Credit Management July and August 2020

CREDIT MANAGEMENT 

CM 

JULY & AUGUST 2020 £12.50 

THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND 

COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS 

Commercial 

Brake 

Will COVID-19 bring 

collections to a stop? 

John Ricketts FCICM 

reflects on three years as 

CSA President. Page 22 

Open-mindedness is a 

professional’s greatest 

asset. Page 39

presents 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

www.ddisoftware.co.uk 

sales@ddisoftware.co.uk

14 

CARRY ON REGARDLESS 

Matthew Godby MCICM 

18 

COMMERCIAL BRAKE 

Sean Feast FCICM 

CICM GOVERNANCE 

View our digital version online at www.cicm.com. Log on to the Members’ 

area, and click on the tab labelled ‘Credit Management magazine’ 

Credit Management is distributed to the entire UK and international CICM 

membership, as well as additional subscribers 

Reproduction in whole or part is forbidden without specific permission. Opinions expressed in this magazine do 

not, unless stated, reflect those of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management. The Editor reserves the right to 

abbreviate letters if necessary. The Institute is registered as a charity. The mark ‘Credit Management’ is a registered 

trade mark of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management. 

Any articles published relating to English law will differ from laws in Scotland and Wales. 

22 

TIGER FEAT 

John Ricketts FCICM 

33 

FRENCH EXCHANGE 

Adam Bernstein 

President Stephen Baister FCICM / 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 / Laurie Beagle FCICM / Glen Bullivant FCICM / Alan Church FCICM 

Brendan Clarkson FCICM / Larry Coltman FCICM / Niall Cooter FCICM / Peter Gent FCICM / Victoria Herd FCICM(Grad) 

Philip Holbrough MCICM / Neil Jinks FCICM / Charles Mayhew FCICM / Debbie Nolan FCICM(Grad) 

Bryony Pettifor FCICM(Grad)/ Allan Poole MCICM / Alice Purdy MCICM(Grad) / Phil Rice FCICM / Chris Sanders FCICM 

Stephen Thomson FCICM 

JULY & AUGUST 2020 

www.cicm.com 

CONTENTS 

12 – Protective Custody 

What protections are there in place for 

creditors in the new Corporate Insolvency 

and Governance Bill? 

14 – Carry on Regardless 

The final part of how to create a strategic 

credit management department. 

18 – Commercial Brake 

Will COVID-19 bring commercial 

collections to a total stop? 

21 – Dining Out 

What does the restaurant industry need 

to do to recover? 

22 – Tiger Feat 

John Ricketts FCICM reflects on his three 

years as CSA President. 

24 – Border Point 

Can the courts insist on records being 

returned that are kept overseas? 

26 – Live and Let Live 

David Andrews thinks life must one day 

return to normal. 

33 – French Exchange 

She may be our nearest neighbour, but 

how well do we know France? 

39 – Staying Ahead 

Open-mindedness is a professional’s 

greatest asset. 

48 – Mentor Moment 

How one member is benefiting from the 

Mentor Hub. 

51 – Vicarious Living 

Be careful what you say – even 

hypothetically! 

Publisher 

Chartered Institute of Credit Management 

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Email: editorial@cicm.com 

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CMM: www.creditmanagement.org.uk 

Managing Editor 


Deputy Editor 

Iona Yadallee 

Art Editor 

Andrew Morris 

Telephone: 01780 722910 

Email: andrew.morris@cicm.com 

Editorial Team 

Laura Biondi, Imogen Hart, Rob Howard 

and Daisy Warren 

Advertising 

Russell Bass and Grace Ghattas 

Telephone: 020 3603 7937 

Email: grace@cabbell.co.uk 

Printers 

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2020 subscriptions 

UK: £112 per annum 

International: £145 per annum 

Single copies: £12.50 

ISSN 0265-2099 

Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / July & August 2020 / PAGE 3

EDITOR’S COLUMN 

I’m talking but you’re 

not listening 


Managing Editor 

BE careful what you wish 

for. I used to detest that 

phrase and now I detest 

it even more. 

When we had Brexit, 

I stopped watching the 

news and prayed the media would talk 

about something else. I did the same with 

coronavirus. Not long into lockdown 

I simply switched it off. I prefer my 

politicians to be out there doing their 

jobs, rather than having to justify every 

time they break wind to an intensely 

irritating BBC. Only recently did I 

venture back to be confronted with the 

latest in the desperately depressing saga 

in the hunt for young Maddie McCann, 

and the sight of riots all over the world 

on the undeniably simple premise that 

Black Lives Matter. Whatever happened 

to good news, I hear myself asking on an 

almost daily basis? 

Because there is good news out there. 

I learned recently that while sales of real 

plants and flowers may have fallen off 

a cliff with the initial closure of garden 

centres, sales of plastic plants have gone 

through the roof. One firm, Blooming 

Artificial (great name!), reported likefor-like 

sales having increased by around 

150 percent – great news for all those 

with not-so green fingers. 

I also recently learned in the CICM 

Think Tank that collections volumes 

may in fact be rising, and requests for 

payment plans have ‘skyrocketed’ (see 

news page 9) as consumers look to 

get their debt in order – an action that 

seems to fly in the face of other stories of 

impending doom. 

What is interesting, in this context, 

is the ongoing debate about how debt 

advice will be funded in the future. 

The government recently announced 

a dedicated £38m (through the Money 

and Pensions Service) windfall to fund 

advice through the current crisis, but I 

am guessing it is expecting the financial 

community – including collections 

agencies and purchasers – to cough 

up part of that. Consultations have 

come and gone (including the snappily 

titled CP20/6: FCA regulated fees and 

levies: Rates Proposals 2020/2021) but I 

sometimes wonder if the Regulator or 

the government are actually listening. I 

know that the CSA has asked the advice 

sector to evidence where and how its 

current contributions are being spent, 

before it contributes any more, but I’m 

not aware, as yet, if it’s got any answers. 

So is it really appropriate to increase 

fees in the current climate? I’m no 

expert, but it seems somehow perverse 

for the FCA to want an increase in fees 

just at the very time that debt buyers 

and agencies are facing huge costs 

of their own. Not only have they had 

to absorb payment holidays, but also 

the additional costs of compliance 

and working remotely. Debt collectors 

might not be many people’s friends, but 

whether politicians or my colleagues 

in the media like it or not, they are an 

essential part of our economy and the 

industry deserves the same protection/ 

support from the government as any 

other business sector. 

I’ve also heard whispers of a 

proposed change to how the Financial 

Ombudsman Service (FOS) is funded 

going forward, and a disturbing rumour 

that the costs will be spread across the 

whole industry, rather than being met by 

those who actually pollute the system. 

Added to the ongoing fee saga, it does 

make me wonder who is wagging the 

doggie’s tail. 


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CMNEWS 

A round-up of news stories from the 

world of consumer and commercial credit. 

Written by – Sean Feast FCICM 

‘New’ campaign calls for 

end to ‘thuggish’ letters 

THE Money and Mental Health 

Policy Institute has called 

for changes to what it calls 

‘thuggish debt letters’ being 

sent to vulnerable customers during the 

COVID-19 crisis. 

Research by the charity suggests that 

more than 100,000 people in problem debt 

attempt suicide each year in England, 

and that intimidating letters are a key 

contributing factor. 

Martin Lewis, Founder and Chair of the 

Institute says that lenders are forced by a 

decades-old law to send thuggish letters 

to people with debt problems: “These 

letters ruin lives, and many lenders say 

they don’t want to send them, but the law 

gives them no option,” he explains. 

“In the next few weeks, we’ll have the 

perverse situation where lenders will be 

compelled to send threatening letters to 

millions of people, even if they’ve been 

given permission for a temporary break 

from debt repayments. That will cause 

distress and confusion at a time when 

people in financial hardship, and many 

struggling with mental health issues, 

least need it.” 

The government, he says, needs to put 

support systems in place and change the 

rules on debt letters: “It’s a simple change 

to get rid of a rule that benefits neither 

lender, borrower, nor the economy — and 

at this time, without exaggeration it could 

save lives.” 

The MMHPI claims that legislation 

demands that certain letters must 

include often complex and intimidating 

text in full when people are seriously 

behind on payments — and that this 

should be capitalised or in bold text. 

The text warns customers of the 

consequences of failing to take action, 

and the penalties that may follow. 

Peter Wallwork, Chief Executive of 

the Credit Services Association, says his 

members would also like to see change, 

but doubted such change would be 

‘simple’: “While the majority of letters our 

members send are customer-oriented, 

and very clearly supportive, the statutory 

letters have to use prescribed language, 

phrases and words that every company 

has to include,” he explains. 

“Current legislation simply does 

not allow for formal notices that are 

flexible or dynamic enough, despite CSA 

members’ attempts to manage the way 

they are read, to provide meaningful 

information to a customer and to address 

any vulnerabilities throughout the life 

cycle of a debt. It is pleasing to see the 

new campaign targeting the regulator 

and the government, for change will 

require primary legislation. We will 

happily support the debt advice sector 

and other stakeholders in seeking 

a reasoned approach to making the 

changes that are really needed.” 

Sue Chapple, Interim Chief Executive of 

the CICM, is similarly supportive, but says 

that the issue is hardly new: “Whereas 

we welcome the interjection of Mr Lewis 

and his campaign, this is a long-running 

saga that has vexed many in our industry 

for some years and it is important that 

the government and the FCA are now not 

‘bounced’ into an action with unintended 

consequences. 

“The debt collection industry, under 

the auspices of the CSA, has been doing 

vital work in this area, and we have 

warned previously of the need for greater 

flexibility in how debt purchasers and 

debt collectors can communicate with 

customers. It is ludicrous that some 

creditors have been having to send 

'wraparound' letters telling a customer 

to ignore the legal letter they are obliged 

to send! Now more than ever, the focus 

has to be on outcomes. Any changes to 

current legislation must give creditors 

the opportunity to simplify the message 

and provide customers with clear and 

consistent information across every 

touchpoint about the help that is available 

to them.” 


NEWS ROUNDUP 

Association adopts post-lockdown 

plan to enforce overdue debts 

ENFORCEMENT Agents (bailiffs) 

will implement a phased return 

to activity following the lifting of 

lockdown restrictions. 

Measures set out in a Post-lockdown 

Support Plan announced by the Civil 

Enforcement Association (CIVEA) follow 

consultations with the government 

that will allow local authorities and 

courts to safely enforce overdue council 

tax, business rates, parking and traffic 

penalties and magistrates’ court fines. 

Anyone who has missed a payment 

or been out of contact will receive 

a standard reconnection letter that 

seeks to understand how they have 

been affected by the COVID-19 crisis 

and respond as appropriate. When 

enforcement can resume following 

the lifting of emergency regulations, 

individuals will be given 30 days’ notice 

of a visit by an enforcement agent 

(unless the local authority has specific 

requirements). 

Before resuming visits, all 

enforcement agents will be given 

additional, mandatory CIVEA-approved 

training on how to protect themselves 

and those that they encounter in the 

community. 

Russell Hamblin-Boone, Chief 

Executive of CIVEA, says the plan 

allows his members to carry out their 

civic duties in line with public health 

advice: “CIVEA members fully accept 

that to simply restart enforcement visits 

once the government eases restrictions 

without understanding how people 

have been impacted by the crisis 

would not be acceptable. The measures 

included in the Post-lockdown Support 

Plan are a sensible and proactive 

response to an exceptional situation. 

Enforcement of public debt continues 

to be an important service to recover 

outstanding taxes and fines, which 

contributes to funding essential local 

services.” 

CIVEA’s pledge was given a cautious 

welcome by the debt advice sector, but 

StepChange Debt Charity once again 

called for greater regulation of the 

bailiff industry. Peter Tutton, Head of 

Policy, says bailiff collection practices 

have caused significant harm in the 

past: “Any return to enforcement action, 

phased or otherwise, must be preceded 

by government-led measures that 

protect those affected by COVID-19. 

This includes putting affordable 

repayment plans in place for council 

tax arrears before resorting to 

enforcement action and taking into 

account vulnerability and financial 

circumstances before acting. 

“With millions of people 

struggling with COVID-19 

related debts, it is unfair and 

unsafe for the government 

to restart enforcement 

without these safeguards.” 

Elsewhere, the High 

Court Enforcement Officers 

Association (HCEOA) has 

similarly adopted a new Best Practice 

plan for post-lockdown enforcement 

activity and set out the principles, 

working practices and behaviours that 

all High Court Enforcement Officers 

(HCEO’s) and representatives will follow 

throughout the phased lifting of the 

lockdown period. 

In line with the latest government 

guidance, the plan details additional 

training requirements for all 

enforcement agents prior to any home 

visits and the need to follow appropriate 

social distancing guidance where 

possible. 

Andrew Wilson, Chairman of 

the HCEOA, says that his members 

recognise that some judgment debtors 

will be experiencing significant effects 

as a result of the COVID-19 situation: 

“The plan is designed to consider 

the case-by-case circumstances of 

judgment debtors and ensure they 

are treated fairly whilst allowing 

creditors to recover the money 

they are owed. 

“We are pleased this plan 

has now been adopted as Best 

Practice by the Association and 

shared with the Ministry of 

Justice to assure them of our 

commitment to operating in 

a flexible and sympathetic 

manner.” 

StepChange fears debt tsunami will 

swamp advice sector 

Andrew Wilson, Chairman 

of the HCEOA 

STEPCHANGE claims a personal debt 

tsunami of £6bn directly attributable 

to the COVID-19 pandemic is already 

being stored up among some 4.6 million 

households and, if left unchecked, is set 

to worsen. 

The charity warns that coronavirusrelated 

debt will act as a drag on 

economic recovery and will deluge 

advice services once the reality of 

people’s situations begins to hit home in 

the coming months. Debt charities are 

gearing up for a doubling in demand for 

debt advice by the end of the year. 

In response, the charity has set out 

three key recommendations to enable 

a less painful exit strategy from the 

debt backlash. It wants to see: ongoing 

protections and forbearance on housing/ 

rent, credit repayments, and council tax; 

the creation of a central fund of at least 

£5bn to enable grants for those who fall 

behind or were forced to borrow during 

the pandemic; and a reform of Universal 

Credit and in particular the abolition of 

the five-week wait. 

StepChange Debt Charity CEO Phil 

Andrew acknowledges that costs 

might be a barrier to the charity’s 

recommendations, but that the price of 

not intervening would be worse: “The 

misery, damage and economic drag that 

will inevitably follow the pandemic can 

and should be mitigated through public 

policy, and the approaches we suggest 

are the biggest game-changers,” he 

says. “Like other debt charities, we are 

gearing up for a significant increase in 

demand for our usual services. We are 

also working on a specific solution to 

help people whose finances have been 

hit by the pandemic and who need a 

short-term helping hand to get back on 

track without jeopardising their credit 

status. 

“The false calm in which we 

find ourselves while furlough and 

forbearance take the strain will not last 

indefinitely,” he adds. 

On the basis of research by YouGov, 

StepChange estimates that each affected 

adult has accumulated an additional 

£1,076 of arrears and £997 of debt. Since 

the beginning of the lockdown period, 

StepChange estimates 1.2 million people 

have fallen behind on their utility bills, 

820,000 people on their council tax, and 

590,000 on their rent. 

Meanwhile, 4.2 million people have 

borrowed to make ends meet, most often 

using a credit card (1.7m), an overdraft 

(1.6m) or a high cost credit product 

(980,000). 


BUSINESSES with more than 

£50,000 of unpaid invoices could 

benefit from a new scheme that 

buys those invoices for cash, 

turning a potential bad debt write off 

into positive cashflow. 

New finance provider Azzurro 

Associates is looking to provide cash 

against at least £1bn of UK businesses’ 

unpaid invoices to help provide much 

needed liquidity during and beyond the 

current COVID-19 crisis. 

It is especially targeting companies 

with between £50,000 and £10m in 

unpaid bills for which it will not only 

provide upfront cash, but also share 

in the collections it achieves on any 

outstanding debts. 

Azzurro Associates’ new commercial 

debt solution differs from ‘traditional’ 

invoice finance in that the former 

advances cash against invoices that are 

still within term (i.e 30 days), whereas 

Azzurro provides cash for debts that 

are overdue or delinquent, and that a 

business is struggling or has failed to 

collect. 

Andrew Birkwood, CEO of Azzurro 

Associates, believes this is the first 

time that companies in the B2B sector 

have been able to benefit in this way: 

“As COVID-19 leads to more businesses 

failing to pay their suppliers, businesses 

further up the supply chain need to 

make sure they don’t run out of cash,” 

he says.“When collections activities are 

exhausted, the only option left is the 

Courts, but this costs money, takes time, 

and there is still no guarantee you’ll get 

NEWS ROUNDUP 

Azzurro seeks to acquire £1bn 

in overdue invoices 

Andrew Birkwood, CEO of Azzurro 

Associates 

any money at the end. Now Financial 

Directors have a better option – a way 

of generating immediate cash from bad 

debts to avoid an inevitable coronavirus 

cashflow crunch.” 

Azzurro purchases invoices up to 

a maximum of six years from the due 

date, paying anything up to 50 percent 

of the INSOLVENCY 

original invoice value depending 

on the age of the debt and the credit 

profile of the debtor. In addition, it 

shares a proportion of the collections 

it achieves, which can also be as much 

as 50 percent. It buys portfolios of all 

sizes from £50,000 and above, which 

may comprise a small number of large 

invoices or a large number of small 

invoices, provided the smallest invoice 

value is greater than £100. 

Authorised and regulated by the 

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), 

Azzurro adopts a fair and balanced 

recoveries process, with a creditor’s 

brand reputation being of upmost 

importance. This is achieved by 

utilising credit reference agency data 

to determine the appropriate servicing 

strategy, allowing forbearance and 

breathing space where required. 

Where customers do not engage in the 

amicable contact strategy, Azzurro 

uses a combination of bureau data and 

the expertise of a panel of preferred 

collections partners to ensure only the 

right cases are selected for litigation. 

Interim Small Business 

Commissioner Philip King, whose office 

champions fair payment practices and 

supports businesses looking to resolve 

payment disputes, says that cashflow 

is critical: “At times like these we need 

creative ideas and I’m delighted to see 

organisations like Azzurro introduce 

different and innovative solutions.” 

Elsewhere, a study by Iwoca suggests 

unpaid invoices are piling up at SMEs 

across the country with nearly half (40 

percent) facing over £10,000 in unpaid 

invoices. One in four of those businesses 

worry they won’t survive into 2021 as a 

result of solvency, according to the 537 

small businesses that Iwoca surveyed. 

(See interview, Credit Management 

November 2019 issue). 

More than half of UK reports a decline in financial wellbeing 

THE COVID-19 crisis has reduced 

financial wellbeing in the UK and 

consumers expect a further decline 

in the next six months, according 

to a whitepaper published by credit 

management group Intrum. 

More than half the UK respondents (55 

percent) reported a decline in financial 

wellbeing over the last six months, 

higher than the European average of 48 

percent. More than a third (38 percent) 

expect a further decrease. 

The paper’s findings build on Intrum’s 

European Payment Report, published in 

November 2019, which showed that the 

younger generations and households 

with children are under particular strain. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has 

exacerbated this trend, with 74 percent 

of UK households with children 

reporting an income drop as a result of 

the crisis, compared with 50 percent 

of households without children. 

Furthermore, 55 percent of households 

with children say that after paying their 

bills they rarely have enough money to 

last until the end of the month. 

Across Europe, millennials are more 

likely to say their financial wellbeing has 

suffered than other age groups. However, 

in the UK, 18-21-year olds appear 

particularly hard hit – with 69 percent 

saying the crisis has negatively 

affected their finances, and 38 

percent saying they have gone 

into more debt to cover their 

everyday spending as a result. 

Eddie Nott, Intrum’s UK 

Managing Director, said there 

is evidence that consumers 

who are spending less during 

the crisis are taking the 

opportunity to settle their 

debts. “After many of our 

customers paused their 

payment plans in March 

and April, we have seen a significant 

increase in people contacting us to 

settle their accounts in May,” he said. 

“However, many of our customers still 

need breathing space and are currently 

unable to pay their instalments. For 

example, those employed in heavily-hit 

sectors such as retail and leisure, and 

vulnerable households with the smallest 

financial margins, such as families and 

young people.” 

There is evidence that 

consumers who are spending 

less during the crisis are 

taking the opportunity to 

settle their debts. 

Eddie Nott, Intrum’s 

UK Managing Director 


THE CICM THINK TANK 

> THE NEWS 

IN BRIEF 

AS lockdown eases and businesses begin 

to reopen, concerns are mounting about 

how to return to a normal world. 

This topic was at the forefront of the 

CICM Think Tank discussion group, 

with members agreeing that the world 

as we know it may not be restored. One 

member stated that 100 percent of the 

UK population is spending less money, 

noting that we will find it hard to recover 

unless the population resorts back to 

their spending habits once lockdown 

is lifted. Another member believes that 

REQUESTS FOR 

PAYMENT PLANS 

‘SKYROCKET’ 

WHILE most people think of COVID-19 

as a setback, there is an upside. 

Customers have been settling their 

debts. 

A recent article in The Guardian 

newspaper suggests that UK consumers 

have repaid £7.4bn of debt during the 

lockdown, and it proved to be a hot 

topic of debate at the latest CICM Think 

Tank. Most agreed that when spending 

is restricted, and money saved, there is a 

propensity to settle one’s debts. 

One member of the Think Tank 

discussion noted that there has been 

a 200 percent increase in repayment 

plans during the lockdown, with another 

member agreeing and saying that 

payment plan requests have, in their 

words, ‘skyrocketed.’ 

FINISHING the CICM Think Tank 

discussion on a high note, the panel 

talked about the positives that are 

coming out of the lockdown for those 

in the credit industry. One member 

noted that they are being more assertive 

towards client demands and in return, 

clients are being more receptive, which 

is making a huge difference when it 

comes to saving money within the 

business. 

In unison, members agreed that the 

lockdown has provided them with 

Plus Ca Change? 

the population will be split in half, with 

50 percent returning to ‘normal’ and the 

other 50 percent being too terrified to 

leave the house. “COVID-19 has moved us 

into a world that can fully operate online, 

which will see more people working 

from home, and less money being spent 

on food, drinks and travel,” he said. 

With worries of a recession rising, 

the Think Tank members concurred 

that businesses and individuals need to 

adjust to serve the economy in the new 

reality. 

Has COVID-19 ‘helped’ the credit industry? 

greater staff empowerment and barriers 

have been broken down between juniors 

and seniors as whole teams have begun 

to make decisions which have increased 

productivity. The lockdown has helped 

unleash skills within the credit industry, 

allowing employers to focus on training 

their employees in all areas of credit 

management ahead of time. 

The panel also agreed that team 

support has grown dramatically, which 

will be upheld long after the lockdown in 

a new, team-oriented environment. 

Payment holidays 

CUSTOMERS facing temporary 

financial difficulties due to the 

coronavirus have been granted 

almost 1.5 million payment holidays 

by lenders on their credit cards and 

personal loans, according to statistics 

from UK Finance. As at the end of May, 

877,800 customer accounts had been 

given a payment freeze on their credit 

card. This was an increase of over a 

quarter (26 percent) since the start of 

the month, as lenders continued to 

provide support to those customers 

with temporary financial pressures 

due to COVID-19. 

STOP PRESS 

Sue Chapple FCICM has succeeded 

Philip King FCICM as Chief Executive 

of the Chartered Institute of Credit 

Management. Sue, who joined the CICM 

as Director of Strategic Relationships 

in 2018, has been interim CEO since 

Philip’s departure to become interim 

Small Business Commissioner in 

March. Full report in next issue. 

Wise counsel 

LOWELL has made two new 

appointments to its Group Executive 

team. Thomas Lingen has joined as 

Group General Counsel, and Bitte 

Ferngren arrives as Group Chief 

People Officer. Thomas joins Lowell 

from Office Depot Europe in the 

Netherlands, bringing with him 

experience of leading legal functions 

for multinational business across a 

variety of transactions and industry 

sectors. Bitte joins the business 

from Scandic Hotels, where she was 

Senior Vice President Group HR and 

Sustainability. 

Digital surge 

PHILLIPS & Cohen Associates is 

reporting a significant surge in online 

consumer activity via its proprietary 

Estate-Serve platform during the 

COVID-19 pandemic. In recent 

months the business has witnessed 

a 60 percent increase in usage across 

its digital platforms and a 321 percent 

increase in consumer-driven 

self-service payment volumes. 

CICM 

Essentials 

TO stay up-to-date with all that 

is happening at the CICM – from 

qualifications to training, and 

membership to events – see the 

weekly e-newsletter CICM Essentials. 


BRANCH NEWS 

East of England Branch 

takes to the web 

CICM East of England Branch has now 

held three successful webinars in the 

last few weeks for CICM members 

and non-members. Our first, Business 

Challenges of Credit During and after 

COVID 19 & How to Tackle Them, was 

hosted by Andrew Martin of Hays on 14 

May 2020. The speakers, CICM Chairman 

Pete Whitmore and Chris Sanders of 

CICMQ, highlighted past, present and 

future issues. 

These included top current business 

concerns, and the best practice for 

coping now and planning for the 

‘new normal’. They also included the 

opportunities of remote working, and the 

need to look carefully at relationships 

with suppliers and customers, at new 

accounts, and at planning for survival. 

Our second Branch webinar 

Emergency Guide to Credit Control for 

All Levels was hosted by Andrew Martin 

of Hays on 22 May 2020. This guide – 

presented by Jules Eames from CICM 

HQ – was aimed at helping those not 

currently working in credit, and was in 

PRIOR to lockdown Thames Valley and 

Wessex branches held a joint event at 

Winchester Science Centre. 

The talks, which were held in the 

planetarium, started with Paul Uglow 

from Meachers Global Logistics who 

provided an introduction to Incoterms. 

He explained how the terms define 

relationships between buyers and sellers 

(who pays for what at what stage of 

shipping/flight). 

Paul discussed the importance of 

insurance when importing/exporting 

and he talked through the 2020 

Incoterms changes. The most significant 

changes were how the Incoterm textbook 

had risen to 193 pages and the second 

half of the book now detailed each 

article for easier reading. Paul ended by 

advising us of the other changes such 

as new security-related requirements, 

different levels of insurance and 

enhanced explanatory notes for users. 

response to companies that have asked 

staff from other departments, including 

sales, to help collect cash. Jules gave a 

brief outline of what credit actually is, 

offered tips on ascertaining a customer’s 

willingness and ability to pay, described 

collection tools and techniques, and gave 

tips on securing the deal and on effective 

follow up. 

COVID-19 Credit Managers Playbook 

2 was the title of our latest Branch 

webinar on 10 June 2020, which included 

planning and recommendations for the 

next phase of the crisis, coming out 

of lockdown, and the likely impacts 

and upcoming issues facing the credit 

management functions in the UK and 

internationally. 

We hope that our online attendees 

found our first three webinars enjoyable 

and informative. Copies of the slides 

and videos of each webinar are available, 

email eastofenglandbranch@cicm.com 

Author: Richard Brown FCICM 

East of England Branch Vice Chairman 

Thames Valley and Wessex 

branches go interplanetary 

After a short break Markus Kuger, 

Chief Economist from D&B, talked us 

through the D&B country risk report and 

presented a slide showing how global 

country risk levels have been rising 

since October 2007 and how the global 

outlook is deteriorating. COVID-19’s 

effect on companies and supply in China 

was also demonstrated suggesting that 

50,000 companies have Tier 1 suppliers 

in the affected area, and another five 

million have one or more Tier 2 suppliers 

in the region. Of course since this 

event, COVID-19 has become the world’s 

problem and the global supply chain is 

an ever-growing concern. 

Markus also covered the UK 

labour market and EU payment 

behaviours before closing with a few 

recommendations, including mapping 

your supply chain in light of Brexit, 

COVID-19, trade wars and watching 

political risk closely (referencing the US 

elections). The event concluded with a 

fascinating planetarium show and some 

mind-blowing stats on the size of the 

Solar system, galaxies and the universe. 

Thank you to our event sponsors – 

Interaction Recruitment and Dun & 

Bradstreet – and thanks also to the 

speakers and attendees for a memorable 

evening. 

Author: Gary Baker FCICM, 

Secretary of the Thames Valley Branch 

Alexander Mann 

displays high 

standards to achieve 

CICMQ accreditation 

THE Solutions Credit Function team at 

Alexander Mann has been recognised 

for its adaptability and achievement 

in meeting the highest standards of 

professionalism by gaining CICMQ 

accreditation. 

“Achieving CICMQ accreditation 

shows how valued our credit control 

team really is and that they adhere to 

all policies regarding the credit control 

function,” says Eileen Bell, Head of 

Global Credit Control at Alexander 

Mann Solutions. “It highlights that 

we provide a valuable service to our 

internal and external clients and also 

demonstrates that we strive to provide 

the highest standards – something 

that has now been validated by CICM.” 

While working hard towards the 

accreditation, Eileen says that it 

didn’t come without its difficulties: 

“While we all know how and what we 

are doing, and how to hit our targets, 

having this all documented was a big 

challenge,” she admits. 

Despite these challenges, the team 

at Alexander Mann aspires to move 

forwards with the lessons the team 

members learned firmly in mind: “Now 

that we’ve achieved accreditation, 

we’ll certainly ensure that we keep all 

our policies up-to-date and encourage 

the team to make the most of the 

membership of CICM,” Eileen adds. 

“We are all striving for continuous 

improvement.” 

Alexander Mann Solutions is 

a global talent acquisition and 

management specialist. The Solutions 

Credit function is split across London, 

Belfast and Yorkshire. The team 

collected £2.1bn in 2019 over 29 

entities. 

Following the results 

of the CICM Advisory 

Council Elections, there 

are several Regional 

Representative vacancies 

which remain unfilled. 

For more information 

visit: 

https://www.cicm.com/ 

about-cicm/vacancies-at-cicm/ 


INSOLVENCY 

PRIME STAKE 

Insolvency Practitioners will be prime movers in 

achieving the aims of the new Insolvency Bill. 

AUTHOR – Michelle Thorp 

Michelle Thorp 

Acontinuous list of household 

names are facing difficult 

choices in the context of 

economic damage that the 

World forecasts could last for a 

decade. The challenges will not 

end when businesses reopen, confronting the 

question of doing this amid what is likely to be 

decreased consumer confidence and footfall, 

as well as reconfigurations to safely meet social 

distancing guidelines. 

Adding to the list of state support measures, 

the government’s Corporate Insolvency and 

Governance Bill is expected to be ratified in early 

July, with the government citing that ‘it is vital 

that urgent action is taken to help struggling 

businesses to continue to trade during the 

current crisis and to boost the economy once we 

emerge from it.’ 

So what are its features and how do those 

features work in practice? 

The Bill contains eight key measures. Firstly, 

a moratorium will be introduced. As you may 

know, a moratorium prevents legal action being 

taken against companies without court approval. 

This will afford companies some breathing space 

to pursue a rescue plan. This measure creates the 

role of Monitor, which will have to be fulfilled by 

an IP. The Monitor must supervise the company’s 

affairs to evaluate if the company can be rescued 

as a going concern (meaning it remains viable or 

can be returned to viability). 

UNIQUE TESTS 

There will be two types of moratorium. The first 

is specifically in relation to COVID-19, with its 

own unique test, and adds ‘or would do so if it 

were not for any worsening of the financial 

position of the company for reasons relating 

to coronavirus’ to the end of the proposed 

Monitor’s statement that it is likely that a 

moratorium for the company would result in 

the rescue of the company as a going concern. 

The period for the availability of this variation 

was to end on 30 June 2020, but the period will 

probably be extended. The second moratorium 

is a standard moratorium and will be available 

for the longer term. 

The company in a moratorium has to pay its 

ongoing costs, so continuing to supply it may be 

less of a risk for creditors. We have noted that IPs 

being able to confidently make the pre-requisite 

statement that a rescue as a going concern is 

likely, will require some pre-appointment work, 

which may make the procedure less attractive to 

enter. Restrictions on termination clauses will 

be brought in to prevent suppliers from stopping 

(or threatening to stop supplying) businesses 

in an insolvency or restructuring procedure. 

The courts can agree to relieve suppliers of this 

obligation if continuing to supply will harm their 

business. 

‘Small’ company suppliers are temporarily 

exempt from the termination clause restrictions 

in the COVID-19 response situation. Where the 

supplier is not in its first financial year at the 

relevant time, the supplier is considered to be 

a ‘small’ entity if at least two of the following 

conditions are met in relation to its most recent 

financial year: 

• its turnover was not more than £10.2m; 

• its balance sheet total was not more than £5.1m; 

• its employees were not more than 50. 

As 90 percent of UK businesses meet the third 

criterion, fewer companies may be affected by 

this exemption than it may first appear. 

A new restructuring plan will be available 

to viable businesses in difficulty with debt. It 

will be sanctioned by the courts, which will 

consider whether the plan is fair, equitable and 

in the interests of creditors. The plan is voted on 

by creditors, but the court can impose it. It is 

understood that safeguards will be put in place 

for creditors who were not in favour of the plan. 

Adding to these measures, wrongful trading 

legislation will be suspended, temporarily 

stopping the threat of directors’ personal liability 

arising from continued trading in insolvency; 

statutory demands and winding up petitions 

will be voided so that companies can come to 

pragmatic and fair agreements with creditors; 

and there are changes to rules around AGMs and 

filing, for more flexibility. 

Just over half of the powers in the Bill are 

‘Henry VIII’ powers, meaning that they can be 

amended or repealed by the government making 

new regulations without the need for additional 

legislation. 

Clearly the Bill will introduce changes for 

creditors in terms of how they work with 

businesses and IPs – in addition to potentially 

supporting creditors themselves as businesses, 

and indeed IPs and others. It is important that 

all affected by the Bill are aware of its underlying 

objective to support business, with IPs being a 

prime mover in achieving that aim. 

We continue to consider the Bill and will 

monitor it in practice, offering input to help 

ensure the measures serve all stakeholders in 

insolvency processes correctly. 

Michelle Thorp is CEO, Insolvency Practitioners 

Association. 


INSOLVENCY EXCLUSIVE 

Protective custody 

Creditors are protected in new 

debtor-friendly rescue plans. 

AUTHOR – Paul Bannister 

AS announced in last month’s 

issue of Credit Management, 

the government is to introduce 

new corporate restructuring 

tools to the insolvency and 

restructuring regime to respond 

to the COVID-19 emergency to give companies 

the breathing space and tools required to 

maximise their chance of survival. 

In doing so, it will also temporarily suspend 

parts of Insolvency law to support directors to 

continue trading through the emergency without 

the threat of personal liability for wrongful 

trading and to protect companies from aggressive 

creditor action. It will also temporarily suspend 

parts of Company Law and other legislation 

to provide companies and other bodies with 

temporary easements on company filing 

requirements at Companies House, and similar 

easements for annual general meetings (AGMs) 

with particular reference to physical presence 

and voting. 

BREATHING SPACE 

In terms of the details, the new Corporate 

Insolvency and Governance Bill will introduce 

a new moratorium to give companies breathing 

space from their creditors while they seek a 

rescue, and prohibit termination clauses that 

engage on entering an insolvency procedure, 

entering the new moratorium or beginning the 

new restructuring plan procedure. It will also, 

subject to certain protections, prevent suppliers 

from ceasing their supply or asking for additional 

payments while a company is going through a 

rescue process. 

The Bill will introduce a new restructuring 

plan for companies in financial distress which 

include new cross class cram down procedures 

that allow a class of creditors to be bound by the 

restructuring plan even if they do not agree to the 

plan. 

Among the other measures contained in the 

Bill is the temporary removal of the threat of 

personal liability for wrongful trading from 

directors who try to keep their companies 

afloat through the emergency, and a temporary 

prohibition of the right of creditors to file 

statutory demands and a restriction on windingup 

petitions for COVID-19 related debts. 

PERMANENT IMPACT 

While some of the measures are temporary, 

others will be permanent, dating back to the 

government’s original consultation in August 

2016. The impact of those permanent changes 

is estimated to bring net benefits to businesses 

totalling more than £1.9bn in today’s prices. 

The government says there is widespread 

support for the measures in the Bill, including 

from the relevant professions and business 

groups. Urgent action is undoubtedly required. 

But how are they ensuring that the needs of 

creditors are being addressed as well as those 

facing financial hardship? And how are they 

ensuring that such measures aren’t going to be 

abused to the creditors’ detriment? 

It is recognised that the new restructuring 

tools are more debtor friendly in order to promote 

company rescue which is generally accepted to 

return more to creditors than the alternative of 

administration or liquidation. But it is also about 

protecting jobs and long-term investment. The 

proposals in the Bill do also introduce a number 

of protections for creditors to balance the 

proposals for debtors and to ensure the integrity 

of the insolvency regime. 

For example, the thresholds for entering the 

moratorium are designed to ensure that only 

companies that are insolvent (or likely to be) can 

use it and this must be signed off by a statement 

of the appointed monitor – a regulated insolvency 

practitioner who must also ensure that the 

company abides by the rules of the moratorium. 

Companies required to continue to supply under 

the suspension of termination clauses must be 

paid for services and supplies procured during 

the moratorium, otherwise the Monitor must 

bring the moratorium to an end (and of course 

the supplier can terminate the contract). 

In addition, where supplies are not paid 

for during a moratorium (or other insolvency 

procedure) and the company subsequently 

enters into insolvency, then those debts will 

receive a higher priority (in line with expenses 

of the monitor) recognising the requirement to 

supply. Any company required to supply can 

apply to a court under the ‘hardship’ provision 

to be exempt from supplying. Finally, during 

the COVID-19 period, small businesses will be 

temporarily exempt from this requirement. 

The restructuring plan also has important 

protections for those companies that are bound 

to it under the new cross class cram down 

provisions if they voted against it. Namely that 

they must not be worse off under a restructuring 

plan than the next most likely alternative 

if the plan were not to go forward, such as 

administration or liquidation. In addition, a 

restructuring plan must be sanctioned by a court 

as being ‘fair and equitable’. 

Paul Bannister is Head of Policy at the 

Insolvency Service. 

Among the 

other measures 

contained in 

the Bill is the 

temporary 

removal of the 

threat of personal 

liability for 

wrongful trading 

from directors 

who try to keep 

their companies 

afloat through the 

emergency 


INSOLVENCY EXCLUSIVE 

The Moratorium - 

How will it work in 

practice? 

AN SME clothing company, Example Fashion Ltd, suffered 

a bad debt of £250,000 after one of its major customers, a 

department store, entered administration. According to 

its customer’s administrator, there was very little hope of 

receiving any of the £250,000 owed through the administration. 

The department store had been the company’s largest 

customer. However, following negative press, the directors 

had worked hard at sourcing new customers so as not to be as 

dependant on the department store for business. 

Accordingly, at the time the bad debt is suffered, the 

company has a healthy order book for the following six 

months, but it is not due to receive payment for any of the new 

customer orders for at least three months. The company is 

receiving payment in invoices from other, smaller customers 

but does not have sufficient cashflow to pay all of the debts 

that are due now, many of which relate to goods and services 

procured to fulfil the department store contract. The company 

is now ‘cashflow insolvent’. 

While most of its suppliers are supportive, a minority of the 

unpaid suppliers are threatening to take legal action against 

the company, and one has already served the company with 

a statutory demand. One of the directors intends to raise 

money for the company by re-mortgaging her own house. 

Once these funds are invested in the company, it will be able 

to repay its creditors. However, the funds will not be available 

for a few weeks and creditors are threatening legal action 

now, unconvinced that money will otherwise be forthcoming. 

The directors seek advice from an IP and the IP believes 

that the company can be saved via this investment. The IP 

advises that the company enters a moratorium, a rescue 

process that will protect the indebted company from creditor 

action while the additional finance is raised. 

The directors and the IP complete the necessary paperwork 

and file a notice and other documents at court, commencing 

a moratorium for an initial period of 20 business days. The 

IP is appointed monitor. Using the income from the smaller 

invoices, the company is able to pay its ongoing liabilities: 

wages, rent, goods and services supplied in the moratorium 

etc. 

Unfortunately, soon after the moratorium is entered the 

director’s re-mortgage is delayed and it becomes apparent 

that the funds will not be available for a further six weeks. 

The directors tell the Monitor about this. Based on the 

information given to the Monitor by the director, the Monitor 

continues to believe the investment will be made and that the 

moratorium will bring about the rescue of the company as a 

going concern. Accordingly, the Monitor does not bring the 

moratorium to an end. 

After 15 business days the directors file for a 20-business 

day extension to the initial period; the Monitor completes 

another statement that it is likely the moratorium will bring 

about the rescue of the company as a going concern. During 

this second 20-day period, the re-mortgage is completed, 

and the funds are injected into the company. At this point, 

the company ceases to be cashflow insolvent; it is able to pay 

all of its older debts in full and the ongoing debts incurred 

following entry into the moratorium. Accordingly, the 

Monitor files a notice at court terminating the moratorium on 

the grounds that rescue of the company has been achieved. 

AUTHOR – Paul Bannister 

In terms of the 

details, the 

new Corporate 

Insolvency and 

Governance 

Bill will 

introduce a new 

moratorium to 

give companies 

breathing space 

from their 

creditors while 

they seek a 

rescue. 


ASK THE EXPERTS 

CARRY ON 

REGARDLESS 

Considerations in creating a strategic credit 

management department. Part three. 

AUTHOR – Matthew Godby MCICM(Grad) 


ASK THE EXPERTS 

IN this series, we’ve looked at 

the range of factors that go into 

developing a strategic credit 

management function. One that 

isn’t just there to ‘collect the 

money’, but instead operates at 

the heart of the business to help it develop 

and grow. 

In the first part of this series, we 

reflected on how many credit control 

departments still pursue a reactive 

policy of jumping into action when a 

debt becomes overdue or dealing with 

matters based on who shouts the loudest. 

An approach that doesn’t allow the credit 

department or the business to improve 

and move forward. We went on to look 

at what a strategic credit management 

department should look like. 

In part two, we looked at the factors to 

consider in developing such a department. 

That a strategic credit management 

department is the hub of the business; it 

drives change and efficiencies across the 

whole Order to Cash pathway; it leads and 

collaborates across the wider business. 

As I write the final part of this series, 

a great deal has changed in a very short 

space of time. COVID-19 is having a 

devastating effect on businesses across 

the country. With most of the UK economy 

in a state of hibernation, most businesses 

are having to cope with the twin effects of 

dramatically reduced sales and customers 

inability to pay for them. So what are the 

benefits of having an adaptable, strategic 

credit management function? 

EXCELLENT STAFF 

A Gallup survey from 2018 found 

that 51 percent of employees said 

they were looking for new jobs or 

opportunities. Emotional support, 

professional development, IT systems 

that work, effective communication, clear 

messaging, consistency of approach, 

clear objectives and fair pay all play a part 

in staff satisfaction. 

The result? A happy, highly-skilled 

workforce who are proud to work for 

you. It gives staff a sense of achievement 

that they are contributing to the success 

of your business. Excellence breeds 

excellence and as others hear how your 

business is a great place to work, you 

attract the best people. Which improves 

your profit. 

EFFECTIVE CREDIT MANAGEMENT 

Good credit control is always about 

customer relationships and not about 

threats. Skilled credit controllers use a 

range of influencing techniques to obtain 

payment, but also listen and understand 

the genuine problems customers might 

be experiencing. They are supported 

AUTHOR – Matthew Godby MCICM(Grad) 

by the credit manager to make the right 

commercial decisions, from a position of 

knowledge. They understand that on-stop/ 

legal action threats are only a last resort, 

when other options have been exhausted. 

With COVID-19 placing many 

businesses at risk due to a lack of cash, 

I’ve spoken to far too many people who 

have been reluctant to speak with their 

customers, because they know that they 

are probably experiencing cashflow 

problems too. This goes to the heart 

of what good credit management is 

about: clear, honest conversations with 

customers – providing support when 

needed – that allow payments to be made 

that are acceptable to all parties. 

The result? Skilled staff, communicating 

with customers professionally, is likely to 

result in more prompt payments. 

STRENGTHENED CASHFLOW 

An efficient Order to Cash process means 

robust risk and onboarding of new 

customers, ‘right first time’ invoicing 

practices, effective credit management 

and strong leadership to make it work. An 

efficient O2C pathway that is constantly 

reviewed and adapted means a portfolio of 

good paying customers, invoices that are 

correct and pro-active credit controlling 

that works and is supported. The result? 

Increased cashflow and profit that can be 

reinvested in staffing, infrastructure and 

business growth. 

INCREASED SALES 

The sales force don’t want to be wasting 

their time on selling, only to find they 

are declined at credit check stage. A 

well-run credit management department 

can help to increase sales. Providing the 

sales department with meaningful data 

on existing customer payment patterns, 

communications and debt exposure 

allows them to explore further sales 

opportunities with existing customers, 

which is always easier than trying to 

obtain new sales. A customer onboarding 

policy that allows credit checking new 

prospects based on expected sales 

projections, rather than actual sales, 

means that payment terms can be 

determined in advance and risks of bad 

debt can be minimised. This allows sales 

to avoid wasting time on risky customers 

and means they can adapt their sales 

based on the information to hand. 

SATISFIED CUSTOMERS 

What goes into having satisfied 

customers? Well having a product that 

works, of course! However, reports 

show that customers look to the wider 

service that a business provides – such 

as professionalism, communication, 

fairness and being made to feel valued. 

This is one of the key outcomes a 

successful credit management department 

can expect. Satisfied customers are 

likely to pay quicker, recommend you 

to others, buy more and enhance your 

reputation. 

COVID-19 

Coronavirus is causing untold devastation 

to families across the country. This is 

compounded by the unprecedented 

damage being done to businesses and 

livelihoods. Retailers were the first to be 

hit, and reports suggest that half of highstreet 

retailers could be in trouble by the 

end of the Summer, so those businesses 

who supply the sector could be under 

increasing strain. The construction 

industry was already deeply affected by 

uncertainties surrounding Brexit, and 

it now too faces further challenges with 

COVID-19. 

Indeed, no business, whatever their 

size or industry sector, is immune to the 

cashflow crisis we are now in. 

Cashflow is the heartbeat of every 

business and there simply isn’t enough of 

it to go around right now. I’ve spoken to 

many businesses who don’t know how to 

adapt their credit departments to the new 

environment in which we find ourselves. 

Many are therefore at risk of failure. 

But it is those businesses I’ve spoken 

to, who have well developed credit 

management departments that work, 

who will be able to adapt to the changing 

circumstances and are better equipped to 

survive the crisis and beyond. 

Perhaps a hard lesson for many 

businesses on the importance of effective, 

strategic credit management that is fit for 

purpose. 

Matt Godby MCICM(Grad), Director – 

Godby Credit Management Ltd 

Cashflow is the 

heartbeat of every 

business and there 

simply isn’t enough 

of it to go around 

right now. 


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COMMERCIAL COLLECTIONS 

PERSONAL ACCOUNT 

How one commercial DCA has weathered the 

storm and the lessons learned. 

AUTHOR – Steve Lewis 

Steve Lewis 

WHEN the editor 

called and asked me 

to write an article 

on The Life of a 

Commercial DCA 

during and after 

COVID-19, I thanked him profusely. It has 

been a welcome change from a. Netflix 

or b. On-Line Quizzing, not that it has 

affected my thought processes in any way! 

In some ways it has been difficult 

because the new reality is ‘Life but not 

as we know it Jim’. But it’s not helpful to 

simply say that ‘We can’t handle the truth’; 

we now have to accept what is a reality 

and as an industry, commercial debt 

collection agencies are determined to 

adapt and operate as such. We must now 

deal with our clients and their customers 

in a different way. 

We had not planned for a ‘lockdown’. Of 

course, we had all the usual ‘disaster plans’ 

in place, but when it really happened, 

nothing in our experience seemed to help. 

For the first week of closing the office we 

were in a state of suspended animation, 

along with literally millions of others, 

including governments. None of us had 

any previous experience of such a crisis 

and we, as a business, were not sure 

how we should go forward. Then reality 

clicked in. 

My team started to get its act together. 

Our remote access was tested and those 

who could, started to get us up and 

running. Those whose personal and/ 

or health obligations did not allow, or 

where it was totally impracticable to work 

from home, were placed on furlough. 

Telephone diverts were quickly put in 

place and ‘WhatsApp’ Groups and Zoom 

meetings quickly established. 

HOUSEKEEPING 

With the housekeeping taken care of, we 

were now facing a new reality. As debt 

collectors, there is always the assumption 

that our services may seem a little 

inappropriate for the current climate. But 

never assume! 

Our clients’ cashflow was now the 

major consideration. There are still 

industries out there selling and innovating 

and by default must also be buying 

products and services. Industries such as 

transportation, food, medical and many 

others that I am sure suddenly come to 

mind means that credit control always 

remains an important aspect of business. 

Of course, in the immediate present 

the building industry, retail and many 

others are taking a big hit, so as a 

commercial DCA it means that we need 

Some businesses say 

that they cannot pay 

because of the current 

crisis, and it is left 

to our training and 

experience to establish 

the veracity of any 

statement, as we have 

always done. 

to understand exactly what has happened 

and is happening currently. We have had 

to be far more empathetic in the way we 

approach those we are chasing. It is often 

far more prudent to give time to discuss 

repayment schedules rather than a 

tougher approach to immediate payment. 

Agencies have had to move with the times 

we are operating in. 

Agencies like ours are establishing a 

relationship now between all parties that 

can be built upon when things return to 

a certain level of normality. It will never 

again be that easy to dismiss one supplier 

for another when payments are delayed 

or contract arguments cannot be settled. 

There is a sea change on the way that we 

all deal with each other, because at the 

moment, and I hope it lasts, everyone in 

a business or personal capacity will need 

each other for support as we go forward. 

There will be no mileage in aggressive 

payment or collection attitudes. But 

let us not be too naive, in the world of 

commerce and industry there will always 

be businesses that use credit just to 

survive, and delay payments as a natural 

way to protect cash flow. ‘Payment lagging’ 

will never disappear and arguments and 

problems over payment will always be 

part of business, but what a shock we 

have all had. 

BOLD STATEMENTS 

Some businesses say that they cannot 

pay because of the current crisis, and it 

is left to our training and experience to 

establish the veracity of any statement, 

as we have always done. None of us 

have had any experience of what is now 

happening. I, for one, never want to go 

through this again, but it has meant that 

every business I speak to, large or small, 

is not as dismissive of our intervention as 

we first thought. In some ways, because 

of reduced staff levels everywhere and 

many working from home, personal 

contact has become easier and in some 

ways friendlier. We are ‘all in the same 

boat’ is perhaps the best way to describe 

the business attitude out there at the 

moment. 

At the time of writing we are making 

plans for a return to the office. Our 

emphasis will continue to be more 

personal contact with our clients. We 

do not doubt that there will be a surge 

in instruction from clients as we all 

endeavour to get back to ‘normal’ and our 

personal approach will mean that we can 

give them a better understanding of some 

of the expectations regarding collection 

and in some instances the slightly longer 

time considerations. That is not to say we 

will lose any of our fervour in achieving 

results, but we have to recognise the 

very different trading conditions we are 

returning to. 

Steve Lewis is Managing Director LPL 

Commercial Investigations 



Commercial Brake 

What impact is COVID-19 having on the collection 

of commercial debts? 

AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM 

“The impact will be many 

times worse over the 

coming months, however, 

as we gradually come out 

of lockdown. Naturally, 

insolvencies will rise – 

as they always do post a 

recession – and, generally, 

businesses will also be 

faced with higher debt 

levels to service, tax 

deferments to be repaid and 

the cliff edge and reality of 

trading post Brexit.” 

are a lot 

of sure things in 

this world – it 

keeps spinning for 

one. Recessions 

“THERE 

come and go 

and invariably we get through them. 

However, COVID-19 brings unique 

challenges – certainly nothing like I have 

ever experienced in my many years of 

business.” 

So says George Miles, founder and 

Managing Director of Paladin. He 

believes it could take several years for 

the economy to recover and there will be 

many casualties along the way: “I think 

we will live in a changed business world,” 

he continues, “where being dynamic is 

key. Now is an important time. I am 

afraid that some companies won’t make it 

– and it’s important that you prepare now.” 

What George means by this is that 

companies need to start beefing up their 

bad debt provisions: “Over-provisioning 

now resulting in possible release later is 

much better than being under-provided 

and suffering losses. Having a robust 

credit policy in place is also key. Make 

sure that your whole business knows your 

collection process and ensure that you 

bolt on a reputable debt collection agency 

to help. Third party intervention can play 

a major part in your armoury.” 

George says that firms also need to 

be flexible: “Know your customers,” he 

says. “Some will be vulnerable and need 

help to survive – it’s better to try and 

help than go in all guns blazing. Getting 

something is better than getting nothing. 

Some customers may not have the cash to 

pay you right now so negotiate payment 

plans where you can – again bolting 

on an agency if the arrangement falls 

down. Using or threatening late payment 

legislation can also focus where payments 

go.” 

STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE 

Perhaps not surprisingly, George is not 

alone in his view, especially that some 

businesses will struggle to survive. Lynne 

Darcey of Darcey Quigley says that 

despite ‘trying times’, businesses still need 

to recover outstanding invoices and the 

money they are duly owed. 

“I think everyone understands to 

an extent the impact that this virus is 

having on both our personal lives and on 

business,” she says. “Although businesses 

must be understanding and sympathetic 




to the needs of their customers, they must 

try to ensure they prioritise their collection 

process and procedures. We have several 

clients who have furloughed almost all staff; 

however, the finance department are still 

operating as money still must come into 

the business. Although there are several 

grants and loans available to help in the 

current environment, for some businesses 

this may not be sufficient and therefore it is 

imperative they recover what is owed to them 

in a timely fashion.” 

Lynne says that while some people are 

apprehensive about asking for the money, 

recovering outstanding payments is revenue 

that can make the difference between a 

business remaining operational and closing 

its doors: “I believe that the most important 

point here is that you treat each business on 

a case by case basis,” she explains. 

“You must be thorough on implementing 

your credit management process much like 

a commercial debt recovery company is. It 

is essential you understand what impact the 

current situation has had on your customer 

as credit scores and rating before this 

crisis will have no bearing on their current 

circumstances nor give you an accurate 

reflection on their ability to pay. You need to 

know what impact it has had on their sales, 

and what impact it will have in the coming 

months.” 

Lynne also says credit teams and businesses 

need to be flexible: “In this climate you 

must be open to slightly deviating from 

your standard terms or open to receiving a 

payment plan if necessary,” she continues. 

“You must keep contact with your customers 

high until payments have been made and 

you must provide clear deadlines to your 

customers and follow them through.” 

She says you cannot allow for your customer 

to control the timeframes: “You must decide 

on the timescales that suit your business 

within the constraints of your customers' 

financial status or creditworthiness. If this 

fails, then it may be time to assign this to a 

professional pre-litigation commercial debt 

recovery company to facilitate the payment. 

A lot can happen and change in a business 

within a week.” 

CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT 

Yvette Gray, UK and Ireland country director 

for Atradius, agrees, and says that the good 

news is that debt collection is still very much 

underway but not without its challenges: 

“Many firms have paused operations, 

effectively ‘shut down’ with the entire 

workforce on furlough, while others have 

shifted to working from home; this means 

that the traditional processes for collecting 

debt may simply no longer be effective. And 

while some may be genuinely struggling to 

Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / July & August 2020 / PAGE 19 

pay their bills at the moment, for others, the 

current situation becomes yet another excuse 

not to pay and it’s crucial to differentiate 

between the two.” 

What Yvette means by this is that this isn’t 

time for ‘business as usual’: “Businesses need 

to evolve their processes to overcome the 

additional hurdles created by COVID-19,” she 

says. 

“A new framework to manage debt 

collection is the first step in allowing 

businesses to identify potential problems 

early on and manage the risk of late and nonpayment. 

A comprehensive assessment of 

your accounts receivable portfolio is essential, 

segmenting customers into key accounts 

which need a personal approach and those 

which will benefit from automated practices; 

such as accounts characterised by high 

volume, low value invoices. Some businesses 

come to us because they want us to handle 

the automation for them, enabling them to 

invest in their key customers while others take 

the reverse approach so they know their key 

customers are handled with care, ensuring 

effective payment collection while preserving 

good supplier relationships for future trade.” 

Unfortunately, Yvette says, with more 

challenging economic circumstances, the 

number of customers struggling to pay on 

time is likely to increase: “In these situations, 

take a diplomatic approach and consider 

renegotiating payment terms where it aligns 

with your credit policy,” she continues. 

“Offer short-term relief – such as suspending 

interest and late fees – in exchange for prompt 

payment and, where possible, offer incentives 

to encourage early payments. Where there 

are liquidity issues, work out a payment plan, 

accepting that some payment in the short 

term is preferable to having to write-off the 

whole debt should the situation deteriorate.” 

Prevention, she advises, is better than cure: 

“When it comes to invoicing, streamline 

your processes and iron out any scope for 

error or dispute. Continually monitor your 

accounts receivable portfolio so you can 

spot cashflow problems early and review the 

format and frequency of your invoices and 

reminders; are they being addressed to a 

contact who is now working from home or to 

an office which is closed? Ask your customer 

if invoicing needs to be adjusted or payment 

procedures temporarily adjusted. Proactive 

communication and where necessary 

incorporating modifications could nip 

invoicing-related delays in the bud. 

“Payment reminders should be timely, 

professional and appropriate,” she adds. 

“Whilst you may need to adapt to address 

current circumstances, it’s also prudent 

to bear in mind past payment behaviours 

and perhaps consider changing your usual 

protocol to stimulate action. For example, has 

continues on page 20 >



your customer become used to your procedures 

and so relying on being able to wait for you to 

send three reminders before they really have to 

pay? Ensure reminders are heeded by warning 

of the consequences of non-payment, including 

interest, withdrawal of future credit facilities 

and your partnership with a third-party 

collection agency.” 

EFFECTIVE POLICIES 

Even with the current challenges, Michael 

Rogers, Business Development Manager at 

Redwood Collections, believes that collections 

should not be any more challenging than 

previously: “With the right approach and/ 

or assistance, collections need not be more 

difficult, and that effective policies and 

procedures will help strike the balance between 

recoveries and reputational concerns,” he says. 

Michael urges clients to make sure their pointof-sale 

paperwork is watertight in terms of later 

dispute or query: “The enthusiasm of a new 

sale (and dare I say the average salesperson!) 

may result in poor paperwork, compromising 

credit control if the relationship sours. Things 

like multiple contact details or a clear reference 

to your terms and conditions can assist the 

recovery process and rule out spurious disputes. 

“It is also important to have a clear escalation 

route. If you state a deadline in your opening 

correspondence, make sure that it is followed 

up in a timely manner. This will convince your 

customers that you are true to your word and 

will escalate the matter if necessary.” 

Michael also advises businesses to categorise 

their credit control ledgers: “A ‘one size fits 

all’ approach will not reach all the nooks and 

crannies of your ledger,” he says. “If left with a list 

of stubborn and reclusive customers, consider 

which of those are worthy of a potential referral 

to a debt collection agency, those which are 

vulnerable and require special care, and those 

which may sadly be candidates for write-off.” 

“In this climate you 

must be open to 

slightly deviating 

from your standard 

terms or open to 

receiving a payment 

plan if necessary, 

you must keep 

contact with your 

customers high 

until payments have 

been made and 

you must provide 

clear deadlines to 

your customers 

and follow them 

through.” 

Steve Rose MCICM – Associate at Escalate Disputes 

With a significant liquidity crunch being a very real prospect for businesses 

across many sectors of the economy, there are steps that leadership teams 

can take now to bolster their balance sheets and protect their cashflow. 

Plan ahead – Keep updating your cashflow forecast as new information 

becomes available and pay particularly close attention to your list of debtors. 

Keep in touch – Stay in contact with your debtors to find out how they’re 

getting on and to anticipate any potential problems. 

Be firm – Make sure that you’re very clear in your conversations with debtors 

and what you require of them. 

Be fair – The reality is that many businesses are going to face pressures 

on their cashflow over the coming months, so consider introducing some 

flexibility when dealing with some of your most trusted clients. 

And if you’re not getting anywhere… If you feel that you can’t come to an 

agreement with a debtor, it may be time for expert advice. 

DELAYED IMPACT 

So has the true impact on collections been 

felt? Alex Hilton-Baird, Managing Director of 

Hilton-Baird Collection Services, thinks not: “At 

the moment, it feels a little like the calm before 

the storm in terms of cash collections,” he says. 

“Although it has become more difficult to 

recover payments since the lockdown began, 

with many businesses mothballing and large 

numbers of accounts payable and finance staff 

being furloughed, cash collections haven’t 

slowed quite as quickly as we might have 

expected. 

“The impact will be many times worse over 

the coming months, however, as we gradually 

come out of lockdown. Naturally, insolvencies 

will rise – as they always do post a recession – 

and, generally, businesses will also be faced with 

higher debt levels to service, tax deferments 

to be repaid and the cliff edge and reality of 

trading post Brexit. 

“Businesses should be looking to use this 

time wisely to get the basics right. By this we 

mean to ensure they know their customers 

and importantly the nuances of their accounts 

payable systems or invoicing processes. They 

should also have robust terms and conditions 

in place, invoice accurately and on time, put 

in pre-due date calls to verify payments will be 

on time and seek specialist support where no 

progress is being made. 

“What’s perhaps most important of all is to 

maintain a human touch when engaging with 

customers. We need to recognise that people and 

businesses are genuinely struggling out there, 

and many will have little choice but to delay 

payment. In these instances, we have found 

it very useful to have a working knowledge of 

the support available, and where appropriate 

to signpost debtors and challenge what we are 

being told.” 

Alex believes that whatever happens, third 

party collections agencies will play a valuable 

role in supporting businesses in the months 

ahead: “As well as providing additional resource 

when credit teams are stretched and adding 

extra weight to collections efforts when a 

customer isn’t paying, they’ll also be required 

to act as a mediator, obtaining payment whilst 

being sympathetic to the customer’s situation,” 

he says. 

“I believe going forward we will see shorter 

credit terms being extended between SMEs 

trading with each other, more business being 

conducted on pro-forma terms and personal 

guarantees used more to underpin credit. There 

will also need to be a reimaging of credit scoring, 

including more regular updating of algorithms 

to include live payment practices and granular 

Open Banking data. 

“For now, though, focus on recovering aged 

balances quickly, seeking support where 

necessary, and ensuring appropriate credit risk 

policies are in place going forward,” says Alex. 


SECTOR COMMENT 

DINING OUT 

Has the restaurant industry had its chips? 

AUTHOR – Peter Kubik 

THE restaurant industry is 

suffering, with the UK’s 

Top 100 restaurant groups 

making a loss of circa 

£151m last year. This 

was partly due to costs 

associated with the increase in minimum 

wage from £7.83 to £8.21 in April 2019, 

alongside high rents affecting the high 

street in general. 

High and rising costs were not the only 

problems restaurants faced. Many also 

face stiff competition not only with other 

restaurant businesses, but with other 

branches of their own restaurants located 

in close proximity. 

The impact that cost and competition is 

having on the restaurant industry is clear 

for all to see. Insolvencies in the year to 

June 2019 increased by 25 percent and 

were at their highest since 2014. Now, due 

to COVID-19, we can only expect these 

figures to increase. 

FORCED CLOSURES 

From early-March 2020, the public was 

advised to avoid the hospitality industry 

and restaurants were subsequently forced 

to close their doors on 20 March 2020. 

Albeit, some were able to continue trading 

through delivery/collection services. 

The government introduced various 

methods to help restaurant businesses 

survive, including the furlough scheme, 

deferring payment of VAT due between 

20 March and 30 June 2020, automatic 

business rates relief and grants of up to 

£25,000. 

However, little has been done regarding 

rent reductions which is arguably 

a restaurant’s highest cost, leaving 

businesses trying to negotiate new terms 

with their landlords. 

Some restaurants have sought 

restructuring advice to introduce new 

cost-cutting measures, such as requesting 

a rent reduction from their landlord or 

negotiating new terms such as linking rent 

to turnover. Many restaurant chains have 

significant finance costs which still need 

to be paid, unless a new arrangement can 

be met with their funders. 

However, due to the historic increase 

in losses, many restaurants will have 

no reserves to meet on-going liabilities, 

meaning there is great uncertainty as to 

how they will survive during lockdown. 

GREEN LIGHT 

Once restaurants are given the green light 

to reopen, which at the earliest will be in 

a few days time, restaurants will need to 

adapt to social distancing rules put forth 

by the government, for both customers 

and their staff. 

It is anticipated that restaurants will 

not be able to open at full capacity as 

there will be a requirement to keep each 

table at a safe distance from others. This 

could reduce the headcount by around 50 

percent. Restaurants are likely to struggle 

to adhere to social distancing measures, 

particularly with their kitchen staff, 

and may need to introduce new trading 

models. 

It is likely that restaurants with an 

outside seating area will be able to 

welcome more customers, as transmission 

of coronavirus is lower. 

Other measures that restaurants may 

need to take include, only accepting 

card payments, readily available hand 

sanitisers, the removal of condiments 

from tables, providing cutlery only when 

the food is ready and deep cleaning of the 

premises on a daily basis. Some of these 

measures could increase business costs 

for the foreseeable future. 

Even upon reopening, it is likely there 

will be a reduction in footfall as members 

of the public may be cautious about 

eating out and being in close proximity 

to others. This may also be the case due 

to the increasing popularity of restaurant 

delivery apps, which continues to eat into 

the turnover of restaurant dining. 

LOOKING AHEAD 

Restaurants will need to have a plan in 

place outlining how they will fund the 

business once they reopen. Any deferred 

VAT and rent will be due, historic creditors 

will need to be paid, produce will need to 

be purchased, and staff costs will begin 

to be reintroduced. Staffing levels may 

also need to be reduced, meaning any 

costs associated with redundancies and 

closures of loss-making sites will need to 

be paid on a reduced turnover. 

In order to navigate through these 

changes, forecasts will have to be 

carefully prepared. Many companies may 

have to consider Company Voluntary 

Arrangements, a formal repayment 

scheme which has previously been used 

by several high street chains. 

Peter Kubik is Partner at UHY Hacker 

Young, the national accountancy firm 


OPINION 

TIGER FEAT 

Credit Management asked John Ricketts FCICM 

to reflect on his time as President (and later Chair) 

of the Credit Services Association (CSA). 

AUTHOR – John Ricketts FCICM 

BEFORE the USA joined the 

Second World War, China was 

desperately defending itself 

against a Japanese invasion. 

In 1941 the Chinese Emperor 

hired an international group 

of mercenary pilots mostly made up of former 

US military personnel to bring the fight to the 

Japanese paying three times normal salary and 

a $500 bonus for each kill. 

In just seven months of intense aerial 

combat, this American Volunteer Group (AVG) 

of 100 mercenaries achieved the highest kill 

ratio of any fighter group of the time, downing 

297 enemy aircraft whilst only losing 14 

pilots. Nicknamed the ‘Flying Tigers’ by the 

Chinese after the pilots painted intimidating 

Tiger Sharks’ teeth on the noses of their P40 

Warhawks, they eventually became celebrities 

in an America rocked by Pearl Harbor with even 

Walt Disney designing a logo for them. 

How did they do it? They ripped up the rule 

book and ‘changed’, constantly adapting their 

tactics against the superior Japanese fighters, 

but whose pilots slavishly stuck to a one 

dimensional rule book never changing what 

they had always done. One of those mercenary 

pilots was Flight Leader F Ricketts. 

Why the history lesson? After 11 years on the 

CSA Board, I took over as President in February 

2017 determined to use my three-year term to 

effect change and keep the CSA relevant. 

In many respects, the Flying Tigers 

methodology was a forerunner to the OODA 

loop cycle, a management philosophy that I’ve 

always tried to stick with when introducing 

change. What’s OODA I hear you say? The OODA 

loop describes a cycle developed by military 

strategist and United States Airforce Colonel 

John Boyd in the 1970’s and still used by the 

military today. It stands for observe–orient– 

decide–act. 

Boyd applied the concept to the combat 

operations process, often at the operational 

level during military campaigns. It is now 

also often applied to understand commercial 

operations and learning processes. The 

approach explains how agility can overcome 

raw power in dealing with human opponents. It 

teaches you to constantly refine your approach 

to business and your own decisions based on 

continuing/ongoing information feeds rather 

than blindly following a single path. Let’s be 

clear, many ideas for change never made it past 

the CSA Board – and rightly so! 

APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING 

In the first year of my (grand-sounding) 

‘Presidential term’, the CSA was accepted onto 

the new Register of Apprenticeship Training 

Providers (RoATP) delivering apprenticeships 

to its members and other interested companies 

in key areas of debt collection, compliance, 

leadership and management. Since then, 

the CSA’s Learning and Development team, 

under the leadership of Fiona Macaskill, has 

developed its training portfolio to become a 

major income source for the CSA with more 

than 200 apprentices. 

In this year we also successfully re-launched 

the revised CSA Code of Practice to members, 

regulators and stakeholders at a reception held 

in the House of Commons. The relaunched 

code reflected a new principles-based approach 

to membership governance. 

GROWING INFLUENCE 

As a sign of the growing influence of the CSA, 

Peter Wallwork, the CSA Chief Executive, and I 

accepted an invitation to join the Department 

of Health working party in its review of the use 

and effectiveness of the Debt and Mental Health 

Evidence Form (DMHEF). The first meeting was 

held at 10 Downing Street in 2017 and delays 

in making progress led the CSA to proactively 

and unilaterally change its code in 2018 to move 

away from the use of the DMHEF due to the 

detrimental impact on the consumer. It was 

a move that at the time was welcomed by the 

Minister for Mental Health who commended 

the CSA for leading the way. My second year 

as President was no less propitious. In 2018 

the CSA achieved an Investor in Customers 

(IIC) Silver Award, the IIC recognising an 

Nicknamed the 

‘Flying Tigers’ by 

the Chinese after 

the pilots painted 

intimidating Tiger 

Sharks’ teeth on the 

noses of their P40 

Warhawks, they 

eventually became 

celebrities in an 

America rocked by 

Pearl Harbor with 

even Walt Disney 

designing a logo for 

them. 


OPINION 

AUTHOR – John Ricketts FCICM 

‘outstanding’ achievement in the CSA’s 

first first assessment. Silver was retained 

in 2019 with our accreditation now in its 

second year. 

This year also saw several board 

discussions around the CSA’s direction of 

travel and fitness to represent a rapidly 

maturing and changing industry. These 

deliberations resulted in the appointment 

of two, full-time senior management 

positions within the Newcastle 

Head Office, appointments that also 

represented a significant financial 

investment by the Board in the CSA’s 

future. The first of these appointments 

was Henry Aitchison, who started at the 

beginning of 2019 in the new role of Head 

of Policy. With a background including 

the OFT, FCA and FLA Henry took on a 

broad role supporting the CSA executive 

team in identifying key policy issues and 

developing a clear strategy to support the 

CSA’s principal aims objectives. Henry 

also took over representation of the CSA 

on the FENCA board later in 2019. 

OPERATIONAL DIRECTION 

The second appointment was not finalised 

until late in 2019 with the arrival of Peter 

Hayle to the newly created role of Director 

of Finance and Operations. By having a 

senior team player overseeing finance and 

operations, the CSA was able to free up 

the CEO and the Board to focus on critical 

areas of lobbying, strategy and policy. 

This in turn resulted in the development 

of a clear position on the Association’s 

three primary roles: 

• Engage – to represent members at the 

highest level with external stakeholders 

to enhance the reputation of the 

industry 

• Promote – to promote excellence and 

integrity in standards and culture 

across the industry 

• Support – to facilitate a collaborative 

environment to share best practice for 

the further improvement and ongoing 

professionalism of the industry 

I am happy to say that the CSA continues 

to fulfil these obligations into 2020 and 

beyond. 

CHANGE IN GOVERNANCE 

The CSA is governed by a non-executive 

Board of 13 directors (the Board), 10 

of whom are practitioners from CSA 

member companies and elected by 

the members. During the earlier 

years, the CSA relied heavily on the 

practitioner Board Directors to use their 

own time to do work representing the 

industry. 

The governance of the CSA changed 

in 2019, and with it went the title of 

President to be replaced by the more 

recognised ‘Chair’. Also disappearing 

were the personal responsibilities of 

each Board Director for an area of the 

CSA’s business (or portfolio), replaced by 

committees, with responsibilities spread 

across a number of directors. 

CONSUMER CAMPAIGN 

Arguably the biggest event outside of the 

CSA’s internal re-positioning and refocus 

was a major consumer-facing campaign 

entitled #heretohelp. This campaign, 

focused on a single key message, one 

of early engagement by customers and 

members, and it was well-received by 

members, stakeholders, government and 

consumer groups. 

In early 2020 it further refined 

its governance arrangements and 

announced a new, independent ‘Chair’ 

in Lord Chandos. The key word here 

is ‘independence’, and for now and 

in the future, the new appointee will 

intentionally not be a current practitioner. 

We exist in a part-regulatory and 

in some respects multi-regulatory 

environment for debt collection in the UK 

and one of the key external aims over my 

three years was to lobby and work closely 

with industry regulators, government and 

other stakeholders to strengthen the CSA 

Code of Practice and see it recognised 

as the common denominator. Progress 

has been frustratingly slow, but we are 

taken far more seriously as a sector than 

we ever did, strengthened by our data 

gathering initiative (DGI) showing that 

CSA members return £4bn to the economy 

each year and contribute over £30m in 

voluntary Fairshare contributions to 

money advice. We have a voice now and 

it is heard. 

I look back on the last three years 

with a mixture of pride and satisfaction. 

I am proud, for example, that we’ve been 

able to keep membership fees low, with 

no increases in some years and only 

inflationary increases in others, whilst 

still being able to fund change. But my 

time has also been tinged with an element 

of frustration too. However much you 

achieve, there is always more you want 

to do. As for me, I am staying on for a 

final three-year term as a non-executive 

director on the ‘back benches’ supporting 

Viscount Chandos as he takes over as 

Chair. 

I somehow doubt, however, that ‘Lord 

Tom’ will need much help. 

John Ricketts FCICM is Managing 

Director, Ardent Credit Services Ltd and 

Non-Executive Director of the Credit 

Services Association 


LEGAL MATTERS 

BORDER POINT 

In a case of liquidation, can the courts insist on 

records being returned that are kept overseas? 

AUTHOR – Peter Walker 

H 

G Wells thought in his 

book ‘The Outline of 

History’ that language 

‘is the instrument of 

thought as bookkeeping 

is the instrument of 

business.’ Bookkeeping can also provide 

useful information in an insolvency, and it 

was a consideration for a High Court judge 

in the case In re Carna Meats (UK) Ltd 

(2020) 1WLR 1176, where the accounting 

records were abroad in Ireland out of the 

court’s jurisdiction. 

The consideration for the liquidator 

of a UK meat wholesaler was the lack 

of bookkeeping records in the country. 

He knew that, according to the latest 

accounts filed at London’s Companies 

House, the value of the debtors was in 

excess of £800,000, a ‘significant asset in 

the liquidation’. The directors did not have 

the records, but they said that a company 

had dealt with the accounts. There was 

also a bookkeeper, but he was across the 

border in Southern Ireland. 

The company which had dealt with the 

accounting records responded that it did 

not have them. The bookkeeper in Ireland 

did not respond to correspondence. The 

liquidator through its solicitors eventually 

threatened to apply to the court for an 

examination of the bookkeeper under the 

provisions of the Insolvency Act 1986. 

This time the bookkeeper responded. 

He did not deny that he had been the 

bookkeeper nor that he had access to 

the accounting records. He asserted 

instead that the company owed him ‘a 

considerable sum of money’. The solicitors 

asked for proof of debt and reminded him 

of his statutory duty to the liquidator. 

They requested the bookkeeper to answer 

the liquidator’s enquiries but heard 

nothing back. 

The liquidators therefore completed an 

application notice seeking a court order 

that the bookkeeper deliver all documents, 

books and records of the company in 

his control or possession. They listed 

examples of what was required, such 

as the annual accounts, management 

accounts, breakdown of debtors, Sage 

accounting records, cash book, and more. 

The bookkeeper would be responsible for 

the costs of the application. 

He, of course, was outside the UK, and 

not in the jurisdiction, so the application 

included Form N510, being a ‘Notice 

for service out of the jurisdiction where 

permission of the court is not required’. 

The bookkeeper was in Southern 

Ireland, a country subject to the Lugano 

Convention. After the completion of 

Brexit, on whatever date that may be, the 

UK will usefully remain a member of that 

Convention. The documents were served 

both on the Court in County Monaghan 

and by registered post to the bookkeeper’s 

last known address in that County. 

Liquidators usually 

need bookkeeping 

records to do their 

job properly, and in 

the cosmopolitan UK 

companies sometimes 

have overseas 

connections. 

ENQUIRY INTO A COMPANY’S 

DEALINGS 

This was part of the liquidator’s enquiry 

into the Company’s dealings, etc., under 

the authority of section 236 of the 

Insolvency Act 1986. On the application 

of ‘the office-holder’, i.e. the liquidator in 

this case, the court may summon various 

people to appear before it. Those people 

include any officer of the company, 

anyone in possession of the company’s 

property, or is indebted to it, or anyone 

capable of giving specified information 

as to the company’s affairs. The court may 

then require any such person to provide 

an account of his or her dealings with the 

company. He or she may have to produce 

relevant papers or documents (section 

236(3)). 

The court has additional powers, 

and it may order that the person may 

be examined in any part of the United 

Kingdom ‘or in a place outside the United 

Kingdom’ (s 237(3)). That seems to be 

welcomingly broad, although this time the 

liquidator just wanted the bookkeeping 

records in accordance with section 236(3). 

Lord Slynn in another case, In re British 

and Commonwealth Holdings plc (Nos 

1 and 2) (1993) AC 426, pointed out that 

the court’s power under section 236 was 

a discretionary one. The requirement to 

produce documents, for example, must 

not put an unreasonable burden on the 

person asked to produce them. In that 

case Adam Johnston QC thought that this 

would not be an obstacle, but he then 

turned to the question of whether the 

court had jurisdiction. 

He questioned the basis on which 

service was made, and he reviewed 

the decisions in cases such as In re MF 

Global UK Ltd (No 7) (2016) Ch 325. In 

the Chancery Division of the High Court 

Richards J also considered an order made 

under section 236. The Joint Special 

Administrators wanted documents from 

a French company. Richards J was guided 

by a decision of the judges of the Court of 

Appeal, In re Tucker (RC) a bankrupt) ex p 

Tucker KR (1990) Ch 148. 

The Trustee in Bankruptcy wanted 

an order against the bankrupt’s brother 

living in Belgium. The alleged authority 

was section 25 of the Bankruptcy Act 1914. 

The Court of Appeal judges analysed the 

wording, and they decided that it did not 

allow for service outside the jurisdiction. 

This was significant in the MF Global case, 

where Richards J ruled that section 25 of 

the Bankruptcy Act was in ‘substantially 

the same terms as sections 236 and 237’ 

of the Insolvency Act 1986. It did not look 

good for the liquidator in the Carna Meats 

case. 

DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW 

Perhaps what was needed was a judge 

who had a different view of section 236, 

The judges of the Court of Appeal in the 

case In re Mid East Trading Ltd (1998) 1 

All ER 577 considered the winding up 

of a Lebanese company in England. 

The liquidators wanted Lehman Bros in 

New York to produce some documents, 

which might throw some light on a 

fraud relating to the company. Chidwick 

LJ said that the court could exercise the 

power subject to certain conditions. The 

applicant had to show that there was a 

proper case to make the order. This meant 

that the liquidator reasonably needed to 


LEGAL MATTERS 

AUTHOR – Peter Walker 

see the documents in order to exercise his or her 

statutory functions. The order must not ‘impose 

an unnecessary or unreasonable burden’ on the 

person who is obliged to produce the documents 

required. There were other considerations, such 

as breach of confidence or criminal penalties. 

All things considered the judges of the Court 

of Appeal would give extraterritorial effect to 

section 236. 

So, some judges will, and some judges won’t. 

Judge Hodge QC was sitting as a judge in the 

Chancery Division of the High Court, and he 

was faced with an application under section 

236 in the case In re Omni Trustees Ltd; Official 

Receiver v Norriss (2015) BCC 906. A company 

was trustee of an occupational pension scheme, 

and it transferred some £3.7m to a Hong Kong 

based scheme, the Secretary of State petitioned 

to wind up the company on public interest 

grounds. The liquidator wanted to find out what 

had happened to the £3.7m in the form of a 

witness statement by a Trustee of the Hong Kong 

scheme. The Trustee objected on the grounds 

that the English Court had no jurisdiction to 

make the order, and that the order went beyond 

what was permissible. 

The High Court made the order. Section 

236 had an extra-territorial effect, and it only 

required information about the transactions 

from the Company to the Hong Kong scheme. 

Judge Hodge QC criticised, or perhaps 

distinguished, the decision in the MF Global 

case. Section 236 was not the same as section 25 

of the Bankruptcy Act. The judge thought that it 

was structured differently, because it separated 

the powers to order an examination (section 

236(2)) and to produce documents (section 

236(3)). 

There were other judgments questioning a 

restrictive interpretation of section 236. There 

was the case re Casterbridge Properties Ltd 

(2002) BCC 453 not cited in the Carna Meats 

case. There too was the Secretary of State that 

had petitioned for a winding up petition on 

a public interest petition. It alleged that the 

company had committed a time-share fraud. 

The Official Receiver wanted an examination of 

one of the directors in St Vincent, but there were 

complications. There was, for example, a St 

Vincent statute forbidding such an examination 

without the consent of a St Vincent Court. 

During the course of the litigation Burton 

J considered section 236 and the various 

conflicting judgments of the English courts. 

He cautiously asserted that there was no doubt 

about ‘the partial extra-territorial effect of 

section 236’. 

CONCLUSION 

Judgments like these influenced the decision 

of Johnson QC in the Carna Meats case with 

reference to section 236(3), to the power of the 

court to require a person to submit an account 

of his or her dealings with the company, or to 

Liquidators may 

need power to get 

at bookkeeping and 

other records from 

countries outside 

the jurisdiction of 

the local courts 

in the UK. This is 

important now that 

the coronavirus 

lockdown is likely 

to result in business 

bankruptcies. 

produce documents, etc. The power could be 

exercised abroad provided that the person 

involved had this sufficient connection with the 

jurisdiction. The Irish former bookkeeper had 

that connection. 

A sensible conclusion! Liquidators 

usually need bookkeeping records to do 

their job properly, and in the cosmopolitan 

UK companies sometimes have overseas 

connections. Liquidators may need power to 

get at bookkeeping and other records from 

countries outside the jurisdiction of the local 

courts in the UK. This is important now that 

the coronavirus lockdown is likely to result in 

business bankruptcies. 

Peter Walker is a freelance business writer 

specialising in legal matters relating to credit 

management. 


VIEW FROM THE SEA FRONT 

Live and Let Live 

Despite wars, plagues, pogroms and other 

terrors, we will survive. 

AUTHOR – David Andrews 


VIEW FROM THE SEA FRONT 

AUTHOR – David Andrews 

CYCLING through the eerily 

quiet North Laines area 

of Brighton on the first 

weekend of lockdown (I was 

out for my daily exercise, 

before you go grassing me 

up), I was reminded of an early episode of 

The Walking Dead. 

Rick is walking down a normally 

heaving suburban High Street. There are 

no signs of life, tumbleweed cartwheels 

down the main road. ‘Jesus,’ says Rick. 

‘Where is everyone?’ 

The silence is then punctuated by that 

now scarily familiar low growl, signifying 

a peckish zombie lurking nearby. Yikes. 

Reader, I can testify that there were no 

zombies (apart from a couple of shuffling 

street drinkers who had not got the Stay at 

Home, Save Lives message) in Brighton’s 

Kensington Gardens on the morning of 

March 28, 2020. 

But there was no-one. Houston, there 

are no life signs. Nada. A fine spring 

morning in the North Laines normally 

heralds hordes – literally – of DFLs (those 

Down from London) and other assorted 

day trippers mingling with the locals, 

spending freely and showing why my city 

is one of the most visited in Europe. 

But that was then. BCV. Before 

COVID-19. Before THE VIRUS. Before our 

lives changed, perhaps forever. 

‘The writer defines the world’, asserted 

the great American novelist James Salter. 

And if one thing is certain in this uncertain 

universe, it is that many, many words will 

be written about the extraordinary social 

and economic events of 2020. 

TENNIS LESSON 

I was in Spain playing tennis for a few days 

when news of the ‘bug’ that was thought to 

have emerged in China began to appear. 

That was back in January. Mostly, people 

just shrugged. So, what of it, was the 

typical response. It’s like the ‘flu, right? 

It happens. It’s winter. And so on and 

so forth. I recall images played across 

Spanish media of UK expats, partying 

loudly on a beach and taunting locals with 

shouts of ‘we’ve got the vi-ruuuusssss’ 

drunkenly sung to the ‘tune’ of a popular 

football terrace chant. 

I recall thinking, these clowns are 

doing us no favours at all here. 

And I recall thinking, I’m getting the 

heck out of Dodge. Before it’s too late. Fast 

forward to high summer 2020. Our beaches 

are beginning to heave once again, our 

shops are slowly but surely beginning to 

open for business, and the tumbleweed 

that a few months back metaphorically 

blew through the North Laines has been 

replaced by human beings, rather than 

zombies. 

Rebuilding, as it was following the 

Second World War, will be a long, slow, 

and mortally expensive process. 

‘It’s like we have upset 

the Gods. I’ve been trading 

for 15 years, and in that 

time we have had the 

meltdown of the banking 

crisis, when it was as if 

the earth had swallowed 

up my customers’. 

NATIONAL COST 

Just how much it is going to cost us as a 

nation – in monetary terms – is an ongoing 

calculation. And the numbers continue to 

travel north at a phenomenal rate. 

Our government borrowed a record 

£62bn in April – more than had been 

expected for the whole of 2020. The 

budget deficit – the shortfall between 

state spending and income from taxes 

– continues to accelerate as tax receipts 

fall off a cliff with the economy only just 

embarking on a long and fragile road to 

recovery. 

The Office for Budget Responsibility, 

the Treasury tax and spending watchdog, 

estimates the deficit could hit £300bn this 

year, five times the sum borrowed in 2019, 

and almost twice as much as after the 

2008 financial crisis. 

Nature may be impeccably reliable in 

terms of its timing regarding the seasons, 

but when pandemics are involved there is 

no rhyme nor reason. Timing, in the case 

of COVID-19, could not have been worse. 

Many areas of our economy were 

only just emerging, blinking into the 

harsh, chill January days. The near civil 

war in our country brought on by the 

Brexit debacle and a bruising General 

Election, the early seeds of a recovery in 

a beleaguered property market – these all 

now seem to be distant events, shadowy 

vicissitudes played out through the 

miasma of a distorted 2020. 

On the weekend before the Prime 

Minister made that fateful address, 

announcing the immediate closure of 

our shops, our pubs and restaurants, a 

shutting down of our way of life, I spoke 

– presciently it now seems – to a man who 

owns one of the more popular cafes in 

Brighton’s North Laines. 

UPSETTING THE GODS 

I was locking my bike to some scaffolding 

outside his joint, and we started to chat. ‘I 

don’t,’ he said, ‘much like the way things 

seem to be going. 

‘It’s like we have upset the Gods. I’ve 

been trading for 15 years, and in that 

time we have had the meltdown of the 

banking crisis, when it was as if the earth 

had swallowed up my customers. We 

started to recover and then we had that 

blasted Brexit. And when punters face an 

uncertain future, they stop spending. It’s 

a herd instinct. You can’t blame them….’ 

Now, as I pedal through those same 

North Laines, and I clock the orderly 

socially distanced queues outside the 

slowly but surely re-opening cafes, the 

gingerly returning out of towners, and 

the tumbleweed is replaced by tentative 

footfall, I think of that circle of life. 

And think of all the grievous challenges 

societies have faced over the centuries. 

The wars, the plagues, the pogroms, the 

terrors, and the horrors, and I think, yes, 

we will survive. Of course we will. And 

we will be back together again, happily 

handing over our fiver for a pint, once 

again browsing the restaurant menu, once 

again booking a flight to the other side of 

the world. Living, once again. 

David Andrews is a freelance writer. 


EDUCATION & MEMBERSHIP 

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Delivering recognised qualifications and 

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Consultant, Experian 

CICM Credit Academy Distance 

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The CICM Credit Academy offers a range of distance learning 

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Distance learning does not mean you 

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“I have found this method 

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obtaining the pass marks 

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Insolvency & Litigation Team 

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Our distance learning packages include home study 

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Find out more on our website cicm.com/credit-academy-distance-learning 

Sometimes it is just easier to talk. 

Our friendly Credit Academy team are waiting to hear from you. 

Call us to chat about your options and best starting point. 01780 722900 


EDUCATION & MEMBERSHIP 

Which 

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I have little experience in a credit 

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I have been working in a credit-related 

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I have extensive experience in credit 

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qualified to Associate level, or am 

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Find out about the CICM Entry level 

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Find out about the CICM Advanced 

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Which Credit 

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Method? 

For a full 

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I would prefer a scheduled plan of 

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I have no problem motivating 

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Your best option is CICM VIRTUAL CLASSES: 

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Start by looking at Home Study 

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Read up more about Home Study. 

By choosing this package, you will 

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for your exam/s, via one of our 

CICM published textbooks 


INTERNATIONAL 

TRADE 

Monthly round-up of the latest stories 

in global trade by Andrea Kirkby. 

Retailers rapidly fall 

out of fashion 

WITH coronavirus eating its way 

through global economies, 

fashion seems to have a big 

red target placed upon it. In 

recent months, the UK has seen a number 

of retailers in the sector fail including 

Oasis and Warehouse while others are 

struggling too including Cath Kidson and 

Debenhams. Even firms that are in better 

positions have been cancelling orders with 

manufacturers. 

However, the travails of the sector are 

most definitely not confined to the UK. 

In the US, for example, preppy retailer J. 

Crew Group is preparing for a bankruptcy 

filing. The company is reportedly 

working to secure $400m in financing 

to fund operations in bankruptcy. While 

coronavirus was the tipping point, it 

doesn’t help that the New York-based 

retailer had already been struggling under 

a heavy debt load and sales challenges as 

it suffered criticism that it had fallen out 

of touch with its once-loyal customers. On 

top of that the company has been grappling 

with competition from online firms such as 

Amazon which have taken market share. 

The point for exporters in this 

sector is very clear. Be careful when 

accepting orders so that contracts cover 

cancellations, that sales days outstanding 

are kept to a minimum and that no matter 

where in the world the client is, they will 

be able to pay. If they can’t pay you may as 

well hunt down re-runs of the Jeremy Kyle 

show to fill your time. 

EU aren’t likely to 

get any benefits 

IT’S what most of us already know. Michel 

Barnier, the European Union’s Brexit negotiator 

has recently gone on record as saying that the 

UK is not automatically entitled to any benefits 

that the bloc had previously granted to other 

partners on trade. 

Barnier said: “The UK cannot expect highquality 

access to the EU single market if it is not 

prepared to accept guarantees to ensure that 

competition remains open and fair.” 

So, is it game over? Do we have to prepare 

for trade barriers to be imposed or will there be 

some compromise? Who knows, but if I were an 

EU-centric exporter I’d be taking a twin track 

approach of maintaining my present customer 

base while looking elsewhere for business. 

“The UK cannot expect highquality 

access to the EU single 

market if it is not prepared to 

accept guarantees to ensure that 

competition remains open and fair.” 

READERS will hopefully recall that last 

month I reported that Japan kicked its 

economy in the teeth by raising its VAT 

rate from eight to 10 percent and that as 

a result, consumer spending contracted 

by 11.5 percent. 

Well Japan’s not been alone in 

making changes to its VAT rate - 

Saudi Arabia is to triple its recently 

introduced VAT from five to 15 percent 

from 1 July this year. However, unlike 

Japan, it’s to hike the rate through 

sheer economic necessity as it strives 

VAT WON’T DO NICELY 

to support its coronavirus-hit economy. 

On top of the VAT rise, a cost of living 

allowance worth 1,000 riyals (around 

£216) was suspended from 1 June. The 

allowance only came in two years 

ago to help offset increased financial 

burdens of the introduction of VAT and 

a rise in the price of petrol. 

The core of the problem is that 

government revenue has dropped 

through the floor as a result of a huge 

fall in demand for oil which in turn has 

seen the price of oil crash. Oil revenues 

in the first quarter fell by 22 percent 

from a year earlier to $34bn. Further, 

the Saudi’s appear to be living beyond 

their means; the kingdom had a $9bn 

(£7.2bn) budget deficit for the same 

period. 

As with other countries, measures 

to fight the impact of coronavirus are 

expected to slow the pace and scale of 

economic reforms. 

So – be careful with your exposure to 

Saudi Arabia as careless trading could 

see you lose your head. 


Handy Andes are not to be sniffed at 

ACCORDING to a report in MoneyWeek, the 

region colloquially known as the Andean 

Three – Chile, Peru and Colombia – should 

not suffer too greatly from the coronavirus 

pandemic. 

The report notes that ‘emerging 

markets have been flattened by investors’ 

stampede for the exit. The Institute of 

International Finance estimates that 

overseas investors pulled $95bn from 

emerging markets in the first quarter 

of 2020 – a record quarterly outflow. 

Investors are right to be worried.’ It also 

notes that emerging markets tend to 

have poor health systems (an export 

opportunity, despite cash-strapped 

governments?), which won’t help the 

fight against the pandemic. Indeed, the 

International Monetary Fund (IMF) thinks 

Latin America’s economies will contract 

by 5.2 percent this year. 

However, MoneyWeek reckons that the 

Switzerland takes centre stage 

in a post-Brexit world 

SWITZERLAND is invariably associated 

with cheese, mountains and watchmaking. 

However, it also has a strong financial 

centre and in a post-Brexit world, UK 

finance-related services should consider a 

tie up with the Swiss. 

Yes, it’s true that Switzerland is not 

the world’s largest country in terms of 

geography or population (just 8.5 million 

people) but it’s incredibly wealthy (20th by 

GDP). Importantly, it has a strong banking 

and money management sector. A recent 

report from TheCityUK highlighted that 

the UK and Switzerland dominate global 

Brazil may drive you nuts 

BE careful in Brazil – a point I’ve noted 

before – as it appears that there’s some 

serious political infighting going on 

which is more than likely going to 

damage the economy further. As the 

Economist has detailed, Latin America’s 

biggest economy is contending with both 

the pandemic and an economic crisis 

and now the justice minister Sérgio Moro 

has resigned, ‘openly accusing president 

Jair Bolsonaro of obstructing justice. 

That has dealt a serious blow to the 

president and sparked destabilising talk 

of impeachment.’ 

Andean Three won’t see the pandemic 

altering their medium-term growth 

prospects too much. Why? It appears 

that unlike some of their neighbours, 

Chile, Peru and Colombia are wellmanaged, 

open economies, with positive 

demographics and great growth potential 

as ‘all three are commodity powerhouses.’ 

Colombia has iron ore and oil; Peru the 

world’s greatest deposits of silver, the 

third-most copper and fifth-most gold; 

and Chile has the world’s largest reserves 

of copper and lithium. They’ve also 

diversified into other areas such as nontraditional 

agricultural exports such as 

blueberries, avocados and grapes. 

Quite simply, coronavirus is taking the 

world by storm, but ultimately, we will all 

still want the energy, food and minerals 

that the three countries possess. Make a 

beeline for the area and hold your nerve as 

it should pay off in the long run. 

exports of financial services – the UK’s 

financial exports are $82bn while that of 

the Swiss is $23bn. Singly or combined, 

they put the US ($68bn), Germany ($16bn) 

and France ($1.5bn) to shame. 

With both (now) outside the EU and 

(will be) excluded from its single market in 

financial services, there’s a real potential 

for a profitable tie up – especially as both 

have strong regulatory systems backed by 

the rule of law. 

Now is the time to look to the future 

and plan for some financial coalescence if 

you’re in fintech. 

The problem for exporters is that Brazil 

was badly wounded by the last recession 

where its GDP fell by more than seven 

percent; the recession ended in 2017. 

Bolsonaro was seen as a knight in 

shining armour who would bring about 

economic liberalisation and deal with 

corruption. But in falling out with major 

political allies he has not been very 

effective; the country, an exporter of 

soy, oil and metals, is very exposed to 

commodity prices that have slumped 

recently as the pandemic has destroyed 

demand. 

Make friends in Vietnam... 

CORONAVIRUS has left no one untouched. 

But that said, it appears that Vietnam could 

do very nicely in the end and benefit from 

a post virus revival. Why? While many 

conglomerates moved their manufacturing 

to China as it was a low-cost destination, a 

number are now moving out as costs there 

have risen. On top of that, the Chinese 

shutdown showed to many the wisdom 

of diversifying their supply chains. With 

Vietnam having a young population which 

is accordingly less affected by the virus 

than Western countries, and having a lowcost 

base, it’s a ready market for anyone 

exporting to both its manufacturing sector 

and a population that is seeing rising wealth. 

…but watch out in Egypt 

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) 

has approved a $2.77bn loan to Egypt in an 

attempt to prevent economic collapse amid 

the pandemic. Egypt, which last received 

a loan from the IMF in 2016 is in trouble. 

Tourism, which accounted for five percent 

of the country’s GDP, has had sectoral 

difficulties for years in light of terrorism, 

but now it has completely vanished. 

Compounding problems is slowing 

international trade that has reduced 

revenue from the Suez Canal. And it’s not 

helping that plunging global energy prices 

have hurt the country’s oil and gas sector. 

To illustrate the state of the Egyptian 

economy, IHS Markit’s Purchasing 

Managers Index for the Egypt fell to a 

historic low of 29.7 in April from 44.2 in 

March, indicating that the private sector 

is suffering as a result of social-distancing 

measures that have seen mosques, 

churches, gyms and nightclubs close. 

Never say never, but while there is still 

business to be done in Egypt, there are real 

issues to plan out for. 

CURRENCY UK 

EXCHANGE RATES VISIT CURRENCYUK.CO.UK 

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Currency UK is authorised and regulated 

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HIGH LOW TREND 

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GBP/USD 1.28036 1.20784 Up 

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COUNTRY FOCUS 

France is our 

nearest neighbour 

but still a mystery to 

many. 

FRENCH 

EXCHANGE 

WHEN characterising 

a nation such as 

France it’s ever so 

tempting to think of 

a Gauloises cigarette, 

Napoleon and the 

Eiffel Tower. But of course, as with so 

many other nations around the world, 

France is much more than the stereotypes 

that are applied to it. 

With a history that extends beyond the 

Iron Age and a name that descends from 

the Latin word for country of the Franks 

– Francia – the country now comprises 18 

regions, five of which are overseas. Some 

65 million live in the country as most 

think of it – Metropolitan France – while 

two million live in the other five regions 

elsewhere across the globe. 

COUNTRY DEMOGRAPHIC 

France has the largest landmass in 

Western Europe – 549,970 sq.km – and 

it’s relatively sparsely populated with 

8,496 sq.m per capita compared to the UK 

(3,686), the Netherlands (1,992) and Macau 

(42). Not unsurprisingly, the capital, Paris, 

is the largest population centre with 12.5 

million, followed at some distance by Lyon 

(2.3 million), Marseilles (1.75 million) and 

Toulouse (1.3 million). At the bottom of the 

list of metropolitan areas (aires urbaines) 

come Tours (492,722), Clemont-Ferrand 

(479,096) and Nancy (435,336). 

Demographically speaking, France 

has, according to 2017 data, a reasonably 

even distribution of its population among 

the sexes and the five-year age bands up 

to age 70 with around four million (male 

and female) in each. From there upwards, 

naturally, the bandings shrink to look 

more pyramidal. If there is a ‘bulge’ it’s 

between 45-54 - for both male and female. 

France has for some time been a 

country of immigration with a wide 

pool of feeder countries. To illustrate 

this, according to 2016 data, Algeria and 

Morocco provided the greatest number 

of immigrants (by birth) – 807,500 and 

755,400 respectively, followed by Portugal 

(622,000) and Italy (286,400). At the other 

end of the spectrum, Cameroon provided 

82,100, DR Congo 81,700 and Serbia just 

78,000. Overall, the lists notes 20 different 

nations. By extension, while French is the 

lingua franca, other languages are very 

important to consider. 

The country is predominantly Catholic 

with around 65 percent of the population 

identifying as Christian. Islam comes a 

faint second with around eight percent 

of the population identifying as such. 

However, more than one quarter of the 

population do not adhere to any particular 

belief. 

But despite the level of religious 

affiliation, France is a secular society and 

there is no official state religion. Further, 

French law bans the use of religious 

symbols in all government institutions 

and public schools – a view generally 

supported by general society. 

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS 

France’s economy is well developed and is 

placed 6th in the world according to the 

UN (2017) and World Bank (2018) but 7th 

by the IMF. Each gives France a different 

Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / July & August 2020 / PAGE 33 continues on page 34 >

COUNTRY FOCUS 

AUTHOR – Adam Bernstein 

GDP but the most generous is that given by 

the IMF at $2.7 trillion. 

Having the largest landmass in Europe 

it follows that there are disparities between 

the regional economies. Ile de France, 

for example, contributes 30 percent of 

GDP through services, electronics and 

ICT, agro-food, construction, automobile, 

pharmaceuticals, culture and aerospace. 

In contrast, Bassin Parisien adds less than 

three percent to GDP even though it has 

some manufacturing, agriculture and 

service industries. 

Of course, statistics and data can be used 

to prove almost anything, but reading with 

a pinch of salt and common sense, a June 

2019 report on ceoworld.biz detailed the 100 

best performing businesses in the world. 

The majority were American with Apple in 

first place, but France took three positions 

with cosmetics firm L’Oréal at 53, oil 

company Total at 55 and Sanofi, a pharma 

firm, in 93rd position. 

When it comes to the 10 largest European 

companies by revenue, Business Chief 

listed – in 2018 – a number of French firms: 

Insurance giant AXA was in 7th position 

($143.7bn), Total ($127.93bn) was 8th while 

banking conglomerate BNP Paribas came 

in 10th ($109bn). First, by the way, was 

Germany’s Volkswagen ($240.4bn). 

And yet another list, albeit from 2015, 

shows how wide a net France fields her 

businesses. The list notes firms in retail 

(Auchan), construction (Vinci), Veolia 

(environment), Orange (telecoms), Credit 

Agricole (financial services) Group PSA 

(automotive), and Lafarge (building 

materials). 

By extrapolation, these industries make 

France a large importer, one that marginally 

takes in more than it exports. Key 

categories include machinery, including 

computers; vehicles; electrical machinery, 

equipment; mineral fuels including oil; 

aircraft, spacecraft; pharmaceuticals; 

plastics; optical, technical, medical 

apparatus; organic chemicals; and clothing, 

accessories. 

Europe supplies 60 percent of French 

imports, Asia 20 percent, North Amercia 

eight percent and Africa four percent. 

SETTING UP SHOP 

It’s interesting to note how ‘easy’ it is to 

do business in France in relation to other 

countries. New Zealand is consistently 

placed first on the World Bank’s list with 

Singapore in second place. The UK is placed 

8th, Germany 22nd, but France comes 32nd. 

That’s not great but is clearly much better 

than Eritrea at 189th and Somalia at 190th! 

Opening up for business in France 

requires, as in other jurisdictions, 

forethought as to the entity traded through; 

and France has a number to choose that 

include Société à Responsabilité Limitée 

(with between two and 50 shareholders), 

Entreprise Unipersonelle à Responsabilité 

Limitée (a single shareholder), Société 

Anonyme (at least seven shareholders) and 

Société en Nom Collectif (a partnership). 

There is too much detail to list here, but 

more can be read at Cabinet Roche & Cie via 

https://tinyurl.com/uglsry3. 

Workers in France are highly skilled 

and see value in education. However, 

unemployment in France is high, especially 

among those under 25; Trading Economics 

quotes a current rate of 7.9 percent in 

the last quarter of 2019. Further, France 

generally operates on a 35-hour week basis 

and workers tend to get both five weeks of 

holidays and a good work/life balance. 

As for taxation, company tax rate was 

recently 28 percent on the first €500,000 and 

33.33 percent above that (with lower rates 

for new-starts and SMEs), but for profits 

made in the 2020 tax year the rate is 28 

percent. 

The standard rate of VAT is 20 percent 

with reduced rates of 10 percent, 5.5 percent 

or 2.1 percent depending on the nature of 

the goods (such as food, utility, passenger 

transport, accommodation, cultural 

activities, certain works on a principle 

home, TV licences and socialised medicine). 

Personal tax rates range from zero 

percent to €10,064, 11 percent between 

€10,064–€25,659, 30 percent between 

€25,659–€73,369, 41 percent between 

€73,369–€157,806, and 45 percent on 

anything above €157,806. 

As from the beginning of 2019, a Pay-As- 

You-Earn system was introduced universally 

throughout France. Instead of filing an 

income tax and paying whatever taxes were 

owed for the prior year, workers are taxed 

at the source of the income, in monthly 

payments. 

And non-residents of France are taxed 

on income earned from French sources. 

However, France does have tax treaties with 

a number of countries that enables residents 

of certain countries to avoid dual taxation. 

France is also signed on to the Automatic 

Exchange of Information, which seeks to 

fight tax evasion by requiring financial 

intermediaries to be transparent about their 

clients’ tax residence in signatory countries. 

ONGOING CHALLENGES 

Every country has its own challenges and 

France is no different. 

Working 

First off, while EU citizens don’t require a 

permit to work in France, non-EU/EEA and 

Swiss citizens must apply for both a work 

and residency permit. There are several 

types including the Carte de Séjour, a 

residence permit for those who are coming 

The Eiffel Tower is a 

wrought-iron lattice tower on 

the Champ de Mars in Paris, 

France. It is named after the 

engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose 

company designed and built 

the tower. 


COUNTRY FOCUS 

AUTHOR – Adam Bernstein 

to France under a French long-stay visa; 

Carte de résident for spouses of French 

citizens, parents of a French-born child, 

expats retiring in France, or those who 

have renewed their carte de séjour for 

more than three years in a row; and an 

EU Blue Card, that permits its holder, a 

non-EU foreign national, to enter and 

remain in France under the purpose of 

engaging in paid activity and to explore 

career opportunities for up to three 

years, with the opportunity to extend the 

stay. 

The minimum wage for those over 

17 for calendar 2020 is €10.15 an hour 

(€1,539.42 per month) before tax. There 

are different rates based on age and if 

serving an apprenticeship. 

Buying property 

Fees can add around 15 percent to the 

cost of residential property and two 

types of tax are payable on residential 

property: land tax (taxe foncière) 

and local taxes (taxe d'habitation). 

Registering commercial property can 

take 42 days or more and businesses 

must obtain planning certificates, a 

cadastral certificate, a non-encumbrance 

certificate and mandatory environmental 

reports – it’s an eight-step process. 

Allied to this, an HSBC report notes 

that permits for construction can take 

time and a great deal of effort to secure 

– an average of 184 days. 

Striking culture 

Rarely is there a year when the French 

don’t exercise their right to strike – 

indeed striking is perfectly acceptable. 

According to a 2019 Statistica chart, the 

European country with the least number 

of days (average per 1,000 employees 

2010-2017) lost to strikes in Europe was 

Latvia – with none, the UK lost 20 days, 

Spain 50 days and the French lost 125 

days. (That said, Cyprus capped the list 

with 316 days lost.) 

Authorisation 

France can be a little bureaucratic in that 

government authorisation is required for 

inward investment in specific sectors that 

are seen as vital to the national interest. 

These include energy infrastructure; 

transportation networks; public water 

supplies; electronic communication 

networks; public health protection; and 

installations vital to national security. 

The rules were altered by two pieces of 

legislation - a common legal framework 

for Member States, based on Regulation 

(EU) 2019/452. This establishes a 

framework for the screening of foreign 

direct investments and applies from 11 

October 2020; and Decree No. 2019-1590 

of 31 December 2019 and a Ministerial 

Order from the same day that relates to 

foreign investments in France - these 

enter into force on 1 April 2020. 

The decree adds media and the 

print and digital press, as well as food 

safety, energy storage and quantum 

technologies to the sectors vital to the 

national interest. 

The rules apply to an investor who is a 

“natural person of foreign nationality, (ii) 

natural person of French nationality not 

domiciled in France, (iii) entity governed 

by foreign law or (iv) entity governed by 

French law controlled by one or more 

aforementioned persons/entities.” 

FRENCH ETIQUETTE 

French is the only official language 

spoken, but English and other tongues are 

spoken too; the former is widely taught, 

but the use of French shows a level of 

respect that is appreciated. That said, it’s 

wise for the speaker to understand their 

abilities. Similarly, it’s not always about 

what is said, but how it is said. In other 

words, formal and informal word usage 

should be noted and used appropriately. 

In serious negotiations a good translator 

is highly advisable. 

Business cards are important and 

when exchanged should be carefully 

examined before being pocketed. With 

French being the mother tongue, an 

English translation should be on the 

reverse. Job title and qualifications 

should be included. 

But just as language is important to 

the French, so is food and it’s often the 

focal point of conversation as well as 

being an ideal way to break the ice. By 

extension, the choice of lunch or dinner, 

of restaurant, number of courses and 

quality of food and wine demonstrates 

the importance of the event. 

Notwithstanding the impact of 

coronavirus, a handshake is very 

important in business meetings in 

France. It appears that a handshake 

should be initiated by the most senior 

person, or if a woman, her. Also, a kiss 

or air kiss is commonly used between 

men and women in established business 

relationships. Kiss twice, once on each 

cheek, beginning with the left. 

To address another colleague or 

client, Monsieur should be used for men 

and Madame for women, followed by 

their family name. Both are expected as 

part of the greeting. Thereafter, using 

Monsieur and Madame is appropriate. 

The dress code is formal with jackets 

rarely taken off and ties never loosened. 

Also – a blue shirt shouldn’t be worn as it’s 

the colour used by the military. Women, 

says the HSBC document, should note 

that ‘elegant tailoring is favoured.’ 

Decisions are made after deliberation 

– rarely in a meeting, but once made 

are infrequently reversed. Any minutes 

taken should be circulated within a day 

and actions required taken quickly. 

IN SUMMARY 

France is a country that most definitely 

should not be ignored. Despite Brexit, 

it’s still a key market and of course, our 

closest neighbour alongside the Republic 

of Ireland. Those seeking success need a 

good product and keen price. They also 

need to note French sensibilities. 

Adam Bernstein is a freelance 

business writer. 

The word macaron is derived 

from the Italian word, maccherone, 

meaning fine dough. It's believed 

that the macaron cookie was born 

in Italy and brought over to France 

as early as 1533 by Catherine 

di Medici, a noblewoman from 

Florence who married the future 

King of France, Henri II. 


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 

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 

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... 

Hays Credit Management is a national specialist 

division dedicated exclusively to the recruitment of 

credit management and receivables professionals, 

at all levels, in the public and private sectors. As 

the CICM’s only Premium Corporate Partner, we 

are best placed to help all clients’ and candidates’ 

recruitment needs as well providing guidance on 

CV writing, career advice, salary bench-marking, 

marketing of vacancies, advertising and campaign 

led recruitment, competency-based interviewing, 

career and recruitment trends. 

T: 07834 260029 

E: karen.young@hays.com 

W: www.hays.co.uk/creditcontrol 

The 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 

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 

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 

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 

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 

For further information and 

to discuss the opportunities 

of entering into a Corporate 

Partnership with the CICM, 

please contact 

corporatepartners@cicm.com 

THEY'RE 

WAITING TO 

TALK TO YOU... 

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 

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. 


CAREERS ADVICE 

STAYING AHEAD 

Why open-mindedness is a credit 

professional’s biggest asset. 

AUTHOR – Karen Young 

AS lockdown restrictions 

begin to slowly relax, our 

world of work shows signs 

of gradually returning 

to some semblance of 

normality. While many 

of us will welcome a return to established 

ways of working, we still have a significant 

period of change and adjustment ahead, 

which might have even the most confident 

in their jobs questioning what this means 

for their career. 

As we navigate these uncharted waters, 

new opportunities will be cropping up 

in fresh areas of demand. Here’s why 

keeping an open mind will therefore be a 

professional’s biggest asset to handle our 

everchanging world of work. 

NEW DEMAND BRINGS NEW 

OPPORTUNITIES 

To keep their organisations afloat during 

what has been a period of complete 

turmoil, leaders have recognised that 

they need a robust workforce in place who 

are equipped with the right skills. New 

demand brings with it new opportunities, 

so it’s in professionals’ interest to maintain 

an awareness of this. In terms of specialist 

skills in demand, according to recent 

research in the Hays Market Insights 

report, those that top the list are: 

• Managerial & leadership skills 

• Operations skills 

• Project & change management skills 

As always employers are looking for the 

whole package when it comes to a strong 

candidate, so soft skills or competencies 

like communications, problem-solving 

and flexibility are also in demand. 

If any of these resonate with your own 

skills profile, then it’s likely that your CV 

will stand out to those hiring – so staying 

open-minded about where your skillset 

could take you will help you capitalise on 

any new opportunities. 

INDEPENDENT LEARNING IS 

WORTH MORE THAN YOU THINK 

If you don’t feel your skills profile matches 

up to some of the skills in demand right 

now, that doesn’t mean you have to 

rework your entire skillset or that you 

won’t be able to progress and pursue new 

opportunities. Since entering lockdown, 

many of us have upskilled personally or 

professionally, some by necessity in the 

job, and some because they have found 

some extra time in their hands, which 

has the potential to illuminate new 

opportunities which weren’t available 

previously. 

Make sure that any new skills you 

acquire are highlighted on your CV and 

on your LinkedIn. While certain skills 

like learning a language, taking a coding 

course or refining your Microsoft Excel 

skills may directly enhance your career, 

it’s demonstrating your initiative and 

commitment to independent learning and 

independent thinking which will make 

you stand out in your current job or to a 

potential new employer. 

YOUR CAREER PROSPECTS 

ARE A PRIORITY 

One of the biggest impacts the coronavirus 

has had on professionals across the board 

is on career prospects. Roughly half (49 

percent) of professionals working in credit 

describe their career prospects as average 

or poor, indicating that professionals 

now feel less confident in their ability 

to progress their career since the onset 

of the pandemic. If you’ve experienced 

these feelings recently, you’re not alone. 

Professionals working across all areas 

of finance tend to be dedicated and 

driven, so it’s frustrating not to be 

guaranteed clear progression in 

your role. My advice is to harness your 

hunger for a new challenge by seeing how 

you might be able to step up. Approach 

your manager with your intentions to 

progress and listen to what they have to 

say about your development. Be prepared 

for constructive feedback about what 

you need to do to get to the next level. If 

the progression pathway at your current 

organisation doesn’t align with your goals, 

make it clear to your trusted recruiter that 

this is a high priority for you when the 

time comes to move roles. 

By maintaining an open-minded 

mindset and a high level of awareness, 

you’ll be well equipped to handle the 

change which comes with crisis recovery. 

Whether it’s capitalising on in-demand 

skills in your own skillset, making use of 

new expertise you’ve acquired since the 

onset of the pandemic or negotiating your 

career prospects, keeping an open mind 

will put you in the best position as we 

continue to navigate this new era of work 

and continuous change. 

Karen Young is Director at 

Hays Credit Management. 


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OPINION 

GREAT 

EXPECTATIONS 

Essential advice from the latest 

Credit Managers' Playbook. 

AUTHOR – Chris Sanders FCICM 

EVERYONE is getting used to the 

new video calling culture of 

business, but despite this now 

becoming normal we are not 

getting better at it. Many look like 

‘Crimewatch Police Informants’ – 

a black silhouette on a bright background – or 

have given a camera to a four-year old and asked 

them to take a picture. 

We need to get a bit more savvy with this 

technology in the coming months, not least 

as recruiters will be doing more recruiting 

virtually and the expectation and how your 

boss considers you can cope with this new 

technology when presenting your numbers will 

become more important. Only having the top of 

your head showing in an interview or looking 

like a ‘no publicity’ lottery winner would be the 

virtual equivalent of turning up for a face-toface 

interview for a manager’s job wearing an 

‘I’m with Stupid’ t-shirt. 

PRODUCTIVITY AND PERFORMANCE 

Cash collections performance is still strong 

in many organisations saying that they are 

maintaining collections levels at between 

80 percent to 90 percent plus of pre-crisis 

levels. This excellent performance is of course 

a double-edged sword, with organisations 

considering current performance based on 

current costs; is 80 percent performance OK 

with fewer people and no building costs? 

The most resilient organisations are those that 

had already invested in automation, systems, 

infrastructure and training. Removing manual 

processes fundamentally improves resilience. 

Time is running out. As we start to come out 

of the lockdown phase into the new normal, 

building resilience now is critical. Let’s not 

forget this COVID-19 crisis may come back and 

not all businesses will be able to survive second 

time round. Building resilience now is a critical 

business requirement going forward. 

NEW NORMAL? 

The #newnormal hasn’t been decided yet 

but that shouldn’t stop us from planning for 

whatever it is. Time is marching on and if you 

haven’t started to consider what this new normal 

will look like for your credit management teams 

it is getting to the point where it is almost too 

late. We have seen many organisations make 

decisions on when offices will re-open and 

some organisations have made the decision not 

to go back to the office at all. Others are waiting 

until the end of 2020 and others are looking at 

phasing their return. 

Credit managers have the attention of the 

business leaders now, so be bold. Ask for stuff 

including investment in systems and processes 

and resources. One thing is clear: this crisis 

has demonstrated that many companies 

have historically under invested in credit and 

collections. So, seize the day. It can take up to 

12 weeks for a new system to be in place so start 

now! 

To date we have held 34 CICMQ Zoom Sessions 

since the first one three days after lockdown 

started, with over 725 delegates attending 

from UK and International organisations. 

So let me share some of the thoughts and 

recommendations of this unrivalled CICM Best 

Practice Network: 

PEOPLE AND ORGANISATION 

Many organisations now have a ‘Back to the 

Office Plan’. From a staff perspective, certainty is 

what is needed most. Any plan that is developed 

must be shared with the team. If there is one 

good thing that has come out of this it is that 

there will be a mix of working practices in the 

future: more flexible working, two-days a week 

in the office, more job swaps, and cross training 

will all be required in smaller companies as 

the roles have to be shared. There will be less 

travel, less congestion and less pollution. Asking 

what the team want to do and their personal 

circumstances has to be the way forward. 

STAKEHOLDERS 

Build a plan or a road map for the next 12 months 

and articulate this to the senior leadership. This 

will build trust and will demonstrate that you 

and the team are on the case. If you haven’t 

done this, you may be too late as decisions 

are now being made potentially without your 

operational input. 

Your overriding question now and for the 

rest of the 2020 must be ‘How do I maintain 

the support of the senior stakeholders in the 


OPINION 

AUTHOR – Chris Sanders FCICM 

business?’ Another good question is ‘How do 

I stop the team using excel spreadsheets for 

everything?’ This means looking at systems, 

automation, and full portfolio assessments, since 

all of these things build resilience and future 

proof your organisations. You may end up with 

fewer team members but if the statistics and the 

predictions are to be believed your workload will 

only grow in the coming months, so you need to 

do more with less. 

CUSTOMERS 

When looking at the plan include customer 

profitability actions, specifically around the 

areas of exposure, risk, and reward analysis. As 

a credit manager you have data to do this and as 

a strategy it is something that you should take to 

the business. Conversely for those customers that 

are under-utilised, provide analysis to sales that 

highlights these customers. We know that trading 

out of this crisis will be tough and sales will need 

all the help they can get. Low risk customers with 

under-utilised credit limits are the low hanging 

fruit for fast revenue generation, with the added 

We will remain 

in the current 

‘work from home’ 

type environment 

for a while yet 

as we know 

organisations 

are generally not 

rushing to return 

to the office. 

benefit of demonstrating value to the business. 

In short, become a part of the sales strategy! 

DEBTS 

As you empty the bucket of disputes you don’t 

want your poor billing to start to fill it up again. 

Using sales and shortening the dispute resolution 

sign-off process will help you. Re-balancing your 

BDP should be on the agenda now, if this hasn’t 

already been done. Start to measure the billing 

accuracy for the reasons mentioned above. A 

simple invoice vs. credit note measure is the 

best and quickest solution; if you measure it 

consistently then you will see a trend. Collections 

relies on constant contact and intervention. With 

finite resources you need to focus on the greatest 

benefit. Enlist the help of sales, use league 

tables for overdue debt with the sales, branches 

or regions. League tables are a great way for 

engaging the business in cash collection and 

dispute resolution. 

KPIS AND MEASUREMENT 

Get the business involved in the resolution of 

disputes and develop a league table as above 

for sales and the business on dispute values and 

cash conversion, debt resolution etc. Sales are 

competitive and salespeople will NOT like to be 

at the bottom of a league table. Slim down the 

KPIs you use and add this to your plan and gain 

approval from the senior management for the 

measures and the new plan. 

PROCESS AND SYSTEMS 

Decide on five of your most critical processes 

and start now to put a plan in place to get them 

back on track or change them to meet the new 

challenges given that they may be done remotely 

in the future. Ensure that whoever is resolving 

disputes is joined-up completely with the 

responsible collector, so collection can continue 

seamlessly when disputes are resolved. Build in 

reviews with sales and senior management into 

the new processes since this will help rebuild 

trust. Speed is of the essence: if your query 

or dispute resolution time is slower than your 

competitors who do you think will get paid first? 

We will remain in the current ‘work from home’ 

type environment for a while yet as we know 

organisations are generally not rushing to return 

to the office. This will make the management 

of this new phase more challenging. For many 

managers this is still new territory. Keeping 

the teams engaged will remain difficult – or at 

least more complicated – as some will be office 

based and some home based, and some will be 

returning from Furlough. 

For the full COVID-19 Credit Managers 

Playbook II and further information about 

the CICM Best Practice Network please contact 

cicmq@cicm.com. 

Chris Sanders FCICM is Head of 

Accreditation – CICMQ. 


PAYMENT TRENDS 

No sign of ‘Normal’ 

Lockdown continues to affect credit and payment terms. 

LAST month’s payment performance 

statistics highlighted the early 

impact COVID-19 was having in the 

world of credit, with businesses and 

credit professionals being forced 

to adapt their practices, extended 

terms and introducing new payment plans. As 

expected, things have only worsened in the last 

month, with payment terms continuing to rise for 

the majority of sectors and regions. The average 

Days Beyond Terms (DBT) figures increased by 2.6 

days and 1.9 days respectively across regions and 

sectors. 

SECTOR SPOTLIGHT 

The global lockdown enforced by the pandemic 

has had a detrimental effect on a number of 

sectors and industries. With all pubs, bars, hotels 

and restaurants being forced to close, it is no 

great surprise to see payment terms increasing 

across the Hospitality sector. An increase of 8.5 

days takes its overall DBT to 20.4 days. 

Entertainment has been similarly affected 

– gigs, concerts, festivals and all events with 

large crowds have had to be postponed. The 

film, television and music worlds have come to 

a standstill. An increase of 7.1 days means the 

Entertainment sector’s overall DBT now stands at 

22.2 days. 

Elsewhere, Wholesale and Retail trade (+7.0 

days), Education (+6.4 days) and Real Estate (+6.1 

days) have also been particularly affected, with 

the majority of sectors struggling. International 

Bodies remain the worst performing sector with 

an overall DBT of 29.3 days, but it is moving in 

the right direction once again with a reduction 

of 12.8 days to payment terms. Financial and 

Insurance is the new best performing sector with 

an impressive overall DBT of 5.6 days. 

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT 

At a regional level, things are similarly precarious, 

with all but one of the 11 regions seeing increases 

to payment terms. Northern Ireland was the sole 

region to improve, with a reduction of 2.9 days 

taking its overall DBT to 13.4 days, meaning it 

has gone from the worst performing region to the 

best performing region. 

The West Midlands and South East have been 

worst affected, both seeing increases of 5.8 days 

to payment terms. Wales (+4.1 days), South West 

(+4.1 days), Yorkshire and Humberside (+3.5 days) 

and Scotland (+3.4 days) have also struggled. 

The hope is, that with the gradual easing 

of lockdown measures and more businesses 

and industries beginning to return, we may see 

payment terms gradually starting to reduce 

across the board. But it’s unlikely to be a quick 

fix, as we all adapt to the ‘new normal’. 

Data supplied by Creditsafe Group. 

Retail trade (+7.0 

days), Education 

(+6.4 days) and 

Real Estate (+6.1 

days) have also 

been particularly 

affected, with the 

majority of sectors 

struggling. 


PAYMENT TRENDS 

Data supplied by the Creditsafe Group 

Top Five Prompter Payers 

Region May 20 Change from April 20 

Northern Ireland 13.4 -2.9 

Yorkshire and Humberside 14.7 3.5 

London 15.1 0.1 

North West 15.3 0.7 

Wales 15.4 4.1 

Getting Better 

International Bodies -12.8 

Financial and Insurance -6.8 

Transportation and Storage -4.3 

Dormant -3.4 

Mining and Quarrying -2.4 

Water & Waste -1.5 

The hope is, that with the gradual easing of 

lockdown measures and more businesses 

and industries beginning to return, we may 

see payment terms gradually starting to 

reduce across the board. 

Top Five Prompter Payers 

Sector May 20 Change from April 20 

Financial and Insurance 5.6 -6.8 

Health and Social 10.2 2.3 

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 10.3 1.6 

Public Administration 10.8 1.4 

Water & Waste 11.8 -1.5 

Bottom Five Poorest Payers 

Region May 20 Change from April 20 

South East 18.2 5.8 

Scotland 17.1 3.4 

West Midlands 16.8 5.8 

East Anglia 15.6 3.4 

South West 15.6 4.1 

Getting Worse 

Hospitality 8.5 

Entertainment 7.1 

Wholesale and retail trade 7 

Education 6.4 

Other service 6.4 

Real Estate 6.1 

Professional and Scientific 5.4 

Construction 4.9 

IT and Comms 4.2 

Business Admin & Support 3.9 

Business from Home 2.9 

Manufacturing 2.8 

Health & Social 2.3 

Energy Supply 1.8 

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 1.6 

Public Administration 1.4 

Bottom Five Poorest Payers 

Sector May 20 Change from April 20 

International Bodies 29.3 -12.8 

Entertainment 22.2 7.1 

Hospitality 20.4 8.5 

Professional and Scientific 19.7 5.4 

Business Admin & Support 19.6 3.9 

Region 

Getting Better – Getting Worse 

-2.9 

5.8 

5.8 

4.1 

4.1 

3.5 

3.4 

3.4 

0.7 

0.7 

0.1 

Northern Ireland 

South East 

West Midlands 

South West 

Wales 

Yorkshire and Humberside 

East Anglia 

Scotland 

East Midlands 

North West 

London 

NORTHERN 

IRELAND 

-2.9 DBT 

SOUTH 

WEST 

4.1 DBT 

WALES 

4.1 DBT 

SCOTLAND 

3.4 DBT 

NORTH 

WEST 

0.7 DBT 

WEST 

MIDLANDS 

5.8 DBT 

YORKSHIRE & 

HUMBERSIDE 

3.5 DBT 

EAST 

MIDLANDS 

0.7 DBT 

LONDON 

0.1 DBT 

SOUTH 

EAST 

5.8 DBT 

EAST 

ANGLIA 

3.4 DBT 


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demonstrates your commitment to 

professionalism and best practice 

TAKE PRIDE IN 

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contact: cicmmembership@cicm.com 

MANAGING CREDIT THROUGH 

THE RECOVERY What should your focus be on now? 

As the initial crisis settles, now’s the time to focus on navigating our way through the recovery phase. 

REGULATORY CHANGES 

• Consider Government support mechanisms and loan schemes for you 

and your customers. 

• Plan recovery action in line with legal moratoriums and suspended 

enforcement actions. 

• Adjust approach in line with Financial Conduct Authority guidance for 

consumer support. 

ORDER TO CASH PROCESS 

• Review any breaks or weak links in your supply chain and address them 

directly. 

• Revisit contracts with stakeholders, negotiate temporary new terms to 

assist. 

• Set contingencies for impacted suppliers, including switch of supply. 

• Categorise customer portfolio in line with risk and review regularly. 

£ 

CASHFLOW MANAGEMENT 

• Develop dynamic ledger management which is responsive to 

immediate change. 

• Re-write existing collections strategies to fit the current environment. 

• Revisit customers with agreed payment holidays and reduced instalments. 

• Maximise smaller ledger opportunity to concentrate on older, hard to collect, 

debt. 

• Revisit and recalculate collection targets with inclusion of impact factors. 

POLICIES AND PROCESSES 

• Review Credit Policy and risk strategy of your organisation in the current 

context. 

• Work with Senior Management to shape a future exit strategy. 

• Review operational processes in line with continued WFH and risk 

situations. 

• Retain more frequent targets and reviews in a supportive environment. 

• Re-write contingency and continuity plans that didn’t work in the crisis. 

PEOPLE 

• Plan staggered staff reintegration and support mechanisms to assist 

the transition. 

• Prepare working conditions in and beyond the office under continued 

constraints. 

• Consider opportunities for more agile working arrangements on a 

longer-term basis. 

ACCESS HELP FROM CICM 

 

Contact our Member Advice Service for support, answers and 

advice. 

Join the CICM Managing Credit through the Recovery Forum 

on LinkedIn. 

Visit our Managing Credit through the Recovery 

webpage for more resources. 

We are developing more resources, please keep in touch with us and join our community. 

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


OPINION 

LADIES FIRST 

A talk at a Ladies Club proved an eye 

opener for our correspondent. 

AUTHOR – Derek Scott FCICM 

IN a previous article I mentioned my 

first job in credit management as an 

Assistant Arrears Supervisor. Two 

recent unrelated events took me back 

to that time. The first was a telephone 

conversation with a speaker’s secretary 

of a Ladies group for a booking of my talk on 

credit and debt entitled ‘Never Pay Later’. The 

second was a film from 1960 called ‘Light up 

the Sky’. 

‘Light up the sky’ tells the story of a searchlight 

battery during the Second World War. It 

starred Ian Carmichael, who some of the older 

generations in the CICM may recall, as well 

as a host of other film actors of the 1950/60s, 

including the comedian Benny Hill. 

By the time the film was released, I had 

become the Arrears Supervisor after the sudden 

departure of my boss. I was now in sole charge of 

a team of 12. It was a soft start to be a number one 

in credit management as despite being of many 

different ages, the team all got on really well, and 

probably knew more about the requirements of 

the job than I did at that stage. 

ROCK ON TOMMY 

Another star of the film was the rock and roll 

pop idol, Tommy Steele. Some of my team were 

fans and asked me to write to the studio to see if 

we could visit the set to meet him and the other 

cast members. The film was being made at the 

famous TV studios in Twickenham, only a few 

minutes away. The Public Relations Manager 

apparently thought it was a good idea to generate 

some good publicity. 

A few days later I received a call from the PR 

Manager who explained that due to the shooting 

schedule a visit was not possible, but she would 

send autographed pictures etc. She then asked 

me what my job was, and when I told her there 

was a moment of silence, and then in a tone I 

would soon learn that went with the public 

image of debt collectors, she said: ‘So you’re one 

of those people!’. Over the years I have constantly 

come across this view of our profession and I can 

think of many other examples. One in particular 

that sticks in my mind, was when I had to provide 

my details to someone at the local council. When 

we reached the area of occupation I said, ‘credit 

manager’, to which she responded with ‘that’s 

not a very nice job, I bet you’re not very popular!’. 

So, back to my conversation a few weeks 

ago with the Speaker’s Secretary. She had been 

told by the President to book me but was not 

happy to comply. She was under the impression 

that I would be talking about debt and didn’t 

understand the difference between debt and 

credit management. I shared the title of my 

talk – Never Pay Later – but I could tell she was 

still not convinced. After a further discussion 

she decided that in order to encourage more 

members to attend I would need to change the 

title to ‘Would you Credit it?’. 

NEGATIVE VIEW 

My point is that even after more than 60 years, it 

appears the public view of our profession is still 

extremely negative, like we are the type of people 

who throw old ladies out in the snow if they owe 

money. Regretfully there are those who seem 

to enjoy this reputation as they see themselves 

as a cross between Atilla the Hun and Vlad the 

Impaler. 

I had hoped before I shuffled off this mortal 

coil, we would be recognised for the key role we 

play not just in business, but also in maintaining 

the economy of the UK and every person’s life! 

Even as I write this, in one tabloid there is a 

piece about debt collectors chasing people who 

do not owe any money or are even in credit. It is 

in part headed ‘Receive Debt Threats!’. 

We have been compared to ‘wheel clampers’. 

There was the fiasco of the TV license fee where 

people without televisions were harassed every 

month for up to a year with collection letters 

which must have been designed by someone 

from the Dark Ages. There are still so many 

amateurs working in our profession; look at the 

debt burdens of even major companies who have 

failed or are in serious financial difficulties, 

and perhaps we only have ourselves to blame! 

The television lends a hand with its undercover 

investigations into debt collectors where the 

training of the staff has to be seen to be believed. 

The institute has, to its credit, raised our 

profile so the importance of our profession is 

accepted by the government and most major 

players in the world of business. However, we 

cannot expect to reach the same position with 

the general public. We can only do that if we 

formulate a mission statement to fight what 

appears to be a campaign by the media, led by 

the tabloid press, to only highlight negative news 

about us. 

To finish on the right note I did my talk at the 

Ladies’ club and received one of the best notes of 

thanks I have ever had. The president told me at 

lunch she had never known her group to enjoy a 

talk more on such an unusual subject and found 

it interesting and humorous. Even the Speaker’s 

secretary it appears was won over; she asked if I 

was available for any other talks! 

Derek Scott FCICM is a freelance writer. 

‘Light up the sky’ 

tells the story of a 

searchlight battery 

during the Second 

World War. It starred 

Ian Carmichael, who 

some of the older 

generations in the 

CICM may recall, as 

well as a host of other 

film actors of the 

1950/60s, including the 

comedian Benny Hill. 


CASE STUDY 

Mentor Moment 

How the CICM Mentor Hub helped me to grow 

as a credit professional. 

AUTHOR – Rebecca Price-Palmer MCICM 

AROUND 12 months ago 

I decided I needed to 

develop my leadership 

and management 

skills further, and as a 

relatively new manager, 

I wanted to offer better direction, 

improve team engagement, and 

implement tools for me and my team to 

track our progress. 

I came across the Mentor Hub while 

browsing the CICM website and thought 

it looked interesting. I requested the 

help of Chris Sanders and he kindly 

agreed to help me. 

Since engaging with the programme, 

the amount of support I have received 

has been phenomenal. I have learned 

and achieved so much while following 

by mentor’s advice; and putting it all 

into practice has paid dividends to my 

team’s performance. Enhanced team 

focus, improved results, SMART KPI’s, 

and clear common goals are just a few 

benefits I have seen since implementing 

the tools suggested. I have also seen 

improved wider network engagement; 

the relationship between credit and sales 

has strengthened significantly, which in 

my opinion is one of the most important 

relationships in any organisation. 

TEAM IMPROVEMENTS 

I have grown so much over the course of 

the programme, and the improvements 

in my team’s performance did not go 

unnoticed by senior management, 

who in May 2020 promoted me from 

Assistant Credit Manager to Finance 

Shared Services Centre Credit Team 

Manager! 

The amount I have learnt from 

my mentor and the people within his 

network by sharing ideas has been a 

real eye opener. I have worked for the 

same organisation most of my working 

life, and my entire credit management 

career, so the benefits of the mentor 

programme and other tools offered by 

the CICM have really assisted me to get 

to where I am today. I have met both new 

and experienced credit professionals 

along the way who have collectively 

helped each other by sharing 

success stories and ideas. The regular 

CICM and CICMQ calls have played a 

particularly important role in keeping 

people connected through the current 

challenging times, all of which I would 

not have been involved in if it had 

not been for the mentor programme. 

I would highly recommend this 

programme to any credit professional 

whether they are just starting out in 

their credit career or looking to progress 

further. The mentors participating are 

relevant and highly knowledgeable in 

both credit and people management. 

My aim when I started was to improve 

my skills in leadership, but I could not 

have imagined the benefits this has 

created for my team and the growth I 

have seen in myself. It just goes to show 

that with the help and support of the 

right people, you can achieve your goals, 

and in some cases much, much more. 

Rebecca Price-Palmer MCICM. 

CICM members can connect with a mentor or volunteer to mentor 

another member by visiting our website, log in to the Member’s Area 

or visit www.cicm.com/mentor-hub. 

I have worked for the same organisation 

most of my working life, and my entire credit 

management career, so the benefits of the 

Mentor programme and other tools offered 

by the CICM have really assisted me to get to 

where I am today. 

Rebecca Price-Palmer MCICM 


PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT 

Making Memories 

How do you make your presentation memorable? 

AUTHOR – Clive Hawkins 

THE goal of any public speaking 

event is to inform, engage 

and entertain your audience 

- but this shouldn’t be at the 

expense of making your 

presentation memorable. 

Ultimately, you want your audience to 

understand key points of your delivery 

and be able to recite them to colleagues in 

team meetings or in the workplace over the 

following days and weeks. The challenge is 

how to do this? 

Previously I have provided insights on 

how to create powerful presentations by 

using effective content, slides and visual 

aids. I have also covered off how to use 

powerful openings and body language to 

engage positively with audiences from the 

start. We now need to consider how to use 

these elements alongside other techniques 

and make your presentation a positive 

experience on the day and, importantly, help 

your audience remember your key messages 

afterwards. So here are some simple tips: 

Rule of Three – you need to decide on 

your key messages and use these wherever 

possible. Since the times of Greek 

philosopher, Aristotle, the ‘rule of three’ 

has been widely recognised as the optimum 

amount of information that an audience 

is likely to remember – four or five key 

messages are acceptable but can become 

more of a retention challenge. To help with 

this, if a journalist wanted to cover your 

presentation but could only write three 

things about your delivery, what would you 

want them to be? 

Simple, Memorable and Real – once you 

have started your delivery with a powerful 

opening to capture attention from the start, 

your narrative needs to take your audience 

on a journey using the key messages as 

bedrock points of your presentation. Each 

key message needs to be simple, memorable, 

real and supported with supplementary 

information – anecdotes, facts, figures 

and research data – to make them easy to 

remember. 

Signposting – repeat your key messages 

throughout the presentation to help keep 

the audience on track with what you are 

saying. You can show agenda slides for this 

or simply refer to them in your delivery. 

The latter allows you to keep slides to a 

minimum and use your body language – 

such as a change in voice tone – to reiterate 

each key point and its alignment with your 

overall narrative. This is also a useful way 

of refreshing an audience’s attention and 

drawing them away from distractions such 

as mobile phones! 

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 

An essential part of your delivery is the 

Q&A session. I prefer this to be facilitated 

at the end, to avoid overrunning my allotted 

time slot or allowing an audience member 

to interject on a point that I am planning 

to cover off. Some presenters do not relish 

Q&A’s, but this session is a valued part of 

your presentation as it provides you with 

an extra period of time to cover off any 

questions and, where appropriate, gives 

you an opportunity to repeat key messages 

in your answer. This is called a bridging 

technique and increases the likelihood of 

an audience remembering the key points of 

your delivery – which is your goal! 

EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING 

As we move out of the COVID-19 crisis, all 

organisations will need to re-engage with 

their employees, customers, suppliers and 

other key audiences. The ability to deliver 

a powerful presentation, either face-toface 

or online, will be a key part of every 

business leader’s communications toolkit 

and fundamental to future business success. 

However, you need to nurture this discipline. 

This is best summed up by American writer 

and philosopher, Benjamin Franklin: ‘Tell 

me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. 

Involve me and I learn.’ 

Clive Hawkins is Senior Associate at 

Spoken Word Communications 

clive@spokenwordgroup.co.uk 

Clive Hawkins 

Some presenters do not relish Q&A’s, but this session is a valued 

part of your presentation as it provides you with an extra period of 

time to cover off any questions and, where appropriate, gives you 

an opportunity to repeat key messages in your answer. 


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HR MATTERS 

Vicarious Living 

Indiscreet remarks, holiday entitlements and 

the concept of ‘vicarious liability’. 

AUTHOR – Gareth Edwards 

BE careful what is said 

– even hypothetically. 

In NH v Associazione 

Avvocatura per i diritti 

LGBTI, the Court of Justice 

of the European Union 

(CJEU) considered whether homophobic 

remarks made by a senior Italian lawyer 

(NH) suggesting that he would not like 

to work with or recruit homosexual 

people in his law firm could amount to 

unlawful discrimination. Having heard 

the comments, an association of lawyers 

which defends the LGBTI community 

successfully brought court proceedings 

against NH, alleging discrimination 

because of sexual orientation and 

claiming damages. 

NH appealed the finding to the 

Italian Supreme Court, which referred 

the case to the CJEU. It noted that the 

EU Equal Treatment Directive prohibits 

discrimination in relation to the 

conditions for access to employment, 

including recruitment conditions. The 

CJEU held that ‘conditions for access to 

employment’ covers statements made 

during programmes – even when there is 

no recruitment process open or planned, 

provided there is a non-hypothetical 

link between the statements and the 

employer’s recruitment policy. 

The CJEU held that it was for the 

Italian Supreme Court to assess the 

link between NH's statements and his 

law firm’s recruitment policy but that a 

number of factors would need to be taken 

into account – the status of the person 

making the statements; the capacity 

in which the statements were made 

(influence over recruitment policy); and 

the nature of the statements. 

Liability for the acts of independent contractors 

IN recent years the concept of ‘vicarious 

liability’ – liability for the negligent acts 

of another – has seen employers being 

held liable for the actions of those in 

positions ‘akin to employment’ as well as 

those who are directly employed. 

However, Barclays Bank v Various 

Claimants, offered a different view. 

Here, the Supreme Court was asked 

to determine whether a self-employed 

third-party contractor could be in a 

position ‘akin to employment’ making 

the employer liable for their actions. 

As part of its recruitment processes, 

between 1968 and 1984, Barclays engaged 

a medical practitioner to carry out 

medical examinations on prospective 

employees. The bank scheduled the 

appointments and told the applicants 

who attended unaccompanied. 

Examinations were carried out in 

the doctor’s home and he was paid a fee 

to prepare a report on each applicant. 

There was no retainer and the doctor 

THE law around calculating holiday pay 

for workers, without fixed hours or fixed 

rates of pay changed on 6 April 2020. 

In essence, the holiday pay reference 

period has increased from 12 to 52 weeks. 

Employers must now use 52 weeks' worth 

of pay data to calculate holiday pay for 

workers without fixed hours or pay. A 

week where the worker receives no pay 

cannot be counted towards the 52 weeks 

of data to be used. Such weeks should 

be discounted and instead an earlier 

week should be counted. Employers can 

use up to 104 weeks of data as reference 

periods in gathering the 52 weeks of data. 

Where 52 weeks' worth of pay data is 

not available, the employer should use 

as many weeks of pay data as they have 

within the preceding 104 weeks. 

A week starts on a Sunday and ends on 

a Saturday. If a worker takes annual leave 

before they have worked a full week, 

was not under any obligation to accept 

bookings from the bank. The doctor had 

other clients and patients. 

Sometime after the doctor had died, 

a group action was brought against the 

bank on the basis that it was vicariously 

liable for sexual assaults allegedly 

carried out by the doctor during the 

medical examinations. In 2017, a judge 

ruled that the bank was vicariously liable 

for any proven assaults. On the basis that 

the doctor’s wrongdoing occurred as a 

result of activity undertaken by him on 

behalf of the bank, under its control and 

for its benefit, and as an integral part of 

its business activity, the judge concluded 

that the relationship between the parties 

was sufficiently akin to employment. 

The Court of Appeal agreed, but the 

case moved to the Supreme Court which 

overturned the decision. It held that 

the self-employed medical practitioner 

in this case was in business on his own 

account. 

Holiday pay for employees without fixed hours 

the employer should pay the worker an 

amount which fairly represents their pay 

for the length of time they are on leave. 

Paid overtime (contractual or 

voluntary but sufficiently regular) 

worked during the reference period must 

also be included in the calculation. 

Gareth Edwards is a partner in the 

employment team at 

VWV. gedwards@vwv.co.uk 


TAKE CONTROL OF 

YOUR CREDIT CAREER 

INSOLVENCY MANAGER 

Watford, up to £52,000 + excellent benefits + bonus 

Due to rapid year-on-year growth, this company has created 

an opportunity for an insolvency specialist to join its team. 

This company is a highly successful international business with 

a dynamic and inclusive culture. This niche role is perfect for an 

insolvency expert with experience in B2B customers and team 

management. You will be offered a generous package, private 

medical, and pension and flexi-working. Ref: 3815283 

Contact Charlotte Clarke on 01923 205286 

or email charlotte.clarke@hays.com 

CREDIT CONTROLLER 

Chessington, £30,000 + benefits 

A leading IT distributor is seeking a credit controller as it 

experiences a period of substantial growth. Your new role 

will begin remotely and eventually be based at the new offices. 

Your responsibilities will include timely cash collection from a 

number of key accounts within the retail and IT sector. You will 

also be responsible for reporting on aged debt and implementing 

processes to ensure compliance. Ref: 3814521 

Contact Mark Ordoña on 020 3984 6560 

or email mark.ordona@hays.com 

REVENUE CONTROLLER 

London, up to £36,000 

An excellent opportunity has arisen at a leading London law 

firm for a highly motivated revenue controller to join its growing 

team. This role covers revenue and billing as well as weekly 

meetings with partners. You will have legal experience as well 

as excellent communication skills. Aderant System is highly 

desirable but not essential. 

Ref: 3817320 

Contact James Hanwell on 07918 185129 

or email james.hanwell@hays.com 

INTERIM CREDIT CONTROLLER 

Colchester, c.£28,000 per annum 

A construction-related business has re-opened and urgently 

requires an experienced credit controller for a three month role. 

It has set up social distancing in its office to ensure your safety. 

You will be responsible for contacting customers to collect 

outstanding debt by effective telephone chasing to ensure 

payments are made and recorded accurately. This will involve 

daily debtor analysis, resolving any invoice queries and agree 

repayment plans if needed. Ref: 3818299 

Contact Andy Jarman on 01206 766621 

or email andy.jarman@hays.com 

hays.co.uk/creditcontrol 


INSPIRE ME IN THE 

NEW ERA OF WORK 

Your resource hub for reaching 

your career goals 

Read our latest guides and articles 

Tips to help you prepare successfully 

To find out more visit our Embrace the New Era Hub 

hays.co.uk/embrace-the-new-era 

CREDIT CONTROLLER 

Leatherhead, £24,000 + bonus + benefits 

A credit controller is required to join a leading IT, software 

and security business on a one-year fixed term contract, covering 

maternity leave. Working in a team environment, you will ensure 

that aged debt levels are kept to a minimum through effective 

cash collection and query resolution. You will have a proven track 

record of reducing aged debt in a fast paced, business to business 

collections environment. Ref: 3817612 

Contact Natascha Whitehead on 07770 786433 

or email natascha.whitehead@hays.com 

SALES LEDGER CLERK 

Glasgow, up to £21,000 

An organisation in Glasgow is looking for a sales ledger clerk to 

join its team on a permanent basis. Reporting into the Head of 

Finance, you will be responsible for duties including raising invoices 

for products, posting direct debits and cash payments, bank 

reconciliations, raising applications to clients. To be successful, 

you will be confident and have a proven track record with finance, 

experience with Excel and a high attention to detail. Ref: 3814771 

Contact Lauren Hamilton on 0141 212 3665 

or email lauren.hamilton@hays.com 

This is just a small selection of the many opportunities we 

have available for credit professionals. To find out more visit 

us online or contact Kabir Gulabkhan, Hays Credit Management 

UK Lead on 020 3465 0020 


WHAT'S ON 

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

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

ANNOUNCEMENT 

We are not able to bring our usual guide 

to the CICM and Industry events, as the 

calendar and what is on is changing daily. 

Many of our events are now available 

online, along with a new series of live and 

recorded webinars for the credit profession. 

Check our website for updates and 

instructions on how to register. 


More reasons to be a member 

Make connections and keep up-to-date 

with our exclusive events. 

Studying at a 

distance 

with CICM 

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 Virtual 

Classes 2020 

VIEW OUR ONLINE CALENDAR 

AND BOOK YOUR PLACE. 

NEW CICM 

VIRTUAL 

TRAINING 

COMING 

SOON! 

For more information contact: 

info@cicm.com or 01780 722900 


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 

We provide business information on over 256 million companies across 

221 countries. Our information is updated over 500,000 times per 

day and we have some excellent tracking mechanisms which provide 

proactive daily monitoring of changes in the global information on record. 

We can offer a wealth of additional services including XML Integration, 

D.N.A portfolio management, CoData marketing information, Companies 

House documents, Consumer and Director Searches. We pride ourselves 

in delivering award winning customer service, offering you unrivalled 

support and analysis to protect your business. 

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 / July & August 2020 / PAGE 57 continues on page 58 >

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 


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Credit Management July and August 2020

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