CM MARCH 2022

CREDIT MANAGEMENT 

CM 

MARCH 2022 £12.50 

THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND 

COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS 

Intelligent 

Thinkers 

How CRAs are supporting 

the economic recovery 

CICM launches the 

benchmark in Professional 

Standards. Page 5 

Sean Feast speaks 

to Karen Young of Hays. 

Page 16

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52 

CONNECTING THE DOTS 

Case study report 

24 

COUNTRY FOCUS 

Adam Bernstein 

22 

TOWARDS ZERO 

Manosij Ganguli 

CICM GOVERNANCE 

16 

THE JOB HUNTER 

Karen Young 

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. 

12 

INTELLIGENT 

THINKERS 

Lead article 

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) 

MARCH 2022 

www.cicm.com 

CONTENTS 

8 – SIX OF THE BEST 

Round-up of the latest to be accredited/ 

re-accredited to CICMQ. 

12 – INTELLIGENT THINKERS 

What are the biggest challenges 

facing CRA and Business Intelligence 

providers? 

16 – THE JOB HUNTER 

Sean Feast FCICM speak to Karen 

Young at Hays about life in and out of 

the saddle. 

19 – GREEN FINGERED 

How do businesses avoid being accused 

of Greenwashing? 

22 – TOWARDS ZERO 

The journey towards net zero is a 

marathon not a sprint. 

24 – ON THE GRAPEVINE 

The Republic of Georgia has come out 

of the shadows and is punching above 

its weight. 

44 – CREDIT LINES 

What does the FCA’s Financial Lives 

data tells us about consumer lending? 

52 – CONNECTING THE DOTS 

How the CICM is helping BT bring 

employees around the globe closer 

together. 

58 – A LIFE OF SERVICE 

What does it mean to win the CICM’s 

Outstanding Contribution to the 

Industry Award? Charles Wilson knows. 

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, Sam Wilson and Mona Yazdanparast 

Advertising 

Paul Heitzman 

Telephone: 01727 739 196 

Email: paul@centuryone.uk 

Printers 

Stephens & George Print Group 

2021 subscriptions 

UK: £112 per annum 

International: £145 per annum 

Single copies: £12.50 

ISSN 0265-2099 

Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / March 2022 / PAGE 3

EDITOR’S COLUMN 

A little pressure is sometimes a 

good thing, but only if it’s shared 

Sean Feast FCICM 

Managing Editor 

I 

had the great pleasure last 

month of attending the quarterly 

CICM Think Tank. If you don’t 

know what it is, it is a group of 

professionals from across all 

sides of the credit industry who 

come together to hear, share and define 

best-practice across a range of consumer 

and commercial credit issues and wider 

business management challenges. One of 

the issues on the agenda for this quarter 

was staff recruitment and retention. And 

what an eye opener it was. 

Marek Danyluk, Managing Partner of 

Space Executive, was one of the guest 

speakers who gave us his insight into the 

current market, and how the winners were 

the ones who put ‘culture’ and ‘flexibility’ 

at the heart of their recruitment and 

retention strategy (see news page seven 

and also see Karen Young interview page 

16). Giving employees the opportunity 

to feedback, he said, was not enough; 

staff needed to know that their feedback 

was being acted upon. Money, it seems, 

is also no-longer the biggest motivator; 

today people are more interested in how 

their wellbeing is being considered, with 

access to GP advice lines and mental 

health counselling. 

Now I don’t mind telling you, that the 

more Marek spoke the older I felt. When 

I first started work in 1985 at the age of 

17, I was constantly told I was useless and 

hit around the head by my editor until one 

day I stood up and threw a haymaker at 

him. Given I am not one prone to violence 

(it is the one and only punch I have ever 

thrown in my life), things must have been 

quite bad. Quite understandably I was 

sacked on the spot. Quite rightly also, 

although not until several months later, 

my tormentor was also given the boot. 

In those early years I don’t recall any real 

support, no real training, and certainly 

nothing approaching any consideration 

for my mental or physical wellbeing. It 

was sink or swim. Toughen up or get out. 

It’s remarkable I’ve turned out as normal 

as I have (though my Deputy Editor may 

disagree). 

Of course, what I went through, and a 

large number of us who started out almost 

40 years ago also experienced, would not 

be tolerated now and should not have been 

tolerated then. Over the last four decades 

I’ve witnessed huge progress in how 

people are treated, and the support they 

are given through training and mentoring 

programmes. I am also encouraged by the 

focus on people’s wellbeing and mental 

health, and a genuine flexibility in helping 

people with their work/life balance. 

But much as I never want to see the 

likes of my old boss in the workplace 

again, neither do I want us to become 

so afraid of our own shadows that we 

can’t give honest opinions when things 

are not right – for fear that an individual 

may then claim some mental oppression 

and disappear for the week. Neither do I 

think it’s fair that the poor performance 

of one individual puts unnecessary 

pressure on others in their team, and in 

turn impinges their mental health. We all 

have to look after one another, and just 

because some appear to have a greater 

tolerance to pressure, that does not mean 

their apparent mental ‘toughness’ should 

be exploited, and it doesn’t mean that they 

may not be struggling elsewhere. 

A little pressure is sometimes a good 

thing. Not always, and not all of the time, 

but every so often it can inspire you to do 

your best work. But it’s a pressure that 

should always be shared. 


CMNEWS 

A round-up of news stories from the 

world of consumer and commercial credit. 

Written by – Sean Feast FCICM 

New Professional Standards 

to benchmark excellence in 

credit management 

Anew set of Professional 

Standards that defines 

the unique skills and 

contribution that credit 

professionals deliver in 

protecting and growing 

business and the economy has been 

launched by the Chartered Institute 

of Credit Management (CICM), the 

largest recognised professional body in 

the world for the credit management 

community. 

A first of its kind for the profession, 

the new Professional Standards 

establish a benchmark and help 

demonstrate the enormous variety of 

roles within credit at every level, local 

and global, to attract new employees 

into the industry and define what skills 

they need to succeed in an exciting, 

dynamic and rewarding career. 

The standards similarly act as a 

showcase for existing professionals – 

and members of the CICM in particular 

– to further promote what they do, not 

only within their own organisations, 

but also within the wider business 

community. The Standards serve not 

as a qualification, but rather as an 

indication of continual professional 

development and lifelong learning, to 

benchmark an individual’s progress 

and identify active goals and targets as 

part of a realistic career pathway. 

Debbie Tuckwood, the CICM’s Chief 

Advisor for Professional Development 

who is leading the initiative, says the 

new Professional Standards will help 

transform how a career in credit is 

perceived: “This is all about raising the 

profile of people who work in credit 

and collections, not only building their 

confidence, but also helping businesses 

understand what credit and debt 

professionals are all about, and what 

they can do. 

“There are many out there who have 

only a very narrow view of a career 

in credit, if any understanding at all. 

Through the Professional Standards 

we can shift these perceptions, attract 

more talent into the industry, and 

demonstrate the skills of existing 

professionals and see how they 

benchmark against their peers.” 

In terms of the detail, the 

Professional Standards have three 

key focus areas: business skills; 

personal skills; and behaviours. All are 

essential to help credit and collections 

professionals progress, and are 

mapped against the four levels of CICM 

“The CICM 

Professional 

Standards are a 

game changer 

for the credit and 

debt management 

profession 

generally and 

for our members 

specifically.” 

membership: Affiliates; Associates; 

Members; and Fellows. The Standards 

also provide detail and guidance on 

a large range of technical areas and 

specialisms such as enforcement, 

export credit management, consumer 

credit risk and cash collections. 

The Professional Standards have 

been developed in partnership 

with several leading bodies and 

representatives from organisations 

including the UK Government’s Cabinet 

Office and Department of Work and 

Pensions, Imperial College London, 

Johnson and Johnson, Aggregate 

Industries, nPower, United Utilities, 

Adecco, Arvato Financial Solutions and 

HSBC UK. 

Along with the Professional 

Standards, the CICM is working with its 

partners to develop a self-assessment 

tool to help members plan their 

development and identify relevant 

support to further their careers from 

the CICM’s member services including 

training and qualifications. 

Sue Chapple, FCICM Chief Executive 

of the CICM says the new Professional 

Standards will allow the Institute 

to celebrate the breadth of skills 

its members possess: “The CICM 

Professional Standards are a game 

changer for the credit and debt 

management profession generally 

and for our members specifically,” she 

says. “They will help businesses better 

understand the value of employing 

a CICM member as well as helping 

those new to the profession, inspiring 

lifelong learning and helping them 

build careers in credit and debt 

management.” 

The full set of Professional Standards 

was launched on 21 February 2022 and 

is available on-demand to all members 

as a resource. 


NEWS ROUNDUP 

Open Banking could save SME online 

retailers thousands in wasted fees 

THE average SME online 

retailer could save an 

estimated £19,000 by 

reducing transaction fees 

associated with popular 

payment providers such as 

AMEX, Mastercard and Visa through the 

adoption of Open Banking technology. 

At present, small online retailers in the 

UK process approximately 217 sales a day 

– increasing by 24.0 percent if that retailer 

also happens to have both an online and 

in-person presence. On average, retailers 

pay a transaction fee of approximately 

1.8 percent across all different payment 

types, with the highest charges found in 

Buy Now, Pay Later payment methods (3.2 

percent) and debit cards (three percent). 

Even taking into account just the 

most popular payment providers (AMEX, 

Mastercard and Visa) the average small 

business will spend more than £22,000 

a month on transaction fees, costing the 

entire industry an estimated £66 billion 

every year. 

“Open Banking technology 

can provide solutions 

which alleviate common 

financial stressors on 

these businesses and allow 

them instead to focus their 

spending on strategies to 

improve growth.” 

Yolt, one of Europe’s leading Open 

Banking providers which provided the 

data, claims that the adoption of Open 

Banking technology could significantly 

reduce these costs, as it does not utilise 

commission-based transaction fees, 

providing lower and more predictable 

costs to the retailer. It believes this could 

save the average SME online retailer 

approximately £19,000 a month. 

Nicolas Weng Kan, CEO of Yolt, says 

small retailers are still finding their feet 

and recouping losses after the pandemic: 

“Open Banking technology can provide 

solutions which alleviate common 

financial stressors on these businesses 

and allow them instead to focus their 

spending on strategies to improve growth,” 

he says. 

Open Banking could also assist SME 

retailers by alleviating other pressures on 

their business. On average SME retailers 

spend 18 hours a week processing 

refunds, for instance. At present, it takes 

nearly three days to settle these with a 

payment provider. However, Open Banking 

technology can make these refunds 

instant. 

A third of SME online retail 

businesses (34 percent) also 

experienced fraud in the 

last year including supply 

chain fraud (64 percent), 

authorised push payment 

fraud (42 percent), 

account takeovers (40 

percent) and cyberattacks 

(30 percent)– losing an average 

of £4,257 a year. With the introduction 

of Open Banking technology, many of 

these incidents of fraud could be avoided, 

providing further savings to recovering 

SMEs. 

Elsewhere, TotallyMoney, the credit 

app focused on the ‘under-served’, has 

chosen Bud’s Open Banking platform for 

a partnership which it claims will help 

improve access to credit approvals for 

its customers as the cost-of-living crisis 

intensifies. The partnership will harness 

live Open Banking data, bringing it 

together with credit report, eligibility and 

TotallyMoney’s own product data. 

Alastair Douglas, CEO of TotallyMoney, 

says that Open Banking presents a 

huge opportunity: “This will empower 

our customers to step from ‘just about 

managing’ to moving their finances 

forward.” 

Charity sparks concern over rising energy prices 

ONE in four clients seeking debt advice 

from StepChange Debt Charity are in 

arrears on electricity and/or gas, and the 

numbers are only likely to rise. Higher 

interest rates, rising inflation, and 

expected price rises are compounding 

the problem, the charity says. 

More than a quarter (28 percent) of 

new clients were in arrears on electricity 

in 2021 (compared to 17 percent in 2019, 

pre-pandemic), and 23 percent behind on 

gas bills (up from 13 percent in 2019). The 

average value of arrears among those 

with arrears has also increased. 

Phil Andrew, CEO at StepChange, 

says that energy prices are a source of 

massive worry for people experiencing 

or at risk of debt: “Despite the measures 

to try to smooth out the imminent price 

hikes, there is no escaping the likelihood 

that electricity and gas arrears are likely 

to worsen,” he says. 

“For people in debt, the risk of 

additional harm is huge. Energy costs 

are priority bills, but even if people do 

manage to pay them, they may well have 

to fall behind on other commitments 

to do so. It’s absolutely vital that 

Government and firms do as much as 

possible to cushion the blow, but also 

that other creditors recognise the drag 

this will have on household budgets and 

flex their expectations and the help they 

offer to customers accordingly. 

“We welcome the Government’s 

package of support, but it won’t plug the 

gap in household finances for people 

experiencing debt.” 

In other related news, StepChange 

and OVO Energy have created a new 

partnership that they say will provide 

a package of support to the charity 

worth up to £2 million over the course of 

2022 to support people facing financial 

difficulty. To help provide the immediate 

resource StepChange needs, OVO will 

be funding additional frontline services 

in 2022, worth £1m from April through 

to the end of the year. It will also set up 

a dedicated team to support vulnerable 

customers, providing energy advice, 

account health checks and sign-posting 

customers to appropriate specialist third 

parties. 


NEWS ROUNDUP 

Atradius warns of more failures 

in UK food and beverage sector 

THE UK food and beverages output is 

forecast to grow by more than three percent 

in 2022, but the outlook for food producers 

and processors is less positive. 

In its latest Food and Beverages industry 

report, Atradius outlines how the UK food 

and beverages market rebounded after 

a 5.3 percent contraction in 2020. Last 

year saw the market grow by 4.1 percent 

as retailers benefitted from increased 

demand. But the report shows how the 

pandemic and Brexit are still having an 

impact, with the implications presenting a 

particular challenge for food producers and 

processors. 

Cost increases for commodities, energy, 

fertiliser, transportation and packaging 

have increased input prices along the 

value chain and the cost implications of 

customs declarations and local content 

audits as a result of Brexit are also having 

an impact, despite the EU-UK non-tariff 

agreement. The exit of skilled, EU workers 

from the UK labour market is contributing 

to mismatches in the labour market, with 

additional cost pressure coming from the 

need to increase salaries to retain or attract 

staff. 

Darran Tilke, Senior Underwriter Food 

& Agriculture at Atradius said, pressure is 

certainly mounting for food producers and 

processors: “Although the EU-UK non-tariff 

agreement is positive, we’re still seeing a 

significant impact from Brexit which is 

expected to continue into 2022 – not just 

on input prices, but on the availability of 

skilled labour to help businesses meet the 

increased demand from retail.” 

The report also details how, almost two 

years on from the first UK lockdown, the 

COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an 

impact. Additional sanitation protocols and 

absences due to illness or self-isolation 

have also added to cost pressures for the 

UK food and beverage market. Atradius 

expects the margins of many businesses 

to deteriorate, as food producers and 

processors struggle to pass on input price 

increases to retailers, leading to a decrease 

in credit risk quality for many businesses in 

the coming months. 

“The pandemic is certainly still 

impacting businesses of all kinds across 

all sectors,” Darran continues. “With the 

end of Government support, and input cost 

inflation hurting profits, we’re expecting an 

insolvency increase of about 20 percent in 

2022 compared to 2019, which would take us 

back to normal levels. 

“With insolvencies forecast to increase, 

it is essential that businesses are 

protected against non-payment. Having 

a comprehensive and proactive credit 

management strategy is one of the best 

ways businesses can be prepared to weather 

the storm in 2022.” 

Agility the name of the 

gamein talent spotting 

BUSINESSES that fail to use the words 

and address the issues of ‘culture’ 

and ‘flexibility’ in their recruitment 

advertisements are generating 40 percent 

less traffic that those who do. 

This was one of the startling facts 

explained by Marek Danyluk, Managing 

Partner of Space Executive, to members 

of the CICM Think Tank last month who 

also heard that while a hybrid model of 

working is suiting some, its popularity is 

far from universal. 

Marek explained how the pandemic 

has shifted the focus of conversations 

into new areas when it comes to 

recruitment and retention and 

accelerated how firms confront 

challenges such as wellness and mental 

health. While salary and perks are still 

important, so too are the ‘softer’ benefits 

of working for a business, and especially 

the need and desire for an individual to 

be heard, and their feedback acted upon. 

Having good culture, he said, was 

all very well, but there was always the 

danger of ‘over-communication’ that 

could leave a credibility gap. Having a 

robust feedback policy was essential, 

but that entailed more than simply 

conducting a staff survey, and the 

upskilling of teams was also essential, 

especially in an environment where 

certain skills were much in demand. 

Marek warned the Think Tank that 

people were getting more expensive, 

and to attract the right talent meant 

being flexible in how individuals were 

remunerated and in the ‘package’ they 

were given. Making an ‘agile’ decision 

based on the people you see was key, but 

he acknowledged that this had a knockon 

effect on a CFO’s ability to plan and 

budget, and created challenges within an 

existing team structure. 

>NEWS 

IN BRIEF 

Watch and learn 

THE Credit Services Association 

(CSA) has launched a new Online 

Learning Platform which it claims 

will ensure credit and collections staff 

are trained and up-to-date with the 

latest best practice and regulations 

while demonstrating an organisation’s 

commitment to staff training and 

high standards. The platform offers 

twelve different modules covering 

topics such as legislation, regulation, 

customers in vulnerable situations, 

compliance, trace and investigation, 

and team leadership. Each module sits 

on an E-Learning platform which the 

Association says offers features such 

as interactive videos, downloadable 

content, and the ability to work at your 

own pace and save your progress. It 

also allows participants to test their 

progress as they work through each 

module. 

Dazzling 

performance 

LANTERN, one of the UK’s market 

leading debt purchase and recovery 

companies, has received its third 

consecutive ‘gold’ award from customer 

experience experts, Investor in 

Customers (IIC). The ‘gold’ award means 

Lantern excelled at all four principle 

themes - understanding customer 

needs, meeting customer needs, 

delighting customers and engendering 

loyalty. The Lantern team took on board 

feedback from its first IIC assessment 

in 2018, where it achieved a Silver 

Award, and put in place some of the 

recommendations that IIC suggested to 

further improve their service delivery. 

Wallwork-ing hard 

PETER Wallwork FCICM, one of the 

most familiar names and faces in the 

credit industry, has joined Arvato as 

a Non-Executive Director. In a career 

spanning more than 20 years, Peter 

has built a reputation for managing 

complex external messaging and 

stakeholder relationships, positioning 

innovative solutions into often 

misunderstood, highly-regulated 

customer-facing markets. The 

former Chief Executive of the CSA, 

Peter currently advises on strategy, 

governance and external messaging 

for a new venture, aiming to tackle 

the issues raised in the 

Woollard Review for the 

FCA, improving the way 

insolvency and debt 

solutions work for all 

stakeholders. 


CICMQ ROUNDUP 

SIX OF THE BEST 

Quality is about the company you keep. 

AUTHORS – Mona Yazdanparast and Laura Rhodes 

IT’S been a busy few months in 

the world of CICMQ with some 

familiar names achieving reaccreditation 

and a number of 

new names entering the hall of 

fame for the first time. 

First among them (alphabetically 

at least) is AB Agri, a key player in 

the agricultural supply chain. Frank 

Anderson FCICM, Group Credit Manager 

for AB Agri, says the re-accreditation 

continues the team’s development and 

helps achieve growth in the organisation: 

“It is refreshing to go through the process 

of accreditation every three years, and 

it provides us with added gravitas in the 

market,” he says. 

“The CICMQ Accreditation is essential 

as a benchmark and going through the 

core process helps to ensure continuous 

improvements. The accreditation provides 

the team with a clear outlook on what we 

have accomplished so far. The process 

refreshes our ideas and encourages the 

team to further improve best practices.” 

Aggregate Industries, the UK subsidiary 

of Holcim, a Swiss based global leader 

in innovative and sustainable building 

solutions, has similarly been re-accredited 

– 10 years on from first earning the 

benchmark for quality. 

Phil Rice FCICM, Head of Credit at 

Aggregate Industries, says he is proud to 

have retained formal industry recognition: 

“We are just as excited about it as we were 

when we first received accreditation ten 

years ago, as it’s an industry standard 

and a differentiator,” he explains. “We 

always strive to achieve more as getting 

better never stops, as we are trying to be 

the best in providing quality services to 

businesses.” 

TOP GROCERIES 

Another to be reaccredited is Allied Bakeries, 

a national UK bakery producing 

for top grocery brands such as Kingsmill, 

Allinson’s and Bürgen. Kerrie Blackaby 

FCICM, Accounts Receivable Manager, is 

delighted to yet again achieve the highest 

quality accreditation for the Accounts 

Receivable team in the organisation: “We 

are quite literally ecstatic to have regained 

our accreditation, as this renewal demonstrates 

the high-quality work of our team. 

“The organisation wanted the team to 

be recognised as an excellent department 

with continued focus on professionalism 

and development by our 14 team 

Biffa, the leading integrated 

waste management company 

in the UK. 


CICMQ ROUNDUP 

AUTHORS – Mona Yazdanparast and Laura Rhodes 

“The CICMQ 

Accreditation is essential 

as a benchmark and 

going through the 

core process helps to 

ensure continuous 

improvements. The 

accreditation provides 

the team with a clear 

outlook on what we have 

accomplished so far. The 

process refreshes our 

ideas and encourages the 

team to further improve 

best practices.” 

members. This re-accreditation and the 

team’s learning experience with CICM 

benefits the company in achieving this 

goal. We plan to further advance the 

training development matrix to the whole 

of Grocery Service Centre (GSC).” 

Achieving CICMQ for the first time 

is Biffa, the leading integrated waste 

management company in the UK. 

Tina Daulton MCICM, Head of Finance 

Shared Services, is another like Phil and 

Frank who is a keen supporter of the 

Institute, and says it’s an honour to be 

part of the wider network of ‘best practice’ 

organisations: “The whole CICMQ process 

was a great learning experience for 

all involved and it showed the passion 

and commitment of 

our team, as well as 

ratifying the support of 

the wider business. For 

Biffa as a whole, it clearly 

demonstrates and affirms 

that we are delivering an 

excellent service to both 

internal and external 

customers. 

“Some 60 percent of our 

Credit Team are CICM 

members, as we are keen 

to further our knowledge 

and skills and strengthen 

the team at all levels,” 

she continues. “We are 

a strong and successful 

team and have learnt to 

celebrate our successes 

while striving for continual 

improvement.” 

The assessment report 

noted that: ‘This team 

rightly deserves recognition 

for their achievement, by having an 

impressive strategy to manage and develop 

its people, having a common purpose 

and road map, while collaborating and 

working with its business partners. The 

results in cash collection and overdue 

debt are significant, and stakeholders are 

impressed with their determination and 

professionalism.’ 

QUALITY ASSURED 

Earning CICMQ status for a fourth time is 

QA Ltd, the UK’s leading provider of tech 

skills and digital training. QA Ltd catered to 

more than 200,000 people in 2020, offering 

150 undergraduate and masters’ programmes 

and serving 80 percent of the 

FTSE 100. 

Corinne Sanderson, Credit Manager, 

says the re-accreditation continues to 

help them achieve the goals set out by 

“We are 

delighted 

to have a 

renewed 

accreditation 

for yet another 

year, as it 

confirms 

our work 

consistently 

meets the 

highest 

standards of 

excellence.’’ 

QA Ltd: “We are delighted to have a 

renewed accreditation for yet another 

year, as it confirms our work consistently 

meets the highest standards of excellence. 

We are keen that our customers recognise 

the quality of the service that our team 

delivers, and CICMQ Accreditation 

helps us share this knowledge with our 

customers.” 

Last but by no means least, technology 

communications company, Vodafone 

Limited, has also now joined the ranks of 

accredited companies, a formal acknowledgement 

of excellence in all things credit. 

Naomi Cullen, Operations Manager for 

UK Credit and Collections at Vodafone 

Limited, says it was a 

great honour and learning 

experience to achieve 

high standards in credit 

management for the organisation: 

“CICMQ Accreditation 

can only be 

attained if an organisation 

can prove that best 

practice is in place, so 

obtaining it highlights to 

our customers that we are 

best in class,” she says. 

“As a business, Vodafone 

strives for the highest 

standards, and being accredited 

to CICMQ supports 

that objective.” 

Naomi says that the 

company has had a close 

affiliation with the CICM 

for many years: “Several 

members of our team have 

studied for a CICM qualification,” 

she continues, 

“and we recognise the value that a professional 

CICM qualification brings. We see a 

CICMQ Accreditation as an extension of this 

‘value’ and the importance of being 

benchmarked against the best. 

“We learned in qualifying for the 

accreditation that working with a wider 

stakeholder group earlier in the process 

absolutely achieved the best results. In 

return, we received support and praise, 

which has been incredible for morale and 

team spirit. We will continue working to 

this new model in future.” 

The assessment report stated: ‘The 

relationship the Collection Team has 

with its stakeholders is excellent. The 

team demonstrate first-rate stakeholder 

involvement with process developments 

and working capital at the forefront of 

their activities.’ 

Congratulations one and all! 


INSOLVENCY 

THE STORM AHEAD 

Turning the spotlight onto corporate and 

personal insolvency. 

AUTHOR – Paul Smith 

WITH the relatively recent 

winding down of Government 

business support 

measures, the continuing 

economic recovery from 

COVID and the Omicron 

variant, workforce shortages and rises in the cost 

of living, as well as the consultation on the future 

of insolvency regulation, the spotlight has again 

turned to the insolvency profession. The question 

many are asking is what lies ahead for UK business 

and personal finances. 

The raft of UK Government business support 

measures introduced since the start of COVID are 

largely now closed, with the VAT deferral scheme 

brought to an end on 30 June (businesses may 

however be able to enter HMRC’s Time to Pay 

arrangement to pay tax in instalments) and the 

furlough scheme closing at the end of September. 

There is now just one measure due to last 

beyond this year. Currently available is the facility 

to claim back up to two weeks’ Statutory Sick Pay 

for absences from 21 December 2021; a Small to 

Medium Enterprise (SME) Recovery Loan Scheme 

available until 30 June 2022; and the Englandonly 

Additional Restrictions Grant, which gave 

councils grant funding to distribute funding to 

local businesses affected by restrictions – this 

currently cannot be used beyond the current tax 

year. A Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business 

Rates Relief Scheme is planned in England in 2022 

and 2023, giving a 50 percent reduction on rates 

to eligible properties that are occupied. Similar 

schemes are planned or already in operation in 

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 

Commercial tenants are also facing the 

imminent expiry of the moratorium introduced 

by the Government at the start of the pandemic 

whereby commercial landlords have been 

precluded from forfeiting commercial leases and 

evicting the tenant for non-payment of rent. This 

measure was originally in place until 30 June 2020 

but has been extend on more than one occasion 

and is now due to expire on 25 March 2022. 

The change in the support available to 

businesses coincides with a rise in corporate 

insolvencies, as noted by the Insolvency Service 

in its Q4 statistics: ‘in Q4 2021, after seasonal 

adjustment, the number of company insolvencies 

was 18 percent higher than in Q3 2021 and 51 

percent higher than in Q4 2020. This was driven 

by an increase in CVLs [Creditors’ Voluntary 

Liquidations] to the highest quarterly level since 

the series began in 1960. The increase in CVLs 

in the second half of 2021 coincided with the 

phasing out of measures put in place to support 

businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.’ 

As we hopefully emerge from a couple of 

years of instability into a better place and 

continued recovery, challenges will remain for 

businesses, particularly smaller companies, 

which are less likely to be able to survive external 

stresses. Samantha Keen, UK Turnaround and 

Restructuring Strategy Partner at EY and the 

IPA’s incoming President this year, recently noted 

that ‘rising costs, inflation and the removal of 

the final layers of Government support, mean 

that businesses will need to ensure they have 

the agility to adapt quickly to conditions in their 

market to safeguard their long-term survival.’ 

And as Samantha observes, it is not just COVID 

that has presented challenges for firms recently. 

As Adam Gallagher, restructuring partner at law 

firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, commented in 

a Financial Times article published just before 

the end of 2021: ‘the number of macro headwinds 

that are facing all sectors, but some in particular, 

are just extraordinary… they all point to inflation, 

be it energy, logistics, raw materials, freight, 

wages — the list goes on.’ 

We can see a storm ahead for businesses 

across the UK, and we continue to monitor 

corporate activity closely. Looking to personal 

insolvencies, the outlook is also concerning. The 

rise in inflation generally, and energy prices in 

particular, can potentially have a considerable 

impact on disposable income for lower income 

earners, and personal debt levels. The Insolvency 

Service recently reported that ‘IVAs reached a 

record high in 2021 and accounted for 74 percent 

of all individual insolvencies. 2021 saw the lowest 

annual number of bankruptcies since 1989, 

while numbers of DROs [Debt Relief Orders] 

were similar to 2020 but remained below prepandemic 

levels.’ We expect existing IVAs to come 

under pressure in 2022 as disposable income is 

squeezed, with the position further exacerbated 

by the National Insurance increase from April, 

and mortgage rate rises emerging as interest rates 

begin to creep upwards. 

We anticipate more people running into 

difficulty with debt in 2022, meaning an 

increased need for personal debt advice and 

solutions. The IPA is closely monitoring these 

issues at the same time as focusing its attention 

on the Government’s consultation on the future 

of insolvency regulation in the UK. The IPA will 

be pressing for the best possible outcome in the 

interests of the UK collectively, including UK 

business, private individuals, the insolvency 

profession and the public generally. 

Paul Smith is CEO, Insolvency Practitioners 

Association. 


LAST CHANCE 

TO BOOK! 

Thursday 24th March, Royal Lancaster London 

JOIN US FOR A NIGHT 

OF CELEBRATIONS 

BOOK YOUR PLACES TODAY! 

The countdown is on... there are now just a few weeks to go until this fantastic evening 

of networking and celebration of all 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! 

Places are selling fast, so make sure to get in touch if you’re interested in attending. 

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 to be directed to our website 

 

PALADIN 


CREDIT REFERENCE AGENCIES 

INTELLIGENT 

THINKERS 

Credit Reference Agencies are stepping up 

to the plate to support the economic recovery. 

AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM 

LATE payment, the cost of living, and 

the need to accelerate Companies 

House reforms are three of the 

biggest challenges facing credit 

reference agencies (CRAs) and 

the wider business information 

industry at large. Meanwhile, ongoing uncertainty 

surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic remains 

a concern, but has accelerated innovation, 

especially in the digital space, and the industry 

feels it is well placed to support the economic 

recovery. 

Tim Vine, Head of International Finance 

and Risk Solutions, Dun & Bradstreet, says late 

payment – defined as customers paying their 

suppliers beyond the agreed payment terms – 

is putting pressure on cashflow for millions of 

businesses: “Late payments from customers 

initiates a domino effect,” he explains. “Should 

the final end customer pay late this ripples up the 

supply chain which all businesses in the chain 

have to contend with. 

“When late payments do occur, it is 

small businesses who feel it most and are 

disproportionately impacted. In 2020 we found, 

on average, SMEs were owed £130,445.04 in late 

payments, and over a fifth needed to use personal 

savings or assets to cover shortfall. When you add 

the impact of COVID loans which are starting to 

become due, alongside existing business loans, 

the pressure is mounting on businesses’ cashflow 

and their ability to pay suppliers in a timely 

fashion.” 

Tim believes it is more important than ever 

that businesses have a comprehensive view of 

their potential risks: “To gain this view and help 

stay protected financially, businesses can leverage 

data and predictive analytics to gain a detailed 

understanding of the previous payment behaviour 

of their customers, while seeking to anticipate 

future performance, to mitigate the potential 

impact of late payments on their cash flow.” 

LEVERAGING DATA 

Jo Kettner, Chief Executive Officer of Company 

Watch, a specialist commercial CRA, agrees that 

leveraging data is key to managing risk. To that 

end, she is keen to ensure that Companies House 

reform gets before Parliament: “The resignation 

of Lord Agnew in January 2022 was due to the 

Government deciding to drop the Economic 

Crime Bill which would have been the vehicle 

for this happening,” she explains. “Subsequent 

pressure, and perhaps the situation in Ukraine, 

led to the Prime Minister saying on 2 February 

that there would be an Economic Crime Bill in the 

“Mundane and 

manual tasks that 

would typically 

take hours to 

complete – and 

often using pen 

and paper – can 

now be automated, 

giving finance 

departments time 

back to do revenue 

generating work 

instead.’’ 

third Session of Parliament. One member of the 

House of Commons Treasury Select Committee 

said he would ‘be amazed’ if this doesn’t include 

Companies House reform, but we’ve not seen the 

Bill yet, so it isn’t certain that these vital reforms 

that are so long overdue will be included.” 

Jo also believes that now is the time to make the 

case for the release of more Government datasets: 

“We would particularly welcome the employee 

numbers in Real Time Information filings which 

can be used both to validate information held at 

Companies House, and also provide a more up-todate 

pulse on company performance,” she adds. 

James Jones, Head of Consumer Affairs at 

Experian UK&I, says that the cost of living is 

likely to be a significant factor for all sectors of 

the economy over the next 12 months: “Rising 

inflation, coupled with a substantial rise in energy 

prices from April, could see household finances 

becoming strained, dampening demand and 

confidence around spending, which will have a 

knock-on impact across the economy,” he says. 

COVID, he continues, has hit the sector hard, 

but CRAs have been fast to react: “As a result of the 

pandemic and associated lockdowns, consumer 

spending, borrowing and almost all economic 

activity reduced. However, by last summer 

demand for borrowing had recovered to reach 

pre-pandemic levels again, with many households 

also able to swell their saving balances causing 

pent-up demand to spend. 

“During the crisis, we took a number of 

positive steps to support consumers, clients and 

the wider industry. Working with the other CRAs, 

we agreed the introduction of the emergency 

payment freeze, which meant those who agreed a 

payment holiday with their lender had their credit 

scores protected. 

Our open banking powered Affordability 

Passport, which gives organisations a more 

complete picture of someone’s financial 

circumstances quickly and can help identify 

those who maybe become vulnerable because of 

a change in circumstances, was made available 

for free. And our data expertise helped local 

authorities, councils, NHS Trusts, fire services, 

food banks and other major charities to get help 

and support to the most vulnerable during the 

crisis. Our business data has also been used by 

the UK Government to plan and forecast support 

measures for businesses.” 

TOUGH TIMES 

Dan Hancock, Managing Director of CoCredo, 

says that the last two years have been tough, and 

with uncertainty comes the increased need and 


Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / March 2022 / PAGE 13 

continues on page 14 >



heightened perceived value for good quality 

data: “Companies are having to rely on data 

more than ever,” he says, “whether this be for 

collections, marketing, setting terms or KYC, 

and I can only see this need increasing as 

insolvencies are predicted to surge, inflation 

hits a new 30-year record, Government support 

and tax relief is reduced, and more fallout 

from the pandemic is brought to the surface.” 

Jo Kettner agrees: “Increased uncertainty 

is a real problem for broad-based economic 

growth,” she explains. “The Government 

COVID support schemes provided muchneeded 

help and undoubtedly prevented 

many businesses from failing. However, as 

those schemes have ended and the reality of 

pay-back starts to bite we are expecting levels 

of insolvency to exceed pre-pandemic levels.” 

In response to this, Company Watch 

launched a COVID Scenario Forecast in April 

2020 to help users understand the potential 

impact COVID would have on businesses: 

“We modelled impact scenarios by industry 

and allowed our users to interact with these 

scenarios to tailor for individual companies,” 

she continues. “As information on the 

Furlough and CBILS schemes were released we 

incorporated this information into our reports 

and undertook an extensive matching exercise 

to link information to different levels of the 

Group, to help our users have a 360-degree 

understanding of risk.” 

Tim Vine highlights a positive impact of 

the pandemic has been an acceleration in 

innovation. Digitisation and automation, he 

says, have been supercharged: “In the finance 

solutions space, the main change continues 

to be having the right technologies in place 

to alleviate pressures on already stretched 

finance departments,” he explains. 

“Mundane and manual tasks that would 

typically take hours to complete – and often 

using pen and paper – can now be automated, 

giving finance departments time back to do 

revenue generating work instead. While this 

might sound a little archaic, it’s still very 

much the case that the process a company 

goes through to apply for credit is form-based 

and offline. As is the process of a business 

self-assessing. Moreover, it is important to 

remember that many companies were not set 

up for a digital, remote-working environment 

and have struggled as a result. Offshore shared 

service centres may have been closed for long 

periods, requiring employees to work from 

home. But without high-speed broadband 

(or even without internet completely in less 

established markets), this has impacted credit, 

finance and other functions.” 

GOVERNMENT PROTECTION 

Tim believes that businesses have been 

partially protected from financial stress and 

potential closures by Government support 

schemes and delays or pausing in court 

hearings for County Court Judgments and 

other failure lead-up events: “As a result, the 

ability to distinguish between financiallysound 

and financially-stressed companies 

has become much harder, which in turn has 

created uncertainty for credit and finance 

functions reviewing credit policies and setting 

credit terms for customers.” 

So how has Dun & Bradstreet responded? 

Like Company Watch, it focused on scenario 

planning: “Prior to the pandemic, almost all of 

our products and services at Dun & Bradstreet 

were available online and increasingly via 

integrated connections into our customers 

finance and credit management systems, 

ensuring continued access to the data and 

systems that help businesses make their 

decisions. To help guide companies through 

the uncertainty of the pandemic, we created 

the COVID Impact Index, complementing 

existing credit ratings and analytics by 

assessing the expected impact of the pandemic 

alongside traditional credit risk assessment.” 

CoCredo has similarly taken advantage of 

the pandemic by investing significantly into 

online training with customers and prospects: 

“This has been a big learning curve for us as a 

business but very beneficial to all parties and a 

positive step forward,” Dan Hancock explains. 

“Due to our technical support and the 

ability to integrate with our APIs, we’ve seen 

more than ever that customers and prospects 

are looking at automation. For that reason 

we have invested in our infrastructure to 

continue to provide the very best customer 

service and technical support. We have added 

the ability for customers to customise their 

own scorecards within their reports or API 

feeds, which is proving to be very popular 

over the last year. This creates a decisionmaking 

matrix that is easy and reliable and 

can be tailored for each client. We hope that 

as more companies look to increase sales, 

more credit applications will be requested 

and the automation of data to make informed 

decisions will prove crucial.” 

ECONOMIC RECOVERY 

So how can CRAs and Business Information 

providers support the economic recovery 

as an industry, and through their individual 

services? Jo Kettner says that the key is in 

helping businesses understand and stress 

test risks they are taking: “Transparency 

and ‘explainabilty’ are two of the founding 

principles of Company Watch, so enabling 

our users to understand the reasons behind 

our score as well as to interact to scenario test 

what might happen in periods of uncertainty 

help our users make evidence-based risk 

decisions,” she explains. “Recent product 

launches such as Aphrodite® – our enhanced 

director matching functionality helps users 

spot potential phoenix companies by surfacing 

the history of failed companies which are 

often not linked by Companies House. There’s 

no doubt that doing business will become 




riskier in 2022 – we will continue to do all we 

can to help support users to understand and 

manage the risks they are exposed to.” 

Jo says the business is also committed 

to working with industry colleagues via its 

membership of the Business Information 

Providers Association (BIPA) to lobby 

Government on issues which are relevant 

to users of commercial CRA data. And as 

well as promoting its scenario testing tool, 

she is seeing an increasing up-take of its 

‘Experiment’ functionality: “Alerts on early 

stage insolvency proceedings (Notice of 

Intention to Appoint Administrator and 

Unadvertised Winding Up Petitions) have 

been available since last summer,” she says, 

“and we’ve been quick off the 

mark including and enhancing 

Furlough and CBILS data and 

making these available to our 

users.” 

James Jones at Experian 

says that the pandemic clearly 

demonstrated that data managed 

in a proper and correct 

way can be used as a force for 

good: “It can help organisations 

from a variety of sectors 

to meet their ambitions and 

serve their customers,” he explains. 

“For example, with the 

rapid digitalisation of the economy, 

our identity and fraud 

services enable businesses, 

organisations, and the financial 

services industry to make sure who they 

are dealing with online are genuine – while 

causing minimal disruption to the customer 

journey.” 

James says that many of the company’s 

services and products empower businesses 

to make better, more accurate decisions: 

“We help lenders manage their portfolios, 

minimising credit risk to their business. We 

enable affordability checks to be carried 

out quickly and accurately, bringing new 

customers into the mainstream financial 

system and ensuring lending is carried out 

responsibly with customers only offered 

products that are most appropriate for them.” 

DIGITAL VERIFICATION 

In terms of new products, at the end of last year 

the business launched Work Report, billed 

as the first digital verification service that 

will allow consumers to consent to digitally 

share their payroll information with another 

organisation: “It provides connectivity to 

an employer’s payroll data to provide direct 

confirmation of a consumer’s gross and net 

income, as well as their employment status and 

tenure, in a matter of seconds,” he explains. 

“For lenders, the solution can be used as part 

of their affordability and credit checks when 

a new customer applies for financial products 

and services. It helps to provide a faster, more 

DataCloud is 

playing a pivotal 

role in delivering 

timely and 

accurate data to 

businesses across 

the world – and 

this is empowering 

financial teams 

to make informed 

decisions regarding 

credit collection. 

accurate, lending decision, reduce credit risk 

and create a better overall digital experience.” 

Tim Vine says that Dun & Bradstreet’s 

DataCloud is playing a pivotal role in delivering 

timely and accurate data to businesses across 

the world – and this is empowering financial 

teams to make informed decisions regarding 

credit collection and financing: “With a 

turbulent economic outlook – from Brexit and 

supply chain challenges to geopolitics, it’s 

never been more important that organisations 

adopt the right solutions to ensure they can 

not only survive, but overcome, difficult 

economic conditions,” he explains. “Whether 

that’s an increased focus on automation, 

adopting alternative payment methods such as 

cryptocurrency or embracing 

open banking and working with 

third party service providers, 

Dun & Bradstreet’s data and 

solutions are there to serve as 

a cornerstone of all financial 

strategy.” 

When it comes to latest innovations 

Dun & Bradstreet 

says it is continually innovating 

and looking for ways to help 

businesses automate their financial 

processes: “We recently 

launched D&B Finance Analytics, 

our AI-driven credit-to-cash 

platform which enables finance 

teams to manage risk, increase 

operational efficiency, enhance 

their business insight, and improve 

the customer experience. In addition 

to trade credit risk assessment, the platform 

includes UK SME commercial lending data to 

inform lending decisions, and D&B Receivables 

Intelligence which, in partnership with 

FIS GETPAID, helps finance leaders connect 

dispersed teams, disparate systems and data 

together so that companies can streamline 

and automate their accounts receivables (AR) 

processes. 

“We have also recently launched D&B 

CreditMonitor as an E-Commerce product, 

enabling companies to access their own credit 

report and track key changes to proactively 

manage their commercial credit profile.” 

Dan Hancock says that as a data aggregator 

and not just a CRA, CoCredo comes into 

its own: “We gather data from a variety of 

sources across the world and are exploring 

new sources all the time, looking to supply 

data our customers can trust to give them 

the best chance of predicting the strength of 

businesses they work with,” he concludes. 

“During this time our Dual Report has 

had a greater uptake understandably, with 

customers enjoying the added reassurance 

that this product brings. By looking at two 

credit opinions in one report, plus the 

combined strength of multiple data sources, 

customers can know that they are looking at 

a company in more detail than ever before.” 


INTERVIEW 

THE JOB HUNTER 

Sean Feast FCICM speaks to Karen Young 

about recruitment, National Hunt racing and 

a Labrador called Anakin. 

KAREN Young never set 

out originally to work in 

recruitment. She really wanted 

to be a sports journalist or 

a celebrated National Hunt 

jockey in the mould of Velvet 

Brown in the famous book and film that bears 

her name. For those that know her, perhaps that 

doesn’t come as much of a surprise. She still 

competes regularly at equestrian events and 

is a keen triathlete and open water swimmer, 

recently signing up for a half ironman in the 

Lakes. What is perhaps more of a surprise, 

however, is that Karen is a proud Geordie. 

“No-one can quite believe it when I tell 

them, because I sadly don’t have an accent,” 

she laughs, “but I was actually born at the 

Princess Mary Maternity Hospital in Jesmond, 

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, which is the equivalent 

of a Cockney being born within the sound of 

Bow Bells. 

Educated locally at the Central Newcastle 

High School, Karen describes herself as a 

hard worker who veered towards the Arts rather 

than the Sciences. She studied History and 

Classical Civilization, and particularly enjoyed 

English. Among the books that she remembers 

especially well at school was Paul Scott’s Jewel 

in the Crown: “It was quite a hard-hitting book 

which is why it sticks in my mind,” she says. “It 

dealt with some very challenging issues like 

inequality and injustice – issues that we still 

come across in business and in life today.” 

LANGUAGE SKILLS 

It was English Language and English Literature 

that she went on to study at Leicester University: 

“I still love reading,” she confides. “My husband 

and I were meant to be skiing recently but our 

trip was postponed and we ended up going to 

the Highlands of Scotland instead. Besides 

walking, I was determined to sit by the fireplace 

and just get time to read.” 

Karen thoroughly enjoyed her three years in 

Leicester, a time when she came out of her shell: 

“I was probably what you would describe as a 

shy girl and remember standing there on my 

first day thinking that here was my opportunity 

to change. So even though the friends I made all 

turned out to be more gregarious than I was, it 

was me who went along the corridor knocking 

on doors and introducing myself.” 

Having received little in the way of careers’ 

advice, she graduated in 1996 with no real 

plan beyond getting a job and leaving home. 

Her mother had been an insurance broker 

(she sadly died when Karen was 10) and her 

step-mother Head of A&E Nursing at the Royal 

Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. Her father had 

been a civil servant and latterly an Emergency 

Planning Officer, planning for major incidents 

including for any casualties returning from the 

Iraq War. 

“At school we had completed one of those 

JIIG-CAL personality tests that was supposed to 

identify the careers and job roles to which you 

were most suited. There were about 20 in all and 

the three I can remember were librarian, social 

worker or prison warden! I guess my career 

does involve working with people, and I love 

books, but that’s where the similarities probably 

start and end.” 

Although never afraid of hard work and 

having worked during the university holidays 

at Newcastle Airport on night shifts, finding 

permanent employment was more of a 

challenge: “It was a tough labour market and I 

had a lever arch file full of rejection letters, at 

a time when you always used to get a rejection 

letter. I applied for various advertising and 

media sales roles and even one in IT at British 

Airways for which I had to sit a tough Maths 

test which went spectacularly badly. It was all 

character building as job searches often are!” 

It was then that she struck lucky, applying to 

join Hays as recruitment consultant: “Hays in 

those days was a FTSE 100 conglomerate and had 

a diverse range of interests in commercial and 

logistics (before divesting in 2003 to reposition 

as a pure-play specialist recruitment business) 

and the selection process was extremely 

rigorous. I didn’t really know what recruitment 

was all about if I’m honest, but I succeeded in 

being offered a job – in Romford. Considering I 

was from Newcastle, and felt that Leicester was 

‘The South’, I had to look up where it was!” 

In landing a job at Hays, Karen headed for 

Essex, where she initially found digs sharing 

with seven complete strangers. Working in Hays’ 

Accountancy Personnel business, initially on 

its portfolio of temporary finance roles, Karen 

had very much landed on her feet. She also 

struck gold with her boss: “I met some amazing 

people and learned from the best, including my 

branch manager, Wendy, who became a lifelong 

friend.” 

DIRECTOR RESPONSIBILITY 

Although recruitment was not in Karen’s initial 

career plan, she has recently passed her 25th 

anniversary and her current role is Director 

of the Accountancy and Finance Business in 


INTERVIEW 

the UK and Ireland. She is strategically 

responsible for a team of more than 

300 finance and credit recruitment 

consultants across 90 offices, as well as 

reporting to the Board to support the future 

management and strategic direction of 

the business. Most recently she was given 

responsibility for driving the business’ 

Social and Environmental purpose, which 

includes safeguarding the environment 

and supporting local communities. She 

currently sits on the global steer co for 

‘Hays Helps’ which is a global programme 

of volunteering activities that sets out 

to help create opportunities for areas of 

society that need a helping hand, thus 

improving lives. 

In those 25 years, Karen has witnessed 

many changes. When she first started, she 

had no personal email address and when 

the first PC did arrive for the office, it was 

a shared branch email address accessible 

from that one computer. There were no 

online jobs boards or aggregators, and 

recruitment advertisements were still 

phoned through to the Romford Recorder 

to go in their lineage recruitment section: 

“Now it’s all about technology and 

the digital journey, but I believe great 

recruitment still comes down to good 

people and your ability to engage, and 

that’s never changed,” she says. 

Karen is aware of the way in which 

recruitment is sometimes perceived, but 

it is not a perception she identifies with: 

“I have rarely seen the negative side,” she 

says. “If you do the right thing by people, 

treat them how you would want to be 

treated yourself, listen to them and do 

your best ethically for them, you build 

long-term partnerships with those people. 

I’ve seen individuals grow over two 

decades from taking on part-qualified, 

temporary roles to become experienced, 

full-time Financial Directors. 

“We’ve helped thousands of our 

customers navigate their careers over 

many years. You need a passion for 

people; yes of course it’s sales, but it’s not 

or rather should not be ‘transactional’. 

You can positively affect and improve 

someone’s life. How can you not be proud 

of playing a part in that?” 

Hays’ relationship with the CICM is wellestablished 

and mutually advantageous: 

“We’re very proud of our partnership,” 

she says, “and helping the organisations 

and individual members with talent, 

recruitment and personal development. 

We are particularly excited this year about 

helping smaller enterprises in learning 

more about the products, services and 

support that the CICM can provide, and 

similarly excited about the launch of the 

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

INTERVIEW 

“My husband knew that I loved horses and now we have three. 

Horses are my passion whereas my husband is a passionate 

collector of Star Wars memorabilia.’’ 

CICM’s new Professional Standards to 

which we have contributed.” 

In terms of the current recruitment 

landscape, Karen has never been busier: 

“There are a huge number of jobs out 

there (the most in 24 years) but an 

extreme shortage in skills,” she explains. 

“Many organisations didn’t keep up 

with the changing environment before 

the pandemic, and the lack of talent in 

professional areas such as finance, credit 

management, IT, engineering etc never 

went away. It has simply become far more 

acute.” 

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES 

Karen has no regrets about choosing the 

career that she did or staying with Hays. 

The challenges and opportunities the 

business has given her, and the many 

different experiences, has always kept her 

interest. There is never a ‘slow’ day, nor 

has there been in 25 years. 

If she were to give her younger self 

any advice, however, it would be to follow 

your dreams: “I didn’t pursue my interest 

in sports journalism because people 

around me said I was ‘too nice’ and would 

find it too tough. That seems funny now, 

given that working in recruitment is not 

for the faint hearted and yet here I am 

25 years later. So the lesson there is stick 

to your guns, and if you have an interest 

in something then follow your heart and 

don’t let people put you off. Who knows, I 

could have been Clare Balding!” 

Going to university and studying for 

a degree is useful, but perhaps not the 

be all and end all: “It gives you different 

experiences,” Karen says, “but so does the 

practical experience of an apprenticeship 

where you can earn and learn. Different 

jobs are being created all the time, roles 

that don’t even exist currently, especially 

in the ‘Green’ economy, and so building 

a broad understanding of different 

industries and professions and what is 

available is important for young people 

today. We help where we can in raising the 

profile of careers in credit management 

for example, or our ‘Future of Finance’ 

work in colleges and universities, and 

hopefully later this year, into more 

schools.” 

As we leave Karen, she has taken a rare 

day off to go to the National Horseracing 

College at Doncaster to do some speed 

and fitness training with one of her 

horses. She’s been riding ever since she 

was three when her mum put her on the 

back of a donkey. Since then, she has 

taken it more seriously, and after a brief 

hiatus in her twenties due to career and 

building finances, has been riding ever 

since with her own horses: “My husband 

knew that I loved horses and now we have 

three. Horses are my passion whereas 

my husband is a passionate collector of 

Star Wars memorabilia. I went to my first 

‘Comic-Con’ with him recently and we 

were about the only ones not dressed up. 

You could almost feel people staring at us 

in our casual clothes thinking we were the 

odd ones out!” 

Karen loves to compete, and while 

modestly claims only to ride at a ‘minor 

level’, others might consider jumping 20 

fences whilst galloping over three miles a 

major achievement. She also still loves to 

run – a passion she picked up at secondary 

school where she captained the athletics 

and cross country team, and has recently 

been working hard to improve her open 

water swimming technique, to better her 

triathlon times. Last year this included 

completing Coniston End to End open 

water swim which was 5.25 miles and 

Ullswater is in the plan for this summer 

– 7.5 miles! 

She also loves walking the family dog, 

a Labrador called Anakin, who will do 

anything for a small bit of cheese. Anakin 

must be bad enough, but somehow I 

think shouting out ‘cheese!’ as recall 

across a crowded park would take the 

embarrassment factor to another level. 


GREEN 

FINGERED 

While greenwashing may not always be a 

conscious effort to deceive, the result of not 

being truthful is reputationally damaging for 

any organisation seen to be doing it. 

AUTHOR – Adam Bernstein 

Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / March 2022 / PAGE 19 continues on page 20 >

OPINION 


IF a poll were run to select the words 

of the century, both ‘green’ and 

‘sustainable’ are bound to be top of the 

list. They’re everywhere. On packaging, 

documents, the media, and our lips. 

But just because the concepts are in 

vogue it doesn’t necessarily follow that they’re 

followed through with action. 

Societies and economies are increasingly 

demanding sustainability and environmental 

responsibility from product and service 

providers. And naturally, with the climate in 

mind, organisations seeking to deploy and assert 

their green credentials need to do so properly. 

THE PROBLEM OF ‘GREENWASHING’ 

‘Greenwashing’ is defined by Investopia as: 

“the process of conveying a false impression or 

providing misleading information about how a 

company’s products are more environmentally 

sound. Greenwashing is considered an 

unsubstantiated claim to deceive consumers 

into believing that a company’s products are 

environmentally friendly.” 

Its misuse is a growing problem that is being 

recognised by the authorities says Jeanette 

Burgess, a partner and Head of Regulatory & 

Compliance at Walker Morris. She highlights 

an investigation into ‘greenwashing’ by a 

UK regulator, the Competition and Markets 

Authority (CMA): “At the end of 2020 the 

CMA… co-ordinated a global review of randomly 

selected websites and discovered that some 40 

percent of green claims made by businesses 

could be misleading customers.” 

She says that the CMA published finalised 

guidance, in the form of the Green Claims Code, 

which centres on six principles. 

These are that green claims made must 

be truthful and accurate; should be clear 

and unambiguous; should not omit or hide 

important information; any comparative claims 

made should be fair and meaningful – that is, 

comparisons with other businesses, products, 

or services must compare like with like, and the 

basis and measure or metrics of any comparison 

should be made clear; claims made should 

consider the full life cycle of a product, service 

or business; and lastly, that any claims must be 

substantiated. 

ALL QUITE LOGICAL 

Burgess notes that the code is underpinned by 

consumer protection legislation: the Consumer 

Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 

2008 (CPRs). 

“It is important for businesses to note,” 

says Burgess, “that the CMA has significant 

enforcement powers, and that breach of the 

CPRs can attract both civil and criminal liability.” 

Beyond that Burgess says that reputational 

consequences can be devastating, as can the 

risk of litigation being brought by or on behalf of 

consumers individually or as a collective action. 

It also needs to be pointed out that the CMA 

commenced, mid-January 2022, a full review of 

‘Greenwashing’ 

is defined by 

Investopia as: 

the process of 

conveying a 

false impression 

or providing 

misleading 

information 

about how a 

company’s 

products 

are more 

environmentally 

sound. 

misleading claims, made both on- and off-line, 

and will act against offending businesses. “The 

CMA is considering which sectors to prioritise,” 

explains Burgess, “but these could include 

textiles and fashion, travel and transport and 

fast-moving consumer goods (such as products 

within the food, drink, beauty and cleaning 

markets).” 

Consumer protection from greenwashing is, 

however, also a priority for financial services 

regulators. 

According to Morningstar, sustainable funds 

attracted all-time high inflows of €120bn in 

the first quarter of 2021, with 111 new funds 

launched in the first three months of the year. 

As the site noted, this is higher than in the 

previous quarter and represents more than 

half of overall European fund flows. This, it is 

reckoned, was driven by continued investor 

interest in environmental, social and corporate 

governance (ESG) issues. 

It’s pertinent to note that whilst Europe's 

Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation has 

not been transposed into UK law post-Brexit. But 

as Burgess highlights, “the Financial Conduct 

Authority (FCA) has, in its 2021-22 Business Plan, 

in its findings following the consumer study on 

sustainable investing, and in guidance annexed 

to the FCA's July 2021 letter to authorised fund 

managers, made clear its sustainability focus 

and its commitment to the provision of clear 

and accurate information to consumers when it 

comes to green claims.” 

“In addition,” she continues, “commentators 

are now suggesting that the recent high-profile 

instances of greenwashing whistleblowing at 

investment management firms DWS Group 

and BlackRock are likely to prompt a wave of 

financial services miss-selling claims based on 

exaggerated green credentials.” 

It’s entirely clear, then, that with a distinct 

shift in regulatory focus, pressure is mounting 

on businesses in all industries and sectors to 

clean up their act as a result of the trend towards 

'green litigation' – that is, complaints and claims 

brought for any one of a range of environmental 

and climate-related reasons. 

A perfect example of this is the recent Royal 

Dutch Shell (RDS) case. Granted it’s a Netherlands 

case, but its one that has attracted a great deal 

of international attention. And as Burgess 

points out, “it is arguably the most significant 

climate change-related decision to date because 

it is the first time a private company has been 

ordered to align its policies with the Paris 

Agreement.” 

She also cites other environment-related 

litigation, recently heard in the UK’s Supreme 

Court – the Lungowe and Okpabi UK Supreme 

Court decisions – that confirmed that a UK 

parent company’s duty of care may extend to 

foreign subsidiaries: “That litigation opened the 

door for claimants wishing to target UK parent 

companies for the ESG failings of subsidiaries 

nationally and even internationally.” 

Naturally, greater levels of action in this sphere 


OPINION 


become a self-fulling prophecy which is 

likely to encourage increasing numbers 

of ‘green’ actions to be brought against 

states and corporates around the world. 

It’s not beyond the realms of possibility 

that it will also encourage shareholders, 

investors, employees, customers and 

other stakeholders to demand more 

climate-friendly changes in policies and 

strategies throughout organisations and 

businesses globally. As Burgess points 

out, “whilst RDS is an energy company, 

green litigation is no longer just an issue 

for ‘Big Oil’.” 

With the scene set, it’s reasonable 

that organisations and businesses – in 

any, and all, sectors – take action to 

ensure that any green claims they make 

in sales, marketing, promotional, precontractual 

and contractual materials 

and communications are both accurate 

and able to be substantiated. 

WHAT PRACTICAL ADVICE ARISES? 

As to how businesses and organisations 

can protect themselves from regulatory 

action and public rebuke, it’s clear 

that they need to urgently familiarise 

themselves with the CMA’s Green Claims 

Code and the FCA's July 2021 guidance. 

When it comes to practical pointers to 

help businesses minimise the risk of 

greenwashing, or committing consumer 

protection breaches generally, Burgess 

advises that organisations should firstly 

take care that all information, online and 

in all other forms, that is gathered and 

presented to consumers – potential and 

actual – is accurate, fair, not deceptive 

or misleading and does not leave out 

material facts. 

“It’s recommended,” she says, “that 

organisations introduce and implement 

specific safeguarding procedures as to 

the currency, accuracy and security of all 

such information.” 

It should also be remembered that 

any broad-brush green claims are more 

likely to be misleading, inaccurate or 

unsubstantiated than narrow, product- or 

service-specific statements. 

Indeed, common sense says to tell the 

truth and nothing else. In other words, 

it’s central to winning the debate that 

organisations ensure that green claims do 

not contain partially correct or incorrect 

aspects and that any applicable conditions 

or caveats are clearly and prominently 

explained. 

But for Burgess, another key to staying 

out of trouble is to “ensure that any claims 

accurately represent the entire life cycle of 

a product or service.” However, she adds 

that this “is likely to involve businesses 

proactively and regularly undertaking 

appropriate enquiries of other parties 

throughout the supply chain, as well as 

keeping their own house in order.” 

Similarly, it is essential to remember 

that features or benefits that are necessary 


standards or legal requirements of a 

product or service type should not be 

claimed as environmental benefits. 

Another point to remember is that 

green claims can be made via visual 

graphics, not just through the written 

word. “Recent FCA findings suggest that 

logos, medals or other visual 'rating' 

assertions carry significant weight with 

consumers,” she says, “and can therefore 

carry a particularly significant risk of 

greenwashing where apparent quality and 

credibility cannot be substantiated.” 

This means, in simple terms, that it 

is important to ensure that both written 

green claims and any visual graphics or 

symbols used are critically assessed from 

the perspective of what a consumer will 

take them to mean. 

Another option is to signpost consumers 

to any additional information which 

might affect their decision to purchase. 

For example, where green claims are 

made, say, on packaging or within media 

with limited space, include additional, 

comprehensive information via website 

links or QR codes. 

But for Burgess, from a legal 

perspective, one way of reducing the 

risk of greenwashing is to provide 

training to all staff involved, directly or 

indirectly, with the sales and marketing 

– including production of hard and soft 

copy materials – of the business’ services, 

products or brand; records and evidence 

of such training should be retained. 

Similarly, she says that policies are 

important. “Organisations should 

introduce and implement policies 

and procedures regarding the review, 

maintenance, correction and updating of 

marketing material and other consumerfacing 

information where necessary.” 

Burgess also say that there should be an 

audit trail of all these efforts. 

And finally, if or when any greenwashing 

complaint or allegation is made, Burgess 

recommends that immediate legal 

advice be sought. “Depending on the 

circumstances, she says, “here may be 

dispute resolution tools that can be 

deployed in defence or settlement of any 

complaint.” 

IN SUMMARY 

Greenwashing isn’t going to disappear off 

corporate agendas. While situations may 

arise that aren’t the result of deliberate 

actions, the net result could still be 

just as damaging to the organisation 

concerned. Fundamentally, good policies 

and proactive are central to staying out of 

trouble and the media. 

Adam Bernstein is a freelance writer.

ESG 

TOWARDS ZERO 

The journey towards Net-Zero 

is a marathon not a sprint. 

AUTHOR – Manosij Ganguli, Global Sustainability Advisory Leader at HLB 

NET-ZERO, also called 

carbon-neutral, refers to 

the balance between the 

amount of greenhouse 

gas (e.g. carbon dioxide) 

released into and removed 

from the atmosphere. From a climate 

change perspective, net-zero is the state at 

which global warming stops. It’s achieved 

by reducing emissions and removing 

carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. 

Becoming carbon-neutral can be a 

complex undertaking for businesses 

of any size. So let’s explore a three-step 

roadmap and the practical steps your 

company can take to help you on your 

journey to a net-zero future. 

WEIGHING THE BENEFITS 

The global threat from climate change is 

crystal clear and there is an urgent need 

for decisive action, meaning Governments 

in most developed countries will impose 

tighter regulations to control emissions if 

they haven’t already done so. Meanwhile, 

enterprises that have already started their 

net-zero journey (including Walmart, 

Prologis, Target, Apple etc) are benefitting 

from lower energy costs, increased 

efficiency, and higher profitability. 

At the same time, consumers are 

becoming increasingly aware of the 

environmental impact of the products 

they purchase, and the organisations 

which produce them. More people appear 

willing to pay extra for products and 

services from companies committed to 

reducing their carbon footprints. 

According to the HLB Survey of Business 

Leaders 2021, 91 percent of participants 

believe how their companies 

respond to events that impact society reflects 

on their brand and overall customer 

perception of their business, while 77 percent 

see opportunities to profit in the low 

carbon economy of the future. 

However, the journey to net-zero isn’t 

without its challenges. Many businesses 

are held back by the lack of budget and 

required to overhaul their infrastructure 

and business practices. Supply chain 

emissions are hard to control, and it’s not 

easy for most businesses to accurately 

measure their environmental impact. 

The good news is that you don’t have to 

eat the elephant all at once. You can start 

with small but decisive actions to lay the 

groundwork for success. 

STEP 1: TAKE A SNAPSHOT OF 

YOUR BASELINE 

The first step is to understand where 

you’re starting from, so you can assess 

your scope and set milestones. You assess 

what investments can mitigate short-term 

risks and ensure longer-term business 

growth. This step also helps you uncover 

new markets and identify processes that 

may become redundant. 

From a climate 

change perspective, 

net-zero is the state at 

which global warming 

stops. It’s achieved by 

reducing emissions 

and removing carbon 

dioxide from the 

atmosphere. 

• Implement new technologies – leverage 

the right tools and reporting capabilities 

to consolidate data and develop 

insights to inform your strategy. Use 

the Internet of Things (IoT) devices, 

AI, machine learning, and big data 

analytics to generate advanced operational 

measurements. 

• Connect the dots – conduct a data 

audit and determine which systems host 

the data you need. Then, use integration 

and automation technologies to connect 

the required data source to a business 

intelligence tool or fuse data from 

multiple sources in a cloud repository. 

• Understand your energy consumption 

– take stock of all the ways your business 

uses electricity and fossil fuels at every 

step of your supply chain. These include 

powering commercial locations or 

offices, running tech systems, and 

transporting raw materials and products 

across sites. 

• Collect granular data with IoT devices 

– use connected devices to monitor 

energy, water, and heating consumption 

around the clock to measure energy usage 

patterns. Identify key areas of waste to see 

where you can innovate and transform 

business processes 

• Leverage big data and AI – use 

big data and analytics solutions to 

reconcile massive amounts of data from 

multiple sources and machine learning 

technologies to calculate and optimise 

logistics operations. Implement predictive 

systems to reduce fuel usage and select 

routes to improve efficiency. 

STEP 2: DESIGN A SUSTAINABLE 

BUSINESS MODEL 

Next, create a long-term, sustainable 

business model designed for a net-zero 

economy as you identify opportunities for 

innovations and growth drivers along the 

way. Your strategy should address universal 

business areas, including supply chain 

management, logistics, manufacturing, 

and product development. 

• Rethink procurement and sourcing – 

improve visibility by collecting baseline 

data from your suppliers and doing your 

due diligence to assure the integrity of 

your supply chains. You may consider 

moving to near-sourcing—procuring from 

local suppliers to reduce transit miles. 

• Improve logistics and distribution 

efficiency – re-assess your approach to 

long-distance freight transportation, 

especially by heavy goods vehicles (HGV). 

Explore flexible distribution product 

strategies such as e-commerce, click-andcollect, 

pay-per-use product rentals, and 

unattended retail solutions. 

• Embrace lean manufacturing – 

leverage strategic profit reinvestment 

and institutional support (e.g. tax credits, 

grants, direct investments etc) to support 

your sustainable transformation and 

replace old technologies, such as legacy 

data centres or outdated machinery. 

• Reduce waste and redundancy – use 

data analytics to remap your value chain 

and optimise processes. Cut back on 

waste and pollution through materials 

reuse and resource regeneration. For 

example, you can implement a circular 

strategy to infuse recycled materials into 

new products. 

• Invent new product or service 

offerings – leverage your journey towards 


ESG 

AUTHOR – Manosij Ganguli, Global Sustainability Advisory Leader at HLB 

The ‘greening’ of 

business is well underway. 

Companies ranging from 

technology giants such 

as Google and Microsoft, 

to logistics players like 

DHL, have already pledged 

to reduce their carbon 

footprints. 

de-carbonisation as an opportunity 

to reshape your business model to a 

new ideal. Explore ways to launch new 

sustainable products and services that 

can also help fund the transition. 

• Balance the energy cost of your 

technology portfolio – rapid digitisation 

means that legacy, energy-inefficient 

hardware could be your largest source 

of energy consumption. Host your data 

in facilities powered by renewables and 

retire outdated assets through hardware 

rationalisation projects. 

• Prepare for electrification and 

alternative fuels – switch your energy 

supplier to one that uses renewable 

sources and purchase electric vehicles 

for your fleet. When upgrading your 

facilities, incoprorate non-electric sources 

of heating or cooling. 

STEP 3: MONITOR AND REPORT 

What gets measured gets done. In fact, 

90 percent of S&P 500 Index Companies 

already publish sustainability reports 

to keep stakeholders and the public 

informed. Some 25 territories, including 

Australia, China, South Africa, and the 

UK, have made environmental, social, 

and governance (ESG) disclosures and 

reporting mandatory for larger companies 

and financial institutions. Here's how 

to go beyond check-box reporting to 

monitor and report on progress against 

sustainability best practices: 

• Follow the Task Force on Climaterelated 

Financial Disclosures (TCFD) 

guidelines – collect, assess, and disclose 

climate-related risks and opportunities as 

part of your company's corporate social 

responsibility (CSR) reporting. 

• Use technology to aid reporting – use 

AI and data analytics solutions along 

with data lake and data warehousing 

technologies to break down data silos 

while supporting a data cleansing process 

to yield relevant, unbiased, and properly 

formatted raw data entries for analysis. 

• Automate your reporting – streamline 

ESG reporting by connecting self-service 

business intelligence tools to your cloud 

data repositories to support disclosures 

and strategic decision-making. Also, use 

automated compliance management 

solutions to investigate new avenues for 

green growth. 

• Monitor regulatory changes – use 

regulatory parsing solutions, such as 

natural language processing (NLP) 

technologies that can comb through 

regulatory publications and other 

sources, to map business processes to 

sustainability targets and implement 

dynamic updates based on regulatory 

changes. 

• Stay abreast of consumer sentiment and 

stakeholder opinions – use NLP and AIbased 

algorithms to gather insights from 

various sources to enrich your strategic 

planning with first-hand feedback. 

Failure to respond to dissatisfaction can 

undermine your reputation and even 

result in legal action. 

GREENING BUSINESSES 

The ‘greening’ of business is well 

underway. Companies ranging from 

technology giants such as Google and 

Microsoft, to logistics players like DHL, 

have already pledged to reduce their 

carbon footprints and become net-zero or 

carbon-negative within a decade. 

To benefit from carbon-neutral 

initiatives you will need to take action, 

rather than maintaining a neutral stance. 

The journey towards net-zero cannot be 

ignored, and the companies who simply 

‘greenwash’ will quickly be exposed. 

Companies that lag in their net-zero 

initiatives risk losing market share to their 

more sustainable competitors. They also 

risk losing so much more. 

Manosij Ganguli, Global Sustainability 

Advisory Leader at HLB. 


COUNTRY FOCUS 

Georgia: The art 

of being business 

friendly. 

ON THE GRAPEVINE 

MENTION Georgia, or even 

search for it on the web, and 

it’s more likely than not that 

what is returned will relate to 

the State of Georgia, the last of 

the thirteen colonies founded 

in what became the United States of America. 

However, we’re more interested in the republic 

of Georgia, a country that was once part of the 

Soviet Union, a country located in southwest Asia, 

with the Black Sea to its east, Russia to the north, 

and Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan to the south. 

First unified by King Bagrat III in the 11th 

century, it flourished under Kings David IV and 

Tamar but fell to the Mongols in 1243. By 1490 

it had fragmented into small kingdoms which 

struggled against the Ottomans and Persians until 

the Russians annexed it in the 19th century. 

It’s been independent since 1991 following the 

collapse of the Soviet Union. It’s first president, 

Zviad Gamsakhurdia, was a nationalist who was 

deposed in a coup within eight months. A civil war 

began soon after which ended in 1995 with two 

regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia (Tskhinvali) 

breaking away – with support from Russia. 

But mounting public discontent over rampant 

corruption and poor Government services, 

followed by an attempt by the Government to 

manipulate parliamentary elections in November 

2003, touched off widespread protests that led to 

the resignation of Eduard Shevardnadze, president 

since 1995. 

Now, tensions with Russia are still unresolved; 

increasing US economic and political influence in 

the country has long been a source of concern for 

neighbouring Russia, as have Georgia’s aspirations 

to join NATO and the EU. And with tensions on 

the Ukrainian border, it’s likely that the Georgian 

Government may be sweating at present. 


GEOGRAPHY AND PEOPLE 

Georgia is not a large country with just 69,000 sq. 

km of land (the UK measures 242,495 sq.km). And 

of that, around 12,560 sq. km is Russian occupied 

– namely, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. 

It occupies a strategic location which, says 

export.gov, makes it a natural logistics and transit 

hub along the ‘New Silk Road’ that links Asia and 

Europe via the Caucasus. 

The CIA World Factbook estimates, based on 

2018 data, that 35.5 percent of the landmass is 

given over to agriculture, 39.4 percent to forest, 

and 25.1 percent to other uses. 

Kakheti is the most important 

wine region in Georgia in 

quantitative, qualitative and even 

historic terms. Almost threequarters 

of the country’s wine 

grapes are grown here, on land 

that has been used for viticulture 

for thousands of years. 


COUNTRY FOCUS 


As for the population, it has grown 

slowly and consistently from 3.52m in 

1950 to 5.4m in 1992. Data since 1993 

excludes the populations of the Abkhazia 

and Tskhinvali region’s following their 

breakaway. Nevertheless, the population 

in 1993 of the rump stood at 4.85m but has 

declined, to 3.71m in 2020. 

A July 2021 estimate from the CIA puts 

the figure at 4.93m – however this seems 

to include the whole of Georgia. 

No doubt this is partly down to 

geopolitics. But it’s also due to a 

fluctuating, but generally declining, 

fertility rate – which was 2.6 births per 

woman in 1960, 2.29 in 1990, 1.59 in 2000 

and 1.97 in 2020, and the migration of 

around 1m citizens to Russia. 

As for age demographics, the National 

Statistics Office of Georgia noted that 

as of January 2019, the population was 

relatively young: 20.35 percent were 

aged 14 or under, 64.68 aged 15 to 64, 

and 14.97 percent 65 or older. In more 

depth, the five-year age bands used (0-4, 

5-9 etc.) carry very similar proportions of 

population – around six or nine percent 

each – until and including the 60-64 

banding. Thereafter, the proportion tails 

off as would be expected. 

Ethnically, the country is, according 

to the CIA’s 2014 figures, 86.8 percent 

Georgian, 6.3 percent Azeri, 4.5 percent 

Armenian, and 2.3 percent other. 

And in terms of distribution, Emerging- 

Europe.com reports that workers in 

Georgia are equally distributed between 

rural and urban areas with a slight bias to 

residing rurally. Trading Economics shows 

high but generally falling unemployment 

rates which stood at 26.7 percent in 2012, 

21.7 percent in 2016 and 18.5 percent in 

2020. 

With much self-employment, especially 

in rural areas, low value-added generic 

activities and subsistence agriculture, and 

a lack of formal jobs, there is significant 

underemployment in the country. 

On education, Emerging-Europe. 

com said, albeit in 2017, that Georgia is 

prioritising education and is improving 

access and quality of its educational 

institutions. The site quoted the OECD, 

which said that the country is the 

region’s top performer for primary school 

enrolment and length of schooling. 

Further, 33 percent of all adults have postsecondary 

education and there is a high 

level of educational attainment amongst 

the labour force. 

It cites data that says that for higher 

educational institutions, the most popular 

subjects are social sciences, including 

business and law, followed by health and 

social care. 

INDUSTRIES AND ECONOMY 

It surprises some that the World Bank 

in Doing Business 2020 placed Georgia 

high up in its rankings for ease of doing 

business – it was placed 7th; data for 2021 

does not exist as the World Bank book for 

that year was cancelled. The ranking takes 

into account matters such as starting a 

business, sourcing power, getting credit, 

trading across borders, insolvency 

matters, and taxation. 

The OECD described Georgia, in Sustainable 

Infrastructure for Low-Carbon 

Development in Central Asia and 

the Caucasus: Hotspot Analysis and 

Needs Assessment, published in 2019, 


Gergeti Trinity Church 

is a popular name for Holy 

Trinity Church near the 

village of Gergeti in Georgia. 

The church is situated on 

the right bank of the river 

Chkheri, at an elevation of 

2170 meters, under Mount 

Kazbek. 

as “a lower-middle income country in the 

south Caucasus. With the most favourable 

investment climate in the region, it 

has become an attractive destination for 

foreign investment.” It also noted that significant 

structural reforms have been carried 

out to simplify business procedures, 

construction permits, licencing and permitting 

regimes, as well as to improve tax 

and customs procedures. 

According to Invest in Georgia, the 

country “is ideally positioned to access 

markets of Asia and Europe, as well as the 

Middle East and the CIS countries. Business-friendly 

regulations, a favourable 

tax and customs framework and relatively 

continues on page 26 >

COUNTRY FOCUS 


low-cost work environment have played a 

key role in developing manufacturing sector 

in Georgia.” 

The country has Free Trade Agreements 

with the European Union, EFTA, Turkey, 

Ukraine, China (including Hong- 

Kong) and the nine members of the 

Commonwealth of Independent States. 

Georgia is also a member of the 

World Trade Organisation, United 

Nations, Organisation for Security and 

Co-operation in Europe, International 

Monetary Fund, Council of Europe, 

Organisation of the Black Sea Economic 

Cooperation, Community of Democratic 

Choice and the GUAM Organisation for 

Democracy and Economic Development. 

In March 2021, BDO in its guide, Doing 

Business In Georgia 2021, offered data for 

the size of the economy and that GDP for 

2019 stood at Georgian lari (GEL) 49.3bn 

(£11.8bn). 

Georgia is considered to be the birthplace 

of wine and the CIA World Factbook 

says that Georgia's main economic activities 

include cultivation of agricultural 

products such as grapes – other produce 

includes, citrus fruits, and hazelnuts. Other 

economic activities include the mining 

of manganese, copper, and gold; and the 

production of alcoholic and non-alcoholic 

drinks, metals, machinery, and chemicals 

in small-scale industries. 

And this seems to be borne out by comment 

from Invest in Georgia which says 

that food, metals and non-metallic mineral 

product “provide the largest industrial 

base for Georgia at the moment, while automotive 

and aerospace, electronics and 

pharmaceutical production are the fastest 

growing industries.” 

However, and worryingly, the Invest 

in Georgia offers little concrete detail 

on certain ‘key’ sectors apart from 

noting that there is some military and 

civilian hardware production, including 

aircraft; some manufacturing of different 

spare parts for agricultural products; 

activity in ropeway, railway and mining 

products; and the assembly of electric 

locomotives. Electronics in the country is 

“nascent”, but several multinationals have 

opened up in Georgia and are exploiting 

the rising demand for products in the 

region. 

On pharmaceuticals, there are said 

to be 70 manufacturers making 1,367 

products and 13,000 employees in the 

sector. In plastics and rubber, domestic 

consumption of these products totalled 

$579m, of which just 24 percent was made 

domestically. 

And in other sectors, Georgia’s 

automotive sector is based on the 

Georgia, a country at the 

intersection of Europe and Asia, is a 

former Soviet republic that’s home 

to Caucasus Mountain villages and 

Black Sea beaches. It’s famous for 

Vardzia, a sprawling cave monastery 

dating to the 12th century, and the 

ancient wine-growing region Kakheti. 

The capital, Tbilisi, is known for the 

diverse architecture and mazelike, 

cobblestone streets of its old town. 

importation of cars from various countries 

and their re-export to neighbouring 

markets. The country also manufactures 

clothing for several brands – says Invest 

in Georgia – for brands such as M&S, 

Moncler, Nike, Adidas, Zara, Puma, and 

H&M. 

Georgia is, however, susceptible to 

external influences that it cannot control. 

Consider the international sanctions 

relating to the Russia-Ukraine conflict 

post-2014 when the Crimea was annexed 

and when the Donbas region conflict 

started. Sanctions have had a negative 

impact on Georgia’s economy and 

contributed to a relatively low growth 

rate of 2.9 percent in 2015 and 2.8 percent 

in 2016. However, in 2017 and 2018 the 

economy grew by 4.8 and 4.9 percent 

respectively. It’s likely the Georgia may 

suffer again if Russia invades Ukraine. 

Infrastructure will be a concern for any 

would-be exporter and the OECD noted in 

2019, that Georgia’s existing infrastructure 

varies in quality, with relatively highquality 

electricity infrastructure, mainly 

based on hydropower (more than 80 

percent), and lower-quality transport and 

water infrastructure. 

That said, it may concern some that 

near-exclusive reliance on hydroelectricity 

could create energy security concerns in 

the long term, as Georgia’s water resources 

are particularly vulnerable to a changing 

climate. 

Improving connectivity to foreign 

markets through both hard infrastructure 

(transport links) and soft infrastructure 

(institutions) is a priority for the 

Government which is reflected in the 

planned transport projects that are 

intended to create new corridors that 

connect Georgia by road and rail to 

neighbouring countries. 

For example, in February 2021, the 

Government announced that a 35-km 

Tbilisi-Sagarejo highway will connect the 

capital city to the town in Kakheti region 


COUNTRY FOCUS 


of Georgia. and by 2024, the construction 

of 200 km of new highways will have been 

completed. 

SETTING UP SHOP 

Under Georgian law, legal entities are 

divided into two broad categories: 

entrepreneurial legal entities and nonprofit 

legal entities. Individuals may also 

conduct business as sole proprietors 

without establishing any separate legal 

entity. Companies are required to have 

their own name, management and 

registered offices. However, in addition 

to their legal address, entrepreneurial 

legal entities may submit an alternative 

legal address and email address to the 

registration authority information. 

Companies established in Georgia are 

subject to Georgian law, but agreements 

concluded by Georgian companies can be 

governed by the law agreed between the 

parties, unless otherwise determined by 

the Georgian Act of International Private 

Law. Foreigners can become a partner or 

be appointed as director of a Georgian 

company; permits are not required to 

do so. But where a foreigner seeks to 

become a partner in a company, that 

owns agricultural land, restrictions might 

apply. 

TAXATION 

BDO details that Georgia permits 

International Financial Companies, 

Special Trading Companies, Free 

Industrial Zone Enterprises, Special 

Trading Zones and Tourist Enterprises 

as special purpose entities that enjoy 

beneficial tax regimes. In terms of tax 

rates themselves, corporation tax is levied 

at 15 percent, income tax at 20 percent flat 

rate, VAT at 18 percent, while capital gains 

operate on two rates – five percent for 

individuals and the normal corporation 

tax rate for businesses. 

It should be said at this point that a new 

corporation tax regime came in from 2017 

where, for most sectors, undistributed 

profits remain untaxed until they are 

distributed. The old regime applies 

to commercial banks, credit unions, 

insurance companies, microfinance 

organisations, and loan providers until 1 

January 2023. 

With regard to VAT, an entity established 

in Georgia must register as a VAT payer 

when its taxable turnover exceeds 100,000 

GEL, around £24,000, in any continuous 

12-month period. However, the Georgian 

fixed establishment of a foreign taxable 

entity is liable for VAT registration from 

the beginning of taxable operations. 

And there is a special tax regime for 

individuals with annual turnover of 

less than 30,000 GEL (around £7250), 

no employees, and who register as a 

micro business – they will be exempt 

from tax on their business income. 

Individual entrepreneurs with 

annual turnover of less than 

GEL 500,000 (around £121,000) 

may register as a small business 

and pay 1 percent tax on 

their turnover. The rate increases to 3 

percent if annual turnover exceeds GEL 

500,000. 

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 

Georgia has signed treaties and enacted 

legislation to comply with its international 

obligations with regard to intellectual 

property rights. However, in the opinion 

of the US Government, protection and enforcement 

of rights “remains problematic.” 

However, the Government has taken 

several steps to introduce better practices. 

In addition, the EU-Georgia Association 

Agreement signed in 2014 mandates 

improved performance in this regard. 

Companies wanting to operate 

in Georgia need to understand that 

intellectual property is primarily a 

private right, and it is the responsibility 

of the rights’ holders to register, protect, 

and enforce their rights where relevant, 

retaining their own advisors. 

The US Government advises conducting 

due diligence on potential partners as a 

good partner is important in protecting 

IP rights. Thought should be given as to 

whether partner should be permitted to 

register IP rights on an entity’s behalf. 

Doing so may create a risk that the partner 

will list itself as the IP owner and fail to 

transfer the rights should the partnership 

end. 

IN SUMMARY 

It’s quite clear that as a small, post- 

Soviet country, Georgia has a number 

of challenges that it needs to overcome. 

However, it is a country that is most 

definitely business-oriented. 

Traditional Kharcho beef 

soup from the country Georgia 

served with a dried hot pepper 

and sliced lemon. 


HIGH COURT ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ASSOCIATION 

Snap Chat 

More progress is needed on making body-worn 

cameras mandatory for enforcement agents. 

AUTHOR – Alan J. Smith 

IN July 2019, Paul Maynard, 

the then Justice Minister, 

announced that all enforcement 

agents, apart from County Court 

bailiffs, would be required to 

wear body-worn cameras. 

Since that date, no substantial progress 

has been made towards making this 

a reality. The enforcement industry is 

still awaiting the launch of a Ministry of 

Justice consultation to move this forward, 

despite it being on the agenda at every 

meeting the High Court Enforcement 

Officers Association (HCEOA) has with 

the Ministry of Justice. 

The HCEOA is very much in favour 

of body-worn video cameras being 

compulsory, as there are numerous 

benefits to all parties. This view is also 

supported by the Civil Enforcement 

Association (CIVEA) who represent the 

non-High Court enforcement agents. 

Collectively we’re both pushing for this 

change, we really are. Clearly the last 

two years has been a busy time for the 

government, but what we have also seen 

during that time is that where there is a 

will and a need, decisions can and are 

being made quickly. 

Many enforcement companies and selfemployed 

enforcement agents already 

use body-worn cameras during their 

visits. However, without regulation, their 

usage will be inconsistent. The industry 

needs those regulations to ensure that all 

footage is captured and saved according 

to the same procedures. 

Having an indisputable video and 

audio record of the visit brings many 

benefits to debtors, creditors and 

enforcement agents – it really is a winwin 

situation: 

• If there is a complaint, the footage can 

be viewed to impartially establish the 

facts of the matter. 

• The conduct of both the debtor and the 

enforcement agent will be captured – 

providing peace of mind if any false 

accusations are made. 

• The footage can be used to assess performance 

and personal development of 

agents. 

In the industry, we often find that 

debtors complain to the advice sector 

about enforcement agent misconduct. 

In the experience of our members, the 

advice sector often takes this anecdotal, 

unverified information as fact, providing 

resulting statistics and data that are 

presented as quantitative. 

The compulsory use of body-worn 

cameras would enable the enforcement 

companies and the advice sector to 

establish the veracity of these anecdotal 

reports and thereby gain a more complete 

understanding of the true state of affairs 

relating to enforcement agent conduct. 

In terms of moving forwards, there 

is one key stumbling block and that is, 

how long should the footage be stored 

for? Data storage could be a significant 

expense for our and CIVEA’s members, 

especially as we are talking about very 

large volumes of video data, potentially 

stored for prolonged periods. 

However, this is no reason to delay 

the development of a consultation and 

drafting regulations to make this now 

long overdue change happen. 

Without wishing to pre-judge the 

outcomes of any consultation around 

this, the general consensus seems to be 

that a period of 60-90 days to store video 

footage from enforcement visits would 

be reasonable and fair for everyone 

involved. 

There should be nothing that stops 

individual firms from choosing to keep 

footage for longer as added value for 

creditors and debtors if it suits their 

business models and is GDPR compliant, 

but we need a clear minimum to be 

stipulated. 

It's worth reinforcing as well that if 

there is any case where someone has 

made a complaint, that footage should 

be kept until the complaint in question 

is resolved. 

We know there has been a desire in 

Whitehall and at ministerial level to 

move forwards on this and HCEOA, 

CIVEA and the majority of our collective 

memberships are keen. Let’s hope that 

2022 is the year when mandatory bodyworn 

cameras become a reality and stop 

becoming a theoretical discussion point. 

Alan J. Smith FCICM is Chairman of the 

High Court Enforcement Officers 

Association (HCEOA). 


www.tcmgroup.com 

Probably thebest debt collection network worldwide 

Certificate of Compliance 

This is to certify that TCM Exchange Platform has successfully complied Penetration Testing 

conducted by Pentest-Tools SRL. No critical dangers have been found. 

CERTIFICATE NUMBER 

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DATE OF THE PENETRATION TEST 

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FULL NAME OF CERTIFIED COMPANY 

TCM Group International ehf. 

DATE OF THE NEXT PENETRATION TEST 

20th of August 2022 

Head of Professional Services 

Razvan-Costin Ionescu 

Moneyknows no borders—neither do we 


International Trade 

Monthly round-up of the latest stories 

in global trade by Andrea Kirkby. 

Stockmarkets indicate opportunities 

NIKKEI Asia reckons that 

Mongolia’s stockmarket was the 

world’s best performer in 2021, 

a position closely followed, says 

Dragon Capital, by Vietnam. Both 

organisations indicate that local markets are 

doing quite well. 

As for Mongolia, its MSE Top 20 

benchmark gained 132.7 percent last year, 

the best in the world. While the market isn’t 

that familiar to many, the country is known 

for its deposits of coal, copper and gold. It 

appears that the market has risen because 

of Government largesse where, during 

lockdowns and an election campaign, 

citizens were given cash and utility bill 

waivers, the value of which was then put 

into stocks. 

In terms of the Vietnamese stock market’s 

36 percent growth, this may be a function 

of government investment in infrastructure 

projects estimated to be worth over £60bn 

between 2021 and 2025, as well as a stable 

growing economy, positive export and 

supply chains, a rapidly growing middle 

class, and low interest rates. Dragon 

Capital is predicting annual GDP growth f 

or Vietnam of over seven percent in 2022. 

Both these markets are worth a peek if 

you’re an exporter looking to grow. 

Trade deal should be 'taken with a large pinch of salt' ? 

THE UK Government is hoping to land an 

‘ambitious’ trade agreement in 2022 despite 

slow progress in 2021 when only an 'enhanced 

partnership' on health, technology and 

vaccine development was agreed. 

However, the Best for Britain campaign 

group thinks that claims of a prospective deal 

should be 'taken with a large pinch of salt' 

– given that 'historically India starts rather 

more trade talks than it finishes'. 

The Department for International Trade 

wants an agreement that removes barriers 

including cutting tariffs on exports of UKmade 

cars and Scotch whisky. However, 

it is rumoured that Indian prime minister 

Narendra Modi is seeking to tie easier 

immigration to the UK to any new trade 

agreement. 

IF figures from City Broker IG Group 

are to be believed, UK exports to the 

EU may drop by 7.73 percent by 2025. 

This, says the broker, is largely 

because smaller EU countries 

are benefitting from Britain’s departure 

from the European Union. 

The company examined export 

data looking for the impact of Brexit 

UK EXPORTS TO EU MAY DROP 

on international trade and areas of 

potential growth. It found that the top 

three countries that benefitted from 

Brexit were Finland, Luxembourg, 

and Portugal. But other countries also 

benefitted from the vacuum left by 

the UK after Brexit including Ireland, 

Croatia, Greece, Lithuania, and 

Cyprus. Naturally, and this makes 

sense, the firm found that the 

highest proportional increases 

occurred where trade was lower to 

begin with. 

The report cited Finland as an 

example. Exports of aircraft, spacecraft 

and allied parts beat estimates by 

11,715.28 percent, at €102.71m instead of 

a predicted €0.87m. 


Argentina in trouble 

WE’VE been here before, but it looks like Argentina and the International Monetary 

Fund (IMF) are again heading for collision over default of debts it owes. Some $19bn 

is due in 2022 as part of a $45bn debt that must be refinanced to 'restore the South 

American nation’s credibility with markets'. 

At issue, during negotiations, is the speed at which the country should reduce its 

deficit. The Argentinian government wants another five years of money printing and 

deficits. It’s also pushed back on a demand to raise interest rates above inflation as it 

would halt the country’s economic recovery. 

The problem is that the Government is hoping that the economy will grow at nearly 

double the 2.5 percent rate that the IMF forecasts for 2022; it also expects inflation to be 

‘only’ 33 percent in 2022, compared to widespread expectations of more than 50 percent. 

What does this mean? Be careful – and if you find business, unless it’s priced in 

sterling, you may not get paid what you expect. 

Fed officials say rate hikes 

near as inflation soars 

MONEY is about to get more expensive. 

The UK and other central banks have 

recently increased interest rates, and it 

appears that the US is likely to follow 

suit as early as March to rein in rising 

inflation made worse by COVID. 

Onlookers, as reported on Reuters, say 

that it is 'sensible' for the US central bank 

to begin raising interest rates this year, 

especially as the labour market is tight 

and inflation is rising. In particular, New 

York Federal Reserve Bank President 

John Williams said, 'we see inflation 

that’s obviously higher than we want and 

it’s not coming down yet.' 

Of course, where the US moves, the 

world in general tends to follow. 

Another budget boost for Japan 

JAPAN’S Government is keeping the taps 

open as it announced a record ¥36trn 

(£240bn) supplementary budget for 2021. 

Put in place to partly finance the 

government’s latest coronavirus-recovery 

package, the money is also part of prime 

minister Fumio Kishida’s plan to revitalise 

the economy while putting the nation’s 

'fiscal health… on the back burner'. 

To cover most of this, the government 

will be issuing ¥22.1trn (£146.5bn) of 

new bonds, which, combined with the 

outstanding balance bonds are expected to 

top ¥1,000trn (£6.6trn) by March. 

With cases falling it appears that 

firms and consumers are becoming 

more confident. While the government is 

watching for risk, business conditions, 

employment, and private consumption 

have all been forecast to rise. 

GLOBAL EXPERTS ARE VERY 

WORRIED ABOUT THE FUTURE 

A recent report on CNN drew attention to 

a survey, the Global Risks Report, from the 

World Economic Forum, which found that 

many business leaders, politicians and 

academics are overwhelmingly pessimistic 

about the threat that COVID-19 still poses. 

They are concerned that uneven economic 

recovery could open chasms between 

societies and countries. 

More than 84 percent of just under 1,000 

global experts surveyed are worried or 

concerned about the outlook for the world, 

while just 12 percent have a 

positive view, and only four percent 

UK exporters and post-Brexit 

trade with South Korea 

THE Government is hailing ‘huge’ demand 

for British products and services in South 

Korea as UK firms saw a £620m, or nine 

percent, surge in exports to the country 

last year. In numbers, government data 

indicates that trade between the UK and 

South Korea was worth just over £13bn 

between January and June 2021, with 

Britain exporting around £2bn more than 

it imported. 

It seems that wind turbines, life jackets, 

PPE and hydrogen fuel cells were among 

the most-popular items. 

South Korea is the ninth largest 

economy in the world, and the growth was 

expected following a 2019 free trade deal 

ahead of the UK’s departure from the EU. 

reported feeling optimistic. 

More than 40 percent of those surveyed 

come from the business world, while 16 

percent represent government and 17 

percent work in academia. Roughly 45 

percent live in Europe, while 15 percent are 

based in North America and 13 percent are 

based in Asia. 

As to the causes of concern, the survey 

recorded labour market imbalances, 

protectionism, and widening digital, 

education and skills gaps. Further, there are 

worries over climate change, debt and the 

militarisation of space. 

UK and Australia 

sign trade agreement 

THE UK and Australia have signed a Free 

Trade Agreement (FTA). This is the first 

post-Brexit trade deal that was negotiated 

by the UK independently of the EU. 

The Government says that all UK 

exports will no longer be subject to tariffs 

in Australia, and it is estimated that trade 

will increase by £10.4bn. Among other 

things, visa restrictions will be removed, 

allowing young UK citizens the opportunity 

to travel to Australia for work for three 

years without restrictions; commitments 

for UK financial service providers have 

been made, especially in relation to nonlife 

insurance providers; and co-operation 

on cosmetics, medical devices, and human 

and veterinary medicines has been agreed, 

with the intention of reducing trade 

barriers for these industries. 

The Government has stated that 

this FTA should aid the UK’s bid to join 

the Comprehensive and Progressive 

Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. 

The agreement will enter into force once 

the UK and Australia have completed their 

respective domestic procedures for the 

agreement to come into effect. 

Cabinet Office releases webinars 

for trading with the EU 

THE Cabinet Office has released a series of 

webinars and videos for organisations that 

trade with the EU following the UK’s exit 

from the EU Single Market and Customs 

Union. 

The productions come as new 

certification and physical checks will 

be introduced, by commodity groups, 

for all remaining regulated sanitary and 

phytosanitary commodities from 1 July 

2022 and completed by 1 November 2022. 

The step-by-step webinars provide 

an overview of these new rules and 

border requirements for moving goods 

from the EU to Great Britain, the Goods 

Vehicle Movement Service, and supplier 

declarations. 

The webinars can be found on gov.uk, 

searching for Webinars and videos for 

organisations that trade with the EU. 

CURRENCY UK 

EXCHANGE RATES VISIT CURRENCYUK.CO.UK 

OR CALL 020 7738 0777 

Currency UK is authorised and regulated 

by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). 

HIGH LOW TREND 

GBP/EUR 1.20363 1.18006 Down 

GBP/USD 1.36794 1.33921 Flat 

GBP/CHF 1.25962 1.22869 Up 

GBP/AUD 1.91869 1.87706 Up 

GBP/CAD 1.72925 1.69560 Up 

GBP/JPY 158.027 153.065 Up 

This data was taken on 16th February and refers to 

the month previous to/leading up to 15th February 2022. 


PAYMENT TRENDS 

Backward Step 

The latest late payment figures show 

declining performance across the board. 

AUTHOR – Rob Howard 

IF you look hard enough, you’ll 

find some positives in the latest 

late payment statistics, but the 

overall picture isn’t so rosy and 

there are a number of sectors 

and regions moving in the wrong 

direction. The average Days Beyond 

Terms (DBT) across regions and sectors 

in the UK increased by 3.2 and 4.4 days 

respectively. In Ireland, regional figures 

reduced by 0.5 day, but increased by 5.5 

days across sectors. Average DBT across 

regions in Northern Ireland increased by 

1.5 days. 

SECTOR SPOTLIGHT 

The UK sector spotlight is fairly grim, 

with all but two of the 22 sectors seeing 

increases to late payments. The Financial 

and Insurance (-1.9 days) and Energy 

Supply (-1.1 days) sectors made small 

improvements, but it’s red across the rest 

of the board. The Mining and Quarrying 

(+8.6 days), Public Administration (+8.5 

days), International Bodies (8.0 days) 

and Transportation and Storage (+6.9 

days) saw the biggest increases, but it’s 

the Water & Waste sector which remains 

at the bottom of the standings, with a 

further increase of 2.6 days taking its 

overall DBT to 29.1 days. 

Over half of the 20 sectors in Ireland 

experienced no change to DBT, and only 

five experienced increases. So on the 

surface, it doesn’t sound so bad, but the 

scales of the increases for the five sectors 

do warrant concern. The Real Estate 

sector, for example, saw the biggest 

change, increasing by a massive 46.9 

days. Similarly, the Construction and 

Transportation and Storage experienced 

large shifts, with DBT increasing by 32.8 

and 29.0 days respectively. 

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT 

As with the sector standings, the 

UK regional figures do not make for 

pleasant reading, with all 11 regions 

moving in the wrong direction. Wales 

saw the biggest jump, with an increase 

of 5.7 taking its overall DBT to 22.6 days 

and replacing East Anglia as the worst 

performing region. Despite an increase 

of 2.6 days, the South West remains the 

best performing region. 

The Irish standings are more 

encouraging, with a number of regions 

making improvements and a number 

seeing no change to DBT. Mayo (-17.3 

days), Offaly (-14.8 days), Kerry (-13.7 

days) and Wicklow (9.0 days) all made 

notable reductions to late payments. 

Some twelve regions are tied at the top of 

the standings with zero days DBT. Seven 

regions, however, experienced increases 

to their terms. A hefty increase of 27.5 

days means Kildare’s overall DBT now 

stands at 68.5 days. 

In Northern Ireland, there’s a 50-50 

split of improvement and decline. Making 

positive strides in the right direction is 

Ulster, with a significant reduction of 

13.5 days to late payments. Also on the 

up is Munster, with a reduction of 3.9 

days taking its overall DBT to 0.2 days 

and making it the new best performing 

region. Leinster was previously at the top 

of the standings with zero days DBT, but 

a dramatic increase of 22.4 days mean 

it is now the worst performing region. 

Connacht’s DBT increased by 0.9 days. 

The overall picture isn’t so rosy and there are a 

number of sectors and regions moving in the 

wrong direction. 


STATISTICS 

Data supplied by the Creditsafe Group 

Top Five Prompter Payers 

Region Jan 22 Change from Dec 21 

South West 11.6 2.6 

Yorkshire and Humberside 12.2 1.3 

West Midlands 15.1 2.4 

East Midlands 15.9 4.5 

Scotland 17.9 3.9 

Bottom Five Poorest Payers 

Region Dec 21 Change from Nov 21 

Wales 22.6 5.7 

Northern Ireland 21 3.7 

East Anglia 20.1 1.2 

London 18.8 3.8 

North West 18.1 1 

Top Five Prompter Payers 

Sector Jan 22 Change from Dec 21 

Business from Home 12.4 3.6 

Financial and Insurance 13.7 -1.9 

Entertainment 13.8 6.6 

Hospitality 13.8 5.9 

Wholesale and retail trade 14.5 1.6 

Bottom Five Poorest Payers 


Water & Waste 29.1 2.6 

Mining and Quarrying 24.6 8.6 

Transportation and Storage 23.2 6.9 

Dormant 22.4 9.1 

International Bodies 22.3 8 

Getting better 

Financial and Insurance -1.9 

Energy Supply -1.1 

Getting worse 

Dormant 9.1 

Mining and Quarrying 8.6 

Public Administration 8.5 

International Bodies 8 

Transportation and Storage 6.9 

Entertainment 6.6 

Hospitality 5.9 

Health & Social 5.7 

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 5.5 

Business Admin & Support 5.2 

Professional and Scientific 5.1 

Education 4.6 

Manufacturing 4.4 

Business from Home 3.6 

Water & Waste 2.6 

Real Estate 2.5 

SCOTLAND 

3.9 DBT 

Wholesale and retail trade 1.6 

Construction 0.6 

NORTHERN 

IRELAND 

3.7 DBT 

SOUTH 

WEST 

2.6 DBT 

WALES 

5.7 DBT 

NORTH 

WEST 

1 DBT 

WEST 

MIDLANDS 

2.4 DBT 

YORKSHIRE & 

HUMBERSIDE 

1.3 DBT 

EAST 

MIDLANDS 

4.5 DBT 

LONDON 

3.8 DBT 

SOUTH 

EAST 

4.7 DBT 

EAST 

ANGLIA 

1.2 

DBT 

Other Service 0.6 

Region 

Getting Better – Getting Worse 

5.7 

4.7 

4.5 

3.9 

3.8 

3.7 

2.6 

2.4 

1.3 

1.2 

1 

Wales 

South East 

East Midlands 

Scotland 

London 

Northern Ireland 

South West 

West Midlands 

Yorkshire and Humberside 

East Anglia 

North West 


PAYMENT TRENDS 

CONNACHT 

4.5 DBT 

DONEGAL 

0 DBT 

CAVAN 

0 DBT 

ULSTER 

2.9 DBT 

MONAGHAN 

91.8 DBT 

Getting worse / no change 

Real Estate 46.9 

Construction 32.8 

Transportation and Storage 29 

Manufacturing 5.2 

MUNSTER 

0.2 DBT 

CLARE 

0 DBT 

CORK 

0 DBT 

LEINSTER 

22.4 DBT 

CARLOW 

0 DBT 

WEXFORD 

48.2 DBT 

DUBLIN 

20.4 DBT 

Professional and Scientific 2.6 

Business Admin & Support 0 

Education 0 

Energy Supply 0 

Health & Social 0 

Hospitality 0 

Top Five Prompter Payers – Ireland 


Cavan 0 0 

Clare 0 0 

Cork 0 1 

Donegal 0 0 

Kerry 0 -13.7 

Bottom Five Poorest Payers – Ireland 


Monaghan 91.8 0 

Kildare 68.5 27.5 

Wexford 48.2 0 

Mayo 42.7 -17.3 

Dublin 20.4 3.2 

Top Four Prompter Payers – Northen Ireland 


Munster 0.2 

Ulster 2.9 

Connacht 4.5 

Leinster 22.4 

International Bodies 0 

Mining and Quarrying 0 

Other Service 0 

Public Administration 0 

Water & Waste 0 

Getting better 

IT and Comms -5.4 

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing -2.8 

Financial and Insurance -1.0 

Wholesale and retail trade -0.3 

Top Five Prompter Payers – Ireland 


Entertainment 0 0 

Financial and Insurance 0 -1 

Health & Social 0 0 

Hospitality 0 0 

International Bodies 0 0 

Bottom Five Poorest Payers – Ireland 


Real Estate 46.9 46.9 

Construction 45.2 32.8 

Water & Waste 34.0 0 

Transportation and Storage 29.0 29.0 

Business Admin & Support 28.0 0 

In Northern Ireland, there’s a 

50-50 split of improvement and 

decline. Making positive strides in 

the right direction is Ulster, with a 

significant reduction of 13.5 days 

to late payments. 


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Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com /March 2022 / PAGE 35



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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 

28 February 

Credit Management (Trade, Export and Consumer) 

28 February 

Advanced Telephone Collections 

14 March 

Business Law 

25 March 

Accounting Principles 

28 April 

Process Improvements 

14 March 

Compliance with legal, regulatory, 

ethical, and social requirements 

14 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 / Effective communication 

Best practice skills to assess credit risk 

Collect that cash / Advanced collection skills 

Reflect and develop Collection skills 

Register your interest now 

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 

YayPay makes it easy for B2B finance teams to stay 

ahead of accounts receivable and get paid faster – 

from anywhere. 

Integrating with your ERP, CRM, and billing 

systems, YayPay presents your real-time data 

through cloud-based dashboards. Automation 

improves productivity by 3X and accelerates 

collections by up to 34 percent. Predictive analytics 

provide insight into payor behavior and an online 

portal enables customers to access their accounts 

and pay at any time. 

T: +44 (0)7465 423 538 

E: marketing@yaypay.com 

W: www.yaypay.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. 

T: 0870 081 8250 

E: emea-info@bottomline.com 

W: www.bottomline.com/uk 

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. 

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

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

W: menzies.co.uk/creditor-services 

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: +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 

C2FO turns receivables into cashflow and payables 

into income, uniquely connecting buyers and 

suppliers to allow discounts in exchange for 

early payment of approved invoices. Suppliers 

access additional liquidity sources by accelerating 

payments from buyers when required in just two 

clicks, at a rate that works for them. Buyers, often 

corporates with global supply chains, benefit from 

the C2FO solution by improving gross margin while 

strengthening the financial health of supply chains 

through ethical business practices. 

T: 07799 692193 

E: anna.donadelli@c2fo.com 

W: www.c2fo.com 

Esker’s Accounts Receivable (AR) solution removes 

the all-too-common obstacles preventing today’s 

businesses from collecting receivables in a 

timely manner. From 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/ 

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 

The CICM Benevolent Fund is 

here to support members of 

the CICM in times of need. 

Some examples of how CICM have helped our members are: 

• Financed the purchase of a mobility scooter for a disabled member. 

• Helped finance the studies of the daughter of a member who 

became unexpectedly ill. 

• Financed the purchase of computer equipment to assist an 

unemployed member set up a business. 

• Contributed towards the purchase of an orthopaedic bed for one 

member whose condition was thereby greatly eased. 

• Helped with payment for a drug, not available on the NHS, for 

medical treatment of another member. 

If you or any dependants are in need or in distress, please apply today – we are here to 

help. (Your application will then be reviewed by the CICM Benevolent Fund committee and 

you will be advised of their decision as quickly as possible) 

Contact Goverance@cicm.com for more information 



CONSUMER CREDIT 

Credit Lines 

What the FCA’s Financial Lives data tells 

us about consumer lending. 

AUTHOR – David Hendry 

FOR many UK families access to 

reliable, affordable credit plays 

a vital role in balancing their 

finances and when it is used in 

an appropriate way it can improve 

wider financial wellbeing by 

helping them to avoid expensive, drawn-out 

debt. However, there is a risk that antiquated, 

cumbersome and intimidating application 

processes, coupled with inefficient regulation, 

is blocking thousands of people from asking 

for credit, potentially pushing them towards 

unnecessary hardship or dangerous borrowing 

habits. 

Last year the FCA published its wide-ranging 

and insightful Financial Lives study into the 

UK’s financial habits. Some of the findings were 

eye opening. The study revealed that many 

customers avoid applying for credit because 

they were worried that rejected applications 

would harm their chances of future credit, and 

not enough of those that do apply are shopping 

around for the best rates. 

WHO IS AVOIDING APPLYING 

FOR CREDIT? 

The research shows that more than one in ten 

(11 percent) of those who already had a credit 

product had been put off making an application 

for any kind of credit because they were worried 

about being rejected. The problem was worse 

for women, for whom one in eight (15 percent) 

had been put off from applying, and for 

25–44-year-olds it was closer to one in five (19 

percent). Housing status also had a noticeable 

impact as over a third (35 percent) of renters put 

applications on ice. 

When asked what had put them off applying, 

more than half (58 percent) said they were 

worried about the impact a failed application 

could have. Forty-six percent worried that it 

would damage their credit score and a third 

(32 percent) were concerned that it would 

have affected their chances of applying to that 

provider in the future. Nearly half (48 percent) 

simply felt that there was no point in applying. 

ROLE OF VULNERABILITY 

Anxiety about rejection rises in groups that the 

FCA has described as displaying ‘characteristics 

of vulnerability,’ three quarters of those putting 

off an application for credit products fell into 

these categories. That includes 42 percent of 

those who are struggling financially (which the 

FCA calls ‘low financial resilience’), 17 percent 

of people who find it difficult to choose the 

most suitable financial products (defined as 

‘low financial capability’) and 18 percent of 

those who have suffered what the FCA calls a 

‘negative life event’, this may mean they have 

lost a job or be struggling with relationship 

problems. Other characteristics of vulnerability 

include poor health and over-indebtedness. 

Analysis of the data by Freedom Finance also 

reveals that one in 14 (seven percent) people 

had seen a credit application rejected over the 

past 12 months. The most vulnerable were again 

most likely to miss out as 14 percent of people 

with low financial capability, 29 percent with 

low financial resilience and 11 percent who had 

suffered from negative life events, all faced loan 

rejections. 

INEFFICIENT REGULATION 

Stronger regulation introduced in the wake 

of the 2008 financial crisis has proved to be a 

double-edged sword in the consumer lending 

space. While stricter affordability criteria for 

mortgages and other credit products have 

helped reduce systemic risk, there have been 

clear losers who will feel that they have been 

unfairly penalised by the rules. 

Take, for example, ‘mortgage prisoners’ who 

are unable to move onto lower interest loans 

because stress testing determines there is a risk 

that they will not be able to afford the monthly 

payments in the future, despite being smaller 

than the payments they are currently expected 

to meet. Or workers who have never been in 

debt, missed a payment or defaulted on a loan 

that are considered to be risky because they 

have thin credit files with little or no history of 

borrowing. 

The problem of thin credit files can seem 

particularly unfair for people who would 

otherwise be suitable borrowers without a 

particular circumstance, such as apparently 

unstable employment, divorce or a spell living 

abroad, factored in. 

CUMBERSOME PROCESSES 

The FCA’s data shows that almost half (40 

percent) of people that apply for credit do not 

shop around in search of cheaper rates with 

other providers, and more than seven in 10 did 

not consider other types of credit products. 

When asked what had stopped them shopping 

around, 20 percent said that they did not know 

why they had not compared rates, while more 

than 40 percent blamed the time consuming 

and confusing nature of the application process. 

These figures show that applying for credit 


CONSUMER CREDIT 

AUTHOR – David Hendry 

can be an overwhelming experience for some 

would-be borrowers who have no clear idea of how 

to shop around for financial products and whether 

an application will be successful. Simplifying the 

process and making comparisons easier for shoppers, 

especially those who may have low digital capability 

or financial knowledge, is crucial. 

DANGEROUS BORROWING HABITS 

The outcome of all this is that people turn to other 

sources to relieve their financial pressures. In the 

FCA’s research 12 percent said they had sold something 

to get by instead of applying for a loan or as result of 

a loan rejection, while 14 percent borrowed from a 

family or friend and five percent defaulted on another 

bill, loan or repayment agreement. 

This informal borrowing adds to the UK’s ‘hidden 

debt’ problem, where people borrow money from 

sources other than regulated financial institutions, 

and in the worst-case scenario even go to illegal 

moneylenders. This type of debt is incredibly 

damaging, it causes problems for families and 

relationships, leads to further financial hardship and, 

in extreme situations, can result in people becoming 

indebted to dangerous loan sharks. 

THINGS HAVE MOVED ON 

While concerns about rejected applications may have 

been valid in the past, the industry has moved on and 

technology like open banking and soft credit searches 

is making it increasingly straightforward for people to 

shop around and explore their eligibility for loans. 

In many cases the fears expressed by during the 

FCA research would have been misplaced because soft 

credit searches mean that people can check whether 

they are likely to be eligible for a loan without the 

worry of damaging their credit file with a declined 

application. 

The rise of digital marketplaces that use soft credit 

checks are providing people with access to a wide 

range of highly regulated financial products from 

well-known, reputable lenders. They can compare 

loan costs and find out if they are eligible without 

damaging their credit files through unnecessary 

applications. 

MAKE IT EASY 

It is vital that the financial services industry does not 

pull up the ladder and abandon the people that the 

FCA data has identified. The data is fascinating and 

presents the industry with a number of challenges. 

We need to find a more holistic way of viewing 

creditworthiness, that truly reflects an individual’s 

suitability for a loan, avoiding the blunt approach that 

cuts off borrowers unnecessarily due to anomalies on 

their credit files, many of which can be completely 

explainable. But first, more importantly, we need to 

make the process of accessing credit less daunting. 

It needs to be easy for customers to find out what is 

available to them, compare loans costs and understand 

how to purchase the right products. The tools are out 

there, but its is clear from the FCA’s findings that not 

enough customers are using them. 

David Hendry is Chief Marketing Officer 

of Freedom Finance. 


EDUCATION & MARKETING 

Booking your 

exams has never 

been easier 

Head over to our new exam pages 

for all the information you need to prepare, 

book and take your CICM exams 

www.cicm.com/exams/ 


SHEFFIELD & District Branch 

members and guests logged 

into their virtual branch 

meeting on 25 January, with 

their own refreshments in 

hand. Branch committee 

member Jamie Thornton opened the 

meeting before handing over to guest 

speaker, Neil Jinks of Court Enforcement 

Services. 

Neil talked us through the benefits of 

litigation and enforcement, the history of 

High Court enforcement, the process and 

costs, attendance and powers, protecting 

brand and reputation and the future of 

High Court enforcement. Neil shared 

with us two case studies, one involving 

EAST of England Branch held its AGM on 

13 January. Chairman Atul Vadher reported 

on a challenging but successful year, with 

branch meetings held every month and 

seven events. These included returning 

to work in the office and how best to 

manage the transitions, promoting CICM 

benefits, to ‘a day in the life of an 

Enforcement Agent’. The Branch continued 

to show versatility with excellent speakers 

and good Branch committee moderators. 

The Branch LinkedIn group had 

expanded from 742 members to 1127 

members - a useful platform for promoting 

the events and for sharing relevant content 

within the credit community. Nine of the 

10 existing committee were re elected. Atul 

BRANCH NEWS 

AGM and Ask an Expert 

Sheffield and District Branch 

a landing aircraft and the other a very 

large mansion, before leaving us with his 

top 10 tips for successful enforcement. 

Time allowed for a question and answer 

session where the merits and timing of 

high court enforcement of regulated debts 

was discussed and when asked what the 

most problematic disposal of seized goods 

was, Neil warned of the issues surrounding 

perishable goods! 

Secretary Myron Fedak then opened 

the AGM, dealing with the formalities 

of apologies, approval of the 2021 AGM 

Minutes, approval of the 2021 Branch 

Financial Report, nominations and 

elections of Committee members for 2022 

and then a review of the 2021 branch 

thanked Chris Parker of Goodman Masson, 

standing down after five years, for his, and 

the company’s, contribution to the Branch. 

Atul spoke of the challenges people have 

faced around mental health in recent times 

and all agreed the need for continuing 

support between the committee and all 

Branch members, as well as the use of our 

platform to raise awareness. 

Treasurer Mark Maynard summarised 

the Branch accounts, which due to the lack 

of physical events once again meant that 

the bank balance was healthy. 

Atul Vadher agreed with all that we will 

continue to plan and deliver more events 

throughout the coming year and thanked 

everyone for their attendance on the night 

events. Branch Chair, Paula Uttley, on 

behalf of all the committee present and 

past, thanked retiring Vice Chair Carl 

Goodman for his years of service and 

his excellent history tours of Sheffield, 

and also thanked retiring Branch Secretary/ 

Treasurer Myron Fedak for his many years 

of dedicated service to the branch in a 

number of committee roles over the years. 

Paula also recorded her personal thanks to 

Myron, and said that it had been a pleasure 

that her first task as chair in 2018 had been 

to nominate Myron for Meritorious Service 

Awards, which had been awarded and so 

very well deserved. 

By Paula Uttley, Branch Chair 

Annual review and Insolvency update 

East of England Branch 

and their input over the past year. 

Prior to the AGM, Paul Atkinson from 

FRP Advisory LLP gave an update on the 

insolvency position. He explained why 

levels of administration appointments had 

been lower than expected, but liquidations 

were rising, detailing the sectors having 

most difficulty. Steps such as the Rating 

(Coronavirus) & Director Disqualification 

(Dissolved Companies) Act would deter 

directors from liquidating companies 

not actually insolvent, and liquidators 

will be looking for any possible director 

malfeasance. 

By William Plom, CICM East of England 

Branch Secretary 

The return to the office webinar 

IT feels a lifetime ago that we were uprooted 

from our office desks and into the new 

world of home working. Some 18 months 

later, many are now navigating their way 

back to the office full- or part- time. Last 

October, the East of England Branch held 

a webinar – The Return to the Office: 

What You Need to Know – but following 

the Plan B restrictions which saw people 

working from home again in December 

and January, the discussions are still 

relevant again now. During the webinar, 

Branch committee members William Plom 

of Hays and Liam Hastings of Hastings & 

Co Solicitors, explored the feelings about 

returning to the office, and the legalities. 

William said that Hays’ recent study 

showed 43 percent of employers, but only 

32 percent of employees, felt a full-time 

return to the office was the most likely 

long-term outcome. Interestingly, Will 

noted just three percent felt a move to fully 

remote working was likely, indicating the 

majority of workers expect some variation 

of a hybrid working model from employers. 

He urged caution to businesses not 

already looking at any kind of flexibility, 

with indications showing that the most 

skilled candidates were gravitating towards 

organisations that offer some remote 

working. No ‘one size fits all’ model exists 

for businesses’ approach, and flexibility 

must be balanced against commercial and 

cultural needs. 

Liam discussed the legal contractual 

obligations of employers and staff, and the 

challenges around bringing people back to 

the office. Employment contracts usually 

specify a ‘place of work’ which for most will 

be the employer’s office, so it is technically 

within an employer’s power to enforce a 

return. Complicating this now though, is 

an employee’s right to ‘reasonable requests’, 

and after so long working remotely, it may 

become harder for employers to justify 

insistence on a full-time office policy. 

Overall, a highly informative and 

engaging discussion which offered useful 

insights into post-pandemic expectations, 

and a must watch for anyone who still has 

questions around the subject. 

By Chris Parker, Goodman Masson – 

Specialist Credit Management & Billing 

Recruiter 


Switch to Direct Debit 

Why not spread 

the cost of your 

Serrala 

CP 

CICM Membership 

Manage your own cashflow 

Simply scan the code below using your phone, 

print and return to CICM, The Watermill, Station 

Road, South Luffenham, Rutland, LE15 8NB 

and we will do the rest! 

Another reason to be a member 

Make the switch to Direct Debit 

For details contact: info@cicm.com 


CICM MEMBER 

EXCLUSIVE 

Your CICM lapel badge 

demonstrates your commitment to 

professionalism and best practice 

TAKE PRIDE IN 

WEARING YOUR BADGE 

If you haven’t received your badge 

contact: cicmmembership@cicm.com 

NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN 

The Advisory Council influences the future direction of the Institute. Its members reflect the diverse range 

of skills and experience amongst the Institute’s membership, and bring valuable expertise and knowledge. 

Being a member of the Advisory Council is your opportunity to: 

Share your knowledge and expertise to support your professional body in advancing the credit profession 

Assist in steering the strategy and future direction of the Institute 

Contribute to raising the profile of the largest recognised professional body in the world for the credit 

management community 

There are up to 23 Advisory Council positions now open for nomination representing 

our 11 regions and the trade, consumer, international and credit services sectors. 

Please visit: www.mi-nomination.com/cicm to stand for Nomination 

or email elections@cicm.com to find out more 

Nominations close 13 April 2022. 

The Chartered Institute 

of Credit Management 

Elections 

2022 

Brave | Curious | Resilient 


HR MATTERS 

Unfinished business 

The problems that come with not fully committing to a 

grievancy process, and a reminder to review practices 

and policies for workforce diversity. 

IN the recent decision of Hope v 

British Medical Association, the 

Employment Appeal Tribunal 

(EAT) held it was fair to dismiss an 

employee for raising numerous 

grievances which he then refused 

to progress or withdraw. 

Mr Hope was employed by the British 

Medical Association (BMA) as a senior 

policy adviser from June 2014 until 24 

May 2019 when he was dismissed for gross 

misconduct. The claimant brought several 

grievances against senior managers. 

He wanted to discuss his grievances 

informally with his line manager but 

refused to progress them to the formal 

stage. He also refused to withdraw them. 

A formal grievance meeting was 

scheduled for 21 March 2019. The 

claimant was asked to attend the meeting 

and was told by his employer that it 

AUTHOR – Gareth Edwards 

considered it was a reasonable instruction 

to ask him to attend. Despite this, the 

claimant failed to attend, and the meeting 

proceeded in his absence. The grievances 

were not upheld. 

BMA concluded that the claimant's 

conduct of bringing numerous vexatious 

and frivolous grievances and his refusal 

to attend the meeting amounted to gross 

misconduct. It took disciplinary action 

against the claimant which resulted in his 

dismissal. 

Both the Employment Tribunal and 

the EAT agreed the claimant's dismissal 

was fair. It was reasonable for BMA to 

conclude the claimant's conduct was 

vexatious and unreasonable. It was also 

reasonable for BMA to have dismissed 

Hope on that basis. It was not necessary 

for the employer to demonstrate the 

claimant had wilfully committed a 

breach of contract, or alternatively 

had committed 'gross negligence' to 

find he had committed an act of gross 

misconduct. 

This case demonstrates that employers 

do not have to be held hostage by 

employees who bring repeated, frivolous 

grievances. However, employers finding 

themselves in similar situations should 

tread carefully to ensure any action they 

take is fair and proportionate in the 

circumstances. No doubt the employer’s 

position in this case was helped by the 

clear expectation it communicated to 

the claimant that his attendance at 

the grievance hearing was considered 

a reasonable instruction. The fact the 

claimant ignored that instruction would 

have been relevant to the legitimacy of 

the action the employer subsequently 

took. 

Disability workforce reporting considered 

FIGURES published by the Department 

for Work and Pensions have highlighted 

the disability employment gap – that 

is the difference in the proportion of 

disabled versus non-disabled people who 

are in employment. 

In the second quarter of 2021, the 

employment rate for disabled people was 

THE Government has published new 'right 

to work’ checks which set out changes to 

the way in which employers must check 

the immigration status of biometric card 

holders from 6 April 2022. 

Currently, foreign nationals who 

hold biometric cards can choose to 

demonstrate their right to work in the 

UK either by showing an employer their 

physical card or sharing their status via 

the Home Office’s online service. This 

flexibility means that employers and 

workers can choose between the relative 

simplicity of producing and checking 

a physical document in each other's 

52.7 percent, compared to 81 percent for 

non-disabled people. The Government 

has kept the disability employment 

gap under the spotlight during the 

COVID-19 pandemic and has renewed its 

commitment to publishing a consultation 

on disability workforce reporting. 

The consultation is yet to be published, 

presence or sharing immigration status 

online without having to meet in person. 

The new guidance changes this. From 6 

April 2022 holders of biometric cards will 

only be able to demonstrate their right 

to work in the UK using the Home Office 

online service. Employers will no longer 

be able to accept physical cards for the 

purposes of a right to work check, even 

if the card shows a later expiry date. The 

new rules will apply to new appointments 

only so it will not be necessary to carry out 

retrospective checks on employees who 

are biometric card holders and used their 

physical card to demonstrate their right to 

but the trend towards transparency on 

employment and pay is likely to continue. 

Proactive employers may wish to get 

ahead by reviewing their own practices, 

access to employment and workforce 

diversity to identify what practical steps 

might be necessary to recruit and retain 

disabled staff. 

Changes to Right to Work checks coming 

work in the UK before 6 April 2022. 

Employers will retain a statutory excuse 

against any civil penalty for illegal working 

where initial checks were undertaken in 

line with guidance that was in force at 

that time. 

Employers are advised to familiarise 

themselves with the online right to work 

checking process in advance of these new 

rules coming into force. 

Gareth Edwards is a partner in the 

employment team at VWV 

www.gedwards@vwv.co.uk 

From 6 April 2022 holders of biometric cards will only be able to demonstrate 

their right to work in the UK using the Home Office online service. 


Get ahead in Credit with Forums International by your side. 

After two years of Virtual meetings using Zoom, we 

are planning to move to a Hybrid Format from April 

2022. With the Government relaxation of the rules 

and the feedback, we are receiving from our 

Members we believe the time is right. We are looking 

forward to seeing our attendees Face2Face. 

Laurie Beagle FCICM 

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CASE STUDY 

CONNECTING 

THE DOTS 

How BT and the CICM worked to 

bring employees across the globe, 

closer together. 

AUTHOR – Sam Wilson 

BT Group is an institution 

dating all the way back 

to 1846. Over the past 

176 years, the company 

has made it its mission 

to connect people from 

around the world and bring them 

closer together. Whether it’s business 

or pleasure almost every home or office 

has a little white box hidden away that 

connects them to anyone and everyone 

at any time. 

So when a global pandemic shut 

the world down almost overnight, the 

ability to ‘connect’ became even more 

important, especially for those BT 

colleagues who no longer had an office 

watercooler to act as a mediator in casual 

conversation. 

For Paul Fedarb ACICM, BT’s Interim 

Billings Director & Senior Manager of 

Global Wholesale Voice Settlement, 

bringing his team together became a top 

priority. his secret weapon turned out to 

be a programme he’d started in 2018 with 

his ‘dream team’ learning partner Abul 

Shahid, BT’s Learning and Development 

Group Customer Billing and Assurance 

Lead 

“The journey started in 2018,” he 

explains. “We had quite a bit of new 

talent joining after some organisational 

changes and our global teams started 

working closer together so I suggested to 

one of our directors that we start a new 

phase of studies with the CICM.” 


CASE STUDY 


Having never previously met nor 

worked with Abul, the two formed 

an effective ‘dream team’ almost 

immediately and with Paul having 

previously completed a CICM Level three 

qualification, he knew the value it could 

bring to his team. 

“BT has had some 300 people go 

through the CICM learning structure 

and I completed mine five years ago,” he 

continues. “I was leading the Bill to Cash 

team and recognised that some additional 

learning was required to support the work 

we were doing. I studied and thankfully I 

qualified!” 

Having been the student and now 

being a student sponsor, Paul decided to 

propose to his directors that a team-wide 

learning plan would be of benefit. This 

was based on his own experience, and 

the fact that throughout his studies he 

was continually learning new aspects of 

credit management. 

“I knew credit control as an area, 

having worked in the billings space for 

a long time, and you often think you 

know everything. Then you end up on the 

course and discover that you don’t know 

everything at all. You know what you have 

learned within your own organisation and 

how they do things, whereas the CICM 

gives you a more general and unbiased 

foundation to work from. It helps you 

realise, with an almost ‘ah-ha’ moment 

why things work the way they do.” 

After getting the go-ahead to move 

forward with his master plan and help 

train the new wave of talent, Paul leaned 

on Abul to kick things off. 

“The first thing we had to do was 

reconnect with the CICM,” said Abul. 

“It had been three years since we had 

put anyone through a qualification, so 

initially we agreed on a budget to cover 

three years for 90 students coming from 

three key teams: India, Europe and UK & 

LATAM (Latin America). However, shortly 

after, COVID hit so we had to pare the 

numbers back to 45 across three cohorts 

of 15. Even though we had to reduce the 

numbers, that wasn’t going to stop us 

getting the most out of the programme as 

possible.” 

One of the reasons for instigating the 

programme was the drive for BT to grow 

from within and champion its team 

members, or as Paul puts it, its ‘future 

leaders’. 

“We aspire to have qualified people 

within our business, from all walks of life, 

and we do this to help create our future 

leaders. We believe that if you give people 

the tools, then they have the foundations 

they need for their future careers. 

We can teach them the management 

aspects, but a strong knowledge of their 

specialism is a real enabler.” After the 

programme started, the benefits were 

almost immediately realised. Abul and 

Paul noticed very quickly how happy and 

how dedicated to their studies the team 

were: “We were seeing some really high 

marks, around 90 percent or thereabouts, 

and those students still wanted to achieve 

higher. The passion was incredible to 

see,” Abul continues. 

But something Paul and Abul didn’t 

bank on was how impactful the course 

would be on BT’s teams across the world. 

From the outset, the pair pushed for the 

course to be global and to incorporate 

teams in multiple different territories. 

“Paul really pushed for global cohorts,” 

said Abul. “We have people from UK, 

Brazil, Budapest, Spain, Italy and India, 

this is something that doesn’t happen 

that often and we could see that clearly 

by how excited the students were. It’s 

something that makes me really happy to 

see and be a part of. 

“I have to give Paul credit as well,” 

he adds. “It’s refreshing to see a Senior 

Manager as involved with the learning as 

he is. I think it’s one of the reasons the 

students are so passionate.” 

Over the course of the programme 

both Paul and Abul have seen motivation 

levels increase, and Abul credits this to 

the culture of personal investment that 

the course has created: “Our learners 

are feeling valued. They’re seeing a giant 

global corporation putting real money 

into their career and their future, and it’s 

driving them forward.” 

As for Paul, he has seen the benefits 

from a business performance perspective, 

in the way that the wider teams interact. 

With a global pandemic grounding all 

flights, the CICM course enabled team 

members to connect outside of day-today 

operations and discuss a shared 

experience, of learning something new 

“Looking at it from a business model 

perspective, you have a mixture of people 

in a class, most of whom had never met 

before or even realised the team existed. 

They’re now having joint classes every 

two weeks which has engendered this 

‘oh I know that person’ attitude and 

that’s opened people’s eyes to team 

opportunities. 

“Equally, as a business that strives to 

be sustainable and culturally diverse, the 

course has enabled people to build digital 

connections, made Online/Video learning 

the norm, and introduced people from 

around the world to their colleagues.” 

So not only did the course allow 

the team members to learn something 

new and progress, the CICM course has 

brought Paul and the wider Bill to Cash 

teams closer together and improved 

business functionality. As well as forming 

an unstoppable dream team in Paul and 

Abul! 

Paul Fedarb ACICM, BT’s 

Interim Billings Director 

and Senior Manager 


TAKE CONTROL OF 

YOUR CREDIT CAREER 

COLLECTIONS MANAGER 

Warrington, £70,000 

+ bonus of up to 20% & £5k car allowance 

This role requires someone with external expertise to take an 

already outstanding B2C Collections team to the next level. 

You will improve processes and drive an innovative mindset 

throughout the department (a team of circa 100 people). Another 

important element of the role involves partnering the relationship 

between the business and the CICM. To be considered for this 

opportunity you must be CICM qualified. Ref: 4150302 

Contact Adam Crossland on 07496 731011 

or email adam.crossland@hays.com 

CREDIT CONTROL/ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE 

Woking/hybrid, £28,000-£30,000 

Reporting into the Credit Manager and working as part of a small 

team, you will enjoy a varied and challenging position, covering 

all aspects of cash collections and receivables management. 

This role is suitable for a progressive individual who wants to 

develop their skillset, working for a global leading organisation, 

in a newly created role. Ref: 4152072 

Contact Natascha Whitehead on 07770 786433 

or email natascha.whitehead@hays.com 

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE SPECIALIST 

London, up to £30,000 

A great opportunity has arisen for an Accounts Receivable 

Specialist to join a finance team within the media industry in 

London. The role focuses on reviewing aged debt and liaising 

with clients to resolve disputes. The ideal candidate would be 

somebody with great communication skills and the ability to 

work within a fast-paced environment. 

Ref: 4146951 

Contact Sheyda Ozturk on 020 3465 0020 

or email sheyda.ozturk@hays.com 

DEBT COLLECTION 

Southampton, up to £25,000 

A great chance to work for a reputable company in the 

professional services sector. They are looking for someone with 

excellent negotiation skills that can provide strategies to the 

improve the credit control procedures and in turn, drive down aged 

debt. This role requires an innovative individual who has excellent 

computer skills (Excel and SAGE). Ref: 4140615 

Contact Jack Bailey on 023 8202 0104 

or email jack.bailey1@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 

BILLING ASSISTANT 

London, up to £25,000 

This legal firm is looking for a smart and career driven finance 

professional who believes in their people first culture. This role 

focuses on maximising the money billed from the partners and 

managing the WIP to boost revenue and cash flow. The successful 

candidate will have strong communication skills, professional 

mannerisms, and the motivation to build a career in finance. 

Ref: 4150632 

Contact Daniel Lee on 020 3465 0020 

or email daniel.lee1@hays.com 

CREDIT CONTROLLER 

New Malden/hybrid, £14.27 per hour 

+ up to £500 per month bonus 

Working within the UK head office, you will be responsible for your 

own ledger of accounts. Through proactive chasing, and building 

strong relationships with customers, you will ensure that aged 

debt is kept to a minimum and invoice are paid in line with agreed 

terms. Experience with cloud-based systems such as PeopleSoft, 

Salesforce or SAP is desirable and good excel including VLOOKUP 

and pivot tables is essential. Ref: 4119941 

Contact Mark Ordoña on 07565 800574 

or email mark.ordona@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. 


Apprentice profile 

ADAM Wilde is a Level 2 Apprentice Credit 

Controller at United Utilities. He started 

his journey in September 2021 with no 

prior experience of the role: “From the 

start I was eager to learn and excited to 

work through my qualification provided 

by CICM. From there I have been continuously learning 

and developing an understanding. After six months there 

is still so much more for me to take on.” 

Adam applied for the role as he sees it as a huge 

opportunity for him to build a career in credit management 

and gain a recognised qualification: “I hope to gain my 

Level 2 and move on to get my Level 3 as I believe the 

opportunities are endless,” he explains. “So far I have 

learned so much about the role and how important it is to 

a business’s function. I was shocked to find out that this is 

the second oldest profession in the world but I’m not quite 

sure as to what the oldest is? (I do. Ed).” 

In the short period of being at United Utilities Adam 

has encountered a wide array of customers in different 

financial situations. Whilst some customers choose not 

to pay their bill others can’t pay their bill due to their 

financial circumstances: “I understand the importance of 

identifying the type of customer I’m dealing with,” he says. 

“For customers who are struggling to pay we have a 

number of affordability schemes that can help by lowering 

their bills and matching payments to clear their arrears 

more quickly, whereas for those who won’t pay we record 

their missed payments with a Credit Reference Agency 

(CRA) registering a default on their credit file and where 

necessary pursue payment via the legal route. 

“During my time here I have been able to apply what 

I have learned to my day to day work. During my time 

working with court team I gained insight into the use of 

legal proceedings and enforcement to recover payment. 

For example when a customer receives notification 

advising them a CCJ has been entered they often call up 

to make a payment in full to avoid a long term impact to 

their credit file. 

“Another example of applying my learning is 

understanding the risk involved with credit, specifically 

the risk of non-payment and the impact to a company of 

increasing bad debt, as a credit controller I can help to 

prevent this by following the company’s credit policy and 

cash collections manual.” 

Adam says that the apprenticeship course has 

been delivered ‘brilliantly’: “We have gained so much 

knowledge,” he concludes. “Our talent coach and our 

tutors are extremely helpful and if I’m ever struggling 

with anything help is always available. I will be sitting my 

end point assessment in seven months’ time, and I am 

confident we have access to the best help and resources in 

order to successfully complete the apprenticeship.” 

Latest in a new series 

of how CICM-led 

Apprenticeships are 

supporting professional 

development. 

Adam Wilde 

Level 2 Apprentice Credit Controller 

at United Utilities 

“Another example of applying my learning 

is understanding the risk involved with 

credit, specifically the risk of non-payment 

and the impact to a company of increasing 

bad debt, as a credit controller I can 

help to prevent this by following the 

company’s credit policy and cash collections 

manual.” 

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 


NEW AND UPGRADED MEMBERS 

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

you considered applying to upgrade your membership? See our website 

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

Studying Member 

Natasha Chinn 

Philip Hodgson 

Damian Mirczak 

Amina Lavji 

Ivan Copeland 

Sara Mccall 

Heather Walters 

Jo McWilliams 

Amy Sinclair 

Oliver Edwards 

Dylan Coetsee 

Nicola Hannant 

Rosemary Ball 

Pelin Bailey 

Gemma Aimable 

Molly Lane 

Neil Wilkie 

James Mackreth 

Georgia Roche 

Amie Wareing 

Antje Ladbrook 

Patricia Rufino Salustiano 

Gabrielle Watson 

Alicia Wilches Ayala 

Kyle Barlow 

Martyn Spiers 

Amy Bright 

Kelly Prudhoe 

Christopher Mitchell 

Laura Morgan 

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Michael Sawyer 

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Anser Mateen 

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Max Harding 

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Affiliate 

Charlotte Wood 

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Associate 

Udeshika Rathanayake 

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Fellow 

Anna O'Reilly 

Congratulations to our current members who have upgraded their membership 

Upgraded member 

Abdelaziz Eshra MCICM Harvey Fielding MCICM Chris Hardman MCICM Martin Stafford ACICM 

AWARDING BODY 

Congratulations to the following, who successfully achieved Diplomas 

Level 3 Diploma in Credit Management (ACICM) 

NAME 

NAME 

Danielle Barrow 

Louise Bent 

Lasanthi Deshapriya 

Lucy Aldis 

Kayleigh Bagnall 

Randy Bainbridge 

Hayley Chapman 

Lisa Dutton 

Lauren Heap 

Laura Hodgson 

Level 3 Diploma in Credit & Collections (ACICM) 

Luke Edwards 

Anita Foxall 

Carrie Harvey 

Nicole Magg 

Level 3 Diploma in Money & Debt Advice (ACICM) 

Stacey Thomason 

Laura Webb 

George Woodall 

Shelley Nelson 

Quays Nouristani 

Alison Ramsey 

Carly Smith 

Eniko Szabo 

NAME 

Andrew Bass 

Level 5 Diploma in Credit & Collections Management 

NAME 

Jonathan Ferguson 

Raise your credibility and boost your career prospects 

– Apply for your upgrade today 

Contact: info@cicm.com for more details 


CICM BRITISH CREDIT AWARDS 

A LIFE 

OF SERVICE 

What does it mean to win the 

CICM’s Outstanding Contribution 

to the Industry Award? 


TO some, a career, or a ‘job’ 

as many label it, is a means 

to an end. A way to earn 

the money they need to live 

the life they want to lead. 

For others, however, their 

career is more than just a job, it’s a service 

they devote years of hard work and effort 

towards. 

Charles Wilson FCICM, very much 

falls into the latter category. A Solicitor 

by profession, Charles, in the eyes of his 

peers, is much more than that, which is 

a key reason he was recognised as the 

winner of the Chartered Institute of Credit 

Management’s Outstanding Contribution 

to the Industry Award at the 2020 British 

Credit Awards. It’s something he remains 

very humble about to this day. 

“I won the award after 25 years in 

the industry and whilst it ‘officially’ 

recognised my achievements, in reality, 

it was recognition of our business and 

the people behind it. That was, for me, 

the most important thing, that these 

dedicated people who work so hard 

behind the scenes were recognised for 

their incredible work. To an extent, I was 

just the one at the front.” However, it was 

Charles’ work with Lovetts Solicitors, the 

business he founded in 1994 with his 

partner Paul McCulloch, that started the 

winning process. At inception, one of the 

founding principles of the business was 

changing the way solicitors worked to 

serve their clients, ensuring they were not 

only effective but also efficient. It’s been 

his guiding moral compass. 

“I abhorred law firms that were slow 

and expensive. To me, that’s the exact 

opposite of what a client wants. When 

a client is in a difficult position, unpaid 

debt is a threat to their business.” 

This attitude is what ultimately 

kickstarted Charles’ ‘crusade’, as he 


CICM BRITISH CREDIT AWARDS 


describes it, for best practice within the 

industry, and led to some revolutionary 

systems put in place to make sure Lovetts’ 

clients felt not only supported in their 

endeavours but listened to on a personal 

level. After all, many of these businesses 

were the livelihood of their respective 

owners. 

“When it reaches the point at which 

someone approaches a lawyer for 

resolution, they turn over a matter that’s 

incredibly important to them, and they 

need to know that it’s going to be dealt 

with quickly and professionally, without 

impacting their reputation. They also 

want to know that it won’t cost them an 

arm and a leg and that they’ll receive 

transparency throughout.” 

TRANSPARENT APPROACH 

This transparency is what led to Lovetts 

implementing two useful and important 

systems that its clients would go on to 

value very heavily: the CaseManager; and 

simplistic pricing. 

“Our goal with CaseManager – which 

we launched in 2004, but built upon our 

in-house paperless document system 

from 1998 – was to give clients a clear 

view of what was happening with their 

case and to allow them to see how their 

money was being spent, not wasted. Every 

document, every phone call is visible to 

client. Similarly, our pricing was designed 

to be clear and unambiguous. Every case 

charge is visible on CaseManager. Legal 

measures can be expensive so knowing 

the cost before you move forward is 

vital, especially to those business owners 

looking to us as a last resort.” 

This moral compass is something 

that’s guided both Charles and Lovetts 

throughout its 25-year history and 

something the firm still very much 

believes in, including the staff that now 

continue to push Lovetts forward after 

Charles became non-executive chairman. 

“We always treated others how we 

wanted to be treated ourselves, as the 

award is a true affirmation of that 

intention and a very important one. Of 

course, we have clients thanking us for 

what we’ve done over the years, but to be 

awarded on a very public stage means so 

much for me and the team.” 

Not only did the win have a profound 

effect on Charles, but his whole team 

were also just as elated. So much so that 

10 of them went out to support their boss, 

who was unaware of the win until it was 

announced. In fact, he was so unaware, 

that the presence of his wife at the awards 

ceremony was kept a secret until that very 

evening. “I thought to myself, this is really 

weird, why is my wife here? I’m so used 

to sitting on the judge's table amongst my 

fellow judges rather than with my team, 

that I should have clicked something was 

up. But I didn’t – it was so unexpected!” 

“I won the award 

after 25 years in the 

industry and whilst it 

‘officially’ recognised 

my achievements, 

in reality, it was 

recognition of our 

business and the 

people behind it.’’ 

HIGHEST STANDARD 

The award, Charles says, are pivotal to 

ensuring that the industry stays up-todate, 

relevant and more importantly at 

the tip of the spear when it comes to 

performing at the highest standard. 

“The thing about an industry body 

awards such as the BCAs is that it 

encourages people to hold themselves 

to a higher standard. Only being able to 

win by ‘being the best’ means individuals 

and teams perform at their highest level 

consistently, and subconsciously this 

raises the standard of the credit industry 

and those working in it.” 

Equally, Charles admits it’s also a 

fun night out and allows members to 

reconnect with colleagues, team members 

and peers within the industry, something 

that as a former CICM branch chairman, 

Charles very much looks forward to. 

“Besides the stoic benefits for the 

industry and the persons within it, it’s 

a great opportunity to see friends and 

colleagues from all of the industry. 

Especially as my day-to-day working 

schedule is now lighter than it used to be.” 

Besides looking forward to this year’s 

awards, Charles has also taken more time 

to enjoy the little things in life. 

“After winning an award such as the one 

I did, it gives you a level of appreciation 

for a long career, almost a full-circle 

moment. Since stepping into a nonexecutive 

role, I’ve been given a greater 

opportunity to enjoy the little things 

more, including watching the success of 

my old teammates on a day-to-day basis, 

from a distance.” 

As well as revelling in the success of 

his former team, Charles is taking more 

time with his family – and his motorbike! 

At the time of our conversation, Charles 

was gleefully on his way to see his 

grandchildren in the capital. 

Congratulations on your award 

Charles, enjoy some well-deserved time 

off with your family and see you on the 

night! 


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. 

FOR ADVERTISING 

INFORMATION OPTIONS 


paul@centuryone.uk 

01727 739 196 

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 

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. 

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 Bethan Evans, Licensed 

Insolvency Practitioner, at bevans@menzies.co.uk or call 

+44 (0)2920 447 512. 

LEGAL 

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. 

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. 

YayPay by Quadient 

T: + 44 (0) 7465 423 538 

E: r.harash@quadient.com 

W: www.yaypay.com 

YayPay by Quadient makes it easy for B2B finance teams to stay 

ahead of accounts receivable and get paid faster – from anywhere. 

Integrating with your existing ERP, CRM, accounting and billing 

systems, YayPay organizes and presents real-time data through 

meaningful, cloud-based dashboards. These increase visibility 

across your AR portfolio and provide your team with a single 

source of truth, so they can access the information they need to 

work productively, no matter where they are based. 

Automated capabilities improve team efficiency by 3X and 

accelerate the collections process by making communications 

customizable and consistent. This enables you to collect cash 

up to 34 percent faster and removes the need to add additional 

resources as your business grows. 

Predictive analytics provide insight into future payer behavior to 

improve cash flow management and a secure, online payment 

portal enables customers to access their accounts and pay at any 

time, from anywhere. 

RECRUITMENT 

Hays Credit Management 

107 Cheapside, London, EC2V 6DN 

T: 07834 260029 

E: karen.young@hays.com 

W: www.hays.co.uk/creditcontrol 

Hays Credit Management is working in partnership with the CICM 

and specialise in placing experts into credit control jobs and 

credit management jobs. Hays understands the demands of this 

challenging environment and the skills required to thrive within 

it. Whatever your needs, we have temporary, permanent and 

contract based opportunities to find your ideal role. Our candidate 

registration process is unrivalled, including face-to-face screening 

interviews and a credit control skills test developed exclusively for 

Hays by the CICM. We offer CICM members a priority service and 

can provide advice across a wide spectrum of job search and 

recruitment issues. 

FOR ADVERTISING 

INFORMATION OPTIONS 


paul@centuryone.uk 

01727 739 196 

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. 


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.

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 


Ensure compliance 

through our all-in-one, 

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Our streamlined, integrated platform 

allows your business to stay compliant 

Call us to book a free demo: 

+44 (0)113 223 4491 

Visit us online: 

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SmartSearch delivers verification services for individuals and businesses in the 

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screening, daily monitoring, email alerts and Automated Enhanced Due Diligence.

CM MARCH 2022

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