Credit Management issue April 2021

FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Bridge of Sighs
The relief as we cross to a more
‘normal world' is palpable.
AUTHOR – Sue Chapple FCICM
Sue Chapple FCICM
AS news of the easing of
lockdown is announced and
children are heading back
into schools, a collective sigh
of relief can be heard across
businesses throughout the
UK. There is a sense of ‘normal service’ being
resumed after a lengthy and most unwelcome
intermission.
In the last 12 months the Institute has
necessarily had to put some of its longer-term
plans in abeyance while it focuses on the
here and now and supporting its members
and the wider business community through
the pandemic. But that does not mean that
the strategy we have been developing has
been shelved; it simply means that tactical
expediency has been the order of the day.
Now, however, I get the sense that we are
on a new trajectory, an opportunity to return
with vigour to a roadmap of our own and a
five-year plan to transform the CICM into the
organisation it needs to be to meet the demands
of future generations of credit professionals.
As such you will begin to see a number
of changes in our HQ team, including the
appointment of a Transformational Operations
Lead to oversee our operational process and
efficiency, and a senior credit manager to be
directly responsible for managing our various
partner relationships – our Corporate Partners
and CICMQ accredited businesses, for example
– and ensuring they are better informed of the
huge range of training and support services we
can provide through our highly-experienced
Learning & Development team. We will also be
concluding the sale of The Water Mill, giving
us the opportunity to start afresh in new
offices with more open space better suited to
our needs going forward.
The last 12 months have been busy for our
members too. One of the few positives to come
from the pandemic has been how it has once
again made businesses focus on the cash,
and therefore the importance of professional
cashflow management. It has accelerated the
introduction of new technology and processes
to support the credit management teams that
might previously have taken many years to
introduce.
At the moment, according to the
recruitment specialists, credit teams have not
been too badly impacted by way of job losses
or redundancies though we are not through the
woods yet. It is not clear whether the ‘Tsunami’
of business failures that have been predicted
for the future will actually come about in the
volumes anticipated, but there are bound to
be some upsets along the way, and we must be
ready for them.
We must also be ready for other challenges
heading rapidly in our direction, including the
change in rules regarding Breathing Space and
the much anticipated and largely unwelcome
re-introduction of Crown Preference. Every
business that fails inevitably owes money
to HMRC, and if Her Majesty’s Revenue and
Customs office is to take priority over all other
creditors, I worry how that will impact lending
and the future availability of credit. Lending
decisions are based on risk, and there needs
to be a reasonable expectation that a loan
that defaults can be recovered. Some lenders
might understandably reduce the credit they
are prepared to extend, just at the point that
the country is crying out for liquidity. I worry
also about how it will impact the insolvency
profession, and the vital role that Insolvency
Practitioners play in the business and credit
lifecycle.
These are issues, perhaps, for another day,
although that day is fast approaching. Getting
through the next few weeks is my immediate
priority, when I will reveal more specific plans
for your Institute and the support we will be
providing to ensure we remain ‘fit for purpose’
for the foreseeable future and beyond.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2021 / PAGE 11