Credit Management January February 2022

CREDIT MANAGEMENT

CM

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022

THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND

COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS

The big

shake-up

The impact of

future Insolvency

regulation

CICMQ is entering a

new chapter in its

history. Page 8

Interview with Sue Chapple

FCICM, the Institute's Chief

Executive. Page 20

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COUNTRY FOCUS

Adam Bernstein

20

ENERGY TRANSFER

Sue Chapple, FCICM

12

THE BIG SHAKE UP

David Kerr

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022

www.cicm.com

CONTENTS

10 – VIEW FROM THE CHAIR

Debbie Nolan FCICM is talking Smart.

12 – INSOLVENCY –

THE BIG SHAKE UP

David Kerr FCICM considers the heavy

hand of future regulation.

14 – CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE

Heather Greig-Smith analyses

pan-European research on consumer

collections and behaviours.

16 – PERSONS UNKNOWN

Adam Bernstein discusses the

challenges in recovering

cryptocurrency from persons unknown.

20 – ENERGY TRANSFER

Sean Feast FCICM speak to Sue Chapple

FCICM, Chief Executive of the Chartered

Institute of Credit Management.

24 – TALKING BIG

Indonesia is a land of vast opportunity.

36 – NEW YEAR, NEW PRIORITIES

Salary and recruitment trends for the

year ahead.

44 – PERSONAL CHALLENGES

The landscape for SME lending and the

challenge of Personal Guarantees.

CICM GOVERNANCE

14

CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE

Heather Greig-Smith

President Stephen Baister FCICM / Chief Executive Sue Chapple FCICM

Executive Board: Chair Debbie Nolan FCICM(Grad) / Vice Chair Phil Rice FCICM / Treasurer Glen Bullivant FCICM

Larry Coltman FCICM / Victoria Herd FCICM(Grad) / Philip Holbrough MCICM

Advisory Council: Laurie Beagle FCICM / Glen Bullivant FCICM / Alan Church FCICM(Grad) / Brendan Clarkson FCICM

Larry Coltman FCICM / Niall Cooter FCICM / Bryony Crossland FCICM(Grad) / Peter Gent FCICM(Grad)

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

/ Allan Poole MCICM / Alice Purdy MCICM(Grad) / Matthew Roberts MCICM / Phil Rice FCICM / Chris Sanders FCICM

Sarah Wilding FCICM / Atul Vadher FCICM(Grad)

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.

Publisher

Chartered Institute of Credit Management

The Water Mill, Station Road, South Luffenham

OAKHAM, LE15 8NB

Telephone: 01780 722900

Email: editorial@cicm.com

Website: www.cicm.com

CMM: www.creditmanagement.org.uk

Managing Editor

Sean Feast FCICM

Deputy Editor

Iona Yadallee

Art Editor

Andrew Morris

Telephone: 01780 722910

Email: andrew.morris@cicm.com

Editorial Team

Imogen Hart, Rob Howard, Natalie Makin,

Laura Rhodes and Sam Wilson

Advertising

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Telephone: 01727 739 196

Email: paul@centuryone.uk

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ISSN 0265-2099

Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / January & February 2022 / PAGE 3

EDITOR’S COLUMN

If it had been down to me,

I’d have given you all a prize!

Sean Feast FCICM

Managing Editor

IT’S awards season and I spent

one day earlier this month

judging entries for the CICM

British Credit Awards 2022.

And I have to say I was mightily

impressed.

Some organisations take a somewhat

cynical view to awards. I’ve heard them

all: ‘it’s a fix’; ‘you only win if you’re a

sponsor’; ‘you only get shortlisted so they

can flog you a table’. Other organisations,

and I count my own (from a different

life) in that number, take a considerably

more positive approach. We see awards

– credible awards – as an opportunity to

benchmark ourselves against the bestin-class

and see how we shape up.

When you’ve been in business for

more than 30 years, you are constantly

confronted by two opposing forces:

those that love and value your expertise,

knowledge, and grey hair; and those

who think you can’t possibly be ‘current’

anymore and are determined to try

something ‘new’. Winning awards in that

context is therefore hugely gratifying,

supporting the decision-making of your

current clients while cocking a fair

snoop at those who felt the grass might

be greener elsewhere. The opinion of an

independent judging panel that you’ve

still got what it takes gives you one hell

of a buzz.

Judging the BCAs, having been on

both sides of the fence, has been a

genuine privilege. The quality of entries

was seriously impressive. Yes, I know

that many award programmes talk

about quality over quantity, but we had

the luxury of both, a very large number

of very high calibre submissions. The

exchanges amongst the judges on the

panel were as robust as ever (though

always well-mannered) and in only

a handful of cases was there a clear,

outright winner. That meant hours (and

I mean hours) of debate, sharing views

and opinions to ensure we arrived at the

right result. This was especially true of

those categories where we were judging

individuals rather than organisations. So

before you come up to me in March and

berate me should you come second, if it

had been down to me, I’d have given you

all a prize!

By the time you read these lines we

will be only a few short weeks away from

announcing the winners, and after all

of the nonsense of the last two years I

for one can’t wait to dust off the DJ and

throw a few shapes.

See you on the dancefloor.

Judging the BCAs, having been

on both sides of the fence, has

been a genuine privilege. The

quality of entries was seriously

impressive.


CMNEWS

A round-up of news stories from the

world of consumer and commercial credit.

Written by – Sean Feast FCICM

Charity urges HM Treasury to proceed

swiftly with plans to regulate BNPL

BUY Now, Pay Later

(BNPL) products are

being widely used by

people experiencing

financial difficulty, and

people with two BNPL

loans are twice as likely as all adults

to say they are finding it difficult to

keep up with their household bills and

credit repayments.

This is the claim being made by

StepChange Debt Charity as it urges

the Government to accelerate its plan

for regulation to protect consumers

more adequately.

A poll commissioned by the charity

suggests that 10 percent of British

adults report holding one or more

BNPL debt; 30 percent of those with a

BNPL debt have two or more loans and

14 percent three or more. Almost nine

out of 10 (87 percent) of those with a

BNPL debt also have at least one other

type of consumer credit product with

an outstanding balance.

BNPL borrowers tend to be younger,

with an average age of 44 compared

to 51 among those who hold any credit

product. Almost half (49 percent) say

they find it difficult to keep up with

household bills and credit repayments,

rising to 59 percent among those with

two or more BNPL loans.

The charity says that the size and

impact of BNPL in the market is

being driven at least to some degree

by a ‘race for growth’. The value of

customer acquisition may have

affected the willingness of some firms

to knowingly or otherwise engage

in practices that are detrimental to

consumers, such as relatively relaxed

approaches to creditworthiness and

affordability assessments.

Phil Andrew, Chief Executive

at StepChange, says that even

interest-free credit can and does

cause financial difficulty: ‘BNPL is

deliberately marketed and presented

– often to less financially experienced

consumers - as a means of payment

rather than as a form of credit, which

is what it really is. It is marketed not

just for lifestyle spending, but for

essentials such as groceries or school

uniform.

“There is currently very little friction

to prevent consumers building up

significant amounts of cumulative

BNPL debt,” he continues, “so it’s

vital that regulation swiftly brings

this rapidly growing lending market

into line to ensure that consumers

are better protected from the risk of

financial difficulty.”

The charity is not alone in

demanding regulation now and not

later. Sarah Coles, senior personal

finance analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown,

says that the Government cannot

afford to drag its feet: “While it’s going

through this process, the sector is

mushrooming before our eyes,” she

says.

The growth of the market is

phenomenal, with the value of

transactions more than tripling

in 2020 – to £2.7 billion. Since HM

Treasury launched its consultation

in October, millions of people have

taken out new loans they may not

fully understand or be able to afford.

Citizens Advice said that one in ten

people used BNPL over Christmas

alone. “The spending squeeze risks

even more people turning to this

market to help make ends meet, and

the spread of these services across

everything from fashion to food means

it’s finding its way into every area

of spending. There's a real risk that

building up these debts will erode

people's financial resilience,” Sarah

adds.

Jayadeep Nair, Chief Product and

Marketing Officer at Equifax UK,

believes the soaring popularity of

BNPL services has fundamentally

changed the UK retail landscape by

increasing access to affordable credit

at the point of sale: “Our data suggests

that 28 percent of UK consumers were

actively making repayments on BNPL

loans in October 2021, which is around

2.8 million more people than at the

start of last year.

“With increased use comes

increased scrutiny, and it’s wholly

appropriate for the Treasury and FCA

to now be weighing up the right level

of regulation for what has become an

extremely active and exciting part of

the credit market.

“BNPL providers have a

responsibility to ensure that their

services do not have a negative impact

on the financial wellbeing of the

consumers that use them. For all the

good that BNPL can do for those that

can manage their day-to-day finances,

there are concerns that some users

may be slipping through the cracks.”

The Treasury’s consultation on the

FCA’s regulation of the BNPL sector

included proposals for formal credit

agreements laying out the terms of

deals when people take them out, and

for retailers promoting the services

to ensure people understand the

risks they are taking. It also suggests

section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act

should apply, making BNPL providers

jointly liable for the contract with the

retailer in the same way that credit

card providers are.


NEWS ROUNDUP

Can the UK energy sector

weather the current storm?

AUTHOR – Tim Vine

TRIGGERED by a global

shortage in natural gas, the

energy crisis impacting

the UK has taken its toll

on a number of different

sectors – from transportation to

manufacturing and food production.

Of late, we’ve seen a further four

energy companies cease trading as

the surge in wholesale gas demand

continues. The latest collapse saw a

further 21,000 domestic customers

moved to other suppliers, and

consumers are well aware of the

pending cost to the bill of every home

in the country.

The energy sector and its customers

are feeling the squeeze. More than

16 energy companies have collapsed

since August 2021 and we’re not out

of the woods just yet. The current

situation shows no sign of abating,

with disruption to the natural gas

supply expected to continue.

Whilst the future of the industry is

uncertain, it’s worth reflecting on what

has come before to better understand

how we’ve arrived in this situation,

to learn from mistakes and prevent it

happening again.

Current the state of play?

COP26 put climate change and the

environmental impact of our energy

consumption on a global stage. There’s

a lot of scope for the UK to utilise

green energy, but the fact is around

half of the UK’s electricity is generated

by burning fossil fuel in gas-fired

power plants. With ageing nuclear

power plants and the slowing down

of wind turbines due to some of the

least windy months since 1961, the

UK’s current reliance on fossil fuelbased

electricity has become deeply

entrenched.

From cooking to heating, the

average household relies on gas in

many ways. Paired with the fact that

the UK has one of lowest levels of

gas storage capabilities in Europe

and relies heavily on the continent

for electricity, it’s become the perfect

storm for an energy crisis.

The good with the bad

While the news of the current crisis

is dominating the energy landscape,

recent Dun & Bradstreet data found

that the number of businesses in the

energy sector has increased by 1,200

over the last four years. This was

predominantly driven by the ‘trade of

gas through mains’, though further

areas to see an increase in businesses

were focused on the ‘distribution of

gaseous fuels through mains’ and the

‘production of electricity’.

Following the Government’s

mandate to shelter-in-place in 2020

following the outbreak of Covid-19, it’s

unsurprising to see growth within the

sector across areas that supported the

increase in demand to supply Britain’s

households with energy.

However, despite growth, the

number of business closures within

the energy sector has also continued

to increase; in 2021 closures increased

to 1,449 compared to 1,154 in 2018 and

1,296 in 2019. What’s more, business

liquidations increased in 2020 and

Credit managers obliged to ‘guess’

at bad debt reserves

ALMOST a third (30 percent) of

credit management professionals

are obliged to guess at a figure when

assessing the level of bad debt reserve

they require at Year End, while less

than one in ten (nine percent) are

able to look to any financial model

provided by their auditors.

More than a third (35 percent) opt

for generic, age-based percentages to

arrive at a figure while a quarter (26

percent) look to their experience of

similar debt.

Gary Brown, Founder of the

collections platform Debt Register

which conducted the survey, believes

the findings prove what he has long

thought: that the current process of

providing for bad debts is invariably

guesswork: “Speaking to firms and

accountants, many companies have

no clear picture of how collectable or

otherwise certain debts are, and make

provision simply by taking a best

guess,” he says.

“By passing the five oldest or

longest-standing debts through our

platform, however, there is a very

real chance that those debts will be

settled. This means the actual bad

debt figure being provided for will be

more accurate because there would be

no need to reserve for those invoices

at all.

“Indeed, even if the money is not

collected, then that also helps takes

the guesswork out of the process and

gives the company and the auditor

something more tangible to refer

to than a vague model. Either way,

Debt Register can give companies a

tool that supports a more accurate

financial position.”

Real case scenarios with current

Debt Register clients have already

proven the point and the age of the

debt appears not to be a barrier to its

collectability. One customer uploaded

a debt that was 888 days overdue,

and the debt was settled in 27 hours.

In a more remarkable example, an

uploaded debt that was 1499 days

overdue was paid within 45 minutes.


2021 with 41 and 48 respectively,

compared to 2018 where there were 32

liquidations.

However, prompt payments have

slightly improved in the UK from 32

percent in August 2018 to 38.5 percent

in August 2021. Additional insight

across Europe also demonstrated

positively for credit risk metrics

within the sector, with data showing

that the average payment delays in

days dropped from 14.4 days in the

first quarter to 14.1 days in the second

quarter of the year.

A bright future ahead?

There are no doubt uncertain times

ahead for the sector, but its recent

growth shows the potential for the

industry to weather this moment in

time.

As the UK’s post-Covid economy

continues to recover, there will be

rising calls to tackle the problem of

unaffordable energy before it causes

further damage. So, while we may not

run out of gas, the potential to run out

GOVERNMENT proposals on how

insolvency services should be regulated

in the future have been welcomed by

Colin Haig, President of insolvency and

restructuring trade body R3.

He says the consultation provides

an opportunity to deliver a framework

that is strong and effective, that is fit

for purpose in the longer term, and

is better able to carry the confidence

of the wider public: “A successful

regulatory framework needs to be fair

and proportionate, transparent, effective

at addressing shortcomings, efficient in

reaching decisions, flexible enough to

keep pace with innovation, and, above

all, consistent,” he says.

“But there are still some significant

issues with the proposals as they stand

that will need to be worked through

before any changes can be introduced.

While improvements can and should

be made, there appears to be a lack of

evidence around some of the claims

NEWS ROUNDUP

There’s a lot of scope for the UK to utilise green

energy, but the fact is around half of the UK’s

electricity is generated by burning fossil fuel in

gas-fired power plants.

of affordable energy is a mounting

concern – not just for those working

in the sector, but for the general public

who will inevitably foot the bill.

Many will look to monitor changes

in the business environment of the

energy sector as well as the responses

at an individual country level as

the crisis continues. Forecasts will

undoubtedly play a starring role in

supporting the industry’s anticipated

recovery. And we can also expect a

thorough, ongoing investigation for

years to come – to ensure we prevent a

reoccurrence.

Tim Vine is Head of Credit

Intelligence at Dun & Bradstreet

Future insolvency regulation

still has issues, warns R3

the Government has made around the

current efficacy of the framework.”

Crucially, Colin says, the Government’s

preferred option of a single regulator

operating within the Insolvency Service

raises a major conflict of interest issue:

“We’ve always been clear that we don’t

oppose a single regulator in principle, but

under these proposals, the Government

would set insolvency legislation,

regulate insolvency practitioners and

then effectively compete with those

same insolvency practitioners for work

— while not being subject to the same

regulation itself.

“We hope the Government will set out

in more detail how it would ensure the

genuine independence of this proposed

single regulator, as well as a level playing

field for the public and private sector

parts of the insolvency profession.”

See article by David Kerr FCICM on p12.

>NEWS

IN BRIEF

Do you want to be a

CICM Assessor?

THE Chartered Institute of Credit

Management is looking for Assessors

to mark CICM assignments four times

a year. If you are qualified in Credit

Management, Money & Debt Advice

or similar, and are looking to give

back to the profession, we would

like to speak to you about joining

us. Training will be provided. If you

would like more information and to

apply, visit the CICM vacancies page.

Membership fees

reviewed to invest in

future services

THE CICM has increased the cost of

membership for the first time since

2018. The new pricing structure, which

was effective as of 1 January 2022,

reflects the significant investment

the Institute has made in new

digital platforms and training and

membership packages needed to better

serve its members’ needs. The new

pricing is as follows:

Fellow (FCICM) - £21.42 a month

Member (MCICM) - £17.25 a month

Associate (ACICM) - £14.08 a month

Affiliate - £12.67 a month

Studying Member - £8.25 a month

In writing to members last month,

Sue Chapple FCICM, CICM CEO says

they did not take the decision lightly:

“I hope you will appreciate that they are

necessary to ensure your professional

Institute retains its stature as the

leading professional body of its kind

in the world, and one to which you are

proud to belong.”

New Head of Audit

SHELAGH Doyle has been promoted

to Head of Audit and Compliance for

Court Enforcement Services. Shelagh

joined the business in 2020 to drive

its customer care function with a

wide and varied remit. In her new role

she will fully support existing audit

and compliance initiatives whilst

adding her own ideas to drive a fresh

approach for sustainable improvement.

In a career spanning more than 20

years, Shelagh has worked with

organisations including

Lloyds Banking Group,

Barclaycard, Co-op Bank,

VWFS and the Financial

Ombudsman Service.


NEWS SPECIAL

CHAPTER AND VERSE

CICMQ is entering a new chapter in its history.

AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM

IN a little over a decade, CICMQ –

the credit management industry’s

accreditation for best practice – has

provided accredited companies

with formal recognition of their

organisation’s commitment to

quality, continuous improvement, and best

practice in all things credit.

It has become the ‘kite-mark’ of

excellence that Philip King FCICM, the

CICM’s former CEO, originally envisaged.

And in February, a new chapter in the

CICMQ story begins with the appointment

of Karen Tuffs FCICM, former Head of

Order-to-Cash at Johnson & Johnson, to

spearhead the future evolution of CICMQ

as the new CICM Head of Accreditation.

It is part of a plan to further integrate the

qualification and accreditation product set

and journey for members and clients.

The history of CICMQ dates back some

12 years, and a presentation given by

Chris Sanders FCICM at ICM08. Chris was

sharing a platform with Joris Kniep, the

Global Head of Credit for Shell International,

and presenting Shell’s two-year credit

management journey and roadmap

for improvement: “At the end of the

presentation, Philip came up to me with an

idea that he had literally written down on

the back of a napkin,” Chris recalls. “He said

that what the industry didn’t have, was an

acknowledged idea of what good looked

like. He asked me what I thought, and

whether I could develop the idea. I said yes!”

HESITANT BEGINNING

This was the genesis of CICMQ (or QICM

as it was originally called), and the first

company to be accredited, perhaps not

surprisingly, was Shell International. It

was a slow and somewhat difficult birth

and struggled to gain immediate traction.

Initially based on an organisation meeting

five key criteria, it was quickly realised that

a sixth criteria was needed against which

a business should be judged: stakeholder

management and roadmap: “You can have

a process, but it doesn’t mean you are good

at following it or that people are aware of it,”

Chris explains.

Fast forward three years to 2011, and a

review and discussions about the future

of QICM ultimately led to Chris being

appointed Head of Accreditation-CICMQ in

February 2012: “To be honest I was surprised

but also extremely honoured to have

been asked to head up the programme,”

Chris Sanders

FCICM

“He said that

what the industry

didn’t have, was

an acknowledged

idea of what good

looked like. He

asked me what

I thought, and

whether I could

develop the idea. I

said yes!”

Chris says. “But I was also excited by the

challenge.”

Chris was ideally placed to take the lead.

Originally from Nottingham but brought up

and educated in northwest London, the sum

total of his initial careers’ advice at school

was to join the gas board: “They seemed

to have plenty of vacancies as a fitter,” he

laughs, “but when they told my father that

he stormed out of the room dragging me

with him!”

Originally starting out in his father’s

menswear business and hating every

minute, he joined Matchbox Toys in the

summer of 1980, working as a customer

services supervisor. A year or so into the

job, he was summoned to see the Financial

Director, David Smith, and asked whether

he had ever considered credit control: “They

had some vacancies and then told me of

the untold riches (potential earnings of

£7000 pa!!) and experience I would gain in

the role.”

FAST PROMOTION

Chris’ time at Matchbox Toys was not

always plain sailing, especially after the

business went into administration in

the summer of 1982. He stayed with the

toy maker, however, being promoted to

credit manager and finally to customer

accounts manager responsible for both

credit, collections and customer services.

He was still only 25 and was responsible

for a team of 35. Headhunted to join Unicol,

a debt collection agency, Chris managed

the company’s litigation team and had his

first taste of consulting. He also posted

his ‘Direct Entry’ application to become a

Member of the ICM.

Joining the then fledgling Mercury

Communications in December 1990,

initially as a ‘credit policy manager’, Chris

became Group credit manager shortly

afterwards: “This was a fascinating

business putting on 20,000 customers a

month, recruiting 10 new credit controllers

a month. I don’t think that customer service

was brilliant at that time, people were just

pleased not to have to wait six months for a

phone from BT!”

Chris stayed with Mercury, Cable &

Wireless for 11 years after roles as Head of

Billing & Collections with a team of more

than 600 and being appointed Director

of Transformation: “After C&W I started

consulting, firstly with an American

telecoms consultancy TMNG, but when


NEWS SPECIAL


Chris does have some funny stories too. Once

invited for a guided tour of a meat wholesaling

business, he fast realised this would include a trip

around an abattoir: “I decided it wasn’t for me and

volunteered Sharon Adams FCICM instead!”

>NEWS

IN BRIEF

an opportunity came along to go

independent, I took it. I was lucky as my

boss at TMNG said, ‘If it doesn’t work

out come back and work for us again’

which was great! After six months I

finally cut ties with TMNG in May 2006

telling them I won’t be coming back!”

JOB SATISFACTION

Managing the CICMQ programme

on behalf of the CICM has, is Chris’

opinion, been the best job he could

have had in credit management: “I

have worked with some great CICMQ

Assessors who are all passionate about

credit management, the CICM and the

CICMQ organisations of which there are

now more than 50 with more working

towards the accreditation.”

CICMQ, however, is not just about

accreditation. Perhaps the real value

comes through the network and

sharing best practice with Institute

peers. Even with the challenges of the

last two years, the CICM Best Practice

Network has continued, attracting

large numbers of delegates spread

across more than 100 Zoom sessions,

many eager to listen and learn from

practising credit managers who are

very much in at the deep end. The

interim shift from actual to virtual

assessments was also successfully

achieved, and the value of a workshopled

approach continued. CICMQ Best

Practice Elevenses have also proved

popular, as has a series of ‘lunch and

learns’.

As the outgoing lead, Chris has

many happy memories of the last 10

years: “With CICMQ you get to see every

aspect of human life from retailers to

utilities, breweries to wine merchants.

Karen Tuffs, FCICM

You meet credit teams of more than

100, to a credit team of one, and every

point in-between. You can sense the

quality of the team immediately when

you walk into a room, and that is

almost always the result of a good

manager.

“There are three things that separate

a CICMQ accredited business from the

rest,” Chris continues. “They will have

motivated and engaged people, led by a

good manager; they will manage their

stakeholder engagement well; and they

will have a shared common goal across

the team and the business.”

MEAT WHOLESALING

Chris does have some funny stories too.

Once invited for a guided tour of a meat

wholesaling business, he fast realised

this would include a trip around an

abattoir: “I decided it wasn’t for me and

volunteered Sharon Adams FCICM

instead!” (Sharon, along with Pam

Thomas FCICM are two of the CICMQ’s

stalwart assessors.)

As a new chapter in CICMQ begins,

Chris is justifiably proud of how the

accreditation programme has grown:

“We have helped lay the foundations

of something that has achieved what

Philip King always wanted to achieve;

we now know what good looks like,” he

concludes.

And as for Chris and the future?

“I will never stop working in credit

management, and will continue to

focus on my credit management and

billing consultancy business that I

started in 2005,” he says. “I’d like to

carry on in this industry like Glen

Bullivant has done – but without the

fancy ties.”

A new chapter in the CICMQ story

begins with the appointment of

Karen Tuffs FCICM, former Head

of Order-to-Cash at Johnson &

Johnson, to spearhead the future

evolution of CICMQ as the new CICM

Head of Accreditation.

Myths and Facts

NEW research from Experian suggests

that more than half of Brits are

planning to be more careful with

money in 2022, and that many are

confused as to the impact of certain

financial products on their credit

score. More than three quarters (85

percent) of British consumers believe

the number of credit cards they own

affects their credit score, but this is not

true. More than two thirds (69 percent)

falsely believed making a large

purchase on their credit card can affect

their score.

Service worth merit

THE Meritorious Service Award is

granted as a rare recognition of an

especially meritorious contribution

to the Institute. If you would like to

nominate a member, visit https://www.

cicm.com/cicm-meritorious-award/

Greece is the word

HOIST Finance has entered into an

agreement with Alpha Bank to acquire

a Greek portfolio of non-performing

loans, compromising of unsecured

consumer loans and a minor part

small enterprise loans and secured

loans. The total outstanding balance is

approximately EUR 2.1 billion and the

total investment is EUR 108 million.

This is said to be Hoist Finance’s

second portfolio acquisition in Greece.

The transaction is expected to close

during the first quarter 2022.

By Royal Appointment

AMIR Ali, who sits on both the CICM’s

Think Tank and Technical Committee,

has been recognised with the OBE

in the 2022 New Year’s Honours for

Services to Court Users and the Law.

The recommendation to Her Majesty

The Queen to receive the Honour was

made by the Prime Minister on the

advice of the Independent and Main

Honours Committee. The whole of

the Credit Management

team congratulate Amir, a

regular contributor to the

magazine, for his welldeserved

achievement.


FROM THE CHAIR

Talking Smart

Shifting resolutions from January to

February shows smart thinking.

AUTHOR – Debbie Nolan FCICM(Grad)

Debbie Nolan

AS I closed out the New

Year with a good friend

of mine, we spent some

time bemoaning all of our

favourite things that have

been cancelled during the

last couple of years. We also congratulate

ourselves on our achievements too, and

came to the conclusion that it is not only

good but also healthy to look back and

review the past year, but only to glance

at it, and not stare. Focus on the future –

things that you can influence and where

you can make a positive difference.

In previous articles I’ve shared my love

of planning and list making, and the end of

one year and the start of another is always

a perfect time for that. But somehow, this

year I have struggled to put pen to paper

(yes I even do it manually too!).

January is always a tough month. It

comes immediately after the holiday season

when many of us have indulged more than

usual. Pay day seems so incredibly far away

as the reality of our last-minute generosity

in December starts to hit. It’s also dark and

grey most of the time, and it’s 31 days long!

Nobody minds that in the summer when

it’s blue skies and sunshine, but it seems

never ending when its wet, muddy and

chilly outside. The third week in January

even contains an unofficial day ‘Blue

Monday’ which according to an equation

commissioned by a travel company, is the

most depressing day of the year.

So why on earth do I always make a list

of resolutions in January?

Dry February

I have an ex-colleague who never does Dry

January, but instead has a Dry February.

When I asked him why, he explained:

“There are only 28 days in February and all

of the festive booze and chocolates are gone

by then, so there’s less temptation.” Genius!

Doing it that way, he always achieves what

he set out to do – give his body a bit of a

break and set himself a challenge he has a

better chance of achieving.

In business we are taught to ensure

that our plans and objectives are SMART.

However, like most people, as I started to

plan my New Year with a list of resolutions,

mostly things that I won’t do, or will do

better, I reflected on them and realised

none of them are particularly SMART. Just

a few days in, I am already struggling to

stick to them. I am not alone – last week

the news reported that 25 percent of people

have already given up on their resolutions.

And now I see that this is mostly because

they aren’t ‘realistic’.

So this year, I’ve decided to scrap

making any firm commitments, and reset

my New Year as of 1 February instead.

I’m going to focus on some things that are

SMART, but not everything. I am going

to be kinder to myself, for example, and

not just kind to those around me, and I’ve

decided to incorporate a goal to achieve 10

‘wow’ factors in 2022.

Nothing terribly exciting; but things like

making sure that I sit down, undisturbed,

and read that book I’ve had on my shelf

since Christmas a few years ago. Visit

somewhere in the UK that I haven’t been to

before. That kind of thing.

And I’ve chosen 10 so that it can be one

per month, excluding the party month

of December and the dreary month of

January. And I am going to set one a

month, not create a long list at the start.

I’ve decided: 2022 is going to be a SMART

one for me!

Debbie Nolan is Chair of the CICM

Executive Board.

“There are only 28 days in February and all of the

festive booze and chocolates are gone by then, so

there’s less temptation.” Genius!


TABLE BOOKING

NOW OPEN

Thursday 24th March, Royal Lancaster London

THE SHORTLIST HAS

BEEN ANNOUNCED

BOOK YOUR TABLE TODAY!

The entries are in... and the shortlist has been announced! To see who made the

shortlist for the 2022 awards, please visit: www.cicmbritishcreditawards.com

Don’t miss this fantastic evening of networking and celebration of all of the incredible

achievements across the credit and collections community.

With a fabulous line up of entertainment, it’s the one event in the

credit calendar not to be missed!

TABLE BOOKINGS

Please contact Orhan Toprakci on:

T: 020 7484 9973 E: Orhan.Toprakci@incisivemedia.com

For more information visit www.cicmbritishcreditawards.com

or scan the QR code below to be directed to our website

PALADIN


INSOLVENCY

Insolvency –

the big shake-up

IPs feel the heavy hand of Government regulation.

AUTHOR – David Kerr FCICM

IN what will be the biggest change

in over 35 years, the Government’s

Insolvency Service has proposed

a major dismantling of the

current regime, which has seen

a profession-led approach since

licensing of Insolvency Practitioners (IPs)

was first introduced in 1986.

In a consultation paper published in

late December, the Government proposes

to take direct control of IP regulation,

with a new single regulator situated

within the Service – thereby removing the

Recognised Professional Bodies (RPBs)

from the picture. Although a seven-year

‘back-stop’ power to set up a new single

regulator has been on the statute books

since 2015, I think it is fair to say this is not

what the profession wanted or expected

from the Service’s review.

Of course, Government will consider

consultation responses, and the deal is far

from done at this stage, but this looks to

be heading in one direction – state control

of the work that IPs undertake, with a new

team in the Service handling complaints

and making all the key decisions on

regulatory sanctions etc. Perhaps

creditors will welcome a new approach by

a regulator viewed as more impartial and

potentially more robust (two of the stated

aims of the change), but is this really a

good move, is it the best option, and is it a

justifiable revision of the current system?

Do the reasons cited for this upheaval

really stack up?

FOR BETTER FOR WORSE

For the Service’s proposal to work, it will

have to demonstrate that it can do the

job better than the RPBs. In particular, it

has ambitions to speed up the complaints

process; and while some aspects of

the process could undoubtedly be

undertaken more quickly, doing so while

observing natural justice, fair process etc,

and minimising the risk of legal challenge

(a tricky balance, as the RPBs know

well) will require significant resourcing

– and training, if the new department

is populated with inexperienced staff.

Another key factor cited by the Service

is the consistency and robustness (it

says that with four RPBs there are ‘likely

{author’s emphasis} to be inconsistencies’)

of disciplinary outcomes, and yet the

Common Sanctions Guidance currently

in force is designed to achieve a level

playing field, and has been the product of

collaboration between the RPBs and the

Service.

And what of routine monitoring of

IPs – a key component of any regulation

system? Well, here the Service seems

relaxed about using the expertise within

the professional bodies, potentially

engaging them under contract to visit

their IPs on behalf of the new regulator.

Significant reform

to the existing

regulatory structure is

necessary to protect

both consumers and

creditors according to

the Service.

So, the prospect is of some ongoing form

of hybrid between full state regulation and

a system run by the professional bodies,

but with the emphasis shifted massively

towards the Government department

which will have full control. The new

regulator will determine the frequency of

inspections, and decide what steps need

to be taken on the back of monitoring

reports – with public sanctions where it

deems appropriate.

In addition, the Service will take control

of the standards setting process, so that

when it wants to introduce a new practice

statement or amendment to the code of

ethics, it can do so – no doubt after some

consultation, but without having to wait

for the RPBs to agree a position as now

through the Joint Insolvency Committee.

The Service will be standards-setter

licensing authority, monitor, complaints

handler and decision-maker. But who will

oversee its work, and to whom will one

complain if dissatisfied with its decisions?

Will the Service have to mark its own

homework!?

And what will it cost? The RPBs have

managed to keep costs down while

undertaking these various regulatory

roles, and at the same time innovate in

some areas such as monitoring methods.

What incentive will there be for the

Service to keep a lid on costs, when it is

the only player in town and can pass its

costs onto IPs? Any increase in regulatory

costs is likely to finds its way into the

system and will likely be felt by creditors

at the end of the day.

A JUSTIFIABLE MOVE?

The decision to tear up the current regime

looks a bit drastic when considered against

the backdrop of the Service’s present role

as overseer of the RPBs; it has the levers

at its disposal now to hold the RPBs to

account. In 2015, it took powers to issue

directives to RPBs and sanction them if

they were deemed to be failing to meet the

statutory regulatory objectives. And yet it

has not used those powers in any public

way; it has published annual reports of the

bodies’ regulatory activities – sometimes

highlighting frustration with aspects

such as the number of long-running

complaints in the RPBs’ systems – but has

not stated any serious dissatisfaction with

the RPBs’ performance to the extent that

would seem to warrant removal of their

recognition as authorising bodies.

If the present regime has failed (‘not

fit for purpose’), then to what degree

might observers consider the Service

itself culpable? It has been a part of the

system – it has sat around the standardssetting

table, and it has monitored the

RPBs’ activities at regular intervals; it has

had the means to address shortcomings in

a scaled way but has now chosen instead

to go for the nuclear option and scrap

the system entirely – a move that surely

suggests it is very dissatisfied with the

present system. That seems at odds with

its public pronouncement hitherto.

The justification in the published

document seems to be based on

respondents’ perceptions of impartiality

and the potential for undue influence,

and a claim that the RPBs are ‘not always

wholly effective’ or fully transparent; and

yet it acknowledges the role of lay (non-

IP – including creditor) participants in

RPB decision-making committees, and

other advances made by the bodies (for

example towards meeting the challenge

of monitoring volume IVAs). It concludes

that the present regime has been


INSOLVENCY

AUTHOR – David Kerr FCICM

It is a kick in the teeth for the profession

without doubt, and in many quarters will

be unwelcome, but it seems clear that the

Service has become frustrated with progress,

or lack of it, in the present system.

insufficiently effective in keeping pace

with market developments.

One change on which there is some

consensus is a need to regulate firms as

well as individual IPs, but that change

could be made without the need to turn

the whole system on its head. Arguably

the acknowledged shortcomings in this

respect are the product of the statutory

position, rather than a failing on the part

of the RPBs (some of which had argued for

the statutory power to regulate firms).

One small dividend for creditors and

others might be a new compensation

scheme which could be introduced to

deal with situations where things go

wrong, though claims might be capped

at a notional level and might be used

mainly to address consumers’ concerns in

personal cases.

And what of pre-packs, which the

service cites as an example of the

voluntary approach to regulation not

working sufficiently well. But the review

to consider how to address concerns about

Phoenix pre-packs was a Governmentcommissioned

one, on the back of which

new arrangements such as the Pre-Pack

Pool were introduced. Referrals to it

were voluntary, as recommended by its

author, and endorsed by the Service.

Certainly, the number of referrals fell far

short of what had been hoped for, and in

this respect maybe IPs have helped the

Service’s cause as it now cites the need

for its subsequent intervention to make

referrals to an evaluator compulsory

as an example of the failure of the

hitherto consensual approach, but the

initial solution to the perceived pre-pack

problem was not one designed by the

professional bodies. Could the profession

at large/ its practising members have

done more to assuage creditors’/others’

concerns about pre-pack deals? Possibly.

But is it reasonable for the Service to cite

this as a reason for it to take a ‘more active

role’?

Another factor – relevant but skirted

over in the consultation document – is

the issue of inconsistency caused by the

number of regulators. This was of more

concern in 2015 than now, as there were

more RPBs then and the scope for gaps

in the system was greater. Just two bodies

currently account for 90 percent of IPs in

England & Wales, with cooperation on

standards, a joint entry examination, one

common code of ethics, one complaints

portal and a common sanctions guide.

If there are significant differences in

their approaches to complaints and/or

monitoring, why would the Service as

oversight regulator not have addressed

these before now? – if necessary, using

the graduated tools available to it for just

that purpose?

THE RIGHT SOLUTION?

In some ways the proposed solution

is smart in that it takes control of key

regulatory elements while embracing

monitoring expertise within the RPBs.

However, there is no indication of

how complaints might be handled

more efficiently within a Government

department (nor how they might be

dealt with more quickly – something

it could have addressed with the RPBs

previously), nor how it might intend

to be more robust on sanctions (with

bigger fines maybe? – something it could

have addressed with previous proposals

for changes to the common sanctions

guidance), or how more generally the

proposed course of action furthers the

public interest by ripping up 30+ years

of regulatory experience and starting

from near scratch. That move appears

to sit awkwardly within the context of

experience in other jurisdictions, where

Government regulation might be the norm

in a fledgling regime, but where a move

to private ‘self-regulation’ might be seen

as an indication of regulatory maturity as

systems develop and professional bodies

build their capacity to take on these

functions and, crucially, are trusted to

do so.

And this is the knub of it…trust. The

bottom line here is that the Service

clearly believes that there is a lack of

trust in the present UK regime, such that

it feels it must act decisively to restore

public confidence before it is too late.

Whatever voices have been heard the

loudest, the trust factor is perhaps what

really explains this rather drastic and

unexpected move. It is a kick in the teeth

for the profession without doubt, and

in many quarters will be unwelcome,

but it seems clear that the Service has

become frustrated with progress, or lack

of it, in the present system. Some will

believe the change is overdue and that the

profession deserves what’s coming, but

time will tell whether the change if/when

implemented will bring about the desired

improvement and whether creditors and

other stakeholders will feel better about

the new ‘independent’ system in say five

years from now.

Could an alternative package of

measures have worked satisfactorily to

address the perceived shortcomings? A

combination maybe of the new regulation

of firms, with more effective use of the

Service’s current oversight powers to

iron out any inconsistency between RPBs

or failure to respond to a nudge when

improvement is required, and perhaps

also a move towards greater independence

of the RPBs through the stipulation of

a majority of independent directors on

their governing boards – such as under

the Indian Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code

of 2016.

No system is perfect, and IPs expect to

be unloved to a degree, but this jolt seems

harsh on the majority of IPs, who for

the most part are working to the highest

standards in difficult circumstances,

and on the majority of those in the

professional bodies, who for the most part

are working diligently in a challenging

role to maintain professional standards in

the public interest.

David Kerr FCICM is an insolvency

practitioner with extensive regulatory

experience and a member of the CICM

Technical Committee.

David Kerr FCICM


CONSUMER COLLECTIONS

CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE

The pandemic continues to bite consumer finances.

AUTHOR – Heather Greig-Smith

AFTER a turbulent couple

of years, with signs of a

recovery in the second

half of 2021, the Omicron

variant poses a new wave

of challenges. But how do

consumers feel about their finances and

capacity to cope?

The global economic challenges

are significant, but UK consumers are

failing to measure up when it comes to

understanding their finances, according

to the annual survey of 24,000 European

consumers by credit management group

Intrum.

While 58 percent say they want to

ensure they are in a stronger financial

position before another global crisis,

more than a quarter have less visibility of

their short-term borrowing now than they

did before the pandemic started, while 24

percent say they don’t even want to know

how much they owe.

GENERATIONAL DIVIDE

The 2021 European Consumer Payment

Report shows this trend is especially

pronounced amongst younger age

groups, with 45 percent of 22-37-year

olds admitting they have their heads in

the sand over their financial situation. It

reflects a growing generational divide in

the aftermath of the pandemic.

When asked to calculate the impact

of interest rates on savings, for example,

just 36 percent of Gen Z (18-21 year olds)

gave the right answer, compared with 76

percent of Baby Boomers (55+). Similarly,

just 25 percent of Gen Z identified the

correct definition of ‘inflation’, compared

with 81 percent of Baby Boomers.

While it is concerning that higher

proportions of younger age groups have

little control over their personal finances,

they also have less disposable income than

other age groups and the credit they are

granted is limited by their income levels.

This means their outstanding balances

and the scale of their debt problems are

likely to be lower.

Gavin Flynn is Operations Director

for Intrum in the UK and Ireland: “Some

consumers have found themselves in a

difficult financial situation over the past

year and have struggled to pay their bills

on time. We have seen how the pandemic

has deepened existing inequalities,” he

says.

The temptation for individuals to

ignore the problem is huge, adds Intrum’s

UK and Ireland Managing Director Eddie

Nott: “Understandably, many find the

situation overwhelming. As we begin 2022,

we face yet more uncertainty over the

pandemic as well as rising unemployment

and the likelihood that energy prices will

rocket when the current price cap runs

out in April. Things will be very tight for

many consumers.

“As hard as it is, it’s important that

people understand the impact on their

household finances and can seek help if

they need it.”

United Kingdom

European

Consumer

Payment

Report 2021

FINANCIAL EDUCATION

Regardless of age, now is a good time for

consumers to increase their knowledge

of financial management. While 82

percent of UK consumers believe they

received sufficient or excellent financial

education, a third don’t understand how

interest rate changes could affect their

financial position and 50 percent need

help with complex financial matters.

“The COVID-19 crisis is a stark

reminder of the essential role that

financial education plays in helping

consumers manage their money and

withstand curveballs when they arise,”

says Eddie.

And there are likely to be many

curveballs coming our way. Almost half

(48 percent) say their bills are increasing

more quickly than their income and a

quarter have less than 10 percent of their

income left after paying bills.

In the six months leading up to

Intrum’s survey, 30 percent had borrowed

money or reached their credit card limit

in order to pay bills – higher than in 2020,

when 20 percent said the same. Parents

are especially hard hit, with 87 percent

of them saying they have borrowed or

maxed out their credit card to buy things

for their children.

All this adds up to financial stress.

More than a quarter are more likely to

miss a debt payment now than at any

other point they can remember.

On the positive side, the pandemic

does seem to have motivated consumers

to focus on financial security, with 39

percent saying they are putting money

aside to protect their financial wellbeing

and a third saying they have set targets to

better manage their bills and savings.

PARENTAL SUPPORT

According to the report, the pandemic has

also encouraged parents to spend more

time helping their children understand

financial management – 54 percent said

they were more likely to do this now than

before the pandemic.

However, although well-meaning

parents are passing advice to their children,

it may prove to be counterproductive if

the parents themselves have not had a

solid financial education, or do not take

care to explain the nuances of credit and

how it works.

“More than half say they are more likely

than they were to urge their children not

to take on debt. This isn’t necessarily good

advice. Managed correctly, debt supports

entrepreneurial pursuits and forms an

integral part of the business community

and wider economy,” says Eddie.

Unfortunately, it seems certain that

more financial pain is coming in 2022.

Even before the Omicron variant hit, more

than a third of UK consumers said they

expected Covid to have a negative impact

on their finances for another 12 months,

while a fifth expected it to take more than

two years to get back to normal.

This means businesses need to

anticipate and prepare for the impact.

“The pandemic has left some groups of

consumers worse off and some have taken

on additional debt to make ends meet,”

says Ian Davies, Client and Sales Director

for Intrum UK and Ireland.

“Given this, and increasing inflation,

we expect more payment problems in

future. Businesses will need to review

their credit management strategies to

meet the challenges ahead and reduce

credit losses.”


0 20 40 60 80 100

0 20 40 60 80 100

CONSUMER COLLECTIONS

AUTHOR – Heather Greig-Smith

45 percent of 22-37-year olds admitting

they have their heads in the sand over their

financial situation. It reflects a growing

generational divide in the aftermath of the

pandemic.

Saving for

the future

45%

are dissatisfied with the amount

they are able to save each month. In

2020, 49 per cent stated the same.

The European average for 2021 is

54 per cent.

The Covid-19 crisis has not only had an immediate impact on

household finances; it also has much longer-term implications

for consumers‘ ability to save for the future. According to the

UK Office for National Statistics, the savings rate rocketed to

23.4 per cent in Q2 of 2020. It has since come down to 11.7

per cent in Q2 of 2021 but remains relatively high. Our survey

shows that 81 per cent of UK consumers are able to save each

month, however, 45 per cent are dissatisfied with the amount

they are able to put aside.

UK consumers say their main reasons for saving are for unexpected

expenses (64 per cent), retirement (46 per cent)

and travel (43 per cent).

On average, what percentage of your salary do you save each month?

20%

76%

save money each month

I do not save money

each month

44%

19%

13%

24%

Female

86%

save money each month

Male

45%

23%

18%

14%

European Consumer Payment Report 2021 UK

15

SAVINGS CUSHION

The unequal effect of the pandemic

means that some consumers have been

able to save more money than others –

those whose income remained unchanged

had fewer travel and leisure costs, so are

better off than they were previously.

As a result, the savings rate has risen

significantly, and 81 percent are able to

save something each month. However,

the survey found that almost half of those

are dissatisfied with the amount they are

able to put aside.

Clearly, there is an ongoing divide

between those badly affected by the

pandemic and those whose wealth has

risen. As interest rates rise, the latter will

be better placed to weather the storm.

“Low-income households have been

more likely to experience job instability

and financial hardship, which is reflected

in their savings patterns,” says Intrum’s

Senior Economist Anna Zabrodzka.

“Those who managed to accumulate

savings during the pandemic will find

it easier to absorb higher costs without

facing payment problems.”

SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE

Meanwhile, this year’s survey shows

that consumers are increasingly holding

firms to account on sustainability, with

56 percent of UK respondents saying

they wouldn’t buy from a company they

knew to be responsible for harming the

environment.

Social media is playing an important

role in putting sustainable consumption

at the top of the agenda. Though

39 percent say social media creates

pressure to consume more, these

channels have also increased awareness

around buying sustainable products.

This is especially true for younger age

groups.

Along these lines, waste is also an

issue for many – 61 percent say they are

actively buying less to reduce clutter.

These consumers are after a simpler

life, increasingly fixing or recycling

old items rather than buying new and

eating more leftovers than they used to.

The younger generations and parents

are at the forefront of this push towards

sustainability.

Businesses need to be aware of the

knock-on effects of this. For example, a

third of UK respondents said they would

feel no guilt about paying a company later

than agreed if they thought the company

was unethical. This figure rises to around

half for Gen Z consumers, reflecting the

extent to which this cohort is willing to

take action around green issues.

“Consumers, especially the younger

generation, which is only just starting

to exert its consumer power, are using

their consumption to exert pressure

around climate issues,” says Intrum’s

Sustainability Director Vanessa

Söderberg. “By focusing on sustainability,

businesses of all sizes can balance their

risks, maintain a healthy cash flow and be

better equipped to prosper and grow.”

Eddie agrees: “While it’s true that

consumer intentions don’t always

translate into action, businesses would

be wise to pay attention to this trend

if they are to retain the loyalty of these

customers,” he concludes.

Intrum has published The European

Consumer Payment Report on an annual

basis since 2013. The report is based on

an external survey that is conducted

simultaneously in 24 countries in Europe.

A total of 24,012 consumers participated

in the 2021 edition. This year marks

the ninth edition of the UK version of t

he report. For more information visit:

www.intrum.co.uk


CYBER FRAUD

PERSONS UNKNOWN

Recovering cryptocurrency following cyber fraud

without throwing good money after bad.

AUTHOR – Adam Bernstein

FINTECH and cybercrime are in the

ascendancy and the authorities

are fighting to keep up with

the growth of both. Fortunately,

recent decisions in the courts have

demonstrated that the law of England

and Wales can indeed keep up, especially when it

comes to dealing with theft by cybercriminals.

Cyber fraud is indeed on the rise. Computer

Weekly, back in August 2021, found that individuals

and organisations in the UK reported losses of £1.3bn

from fraud and cybercrime between 1 January and

31 July 2021 – a threefold increase on the year – while

reported instances of cybercrime rose seven fold,

from 39,160 to 289,437 cases.

The problem, of course, is that “pursuing criminals

through cyberspace and recovering assets is difficult,”

says Louise Norbury-Robinson, a commercial

dispute resolution and technology specialist at

Walker Morris, “and has been fraught with legal and

practical difficulty and risk.”

For Louise, there are not only the jurisdictional and

geographical uncertainties inherent in combatting

fraud perpetrated over the internet to deal with,

but also questions such as “how victims pursue

defendants whose identity is unknown; how they

collect evidence and/or trace assets which exist only

in digital form and which can be deleted or dissipated

instantly with a click or a swipe; and the up-front

costs which a defrauded victim must meet in order to

seek justice representing a worthwhile investment.”

In other words, does taking legal action in such

cases involve throwing good money after bad?

However, several recent, high-profile cases have

demonstrated that the law is keeping up and that

taking tangible action against fraud in cyberspace is

becoming more widely understood, more effective

and therefore more worthwhile.

TWO INTERESTING CASES

Before offering guidance on preventative steps to

take, Norbury-Robinson highlights two recent cases

that have shown the way forward.

Pointing first to the case of AA v Persons Unknown,

she says that this “pulls together some of the key

legal issues which a victim of cyber fraud can face,

and confirms that UK law offers effective, practical

solutions.”

She continues: “As well as specifically addressing

issues such as the nature and recoverability of crypto

assets, the case draws on the recently developed body

of case law concerning the imposition of injunctions


CYBER FRAUD


on, and the recovery of assets from, unidentified

defendants – persons unknown.”

And of the more recent case of Fetch.ai v

Persons Unknown, says Louise, develops the

law even further: “It demonstrates the UK

courts’ willingness to overcome potential legal,

technical, and procedural hurdles wherever

possible, to ensure that justice can be served for

victims of this largely faceless fraud.”

In delving into the first case, AA v Persons

Unknown, Louise says that the victim

company had received a ransom demand from

unidentified defendants who had hacked and

encrypted the business’ computer system. The

company’s insurer paid the Bitcoin equivalent of

$950,000 so that the system could be decrypted,

and trading could continue. The insurer then

sought to recover the defrauded assets via claims

against persons unknown – the hackers and

unidentified persons controlling the accounts

into which the ransom was paid – and against the

Bitcoin exchange itself.

She says that the court made orders – more on

this below – to enable the claimant insurance

company to discover the identity of the

defendants and to facilitate the preservation,

tracing and potentially, ultimately, the recovery

of the lost cryptocurrency.

Louise says that several legal and practical

points arose from the case: “Firstly, publicity

could have tipped off the unknown defendants

enabling them to dissipate the Bitcoin. It could

also have triggered further attacks, including

revenge or copycat attacks.” She adds that “the

court had been provided with confidential

information to determine the issues. It was

possible that the Bitcoin exchange defendant had

been mixed up unknowingly in the wrongdoing

of the as-yet unidentified defendants.”

It was for these reasons that she says it was

appropriate for this hearing to be held without

notice and in private.

But by the very nature of the crime, it was not

known where the unidentified defendants were

based. The Bitcoin exchange defendant was

based outside of England and Wales and appeared

to have addresses in China and the British Virgin

Islands. However, as Louise explains, “the claims

fell under certain permitted jurisdictional

gateways; and the Bitcoin could have been

dissipated at any moment.” As a result, it made

sense for the court “to make orders for service

out of the jurisdiction and for service by e-mail

at any address relating to the Bitcoin account, by

delivery to any physical address relating to the

account and by filing the claim at court.”

The claimant insurer sought a proprietary

injunction with regard to the Bitcoin. “The court,”

Louise says, “confirmed that crypto assets such

as Bitcoin are property and can be the subject of

proprietary relief. A proprietary injunction was

therefore granted, along with ancillary orders

requiring all respondents to provide information

as to the identity of persons unknown.”

In overview, a proprietary injunction prevents

a person from dealing with assets in which a

claimant has a proprietary interest. Proprietary

injunctions attach to the assets in question,

unlike freezing injunctions which attach to

defendants and respondents personally, and so

give greater security to a claimant. Proprietary

injunctions are also less intrusive against

defendants compared to ‘freezers’ which means

that they may be more readily granted.

“It demonstrates the UK courts’ willingness

to overcome potential legal, technical, and

procedural hurdles wherever possible, to

ensure that justice can be served for victims

of this largely faceless fraud.”

But where a claimant does not have a

proprietary claim, Louise says that they

can pursue a freezing injunction even in

circumstances where the identity of the wrongdoers

is unknown. She adds that “a flurry of

recent case law in this area demonstrates that UK

courts are generally willing to take a sensible and

pragmatic approach to awarding an injunction to

assist a victim of fraud or other harm/tort caused

by persons unknown.”

Louise points out that applications for

injunctions often need to be supported by

specific additional tactical orders, “perhaps

requiring third parties to disclose information,

documents or even identities that would

otherwise be subject to duties of confidentiality.”

As she has seen, these orders can require

institutions – such as banks or other businesses

based outside the jurisdiction – to provide

information in line with an order of the English

court. But as Louise highlights, “jurisdiction for

the English court to make such orders has to be

established on a case-by-case basis. It was one

of the key issues addressed in Fetch.ai v Persons

Unknown, the second case.”

In this instance, she explains that hackers

(the persons unknown, the first defendants

and respondents) gained access to private keys

associated with cryptocurrency accounts held by

the claimant at the Binance currency exchange

(the second and third respondents). “The

hackers,” she says, “removed cryptocurrency

from the accounts and sold it on at a massive

undervalue, apparently to co-conspirators,

causing loss of some $2.6 million to the claimant.

The claimant therefore applied for, and was

granted, a proprietary injunction, a worldwide

freezing order and disclosure orders requiring

third parties to provide information to assist in

tracing the assets.”

In this case, the court confirmed again that

cryptocurrency is recognised as property under

English law. Here Louise comments that “the

judge also decided that the claimant's private

Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / January & February 2022 / PAGE 17 continues on page 18 >

CYBER FRAUD


key constituted confidential information, thereby

enabling the claimant to pursue breach of

confidence as a cause of action.”

But there is another case that is relevant here, one

that Norbury-Robinson says went unreported. In

this, the judge held that cryptocurrency assets are

located where the owner has a place of residence

or business. She says that “as the claimant was

based in the UK, the courts of England and Wales

had jurisdiction to hear this case. However, it was

not known in which jurisdiction the unidentified

hackers were based. The Binance exchange

defendants were, though, based both in the UK

and in the Cayman Islands.”

She says that the court overcame any potential

service difficulties by finding that the claims fell

under various permitted jurisdictional gateways.

It also showed that cryptocurrency cyber fraud

cases “often lead to a finding of exceptional

circumstances to allow service by alternative

means, especially where service under the Hague

Convention for service abroad will take weeks or

months.” As a result, service by alternative means

was allowed in this case.

For reference, jurisdictional gateways enable

English courts to exercise jurisdiction over foreign

defendants in circumstances where the subject

matter of the dispute has a sufficient connection

with England. Good examples include where a

person lives within the jurisdiction; where the

claim relates wholly or principally to property

within the jurisdiction; where the claim relates

to a contract which is made in the jurisdiction,

is governed by English law, or contains a term by

which the parties submit to the jurisdiction of the

English courts.

And to aid the discovery of information, orders

– referred to above – can be sought. Louise details

them both:

The first, a Norwich Pharmacal order – named

after the case which gave rise to this form of

tactical relief – “is a fairly wide disclosure order

which can be made against a person who is not

a party or wrongdoer, but who may be able to

provide information needed to identify a party/

wrongdoer or to facilitate the seeking of redress.

Importantly, Norwich Pharmacal orders cannot

be made outside the jurisdiction.” This was

made against the UK-based Binance exchange

respondent.

The second, a Bankers Trust order, again,

named after the case which gave rise to the relief,

is slightly more limited compared to a Norwich

Pharmacal. On this Louise says that “it can

require banks or financial institutions to disclose

account information. It can therefore still be

highly effective in fraud cases, plus it can be

made outside the jurisdiction.” This type of order

was made against the Cayman-based Binance

exchange respondent in Fetch.ai.

TAKEAWAY ADVICE

Unfortunately, encryption and ransom as

encountered in AA v Persons Unknown is

relatively common. And hacking, as was seen

in Fatech.ai, is often behind the increasingly

prevalent push payment fraud and various other

forms of cybercrime.

But in Norbury-Robinson’s view, UK courts can

offer options for victims of cyber fraud, “making

the UK a leading jurisdiction for the prosecution

and resolution of these types of claims.”

That said, she beleives that there are also steps

that organisations can take to protect themselves

and their customers.

On prevention, organisations “should

understand the risks so that they can help to

protect their own data and communications.”

She views staff training as vital and says that

everyone should be taught to recognise and

react appropriately to the risks and indicators of

cybercrime and fraud.

Next are policies, procedures and reporting

requirements. These should be reviewed and

updated, and training should be repeated,

regularly; cybercrime is a sophisticated and fastmoving

phenomenon.

Similarly, Norbury-Robinson advises regular

online checks to ensure that the firm/brand is

not being impersonated. She also recommends

putting in place a security culture, which

includes “good cyber security governance

being adopted and fostered. And, where

possible, firms should facilitate home and

mobile working for their staff.” She’s found

that this can help with business continuity

in the event of an attack.

Another key part of prevention is to have

people meeting and speaking, rather than

always communicating by e-mail. Norbury-

Robinson says it’s critical that everyone should

“be extremely cautious of giving any sensitive

information electronically. But where electronic

communication is essential, encrypted e-mails

and password protected portals should be used

as they offer a much greater level of data security.”

But if the worst happens, immediate specialist

legal advice in relation to the tracing, freezing and

recovery of funds should be sought. And along

with following any internal incident management

regime, Norbury-Robinson says that the “police

should be notified as should any lender, insurer,

parties to a transaction, clients and any interested

(industry) bodies.”

IN SUMMARY

Cybercrime and fraud are risks that are on the

rise, but so are the knowledge, technological

means and legal expertise required to effectively

respond to and combat them. The best means

of protection for a business and its customers is to

be proactive, and to have expert legal assistance

in the corner just in case anything does go

wrong.

Even so, Norbury-Robinson emphasises that

victims of blackmail and extortion “should not be

put off approaching a court for fear of exposure of

confidential information or other risks.”


CYBER FRAUD


CRYPTOCURRENCY TERMS

When reading about cryptocurrency several terms will be

used. Below is a guide to the most common.

Address

Cryptocurrency is identified on the blockchain by unique

addresses. Without an address, no coin is stored and the

blockchain can’t verify its existence. Each transaction

causes the value of your wallet to be updated based on your

address.

Altcoins

Altcoins are any crypto coins not named Bitcoin.

Blockchain

A blockchain is a digital ledger containing every transaction

made in a given cryptocurrency. These transactions are

made up of ‘blocks’. Some blockchains are made of a finite

number of blocks; others have no limit. Some blockchains,

like Bitcoin, are completely public where everyone can see

each transaction. Others are private.

Digital Currency

Digital currency is any currency, money, or money-like asset

that is primarily managed, stored, or exchanged on digital

computer systems. Types of digital currencies include

cryptocurrency, virtual currency, and central bank digital

currency.

Fiat currency

Fiat currency is that which is government-backed and

not backed by any commodity like gold. The value of the

currency relies on our collective faith in the government

backing the currency.

Gas

Gas is the fee paid to make a transaction on the blockchain.

Transaction fees are determined by the speed of the

transaction.

Mining

Mining is the process of finding new transactions on a

blockchain.

Private Key

Like a front door key, a private key is the string of

numbers and letters needed to verify transactions when

selling or withdrawing crypto currency.

Public Key

A public key is a string of characters used to purchase

cryptocurrency. If someone wants to receive cryptocurrency

instead of fiat currency, they can list their public key.

Public Ledger

Each blockchain has its own ledger where every

transaction ever made on a blockchain is viewable. Some

cryptocurrencies operating on an anonymous or private

ledger – others are public.

UK courts can offer

options for victims of cyber

fraud, “making the UK a leading

jurisdiction for the prosecution and

resolution of these types of claims.”

Seed

A seed phrase is a series of words generated by your

cryptocurrency wallet that give you access to the crypto

associated with that wallet. Seed is also used to create

private keys for the sending or spending of crypto.

Wallet

A wallet is where your cryptocurrency is stored and contains

seeds, keys, and addresses. It can be online, paper, software

or hardware based. The last is a physical hardware device

with dedicated security; they’re almost unhackable and

need to be present to authenticate a transaction. Paper is a

physical document containing the public and private keys.

The others are electronic and far less secure.


INTERVIEW

ENERGY

TRANSFER

Sean Feast FCICM speaks to Sue Chapple

FCICM about the utilities sector, future plans

for the CICM, and when 10p was enough to

phone home.


“On my first day I was still sitting

at my desk at 18:00 when my boss,

Peter Coke – an early mentor –

asked me why I was still there. It was

because I was waiting for someone

to give me permission to go!”

SUE CHAPPLE FCICM always

wanted to be a teacher. She

distinctly remembers a school

report when she was around

five that read: ‘Sue would do

better concentrating on her

own work rather than supervising the

class’.

Born in Wolverhampton, Sue’s family

moved to Sidmouth when she was three

and she has lived in Devon ever since.

Her father was an accountant and always

on the move, so much so that Sue went

to 12 different schools in as many years:

“Sometimes he’d move mid-way through a

term, and I had to start at a new school still

wearing my previous school’s uniform,”

she remembers.

For anyone who always sees the glass as

half empty, that would have been tough,

but fortunately Sue’s glass has always

been half full: “Yes it was difficult, but it

made me good at making small talk and

fitting in, and generally not being afraid

of people or situations.”

CAREERS’ ADVICE

Lacking any serious careers’ advice,

beyond being told to learn how to type,

Sue left school after CSE’s with one

principal objective: to earn money. “I’d

worked in a local fruit and veg shop and

liked earning money,” she explains.

In Sue’s mind, finding permanent

employment meant one of two things,

either to join a bank, or the Royal Air

Force! In the event she applied to all of the

local banks and was offered a job by five

of them, opting to join the TSB as a junior

clerk. She was 16.

“I remember the sound of the clock

ticking in the huge boardroom and the

permanent smell of polish,” she laughs.

“I also remember a crash in the banking

hall and being told Mrs Littlejohn had

dropped a jar of piccalilli and to get a mop

and bucket. It’s so funny to think of it now.

“On my first day I was still sitting at my

desk at 18:00 when my boss, Peter Coke

– an early mentor – asked me why I was

still there. It was because I was waiting for

someone to give me permission to go!”

It was at the TSB that the serious

business of studying towards her banking

qualification began. It was, in Sue’s words,

a real slog, but the studying paid off and

she was soon rising through the ranks,

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INTERVIEW


becoming the bank’s first ever female bank

manager while still only 25. It was an exciting

time to be at the bank; TSB was one of the first

to embrace new online technologies with

real-time information, virtually inventing

the concept of transient banking and making

it easy to change from one bank to another.

UNANSWERED POST

A pressure to sell insurance and other

branded products changed the dynamic

within TSB, and with its impending merger

with Lloyds, Sue decided to move out of

banking and into the utilities sector, joining

South West Water in Exeter as Head of

Customer Accounts, just after privatisation.

What she found was rather shocking: “I

distinctly recall there being 13,000 items of

unanswered post,” she recalls, “with an army

of staff who’s job was to open the envelopes

and simply add new items in and count the

total every week. I immediately implemented

a revolutionary policy of actually dealing

with the enquiries rather than just counting

them!”

Sue’s tenure at South West Water coincided

with the Woolf Reforms and the then ‘new’

rule that customers could not, in law, be

disconnected from their water supply which

was a human right. “This was my first real

introduction to debt and debtors in all

their guises,” Sue explains, “and I found it

fascinating.”

Sue enjoyed 15 happy years at South

West Water, but when the management of

customers and debt was outsourced to a

third party (the company from whom they

had bought the customer management

system), Sue opted for voluntary redundancy

and joined Severn Trent.

With Phil Wood, another great mentor,

Sue helped establish a non-regulated

business within Severn Trent (known as ST

Utility Services) to work with other firms

in their sector to collect debts. “This was

again another exciting time in my career,

when we were at the forefront of analytics

and customer segmentation and investing

in increasingly sophisticated systems to

improve collections rates and customer

experience.

“The objective was always to grow the

business to the point that it could be sold,

and in the event it was successful, sold very

quickly.”

“EDF was a fabulous

business to work for and

had such a loving and

nurturing approach to

its people, we had some

very clever people in

senior roles and across

many different sectors

– nuclear, energy,

electrical etc – and so it

was always interesting.”

OUTSOURCING SERVICES

Never short of opportunities, Sue decided

to join Convergys, a large outsourcing group

based in Cincinatti that provided whitelabelled

services for many of the best-known

financial services providers. It was her

first exposure to US corporate culture, but

conference calls at 03:00 UK time quickly

lost their novelty value and the role was less

about people and all about technology. As

such she jumped at the chance of joining

EDF as Head of Revenue Management.

“EDF was a fabulous business to work

for and had such a loving and nurturing

approach to its people,” she says. “We had

some very clever people in senior roles and

across many different sectors – nuclear,

energy, electrical etc – and so it was always

interesting.”

It was at this time she ever so nearly, got

to fulfil her earlier ambition to become

a teacher: “We were devising some new

evening classes for the team, but in order to

teach I would first have to qualify, and so I

thought ‘here is my chance’.

“While I completed the 12-month course

(Preparing the Team in the Lifelong Learning

Sector) I quickly realised it wasn’t for me.

Most of it was about administration rather


INTERVIEW


than actual teaching, and so I finally realised

that boat had sailed!”

Ten years with the business went by in a flash

before Sue decided a change would do her good,

and she was approached to join Indesser, a

business that was just being formed to manage

government debt. This was another exciting

adventure, but although Indesser had been

awarded the central contract, it soon discovered

it had to negotiate with every individual

department within government in order to sell

its services.

“Again, I was fortunate enough to meet and

work with some brilliant people, including those

in the Cabinet Office who were responsible for

the decision making and strategic intent of

central Government, but it was also frustrating.

I had been used to a commercial environment

and knew what good looked like; it was very

different in the public sector and although I

was pleased to have had the experience, I knew

it was something I probably wasn’t going to do

long term.”

PROFESSIONAL BODY

It was about this time that Philip King FCICM,

the Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of

Credit Management (CICM) began restructuring

the Institute and approached Sue to take on a

Strategic Relationships role. She had been a

member of the CICM (or the ICM as it was pre-

Charter) since working in the water industry and

a former Financial Director and friend, Ken Hill,

had encouraged her to seek out a professional

body to support her career development.

“I absolutely loved it,” she laughs, “partly

because for once everyone always seemed

delighted to see me, and that’s such a joy.”

Two years into her role and Philip dropped

the bombshell that he would be leaving, and

proposed Sue for the interim CEO role: “It was

a Friday evening, and I was on my way to Spain

the next morning,” she remembers. “I was

completely thrown but also knew I had to say

‘yes’!”

The date was 2 March, 2020. Within days, Sue

found herself in charge of an Institute where

the CEO had just left to take on a job as interim

Small Business Commissioner (SBC), with

staff working from home, no-one in the office,

and the start of a global pandemic. It was, in

short, survival mode. Never one to be a rabbit

in the headlights, and later having her interim

appointment confirmed as a permanent role,

Sue immediately set about adapting to a new

working normal.

EXCITING FUTURE

Today, speaking to Sue, The Institute has made

further progress towards a new and exciting

future. The Values have been determined and

the Mission set: “We have to continue to grow

a sustainable membership,” Sue explains, “and

continue to modernise. Where we are known

“We have to

continue to grow

a sustainable

membership,

and continue to

modernise. Where

we are known

we are known

well, but we need

to be known by

more people and

organisations.

we are known well, but we need to be known by

more people and organisations.

“Reviewing what we offer by way of our

training and qualifications will certainly help,

ensuring they always lead and reflect the needs

of today and an ever-changing economy. It’s also

important that we develop our relationships not

only with individuals, but also organisations.”

Sue is also looking forward to the new office

move: “The Water Mill has served us well, but

we need to be in a new space and share in

the design of an office that better meets our

professional, physical and emotional needs.”

Now almost two years into her role, Sue

recognises the tough challenge ahead as the

country emerges from lockdown. But the odd

challenge here and there rarely fazes her. When

she was young, she rode horses, and had two

in particular – Minto and Charlie – with whom

she would occasionally compete: “I would leave

my home at 09:00 in the morning and not come

home till after it was dark,” she smiles. “And all

I had with me was my packed lunch and 10p in

my pocket to call home in an emergency.”


COUNTRY FOCUS

Indonesia is a

vast expanse of

opportunity.

Talking big


THE modern world is ruled by

numbers, so let’s consider the

meaning of the following four

-270,000,000, 17508, 6000 and 700. An

ostensibly obscure set of numbers,

but each is of direct importance to

one country – Indonesia.

Take the first, it relates to the approximate size

of the Indonesian population – around 3.5 percent

of the people presently on Earth. The second is

roughly the number of islands which form the

archipelago that is Indonesia. The next, 6000, is the

number of inhabited islands in the country. And

the last, 700, refers to the number of languages

spoken by Indonesians.

A VAST COUNTRY

Located north of Australia and south of Malaysia,

Vietnam and the Philippines, Indonesia is a

presidential republic with 34 provinces spread

over vast areas with much wilderness between its

urban areas. Its size is so great that it incorporates

three time zones from GMT +7 to GMT +9.

As for its settling, Portuguese traders arrived

first in 1512, followed by Dutch and British traders.

The Dutch East India Company was formed in 1602

and ruled the area for almost 200 years. But in

1800, when the company went bankrupt, the Dutch

nationalised the company and made it a colony.

The Japanese invasion in March 1942 effectively

ended rule by the Netherlands, and in August

1945, Indonesian leaders declared independence.

However, the Dutch didn’t recognise independence

until 1949 following a conflict that didn’t go well

for them as the former colonial power.

Indonesia is famed for so much. Some might

be drawn to pre-COVID memories of Bali and the

country’s many active volcanoes – including that

which nearly brought down BA Flight 009 south

east of Jakarta (all detailed in All Four Engines

Have Failed by Betty Tootell). Others might know it

for having the world’s largest Muslim population –

some 12 percent of the global population – as well

as some stunning vistas.

Regardless, Indonesia is the world’s 14th largest

country and occupies around 1.9m sq. km. In

comparison, the UK occupies just 242,495 sq. km

and is ranked 78th. There are five main islands –

Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua.

But no matter the reason for its fame, Indonesia

is doing rather well by some accounts. According

to Project Syndicate, an online opinion forum, the

country has produced ‘the world’s most effective

democratically elected leader today’ – President

With good

relations with

both China

and the US,

Indonesia

is seen in a

positive light by

east and west.

Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi. But few seem

aware of this, and he’s only been in office since

2014.

He is said to have set new standards of

governance that should be the envy of other large

democracies and that he ‘has bridged political

divides and reversed the growing momentum of

more extreme parties, partly by being inclusive.’

The forum also says: ‘he has redistributed land

through the formalisation of land ownership,

introduced a new national health-insurance

scheme and cash transfers for the poor, and

increased enrolment in schools.’ The result has

been a decline in inequality.

Yet it appears Jokowi has also been fiscally

prudent, reformed labour laws, and eliminated fuel

subsidies. Public debt is low at less than 40 percent

of GDP (38.5 percent in 2020 according to Statista).

And with a plan for infrastructure development,

if it hadn’t been for COVID Indonesia would have

witnessed an economic boom. With good relations

with both China and the US, Indonesia is seen in a

positive light by east and west.

THE PEOPLE

Officially Bahasa Indonesian is spoken, but so

is Javanese by 70m people, Sundanese by 20m,

Madurese by 9m and Malay by 15m. English is also

widely used and is the lingua franca for business.

With so many languages being spoken it shouldn’t

come as a surprise that it’s ethnically very diverse

and according to Statistics Indonesia, there are 300

plus ethnic groups of which Javanese is the largest

with 42 percent of the population which is followed

by Sundanese (15 percent), Malay (3.5 percent),

Madurese (3 percent), and the Batak (3 percent).

But then there are also the Minangkabau, the

Betawi, the Bugis, the Papuans…and the Chinese,

Indians and Arabs.

In terms of religion, Muslims form the largest

part of society with 87 percent of the population.

Protestants make up six percent, Catholics three

percent, Hindus two percent, and others two

percent.

And as for the age of the populace, Santander’s

data estimates that in July 2021, 23.87 percent

were 14 or under, 16.76 percent were aged 15-24,

42.56 percent were aged 25-54, 8.99 percent aged

55-64 and just 7.82 percent were aged over 65

years. Median age sits at 31.1 years compared to

40.6 years in the UK. Economically speaking, the

average salary in the country is around $862 per

month. The OECD puts the average salary in the

UK at $3,925 per month.


COUNTRY FOCUS


Officially

Bahasa

Indonesian is

spoken, but so

is Javanese by

70m people,

Sundanese by

20m, Madurese

by 9m and

Malay by 15m.


KEY SECTORS

The Indonesian economy has grown. Data

from Santander – citing the World Trade

Organisation – notes that imports stood

at $172.9bn in 2015 and $210.5bn in 2019.

Exports for the same years were $171.5bn

and $198.5bn.

Indonesia’s key business sectors have

morphed over time away from agriculture.

Data published by Indonesia Investments

cites data that indicates that in 1965, 51

percent of the economy (GDP) was based

on agriculture while just 13 percent was in

industry and 36 was in services. By 1996,

those figures had changed to 16 percent

agriculture, 42 percent industry and 41

percent services.

But with more detailed data available

to it for 2020, Statista says that agriculture

accounted for 13.7 percent of GDP, servicetype

industries contributed 10.93 percent, and

everything else including manufacturing,

construction, mining, transportation, IT,

defence, waste management generated

around 73.37 percent. That’s quite a change

in 50 plus years.

Specifically, for food and drink, Indonesia

possesses a huge domestic market. It is

considered to be the biggest single part of

the economy. Business Indonesia, says that

production of raw material for the sector

in 2019 accounted for around 13 percent of

Indonesia’s GDP – similar to that found by

Statista above. Meanwhile, food-based

manufacturing accounted for 6.4 percent

of GDP and 29 percent of all manufacturing

output.

Consultancy Bright Indonesia says that

the food processing industry comprises

an estimated 5,700 large and mediumsized

producers that employ 765,000 of the

Indonesian population, and 1.6m micro

and small-scale producers with some 3.75m

employees.

Allied to this is the production of palm

oil where Indonesia is the world's largest

producer of what is an important exportgenerating

industry for the country.

Statista believes that in 2020, production

of this commodity amounted to around

48.3m metric tons – up from 26m in 2012.

However, this level of production is causing

concern amongst environmentalists.

Market-Prospects.com, in a July 2021 report,

picked out Indonesia’s other main industrial

segments – and there are a number - and

all are central to the Ministry of Industry’s

Making Indonesia 4.0 Policy. This policy

provides for a super deduction tax relief

with a rate of up to 300 percent to encourage

investment.

Starting with motor, Indonesia is said to

have produced around 690,000 cars in 2020

and sold close to 532,000. However, data from

Statista offers a lower figure for production

continues on page 26 >

COUNTRY FOCUS


at 551,000, placing Indonesia fifth in the region

that puts China first (19.9m vehicles), followed by

Japan (6.9m), South Korea (3.2m) and India

(2.8m).

The Government’s plan is to develop electric

cars using huge reserves in Indonesia of nickel

ore. Statista’s data shows that Indonesian

production of nickel amounted to 760,000

metric tons in 2020. But in 2019, production was

even higher at 853,000 metric tons. Indonesia is

the largest nickel producer in the world.

Next, electronics and information. Mainly

concentrated in West Java and Riau Islands,

there were – according to the Indonesian

Central Bureau of Statistics in 2017 – some 266

electronics manufacturers in West Java and 74 in

Riau Islands. Local manufacturing in Indonesia

is a key plank to the 4.0 policy. The same agency

says that electronics and associated output

in 2020 was worth around £13bn. That for

information is even higher at £36.2bn.

On fintech, Asia Intern Program (AIP)

highlights that this sector is growing with

over 300 companies and four unicorns in the

country. Open banking, digital payments and

P2P lending are growing and innovation is being

encouraged.

Textiles and garments are an equally

important export for Indonesia, and they’re

centred on the island of Java. Overall, around 25

percent of Indonesia’s total production is centred

on domestic demand with the remainder for

exports to mainly the US (36 percent), Middle

East (23 percent), EU (13 percent), and China (5

percent) and Asean Briefing valued the sector at

$13.8bn in 2019.

Similarly, there’s a strong shoemaking

industry on Java that produces for international

brands concentrated in Europe and the US.

Revenue in the footwear market is expected to

amount to $3.1bn in 2021 according to Statista.

For both textiles and shoemaking, the

Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board

(BKPM) has stated that the Government wants

to revitalise the sector with newer, more

energy efficient machinery that can improve

productivity.

Another of sector interest is shipbuilding,

and BKPM says that there are around 250

shipyards in Indonesia; however, most can only

build ships under 50,000 deadweights. Further,

local shipbuilding-related industries only

manufacture about 30 percent of the necessary

parts and components. The shipyards are mainly

concentrated in Batam and Java, which are

adjacent to Singapore. It should be of interest

that a Government plan, Sea Toll Programs,

aims to improve connectivity and internal price

disparity among the islands by increasing the

capacity of 24 seaports. BKPM reckons that the

country needs another 1,500 ships in the next

five years.

Petrochemicals is, and has been, a central

part of the economy for some time. The

Indonesian Ministry of Trade notes that oil and

gas used to be a major foreign exchange earner

The

Government’s

plan is to

develop electric

cars using

huge reserves

in Indonesia

of nickel ore.

Statista’s data

shows that

Indonesian

production of

nickel amounted

to 760,000 metric

tons in 2020.

Intiland Tower in

Jakarta City, Indonesia

but rising domestic consumption and stagnant

oil production has now made Indonesia,

remarkably, a net importer of oil. And this is

something that Asian Downstream Insights says

Joko Widodo wants to end by 2024.

It makes sense, then, that national projects

have been launched to boost domestic

production of petrochemicals. These include

the Refinery Development Master Plan and

Pertamina’s $48bn investment. The goal is to

quadruple the country’s production capacity,

beat domestic demand and create new export

revenue. several new plants have secured multibillion-dollar

investments.

It’s relevant that, as BKPM explains on its

website, mineral legislation demands that

commodities such as coal, copper, tin, gold and

nickel are processed in Indonesia before export.

Tourism is gaining ground and is emerging

as a major foreign exchange generator for the

country. If COVID hadn’t struck, BKPM reckoned

that the country would have seen 20m visitors in


COUNTRY FOCUS


Pura Ulun Danu Batur (also known

as "Pura Batur" or "Pura Ulun Danu") is

a Hindu Balinese temple located in the

island of Bali, Indonesia. As one of the

Pura Kahyangan Jagat, Pura Ulun Danu

Batur is one of the most important

temples in Bali which acted as the

maintainer of harmony and stability of

the entire island. Pura Ulun Danu Batur

represents the direction of North and

is dedicated to the god Vishnu and the

local goddess Dewi Danu, goddess of

Lake Batur, the largest lake in Bali.

2019 – many of whom may have headed

for any of one of ten main destinations

such as Lake Toda, Cape Coast Kelayang

and the Borobudur Temple.

The final point to note in relation to

industry, is that in a country so widely

spread, many overseas manufacturers

choose to set up factories in industrial

parks because the infrastructure

elsewhere is often underdeveloped.

Indonesia currently has about 100

industrial parks in operation, more than

half of which are in Java. It’s pertinent that

the workforce numbers 134m, is low cost

and ideal for labour-intensive industries.

TAXATION

With not much space left to cover other

related matters, we turn to taxation and the

standard rate of Corporation Tax, which is

22 percent for 2021. This was due fall to 20

percent in 2022, but was cancelled. Public

companies meeting certain conditions

are entitled to a 3 percent reduction, and

small enterprises with a turnover under

IDR 50bn (around £2.6m) are entitled to

a 50 percent reduction. And those with

a turnover under IDR 4.8bn (around

£250,000) pay just 0.5 percent of gross

income.

Employers must cover workers' social

security costs. Employer contributions

are 0.24 to 1.74 percent for work accident

protection; 0.3 percent for death

insurance; 3.7 percent for old age savings;

and two percent (subject to a salary cap)

for the pension plan. There’s also an

employer contribution for the healthcare

scheme of four percent (subject to a salary

cap).

Regional Governments may also levy

taxes on matters such as vehicles, water,

entertainment, hotels, road illumination

and park. VAT attracts a standard rate

of 10 percent, a zero rate on exports and

services, and exempts goods and services

such as livestock, water, vaccines and

books. However, this rate is due to rise to

11 percent in 2022 and 12 percent by 2025.

Lastly, income tax is progressive and

ranges in bands from five percent to 30

percent.

TO FINISH

Indonesia may be on the other side of

the planet to the UK, but it’s heading for

the stratosphere. So much so that a 2017

report from consultancy PwC said that by

2050 Indonesia will be the world’s fourth

largest economy behind - and in this order

– China, India and the US. It’s not clearly a

country to be ignored.

Adam Bernstein is a freelance

business writer.


CICM BRITISH CREDIT AWARDS

Winning Ways

What is it like to win one of the biggest

awards in the credit industry?

AUTHOR – Sam Wilson

Elisabeth Doppelhofer

“You could see

winners of all awards

beaming with pride

and being supported

and championed

by their peers and

their own teams all

evening long. I felt

really happy for him,

and I wanted that

for myself and my

team.”

FOR Elisabeth Doppelhofer, Head

of Credit and Support Services at

the Adecco Group UK & Ireland,

the world’s second-largest Human

Resources provider, the British

Credit Awards is the gold standard

in credit management.

“Being a finalist, or even better, winning

an award, is such an achievement. To be

recognised by an Institute as respected as the

CICM is the biggest compliment anyone in our

industry can achieve.”

And for Elisabeth, her journey started

many years ago thanks to her former boss, and

previous Adecco Group UK & Ireland Head of

Credit, Martin Kirby: “I used to work under a

Head of Credit who I very much looked up to

and around five years ago, I was there when he

won his award for Credit Professional of the

Year. Seeing how much that meant to him was

inspiring.

“You could see winners of all awards

beaming with pride and being supported and

championed by their peers and their own teams

all evening long. I felt really happy for him, and

I wanted that for myself and my team.”

LOGICAL SUCCESSOR

As soon as Martin left the company, the next

logical successor to the role was the longserving

Elisabeth, who threw herself into it

immediately. It wasn’t long before her managers

recognised her hard work and nominated her

for the same award as her predecessor.

After being recognised with a ‘highly

commended’ on her first nomination,

Elisabeth’s supervisors took it upon themselves

to enter her again the following year. This

time, she took home the winner’s prize: “For

me it felt like the pinnacle of my career, to be

recognised externally as Credit Professional of

the Year. It’s quite hard to put it into words how

much that means.

“I’m lucky enough to have a great team

around me so I‘m noticed and celebrated by

them, however, to be recognised by your peers

and judges, and for them to say, ‘this is best

practice and this is our Credit Professional of

the Year’ it just means the world and it’s a huge

confidence boost.”

Elisabeth believes the biggest effect of

the win can be felt within her team and her

department. Her win, which she credits to her

team and their support, has catapulted her

department to Board level recognition within

the business and has given them a big morale

boost.

“The wins we’ve had at the BCAs has given

our team such encouragement over the past

few years and have significantly raised the

standing of our team within the business. The

morning after I won my award, after the Board

and the wider company had been notified, we

had congratulatory emails flying around all

day. In fact, when we won Team of the Year, our

CFO came over to our offices to personally say

‘well done’.”

TEAM RIPPLES

The wins have sent such ripples around the

team, Elisabeth has seen the number of

nominations within her team increase, and

with this year’s entries sat on her desk for

review at the time of our conversation, she was

immensely proud to see her team nominated.

“Our team individually and collectively

are now striving to be nominated at the BCAs

which is so rewarding to see, and Debbie

Matthews, one of the Credit Managers on my

team, won the same award last year, which fills

me with pride.

“The awards themselves are also now

seen as the ‘go-to’ event in the calendar with

our new CFO ensuring they stay within the

budget for the next few years based on the

recommendation of our previous CFO, who

enjoyed them so much!”

With the BCAs returning to an in-person

format this year, the CICM is very much looking

forward to seeing the team out in full force.


CICM BRITISH CREDIT AWARDS

BACK TO FRONT

What does it mean to win the ‘Giving Back’ Award?


KATHERINE Bailey FCICM is a

‘lifer’. An educator and professional

credit manager, credit

management has been her

passion since she took the first

steps into the industry. And

it’s that passion and commitment that saw her

recognised at The British Credit Awards in 2020

when she received the Giving Back Award.

“Being a Fellow of the CICM, the BCA awards

was the one I wanted to win because it’s the

Institute I’m a member of and they’re the exams

I worked hard to complete. It’s the award I’m

most proud of, and when I eventually get a

mantel piece, it will take pride of place.”

Whilst receiving an award as prestigious

as this, would during any normal period, be

monumental for Katherine and her company,

Valor Hospitality, the pandemic put a tiny pin in

celebrations thanks to nationwide shut down of

the entire hospitality industry.

“I suppose all of the benefits we could have

seen as a company from winning an award

such as this were subsumed by the pandemic

because everything else was far more important

at the time.”

However, the award gave her team the

confidence they needed to get through a difficult

time: “Within the business we celebrated the

award completely, and it gave our team a massive

confidence boost. Particularly because credit in

hospitality is often adjoined to accounts, so it

allowed the team and the credit controllers on

site to see someone in credit being recognised.”

INSPIRATIONAL LEADERSHIP

That inspiration, something Katherine is very

well known for amongst her students, resonated

with her team, so much so that more awards

were soon in the offing. “Funnily enough a

member of my team did win an award, after

I put them forward for the Apprentice of the

Year.”

Now, her team are more driven than ever as

Katherine evidenced through their persistence

to enter the Credit Team of the Year Award:

“Winning has sparked something within the

team as a whole,” she says. “Now they’re all

asking me if we can enter the Credit Team of the

Year Award, rather than me doing all of the flag

waving, which just shows how impactful the

BCAs can be.”

The mentorship that allowed Katherine’s

Apprentices to win a highly recognised award

and prompt them to push for entry into the Team

Award is one of the main reasons Katherine was

put forward for her commendation.

“The win definitely created a new passion

point for the CICM within our business. In

the wake of the pandemic, we’ve seen more

“Winning

has sparked

something within

the team as a

whole, now they’re

all asking me if

we can enter the

Credit Team of the

Year Award, rather

than me doing all

of the flag waving,

which just shows

how impactful the

BCAs can be.”

and more people come through into credit

management and express an interest in learning

and becoming part of the Institute, including

some of our Apprentices.”

After nine years as part of the CICM’s

teaching panel, educating students in a variety

of subject areas including trade, consumer

and export credit management, as well as

business environment and Law, the CICM

appointed her as Chair of the Steering Group for

Apprenticeship Standards.

“I’ve been teaching for the CICM for eight

years and I love giving back to my students and

being there to teach them, not just to pass their

exams but to help them develop their career.”

It’s not just Katherine who sees the benefits.

To this day she has close relationships with

students she mentored many years previously.

“Having ex-students phone me up asking for

advice or even to proofread something means so

much. Seeing them progress beyond the course

I teach and go on to do their Level Five, for

example, makes me feel great and very much

makes me smile!”

Sue Chapple FCICM, Chief Executive of

the CICM said Katherine is an example of a

dedicated mentor and someone who continues

to put her heart and soul into the industry:

“Katherine consistently goes above and beyond,

not just for her students but for her local East

of England branch and the industry as a whole.

She’s an example of someone who has excelled

within her career but also someone who has

demonstrated commitment to learning and

education, a core principle of the CICM.

“We’re extremely lucky to have her within

the Institute and she thoroughly deserves the

recognition she receives.”


INTERNATIONAL

TRADE

Monthly round-up of the latest stories

in global trade by Andrea Kirkby.

UK exports doing well

ACCORDING to a new report,

The Export Divided, from

Barclays Corporate Banking

UK, manufacturing exports will

bring in around £176bn to the

domestic economy.

According to the report, overseas trading

has remained resilient despite challenging

economic conditions caused by the

pandemic, Brexit, widespread supply chain

issues and energy shortages.

The Barclays report says that total

exports could even rise to £190bn by 2030 if

manufacturers that are currently planning

to enter the market begin selling their

products overseas.

As to the source of the data, Barclays

ran a survey of 604 senior managers in

manufacturing businesses with 10 or more

employees for a week in mid-October.

The data found that 69 percent were

currently exporting. And of those firms not

yet exporting, there is significant demand

to start doing so, with 63 percent looking to

start selling overseas in 2022.

However, 71 percent of manufacturers

told the survey that the pandemic

continues to have a negative impact on

their businesses. And 43 percent are

diversifying their global supply base

with 40 percent setting up overseas

warehousing space to offset the problems

in their supply chains.

Interestingly, a minority of respondents

were aware of current or emerging

initiatives to encourage international trade,

such as the UK’s bid to join the Trans-

Pacific Partnership (42 percent) and the

recently signed free trade agreements

with Japan (41 percent) and Australia (39

percent).

And only 35 percent were aware of plans

to create eight new freeports in England,

which offer tax breaks for manufacturers

on the import of materials.

So good news mixed with no news?

LOOK TO DIGITAL

HEALTHCARE

A report in MoneyWeek suggests firms should

look to partner up with firms linked to digital

health which is on an upward curve.

While technology has been growing in this

area for a while, the pandemic kicked it into

high gear and according to MoneyWeek: “more

and more venture-capital money is pouring into

innovative health-technology start-ups: 2021 is

on track to be another record year, with around

$51bn already raised for global health-tech startups

so far.” Research from consultants McKinsey

describes digital health as a $350bn industry in

2019 which is growing by at least eight percent

a year.

As to the sector’s key growth areas,

MoneyWeek notes five – telehealth that

facilitates virtual health interactions between

patients and professionals; remote monitoring

where patients are tracked remotely as they go

about their lives rather than in a health centre;

mental health that is seeing demand for mental

healthcare and support is spiking post-pandemic;

records and growing health data that needs

to be managed and available to patients and

health experts alike; and diagnostics that involve

remote diagnosis.

So, if you’re involved in sectors close to these

areas, you really should be capitalising on your

position before someone else does.

UK’S POSSIBLE RE-JOINING OF LUGANO CONVENTION

THE European Parliament Think Tank

has published a briefing – The United

Kingdom's possible re-joining of the

2007 Lugano Convention.

The convention, which regulates

the free movement of court judgments

in civil cases between EU member

states and the three EFTA states

(Switzerland, Norway and Iceland)

but following the UK’s exit from the

EU and the expiry of the transition

period provided for by the Withdrawal

Agreement, the UK was no longer

bound by the convention.

The new briefing discusses the

impact of Brexit on the UK and the

Lugano Convention, the UK’s bid to

re-join the convention, as well as

whether the EU will join the HCCH

2019 Judgments Convention, and

what this might mean if the UK also

joined, among other things.

Common-sense may prevail in the

end.


UK Government publishes report

on digital trade and protectionism

THE Department for International Trade

has published a report, Digital trade

key to unlocking opportunities of the

future, written by the Board of Trade,

outlining the opportunities that digital

trade presents for boosting UK exports,

economic growth and jobs across the

UK. The report encourages the UK to

take further action to tackle digital

protectionism and discrimination on the

global stage.

The report recommends that the

Government focusses its digital trade

policy around five goals: open digital

markets, free and trusted data flows,

consumer and business safeguards, digital

Steel company secures

exports with finance support

A story on GOV.UK details that Paralloy, a

steel company on Teeside, has benefited

from UK Export Finance’s new General

Export Facility.

Paralloy makes patented steel alloy

castings used in high temperature

furnaces and exports 95 percent of what it

makes in the UK to 70 overseas markets.

Its exports had reached record levels

of £50m and the firm required general

working capital to fulfil record demand

for its services. As the story explains, the

Seaweed firm wins Belgian contract

ACCORDING to the Herald of Scotland,

SHORE the Scottish Seaweed Co

recently secured a major export deal to

supply seaweed chips to Belgium. From

November, the company’s Lightly Salted

and Sweet Sriracha flavours have been on

sale in up to 300 Delhaize supermarkets.

Not bad since the UK launch in

2020 of the company’s seaweed chips.

Furthermore, its products have several

industry awards, including a Gold Free

trading systems, and partnerships to

shape global rules, norms, and

standards; concludes accession to

Comprehensive and Progressive

Agreements for Trans-Pacific Partnerships

(CPTPP) and builds a pipeline of modern

digital free trade agreements; pursues

a Digital Economy Agreement with

Singapore; pushes for substantial

progress in ongoing World Trade

Organisation e-commerce negotiations;

and uses its G7 Presidency, and

membership of the G20, Organisation for

Economic Co-operation and Development,

and WTO, to advocate for an open,

inclusive digital economy.

company secured a £15m funding package

from Santander UK that was supported

by UK Export Finance with an 80 percent

guarantee. The funding will enable

Paralloy to fulfil the most exports in its

90-year history, with shipments to North

America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.

The firm has opened two additional sites

and recruited 76 new staff following record

demand for its exports. The firm plans to

hire a further 40 additional staff, including

engineers, welders, and fabricators.

From Food Award and Winner of Best

Snacking Product at the World Food

Innovation Awards as well as a Great Taste

Award.

Keith Paterson, managing director of

SHORE, sees the potential in export: “We

see export as a key part of our strategy,

so we are delighted to announce this

partnership with Delhaize supermarket in

Belgium, something we have been working

on for the last six months.”

UKEF to use 20 percent budget

increase to pursue multi-year growth plan

Spain to get 10bn

euros – and more

SPAIN could become a more appealing

target for exporters now that the

European Commission has given

preliminary approval to the disbursement

of 10bn euros under the EU recovery plan.

The money comes as part of the EU’s

27-nation plan to support the recovery

of the European economy following the

pandemic.

While the 10bn euros is interesting,

a total of 70bn could be headed Spain’s

way, but only if it takes steps towards a

greener, more digital economy.

Venezuela on the turn?

COULD Venezuela be on the road to some

form of recovery? Possibly. The Socialist

party of Venezuelan president, Nicolás

Maduro, won in the local and state

elections recently, albeit from a low turnout

of just 41 percent of eligible citizens voted.

The vote was not seen as open and fair.

That said, the Venezuelan economy

looks like it might have grown by between

five and 10 percent during 2021 – its

first annual growth since 2013. The Wall

Street Journal puts that volte-face down

to the “scrapping of an ossified stateled

economic model in exchange for an

anything-goes version of capitalism”

that Maduro introduced in 2019. As a

result, basic goods no longer have price

controls, imports are tariff-free and

there is “virtually no tax enforcement on

businesses and individuals”.

But despite the improvement, the US

dollar is now reported to be the de facto

national currency and so exporters should

be not only careful with whom they trade

but also, in which currency they get paid.

CURRENCY UK

EXCHANGE RATES VISIT CURRENCYUK.CO.UK

OR CALL 020 7738 0777

Currency UK is authorised and regulated

by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

HIGH LOW TREND

UK Export Finance (UKEF) has

commented on what it seeks to achieve

with the 20 percent funding increase

announced in the Autumn Budget 2021.

The increase, which will be funded by

the premium income UKEF generates

for the taxpayer will be used to pursue

UKEF’s current multi-year growth, enable

it to implement its net zero commitment

and increase support for green projects,

expand its network of International

Export Finance Executives overseas and

improve risk management, underwriting

and cyber security capacity.

UKEF has said that “in 2020-21, the

department provided the highest level

of support for UK businesses in 30 years.

£12.3 billion went to 549 UK businesses,

which is estimated to have supported up

to 107,000 UK jobs.”

GBP/EUR 1.20050 1.17878 Up

GBP/USD 1.37097 1.33518 Up

GBP/CHF 1.25923 1.22764 Up

GBP/AUD 1.89900 1.85127 Up

GBP/CAD 1.72919 1.70080 Down

GBP/JPY 157.265 152.369 Up

This data was taken on 24th January and refers to the

month previous to/leading up to 23rd January 2022.


PAYMENT TRENDS

Patchy Payment

Performance

The latest late payment figures are a mix

of good and not so good.

FORECASTING the world of late

payment remains a challenge,

highlighted by the latest statistics

which show a mixture of both

positives and negatives. The

average Days Beyond Terms (DBT)

across regions in the UK reduced by 1.3 days

but increased by 0.3 days across sectors. In

Ireland, the sector figures reduced by 3.8

days but increased by 2.1 days across regions.

Average DBT across regions in Northern Ireland

reduced by 0.2 days.

SECTOR SPOTLIGHT

More than half of UK sectors are moving in the

right direction, making improvements to their

late payments. A reduction of 4.9 days, taking

its overall DBT to 16 days, means Construction

moves off the bottom of the standings. Further

improvement (-2.2 days) sees the Entertainment

sector maintain its position as the best

performing sector, but the Hospitality sector

remains close behind following a reduction

of 3.6 days to its DBT. Moving at pace in the

wrong direction is the Water & Waste sector,

a sharp increase of 14 days mean it is now the

worst performing sector with an overall DBT

of 26.5 days. Elsewhere, the Energy Supply

(+5.1 days), Financial and Insurance (+3.8 days)

and Mining and Quarrying sectors also saw

unwanted increases.

The outlook in Ireland is also positive on

the whole, with only three of the 20 sectors

seeing increases in late payments. On the up in

some style is the Real Estate sector, reducing

its DBT by 24.9 and taking its overall DBT

to zero days, alongside seven other sectors.

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sector

also made great strides, reducing its late

payments by 20 days, moving it off the bottom

of the rankings. Taking its place as the worst

performing sector, as in the UK, is the Water

& Waste sector, no change means its overall

DBT remains at 34 days. IT and Comms (+4.7

days) and the Wholesale and retail trade;

repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles

(+2.8 days) sectors both saw increases, but the

biggest jumper in the wrong direction is the

Public Administration sector, experiencing an

increase of 24.8 days to its late payments.

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT

The UK regional standings are positive for

the most part, with nine of the 11 regions

making reductions to late payments. A further

improvement by the South West (-2.1 days),

means it remains the best performing region

with an overall DBT of nine days. East Anglia

remains the worst performing region with an

overall DBT of 18.9 days, but a reduction of 2.9

days to its late payments means it is, at least,

moving in the right direction.

Over in Ireland, the regional standings are a

real mixed bag. Looking at the positives, some

10 regions (Cavan, Clare, Donegal, Leitrim,

Longford, Meath, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford

and Westmeath) are all sitting pretty on an

overall DBT of zero days. At the other end of

the scale, Mayo’s DBT soared by a massive 60

days. There were also hefty increases in late

payments for Offaly (+15.6 days), Wicklow

(+14.1 days) and Kerry (+13.7 days).

In Northern Ireland, only one (Ulster) of the

four regions saw an increase in late payments.

An increase of 1.5 days means its overall

DBT now stands at 16.4 days, making it the

worst performing region in Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, Connacht (-3.1 days) and Munster

(-0.3 days) made steady reductions, and there

was no change for Leinster, maintaining its

position as Northern Ireland’s leading region

with an overall DBT of zero days.

The world of late payment remains a challenge,

highlighted by the latest statistics which show

a mixture of both positives and negatives.


STATISTICS

Data supplied by the Creditsafe Group

Top Five Prompter Payers

Region Dec 21 Change from Nov 21

South West 9 -2.1

Yorkshire and Humberside 10.9 -3.1

East Midlands 11.4 -2.1

West Midlands 12.7 -0.5

South East 13.2 -1.6

Bottom Five Poorest Payers


East Anglia 18.9 -2.9

Northern Ireland 17.3 -3.9

North West 17.1 -0.9

Wales 16.9 3

London 15 -1.1

Top Five Prompter Payers

Sector Dec 21 Change from Nov 21

Entertainment 7.1 -2.2

Hospitality 7.9 -3.6

Business from Home 8.8 2.6

Public Administration 9 -2.1

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 11 0.5

Bottom Five Poorest Payers


Water & Waste 26.5 14

Energy Supply 22.1 5.1

Other Service 19.9 2.8

Real Estate 16.3 -1.1

Transportation and Storage 16.3 -1.3

Getting better

Dormant -5.7

Construction -4.9

Hospitality -3.6

IT and Comms -2.7

Entertainment -2.2

Public Administration -2.1

Business Admin & Support -1.6

Transportation and Storage -1.3

Real Estate -1.1

International Bodies -0.8

Wholesale and retail trade -0.7

Professional and Scientific -0.6

Health & Social -0.1

Getting worse

Water & Waste 14

Energy Supply 5.1

Financial and Insurance 3.8

Mining and Quarrying 2.9

Other Service 2.8

Business from Home 2.6

SCOTLAND

1.3 DBT

Education 1.8

Manufacturing 0.9

NORTHERN

IRELAND

-3.9 DBT

SOUTH

WEST

-2.1 DBT

WALES

3 DBT

NORTH

WEST

-0.9 DBT

WEST

MIDLANDS

-0.5 DBT

YORKSHIRE &

HUMBERSIDE

-3.1 DBT

EAST

MIDLANDS

-2.1 DBT

LONDON

-1.1 DBT

SOUTH

EAST

-1.6 DBT

EAST

ANGLIA

-2.9

DBT

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 0.5

Region

Getting Better – Getting Worse

-3.9

-3.1

-2.9

-2.1

-2.1

-1.6

-1.1

-0.9

-0.5

3

1.3

Northern Ireland

Yorkshire and Humberside

East Anglia

East Midlands

South West

South East

London

North West

West Midlands

Wales

Scotland


PAYMENT TRENDS

Getting worse / no change

GALWAY

-3 DBT

CONNACHT

3.7 DBT

LEITRIM

0.5 DBT

CAVAN

0 DBT

ULSTER

16.4 DBT

MONAGHAN

xDBT

Public Administration 24.8

IT and Comms 4.7

Wholesale and retail trade 2.8

Business Admin & Support 0

MUNSTER

4.1 DBT

CLARE

-21.5 DBT

LEINSTER

0 DBT

LONGFORD

0 DBT

CARLOW

0 DBT

KILKENNY

-23.5 DBT WEXFORD

0 DBT

DUBLIN

1.1 DBT

Education 0

Energy Supply 0

Hospitality 0

International Bodies 0

Mining and Quarrying 0

Transportation and Storage 0

Top Five Prompter Payers – Ireland


Cavan 0 0

Clare 0 -21.5

Donegal 0 0

Leitrim 0 -0.5

Longford 0 0

Bottom Five Poorest Payers – Ireland


Monaghan 91.8 0

Carlow 65 0

Mayo 60 60

Wexford 48.2 0

Kildare 41 8.8

Top Four Prompter Payers – Northen Ireland


Leinster 0

Connacht 3.7

Munster 4.1

Ulster 16.4

Top Five Prompter Payers – Ireland


Entertainment 0 -9

Health & Social 0 -10

Hospitality 0 0

International Bodies 0 0

Other Service 0 -21.5

Bottom Five Poorest Payers – Ireland


Water & Waste 34 0

Business Admin & Support 28 0

Energy Supply 26 0

Public Administration 25.5 24.8

Education 24 0

Water & Waste 0

Business Admin & Support 0

Education 0

Energy Supply 0

Hospitality 0

International Bodies 0

Mining and Quarrying 0

Transportation and Storage 0

Water & Waste 0

Getting better

Real Estate -24.9

Other Service -21.5

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing -20

Entertainment -9

Financial and Insurance -8.4

Construction -6

Manufacturing -5.8

Professional and Scientific -3.7

The outlook in Ireland is also positive

on the whole, with only three of the

20 sectors seeing increases in late

payments. On the up in some style

is the Real Estate sector, alongside

seven other sectors.


EXCELLENCE IN CREDIT MANAGEMENT

EXCELLING

EXCELLENCE

The CICM Centre of Excellence Award

has evolved to a new Standard.


BEING labelled a Centre of

Excellence carries with it a

certain level of gravitas many in

the credit management industry

strive to achieve. For the

handful that have been awarded

such honour in the past 10 years, that gravitas

never really wanes. It’s the sort of award that

sits atop a mantlepiece but never gathers dust.

Time has moved on, however, and after

almost two years of unprecedented change

that has affected almost every department in

every business, the CICM’s Centre of Excellence

Award is to be replaced. And with something

even better.

The idea behind the change is to reflect the

way credit management teams are running

in today’s ‘post pandemic’ world. The new

award, aptly named ‘CICM Excellence in Credit

Management’, now recognises that businesses

are no longer a ‘centre’; they’re remote, mobile

and more diversified than ever before.

What has not changed, however, is the

standard one must attain to achieve such a

prestigious new accolade. Whilst the moniker

may now be different, the gravitas it brings,

and the level of achievement it represents, is as

high as ever.

TOP AWARD

The CICM Excellence in Credit Management

will sit at the very top of the CICM’s awards

table and will recognise organisations that

can demonstrate they meet a very specific and

challenging criteria that is then ratified by the

Institute’s Executive Board.

Chief Executive Sue Chapple FCICM is fully

behind the new initiative: “One of the most

gratifying elements of my role at the CICM is

awarding those who have reached the highest

possible level within their industry,” she says.

“The sense of pride we, as an Institute, have

in these awards is exactly why we wanted to

replace the existing award with something that

better reflects the modern age in which we live,

regardless of whether their offices are physical

or digital.”

To ensure the new award is truly sought

after, the Excellence in Credit Management

will be limited to just five winners annually to

ensure that only the best are recognised. The

awards will be presented on stage at the annual

British Credit Awards with certification lasting

two years from the date the accreditation is

granted.

BOARD APPROVAL

Unlike the rest of the British Credit

Award categories, the Excellence in Credit

Management accreditation award requires full

board agreement and the deadline for entries

to be considered is 31 January, 2022 (and will

continue on this date each year).

The full qualifying criteria can be found on

the CICM’s website. Candidate businesses must

have held a CICMQ accreditation for a minimum

of two years, have CICM memberships for all

key members of the organisation’s team, and

a clear demonstration of a commitment to the

credit community and further development of

the profession.

“Our members, especially those who

are heavily involved with the CICM, pride

themselves on making the Credit Management

industry a better place for those that follow,” Sue

adds. “Therefore, it’s only right that we expect

to see our highest achievers demonstrating

how they continue to make credit management

a better profession in the future.

“This can come in many forms including

learning and mentorship, education and

teaching or even student sponsorship.”

“The sense of pride we, as an Institute, have in these awards

is exactly why we wanted to replace the existing award with

something that better reflects the modern age in which we live,

regardless of whether their offices are physical or digital.”

Excellence

In Credit Management

Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com /January & February 2022 / PAGE 35

SALARY AND RECRUITING TRENDS

NEW YEAR,

NEW PRIORITIES

Salary and recruitment trends for the year ahead.

AUTHOR – Natascha Whitehead

LAST year brought plenty

of change to the world of

work including increased

optimism, and plenty for

professionals and employers

to consider over the coming

12 months.

Following research from credit

professionals and employers published

in the Hays Salary & Recruiting Trends

2022 guide, here is a glimpse into what we

can expect for 2022 as well as some of the

most significant trends that we witnessed

last year.

HIRING BACK ON THE AGENDA

Optimism amongst finance employers

has improved over the last 12 months,

with two-thirds (66 percent) now

confident about the wider economic

climate over the next two to five years,

compared to only a third (34 percent) in

2020. Credit professionals are much more

optimistic too, with over half (54 percent)

expressing confidence in the wider

economic climate versus just 18 percent

the year prior.

Recruitment was firmly back on the

agenda in 2021 and talent shortages

increased across many areas, including

credit management. Going forward, 60

percent of accountancy and finance

employers plan to hire over the next 12

months, with over two-thirds (67 percent)

anticipating a shortage of suitable

applicants.

Some four fifths (80 percent) of

accountancy and finance employers

encountered skill shortages over the past

year, higher than last year (73 percent).

Employee morale was seen as the biggest

casualty of these skills shortages, with

almost half (48 percent) saying it had

been negatively impacted, a significant

increase on last year (31 percent).

SALARIES ON THE RISE

Pay rises were higher than anticipated in

accountancy and finance in 2021. Almost

two thirds (64 percent) of employers

increased salaries over the past year,

despite the fact that only 55 percent

expected to do so. Pay inflation looks

set to continue, with over three quarters

(76 percent) expecting to increase

their salaries over the coming year,

considerably higher than the UK average

(61 percent).

Overall, salaries across credit

management rose by 1.4 percent on

average, higher than the 0.5 percent seen

in 2020.

ACHIEVING WORK-LIFE BALANCE

Encouragingly, over half (57 percent)

of credit professionals feel positive

about their career prospects this year,

compared to just 30 percent the year

prior. However, less than half (48 percent)

of professionals plan to move jobs over

the next 12 months, lower than 60 percent

in 2020.

Although this may seem that

credit professionals are settled with

their employer – close to half (49

percent) believe there is no scope for

career development in their current

organisation. So, employers should be

doing all they can to improve career path

transparency in order to retain talented

individuals.

When thinking about moving

roles, aside from salary, 37 percent of

professionals said work-life balance

is the most important factor, followed

by job security (20 percent). Across all

sectors, including in credit, salary is

becoming slightly less of the deciding

factor in the job search – as 60 percent of

credit professionals would be willing

to accept a lower paid job for a better

work-life balance or a job with more

purpose.

With hybrid working taking over the

working world, it’s no surprise that 70

percent of credit professionals could be

tempted to move jobs if the employer

offered a flexible approach to hybrid

working, rather than set days in or out of

the office.

MISMATCH IN SKILLS

DEVELOPMENT

In data from our guide, finance employers

told us that the soft skills they need most

are communication and interpersonal

skills (61 percent), followed by the

ability to adopt change (57 percent) and

flexibility and adaptability (51 percent).

However, for credit professionals,

the skills they’d most like to improve

are people management (35 percent),

communication and interpersonal skills

(27 percent), critical thinking (26 percent)

and problem solving (26 percent).

To build successful teams, employers

need to be onboard with what skills exist

in their teams already, and what critical

skills are needed to succeed. Positively,

over half (54 percent) of finance

employers would be willing to hire a

professional who does not possess all of

the required skills with the intention of

upskilling them.

Tips and actions for the year ahead

Based on the findings from our guide,

here are three actions I recommend

employers and professionals take in the

year ahead.

1. Salary isn’t everything

While salary and benefits remain

important to credit professionals, our

findings show that people are increasingly

attracted to roles that offer a good

work-life balance, and to organisations

that prioritise their purpose, social

responsibility and ‘doing good’. Staff

volunteer days and opportunities to

support charitable organisations are very

important to prospective candidates,

along with the sustainability strategy of

a potential employer. Remember that

salary isn’t everything – I’d recommend

employers have a clear understanding

of why potential new hires want to work

with you, and what will make them stay.

2. Time for a new job

Hopefully the break between Christmas

and the New Year will have given

professionals time to evaluate if they are

ready for a move in 2022. With 60 percent

of finance employers planning to hire in

the coming months, now is a good time

to know your market worth and look for a

new opportunity if you are ready.

If you’re not ready to take the plunge

but aren’t happy with the progression you

are making in your current role – make

sure to diarise a catch up with your line

manager in the New Year. Take the time

to express your desire to upskill and make

headway on your career path.


SALARY AND RECRUITING TRENDS

AUTHOR – Natascha Whitehead

CREDIT SALARIES UK 2022

Credit

Controller

Senior

Credit Controller

Credit Risk

Analyst

Credit Control

Supervisor

Credit

Manager

Group Credit Manager

/ Head of Credit

Credit

Director

Region

2021 2022 2021 2022 2021 2022 2021 2022 2021 2022 2021 2022 2021 2022

East Midlands £23,000 £25,000 £26,000 £28,000 £40,000 £40,000 £29,000 £30,000 £40,000 £40,000 £60,000 £60,000 £80,000 £80,000

East of England £25,000 £26,000 £29,000 £30,000 £40,000 £40,000 £38,000 £38,000 £47,000 £48,000 £60,000 £60,000 £70,000 £70,000

London £27,000 £27,000 £32,000 £32,000 £50,000 £50,000 £36,000 £36,000 £55,000 £55,000 £72,000 £72,000 £95,000 £95,000

North East £21,000 £22,000 £25,000 £25,000 £32,000 £32,000 £27,000 £29,000 £39,000 £40,000 £60,000 £60,000 £75,000 £75,000

North West £24,500 £25,000 £27,000 £27,000 £40,000 £45,000 £30,000 £30,000 £45,000 £45,000 £60,000 £60,000 £80,000 £80,000

Northern Ireland £24,000 £25,000 £29,000 £29,000 £33,000 £33,000 £38,000 £38,000 £47,000 £47,000 £55,000 £55,000 £72,000 £72,000

Scotland £23,000 £24,000 £26,000 £28,000 £32,000 £32,000 £30,000 £30,000 £40,000 £40,000 £55,000 £55,000 £65,000 £65,000

South East £27,500 £27,000 £32,000 £32,000 £40,000 £40,000 £35,000 £37,000 £45,000 £48,000 £65,000 £65,000 £85,000 £85,000

South West £25,000 £26,000 £27,000 £30,000 £42,000 £42,000 £30,000 £34,000 £40,000 £45,000 £55,000 £55,000 £70,000 £70,000

Wales £20,000 £22,000 £25,000 £26,000 £30,000 £30,000 £27,000 £28,000 £37,000 £38,000 £52,000 £53,000 £65,000 £65,000

West Midlands £24,000 £26,000 £27,000 £27,000 £37,000 £37,000 £33,000 £34,000 £48,000 £48,000 £62,500 £65,000 £80,000 £80,000

Yorkshire £23,000 £23,000 £25,000 £25,000 £32,000 £32,000 £28,000 £30,000 £40,000 £40,000 £60,000 £60,000 £70,000 £70,000

Average £23,917 £24,833 £27,500 £28,250 £37,091 £37,545 £31,750 £32,833 £43,583 £44,500 £59,708 £60,000 £75,583 £75,583

2021-2022 % increase 3.8% 2.7% 1.1% 3.4% 2.1% 0.1% 0.0%

3. Hire for potential

Some four fifths (80 percent) of accountancy

and finance employers told us they

had encountered skill shortages over the

past year, so hiring for potential is going

to be more important than ever as competition

for talent increases. While 54

percent of employers are willing to hire

professionals who don’t possess all of the

required skills – this number should be

much higher.

So, when considering how you are

going to fill vacancies, why not look at

upskilling existing staff members, or

consider hiring new recruits that may not

tick every single box? Many skills can be

taught and learnt while on the job and

having an open mind to what skills or

experiences are truly essential could be a

game-changer for hiring managers.

Being armed with the latest insights

about the profession and the wider

world of work will help those in credit

put their best foot forward as we tackle

the year ahead – to find out more visit

www.hays.co.uk/salary-guide

Natascha Whitehead is Business

Director of Hays Credit Management

Pay inflation looks set to

continue, with over three

quarters (76 percent)

expecting to increase their

salaries over the coming

year, considerably higher

than the UK average

(61 percent).

Northern Ireland

£47,000

Wales

£38,000

South West England

£45,000

Credit Manager

Regional Salaries 2022

North West

£45,000

West Midlands

£48,000

Scotland

£40,000

South East England

£48,000

North East

£40,000

Yorkshire & Humber

£40,000

East Midlands

£40,000

London

£55,000

East of England

£48,000


MARKETING & EDUCATION

Virtual Classes

for 2022

Get CICM qualified by attending

Virtual Classes: The best of both worlds.

Home study does not mean you have to study alone. Our ‘gold standard’ distance

learning offer, our Virtual Classes have the greatest success rate of all our packages.

Your study will be supported and led by one of our experienced CICM Tutors via a

series of virtual classes and activities, which are interactive, challenging and fun.

LEVEL

3

LEVEL

5

Business Environment

28th February

Credit Management (Trade, Export and Consumer

28th February

Advanced Telephone Collections

14th March

Business Law

25th March

Process Improvements

14th March

Compliance with legal, regulatory,

ethical, and social requirements

14th March

Book your place today, visit www.cicm.com

or contact a member of our team on 01780 722900


EDUCATION & MARKETING

These are pre-recorded training sessions that

you can access anywhere and at anytime.

These are live, interactive sessions,

delivered virtually by a qualified trainer.

Upcoming Virtual Workshops

Credit Boot Camp

Coming soon, register your interest today

Collection skills


Effective communication


Collect that cash


Reflect and develop


Advanced collection skills


Best practice skills

to assess credit risk


MEET YOUR TRAINER: Jules Eames FCICM(Grad); PGCE, is a qualified teacher,

trainer and credit manager with experience in credit and debt specialisms across the

O2C spectrum and ancillary businesses, in consumer, B2B and export markets.

Book your place today, visit www.cicm.com

or contact a member of our team on 01780 722900


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

High Court Enforcement Group is the largest

independent and privately owned High Court

enforcement company in the country, with more

authorised and experienced officers than anyone

else. This allows us to build and manage our

business in a way that puts our clients first.

Clients trust us to deliver and service is paramount.

We cover all aspects of enforcement –writs of

control, possessions, process serving and landlord

issues - and are committed to meeting and

exceeding clients’ expectations.

T: 08450 999 666

E: clientservices@hcegroup.co.uk

W: hcegroup.co.uk

Satago helps business owners and their

accountants avoid credit risks, manage debtors

and access finance when they need it – all in

one platform. Satago integrates with 300+ cloud

accounting apps with just a few clicks, helping

businesses:

Understand their customers - with RISK INSIGHTS

Get paid on time - with automated CREDIT CONTROL

Access funding - with flexible SINGLE INVOICE FINANCE

Visit satago.com and start your free trial today.

T: 020 8050 3015

E: hello@satago.com

W: www.satago.com

HighRadius provides a cloud-based Integrated

Receivable Platform, powered by machine learning

and AI. Our Technology empowers enterprise

organisations to reduce cycle time in the order-tocash

process and increase working capital availability

by automating receivables and payments processes

across credit, electronic billing and payment

processing, cash application, deductions, and

collections.

T: +44 (0) 203 997 9400

E: infoemea@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.

Our Creditor Services team can advise on the best

way for you to protect your position when one of

your debtors enters, or is approaching, insolvency

proceedings. Our services include assisting with

retention of title claims, providing representation at

creditor meetings, forensic investigations, raising

finance, financial restructuring and removing the

administrative burden – this includes completing

and lodging claim forms, monitoring dividend

prospects and analysing all Insolvency Reports and

correspondence.

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)2073 875 868 - London

T: +44 (0)2920 495 444 - Cardiff

W: menzies.co.uk/creditor-services

T: +44 (0) 1302 513 000

E: sales@keyivr.com

W: www.keyivr.com

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

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.

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

Court Enforcement Services is the market

leading and fastest growing High Court Enforcement

company. Since forming in 2014, we have managed

over 100,000 High Court Writs and recovered more

than £187 million for our clients, all debt fairly

collected. We help lawyers and creditors across all

sectors to recover unpaid CCJ’s sooner rather than

later. We achieve 39 percent early engagement

resulting in market-leading recovery rates. Our

multi-award-winning technology provides real-time

reporting 24/7.

T: +44 (0)1992 663 399

E: wayne@courtenforcementservices.co.uk

W: courtenforcementservices.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 • 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

Data Interconnect provides corporate Credit Control

teams with Accounts Receivable software for bulk

e-invoicing, collections, dispute management and

invoice finance. The modular, cloud-based Corrivo

platform can be configured for any business model.

It integrates with all ERP systems and buyer AP

platforms or tax regimes. Customers can self-serve

on mobile friendly portals, however their invoices are

delivered, and Credit Controllers can easily extract

data for compliance, audit and reporting purposes.

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

Chris Sanders Consulting – we are a different

sort of consulting firm, made up of a network of

independent experienced operational credit and

collections management and invoicing professionals,

with specialisms in cross industry best practice

advisory, assessment, interim management,

leadership, workshops and training to help your

team and organisation reach their full potential in

credit and collections management. We are proud to

be Corporate Partners of the Chartered Institute of

Credit Management and to manage the CICM Best

Practice Accreditation Programme on their behalf.

T: +44(0)7747 761641

E: enquiries@chrissandersconsulting.com

W: www.chrissandersconsulting.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 credit management to cash

allocation, Esker automates each step of the orderto-cash

cycle. Esker’s automated AR system 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

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

VISMA | Onguard is a 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. This enhanced visibility with the secure sharing

of critical data ensures optimal connection between

all processes in the order-to-cash chain, resulting

in stronger, longer-lasting customer relationships

through improved and personalised communication.

The VISMA | Onguard platform is used for successful

credit management in more than 70 countries.

T: 020 3868 0947

E: edan.milner@onguard.com

W: www.onguard.com

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/

C2FO turns receivables into cashflow and payables

into income, uniquely connecting buyers and

suppliers to allow discounts in exchange for

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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


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COMMERCIAL LENDING

PERSONAL

CHALLENGES

Personal Guarantees are a hidden risk

to small business lending.


LENDERS to the small business

community have ongoing concerns

about Personal Guarantees (PGs).

On the one hand, they believe that

some small business owners do not

fully comprehend their individual

responsibilities as a borrower if a loan they

have guaranteed should default. On the other,

they suspect that individuals are using the same

guarantee to secure additional credit even after

a previous loan from a different lender has

defaulted. The problem is, they have no way of

actually knowing.

Some Personal Guarantors defaulted by

accident, unclear of their true responsibilities;

some by design, in a deliberate attempt to

defraud. While some individuals undoubtedly

need protecting from themselves, based on

the surprise they appear to experience when

they are approached to fulfil the obligations of

their guarantee, the greater concern is lack of

transparency across the risk spectrum.

Many of the concerns regarding PGs,

expressed at a small business lending Forum

at the end of last year, echoed those of Andrew

Birkwood, Founder of commercial debt buyer

Azzurro Associates. Whereas the lenders suspect

foul play, Andrew has hard evidence of cases

where PGs back credit facilities from multiple

creditors, where successive credit is guaranteed

in a differing company from the company that

had previously defaulted. It’s a phenomenon

known as ‘PG Stacking’.

TRANSPARENCY AND REPORTING

Greater transparency and reporting of Personal

Guarantees, perhaps by establishing a dedicated

PG Credit Bureau, is critical to supporting future

lending and could be the answer. But it would

need careful protocols and controls.

“Transparency is essential, and significant

progress is being made to allow commercial

creditors to report business debts against a

Personal Guarantor’s personal credit file once

the debt has become ‘non-performing’ and the

corporate borrower is unable to service the

debt,” Andrew explains. “Once the PG assumes

the liability for the debt, the debt can be reported

against the personal credit file of the guarantor.”

Andrew is also a keen advocate of creating a

credit bureau specifically for PGs: “If all creditors

reported in this way, the total contingent liability

assumed by a PG could be seen, and assessed

“Transparency

is essential,

and significant

progress is being

made to allow

commercial

creditors to report

business debts

against a Personal

Guarantor’s

personal credit

file once the debt

has become ‘nonperforming’

and

the corporate

borrower is unable

to service the debt.”

as part of the underwriting process,” Andrew

continues. “But individuals would of course

need to be protected, and certain protocols

established, such as creditors reflecting the

potential credit reporting on PGs personal credit

files in their Terms and Conditions and giving

the Guarantor 30-days’ notice of the intended

reporting, as it will undoubtedly have a serious

impact on their personal credit file.”

Comparisons can be drawn between the

UK and other parts of the world where small

business commercial loans require a PG as a

matter of course such that the business owner

has ‘skin in the game’. While there appears

little appetite for a similar obligation in the UK,

it is noted that PGs helped to keep the cost of

borrowing at acceptable levels, and greater

certainty of risk is also crucial if levels of

funding are to be maintained.

Government support has enabled some

guarantors to offload their guarantees, and to

some extent this has meant the industry has

been shielded from what might have happened

had COVID not struck. The hiatus, however,

may only be temporary.

MAINSTREAM ALTERNATIVE

Alternative finance is fundamentally there to

support businesses outside of the mainstream

lending community, and as such Personal

Guarantees are a common tool to mitigate risk.

It should be said that multiple PGs are not,

in themselves, a bad thing. Some guarantors are

very capable of taking on more debt and APRs

can be misleading. A PG who secures a £10,000

loan to buy £10,000 of product that is then sold

for £15,000 two weeks later may be considered

a shrewd businessman. To that end, PGs can

be used legitimately to support multiple credit

lines over the short term. Not all examples,

however, are genuine, and fraud a very real

risk, even in an era of Open Banking which is

widely acknowledged as being a potential game

changer for the lending community.

Some commentators, however, see PGs only

from the borrower’s perspective, especially if

that loan should default. While Government

and the policymakers are keen for the PG not to

lose their homes over a loan that turns sour, it is

important to note that since it is a commercial

loan and not a personal loan, the borrower will

not have the same protections afforded under

the consumer credit act (CCA).


COMMERCIAL LENDING


That may, of course, change over time, and

for the smaller businesses, the direction of

travel is likely to result in greater protections

being offered. But for the moment all bets

are off; while it is perhaps too soon to tell

what sort of line the courts will take, early

indications are that they are not interpreting

such cases with a CCA mindset, regardless of

what the policyholders may wish.

Whether that position changes in the

event of a large volume of cases, as we might

see when the CBIL/BBIL issue comes home

to roost, will be interesting to watch. Seen

through a PR lens, it is difficult to imagine a

Government that allows potentially hundreds

of individuals to lose their homes, regardless

of any guarantees given. The media outcry

would be deafening.

HAVING IT BOTH WAYS

Some in the commercial collections and

litigation space express concern that a PG is

surprised to have to honour their guarantee

should the need arise (and assuming every

step has been taken first to service the debt

from the business as part of an accepted

‘sequencing’ of actions). But as one of the

Forum declared: “The borrowers and the

policymakers can’t have it both ways. A PG

allows us to keep the cost of borrowing down

and take on the risk. Remove the PG, and

the cost of borrowing would be prohibitively

high.”

Price is of course directly linked to the

certainty of risk. The greater the certainty, the

lower the risk, the better the price. Agreeing

to be the guarantor of a loan, however, comes

with responsibilities. As the panelist added:

“Businesses can’t have all of the benefits of

low-cost borrowing without taking on some

of the risk themselves, and the risk might not

be limited to their companies.”

Interestingly, while many believe that

price is the biggest differentiator in the

market for competitive lending products,

speed of delivery is in fact considered more

important. Businesses that need money often

need it there and then and are prepared to pay

a slightly higher price for faster access to the

cash.

PROXIMITY AND KNOWLEDGE

Another trend to emerge from the Forum

was the importance borrowers attach to

location and proximity. Research conducted

by one of the panelists suggests that exactly

half of all businesses would consider leaving

their current bank if a rival bank had a local

relationship manager on their doorstep.

“Access to the human touch is still important,”

the panelist said.

“Small businesses want to be known,

they want to be understood, and they want

their lender to understand the industry they

operate in. It is not simply transactional; it is

also about what added value and insight the

lender can bring to the relationship.”

While the alternative banking sector

appears to be booming, some of those at the

Forum believe that looks may be deceptive.

One suggested a reason for the ‘record’

number of ‘new’ banking customers being

reported by some of the more recently arrived

challenger banks: “What we are seeing,” he

said, “is a shift to a new era where businesses

are retaining their core bank but opening

secondary accounts based on the need for a

specific ‘product’.

“They are not ‘switching’ their bank

account as such,” he added, “but are simply

being temporarily expedient.”

Another interesting fact to emerge

from the Forum was the widespread use of

personal credit cards to

fund business borrowing.

This is despite the fact that

a company cannot build

business credit by using

a personal card, neither

does it necessarily afford

the same protections if an

owner does not keep their

personal and business

purchases separate.

Personal credit cards

are in fact the most

dominant form of business

finance by volume; some

1.5 million business

owners use their own personal credit lines to

buy stock e.g at the cash and carry – running

up bills in excess of £10,000. While these

tend to be the much smaller businesses (the

so-called ‘micro businesses’), those with a

turnover of less that £100,000, it is likely to

create a new challenge for lenders, regulators

and policymakers alike.

“When the lines between personal and

commercial debt become so blurred, it is

even more important that those responsible

for extending credit or creating debt

management solutions adhere to the highest

regulatory standards in treating customers

fairly,” Andrew Birkwood concludes.

“Regulators and policymakers are in for

a challenging time as the fall-out from the

COVID pandemic unfolds, and it is important

that decisions taken now, are not those that

they come to regret later down the line.”

The Forum was organised by Azzurro

Associates and attended by Chief Executives

and Chief Risk Officers from business banks,

business loan and MCA providers, and

business credit card lenders.

“The borrowers and the

policymakers can’t have it

both ways. A PG allows us to

keep the cost of borrowing

down and take on the risk.

Remove the PG, and the

cost of borrowing would be

prohibitively high.”


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TAKE PRIDE IN

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If you haven’t received your badge

contact: cicmmembership@cicm.com

THE CICM 2022 ELECTIONS ARE COMING SOON

The Chartered Institute

of Credit Management

Elections

2022

Could you be a member of the

CICM Advisory Council?

There is still time

to register your

interest by visiting:

www.mi-nomination.com/cicm

Ask any question about the process by contacting

the CICM Governance team at elections@cicm.com

Brave | Curious | Resilient


Apprentice profile


LAURA Dalton has been working at United

Utilities since September 2015 and secured

a permanent contract in February 2016.

Two years later she secured a customer

service advisor advanced role within

the collections team, prior to which she

had worked in billing, and supported the company’s

Priority Services and Network team with leak forms

before it went mostly digital.

“I was quick to learn that the income team are a

friendly bunch and the company banter of moving over

to the ‘dark side’ quickly became a distant memory,”

she jokes. “I’d say we are more of a family, and I was

welcomed within my new role with open arms!”

Laura’s day-to-day role within collections is varied:

“I answer customer phone calls, speak to customers on

web chat and respond to inbound customer contacts

(emails/ letters),” she explains. “I enjoy my job and

when the opportunity came about to better myself and

broaden my knowledge I thought ‘why not’?

Starting the CICM apprenticeship four months ago,

Laura initially thought there wasn’t much she could

learn that she didn’t already know: “I actually believed

I knew quite a bit about my current job but this belief

was short-lived when I started the course.

“This course has enlightened me in to the more

‘nitty gritty’ part of cash collection and credit

management which is not so widely discussed. This

includes legislation, why we follow it, preparing for

legal proceedings, and the correct order in which

this should be done. It offers more of an insight into

the collections cycle we experience in our day-to-day

roles.”

To date, Laura has received much positive feedback

from her tutors and support network on tasks and

homework, and some of her work is even being

included in a new E-learning module for the company’s

affordability team.

“I am planning to use the next two years putting

all the things I am learning – and what I have learned

so far - into practice. In doing so I hope to improve

my current performance and eventually be able to

progress or move around different teams within the

income department.

“I think anyone planning to do the CICM

apprenticeship should give it a whirl,” she concludes.

“My main worries were that I wouldn’t retain any new

information or would get stressed out about upcoming

exam preparation, but the support I’ve had personally

has been tremendous. As much as I’d like to discuss

this further, I best get my skates on, I’ve got some

revision to do!”

Latest in a new series

of how CICM-led

Apprenticeships are

supporting professional

development.

Laura Dalton

United Utilities

Customer service advisor

“This course has enlightened me in to the

more ‘nitty gritty’ part of cash collection

and credit management which is not so

widely discussed. This includes legislation,

why we follow it, preparing for legal

proceedings, and the correct order in

which this should be done. It offers more

of an insight into the collections cycle we

experience in our day-to-day roles.”

Apprenticeships in Credit

Control and Collections

There are five apprenticeships for those working in the credit

profession. At each Level of apprenticeship you will be able to

gain professional CICM qualifications

• Credit Controller/Collector

• Advanced Credit Controller and Debt Collection Specialist

Apprenticeship

• Compliance/Risk Officer Apprenticeship

• Senior Compliance/Risk Specialist Apprenticeship

• Financial Services Degree Apprenticeship

For more details on how CICM can help you start your

apprenticeship journey, visit cicm.com/apprenticeships




HR MATTERS

PARANOID DELUSIONS

The problem with delusional beliefs affecting work

performance, and the difference between ‘standby time’

and working time.

AUTHOR – Gareth Edwards

THE Court of Appeal

recently confirmed that an

employee who experienced

two episodes of paranoid

delusions was not disabled,

as the episodes did not have

a long-term substantial adverse effect on

their ability to perform normal day to day

activities.

In Sullivan v Bury Street Capital Ltd,

the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT)

decision in this case, where a claimant who

suffered two episodes of delusional beliefs

in 2013 and 2017, held that they were not

considered disabled in law, because there

was no long-term substantial adverse

effect on his ability to carry out normal

day-to-day activities.

The claimant was a senior sales executive,

employed by the respondent since 2009.

His employers identified concerns with

his timekeeping and attitude from the

start of his employment. In May 2013, he

began experiencing paranoid delusions

that he was being tracked and monitored

by a Russian gang. The delusions affected

his work, in particular his timekeeping

and attendance. The claimant's condition

improved and by September 2013, he could

manage his condition without letting it

affect his work.

Despite the improvement in the

claimant's condition, his employer

continued to have concerns about his

timekeeping and attitude. These concerns

were raised regularly with the claimant at

reviews between July 2014 and September

2017. In September 2017 the claimant was

dismissed on the grounds of capability.

The claimant alleged his dismissal was

discriminatory on the grounds of disability.

A person will be disabled for the

purposes of the Equality Act 2010 if they

have a physical or mental impairment,

and the impairment has a substantial and

long-term adverse effect on their ability to

carry out normal day-to-day activities. An

impairment is considered 'long-term' if it

has lasted for at least 12 months or is likely

to last for at least 12 months.

The Court of Appeal confirmed the

Employment Tribunal was entitled to find

that the claimant was not disabled in law.

His delusional beliefs persisted for periods

only and he could work normally during

times of normality. The claimant was

therefore unable to demonstrate a longterm

impairment.

This case turns on a very specific set of

circumstances but is a useful reminder

of the strategic value of considering the

definition of a disability at the earliest

stages of a process.

A recent European Court of Justice (ECJ)

case has determined that ‘standby time’,

during which a firefighter could do

other work but could be recalled to his

fire duties within ten minutes, did not

constitute working time.

In MG v Dublin City Council, the

claimant was required to be on standby

24 hours a day, seven days a week

(except for annual leave). He could work

elsewhere (in his case as a taxi driver)

but was required to return to the station

within 10 minutes when recalled. He was

not required to remain in a particular

place when on standby. He was required

to participate in at least 75 percent of

the fire brigade’s interventions, but if he

failed to return to the station within the

allotted time, the only consequence was

that he would not be paid.

The claimant argued this requirement

breached the rules on daily and weekly

rest, and maximum weekly working

time, under the Working Time Directive

(WTD), and that it also interfered with

his private life. However, the ECJ

determined that the requirements

imposed on the claimant did not

significantly affect his ability to manage

his own time whilst on standby, and for

Some like it hot

this reason the time was held not to be

working time.

This decision demonstrates the fact

that context is everything when it

comes to determining whether time is

working or rest time for the purposes

of the WTD. In this case, the deciding

factors were the claimant's freedom to

carry out another professional activity

during the standby time, the fact that

he was not obliged to participate in

emergency callouts, and the fact he was

not required to remain at a designated

place during standby time.

Whilst the focus of this case was on

the WTD, it is also worth noting the

potential link to National Minimum

Wage issues. Time spent on call or on

standby outside normal working hours

is subject to special rules under the

National Minimum Wage Regulations.

In the UK, this decision will not be

binding in domestic courts. However,

courts and tribunals may still have

regard to ECJ case law where it is relevant

to the issue they are considering.

Gareth Edwards is a partner in

the employment team at VWV

www.gedwards@vwv.co.uk


HIGH COURT ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ASSOCIATION

Freedom of Choice

Looking ahead and setting out the High Court Enforcement

Officers Association priorities for the coming year.

AUTHOR – Alan J. Smith

THE last 12 months have been

challenging for everyone,

including members of the

enforcement profession. I’d like

to acknowledge the outstanding

professionalism and resilience

demonstrated by all our members – and

indeed the wider enforcement community –

during another challenging ‘COVID’ year.

As 2022 gets down to serious business,

we’re seeing the pace of change and reform

(at least for the enforcement world) move

quickly as well. In the past few months, the

HCEOA has supported a whole range of new

developments, including:

– the introduction of Breathing Space

to enable debt advisors and local authorities

to freeze interest, fees, and enforcement for

up to 60 days for vulnerable debtors.

– the launch of the Enforcement

Conduct Authority – a new oversight body codesigned

by the debt relief sector, the Centre

for Social Justice, and the enforcement

profession, to provide independent, fair,

and formal supervision of enforcement.

We’re looking forward to being a part of that

conversation as it continues in 2022.

– a resolution to the long-standing

VAT on high court fees debate – with new

guidance issued by the Ministry of Justice,

providing widely welcomed clarity for the

enforcement community, creditors, and

debtors alike.

The High Court Enforcement Officers

Association is looking to continue that

momentum in our work throughout 2022,

whilst of course ensuring that we support our

members and their businesses in conducting

safe and responsible enforcement.

Throughout 2022 we and our members will

focus on:

• Helping creditors – the people and

businesses who are owed money – by

enforcing their judgments and recovering

unpaid debts.

• Informing debtors – the people who owe

money – by ensuring that anyone who

owes money is treated fairly, ethically, and

proportionately.

• Supporting Government – by

recommending changes and implementing

improvements to the legal framework

around High Court enforcement to help

it modernise and to improve clarity and

transparency wherever possible.

To deliver that, we have three key priorities

for the year ahead, which have been

developed with input and support from our

members.

Campaigning for greater Freedom of Choice

for court users – we’ll be talking to ministers

and civil servants to ramp up the HCEOA’s

‘Freedom of Choice’ campaign – persuading

Government to change the regulations and

allow HCEOs to enforce judgments under

£600.

We’ve had some hugely positive responses

to the campaign work so far, and we’re

absolutely committed to making it easier for

court users to recover debts they are owed

by enabling them to avoid the county court

backlog and use the high court enforcement

as an alternative solution. Some 99 percent

of court users back the plan and just five

percent think the current system is effective.

It’s worth remembering that Government

could solve this problem today. A small

change to the High Court and County Court

Jurisdiction Order 1991 would allow High

Court Enforcement Officers to enforce

judgments and give creditors the freedom

to choose another option to recover debts of

under £600.

High Court Enforcement Fee Scale Review

– we are engaging with the MoJ to persuade

it to undertake a long overdue review of the

High Court enforcement fee scale (which

hasn’t even been reviewed never mind

changed since 2014!) to bring it at least close

to something like in line with other court fees

that were reviewed and increased in 2021.

Encouraging a more diverse and

representative enforcement profession –

if we’re totally honest, we have some way to

go in many of areas. But we’re moving in the

right direction. The HCEOA is starting work

on a long-term initiative to encourage a more

diverse profession and reflect that increasing

diversity in terms of representation on our

Board and throughout the membership.

If you want to be part of it, your support

would be welcomed as we head in to 2022

with a positive step. After the past two years,

surely things can only get better.

Alan J. Smith FCICM is Chairman of the

High Court Enforcement Officers Association

(HCEOA).


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PRICING & BILLING MANAGER

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A rare opportunity has arisen at a leading UK utilities provider

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CREDIT RISK ANALYST (12 MONTH FTC)

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A leading electronics distributor with a vast international

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An exciting opportunity for a progressive credit professional

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of dealing with major retails. Ref: 4139548

Contact Natascha Whitehead on 07770 786433

or email natascha.whitehead@hays.com

CREDIT CONTROLLER

Manchester, permanent hybrid working, £25,000

This role gives you the opportunity to work for a forward

thinking, rapidly growing business boasting brand new modern

offices. You will focus on what Credit Controllers do best,

proactively contacting customers and a separate AR team will

take care of the rest. To be considered, previous credit control

experience and the ability to prioritise workload effectively is a

must. If you are looking to work for a business that offers scope

to progress upwards or branch out into other areas this role is

worth finding out more about. Ref: 4121117

Contact Adam Crossland on 01612 367272

or email adam.crossland@hays.com

hays.co.uk/creditcontrol


TRAIN FOR THE

YEAR AHEAD

My Learning – free skills

training from Hays

To find out more visit

hays.co.uk/mylearning

GLOBAL PROCESS OWNER

Gloucester or remote,

competitive salary + bonus + benefits

A rare opportunity has arisen for a skilled candidate to join

a growing business in a high profile, newly created position.

The Global Process Owner (Order-to-Cash) is responsible for

driving global process standardisation, transactional efficiency,

organisational capability, process performance, and a prioritised

roadmap of all global Order to Cash processes. You will have

considerable experience in a complex, global organisation,

executing process transformation initiatives and driving change

across a global organisation. Ref: 4081960

Contact Andrew Piercy on 01242 226 227

or email andrew.piercy@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 Natascha Whitehead, Hays Credit

Management UK Lead on 07770 786433.


Do you know someone who would

benefit from CICM membership?

Or have you considered applying to

upgrade your membership?

See our website www.cicm.com/membership-types

for more details, or call us on 01780 722903

Studying Member

NEW AND UPGRADED MEMBERS

Jonny Saint

Carol Ryan

Tania Monteiro

Joshua Wilkinson

Demar Jackson

Ahtsham Anwer Malik

Adnan Anwar Malik

Amelia R C Roberts

James Allen

Rob Butcher

Claudia Yeo

Grant Flint

Giuseppina Coda

Natalia Mazanova

Hayley Woolley

Konur Fevzi

Karolina Palacz

Darren Wooldridge

Bridgette Jali

Candice Padayachee

Yolande Purdon

Deepak Ram

Nicola Churchill

Associate

Udeshika Rathanayake

Safina Omari

Congratulations to our current members who have upgraded their membership

Upgraded member

Martin Stafford ACICM

Caroline Burrell MCICM

Donna Parker MCICM

Faraz Ashraf FCICM

Mohamad Bawab FCICM

Indraka Liyanage FCICM

Julian Donnelly FCICM

Andrea Baker FCICM

AWARDING BODY

Congratulations to the following, who successfully achieved Diplomas

Level 3 Diploma in Credit & Collections (ACICM)

Danielle Barrow

Louise Bent

Lasanthi Deshapriya

Lisa Dutton

Lauren Heap

Laura Hodgson

Stacey Thomason

Laura Webb

George Woodall

Level 3 Diploma in Credit & Collections (ACICM)

Lucy Aldis

Kayleigh Bagnall

Randy Bainbridge

Hayley Chapman

Luke Edwards

Anita Foxall

Carrie Harvey

Nicole Magg

Shelley Nelson

Quays Nouristani

Alison Ramsey

Carly Smith

Eniko Szabo

Level 3 Diploma in Money & Debt Advice (ACICM)

Andrew Bass

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

Jonathan Ferguson

WE WANT YOUR BRANCH NEWS!

Get in touch with the CICM by emailing branches@cicm.com with your branch news and event reports.

Please only send up to 400 words and any images need to be high resolution to be printable, so 1MB plus.



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theportfoliogroup

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Rated as Excellent


IN November last year the CICM

East Of England Branch held a

webinar with Paul Bohill as the

guest speaker. Paul Bohill, who

is a former police officer and

TV personality best known for

his role in Can’t pay? We’ll take it away!,

gave fascinating insight into his time as an

enforcement officer as well as discussing

company restructuring and turnarounds –

an area that he has not returned to.

Branch Committee member Andy

Moylan FCICM of EFCIS moderated the

webinar, asking many of the questions

submitted in advance.

According to Paul, the skills required

as an enforcement officer include

emotional intelligence, physical as well as

social awareness, and the ability to listen,

BRANCH NEWS

Day in the Life of a

High Court Enforcement officer

East of England Branch

whilst not being aggressive, and looking

at a problem from all sides. Paul talked

through some of his more interesting

experiences, which include seizing a

racing car worth £1m for a £40k debt!

Like many others, Paul expects to

see a huge increase in insolvencies,

triggered by problems in obtaining

loans. He explained how to spot the

warning signs for vulnerable companies

and also personal debtors before the

courts are involved, as well as touching

on how to get the best from legal action

when it is the only option left to recover

your debt.

Paul believes the court system to be

stacked in favour of the debtor so he warns

against legal action and recommends only

using it as a last resort. He also highlighted

the significant backlog in court cases

at the moment – currently to August

2022.

Paul talked through his new role,

and first love, company restructuring,

saying that the biggest constraint for new

companies at present was the reluctance

of mainstream banks to open accounts for

them.

Overall, this was a highly informative

and engaging discussion which offered

useful insights into enforcement and

company restructuring, and a must watch

for anyone who has an interest in either

subject.

If you missed this session, its available

on the CICM YouTube channel.

Author: Richard Brown FCICM – CICM

East of England Branch Vice Chairman

NetWalking at Wentworth Woodhouse

CICM Sheffield and District Branch

ON a drizzly Sunday morning last October,

Sheffield and District Branch members

and guests met at Wentworth Woodhouse

– one of Yorkshire’s best kept secrets. We

were joined by our guide, David, who gave

us a brief introduction to the house before

we moved out into the hidden gardens

at the rear, just in time for the sunshine

to make an appearance. David guided us

around the many varied areas and told us

all about the Punch Bowl, South Terrace,

Ionic Temple and Camellia House to name

but a few features. I even managed to get a

friendly robin to perch on my finger!

There could have been no better venue

to network with fellow credit professionals

and chat about our experiences of the last

18 months and the road ahead, than in

the gardens of Wentworth Woodhouse,

which have certainly survived their own

turbulent times when open cast mining

came right up to the doorstep of the house.

Congratulations and a bottle of red

went to Michelle Goodman for collecting

the most contacts during the NetWalking.

Many thanks to all attending members

and guests for making the morning a great

success.

Author: Paula Uttley MCICMGrad –

CICM Sheffield & District Branch Chair

The CICM Branch Annual General Meeting season is now upon us,

and all branches are required to hold their AGMs by 31 March 2022.

Please visit the Branch Network page of the CICM website for more information –

www.cicm.com/branches/ or contact governance@cicm.com


Cr£ditWho?

CICM Directory of Services

COLLECTIONS

COLLECTIONS LEGAL

CONSULTANCY

Controlaccount Plc

Address: Compass House, Waterside, Hanbury Road,

Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 4FD

T: 01527 386 610

E: sales@controlaccount.com

W: www.controlaccount.com

Controlaccount plc has been providing efficient, effective and

ethical pre-legal debt recovery for over forty years. We help our

clients to improve internal processes and increase cashflow,

whilst protecting customer relationships and established

reputations. We have long-standing partnerships with leading,

global brand names, SMEs and not for profits. We recover

over 30,000 overdue invoices each month, domestically and

internationally, on a no collect, no fee arrangement. Other

services include credit control and dunning services, international

and domestic trace and legal recoveries. All our clients have

full transparency on any accounts placed with us through our

market leading cloud-based management portal, ClientWeb.

Guildways

T: +44 3333 409000

E: info@guildways.com

W: www.guildways.com

Guildways is a UK & International debt collection specialist with over

25 years experience. Guildways prides itself on operating to the

highest ethical standards and professional service levels. We are

experienced in collecting B2B and B2C debts. Our service includes:

• A complete No collection, No Fee commission based service

• 10% plus VAT commission for UK debts

• Commission from 22% plus VAT for International debts

• 24/7 online access to your cases through our CaseManager portal

• Direct online account-to-account payments, to speed up

collections and minimise costs

If you are unable to locate your customer, we also offer a no trace, no

fee, trace and collect service.

For more information, visit: www.guildways.com

COLLECTIONS (INTERNATIONAL)

BlaserMills Law

London – High Wycombe – Amersham – Silverstone

T: 01494 478660

E: jar@blasermills.co.uk

W: www.blasermills.co.uk

Blaser Mills Law’s commercial recoveries team is internationally

recognised, regularly advising large corporations, multinationals

and SMEs on pre-legal collections, debt recovery, commercial

litigation, dispute resolution and insolvency. Our legal services

are both cost-effective and highly efficient; Our lawyers are also

CICM qualified and ranked in the industry leading law firm rankings

publications, Legal 500 and Chambers UK.

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.

Chris Sanders Consulting

T: +44(0)7747 761641

E: enquiries@chrissandersconsulting.com

W: www.chrissandersconsulting.com

Chris Sanders Consulting – we are a different sort of consulting

firm, made up of a network of independent experienced

operational credit & collections management and invoicing

professionals, with specialisms in cross industry best practice

advisory, assessment, interim management, leadership,

workshops and training to help your team and organisation reach

their full potential in credit and collections management. We are

proud to be Corporate Partners of the Chartered Institute of Credit

Management and to manage the CICM Best Practice Accreditation

Programme on their behalf. For more information please contact:

enquiries@chrissandersconsulting.com

CREDIT INFORMATION

CoCredo

Missenden Abbey, Great Missenden, Bucks, HP16 0BD

T: 01494 790600

E: customerservice@cocredo.com

W: www.cocredo.co.uk

Celebrating its 20th year in business, CoCredo has extensive

experience in providing online company credit reports and

related business information within the UK and overseas. In 2014

and 2019 we were honoured to be awarded Credit Information

Provider of the Year at the British Credit Awards and have been

finalists every other year. Our company data is continually updated

throughout the day and ensures customers have the most current

information available. We aggregate data from a range of leading

providers across over 235 territories and offer a range of services

including the industry first Dual Report, Monitoring, XML Integration

and DNA Portfolio Management.

We pride ourselves in offering award-winning customer service and

support to protect your business.

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.

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.”

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

industry-leading 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.


FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION OPTIONS

AND PRICING CONTACT

paul@centuryone.uk 01727 739 196

CREDIT INFORMATION

CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE


identeco – Business Support Toolkit

Compass House, Waterside, Hanbury Road, Bromsgrove,

Worcestershire B60 4FD

Telephone: 01527 386 607

Email: info@identeco.co.uk

Web: www.identeco.co.uk

identeco Business Support Toolkit provides company details

and financial reporting for over 4m UK companies and

business. Subscribers can view company financial health and

payment behaviour, credit ratings, shareholder and director

structures, detrimental data. In addition, subscribers can also

download unlimited B2B marketing and acquisition reports.

Annual subscription is only £79.95. Other services available

to subscribers include AML and KYC reports, pre-litigation

screening, trace services and data appending, as well as many

others.


HighRadius

T: +44 (0) 203 997 9400

E: infoemea@highradius.com

W: www.highradius.com

HighRadius provides a cloud-based Integrated Receivable

Platform, powered by machine learning and AI. Our Technology

empowers enterprise organisations to reduce cycle time in the

order-to-cash process and increase working capital availability by

automating receivables and payments processes across credit,

electronic billing and payment processing, cash application,

deductions, and collections.

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.

Data Interconnect Ltd

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

We are dedicated to helping finance teams take the cost,

complexity and compliance issues out of Accounts Receivable

processes. Corrivo is our reliable, easy-to-use SaaS platform

for the continuous improvement of AR metrics and KPIs in a

user-friendly interface. Credit Controllers can manage more

accounts with better results and customers can self-serve on

mobile-responsive portals where they can query, pay, download

and view invoices and related documentation e.g. Proofs of

Delivery Corrivo is the only AR platform with integrated invoice

finance options for both buyer and supplier that flexes credit

terms without degrading DSO. Call for a demo.

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 blog.esker.co.uk

Esker’s Accounts Receivable (AR) solution removes the all-toocommon

obstacles preventing today’s businesses from collecting

receivables in a timely manner. From credit management to cash

allocation, Esker automates each step of the order-to-cash cycle.

Esker’s automated AR system 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.

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-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.

VISMA | ONGUARD

T: 020 3966 8324

E: edan.milner@onguard.com

W: www.onguard.com

VISMA | Onguard is a 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. This enhanced visibility with the secure

sharing of critical data ensures optimal connection between all

processes in the order-to-cash chain, resulting in stronger, longerlasting

customer relationships through improved and personalised

communication. The VISMA | Onguard platform is used for

successful credit management in more than 70 countries.

DATA AND ANALYTICS

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.

ENFORCEMENT

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

Court Enforcement Services is the market leading and fastest

growing High Court Enforcement company. Since forming in 2014,

we have managed over 100,000 High Court Writs and recovered

more than £187 million for our clients, all debt fairly collected. We

help lawyers and creditors across all sectors to recover unpaid

CCJ’s sooner rather than later. We achieve 39% early engagement

resulting in market-leading recovery rates. Our multi-awardwinning

technology provides real-time reporting 24/7. We work in

close partnership to expertly resolve matters with a fast, fair and

personable approach. We work hard to achieve the best results

and protect your reputation.

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.

Satago

48 Warwick Street, London, W1B 5AW

T: +44(0)020 8050 3015

E: hello@satago.com

W: www.satago.com

Satago helps business owners and their accountants avoid credit

risks, manage debtors and access finance when they need it – all

in one platform. Satago integrates with 300+ cloud accounting

apps with just a few clicks, helping businesses:

• Understand their customers - with RISK INSIGHTS

• Get paid on time - with automated CREDIT CONTROL

• Access funding - with flexible SINGLE INVOICE FINANCE

Visit satago.com and start your free trial today.

Cr£ditWho?



Cr£ditWho?


FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION

OPTIONS AND PRICING CONTACT

paul@centuryone.uk 01727 739 196

ENFORCEMENT

INSOLVENCY

PAYMENT SOLUTIONS

High Court Enforcement Group Limited

Client Services, Helix, 1st Floor

Edmund Street, Liverpool

L3 9NY

T: 08450 999 666

E: clientservices@hcegroup.co.uk

W: hcegroup.co.uk

Putting creditors first

We are the largest independent High Court enforcement company,

with more authorised officers than anyone else. We are privately

owned, which allows us to manage our business in a way that

puts our clients first. Clients trust us to deliver and service is

paramount. We cover all aspects of enforcement – writs of control,

possessions, process serving and landlord issues – and are

committed to meeting and exceeding clients’ expectations.

FINANCIAL PR

Menzies

T: +44 (0)2073 875 868 - London

T: +44 (0)2920 495 444 - Cardiff

W: menzies.co.uk/creditor-services

Our Creditor Services team can advise on the best way for you

to protect your position when one of your debtors enters, or

is approaching, insolvency proceedings. Our services include

assisting with retention of title claims, providing representation

at creditor meetings, forensic investigations, raising finance,

financial restructuring and removing the administrative burden

– this includes completing and lodging claim forms, monitoring

dividend prospects and analysing all Insolvency Reports and

correspondence.

For more information on how the Menzies Creditor

Services team can assist please contact Giuseppe Parla,

Qualified Insolvency Practitioner, at gparla@menzies.co.uk

or call +44 20 7465 1919.

LEGAL

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

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 bestknown

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.

FOR ADVERTISING

INFORMATION OPTIONS

AND PRICING CONTACT

paul@centuryone.uk

01727 739 196

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

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.

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.

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, a 5* Trustpilot rated agency, solely

specialises in the recruitment of Permanent, Temporary & Contract

Credit Control, Accounts Receivable and Collections staff

including remote workers. Part of The Portfolio Group, an awardwinning

Recruiter, we speak to Credit Controllers every day and

understand their skills meaning we are perfectly placed to provide

your business with talented Credit Control professionals. Offering

a highly tailored approach to recruitment, we use a hybrid of faceto-face

and remote briefings, interviews and feedback options.

We provide both candidates & clients with a commitment to deliver

that will exceed your expectations every single time.

Cr£ditWho?



View our digital version online at www.cicm.com

Log on to the Members’ area, and click on the tab labelled

‘Credit Management magazine’

Just another great reason to be a member

Credit Management is distributed to the entire UK and international

CICM membership, as well as additional subscribers

Brave | Curious | Resilient

www.cicm.com | +44 (0)1780 722900 | editorial@cicm.com


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+44 (0) 20 396 683 24

Credit Management January February 2022

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