Credit Management issue April 2021

EDITOR’S COLUMN
Four legs good,
two legs bad
Sean Feast FCICM
Managing Editor
SO the secret is finally out.
Liz Barclay, the former BBC
Broadcaster, has succeeded our
own Philip King FCICM as the
Small Business Commissioner.
Whereas Philip was appointed
on an interim basis following the surprise
departure of Paul Uppal, Liz Barclay will be
taking on the role permanently from July.
And good luck to her. She has a tough job
on her hands.
The SBC is not one person but rather
an independent public body set up by
Government under the Enterprise Act 2016
to tackle late payment and unfavourable
payment practices in the private sector.
Liz has no doubt been chosen because
of her credentials as an experienced
campaigner on behalf of consumers
and small companies, as a volunteer for
Citizens Advice, and as a former nonexecutive
director of the Financial Services
Compensation Scheme.
Her ‘previous’ as a BBC Broadcaster and
long-time presenter of Radio 4’s ‘You and
Yours’ was also, no doubt, a consideration.
The scale of the challenge, I expect, is
not lost on her. According to Government
figures, about £23.4 billion is owed in
outstanding invoices to British businesses,
with some businesses waiting several
months before paying their suppliers,
putting strain on cashflow. The Federation
of Small Businesses estimates that about
50,000 businesses close every year due
to late payments, and the pandemic will
doubtless lead to many thousands more.
Already Liz is saying the right things.
Interviewed for The Times on her
appointment, she talked about needing
a real culture change around business
payments: “People who have already
delivered goods and services have to be
able to turn their attention to their next
client and next order rather than chasing
up late payments and worrying about their
cashflow,” she says.
Of course, she is right. It’s something her
predecessor said during his tenure, and
during the 14 years that he was CEO at the
CICM. It’s what our own Chief Executive
has also been saying, and indeed the
importance of ‘managing cashflow’ has
been the mantra of the Institute for as long
as I can remember.
But these same small businesses need
to help themselves. ‘Cultural’ change is
not just about saying ‘here’s a big stick let’s
go beat up some big boys.’ It’s also about
changing the mind-set of small businesses
that there is plenty they could be doing at
their end to ensure they get paid on time.
Like invoicing promptly, for example, and
to the right company, with a PO if required,
and following up to make sure everything
is in order and there is no reason for an
invoice not to be paid, rather than just
sitting there and hoping for the best.
I hope Liz engages with organisations
like our own at the first opportunity, and
that we have an opportunity of sharing best
practice, as we have done with countless
Government ministers and departments
before her. I hope too that she doesn’t
get too distracted by the more vocal of
our campaigning groups who chant ‘Big
company bad, small company good’ in
similar fashion to the sheep’s constant
bleating in Animal Farm of ‘Four legs good,
two legs bad’.
Because we all know what happened on
the farm in the end.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / April 2021 / PAGE 4