CICM EVENTS
23 April
Hays
Reading
How automation is impacting Credit Management
For further details contact Tony Lambert,
Business Director, on T: 07921026446 or E:
tony.lambert@hays.com. Venue: Hays Reading, 6th
Floor, The Blade, Abbey Square, Reading, RG1 3BE
5 May
Menzies Webinar
ONLINE: 13:00, Duration: 30 minutes
This webinar will look at the different types
of documentation that are received when a
customer enters an insolvency,
Presented by Bethan Evans, Menzies
19 May
Let’s Talk Credit
Where
Credit Risk Forum – Construction
For further details contact:
brent.cumming@letstalkcredit.co.uk
CICM EVENTS
6 May
Dun & Bradstreet Webinar
ONLINE: 13:00, Duration: 30 minutes
Enhanced Country Risk Insights for Finance /
Business leaders. Presented by Andrew Cooper,
Strategic Development Leader –
Finance Solutions Risk – Dun & Bradstreet
20 May
International Credit Forum
London
*Book online at www.cicm.com/cicm-events or
email events@cicm.com for more information.
Venue: Marsh JLT Speciality
138 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7AW
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 63

Cr£ditWho?
CICM Directory of Services
COLLECTIONS
INTERNATIONAL COLLECTIONS
COLLECTIONS LEGAL
Controlaccount Plc
Address: Compass House, Waterside, Hanbury Road,
Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 4FD
T: 01527 549 522
E: sales@controlaccount.com
W: www.controlaccount.com
Controlaccount Plc provides an efficient, effective and ethical
commercial debt recovery service focused on improving business
cash flow whilst preserving customer relationships and established
reputations. Working with leading brand names in the UK and
internationally, we deliver a bespoke service to our clients. We offer
a no collect, no fee service without any contractual ties in. Where
applicable, we can utilise the Late Payment of Commercial Debts
Act (2013) to help you redress the cost of collection. Our clients
also benefit from our in-house international trace and legal counsel
departments and have complete transparency and up to the minute
information on any accounts placed with us for recovery through our
online debt management system, ClientWeb.
INTERNATIONAL COLLECTIONS
Baker Ing International Limited
Office 7, 35-37 Ludgate Hill, London. EC4M 7JN
Contact: Lisa Baker-Reynolds
Email: lisa@bakering.global
Website: https://www.bakering.global/contact/
Tel: 07717 020659
Baker Ing International is a dedicated team of Credit industry
experience that, combined, covers time served in most industries.
The team is wholly comprised of working Credit Manager’s across
the Globe with a minimum threshold of ten years working experience
within Credit Management. The team offers a comprehensive
service to clients - International Debt Recovery, Credit Control, Legal
Services & more
Our mission is to help companies improve the cost and efficiency
of their Credit Management processes in order to limit the risks
associated with extending credit and trading around the globe.
How can we help you - call Lisa Baker Reynolds on
+44(0)7717 020659 or email lisa@bakering.global
COLLECTIONS LEGAL
Lovetts Solicitors
Lovetts, Bramley House, The Guildway,
Old Portsmouth Road,
Guildford, Surrey, GU3 1LR
T: 01483 347001
E: info@lovetts.co.uk
W: www.lovetts.co.uk
With more than 25yrs experience in UK & international business debt
collection and recovery, Lovetts Solicitors collects £40m+ every year
on behalf of our clients. Services include:
• Letters Before Action (LBA) from £1.50 + VAT (successful in 86%
of cases)
• Advice and dispute resolution
• Legal proceedings and enforcement
• 24/7 access to your cases via our in-house software solution,
CaseManager
Don’t just take our word for it, here’s some recent customer feedback:
“All our service expectations have been exceeded. The online
system is particularly useful and extremely easy to use. Lovetts has a
recognisable brand that generates successful results.”
Atradius Collections Ltd
3 Harbour Drive,
Capital Waterside, Cardiff, CF10 4WZ
Phone: +44 (0)29 20824397
Mobile: +44 (0)7767 865821
E-mail:yvette.gray@atradius.com
Website: atradiuscollections.com
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 Yvette Gray Country Director, UK
and Ireland.
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
Blaser Mills Law
40 Oxford Road,
High Wycombe,
Buckinghamshire. HP11 2EE
T: 01494 478660
E: Jackie Ray jar@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
Keebles
Capitol House, Russell Street, Leeds LS1 5SP
T: 0113 399 3482
E: charise.marsden@keebles.com
W: www.keebles.com
Keebles debt recovery team was named “Legal Team of the Year”
at the 2019 CICM British Credit Awards.
According to our clients “Keebles stand head and shoulders above
others in the industry. A team that understands their client’s
business and know exactly how to speedily maximise recovery.
Professional, can do attitude runs through the team which is not
seen in many other practices.”
We offer a service with no hidden costs, giving you certainty and
peace of mind.
• ‘No recovery, no fee’ for pre-legal work.
• Fixed fees for issuing court proceedings and pursuing claims to
judgment and enforcement.
• Success rate in excess of 80%.
• 24 hour turnaround on instructions.
• Real-time online access to your cases to review progress.
CONSULTANCY
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
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 64

FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION OPTIONS AND PRICING CONTACT
russell@cabbells.uk 0203 603 7937
CREDIT INFORMATION
CREDIT INFORMATION
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.
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
With 130+ years of experience, Graydon is a leading provider of
business information, analytics, insights and solutions. Graydon
helps its customers to make fast, accurate decisions, enabling them
to minimise risk and identify fraud as well as optimise opportunities
with their commercial relationships. Graydon uses 130+ international
databases and the information of 90+ million companies. Graydon
has offices in London, Cardiff, Amsterdam and Antwerp. Since 2016,
Graydon has been part of Atradius, one of the world’s largest credit
insurance companies.
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
Founded in 2000, Tinubu Square is a software vendor, enabler of the
Credit Insurance, Surety and Trade Finance digital transformation.
Tinubu Square enables organizations across the world to significantly
reduce their exposure to risk and their financial, operational and technical
costs with best-in-class technology solutions and services. Tinubu
Square provides SaaS solutions and services to different businesses
including credit insurers, receivables financing organizations and
multinational corporations.
Tinubu Square has built an ecosystem of customers in over 20 countries
worldwide and has a global presence with offices in Paris, London, New
York, Montreal and Singapore.
CREDIT INFORMATION
THE ONLY AML RESOURCE YOU NEED
SmartSearch
SmartSearch, Harman House,
Station Road,Guiseley, Leeds, LS20 8BX
T: +44 (0)113 238 7660
E: info@smartsearchuk.com W: www.smartsearchuk.com
KYC, AML and CDD all rely on a combination of deep data with broad
coverage, highly automated flexible technology with an innovative
and intuitive customer interface. Key features include automatic
Worldwide Sanction & PEP checking, Daily Monitoring, Automated
Enhanced Due Diligence and pro-active customer management.
Choose SmartSearch as your benchmark.
CEDAR
ROSE
R
Cedar Rose
3, Georgiou Katsonotou Street,3036, Limassol, Cyprus
E: info@cedar-rose.com T: +357 25346630
W: www.cedar-rose.com
Cedar Rose has been globally recognised as the expert for
credit reports, due diligence and data for the Middle East
and North African countries since 1997. We now cover over
170 countries with the same high quality, expert analysis
and attention to detail we are well-known and trusted for.
Making best use of artificial intelligence and technology, Cedar
Rose has won several awards including Credit Excellence
& European Business Awards. Our website is a one-stopshop
for your business intelligence solutions. We are the
ultimate source; with competitive prices and friendly customer
service - whether you need one or one thousand reports.
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.
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
ONGUARD
T: +31 (0)88 256 66 66
E: ruurd.bakker@onguard.com
W: www.onguard.com
Onguard is specialist in credit management software and market
leader in innovative solutions for order to cash. Our integrated
platform ensures an optimal connection of all processes in the order
to cash chain and allows sharing of critical data.
Intelligent tools that can seamlessly be interconnected and offer
overview and control of the payment process, as well as contribute to
a sustainable customer relationship.
In more than 50 countries the Onguard platform is successfully used
for successful credit management.
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.
Data Interconnect Ltd
Units 45-50
Shrivenham Hundred Business Park
Majors Road, Watchfield
Swindon, SN6 8TZ
T: +44 (0)1367 245777
E: sales@datainterconnect.co.uk
W: www.datainterconnect.com
Data Interconnect provides Intelligent Invoice to Cash Automation.
Corrivo Billing, Collection and Dispute modules seamlessly integrate
for a rich, end-to-end A/R user experience. Branded customer
portals, real-time dashboards, advanced reporting, available in 15
languages as standard; are some of the reason why global brands
choose Data Interconnect.
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.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 65 continues on page 66 >

Cr£ditWho?
CICM Directory of Services
FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION
OPTIONS AND PRICING CONTACT
russell@cabbells.uk 0203 603 7937
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
DATA AND ANALYTICS
INSOLVENCY
ESKER
Sam Townsend Head of Marketing
Northern Europe Esker Ltd.
T: +44 (0)1332 548176 M: +44 (0)791 2772 302
W: www.esker.co.uk LinkedIn: Esker – Northern Europe
Twitter: @EskerNEurope Esker.blog
Esker’s Accounts Receivable (AR) solution removes the all-toocommon
obstacles preventing today’s businesses from collecting
receivables in a timely manner. From invoice delivery to cash
application, Esker automates each step. Esker's automated AR
system powered by TermSync helps companies modernise without
replacing their core billing and collections processes. By simply
automating what should be automated, customers get the post-sale
experience they deserve and your team gets the tools they need.
C2FO
C2FO Ltd
105 Victoria Steet
SW1E 6QT
T: 07799 692193
E: anna.donadelli@c2fo.com
W: www.c2fo.com
C2FO turns receivables into cashflow and payables into income,
uniquely connecting buyers and suppliers to allow discounts in
exchange for early payment of approved invoices. Suppliers access
additional liquidity sources by accelerating payments from buyers
when required in just two clicks, at a rate that works for them.
Buyers, often corporates with global supply chains, benefit from the
C2FO solution by improving gross margin while strengthening the
financial health of supply chains through ethical business practices.
Menzies
T: +44 (0)2073 875 868 - London
T: +44 (0)2920 495 444 - Cardiff
W: menzies.co.uk/creditor-services
Operating across seven UK offices, Menzies LLP is an accountancy
firm delivering traditional services combined with strategic
commercial thinking. Our services include: advisory, audit,
corporate and personal tax, corporate finance, forensic accounting,
outsourcing, wealth management and business recovery –
the latter of which includes our specialist offering developed
specifically for creditors. For more information on this, or to see
how the Menzies Creditor Services team can assist you, please
visit: www.menzies.co.uk/creditor-services. Bethan Evans, Partner
and Head of Menzies Creditor Services, email: bevans@
menzies.co.uk and phone: +44 (0)2920 447512
LEGAL
SERRALA
Serrala UK Ltd, 125 Wharfdale Road
Winnersh Triangle, Wokingham
Berkshire RG41 5RB
E: r.hammons@serrala.com W: www.serrala.com
T +44 118 207 0450 M +44 7788 564722
Serrala optimizes the Universe of Payments for organisations seeking
efficient cash visibility and secure financial processes. As an SAP
Partner, Serrala supports over 3,500 companies worldwide. With
more than 30 years of experience and thousands of successful
customer projects, including solutions for the entire order-tocash
process, Serrala provides credit managers and receivables
professionals with the solutions they need to successfully protect
their business against credit risk exposure and bad debt loss.
identeco – Business Support Toolkit
Compass House, Waterside, Hanbury Road, Bromsgrove,
Worcestershire B60 4FD
Telephone: 01527 549 531 Email: info@identeco.co.uk
Web: www.identeco.co.uk
identeco’s Business Support Toolkit is an online portal connecting
its subscribers to a range of business services that help them to
engage with new prospects, understand their customers and
mitigate risk. Annual subscription is £79.95 per year for unlimited
access. Providing company information and financial reports,
director and shareholder structures as well as a unique financial
health rating, balance sheets, ratio analysis, and any detrimental
data that might be associated with a company. Other services also
included in the subscription include a business names database,
acquisition targets, a data audit service as well as unlimited,
bespoke marketing and telesales listings for any sector.
FINANCIAL PR
Shoosmiths
Email: paula.swain@shoosmiths.co.uk
Tel: 03700 86 3000 W: www.shoosmiths.co.uk
Shoosmiths’ highly experienced team will work closely with credit
teams to recover commercial debts as quickly and cost effectively as
possible. We have an in depth knowledge of all areas of debt recovery,
including:
• Pre-litigation services to effect early recovery and keep costs down
• Litigation service
• Post-litigation services including enforcement
• Insolvency
As a client of Shoosmiths, you will find us quick to relate to your goals,
and adept at advising you on the most effective way of achieving them.
PAYMENT SOLUTIONS
Redwood Collections Ltd
0208 288 3555
enquiry@redwoodcollections.com
Airport House, Purley Way, Croydon, CR0 0XZ
“Redwood Collections offers a complete portfolio of debt collection
services ranging from sensitive client-debtor mediation through to
legal and insolvency action.
Incorporated in 2009, we are pleased to represent in excess of
11,000 clients. Whatever your debt collection needs, we have the
expertise and resources to deliver a fast, efficient and cost-effective
solution.”
DATA AND ANALYTICS
Dun & Bradstreet
Marlow International, Parkway Marlow
Buckinghamshire SL7 1AJ
Telephone: (0800) 001-234 Website: www.dnb.co.uk
Dun & Bradstreet Finance Solutions enable modern finance
leaders and credit professionals to improve business performance
through more effective risk management, identification of growth
opportunities, and better integration of data and insights across the
business. Powered by our Data Cloud, our solutions provide access
to the world’s most comprehensive commercial data and insights
- supplying a continually updated view of business relationships
that helps finance and credit teams stay ahead of market shifts and
customer changes. Learn more here:
www.dnb.co.uk/modernfinance
Gravity Global
Floor 6/7, Gravity Global, 69 Wilson St, London, EC2A 2BB
T: +44(0)207 330 8888. E: sfeast@gravityglobal.com
W: www.gravityglobal.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 22 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.
FORUMS
FORUMS INTERNATIONAL
T: +44 (0)1246 555055
E: info@forumsinternational.co.uk
W: www.forumsinternational.co.uk
Forums International Ltd have been running Credit and Industry
Forums since 1991. We cover a range of industry sectors and
International trading, attendance is for Credit Professionals of all
levels. Our forums are not just meetings but communities which
aim to prepare our members for the challenges ahead. Attending
for the first time is free for you to gauge the benefits and meet the
members and we only have pre-approved Partners, so you will never
intentionally be sold to.
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.
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.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 66

PAYMENT SOLUTIONS
ARE YOU A LEADER
OR FOLLOWER?
Key IVR
T: +44 (0) 1302 513 000
E: sales@keyivr.com
W: www.keyivr.com
Key IVR are proud to have joined the Chartered Institute of Credit
Management’s Corporate partnership scheme. The CICM is a
recognised and trusted professional entity within credit management
and a perfect partner for Key IVR. We are delighted to be providing
our services to the CICM to assist with their membership collection
activities. Key IVR provides a suite of products to assist companies
across the globe with credit management. Our service is based
around giving the end-user the means to make a payment when and
how they choose. Using automated collection methods, such as a
secure telephone payment line (IVR), web and SMS allows companies
to free up valuable staff time away from typical debt collection.
RECRUITMENT
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.
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.
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
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2020 / PAGE 67

Providers ofethical and effective
commercial debt recovery
Specialists in transport and logistics,
manufacturing, healthcare, education
and commercial recoveries for 40 years
controlaccount.com