CM May 2020

CREDIT MANAGEMENT 

CM 

MAY 2020 £12.50 

THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND 

COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS 

Swings and 

Roundabouts 

A rough ride for 

Debt Purchase 

Are latest insolvency 

predictions scare 

mongering? Page 12 

Sean Feast speaks to 

Paladin's Steve Fox. 

Page 24

Providers ofethical and effective 

commercial debt recovery 

Specialists in transport and logistics, 

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controlaccount.com

MAY 2020 

www.cicm.com 

24 

INTERVIEW 

Steve Fox 

28 

ASK THE EXPERTS 

Matthew Godby MCICM 

10 

NEWS FOCUS 

Tim Vine 

16 

LEAD ARTICLE 

Heather Greig-Smith 

CONTENTS 

10 – Empty Skies 

What lessons can we learn from the 

collapse of Flybe? 

12 – Insolvency News 

Have predictions of mass 

administrations been exaggerated? 

16 – Swings and Roundabouts 

What next for the debt purchase sector 

post COVID-19? 

21 – Lending a hand 

Aneesh Varma considers how the world 

of consumer credit will change in the 

months to come 

22 – Engaged Tone 

How will collections agencies measure 

future success? 

24 – Plains Speaking 

Sean Feast speaks to Paladin’s 

Steve Fox 

28 – Controlling Influence 

Establishing a strategic credit 

management department – Part 2 

31 – Captive Audience 

The new challenges of presenting from 

your bedroom! 

35 – Silence is Golden 

Our concluding focus on Vietnam 

where silence is not to be interrupted 

Publisher 

Chartered Institute of Credit Management 

The Water Mill, Station Road, South Luffenham 

OAKHAM, LE15 8NB 

Telephone: 01780 722900 

Email: editorial@cicm.com 

Website: www.cicm.com 

CMM: www.creditmanagement.org.uk 

CICM GOVERNANCE 

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) 

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. 

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. 

Managing Editor 

Sean Feast FCICM 

Deputy Editor 

Iona Yadallee 

Art Editor 

Andrew Morris 

Telephone: 01780 722910 

Email: andrew.morris@cicm.com 

Editorial Team 

Rob Howard and Imogen Hart 

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2020 subscriptions 

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Single copies: £12.50 

ISSN 0265-2099 

Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / May 2020 / PAGE 3

EDITOR’S COLUMN 

The good, the bad and 

the downright ugly 

Sean Feast FCICM 

Managing Editor 

Acrisis always gets the 

best and the worst out of 

people. 

Isn’t it, for example, 

somehow uplifting to 

stand on your doorstep 

on a summer’s evening and listen to the 

ripple of applause and cheers for our NHS 

and care workers? Isn’t it lovely also to hear 

how caterers are diverting their efforts 

away from fine dining to provide ready 

meals for the poor and the vulnerable? 

On the other hand, isn’t it somehow 

vulgar that footballers and club chairmen 

aren’t bright enough to realise that rather 

than furloughing their admin and ground 

staff, they could perhaps surrender their 

£200,000 a week pay packets and put 

some of their own money back into the 

club, rather than expecting the humble 

tax payer to pimp their next Overfinch 

or supply the next crate of Cristal? The 

government furlough scheme, you idiots, 

is not designed so you can continue your 

pointless existence so get over yourselves 

and do the right thing. Rant over. 

A crisis also brings out the fantasists 

who honestly and earnestly believe 

that the answer to our current woes is 

simply to say that all bets are off; let’s all 

stop paying our council tax, credit card 

bills, rent – everything. Let’s freeze 

the lot. No let’s go even further and 

just write it all off altogether. What a 

lovely theory. But of course, anyone with 

an ounce of sense knows this thinking 

is fatally flawed. Indeed, it is potentially 

dangerous, and I wonder how much is 

driven by political beliefs and prejudices 

rather than clear thinking. It’s easy, for 

example, to win friends by giving every 

debtor a three-month ‘break’. It’s easy also 

to tell collections agencies that they must 

stop all contact. But is it the right thing to 

do? The industry itself certainly doesn’t 

think so (see news page 7). 

There is a huge irony that if the 

collections industry no longer existed, 

then the money they contribute to 

the debt advice sector would dry up, 

and the customers who the FCA so 

earnestly wish to protect would be left 

up the creek without the proverbial. The 

idea is fanciful, of course, but it does 

make you think harder about the 

unintended consequences of wholesale 

change. 

Buried somewhere in all this failed 

thinking too appears to be the belief that 

every landlord is a modern-day Rackman, 

every debt collector a bully, and every 

creditor a faceless financial institution. 

They are not; often they are small 

businesses. 

There are people out there who should 

know better and it’s time to put divisions 

aside and work together. And that includes 

footballers. 

They could perhaps surrender their £200,000 a week 

pay packets and put some of their own money back 

into the club, rather than expecting the humble tax 

payer to pimp their next Overfinch or supply the next 

crate of Cristal. 


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CMNEWS 

A round-up of news stories from the 

world of consumer and commercial credit. 

Written by – Sean Feast FCICM 

Payment holidays are 

storing up trouble for later 

PAYMENT holidays and time to 

pay, while easing the current 

cashflow burden, may simply 

delay the collapse of thousands 

of businesses once the money 

has to be repaid. 

Without professional credit 

management support, and a key focus 

on collecting money that’s already owed, 

businesses will still struggle to survive 

despite the best Government efforts says 

Sue Chapple, Interim Chief Executive 

of the Chartered Institute of Credit 

Management (CICM). 

“Payment holidays are a stay of 

execution, and I fear that many 

companies are forgetting that when 

the crisis is over, creditors will need to 

be paid what they are owed, whether 

that’s to the Crown (i.e HMRC), landlords, 

or other businesses with whom they 

transact. 

“Also, for every company that’s 

not being paid, or that is effectively 

extending a longer line of credit to their 

suppliers, that loss of revenue has to be 

managed in their own cashflow. And 

if that means further borrowing, that 

could have serious consequences on that 

company’s ability to extend credit in the 

future. And without credit, there is no 

trade.” 

Sue’s comments come on the back 

of recent research of CICM members 

that found that almost two thirds (64 

percent) of credit managers had been 

asked for payment holidays by their 

supplier partners: “There will be a day 

of reckoning when all the money owed 

will need to be paid back,” she says, “and 

businesses need to factor this into their 

cashflow forecasts.” 

The research also showed that as 

many as a third (34 percent) of CICM 

members are re-negotiating payment 

terms and conditions. In a handful 

of anecdotal cases, credit managers 

said they are increasingly hearing of 

supplier contracts being cancelled with 

immediate effect and without reference 

to any existing notice periods. 

Sue says that failing to honour 

existing contracts is also a serious 

concern: “Whereas I understand 

that every business is in short-term 

survival mode, treating suppliers in this 

way is unforgiveable,” she adds. “The 

Coronavirus is of course a challenge, 

but when it is all over, those precious 

suppliers whom the bigger businesses 

previously relied upon may be gone.” 

Hoist Finance confident banks 

will continue to divest 

HOIST Finance, the debt resolution 

partner to individuals, companies and 

banks, believes the outlook for the debt 

purchase market remains positive, despite 

there being a temporary pause in the 

supply of debt portfolios. 

Writing in the Hoist Finance annual 

report published at the end of March, 

Chief Executive Officer Klaus-Anders 

Nysteen says he anticipates that banks 

will continue to divest portfolios and will 

do so at an earlier stage than historically. 

“The European estimated loan stock has 

decreased from EUR 1.2 trillion in 2014, to 

approximately EUR 635 billion in 2019,” he 

says. “This is good for the financial ecosystem, 

and I am confident in the market 

for non-performing loans as all market 

participants have become more diligent 

and structured, which has resulted in 

favourable margin developments over 

the last year. There is also an increased 

amount of transactions in the secondary 

market, both for non-performing loans as 

well as for performing loans. 

“If we can offer customers and 

employees the best experience possible, 

both in the current challenging times as 

well as in the long run, I am convinced 

financial performance will benefit,” he 

continues. “This is why operational 

excellence will continue to be a priority in 

2020, underpinning our capacity to deliver 

attractive returns going forward, while 

maintaining our focus of helping people 

keep their commitments.” 

To coincide with the publication 

of its annual report, Hoist Finance 

also launched its new sustainability 

strategy which includes its continued 

commitment not to buy portfolios of nonperforming 

payday loans. 

“To protect the most financially 

vulnerable people in society, Hoist 

Finance only buys non-performing loans 

from reputable banks with a sound credit 

policy and actively turns down portfolios 

from some parts of the consumer finance 

markets including pay-day loans and SMS 

loans,” Klaus-Anders concludes. 

See our main feature on page 16 


NEWS SECTION 

CSA urges organisations to come 

together in tackling debt crisis 

THE CSA, the UK trade body for 

debt collection and debt 

purchase, has issued 

a detailed response 

to Government in the 

light of calls from a number 

of debt charities to call a halt 

to all collection activities and 

potentially write off billions of 

pounds of debt. 

It says that rather than 

pulling away from each other 

in these challenging times, the 

Government, pressure groups and 

the debt advice sector should be 

working with the CSA and its 

members in determining a way 

forward. It urges a collaborative 

approach in coming up with 

policies that deal with a specific 

and clearly defined problem 

without causing additional issues 

that make matters worse, not better. 

“Now is the time for clear heads and 

clear thinking,” says Peter Wallwork, 

CSA Chief Executive. “We need to resist 

calls for wholesale changes which may 

look like the answer but fail to take into 

account the bigger picture and the wider 

impact on society and our economy. 

We need to help the greatest number 

we can but in such a way that doesn’t 

damage the credit/customer ecosystem 

irrevocably. 

“Losing contact with customers, 

for example, may make matters worse 

especially at a time when the debt advice 

sector is already swamped with calls and 

our members’ teams are in the perfect 

position to help navigate customers 

through these uncharted waters.” 

Peter says he has already written to all 

of the c250 CSA members to urge them to 

show additional forbearance where it is 

needed and has been delighted with the 

way the industry has responded: “Many 

of our members had already taken 

proactive action to support their 

customers so it wasn’t a case of us telling 

them what to do but more them telling us 

what they’d already done.” 

“While calls for further 

action from Government 

are understandable, and 

outwardly show compassion, 

it is imperative that the 

full consequences of any 

such action are properly 

understood.” 

The CSA currently contributes £4 billion 

to the UK economy – it also provides 

approximately £35 million in voluntary 

FairShare and Levy contributions to the 

debt advice sector. 

“It would be folly to put such funding 

at risk, simply because the consequences 

of an action had not been properly 

thought through, and this would directly 

impact front line free to consumer debt 

advice.” Peter adds. He says that not 

everyone will be affected by the latest 

crisis to the same degree. Some will see 

their costs rise, their jobs under threat 

and their lives changed beyond all 

recognition. For others there will be little 

or no impact at all, and so a draconian 

‘one size fits all’ approach – which 

could see an automatic three-month 

suspension of activities – does not make 

for a sensible policy. 

“Ministers need to recognise that 

CSA members already help millions 

of customers manage their debts and 

support the most vulnerable by funding 

and working with the principle debt 

charities. But we have seen that these 

charities are already overwhelmed, so 

ceasing customer contact at this critical 

time will do more harm than good.” 

CSA members act on behalf of nearly 

all of the major financial institutions, 

banks, credit card companies and the 

Government. But its members also 

manage more than 750,000 commercial 

accounts, mostly on behalf of small 

businesses, collecting more than £400 

million every year. 

Peter says the danger is that lines are 

becoming blurred: “When organisations 

call a halt to collections or even writing 

debts off altogether, they will be 

doing untold damage to our country’s 

small business community, many of 

whom are already under pressure to 

survive. With estimates that as many 

as 800,000 may fail in the next four 

weeks, this is not the time to prevent 

them from recovering cash owed to them 

on the grounds of some spurious moral 

reasoning. 

“While calls for further action from 

Government are understandable, and 

outwardly show compassion, it is 

imperative that the full consequences 

of any such action are properly 

understood.” Peter is also concerned 

that a debt ‘freeze’ might not always 

be in a customer’s best interests: “It is 

still money that has to be paid back,” he 

says, “and that could simply be storing 

up financial issues for later down the 

line. Our heretohelp campaign’s central 

message still stands – earlier contact 

results in better outcomes.” 

The CSA was responding in part 

to a letter sent to the Rishi Sunak MP 

signed by dozens of pressure groups and 

academics calling upon the Chancellor 

to freeze repayments on all unsecured 

debts and suspend all debt collection and 

enforcement activity. The same group 

also called for the write off of all council 

tax and social security debts. 

It also follows a proposal from the FCA 

to freeze credit card bills, a suggestion 

that led to a note of caution from the 

CEO of UK Finance, Stephen Jones: 

“It is critical that the FCA’s proposals 

do not disrupt the provision of credit 

to borrowers and take account of the 

business models of all credit providers 

including those outside the mainstream 

market." 

“It is still money that has to be paid 

back, and that could simply be storing 

up financial issues for later down the 

line. Our heretohelp campaign’s central 

message still stands – earlier contact 

results in better outcomes.” 

Peter Wallwork 


CICMQ 

Engineering excellence 

in Credit Management 

AMEY PLC has achieved CICMQ re-accreditation, demonstrating Best 

Practice in Credit Management. Pam Thomas FCICM, CICMQ Assessor, 

says that since the last CICMQ Assessment in 2017, the credit team 

have continued to develop excellent policies and processes that 

serve the business as a whole: “The team are all well trained and fully 

aware of their responsibilities, and have created strong links with 

stakeholders,” she said. 

A key assessment area in which they have continued to excel 

in is personal and professional development, with more than half 

of the team engaging in, working towards and/or achieving CICM 

qualifications. Becky Woods ACICM, Head of Credit and Collections at 

Amey PLC, says she wanted the team to receive the recognition that 

they deserve for all the incredible work that they have achieved to date. 

CICMQ accreditation all part 

of the plan for Saint-Gobain 

THE Credit Management team at Saint-Gobain UK & 

Ireland has delivered outstanding results to achieve 

CICMQ accreditation. 

“In 2016 the leadership team formulated and 

outlined our strategy to take the department forward,” 

says Rob O’Neill, Head of Credit Management at Saint- 

Gobain UK & Ireland. “Achieving CICMQ Accreditation 

was integral to this plan to build on the work we have 

done around customer service, KPI measurement and 

achieving results. Laura Brown and Rosie Fitzsimons, 

the other key members of my leadership team were 

vital to driving the changes required to deliver 

success’’ 

COVID-19 & NEWS ROUND UP 

Yoga party 

AMIDST the chaos of Covid19 

pandemic, Innovation Software is 

exploiting the skills of its Director of 

Client Services, Caroline Lyons, to help 

clients with their health and wellbeing. 

Caroline, a qualified yoga instructor, 

is offering online yoga classes to help 

keep clients’ minds and bodies active 

and healthy, as well as providing 

tips and tricks on how to work more 

efficiently from home. 

AIRE apparent 

AIRE, the credit insight service, is 

offering free access to its range of realtime 

credit information services until 

the end of May, to help lenders identify 

and engage with struggling consumers 

during the unfolding Coronavirus 

crisis. Aire estimates that the number 

of people in the UK missing one or 

more credit payments could increase 

from around 700,000 last year to more 

than two million in 2020. Aire says that 

the insights it can provide include job 

stability, as well as changes to income 

and household savings levels. 

Buck off 

SHORT-term lender, Uncle Buck 

Finance LLP, has been forced to 

call in administrators following the 

failure to meet sufficient resources for 

Threshold Conditions. The Financial 

Conduct Authority (FCA) put in place 

regulations to stop Uncle Buck from 

lending to customers, due to the 

latter’s deteriorating financial position 

and failed attempts to raise capital. 

Administrators are seeking to sell the 

company’s assets. 

Poles apart 

AS highlighted in a recent issue of Credit 

Management, FECMA’s 4th European 

Credit Congress was due to take place in 

Poland in May 2020. Due to the current 

travel and safety restrictions impacting 

daily activity around the world, the 

Congress is now scheduled to take place 

on 26 and 27 August 2020. For more 

information about the event, please 

contact governance@cicm.com 

Off the menu 

ITALIAN restaurant chain Carluccio’s 

has been placed into administration, 

blaming the Coronavirus and the 

inability to access government loans. 

Up to 2,000 jobs may be at risk. 

BrightHouse collapse 

COVID-19 social distancing regulations 

have had devastating effects on 

businesses around the globe, especially 

rent-to-own retailer BrightHouse which 

has gone into administration. At the 

time of going to press the future of its 

2,400-strong workforce was still in 

doubt. Chris Laverty, Andrew Charters 

and Sarah O’Toole of Grant Thornton 

were appointed joint administrators and 

are seeking buyers for the business. 

STOP PRESS 

The sad news has reached us that 

Paul Mudge FCICM, former ICM 

President and the first Chief Executive 

of Registry Trust has died. An obituary 

will follow in the next issue. 

Worthy of Merit 

THE Institute’s Executive Board has 

agreed that Tracey Westell FCICM, Dee 

Weston FCICM and Derek Scott FCICM 

be granted the Meritorious Service 

Award for 2020. The Award is granted 

as a rare recognition of an exceptional 

contribution to the Institute and 

awards will be presented to Tracey, 

Dee and Derek later this year. 


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Empty Skies 

The failure of Flybe was the portent of a 

terrifying collapse of the airline industry. 

AUTHOR – Tim Vine 


NEWS FOCUS 

AUTHOR – Tim Vine 

THE Coronavirus pandemic 

is impacting people and 

businesses around the 

world and is a crisis that 

is already being compared 

to historic events such as 

Spanish Flu and the financial collapse of 

2008. Many countries are facing economic 

recession with widespread ‘lockdown’ 

restrictions in place, which are creating 

a challenging environment for many 

companies across multiple sectors. 

The airline industry has been severely 

affected, with airports and airspace 

around the world being left empty as 

travel has been restricted, holidays have 

been cancelled and the demand for air 

travel has dropped drastically. At the time 

of writing, Heathrow airport has shut one 

of its runways and several airlines have 

grounded their aircraft fleet, with the 

large majority of flights cancelled. British 

Airways has suspended more than 30,000 

of their employees until the end of May 

and staff will be ‘furloughed’ as part of the 

government’s Coronavirus job retention 

scheme. 

PRE-CORONA CHALLENGES 

However, it wasn’t all smooth flying even 

before the Coronavirus outbreak. There 

were instances of companies already in 

trouble. 

In February 2019, Europe’s biggest 

regional airline was saved from the 

brink of collapse; 2018 had ended with a 

profit warning and a drop in share price 

by more than a third, and the future of 

Flybe once again hung in the balance. 

Fast forward a year and despite receiving 

controversial government support in 

January 2020, another attempt to obtain 

financial support failed. Flybe went into 

administration in March 2020 and 2,000 

employees lost their jobs. 

This news came just months after the 

failure of Thomas Cook in September 2019 

and has raised questions about the future 

of the UK airline industry and analysis 

into the reasons behind these high-profile 

collapses. 

CRASH LANDING 

So, what went wrong? The uncertainty 

caused by Brexit was most likely a 

contributory factor – and not just because 

of the lack of demand for travel in recent 

years. 

A high proportion of Flybe’s sales are in 

dollars, while its earnings are in sterling. 

The value of the pound therefore has a 

dramatic impact on the business’s health 

– both of which have declined in the wake 

of the 2016 EU referendum. 

Politics aside, aerospace is a competitive 

industry, and rivals such as Easyjet 

have sought to establish themselves as a 

replacement on many of Flybe’s routes. 

Combine this with service improvements 

from several major rail networks, and 

the appetite to fly with Flybe was waning 

to an all-time low. Global and domestic 

economic conditions and outlooks have 

also been challenging and the added mix 

of Coronavirus eventually marked the 

death knell for the British brand. 

PREDICTED COLLAPSE 

The demise of any business can have a 

significant knock-on impact on employees, 

suppliers and the local economy. 

Throughout the last 12 months, Flybe 

Ltd, the main trading entity in the group, 

has had consistently low D&B Delinquency 

and Failure Scores, with an average score 

of 9/100 and 8/100 respectively. These low 

scores indicate the increased likelihood of 

significantly late payment to its suppliers 

and business failure. 

Four years of continuing negative 

tangible net worth and pre-tax losses, 

with poor solvency ratios, and significant 

volumes of County Court Judgements 

registered against the business are some 

of the driving factors behind the low 

scores. 

For credit management professionals, 

this type of information is key to assessing 

the level of risk and monitoring for 

any warning signs. Credit teams can 

analyse data such as financial liquidity, 

profitability and company history to 

help mitigate and minimise the impact 

of supplier or customer failures on their 

business operations. They say being 

forewarned is to be forearmed, and this 

analogy is definitely relevant in the credit 

industry. 

MORE TO COME? 

Dun & Bradstreet’s Q4 UK Industry report 

recorded 4,178 corporate liquidations in 

the period October to December 2019. 

This figure was 2.3 percent higher than 

the previous quarter and we are expecting 

this to increase further in Q1 in the wake 

of Coronavirus. 

Only time will tell what the full 

economic impact of Coronavirus will be 

on the UK and wider global economy. It’s 

likely that in addition to the human cost 

of the virus, there will also be casualties 

for businesses of all sizes. UK GDP in Q4 

2019 stagnated, so if Q1 and Q2 both see 

a decrease (which is fairly inevitable) the 

country will be facing another recession 

and challenging times ahead for many 

industries. 

Tim Vine is European Head – 

Finance Solutions, Dun & Bradstreet. 

Tim Vine 

Dun & Bradstreet 


INSOLVENCY SPECIAL 

Action Stations 

Insolvency predictions are vastly exaggerated, 

but swift action is needed. 

AUTHOR – Gareth Harris 

WHILST a spike in 

corporate insolvencies 

as great or 

greater than the levels 

last seen in 2008 

is almost inevitable, 

the current numbers of 800,000 being 

mooted represent a major exaggeration. 

There will be an initial flurry of 

insolvencies, as was seen in 2008, for those 

businesses who were struggling before 

the current health crisis emerged, or who 

had limited resources to fall back on. 

However, for many others the opportunity 

to mothball, defer payments and seek 

government support will at the very least 

delay any decision to permanently shut, 

and allow the directors to consider every 

option available to them over an extended 

period. 

The recently announced and farreaching 

measures by the Chancellor of 

the Exchequer, including the extension of 

the Business Interruption Loan Support 

(CBILS) and a Covid Corporate Financing 

Facility are of course welcome. However, 

they will not in their own right achieve 

the Prime Minister’s stated ambition 

of no company facing insolvency as a 

result of the Coronavirus, nor will a large 

segment of UK businesses even qualify 

for this support. 

LAUDABLE MEASURES 

Whilst these unprecedented government 

measures are laudable, the reality 

remains that in the short term they 

will not prevent the insolvency of some 

companies as they do not directly inject 

cash quickly enough. And, in the longer 

term, they may only act as an avoidance 

or delaying measure, unless other 

restructuring options are pursued. 

Analyses from the two most recent 

significant recessions (1990-91 and 2008- 

09), illustrate some notable and consistent 

trends which will help to understand 

what the future landscape might look like 

for businesses. 

Company insolvencies during and 

after the 1990’s recession peaked on the 

way out of what was a shallower, less 

protracted recession, indicating that 

companies may have either held on for 

a period and then overtraded on the way 

out of the recession and so eventually ran 

out of cash. 

The 2008 recession was a much steeper 

dive and consequently a much earlier and 

larger spike in insolvencies took place. 

Back then there was less government 

support available compared to the 

current measures set out by the Treasury. 

Then we see another much smaller spike 

later as the economy picked up again 

– indicating an environment in which 

businesses overtraded again or could not 

hold on any longer as the government 

support was withdrawn i.e. as HMRC 

Time to Pay arrangements ran out. 

Looking at our historic data and 

assuming the UK heads into recession, 

Holding Pattern 

Breathing space or a licence for insolvent trading? 

AUTHOR – David Kerr FCICM 

AS one commentator put it a couple 

of weeks ago (Patrick Hosking, 

The Times), “It’s possible to 

envisage a contagion of invoicepaying 

paralysis spreading 

across the business world”, as a 

consequence of companies deferring payments 

to creditors in the current unprecedented postcoronavirus 

circumstances. That is not to say that 

the government’s valiant efforts to save businesses 

from going under during the crisis are unwelcome, 

but merely that for creditors there is greater need 

for a watchful eye on developments. 

The government has announced that, alongside 

furlough and all the other support, it will introduce 

a number of specific emergency measures ‘as soon 

as possible’ to enable the insolvency regime to 

better support businesses during the pandemic. 

(Parliament is returning as we go to press, and 

legislation is reportedly imminent.) 

EMERGENCY MEASURES 

Firstly, we expect to see a moratorium period for 

distressed businesses – to provide time (a ‘breathing 

space’) for them to consider a rescue plan. This 

are likely to be based on proposals that were 

published some four years ago, have been subject 

to consultation, but not yet enacted; it would give 

companies protection from recovery action by 

creditors (originally this would have been for a 

limited initial period with an extension dependent 

upon a majority creditor vote. Protections such as 

the appointment of an Insolvency Practitioner as 

monitor were part of the proposals and should be 

retained. Secondly, there is an intention to introduce 

a new restructuring framework which will be able 

to bind creditors to a reorganisation plan, details of 

which are yet to emerge, though again likely to be 

based on previously published proposals. 

If the idea of a statutory breathing space and debt 

restructuring/repayment plan sound familiar, that 

could be because they have been touted recently 

(pre-crisis, with an intended 2021 implementation) 

as new procedures for insolvent individuals. 

However, although there have been employment 

measures and extra help on evictions and through 

universal credit etc, we have not seen parallel 

announcements about special insolvency measures 

The temporary 

stay that the 

new measures 

will bring about 

may help some 

businesses 

through the 

crises, but when 

we emerge from 

it, they will still 

have their debts 

to pay. 


INSOLVENCY SPECIAL 

AUTHOR – Gareth Harris 

then we predict that the downward curve 

will be much steeper than the 1990’s and 

could be even steeper than in 2008, with a 

consequent double spike in insolvencies, 

now, and in say six to 12 months’ time. 

The Covid-19 crisis has caused 

economies across the globe to adopt selfdistancing 

as the de-facto international 

global public health policy to mitigate 

the spread of the disease. Unfortunately, 

that policy requires putting national 

economies on hold to save lives. Unlike in 

2008 when companies continued to trade, 

albeit with limited means, this time the 

taps have effectively been turned off, for 

most. This has likely ushered in the end 

of the current business cycle. 

There will therefore almost inevitably 

be a double spike in insolvencies 

as a result, despite the government 

intervention. The major banks face an 

unenviable balance between lending 

responsibly (arguably conservatively) 

and protecting their own futures, versus 

facing criticism for a lack of support. One 

thing is certain, the last thing we need 

now is another banking crisis. 

Predictions of 800,000 insolvencies 

seems a major exaggeration given that 

over the course of the 2008-13 period, the 

total corporate insolvencies were less than 

114,000. We are likely to see the impact 

first in London and the South where the 

effect of CV-19 has been felt the hardest. 

Sector wise, we are already seeing it in 

hospitality, travel and retail – where there 

several notable insolvencies have already 

been announced including Cath Kidston, 

Carluccio’s and Debenhams. 

For those companies who may be on 

the cusp of survival, it is vital that they 

Recession Comparison 

Graph: horizonal axis represents a 5.5-year period (22 quarters). 

act now and really take swift and often 

drastic measures wherever possible and 

effectively go into survival mode. They 

may still need some form of restructuring 

process on the way out of the recession 

but survive to trade another day. 

Gareth Harris is a partner of RSM 

Restructuring Advisory 

AUTHOR – David Kerr FCICM 

for individuals. Why not an acceleration 

of the introduction of planned breathing 

space (moratorium) proposals, so that 

those who are unfortunately made 

redundant (and there will still be many, 

notwithstanding furlough) can pause 

to take advice without the threat of 

bankruptcy? We have seen (just before 

going to press!) welcome forbearance 

for those already in Individual Voluntary 

Arrangements, providing opportunity 

for payment breaks, reductions in 

contributions, and greater IP discretion 

when dealing with defaults. 

Returning to corporate 

announcements, there are yet further 

measures to ensure that businesses 

becoming insolvent in, and as a 

consequence of, the crisis can continue 

to access essential supplies to keep 

operating. Keep a close eye on the 

definition of ‘essential’ as those suppliers 

could be prevented from terminating 

contracts solely on insolvency grounds. 

We are going to see a temporary 

suspension of wrongful trading rules for 

three months so that company directors 

can trade on and keep their businesses 

going without the threat of personal 

liability. The legislation is expected to 

cover the period from March. This has 

been done in other countries during 

the crisis, but it does come with a bit 

of a warning to credit managers. That 

threat of personal liability has helped 

to focus directors’ minds when faced 

with a financial crunch – advisors would 

always caution directors against carrying 

on trading beyond the point when they 

recognise that liquidation is likely. Putting 

liquidation off, and making the situation 

worse, has hitherto risked their personal 

wealth – removing the limited liability 

they ordinarily enjoy. But with this threat 

lifted, how can you be sure now that the 

company you are supplying is solvent and 

will be able to pay? 

Worth noting though that the 

theoretical risk of liability under 

fraudulent trading laws remains in place, 

as does the risk of director disqualification, 

subject to any ‘forbearance’ that the 

Business Department may adopt in its 

approach to such matters, in accordance 

with that which it has been advocating for 

IPs in the conduct of their work. 

INSOLVENCY VOLUMES 

One near certainty in these uncertain 

times is an increase in the number of 

insolvencies, way beyond anything 

predicted before coronavirus. The above 

measures may mitigate against this to 

some extent, but plenty of businesses 

are going under. Some of those may have 

been teetering on the verge of insolvency 

already (for example in retail), but 

unfortunately many otherwise solvent 

companies will be ruined irredeemably. 

The temporary stay that the new 

measures will bring about may help some 

businesses through the crises, but when 

we emerge from it, they will still have 

their debts to pay, and may have increased 

their liabilities. Any return to ‘normal’ 

(whatever that may look like) could be 

gradual, and the deferral of debts in some 

cases may just be a postponement of the 

inevitable. 

David Kerr FCICM is an insolvency 

practitioner with extensive regulatory 

experience and a member of the CICM 

Technical Committee. 


ADVISORY COUNCIL ELECTIONS 2020 

Elections 2020 

VOTING IS NOW OPEN UNTIL 28 MAY 2020 

The engaged and driven individuals within the CICM’s Advisory Council 

reflect the fantastically diverse range of skills and experience amongst the 

Institute’s membership. 

Now is YOUR chance to vote and elect those members who you feel will 

help continue to advance the important work of the CICM, bring valuable 

expertise and knowledge to the table, and drive its strategy forward. 

PLEASE USE YOUR VOTE 

Eligible* members will have received their ballot information via email, 

however if you have not, please contact Mi-Voice at support@mi-voice.com 

or +44 (0)2380 763987, or email elections@cicm.com. 

*Currently, eligible voters are fully paid-up members who hold the 

professional letters of MCICM or FCICM 

MANAGING CREDIT 

IN A CRISIS 

What should your focus be on now? 

COVID-19 SUPPORT FOR BUSINESSES 

The chancellor has set out a package of temporary, targeted and 

timely measures to support public services, people and businesses 

through this period of disruption caused by COVID-19 

Visit www.gov.uk for guidance on: 

• Sick Pay • Business Rates • Tax • Insurance 

• Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme 

GOODS AND SUPPLY CHAIN 

• Do you and your customers have sufficient stock to continue 

production and supply? 

• Is the parent company located in a high risk geography? 

• Is their product range changing? 

• Are you in regular communication? 

CASHFLOW 

• Do invoices need to be sent to different locations during the current situation? 

• Will payments be made from a different location? 

• Do your customers have access to the cash needed to pay you? 

• Have you reviewed your ledger and ensured collect on all invoices due now? 

• Is exchange rate fluctuation a consideration? 

• Do you have vulnerable customers? 

PROCESSES AND CONTRACTS 

• Review contractual Terms and Conditions in the current context. 

• Does your Accounts Receivable/Accounts Payable process need to 

change due to current restrictions? 

• Are there any regulatory impacts to highlight? 

PEOPLE AND ORGANISATION 

• What are the staff and skills risks to your business 

and what are your contingency plans? 

THE CICM IS HERE TO 

HELP WITH THESE ISSUES 

Contact our Member Advice Service for support, answers and advice. 

Join the CICM Managing Credit in a Crisis Forum on LinkedIn. 

Visit our Managing Credit in a Crisis webpage for more resources. 

We are developing more resources, advice and tools daily, 

please keep in touch with us and join our community. 

CICM is your professional body, use it. We are stronger in numbers. 


FROM THE CHAIR 

All hands on deck 

Taking positive action to support our credit community. 

AUTHOR – Sue Chapple FCICM 

EXTRAORDINARY times call for 

extraordinary measures, and 

as credit managers we are all 

very much in the frontline. 

So I want to tell you about 

some of the positive, practical 

steps we’re taking right now to support our 

members and our community. 

In terms of Membership fees, we 

understand that every penny you spend 

has to be justified. While we believe that 

membership of the CICM and being part 

of our professional credit management 

community is priceless, we also know 

that we need to help our members 

manage through the current crisis. To that 

end, if you’re struggling to pay for your 

membership, let us know immediately. 

Email us CICMmembership@cicm.com 

and we will get back to you. (Just note that 

the CICM team is taking an unprecedented 

number of calls at the moment and is 

busy supporting our members with extra 

resources so it might take a little longer than 

the usual 24 hours to get back to you.) 

As regards practical help, we’ve launched 

our Managing Credit in a Crisis initiative, 

and I’m delighted to see that it is already 

gaining traction. It would be fairer to 

describe Managing Credit in a Crisis as a 

series of initiatives: at its heart is a practical 

online guide and a dedicated LinkedIn 

group to share best practice and ideas, and 

I would actively encourage all of you to join 

the group and contribute your ideas. We 

have also recently announced a programme 

of Managing Credit in a Crisis webinars with 

interactive training to help you with the here 

and now, as well as strategies for managing 

in the future. Further details and dates of 

CICM and CICMQ support can be found in 

our Forthcoming Events section. 

In terms of our Members advice service, 

we are expanding our current service to help 

answer your technical and legal questions. 

Members can now put their questions to a 

panel of experts drawn from our existing 

team and Corporate Partners, to broaden 

the scope of professional advice available. 

UNCHARTED WATERS 

As we navigate the uncharted waters of 

the current COVID-19 situation, the CICM, 

like all leading business organisations, is 

reviewing the way we work to ensure we 

are ‘fit for purpose’ to meet an immediate 

need, as well as addressing the challenges of 

tomorrow. This means prioritising certain 

actions and services to support our teams, 

students and partners, as well as supporting 

the wider credit community – members and 

non-members alike. 

We are in particular prioritising our 

professional qualifications and L&D 

delivery, moving increasingly to a ‘virtual’ 

environment in the short term, and 

working hard to ensure that we continue to 

communicate the actions we are taking both 

internally and to the external media. 

As you can imagine, we have also had to 

take some difficult decisions in recent days 

and are now operating with a skeleton staff 

who are all working from home. The support 

they are providing, and the enthusiasm with 

which they are confronting the current 

crisis is what our community is all about, 

and I ask that you in turn do everything you 

can to help them, and to help your CICM. 

Your CICM is special. It has a great many 

qualities and we, as members, need to pull 

together to ensure it remains so through this 

challenging period. Our plans are constantly 

evolving, and the support we have received 

from Corporate Partners, Learning Partners, 

and individual members willing to share 

their time and expertise to help others 

reflects the quality of our profession and our 

reason for belonging. 

We will keep you updated with further 

news through a dedicated newsletter, and 

in the meantime if you have any questions, 

we’re here to help. 

Sue Chapple FCICM 

We are in particular prioritising our professional qualifications 

and L&D delivery, moving increasingly to a ‘virtual’ environment 

in the short term, and working hard to ensure that we continue to 

communicate the actions we are taking both internally and to the 

external media. 


SECTOR FOCUS 

SWINGS AND 

ROUNDABOUTS 

What next for the debt purchase market? 

AUTHOR – Heather Greig-Smith 

THERE was then, and there is now. 

Little more than a month ago, 

debt buyers were looking into a 

future they felt confident they 

could predict. As an industry, debt 

purchase has consolidated, firms 

have moved into the mainstream investment 

market, all have been through the process of 

FCA authorisation and operations have become 

increasingly sophisticated. Predictions were 

clear, plans had been made. 

And then. A virus that initially seemed to be 

a worrying headline relating to events on the 

other side of the world has become a pandemic. 

All bets are off. Of course, at the moment the 

world is dealing with the immediate concerns at 

hand – isolation, health and financial support. 

But what does the future hold for the industry 

when debts are set to rise dramatically but 

reliance on past data and performance may not 

be possible? 

“The economic shock is happening, it’s just 

how deep that shock is going to be,” says Andrew 

Birkwood, Founder and Chief Executive of 

Azzurro Associates. “I don’t think any country’s 

government is going to be able to spend their 

way out of it. There is going to be much more 

debt – both consumer and commercial. The 

market is going to have a new paradigm.” 

PRICING MATRICES 

One of the biggest issues for debt buyers is the 

fact that their pricing and collections matrices 

no longer apply. “We and a number of other 

buyers have pressed the pause button on a 

number of different deals,” says Andrew. 

Antony Dear, Global Solutions and Consulting 

Director at TDX Group, agrees that lower 

transaction levels will be an immediate effect – 

albeit continuing a trend from 2019. There has 

been a shift in funding models at many of the 

major buyers. Less favourable bond yields and 

pressure from funders to deleverage have seen 

most reduce leverage ratios that were as high 

as 5x equity. Some had already found they were 

unable to borrow more from their traditional 

sources of funds. 

“This meant that there was less capital 

available to acquire portfolios for some 

purchasers, leading to lower prices in some 

industries such as banking for non-performing 

loans. This led to slowed growth or lower 

acquisitions for some purchasers in 2019,” says 

Antony. He adds: “There has been quite a lot 

“I don’t think 

any country’s 

government is 

going to be able to 

spend their way 

out of it. There is 

going to be much 

more debt – both 

consumer and 

commercial. The 

market is going 

to have a new 

paradigm.” 

of change in the last year. Before that everyone 

used bonds to finance their growth but the cost 

of funding has changed significantly in the last 

two years which means people have looked at 

other things.” 

CHANGING DYNAMICS 

To this end, many purchasers have focused 

on co-investment or fund investment models. 

However, one purchaser says this emphasis on 

funds “…massively changes the dynamics of the 

sector. “Businesses may only be investing 25p 

in the £1 themselves. They aren’t taking the risk 

and reward. It raises the capital available, but 

the problem is there is only so much for sale in 

the market. 

“The question is, what returns are investors 

going to expect? Buyers have stated some quite 

strong returns they are going to deliver. What 

does that really mean and are they really going 

to achieve it?” 

Recession will most likely lead to fewer 

portfolio acquisitions at lower prices, says 

Antony. “Just like we saw in the aftermath of the 

08/09 financial crisis, where year on year sales 

volumes dropped 50 percent between 2008 and 

2009 and prices reduced by over 50 percent.” 

Comparisons with 2008/09 are rife. Andrew 

Fox, Head of Portfolio Investments at Arrow 

Global, says the effects will play out similarly. 

“Debt levels for consumers will likely rise. 

The forbearance measures that Arrow brought 

in as a result of the 2009 crisis will continue 

to be available to many of our customers, 

together with additional strategies set out by 

the FCA to tackle the current situation. Many 

of the forbearance tools have been used in the 

past, but there is now a need to make them 

available for large groups of people more 

quickly. 

“At the moment the high yield bond market 

is mostly closed for further raising for debt 

purchasers – we’d expect high yield bond costs 

to increase and there will be limited appetite 

from bigger investors. People will still lend but 

a risk premium will be attached. Larger private 

equity appears to have mainly backed out of 

the market, but it wouldn’t surprise me if in the 

downturn they step back.” 

HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE 

When it comes to using the financial crisis as 

a predictor, others urge caution. “All the debt 

buyers use historical performance as the basis 


SECTOR FOCUS 


for pricing,” says Andrew Birkwood. 

“There is no basis for this market. The 

2008 credit crisis wasn’t anything like this 

situation in terms of how deep, broad and 

universal it is. A lot depends on how long 

this goes on for.” 

Others agree that the current situation 

is different from the crash but suggest 

there may be a quicker recovery. “No-one 

knows and that’s the weird thing,” says one 

purchaser. “Before the government started 

coming out with loan schemes, everyone 

was thinking this could be catastrophic.” 

Debt buyer Intrum has already 

announced that it will reduce its rate of 

investment, saying that its previous 2020 

targets are no longer achievable. It added 

that refinancing in 2019 has extended 

loan maturities: “We have limited levels 

of debt that are due in 2020 and 2021, and 

that these can be honoured, inter alia, by 

our credit facilities,” says Mikael Ericson, 

Intrum’s President and CEO. 

“What is happening will have 

consequences for virtually every business 

worldwide, and places considerable 

demands on us at a time when clients 

and individuals are experiencing extreme 

uncertainty about the global outlook. 

Although operating results for the first 

and second quarters will be lower than 

our previous internal expectations, we 

anticipate what is happening now will 

create substantially larger business 

volumes to work with in the latter part of 

2020 and the years ahead,” Ericson adds. 

“Conversations with sellers continue,” 

says Intrum UK Managing Director Eddie 

Nott. “Clearly the uncertainty is likely to 

have a downward impact on pricing – this 

is to be expected after an economic shock 

of this severity. However, the industry 

has an important skill set in dealing with 

financial distress and clients have already 

asked for help in tackling this in the 

months ahead.” 

POSITIVE THINKING 

Hoist Finance also believes the outlook 

for the debt purchase market remains 

positive, despite there being a temporary 

pause in the supply of debt portfolios. 

Chief Executive Officer Klaus-Anders 

Nysteen says he anticipates that banks 

will continue to divest portfolios and will 

do so at an earlier stage than historically. 

“The European estimated loan stock 

has decreased from EUR 1.2 trillion in 

2014, to approximately EUR 635 billion 

in 2019,” he says. “This is good for the 

financial eco-system, and I am confident 

in the market for non-performing loans as 

all market participants have become more 

diligent and structured.” 

Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / May 2020 / PAGE 17 

continues on page 18 >

SECTOR FOCUS 


In a March bond call with investors, 

purchaser Lowell also said there would be 

more debt in the market. Group CEO Colin 

Storrar said at the time: “In times of economic 

downturn and dislocation the flow of NPLs 

to the purchase market in time increases. 

The only real question is when they come to 

market.” 

He announced two strategic partnerships 

as part of an evolving funding structure. 

The first, a co-investment deal with a listed 

global asset manager, the second, an NPL 

procurement agreement with German bank 

OLB. Lowell spent £397m in the last financial 

year and deleveraged to 4.7x. The business had 

been increasing forward flow arrangements – 

up to 51 percent of acquisitions. Of its £3.4bn 

120-month ERC, it had expected to collect 

£1.7bn in the next 36 months. 

GOOD INSULATION 

Interim Group CFO Dan Hartley describes the 

UK payment plans, which make up 80 percent 

of UK collections as ‘resilient’, averaging £16 

a month. “It is worth remembering that our 

customers are already in a degree of financial 

stress and this provides our collections 

performance with a good degree of insulation 

from the broader macro environment,” he 

says. 

However, he does also acknowledge “… 

the discretionary nature and the flexibility 

around growth.” 

Colin Storrar adds: “Our preparations are as 

well advanced and as well-developed as they 

possible can be to mitigate any disruptions 

caused by the current crisis… We talk 

constantly about 2008-2010 for a reason. In 

that last financial crisis, we delivered against 

our collection estimates and critically we 

were also very well placed to benefit from the 

broader NPL flow of debt to the market.” 

He points to digital as an important 

growth area that will be vital in the current 

environment. “We benefit from already 

having spent time and investment in our 

digital capabilities, these obviously help 

us aim for minimal disruption to customer 

journeys should our contact centres be 

impacted.” 

Like many of its peers, Cabot Credit 

Management has taken a conservative 

approach to leverage and reduced its ratio. 

At the end of 2019, it was 3.7x, from 4.1x the 

previous year and with a commitment to 

reaching 3.0x-3.5x by the end of 2021. The 

business would not comment on current 

market dynamics. 

Meanwhile, Arrow Global said it performed 

well against its key operating metrics in 2019, 

increasing profit before tax to £51.3 million 

and finishing 2019 within a lower leverage 

range of 3.0x-3.5x. In 2019, it launched a fund 

management business, initially raising €838.0 

million, and had planned to target total Funds 

Under Management of €2.0 billion by the end 

of 2020. 

However, in early April the business 

decided to withdraw its planned dividend, 

saying that while it was “…well placed to 

navigate this period of uncertainty,” the cash 

saving of approximately £15 million was 

prudent and in line with the Group's approach 

to minimising financial risk. 

“This decision in no way diminishes the 

Board's confidence in the long-term outlook 

for the Group and the strength of the throughthe-cycle 

model, which is set up to withstand 

reasonable downside scenarios and to take 

advantage of investment opportunities as 

they arise,” the business says. “At this stage, 

given the level of continued uncertainty 

around economic activity, it is not possible 

to provide financial guidance for the 2020 

financial year.” 

MARKET FORBEARANCE 

Across markets, governments with memories 

of the financial crisis and a desire to ensure 

people are able to stay home, have acted 

quickly. In the UK, measures have sought 

to plug the gap with banking forbearance, 

government grants and loan guarantees. 

Joanna Elson OBE, Chief Executive of the 

Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs 

National Debtline and Business Debtline, 

says this is unknown territory: “The financial 

shock to households that the Coronavirus 

outbreak has caused is like nothing we have 

seen before – and the FCA is right to step in to 

ensure payment freezes on loans and credit 

cards where customers are struggling,” she 

says. 

Elson urged government to go further: “For 

forbearance to work, it has to cover all forms 

of borrowing, to help people through this 

difficult period. It’s important that all firms 

offer the same support. The FCA should also 

be prepared to extend these measures beyond 

three months if needed.” 

It’s too early to say if government will seek 

to regulate collections further in these times 

but the collections industry has suspended 

new litigation and the use of bailiffs, despite 

the fact that litigation levels pre-crisis had 

been climbing. 

In a crisis, focus on the customer journey 

and TCF will be more important than ever. 

Pausing collections for people who can pay 

and want to keep paying would be unfair. 

Pre-COVID-19, persistent debt – the issue of 

consumers being left with debts they could 

not pay in a reasonable time frame – was 

something regulators were keen to tackle. 

For this reason, some have questioned 

the prices paid for debt management plan 

(DMP) portfolios. “DMP books have been 

seen as paying books, prices have been pretty 

It’s too early to say 

if government will 

seek to regulate 

collections further in 

these times but the 

collections industry 

has suspended new 

litigation and the use 

of bailiffs, despite the 

fact that litigation 

levels pre-crisis had 

been climbing. 


SECTOR FOCUS 


ridiculous – stretching payment curves 

out 10-12 years,” says one purchaser. 

“People who have paid a lot of money 

for those could really find their chickens 

coming home to roost.” 

FORWARD FLOW 

Forward flow has also been a key feature 

of the market, driven by creditors selling 

earlier because of the IFRS 9 need to get 

assets off the balance sheet regularly and 

quickly. If buyers are already committed 

to deals in terms of new forward flow, 

the current market disruption will need 

careful management. 

Even before the crisis, there were 

challenges, says Eddie Nott: “We had 

seen some forward flow deals where the 

incumbent hadn’t wanted to renew at the 

same price – portfolios they have bought 

at too high a price historically or now 

need better returns to justify.” 

Antony Dear agrees these arrangements 

may prove tricky: “Forward flow 

agreements have become more common 

and seen as a positive by the purchasers, 

however with pricing locked in this could 

quickly turn into a negative if funding 

becomes an issue.” 

Many buyers have risk-based pricing 

built into their forward flow deals. 

“Clearly if worse quality debt were to flow 

through, then the price would be reduced 

in accordance with the risk associated 

with that debt profile,” Colin Storrar told 

Lowell investors. 

This could result in creditors bringing 

those portfolios back to market. However, 

Lantern CEO Denise Crossley says this is 

not happening currently: “Sales are not 

off the table. Other purchases are still 

buying forward flow, as are we. We aren’t 

reneging on existing contracts. Debt still 

needs to be collected and the economy 

needs to keep revolving.” 

Arrow’s Andrew Fox says strategy-wise, 

COVID-19 is a dislocation in the market: 

“There will be a period of time where 

nobody can sensibly mark prices in the 

market for most assets.” 

However, he adds: “It’s less a case of 

pausing purchases so much as trying to 

understand what conditions will look like 

during the cycle. The question becomes 

how that interacts with back books – 

everyone’s back book will have an impact.” 

PRACTICAL IMPACTS 

Meanwhile, there are practical impacts 

that will be felt by creditors and debt 

buyers alike. These include increased 

call volumes – already reported by big 

banks – and the need to complete more 

time-consuming income and expenditure 

forms, adding to capacity issues that may 

already be challenged by the virus hitting 

the call centre workforce, says Antony 

Dear at TDX Group: 

“People on the brink month to month 

might be tipped over the line and need 

support, whereas steadily employed 

and salaried people might be in a better 

financial situation now enabling them to 

pay more due to decreased outgoing such 

as transport and recreational costs,” he 

says. “This will likely lead to an increased 

pressure on the collections function and 

will impact overall profitability, especially 

for those not set up to cope with the 

increased volumes.” 

“We’ve actually seen 

more engagement than 

ever from customers. 

They are at home, have 

more time and the 

majority of them want 

to continue paying 

– they don’t want a 

bottleneck and to have 

a bigger problem when 

this is all over’’ 

Intrum UK Managing Director Eddie 

Nott says all staff are now working from 

home: “If you are well prepared it should 

be relatively straightforward to operate 

remotely. We are able to service all calls 

from customers with no loss of service 

quality in terms of speed of answer or the 

information and help they get from the 

customer service representative.” 

Denise agrees that working from home 

has enabled Lantern to continue largely 

as normal, with added forbearance 

where needed: “We’ve actually seen more 

engagement than ever from customers. 

They are at home, have more time and the 

majority of them want to continue paying 

– they don’t want a bottleneck and to have 

a bigger problem when this is all over,” 

she says. 

She adds that a significant number of 

consumers are still being paid at least 80 

percent of their salaries and many have 

lower outgoings, such as reduced travel 

costs. “Some of them are in a slightly 

better financial position. We are giving 

an extra 60- or 90-days forbearance to 

those that aren’t, and some are reducing 

their payments slightly, but they are not 

generally falling off.” 

SURVIVAL RATES 

“The numbers reported by the purchasers 

still show that there is enough margin to 

meet their payment obligations, however, 

what they might struggle to do is to keep 

up with their required replacement rates, 

meaning the business might shrink and 

cost benefits of having economies of scale 

might reduce,” says Antony Dear. 

“In 2008/09 we saw a number of debt 

purchasers struggle. The landscape is 

different today as an effect of market 

consolidation with a number of large 

players making up the majority of the 

market. Their size should mean that they 

should be able to handle the downturn 

better than during the previous financial 

crisis. However, these people also have 

a higher level of debt than their smaller 

predecessors which could amplify the 

issues for them, so it is hard to predict 

exactly what could happen.” 

Andrew Birkwood goes further: 

“I would be surprised if at least one 

major debt buyer doesn’t get into major 

difficulties in this situation. It’s going 

to be a very challenging period and will 

come down to whether their funders are 

willing to offer them the breathing space 

they need,” he says. 

With bond funding this flexibility may 

not be possible, though many purchasers 

have been quick to reassure the market 

that they have plenty of time until bonds 

mature. Feelings pre-COVID-19 were that 

there is still room for consolidation in the 

market. If firms struggle in the coming 

months, we may see some being taken 

over by their peers. 

On the optimistic side, in a world 

where, arguably, most consumers in 

collections have become vulnerable, we 

may well find that the debt purchase and 

collections industry has honed the skills 

needed to make a real difference. “We all 

know how to identify vulnerability. That’s 

the norm,” says Denise Crossley. “The 

majority of customers are happy we are 

still here to help them.” 

Heather Greig-Smith. 


presents 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

www.ddisoftware.co.uk 

sales@ddisoftware.co.uk 


OPINION 

Lending a hand 

Consumer credit in the age of Coronavirus. 

AUTHOR – Aneesh Varma 

OVER the last few weeks, we’ve 

seen the UK Chancellor unveil 

unprecedented measures to help 

businesses and homeowners 

cope with the financial impact 

of COVID-19. Rishi Sunak’s 

words were, no doubt, chosen carefully. With 

the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008 

still keenly felt in many communities, they were 

also chilling. 

While lenders are in a better position today 

to keep consumer credit flowing, the volume 

and value of new consumer credit agreements 

will inevitably fall, as borrowers protect their 

finances, and lenders try to get a handle on 

future default rates. 

Lenders will still need to write new credit lines 

to make money, but there will be great caution 

about what gets written. Lenders will sharpen 

their ranges. Those that provided credit to nearprime 

borrowers will look to prime consumers, 

while prime lenders will reach for super-prime 

customers. 

Consumers who already find themselves at 

the margins of mainstream lending – such 

as recent migrants, gig workers and the selfemployed 

– will find it even harder to get lowcost 

financial services – which is exactly the 

opposite of what consumers, the Financial 

Conduct Authority and the Financial Inclusion 

Commission want. These are also some of the 

people we expect will need credit most, to 

help overcome the cash-flow challenges of the 

coming months. 

We expect that the rate of consumer lending 

growth could go negative by the middle of this 

year. Lenders must do everything they can to 

keep low-cost, mainstream consumer credit 

flowing. 

FINANCIAL STRESS 

Although the UK government has made 

significant commitments as it attempts to 

limit Coronavirus-related job losses, it is clear 

consumers are going to experience a great deal 

of pain over the coming months. 

The crisis will test the limits of lenders’ ability 

to understand what is happening in their loan 

portfolios, and their ability to support customers 

experiencing difficulties. 

Redundancy and relationship breakdowns are 

the most common reasons why people end up in 

collections. Both increased around the time of 

the global financial crisis; we can only assume 

the same will happen now. 

Lenders can expect to see default rates 

increase dramatically throughout 2020 and 

possibly well into next year too. Aire estimates 

that the number of people in the UK missing 

one or more credit payments could increase 

from around 700,000 last year to over two million 

this year. Employers have let people go in large 

numbers in sectors such as hospitality, travel, 

leisure, retail, arts and entertainment. Many of 

those already affected are young people working 

for minimum wage. We can expect many of the 

UK’s 5.8 million self-employed, freelancers and 

full-time gig workers to be hit soon after. After 

that, the pain could be felt far and wide. 

Levels of personal insolvency are a 

retrospective indicator of financial distress. 

When they peaked in 2009 and 2010 following 

the last crisis, they were most frequent among 

the most disadvantaged groups in society. The 

most significant increases, however, were 

among middle-income families, people who 

would typically occupy city-centre office jobs 

or earn good wages on the shop floor of large 

manufacturing plants. If history is anything to 

go by, the pain will be shared and felt for years. 

WHAT NEXT? 

Credit providers need to take stock of their 

lending criteria, comprehend what is happening 

within their portfolios, and ensure they can 

make decisions based on the most up-to-date 

view possible of the consumer. 

More cautious lending decisions may be one 

way to respond. However, this would need great 

care. The majority of consumers are still stable, 

low-risk borrowers and FCA will be watching to 

ensure credit decisions are fair to the consumer. 

A lesson from the last financial crisis was 

that historical credit data showing consumers’ 

previous propensity to pay was not, on its own, 

sufficient to make the most accurate lending 

decisions. Many people with spotless credit 

records ended up in collections through no fault 

of their own. 

Affordability checks, which are now 

compulsory, have gone some way to making 

lending decisions equitable without being 

reckless. However, they can also be a blunt 

instrument. Generalised affordability measures 

still use historical information, and many 

lenders cannot work out precise disposable 

income levels, mainly because their scoring 

policies look at modelled data rather than the 

exact personal circumstances of the applicant. 

None of these measures are dynamic enough 

to keep up with the real-time needs of today’s fastchanging 

economic environment. Lenders must 

be bold enough to back the right borrowers, and 

sufficiently agile and well informed to provide 

the proper support at the right time should they 

encounter problems. 

Aneesh Varma is founder and CEO, Aire 

Aneesh Varma 


CONSUMER COLLECTIONS 

ENGAGED TONE 

Communication channels, and how 

we measure future success, are 

changing 

AUTHOR – Gareth Bailey 

WITH 95 percent of the 

UK population owning 

a mobile device and the 

explosion of the appbased 

finance culture, 

most people now see selfservice, 

smartphone solutions as a necessity. 

They demand a certain level of customer 

service alongside their digital conveniences, 

not least of all in the debt collection space. 

Today’s customers want the online tools to 

be able to help themselves at a time that is 

convenient to them, they want to take control 

of their finances and they want the technology 

to support it. Historically the greatest obstacle 

businesses face when dealing with their 

indebted customers is engagement. 

The collections and recoveries industry 

has traditionally lagged behind many other 

industry sectors when it comes to technology 

adoption and evolution. Customer behaviour 

and demands for engagement in this sector is 

creating a need for businesses to drive towards 

improving their technology. 

The collections industry now needs to 

evolve to support the needs and wants of the 

customers that it serves. Customer behaviour 

and desire to interact has changed significantly 

and continues to change at a rapid pace. Not 

everyone wants to engage in the same way, 

some customers want to speak to a person and 

others want to complete all transactions online. 

For this reason, there will always be a need for 

agent interaction albeit this is becoming a much 

smaller demand. 

EVOLVING LANGUAGE 

Even the phrase ‘digital’ has evolved, and what 

we used to consider to be digital is already 

deemed standard practice today. A decade ago 

if a business had an IVR or IVM to take customer 

payments or direct a call, this was considered 

cutting edge ‘digital’ technology. Customers, 

however, often see these as antiquated and 

more of an annoyance than a good experience. 

Digital technology is already beginning 

to deliver almost humanlike interactions, 

making smart decisions and delivering up 

bespoke content to consumers. The use of this 

technology, however, is often fragmented and 

used in pockets across customer journeys. We 

see examples of chatbots helping customers 

to retrieve their balance, or details of a recent 

transaction but their scope is still relatively 

limited. The future of collections will see 

smartbots that can interact across the entire 

lifecycle of a customer account, answering, 

predicting and resolving all aspects of the 

customer query whilst also achieving the best 

outcome for the business. Customer journeys 

will need to combine all digital technology 

into one seamless journey; using smartbots 

to handle customer conversations whilst the 

web platform reacts to customer responses 

and business logic to serve up web content to 

provide a conversation like experience. 

Trust, transparency and customer loyalty 

are not phrases readily associated with the 

collections industry, however they need to be. 

Experience has shown that the most powerful 

customer engagement comes from building 

trust between a business and their customers. 

Trust can be built by consistent and relevant 

ongoing interactions and messaging which 

should always have a clear purpose. Content 

needs to be tailored and meaningful, and 

engagement needs to be as fluid and personal 

as it would be with a human. 

Through consistently meeting and exceeding 

customer expectations you can begin to grow 

customer loyalty. Customers that trust the 

companies they do business with will be more 

likely to engage and transact again in the future. 

OPERATING COSTS 

The need for digital is clear from a customer 

point of view, but what does that mean for 

businesses? Businesses will need to invest 

in the initial technology solutions and also 

support ongoing enhancements. This will 

provide increased automation and result in a 

significant reduction in operating costs. We will 

see collection call centres reduce in size and 

agents will handle more specialised customer 

conversations. The need for vast office space 

will become a thing of the past as the remaining 

digital support staff work remotely. 

Over recent years the front-end experience 

for customers whether banking, utilities, or 

general online shopping has dramatically 

changed. We now see the incumbents across 

the banking industry being disrupted with new 

companies offering purely digital banking with 

no branches, and accounts being managed 


CONSUMER COLLECTIONS 

AUTHOR – Gareth Bailey 

on your side will be crucial. Old school contact 

strategies will be quickly replaced by ecommerce 

style marketing and social media experts. 

entirely from a mobile device. As digital 

adoption has gathered momentum across 

these traditional business sectors, we will see 

collections processes and engagement models 

emerge that follow a ‘digital first’ or ‘digital only’ 

approach. 

Monzo and other challenger banks like 

Starling have launched consumer credit 

products, like overdrafts and loans. As they 

continue to help shape how customers are 

engaging in the lending space, when customers 

find themselves falling behind on payments, 

these new higher expectations need to carry 

through into collections journeys. This is why 

companies like Arrow from the debt purchase 

space, and Fintech businesses like DebtStream 

from the collections and recoveries digital 

software sector will continue to have a huge 

focus on UX to meet these consumer needs. 

WORKING COLLABORATIVELY 

Over the last 10 years we have seen the 

debt collection sector working much more 

collaboratively with a wider group of 

stakeholders. Government regulators, creditors 

and the debt advice sector have started to work 

together to balance the needs of customers 

alongside the needs of businesses. However, 

the industry still faces a huge reputational 

challenge. 

In the past, a negative consumer experience 

could have been confined to a bad press article, 

but now could go viral across social media 

platforms in minutes. Managing social media 

will become a mainstay of collection strategies 

of the future therefore having key influencers 

The future of 

collections will 

see smartbots that 

can interact across 

the entire lifecycle 

of a customer 

account, answering, 

predicting and 

resolving all aspects 

of the customer 

query whilst also 

achieving the best 

outcome for the 

business. 

BUSINESS CONTINUITY 

The current impact from the Coronavirus is 

demonstrating how critical it is for companies 

to have a robust disaster recovery plan. Covid19 

has already had an unprecedented effect on 

the world’s workforce and poses a significant 

financial threat to businesses and consumers 

alike. It is crucial that companies can continue 

to operate and deliver their services, albeit in a 

changed operational model. 

We have already seen that call centres are at 

a particular risk due to the very nature of the coworking 

environments they normally operate 

within. It’s well known that digital products 

deliver business value due to the efficiencies 

they bring; however, they clearly also provide 

crucial disaster recovery options in times of 

crisis. 

When we eventually emerge from the current 

Coronavirus restrictions, many companies will 

have found that they were more efficient and 

effective when operating under the disaster 

recovery model they were forced to implement. 

This may cause businesses to re-evaluate their 

normal day-to-day operating models, including 

flexible and remote working for much larger 

proportions of their people. 

Importantly, as businesses introduce more 

remote working, this will require different ways 

to engage and support their people to ensure the 

feeling of teamwork is still a large focus. 

COLLECTIONS MEASURES 

We are all familiar with the common terms 

used to measure elements of operational and 

collection performance: dialler spin rate, right 

party contact rate, average speed of answer, 

abandon rate, roll rate, impairment rate and 

many more. These metrics, however, have 

already started to change. 

As online engagement and ecommerce-style 

strategies emerge across collections, so will 

the metrics we use to measure performance. 

Bounce rate click through rate, goal progress, 

value per visit to name a few, will become terms 

and measures commonly used in the collections 

performance review meetings of the future. 

Simple measures of pounds through the door 

will not support the complex insights needed in 

the future. 

In the era where data is king, every click, 

swipe, toggle and keystroke will be collected and 

utilised to build a detailed picture of each and 

every customer. Understanding and optimising 

each customer touch point and behavioural 

nuance will set the top collections businesses 

apart from the rest as we move into the future. 

Gareth Bailey is co-founder and director 

of DebtStream 


INTERVIEW 

PLAINS SPEAKING 

Sean Feast FCICM speaks to Paladin’s Steve Fox about 

commercial collections, Procure-to-Pay, and why ‘jack of 

all trades’ are overrated. 

STEVE Fox is an unusual man. 

Not because he is an American 

working for a commercial 

collections agency in the UK, 

although that is unusual enough. 

What is more unusual, however, 

is that Steve used to be a client of the 

particular agency in question, Paladin. He 

was so impressed with his former supplier 

that he has now joined the business with 

a mission to transform the company with 

additional Procure-to-Pay and consultancy 

services to differentiate Paladin in a busy and 

increasingly crowded market. 

Growing up in Webster City, Iowa, in the 

heart of the mid-west, Steve admits to being 

a journeyman student but a better ball player: 

“My main interest was sport, especially 

baseball (he pitched and played second 

base) and basketball, and while I dreamed of 

playing for a living, and knew it was unlikely, 

I still always thought I’d end up working in 

the sports industry, perhaps as an agent or 

working within one of the league franchises.” 

TWIN ACCOUNTANTS 

As it was, Steve became an accountant: “My 

father was one of 15, and the two youngest 

brothers (who were twins) were both Certified 

Public Accountants (CPAs). They were my 

motivation for majoring in accountancy at 

university. They looked successful, lived in a 

large city (Chicago), and travelled, and that 

drove my interest.” 

Steve spent four years at Iowa State 

University, and in the last few months of study 

began exploring the options available to him: 

“Typically you would follow one of two routes: 

either join one of the larger PA firms, or join 

a State agency, usually as an auditor. Neither 

route held any attraction for me; hard-core 

technical accounting was not where I saw 

myself.” 

To this end, Steve had a little bit of luck: “I 

spoke to around 30 different companies and 

organisations who came to campus to recruit 

for new talent and was offered a job.” 

In fact, Steve was offered two jobs. The first, 

with the State of Iowa, he politely declined. 

The second, which he accepted, was for one 

of the largest businesses that nobody had 

ever heard of: the pharmaceutical wholesale 

distribution giant, McKesson. “Looking 

back on my career, this was a super critical 

time in my life and explains where I am now,” 

he remembers, smiling. 

As a site controller, Steve worked in a series 

of distribution centres throughout the US, 

initially learning about the company’s systems 

and processes, before being sent to West Palm 

Beach, Florida: “I had never been to Florida 

before,” he laughs. “It was a small distribution 

centre, I was 22-years old, and had four 

direct reports, all of who were older than me. 

Until then I had been trained on systems but 

there was very little training around people 

management. I learned a great deal in a 

very short space of time. I learned that to be 

successful you needed to be able to combine 

technical skills with people skills if you really 

wanted to make a go of it.” 

UPWARDLY MOBILE 

Steve spent nine enjoyable years at McKesson, 

working all over the US. He moved eight 

times: “For a young man happy to pack a bag 

and go anywhere they sent you, it was a great 

experience,” he adds. Phoenix, Arizona was 

his favourite: “It’s where I met my wife,” he 

jokes. 

An opportunity to join Gateway Computers 

proved too tempting, as did an opportunity to 

move to South Dakota, closer to home. It was 

an exciting time to join a new business at the 

start of the personal computing phenomenon: 

“Gateway was a leader in the consumer space, 

and it was a relatively sexy industry. It was the 

mid-1990s and Apple weren’t even considered 

a competitor.” 

It was at Gateway that Steve further extended 

the concept of the Shared Services Centre that 

he’d instigated at McKesson, and became 

something of an expert: “Not many companies 

were doing it at that time but Gateway saw it as 

a key part of their M&A playbook, to transition 

new teams. We not only had integrated payroll 

but also HR, and by the time I left we had 450 

people in our SSC.” 

In 2007, Steve swapped computers for 

biotech, and was invited by a former boss to 

join Invitrogen in San Diego. It reinforced the 

value of contacts and networking: “I made one 

call to my former boss and she said ‘I thought 

you’d never leave’,” he continues. “A week later 

I was on a flight and offered a job on site.” 

Ultimately having the grand title of 

‘Controller for the Americas’, Steve set up an 

SSC in North America and South America, 

“My main interest 

was sport, especially 

baseball and 

basketball, and while 

I dreamed of playing 

for a living, and knew 

it was unlikely, I still 

always thought I’d 

end up working in 

the sports industry, 

perhaps as an agent 

or working within 

one of the league 

franchises.” 


INTERVIEW 

AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM 

and then replicated the model in Europe, by 

which time Invitrogen had merged to become 

Life Technologies, a $4.5 billion business. Life 

Technologies was in turn acquired by Thermo 

Fisher to become a $25 billion+ business. 

COMMERCIAL RECOVERIES 

It was at Invitrogen that he first started using 

Paladin to support a need for commercial 

recoveries: “They were able to recover money 

from anywhere in the world,” Steve explains, 

“and were able to flex their staffing levels and 

flex their coverage to accommodate our needs 

across multiple time zones. What I liked about 

working with them was that we moved from 

being a client/supplier relationship to becoming 

a true partnership where we relied on each 

other. 

“We had an open dialogue and could look at 

one another across the table, even if it was bad 

news. We’d tell each other what we needed. In 

“For a young man 

happy to pack 

a bag and go 

anywhere they 

sent you, it was a 

great experience, 

Phoenix, Arizona 

was my favourite: 

“It’s where I met my 

wife.” 

negotiations, everyone thinks there has to be a 

winner, but if there’s a winner then there has to 

be a loser. We looked at it differently. We found 

common ground so that we both won.” 

Paladin had been founded by George Miles in 

1997 as a pure commercial collections business. 

Steve’s relationship with George was such that 

they determined at some point to work together: 

“My parents had both been entrepreneurs: my 

father was a barber and my mother owned her 

own insurance agency, and so it was perhaps 

inevitable that I would one day want to ‘scratch 

an entrepreneurial itch’,” he says. 

The opportunity came when Thermo Fisher 

and Steve made the difficult decision to part 

ways “I’d also been working at the hard-end 

of the corporate world for nearly 30 years and 

wanted to do something different.” 

Steve was excited in joining Paladin, and 

the potential to expand its capabilities: “It was 

always exclusively a debt collection business 


continues on page 26 >

INTERVIEW 

AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM 

Steve Fox 

and I felt it could be so much more,” he says. 

Throughout the course of 2019, Paladin 

launched two new services: a Procure-to- 

Pay proposition, and a Shared Service Centre 

consultancy: “There are plenty of companies 

out there who do debt collection; a handful 

that focus on Procure-to-Pay; and a number 

that provide a classic SSC consultancy. But I 

am not aware of any that deliver all three under 

the same roof.” 

PROCURE-TO-PAY 

Procure-to-Pay is defined typically as the 

process of requisitioning, purchasing, 

receiving, paying for and accounting for goods 

and services. It gets its name from the ordered 

sequence of procurement and financial 

processes, starting with the first steps of 

procuring a good or service to the final steps 

involved in paying for it. 

Steve says that the Procure-to-Pay proposition 

is already proving popular. In one example of a 

c£0.5 billion business Paladin ‘found’ £250,000 

in 60 days, money that in this case acted as a 

windfall for the business which they invested 

in employee training and development. The 

money that Paladin finds from a client’s 

suppliers stems from such things as rebate 

credits, returned merchandise credits, 

duplicate payments, over-payments etc. In one 

example Steve cites, a customer had pre-paid a 

supplier £2.7 million for future works, but when 

the work was finally undertaken, they were 

charged again, since no record had been kept, 

teams had moved on, and the pre-payment 

forgotten! In another example, and in answer 

to my question about how difficult it is to get 

suppliers to engage when there is no obligation 

for them to do so, Paladin approached 4,206 

suppliers for a particular client and every one 

of them replied with a statement of account. 

Paladin’s ‘traditional’ commercial recoveries 

service also continues to do well: “Every 

company is proud of their revenue and their 

margin, but even if you have a 90 percent 

margin it’s actually zero if you can’t collect it,” 

Steve says. 

“Transactions are ultimately based on trust 

but if the cycle breaks down then you still need 

to find a way of turning that revenue into cash. 

Things happen, and our role is to ‘fix’ what 

might have gone wrong and do so in a way that 

still allows the relationship to continue and 

rebuild the trust between the two parties. We 

help our clients understand what went wrong 

without it turning into a blame game. Very 

rarely is it a case of the parties agreeing to split 

the difference and go their separate ways.” 

WHITE LABEL 

So, when should a credit manager look to 

engage a commercial collections provider? 

“When your debt is 90-days post terms and 

you’ve exhausted your usual in-house practices, 

that’s the time to call in additional help. We 

can white label our service to collect in your 

name or as a third party and have teams that 

are skilled in both.” 

Steve is excited about what the future holds, 

and over the next few years is looking to 

further grow the Paladin business across all 

of its services. And what advice would he give 

his younger self if he were starting out again 

today? It’s a question that resonates, since his 

eldest son has just started work for Microsoft: 

“I think it would be to find something that 

you’d like to do that you can become an expert 

at,” he muses. 

“Being a ‘jack of all trades’ is somewhat oversold. 

Become technically proficient to the 

point that others respect you and respect the 

value that you bring. And have some fun while 

you’re doing it!” 

“When your debt is 90-days post 

terms and you’ve exhausted 

your usual in-house practices, 

that’s the time to call in 

additional help. We can white 

label our service to collect in 

your name or as a third party 

and have teams that are skilled 

in both.” 


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CONTROLLING 

INFLUENCE 

Considerations in creating a strategic 

credit management department. Part Two 

AUTHOR – Matthew Godby MCICM 

IN the first part of this series, we 

looked at what a strategic credit 

management department is and 

what it should look like. We talked 

about traditional ‘reactionary’ 

departments – those that tend to 

deal with issues as they occur; and those 

who are more strategic and collaborative in 

approach – driving improvement with others 

and preventing problems occurring in the 

first place. 

Strategic credit management is not just 

about collecting money from customers. 

It is about working together across wider 

business, to ensure the whole Order to Cash 

(O2C) pathway is as efficient as it can be – and 

it is reviewed and adapted as the business 

grows and evolves. Let’s look at some of the 

considerations for developing a strategic 

credit management department, starting 

with leadership. 

EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP 

Without effective leadership, failure is 

likely to be inevitable. It stands to reason, 

therefore, that having a credit manager with 

the right skills and capabilities is key. This 

takes someone who can lead from the front 

and by example; collaborative by nature; 

good communication skills and the ability 

to inspire others to succeed. They need to 

be able to present sometimes complicated 

financial information in a meaningful way, 

which can therefore be used to drive real 

change (this can be particularly difficult 

to do), and constantly review what works 

and what doesn’t, adapting and changing 

accordingly. 

ORDER TO CASH CYCLE 

It stands to reason that a more efficient O2C 

cycle tends to lead to increased company 

profit. 

• Onboarding and risk: a sale isn’t a sale until 

you’ve been paid, and late paying customers 

cost money. It should therefore be policy 

that all new customers are credit checked, 

without exception, which provides the best 

chance of having a portfolio of customers 

who pay on time. Ensure sales staff aren’t 

wasting their time on prospects with poor 

credit ratings by encouraging them to ask for 

credit checks as early as possible. Vary credit 

terms dependent on risk. Implement credit 

limits to mitigate your exposure to loss. 

Continue to risk assess existing customers 

through CRAs, payment patterns and your 

own continued commercial experience. 

• Invoicing: frequency varies from business 

to business but clearly, the more regularly 

invoices are issued, the more often customers 

will pay. Ensuring they are checked for 

correctness before being sent out on time, 

means customers will pay quicker. Invoice 

disputes are inevitable, which take time, 

resources and delay payment – carrying out 

regular root cause analysis of the typical 

ones prevents them from occurring in the 

first place. EDI invoicing is, by definition, 

electronic and the most efficient method. 

‘Manual’ invoicing usually occurs where 

internal systems are inadequate, or customers 

request a particular format. It can become 

the norm and often takes a disproportionate 

time and resource – this should be avoided 

wherever possible. 

• Credit controlling: pro-active credit 

control should be standard. When done 

well, it enhances customer relationships, 

highlights issues early on and gets you paid 

quicker. Overdue letters (a suite of three is 

ideal) and statements are integral to this 

process and as with invoicing practices, 

should be sent out on time every time. This 

provides ample warnings and opportunities 

for customers to pay and if they don’t, orders 

should be placed on stop. 

Monitor payment patterns closely and use 

segmentation to prioritise those customers 

of most concern. Be honest and clear to 

customers about the consequences for 

continually paying late – revise payment 

terms or credit limits if necessary. Every 

day a customer pays late is an erosion on 

your profit margins, so question whether it 

is worth continuing to trade with those who 

never pay on time. 

SYSTEMS AND REPORTING 

It’s crucial to have the systems in place 

that can track, measure and report progress 

consistently, easily and transparently. 

Workflow dashboards allow credit 

Strategic credit 

management is not 

just about collecting 

money from 

customers. It is about 

working together 

across wider business, 

to ensure the whole 

Order to Cash (O2C) 

pathway is as efficient 

as it can be. 



AUTHOR – Matthew Godby MCICM 

controllers to schedule their calls, segment 

customers, flag disputes, monitor payment 

patterns and more. They allow management to 

conduct cashflow forecasts, understand risks, 

measure DSO, benchmark goals and set targets. 

There are also specialist organisations that 

provide on-line credit management dashboards. 

These vary in sophistication and cost, can be offthe-shelf 

or bespoke and can pull in additional 

information from CRAs, Companies House and 

more. This can allow businesses to build a much 

wider profile of their customers. 

I’ve often seen businesses that spend a 

disproportionate amount of time sending out 

the same reports, to the same audience, in 

the same format, because it has ‘always been 

done this way’ – only for a handful of people 

to read them. Reporting only serves a purpose 

if it is meaningful, useful, understandable and 

provided from a position of knowledge. 

PEOPLE POWER 

It never fails to surprise me to see staff in 

roles that they clearly aren’t suited for. This is 

completely counterproductive and inefficient. 

(Many years ago, I remember working with an 

organisation who had a credit controller who 

didn’t enjoy calling customers for payment). 

The effects to the business in terms of results 

The responsibility 

for business 

strategy comes 

from its leadership. 

How strategic 

a credit control 

department may 

become will be 

determined by the 

credit manager 

and the support of 

his/her leadership 

team. 

can be significant, as well as to the individual 

concerned in terms of their health and mental 

wellbeing. It is the duty of leaders to evaluate 

individual skillsets for the appropriate position. 

And then to provide the necessary support 

through induction, training and mentoring for 

them to achieve their full potential. 

CREDIT POLICIES 

Developing a credit policy places formally, and in 

writing, the role of the credit control department, 

the responsibilities of other departments and 

how the business interacts with its customers. 

This ensures tasks, responsibilities and actions 

are transparent, consistent and understood by 

everyone. It should be audited annually and 

ratified by the board. 

Creating a ‘Ways of Working’ document for 

the credit control department is an excellent 

idea. Distinct from the credit policy, it outlines 

very simply what the purpose and values of 

the credit control department are. Written and 

developed by the credit control staff themselves 

(with the support of the manager) gives it a lot 

more weight as a living, breathing ‘this is how 

we go about our business.’ 

COLLABORATIVE APPROACH 

We talked earlier about how traditional credit 

control departments tend to be somewhat 

reactionary, with a reputation that they are only 

heard from when there is bad news. Strategic, 

proactive credit departments rely on the support 

of all areas of the business to succeed: 

Credit managers should encourage an 

atmosphere of openness and transparency 

with and between their staff. They should seek 

honest opinions, ideas and feedback from staff 

who, after all, are often best placed to provide 

it. Team briefs are a must, should be at least 

weekly and provide the necessary space to have 

professional discussions. 

• Credit control staff should be encouraged 

and supported to work with other departments 

to solve problems. Working together prevents 

issues occurring in the first place, allows 

understanding of how other departments 

work and breeds confidence in staff of pulling 

together to getting things done. 

• Credit managers should build relationships 

with their counterpart leaders whose 

departments affect credit control (e.g. sales), 

which will drive change. The credit manager 

should attend board meetings. They should meet 

with customers and other external stakeholders. 

The responsibility for business strategy 

comes from its leadership. How strategic a 

credit control department may become will 

be determined by the credit manager and the 

support of his/her leadership team. 

Matt Godby MCICM (Grad), Director – 

Godby Credit Management Ltd 


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PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT 

Captive Audience 

Engaging with your audience from the start. 

AUTHOR – Clive Hawkins 

THE onset of Coronavirus 

has changed every part 

of our lives and has 

forced us to adapt to new 

ways of working. This 

has led to a big increase in 

spare bedrooms, kitchens, and living rooms 

being turned into makeshift settings for 

online conference calls, team meetings and 

presentations. 

Whilst this has shown to be a flexible 

and effective way of working, it gives 

audiences a rare glimpse into presenters’ 

homes and backdrop of books, photographs 

and pictures adorning the walls they are 

presenting from – and sometimes even 

seeing family members wandering in as 

well! This will often provide interesting 

and amusing insights. However, it can also 

distract audiences and lead to the backdrop 

becoming the point of interest rather than 

what the presenter is saying. 

With any public speaking delivery – 

whether its online or in front of a live 

audience – you have only a very short 

period of time to capture attention from 

the start. So here are a few key tips to help 

captivate your audience: 

PREPARATION IS EVERYTHING 

Rehearse your presentation until you can 

deliver it in your sleep and don’t need to 

rely on speaking notes. Check your slides 

are ready to go in the correct order and 

that the camera, microphone and lighting 

are positioned correctly for your delivery. 

You will need to decide on the appropriate 

backdrop to complement your delivery and 

avoid any distractions. If you are presenting 

from home, it is also worth putting up a 

‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on your door and 

locking pets in another room to deter 

anyone unexpectedly walking in. Thorough 

preparation is fundamental to a successful 

presentation. 

DELIVERING A POWERFUL OPENING 

One of the most nerve-racking parts of any 

presentation is immediately before you 

start your delivery. Expectation is high as 

your audience settles down to focus on you. 

They are eager to hear what you have to say 

and are already forming an opinion about 

you before you have even started speaking. 

So, what can you say to capture interest 

from the start? It can help to begin with a 

rhetorical question, key fact or reference to 

a society anniversary that aligns with your 

presentation. These can all be effective in 

helping you hook in your audience from 

the beginning. You should monitor news 

coverage in the run-up to your presentation 

as this ensures you able to adapt your 

delivery to changing circumstances – which 

is what we are seeing on a daily basis with 

Coronavirus. 

An audience will find you engaging and 

credible if you can deliver your presentation 

with interest, enthusiasm, and focus on 

their subject interests. This is where an 

effective use of your body language will 

also come into play. You need to consider: 

the words you say: are you going to use 

easy-to-understand content, abbreviations, 

memorable facts and figures, and seek 

to have more of a conversation with the 

audience? 

the way you look: are you dressed 

appropriately for your presentation or could 

your attire unwittingly be a distraction? 

Have you considered your posture so you 

are looking comfortable and confident? 

Are you going to avoid waving your arms or 

looking away from your audience? 

the way you sound: are you going to talk 

eloquently, avoid any ‘ums’ and ‘ers’ in your 

delivery and use your voice effectively for 

tone, emphasis and pace? 

Delivering a powerful presentation will 

require you to focus on all these areas in 

tandem. Initially, it is hard to co-ordinate 

everything. With practice, it becomes 

second-nature and when you see your 

audience focusing on your delivery from 

start to finish, you know you have cracked 

it! 

Clive Hawkins is Senior Associate 

at Spoken Word Communications 

clive@spokenwordgroup.co.uk 

Clive Hawkins 

It gives audiences 

a rare glimpse into 

presenters’ homes 

and backdrop of 

books, photographs 

and pictures adorning 

the walls they are 

presenting from – 

and sometimes even 

seeing family members 

wandering in as well! 


INTERNATIONAL 

TRADE 

Monthly round-up of the latest stories 

in global trade by Andrea Kirkby. 

No-one should want to 

read (about) this CV 

THERE is but one story on everyone’s lips 

right now - the impact of Coronavirus on 

the world and its economies. 

Aside from the stories of human 

suffering and community lockdown, 

there are predictions of a global 

recession. While some have been talking 

of a slowdown or market correction 

for some time now, what has become 

apparent is beyond anything that could 

have been imagined, let alone planned 

for. 

The first problem, as if it needs stating, 

is how firms preserve cash despite the 

help that the government is able to offer 

– and ideally without letting staff go. 

Next, for exporters at least, it’s important 

A single currency such as the euro or 

the West African eco is a great idea 

on paper. However, as with life, they’re 

rarely simple to deploy and keep 

stable. The former has been battered 

in years past following the financial 

meltdown of 2008-2012 and its use as 

a tool to prop up a number of almost 

bankrupt European economies, the 

that they are aware of the position that 

their customers are in. Coronavirus 

may well tip the global economy into 

recession as consumers hunker down 

for the long term and governments ban 

travel while some businesses are forced 

to close. (Although those supplying the 

supermarkets and wider food chain – as 

well as some electrical goods such as TVs 

– are currently doing well.) 

But a key issue for exporters to contend 

with is how to ship product to overseas 

customers while making provision for an 

inability to make shipments. Airfreight 

is likely to be impacted and borders may 

be open for trade presently, but in such 

trying times anything can happen. 

GET SET FOR THE NEXT EURO CRISIS 

latter was meant to be introduced 

in 2003, 2005, 2010, 2014 and 2020 

to replace the CFA Franc but is still 

waiting to be launched. 

Looking at the euro, it is likely 

to come under more pressure as a 

result of Italy suspending mortgage 

payments as Coronavirus bites, and 

Germany (along with the rest of the 

TROUBLE BREWING 

IN THE LEBANON 

LEBANON has been involved in a number of 

conflicts in the last 70 years – it’s been sucked 

into war against Israel, insurrections, a civil war 

and a spill over from the troubles in Syria. But the 

country seemed to be making headway. However, 

it has a debt problem that is now too big to ignore 

and the new Lebanese prime minister, Hassan 

Diab, has said that the country will, for the first 

time ever, default on $1.2bn in foreign currency 

debt so that it can ‘secure the basic needs’ of its 

people. 

The debt crisis is a self-made problem that is 

the result of Lebanon running growing budget 

deficits and maintaining a negative balance 

of payments for years. The country has been 

spending half of its income servicing debt. 

Nevertheless, there are two problems for 

businesses, and by extension, exporters dealing 

with Lebanon. Firstly, it appears that two-thirds 

of government debt is held by local banks while 

the second is that an IMF loan may be the only 

option left. There is now a very real risk that 

the banks could fail and that those with assets 

or cash in the country could be forced to take a 

‘haircut’ akin to that forced on Cypriots in 2013 

that cost them 47.5 percent of bank deposits over 

€100,000. 

So, if you trade with partners in the country be 

ever so careful about managing your receivables. 

world to be fair) is likely to be pushed 

into recession. If Italy follows Germany 

into recession, it’ll be its fourth since 

the global financial crisis, a move 

that will push government debt above 

$2.5trn or 135 percent of GDP. 

Coronavirus is bringing so many 

influences together to form a perfect 

storm and exporters need to be wary. 


Japan’s VAT rise squeezes 

the economy 

YOU couldn’t make it up. It appears, not 

unsurprisingly, that Japan’s economy 

contracted by 6.3 percent in the last quarter 

of 2019 following a rise in the country’s rate 

of VAT. Simple maths indicates that a rise in 

VAT is going to make some consumers think 

twice about what they buy, so consumer 

spending fell by 11.5 percent. 

But what makes the rise in VAT hard to 

fathom is that the government apparently 

had no real need for the extra revenue yet 

raised VAT on many consumer goods from 

eight to ten percent anyway. The Japanese 

government clearly didn’t learn from its past 

‘errors’ because the same thing happened 

in 2014 which was followed by a similar fall 

as did an increase back in 1997. The rise 

is even more remarkable as the Japanese 

government has a stated policy of boosting 

private spending and increasing inflation 

from its current 0.8 percent to a two percent 

target. 

And here’s the message for exporters – 

any rise in VAT is bound to make it harder 

to sell goods to consumers who cannot 

recover the tax. So, if your products are 

aimed squarely at consumers you may want 

to either move your attention to different 

markets, make your products less expensive 

or scale back production. 

As to what the Japanese government does 

next to support the economy in the face of 

the threat of coronavirus, that’s anyone’s 

guess. 

Atradius maps the risks of trade 

THEY say that a picture is worth a 

thousand words and so exporters 

wishing to see where global tradingrelated 

risks are greatest would be well 

advised to spend some time looking at 

Atradius’ Country Risk Map. Granted it 

uses data from Q4 2019, which given the 

current situation may be a touch out of 

date, but it’s interesting for if nothing 

else, it generally reinforces what we 

know to be the most ‘at risk’ countries. 

The US, Canada and most of northern 

Europe is low risk – as is Greenland. 

Lumped together as moderate-low 

risk are Spain, Portugal and Italy with 

many of the former communist states, 

Russia, India, China and Saudi Arabia. 

South Africa, Turkey and Brazil are 

considered a moderate risk while those 

countries to be handled with extreme 

caution include Sudan, the Democratic 

Republic of the Congo and Mali. No 

prizes for how North Korea, Iran, Iraq and 

Syria are rated. 

The map isn’t static and this time 

around Bulgaria, Dominican Republic, 

Jamaica and Portugal rose in Atradius’ 

estimation while Angola, Argentina, 

Chile and Lebanon sank. 

As to how the risk map is compiled, 

the company says it uses political 

risks, the likelihood of conflict, risk of 

confiscation, currency controls, a state’s 

willingness to pay its bills and the ability 

of businesses to pay their international 

bills. So, just as a hiker shouldn’t leave 

home without a good OS map, exporters 

shouldn’t do business with overseas 

partners without consulting this map. 

WATCH YOUR 

EXCHANGE RATES 

CORONAVIRUS has exacerbated 

Sterling’s fall through the floor against 

other key currencies. The fall has started 

as a result of the government’s Brexit 

negotiations (remember that?). By 19 

March, Sterling had fallen to €1.05 at one 

point before ‘recovering’ to €1.09 by the 

day’s end. And against the dollar, it dropped 

to $1.14 before rising to nearly $1.15. Now 

compare those rates to 10 days earlier 

where one pound would have bought 

€1.15 and $1.30. What will happen next is 

anyone’s guess, but the swing in exchange 

rates may either be a blessing or a curse 

depending on which side of the fence you 

sit. 

But there is a solution. If you’ve not 

thought about it already, you should 

employ a currency trader to fix your rates. 

Whether that’s through the use of forward 

contracts, stop loss orders, or options, a 

trader can help provide comfort against 

adverse exchange rates. Conversely, it 

might even offer an opportunity to make 

money. Either way, exporters must protect 

their currency exposure. 

CV CREATES A HEALTHY 

OUTLOOK FOR SOME 

IT seems crass to talk about business 

opportunities when it comes to 

Coronavirus, but it should be entirely clear 

to any bystander that healthcare spending 

is surging across the world. And this 

makes the sector a target for any business 

able to offer supplies, staff, equipment and 

buildings. 

The UK has said that the NHS will get 

whatever it needs to handle the pandemic 

and governments around the world are 

doing much the same. The EU Commission 

announced in February a new €232 million 

aid package to boost global preparedness, 

prevention and containment of the virus. 

And the US has an $8.3bn package that 

will be spent on research and development 

of vaccines, research for treatments, 

telehealth services and state-based public 

health services. 

So, while on the one hand it seems unfair 

to exploit the present emergency it should 

be remembered that UK firms could well 

hold the key to helping those in need. 

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 1.15271 1.06078 Up 

GBP/USD 

1.26416 1.14767 Up 

GBP/CHF 

GBP/AUD 

1.21378 1.12388 Up 

2.05564 1.95173 Down 

GBP/CAD 1.777704 1.66659 Up 

GBP/JPY 

135.46293 125.99350 Up 


This data was taken on 20th April and refers to the month 

previous to/leading up to 19th April 2020.

INNOVATION 

 

CREDITFORCE 

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MANAGEMENT 

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COUNTRY FOCUS 

In business meetings, 

silence may suggest 

trouble 

Silence is golden 

Part Two: Vietnam 

ONE of the reasons that 

Vietnam has risen higher 

in the World Bank’s ease 

of doing business ratings 

is because the government 

has been reforming what 

was once a complicated tax system. It’s of 

note that the Tax Department has issued 

regulations that have helped created 

favourable conditions for businesses. 

The country has also moved into the 21st 

century when it comes to tax reporting 

and electronic tax declarations were fully 

implemented late 2017. 

Income tax rates follow seven bands, 

based on income, and range from five 

percent (up to five million Vietnamese 

dong (VND)) to 35 percent (more than 80mn 

VND). On top of that are the usual taxes 

on business income (one- to five-percent), 

interest and dividends (five percent), sale of 

real estate (two percent) and inheritances/ 

gifts/prizes (ten percent) and more. A good 

advisor is essential given the remaining 

complexities. 

It’s quite telling that despite the advent 

of modern payment methods Vietnam 

is still one of the most cash-dependent 

economies in the world; more than 90 

percent of all domestic transactions are 

done in cash as there is a lack of ATMs 

and trustworthy cashless systems. As The 

Travel Brief wrote: “While credit cards are 

accepted in many places in major cities like 

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, you will still 

have a lot of trouble getting around without 

enough cash in hand.” 

The matter isn’t helped by Vietnamese 

who feel distrustful of corrupt local banks. 

As such, many Vietnamese businesses 

use wire transfers to send funds. Fintech 

Singapore reported in January 2017 that the 

government planned to make the country 

cashless by 2020. The goal is to provide 

the infrastructure for such a system while 

increasing the fees on cash payments, 

and decreasing fees related to electronic 

payments. 

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 

Intellectual property rights are key for 

any business and while Vietnam, like 

other nations, offers protections, the 

enforcement of the law is very weak, and 

abuse remains a problem. The government 

is taking steps to address the problem, and 

has introduced new legislation to protect 

IP rights, including copyright, industrial 

property and plant varieties. 

It’s important to recognise that home 

IP protections will not apply in Vietnam. 

Foreign companies that want to register 

their intellectual ownership should file 

an application with the National Office 

of Industrial Property of Vietnam via an 

“While credit cards are 

accepted in many places 

in major cities like Hanoi 

and Ho Chi Minh City, 

you will still have a lot 

of trouble getting around 

without enough cash in 

hand.” 

authorised agent. The Copyright Office 

of Vietnam (COV) administers copyright 

protection law. Although copyright 

can be protected in Vietnam without 

any registration requirement, formal 

recordation of copyright at the COV is 

recommended. 

Vietnam is a part of the Patent 

Cooperation Treaty and the Madrid 

Agreement Concerning the International 

Registration of Marks. Patent and trademark 

applicants may use these international 

systems for filing international patent 

and trademark applications for requesting 

protection in Vietnam. 

OTHER MATTERS TO NOTE 

Despite reform in the country, corruption 

is still widespread in Vietnam and anyone 

doing business in the country is likely to 

encounter it or hear of it at some point. 

However, the Vietnamese government 

is fighting the problem and its Anti- 

Corruption Law 2005 is considered by the 

World Bank to be among the best anticorruption 

legal frameworks in Asia. 

BUSINESS CULTURE 

Vietnamese remains the dominant language 

and the Vietnamese appreciate foreigners 

trying simple phrases. A handshake and a 

slight bow of the head is given when saying 

hello and goodbye. 

Deals are rarely completed in a 

few encounters and person to person 

conversations are preferred over online 

communication and emails. Cold calling is 

not recommended. 

When giving or receiving business cards, 

do so with both hands and the card should 

be read; anything otherwise is deemed 

offensive; business cards ought to have 

both English and Vietnamese translations. 

Seniority and hierarchy are important 

in Vietnam, so giving the eldest person 

respect by giving them a business card first 

is appropriate. 

Similarly, documents should be 

translated into Vietnamese and agendas 

before meetings are welcomed. Silence 

means contemplation and interruptions 

are considered rude. Further, silence may 

be used when someone disagrees. 

Saying ‘yes’ may merely indicate 

understanding, rather than actual 

agreement so it’s best to follow up and 

confirm with a business partner to 

understand if a deal has actually been 

agreed. 

Vietnamese will ask questions that may 

seem personal to a foreigner – discussing 

family and personal life is normal and 

is seen as a sign of friendliness and 

interest. Lastly, as with many other Asian 

countries, a person’s reputation, dignity, 

and prestige – ‘face’ – is very important 

and unintentionally causing a loss of face 

due to their words or actions should be 

avoided… suggestions or challenges should 

be dealt with in private. 

Adam Bernstein is a freelance business 

writer. 


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 

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 

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 

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. 

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: 0870 081 8250 

E: emea-info@bottomline.com 

W: www.bottomline.com/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 

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 

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 


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 


INTRODUCING OUR 

CORPORATE 

PARTNERS 

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 

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. 

T: +44 (0)1246 555055 

E: info@forumsinternational.co.uk 

W: www.forumsinternational.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 


SOAPBOX 

Roll Up 

A tale of toilet rolls, the 4x4 middle classes, and 

words of wisdom from a senior Fellow. 

AUTHOR – Glen Bullivant FCICM 

Glen Bullivant FCICM 

I 

always read this magazine from cover 

to cover and there were two worthy 

candidates for the ‘Monthly Words of 

Wisdom Awards’ in the March issue. 

The first was the editorial by 

Sean Feast. (It should be said here 

and now, by the way, that in the grumpy old 

man stakes, he is at this time nowt but an 

apprentice, with a number of years intensive 

training still to undergo before graduating 

into the hallowed arena of yours truly and 

Arthur Smith.) 

I take exception to being told by everyone 

under the age of 25 that I am totally to blame 

for the rise in sea levels, or Storm Jorge (trust 

the Spanish Met Office to come up with a 

name that nobody outside Madrid could 

pronounce correctly). As the Iron Lady once 

said in the Parliamentary Zoo Enclosure – No! 

No! No! My generation had milk delivered to 

the doorstep in reusable glass bottles, shops 

used brown carrier bags with string handles, 

and the weekly groceries came to the door 

courtesy of Granville on a bicycle. Even the 

supermarket kept large cardboard boxes by 

the checkouts. 

Walking to school was the norm back then, 

and when we threw the kids out at 08:00am, 

we did not expect to see them back before 

16.30, an even more important discipline to 

be observed during the school holidays. The 

temptation to move house during the day 

and leave no forwarding address was almost 

overpowering by September, let me tell you. 

CARBON COPY 

Of course, we are all to blame and the second 

article in the March magazine was that by 

Brian Murnane, of Carbon Action. Balanced, 

sensible, realistic are words which spring to 

mind – I often think that the calm and quiet 

explanation of where we are and what we 

need to do is far more effective than climbing 

on top of a Tube train or blocking the doors 

of the bank. We ordinary folk listen carefully 

to the former and are inclined to dismiss the 

latter as unnecessary sensationalism. 

I am doing my bit though I will agree that 

getting my West Yorkshire Metro bus pass at 

60, together with a Senior Railcard does put 

me at an advantage. I do have a car – one 

which reflects my personality (old, rusty 

and with moving parts perhaps no longer 

as efficient as they once were), but when I 

filled the tank with petrol this March, 

I realised that the last time I filled the tank 

was in October, 2019. Why on earth would I 

want to drive to Leeds, Bradford, Manchester 

or Liverpool when there are perfectly good 

(ok, not perfect) public transport alternatives? 

I walk into town – please note that legs were 

made for walking, and not for pushing down 

pedals – and remain capable of carrying 

shopping, having two arms designed for the 

task. 

It is an irony on the carbon front, of 

course, that we have all been overtaken 

by the tragedy of Covid-19, with harmful 

greenhouse gas emissions plunging like the 

Stock Markets and the price of oil. 

RED PEN 

All of which leads me to the point where 

your editor will take out his red pen and cut 

swathes out of what I am going to say next 

because here comes my angry rant of the 

month. 

In order to keep myself safer by way of 

distancing, a couple of days ago, I used my 

car to go shopping (hence filling the tank). 

Orange juice, eggs, milk, bread and sugar 

– not much but I had run out. I went to 

Sainsbury’s and could not help but see that 

it looked as if it had been ram-raided by 

rampaging rhinos, with swarms of locusts 

riding shotgun. I got what I needed there, left 

the car in the supermarket car park, whilst 

I nipped into Poundland for Smokey Bacon 

crisps and Picnics on special offer. Their 

shelves were well stocked and that is when I 

realised something very fundamental. 

The 4x4 middle classes, fully paid up 

members of the anti-runway, anti-incinerator, 

ban the ‘whatever the bomb that looks most 

beastly’ brigade buy what they want rather 

than need, at the expense of the poorer who 

can only buy what they need rather than 

want. Those on fixed incomes have always 

shopped on pension day, or odds and ends 

daily, and for those needing toilet rolls to 

make the journey only to see double barrelled 

named herberts driving off in their diesel 

guzzlers loaded to the roof with enough toilet 

rolls to wipe the backsides of the entire crew 

of HMS Prince of Wales is disgraceful, to say 

the least. 

Simple solution – the first pack at shelf 

price, the second pack double, the third pack 

treble and so on, the excess revenue going to 

the local food bank charity. 

Glen Bullivant FCICM is as old as he looks. 

(The editor wishes to remind readers that the 

views of contributors are entirely their own.) 



AWARDING BODY 

Congratulations to all of the following, who successfully 

achieved Diplomas in Credit Management. 

Level 3 Diploma in Credit Management (ACICM) 

NAME 

Colin Banett 

Andrew Barratt 

Lisamarie Canning 

Charlotte Collins-Sidwell 

Amy Grace 

Samantha Hill 

Lucy Sleath 

Chelsea Ware 

Level 3 Diploma in Credit & Collections (ACICM) 

NAME 

Paula Bailey 

Kieran Barnes 

Patrycja Biedron 

Alexandra Denny 

Jamie England 

Tom Hatherell 

Fiona Kelly 

Laura Watkins 

Leah Whitcher 

Level 3 Diploma in Money & Debt Advice (ACICM) 

NAME 

Tanis Belsham-Wray 

Patricia Cassidy 

Amy Holland 

Rhiannon Lamb 

Hollie Anne Parker 

Ashley Raine 

Emma Riley 

Naomi Williams-Velody 

Level 3 Diploma in Debt Collection (ACICM) 

NAME 

Maddie Beaden 

Level 5 Diploma in Credit & Collections Management MCICM(Grad) 

NAME 

Gillian Norris 

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 

The sixth Annual General Meeting of the 

Chartered Institute of Credit Management will 

be held on Thursday 11 June 2020 at CICM HQ, 

The Water Mill, Station Road, South Luffenham, 

Oakham, LE15 8NB at 13:00 (or at the rising 

of the Advisory Council from its preceding 

meeting, whichever is later). 

By order of the Executive Board 

Sue Chapple FCICM 

Interim Chief Executive 

To read the Notice, visit: 

http://www.cicm.com/about-cicm/governance/ 


HR MATTERS 

Indecent Disclosure 

New guidance on NDAs, compulsory retirement, 

and holidays. 

AUTHOR – Gareth Edwards 

ACAS has published 

new guidance to help 

employers and workers 

understand what NDAs 

are and to discourage their 

misuse. This guidance 

follows recent media coverage around 

the use of non-disclosure agreements 

(NDAs) in cases that involve workplace 

sexual harassment or discrimination. 

Typically, employers might use NDAs 

to stop an employee or worker sharing 

information. However, NDAs cannot be 

used to stop anyone whistleblowing or 

reporting a crime to the police. 

ACAS recommends that NDAs should 

not be used in a number of instances 

such as; seeing if another resolution 

can be used, to stop someone reporting 

harassment, discrimination or sexual 

harassment, to cover up inappropriate 

behaviour or misconduct, to avoid 

addressing disputes or problems in the 

workplace, or to mislead someone. 

The guidance says that NDAs can be 

used to keep an organisation’s information 

confidential, when an employer needs 

protection for important business 

information, to keep certain things that 

the employee knows about the workplace 

or business confidential, or to prevent an 

employee making derogatory statements 

about the employer or other employees. 

The government has indicated 

its intention to legislate in this area, 

particularly to tackle the misuse of NDAs 

in the workplace such as to cover up 

sexual harassment, discrimination and 

assault. Employers are well advised to 

ensure their current use of NDAs complies 

with best practice. 

Typically, employers might use 

NDAs to stop an employee or 

worker sharing information. 

However, NDAs cannot be used 

to stop anyone whistleblowing or 

reporting a crime to the police. 


HR MATTERS 

AUTHOR – Gareth Edwards 

Compulsory Retirement unjustified 

In this case the 

University was 

successful in showing 

it had legitimate aims 

for the EJRA policy, for 

example that it allows 

for younger and more 

diverse academics to 

progress in their careers 

by creating new job 

vacancies. 

MEANWHILE, in Ewart v University 

of Oxford, an Employment Tribunal 

(ET) has held that Oxford University’s 

compulsory retirement age policy could 

not be objectively justified as it was not 

a proportionate means of achieving 

a legitimate aim. The University had 

therefore unfairly dismissed Professor 

Ewart and directly discriminated against 

him on the grounds of his age. 

Since 2011 the Oxford University had 

in place an Employer-Justified Retirement 

Age Policy (EJRA) policy that required 

academics to retire before their 69th 

birthday. Ewart was being forced into 

retirement and brought a successful 

claim against the University for age 

discrimination and unfair dismissal in 

a case that has highlighted the risks for 

employers who set a retirement age for 

employees. 

Unlike other forms of direct 

discrimination, direct age discrimination 

can be justified on the basis that it is 

a proportionate means of achieving a 

legitimate aim (and goes no further than 

necessary to achieve that legitimate aim). 

In this case the University was 

successful in showing it had legitimate 

aims for the EJRA policy, for example that 

it allows for younger and more diverse 

academics to progress in their careers by 

creating new job vacancies. In fact, the 

University had successfully justified the 

policy in a different age discrimination 

case. 

However, in this case, the ET held 

that the University had not shown 

sufficient justification for the policy's 

discriminatory effect with regards to 

its aims. For instance, Ewart provided 

statistical evidence that suggested that 

the EJRA only created two- to four 

percent more vacancies than would have 

otherwise arisen had the policy not been 

in place. This was found to be trivial in 

comparison with the discriminatory effect 

of terminating someone's employment 

solely due to their age. 

This case highlights the difficulties 

in justifying a contractual retirement 

age, which may also be reflected in the 

fact that Oxford is now one of only two 

Universities in the UK to maintain one. 

Holiday pay reference period set to increase 

CHANGING tack completely, the holiday 

pay reference period is increasing. 

Currently, when employers calculate 

holiday pay for those staff without fixed 

working hours, for example casual 

workers, the current reference period is 

the last 12 worked weeks. But from 6 April 

2020, the holiday pay reference period 

is increasing so that the last 52 worked 

weeks will need to be taken into account, 

for those staff who have at least 52 weeks 

continuous service. 

The new reference period will operate 

in a similar way to the current 12-week 

period. Employers will need to look back 

across the last 52 weeks that the staff 

member has actually worked and weeks 

in which no pay was received will not 

be counted. Where there are fewer than 

52 worked weeks to take into account, 

the reference period is reduced to the 

lower number of weeks worked and 

paid overtime (if contractually obliged 

or voluntary but sufficiently regular 

and considered to be normal pay) work 

during the reference period must also be 

included in the calculation. 

The 52-week reference period will 

doubtless provide a more accurate 

calculation for holiday pay as it will be 

less exposed to short term variations in 

pay. 

Gareth Edwards is a partner in the 

employment team at 

VWV. gedwards@vwv.co.uk. 


NEW AND UPGRADED MEMBERS 

Do you know someone who would benefit from CICM membership? Or have 

you considered applying to upgrade your membership? See our website 

www.cicm.com/membership-types for more details, or call us on 01780 722903 

Member 

Andrew Miller MCICM 

Gary Brain MCICM 

Associate 

Lucy Noble-Coombs ACICM 

Studying Member 

Adam Fisher 

Philip Owusu-Akuffo 

Sanjay Surdhar 

Andrew Davidson 

Oliver Kelly 

Frederick Bellhousr 

Tara McCarthy 

Wilson Kahora 

Brittany Whitmarsh 

Mandeep Chana 

Alba Remacha Yague 

Elliana Stavrou 

Faraz Ashraf MCICM 

Carol Johnson MCICM 

Paul Barker-Poole ACICM 

Lukasz Zdunczyk 

Henry Green 

Josiah Dixon 

Therese Schwerdt 

Rhys Laval 

Daisy Hawkins 

Matthew Manly 

Matthew Shoesmith 

Walaa Alkharraa 

Karolina Struska 

Nikhil Bhutani 

Carl Thomson 

Paul Stevenson MCICM 

Damon Cripps MCICM (Grad) 

Emma Southernwood 

Bethany Coyle 

Patricia Provost 

Lucy Fallows 

Vijay Anand Ramanujam 

Sandeep Rath 

Alexander Keith 

Elizabeth Scott 

Katrina Thomas 

Daniel Ricca 

Affiliate 

Nick Lovell 

Tinashe Seremani 

Tracey Noble 

William Plom 

Beth Welsh 

Sharon Marshall 

Natasha Mcdonald 

Jack Dixon 

Dylan Kehoe 

Emma Shaw 

Alison Harvey 

Angela Perry 

Alison Hamilton 

Congratulations to our current members who have upgraded their membership 

Upgraded member 

Gavin Ashton FCICM 

WE WANT YOUR BRANCH NEWS! 

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 

and any images need to be high resolution to be printable, so 1MB plus. 


www.tcmgroup.com 

Probably thebest debt collection network worldwide 

Moneyknows no borders—neither do we


Take control 

of your 

credit career 

Join Bibby Financial Services 


WHO WE ARE 

Bibby Financial Services is a global provider of innovative 

funding solutions, working with over 12,000 businesses across 

a range of sectors and industries. But we’re just as invested in 

people as we are in facts and figures and we are actively hiring 

for our new centre of excellence in Salford, Manchester. 

We’re looking for a Credit Controller like you, with strong 

customer service and relationship building skills. We’re strong 

on succession, so we’d like you to stay and grow with us. 

What’s more, you’ll be working in our brand new offices in 

MediaCityUK, deep in the creative hub of new technologies 

and innovation. 

WHAT YOU’LL DO 

CREDIT CONTROLLER 

Our credit control team works in a fast-paced, full-on 

environment, so you’ll need excellent organisation and 

communication skills, as well as having exceptional attention 

to detail. You’ll ensure the profitability of BFS through effective 

credit control of a portfolio of clients. Providing a high level of 

service through credit control and ledger maintenance, you 

will give prompt feedback on the quality of debts to the wider 

teams. Speaking to clients on a daily basis, you will recognise 

and escalate complex issues, as well as effectively prioritise 

tasks within a defined framework. 

WHY WE WANT YOU TO JOIN US 

Your strong relationship building style means you can 

communicate effectively with clients and colleagues, to ensure 

there’s a consistent high level of customer service. You’ll be 

comfortable spotting business opportunities as well as spotting 

warning signs when dealing with clients and debtors. You’ll be 

process driven, making sure all key processes and procedures 

are followed and continuously improved. 

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU 

We’re proud to be named in the Top 100 companies for seven 

consecutive years as a result of creating a culture of charitable 

giving, employee wellbeing and personal development. 

As standard, you’ll get 25 days holiday, plus bank holidays, 

with the option to buy and sell, and we also offer a range of 

benefits tailored to you, including private medical scheme or 

cash plan; 5% pension contribution; cycle to work scheme; 

retail discounts; flexibility on working hours; life assurance 

and many more! 

FIND OUT MORE-APPLY NOW 

For further information or to discuss this role in more detail, please contact 

Adam Crossland, Hays Consultant on 0161 236 7272 or email adam.crossland@hays.com 

VISIT webmicrosites.hays.co.uk/web/bibby-financial-services 


WHAT'S ON 

We are inviting all members to invite a colleague to a CICM membership event, 

free of charge. Book online on our website www.cicm.com/cicm-events 

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 

CICM EVENTS 

Online Webinar 


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 

OTHER INDUSTRY EVENTS 


International Credit Forum 

London 

*Book online at www.cicm.com/cicm-events 

or email events@cicm.com for more information. 

CICM EVENTS 

Online Webinar 

Online 

To be confirmed : subject to change 

26-27 August 

4th FECMA Pan-European Credit Congress 

Poland 

Managing Credit in Europe 

Book online at www.cicm.com/cicm-events or 

email events@cicm.com for more information. 

Venue: Qubus Hotel Krakow, Nadwiślańska 6, 

30-527 Krakow, Poland 




Let’s Talk Credit 

Near East Midlands Airport 

Credit Risk Forum – Construction 

For further details contact: 

brent.cumming@letstalkcredit.co.uk 


Let’s Talk Credit 

London 

Credit Risk Forum – Fashion 

For further details contact: 

brent.cumming@letstalkcredit.co.uk 


Online 

Online 


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. 

Studying at a 

distance 

with CICM 

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. 

From interactive virtual classrooms to supporting texts, 

from mentor advice to peer support, we’ve got it all. 

Contact CICM for more information on any of these 

services, or check them out at cicm.com 

Giving you the tools to continue 

working through this crisis. 

CICM On Tour 

Take a ticket to ride! 

Coming soon: details of 

the CICM series of events 

for our members. 

MANAGING CREDIT 

IN A CRISIS 

What should your focus be on now? 

Check for new resources, tools and news daily at 

cicm.com/managing-credit-in-a-crisis-checklist. 

Join the CICM Managing Credit in a Crisis LinkedIn 

discussion group today. 

We are developing more resources, advice and tools daily, 

please keep in touch with us and join our community. 

CICM is your professional body, use it. We are stronger in numbers. 


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 


FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION OPTIONS AND PRICING CONTACT 

russell@cabbells.uk 0203 603 7937 

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. 


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. 


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 / May 2020 / PAGE 53 continues on page 54 >

Cr£ditWho? 

CICM Directory of Services 

FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION 

OPTIONS AND PRICING CONTACT 

russell@cabbells.uk 0203 603 7937 


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. 


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 


C2FO 

Take control of 

your working capital. 

C2FO provides an additional debt-free working capital option that 

enables you to take control of your cash flow on-demand. This flexible 

and simple cash and risk management option provides an additional 

lever to help manage reporting targets and KPIs, seasonality, credit risk 

exposure or daily operational business activities. Whatever your cash 

flow needs, C2FO can help. 

More at c2fo.com/en-uk/vendors

CM May 2020

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