Credit Management April 2022

CREDIT MANAGEMENT

CM

THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND

COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS

APRIL 2022 £12.50

VOLUME

CONTROL

Tackling high volume

low balance debts

Why CICMQ accreditation

is so important

Page 09

Defining an effective

Gender Equity strategy

Page 38

21

HIGH FIDELITY

Ask The Experts

APRIL 2022

www.cicm.com

CONTENTS

24

COUNTRY FOCUS

Adam Bernstein

12

BUSINESS MATTERS

Sean Feast FCICM

09 – CICMQ INTERVIEW

Philip Roberts of Clarke Willmott

describes why being CICMQ accredited

is so important.

12 – BUSINESS MATTERS

Sean Feast FCICM concludes his look

at the role of CRAs in the economic

recovery.

16 – BRAVE NEW WORLD

David Andrews believes our present can

learn much from our past.

18 – MANAGING PROCUREMENT

CHALLENGES

Adam Bernstein explores the

challenges of public procurement.

21 – HIGH FIDELITY

Are courts the right approach to high

volume low balance debts?

24 – SPACE ODYSSEY

Kazakhstan has a rich history of trade.

28 – PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

A new era in benchmarking excellence

has begun.

CICM GOVERNANCE

16

BRAVE NEW WORLD

David Andrews

President Stephen Baister FCICM / Chief Executive Sue Chapple FCICM

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sarah Wilding FCICM / Atul Vadher FCICM(Grad)

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

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

Credit Management is distributed to the entire UK and international CICM

membership, as well as additional subscribers

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

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

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

trade mark of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management.

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

38 – EQUITABLE THINKING

Gender equity strategies need to be

intentional, prioritised, and measured.

58 – BETTER BY APPLICATION

A round up of the apps you simply can’t

be without.

Publisher

Chartered Institute of Credit Management

1 Accent Park, Bakewell Road, Orton Southgate

Peterborough PE2 6XS

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 / April 2022 / PAGE 3

EDITOR’S COLUMN

Carrying you through

the vicissitudes of life

Sean Feast FCICM

Managing Editor

THE world has gone mad:

President Putin wants to

turn back the clock and

reconstitute the United

Socialist Soviet Republic

(USSR); President Macron

sees himself as the great negotiator,

capable of bringing the Russian bear

to heel; and President Biden continues

to talk about the great trouble coming

Russia’s way, without convincing anyone

anywhere that he could even tell you what

he had for breakfast that morning.

Now before I go off on a huge tangent

simply to entertain myself (don’t get me

started on Chelsea!), what’s happening

on the world stage of course impacts

the world of credit. The cost of energy –

already a concern pre the Ukrainian crisis

– is on the rise, impacting consumers

and businesses alike. The debt charities

are noticing a rising number of their

customers who can no longer keep up

with the energy payments to heat their

homes (see news page 6); business

leaders are warning that rising energy

costs will ultimately mean higher prices

in the shops, adding further woes to

a mounting cost-of-living crisis. They

are also concerned that at a time when

Government is setting ambitious targets

on the journey towards net zero, now

might not be the time to pile on the

pressure when they have other more

urgent issues to contend with. (Mayor of

London take note.)

I also noticed recently how rising

energy costs impact in other ways. It

is putting people off buying an electric

vehicle (EV), for example. Now while I

am acutely aware this is a First World

problem, I distinctly recall during the

fuel crisis the smug tweets and posts from

certain parts of the EV community that

they were the future, and yah boo sucks

to the gas guzzlers. Well chaps, the boot

appears to be well and truly attached to

the other foot now, doesn’t it? Or does it?

The UK is perhaps more fortunate

than other markets in Europe in that it is

not over-reliant on energy from Russia.

European countries perhaps looking to

the Middle East for a bail-out might also

struggle in the short term, as supplies

generated by the likes of Qatar, Saudi

Arabia and the UAE are already earmarked

for trade or domestic consumption, and

these countries do not have significant

capacity to increase production on an

immediate basis.

There is a big lesson in all of this, and

although it’s hardly a new one, perhaps

it’s one worth repeating. What the current

crisis goes to prove is what we’ve known

all along: that an over-reliance on any

one technology, fuel, customer or partner

is rarely a good thing. And it also goes to

prove what those of us in business know,

that diversification – and spreading

risk – is the way to achieve long-term,

sustainable growth and carry you through

the vicissitudes of life.


CMNEWS

A round-up of news stories from the

world of consumer and commercial credit.

Written by – Sean Feast FCICM

House prices defy the gloom

in an uncertain world

HOUSE price growth accelerated

in February, with the

average price up £29,000

over the last year (source:

nationwidehousepriceindex.

co.uk). Buyers defied the biggest squeeze

on incomes in a generation, rising interest

rates, increasingly expensive houses and a

drop in confidence, to snap up their dream

property.

Sarah Coles, senior personal finance

analyst, at Hargreaves Lansdown, however,

believes the trend is highly unlikely to last:

“The rise reflects the increase in mortgage

approvals at the start of the year announced

by the Bank of England, which is feeding

through into more borrowing in February.

It means buyers continued to throng to

the market, and were willing to pay everhigher

prices for the dwindling number of

properties for sale.

''However, in some cases, buyers were

taking advantage of a small window of

opportunity. The average new mortgage cost

no more in January than it did in February,

so they saw the chance to snap up a cheap

mortgage before interest rates were hiked

again. As February’s rate rise feeds through

into new mortgages, we could see demand

slow.”

This twist in the tale could be the final

hurrah of the market before the gloom sets

in. The impact of the war between Ukraine

and Russia will have a profound impact on

sentiment. “Nobody likes uncertainty,” Sarah

adds, “but house buyers loathe it.

“When you’re about to make one of the

biggest financial decisions of your life, fears

about the possible escalation of war and the

profound consequences it could have for

the world and for your finances will weigh

heavily on your mind.”

The conflict also means the price of gas

and oil is rising significantly, which is likely

to push inflation up way beyond the Bank

of England’s prediction of 7.25 percent.

The conflict also

means the price of

gas and oil is rising

significantly, which

is likely to push

inflation up way

beyond the Bank of

England’s prediction

of 7.25 percent.

Previous predictions

that inflation would

fall back by the

end of the year are

starting to look wildly

optimistic.

Previous predictions that inflation would fall

back by the end of the year are starting to

look wildly optimistic.

“Buyers are aware that this could put

banks under pressure to raise interest rates,

which would make mortgage borrowing

more expensive. Anyone considering a

purchase needs to be comfortable with this

risk – and not everyone will be.”

Meanwhile, commentators on the global

economy and the impact of the Ukrainian

crisis are understandably concerned about

the impacts on issues closer to home. Dr

Arun Singh, Global Chief Economist at

Dun & Bradstreet, told Credit Management

that as the crisis worsens, Europe’s energy

security will represent a key risk to markets:

“The threat or reality of supply disruption to

hydrocarbon flows will lead to an increase

in prices,” he explained. “Global energy

markets are already tight, making nearto

medium-term substitution extremely

difficult.”

That said, Dr Singh concedes that energy

continued flowing from Russia to Europe

even at the height of the Cold War: “Germany

has taken action against the Nord Stream

2 gas pipeline, impacting 30 billion metric

cubes of gas expected to enter the continent

in 2022. In the event of further disruptions

in supply from Russia, natural gas would

need to be sourced from the US, Qatar,

Saudi Arabia, or the UAE. However, most

of these countries do not have significant

capacity to increase production on an

immediate basis, and most of their supply

is already earmarked for trade or domestic

consumption.”

According to Gas Infrastructure Europe

(GIE) Aggregate Gas Storage Inventory

(AGSI) data, the European gas storage levels

are critically low at around 28 percent of

capacity as of March 2022, exacerbating the

situation: “Geopolitical tensions and supply

shortages will underpin high gas prices in

the short term,” he added.


NEWS ROUNDUP

R3 seeks to explode insolvency

fees myths with new paper

INSOLVENCY and restructuring

trade body R3 has published new

research which aims to address

a range of misconceptions about

insolvency fees.

R3’s paper, ‘Insolvency fees and

the cost of regulation – the detail behind

the headlines’, explains how insolvency

fees are charged, paid and regulated, and

provides an overview of the role of the

regulatory framework and the scope of

work involved in insolvency cases.

R3 Immediate Past President Duncan

Swift says that insolvency fees are one of

the most misunderstood aspects of the

profession’s work: “People don’t realise

the difference between the costs that are

reported and what is actually paid at the

end of the day, the wide variance in fees

depending on the size of cases, and how

the complexity of cases contributes to

costs.

“These are the types of things we’re

trying to highlight with this paper,

which we hope will improve people’s

understanding of how and why the

profession charges the fees it does, dispel

the myths around insolvency fees and

help people realise the level of work and

the results that are delivered by members

of the profession for the fees they earn.”

Duncan says that a key aspect of

the report is the fact that insolvency

practitioners will frequently not be paid in

full for the work they have carried out, due

to the nature of insolvency: “The headline

grabbing amount in the reports as the total

cost of the work carried out frequently

bears little resemblance to the fees which

are paid at the end of a case.

“At a time when insolvency numbers

are likely to rise and the skills of members

of the profession are likely to be under

increased demand from distressed

businesses, we want to ensure there’s as

much information out there as possible

about the work the profession does and

how it supports people, businesses, and

the economy.”

A more detailed report will follow in the

May issue.

Cost of living crisis shows through in charity data

VISITS to the ‘emergency funding’ page

managed by StepChange Debt Charity are

on the rise, as the cost of living crisis begins

to bite.

While the level of demand for full debt

advice remains lower than before the

pandemic, potentially reflecting extended

flexibility and forbearance among creditors

and the strong rebound in employment, cost

of living pressures are rising significantly.

Cost of living is now in the top five reasons

for debt, being cited by nearly one of every

10 StepChange clients.

Richard Lane, Director of external affairs

at StepChange Debt Charity, says the

next few months will be a challenge: “The

months ahead look sobering in terms of

the pressures on UK household finances,

with the known rises in National Insurance

and energy prices exacerbated further now

by all the uncertainty in the geopolitical

environment,” he said,

“The months

ahead look sobering

in terms of the

pressures on UK

household finances,

with the known

rises in National

Insurance and

energy prices

exacerbated

further now by all

the uncertainty

in the geopolitical

environment''

Since the start of the New Year there

have been a number of shocks – such as

increased energy prices – and more are

expected. These will result in more people

experiencing the pressure of debt, and

StepChange urges anyone in this position to

seek help as soon as their situation starts to

decline.”

Elsewhere StepChange has reported that

the COVID pandemic has had a very distinct

impact on the progress of people seeking

debt advice. Three months after advice,

before the pandemic 75 percent of clients

reported making progress towards resolving

their debts. During the pandemic, this

proportion fell to 67 percent. Nine months

after advice, before the pandemic 65

percent of clients reported being able to

make ends meet either every

month or most months. During the

pandemic, this increased to 78

percent.


NEWS ROUNDUP

Creditsafe acquires Graydon

CREDITSAFE Nederland BV, the global

credit data and risk intelligence expert, has

acquired Graydon, the business information

services provider, for an undisclosed sum.

At the time of going to press it was

not clear what the implications were for

Graydon, its senior team, or its offices

and employees across the Netherlands,

Belgium, and the UK. The mood music from

Cato Syversen, CEO of Creditsafe, however,

was very much that it was ‘business as

usual’, and that the two businesses were

combining their services to accelerate the

long-term growth and economic stability of

their clients.

“In Graydon we saw an opportunity to

invest in a well-recognised business and

brand to help accelerate our growth in these

markets and further develop our marketleadership

position in Europe,” Cato told

Credit Management.

Graydon has been in operation for more

than 130 years and for the last five years has

been a 100 percent subsidiary of Atradius.

David Capdevila, CEO of Atradius, was keen

to stress the benefits of the sale: “Graydon

and its employees have found a strong and

solid partner in Creditsafe," he said.

"We are cooperating with Creditsafe

as one of our information providers

successfully via our Iberian information

CATHERINE Brown, the former Chief

Executive of the Food Standards Agency

and current Chair of environmental

charity Hubbub, has been appointed the

first Chair of the Enforcement Conduct

Board.

The Board is a new independent

oversight body for the civil enforcement

sector and will act to drive up

standards, improve the effectiveness

of enforcement and provide better

protection to people struggling with debt.

It has been created through a partnership

provider Iberinform and we are convinced

that Graydon will benefit from the unrivalled

expertise and market reach of Creditsafe.”

Gertjan Kaart, Managing Director of

Creditsafe Nederland BV believes that

Graydon and Creditsafe together are in a

strong position to accelerate sustainable

growth and support for their customers

locally and globally: “The fact that Graydon

is now a Creditsafe company will be very

beneficial for all our clients to access

advanced global Creditsafe Solutions

in combination with the recognised

intelligence solutions of Graydon,” he said.

A spokesperson for Graydon said he

felt that joining the Creditsafe family was

an excellent fit: “Creditsafe and Graydon

together will benefit, and we will be able to

accelerate our growth.”

“In Graydon we saw an

opportunity to invest in a

well-recognised business

and brand to help accelerate

our growth in these markets

and further develop our

market-leadership position

in Europe.''

Brown appointed first chair

of new enforcement body

between the civil enforcement sector

and leading debt advice charities, such

as the Money Advice Trust, Christians

Against Poverty and StepChange.

The Board – which will operate

independently of both the industry

and the Government – will have a

clear mandate to ensure fair treatment

and appropriate protection for people

subject to action by enforcement agents

(bailiffs).

Catherine Brown has been appointed

for an initial three-year term.

>NEWS

IN BRIEF

Gateway to collections

BUSINESS Gateway has helped

launch Know-it, a credit management

platform, based in Glasgow, which is

said to help give small businesses the

ability to mitigate credit risk, increase

cashflow and reduce debtor days. The

product has three functions; Checkit,

Chase-it, Collect-it and aims to

help SMEs tackle the £61 billion late

payment problem that is putting UK

businesses at serious risk. Know-it

was founded by Lynne Darcy Quigley,

and through Business Gateway has

been able to access grants of more

than £90,000 to accelerate its growth.

New Board team

SARAH Whiteley, Group General

Counsel & Company Secretary at Cabot

Credit Management, has been elected

to the board of the Credit Services

Association – the trade association for

the debt collection and debt purchase

industry. Frank Horvath, Managing

Director at Link Financial Outsourcing,

and Joanne Cowens, Head of Conduct

& Risk at NCO Europe, have been reelected.

Former board member Ian Rea

has stepped down. At the CSA AGM, the

terms of office for current Chair Tom

Chandos and Vice Chair Nick Cherry

were also extended for a further year

until 2023.

Senior hires

INDEBTED, which describes itself as

the fast-growing global fintech aiming

to transform the consumer experience

of debt, has appointed Pierre Bergamin

as Vice President of Engineering and

Roger Almeida as Head of Product. The

appointments are part of InDebted’s

investment in its product and

engineering functions which work

closely with consumers and business

partners across the globe.

Take a chair

JASON Incles, previously of TDX Group,

has been appointed as the new Chair

of Arum and Just. Jason succeeds

Jamie Waller who recently retired

after serving as Chair for the past four

years. “I feel very excited to be taking

on this role at such a pivotal time for

our profession,” Jason said. The needs

of our public and private sector clients

in the credit and debt industries are

changing rapidly against a backdrop

of heightened economic pressures

and consumer treatment expectations.

Arum and Just are helping to address

these challenges in thoughtful and

innovative ways which I am pleased to

be playing a part in.”


NEWS ROUNDUP

Signs of small business recovery

after chaos of the pandemic

BRITISH business is getting

back on track – with

resilient entrepreneurs

up and down the country

showing signs of recovery

after overcoming the

obstacles of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The past two years have seen half

of small businesses suffer significant

financial setbacks, with 54 percent having

to introduce new emergency revenue

streams to survive the winter months after

Omicron and supply chain troubles.

But according to a new ‘How to

Recover’ report from Small Business

Britain and TSB Bank, four fifths (86

percent) of entrepreneurs are fighting back

and believe their business will survive

this year, despite half admitting financial

stability has taken a hit.

Two thirds (66 per cent) of business

owners are also optimistic that they will

grow in 2022 – and Small Business Britain

has launched an eight-step plan to help

businesses rebuild and combat challenges.

Michelle Ovens, founder of Small Business

Britain, told Credit Management: “The last

two years have brought a rollercoaster of

fortunes for small businesses. Each time it

seems a corner has been turned, another

hurdle has arisen.

“It is incredible how small businesses

have used their entrepreneurial instincts

to dig deep and keep going. But keep going

they must! With the right mindset and

the help of support networks, innovations

like technology and new products and

services, small businesses can make it

through this crisis and be well positioned

for recovery.”

The guide includes embracing a

growth mindset, with an openness to

adapt, embrace change, and try new things

to overcome crisis – something that has

led half of small businesses to adopt new

innovation, technology and skills to get

through the troubling year, as 49 percent

also used government grants to keep their

businesses stable.

Cucumber Clothing is one such

business that has been able to combat

the tough retail market using innovation,

appealing to customers keen for

lower upfront investment and greater

sustainability with a new rental model.

Co-founder Eileen Willett said it is so easy

to procrastinate, but just go for it: “You’ll

never be perfect just learn as you go and

improve.”

But as well as changing your mindset

and embracing change to get businesses

on the road to recovery in the unstable

climate, Small Business Britain is also

recommending that businesses get

help from others through networking

and taking advice from mentors to gain

inspiration and solve problems, while also

prioritising their staff and customers to

gain a greater insight into where they can

improve.

Adopting new technologies to connect

to a digital audience and build skills

can also increase revenue and boost

productivity, while flexible businesses that

are prepared for any situation with backup

plans in place are more likely to survive

an unpredictable economy.

And while the pandemic has posed a

challenge for the whole of the business

world, Small Business Britain encourages

businesses to invest in core areas for

future growth where possible, and to make

sure mental health remains a priority for

business owners.

“We hope that the small firms out

there struggling – and there are many

still feeling very vulnerable – can use the

practical advice in this guide as a roadmap

to find a way back to growth,” Michelle

added.

“However, there is of course a limit to

what small businesses can do. There is

still a need for continued support – from

the Government, bigger businesses, and

the public. And it’s vital that this support

is inclusive, so it reaches everyone across

the small business community.”

Business Minister Paul Scully said he

was pleased to see that two-thirds of firms

expect to grow this year: “The Government

is doing everything it can to bolster small

businesses with schemes like Help to

Grow giving business leaders the expert

management training and digital skills

they need to boost their performance and

profitability,” he concluded.


Q&A

In the first in a new series Credit Management

speaks to Philip Roberts FCICM about the

importance of achieving CICMQ accreditation.

THE debt recovery team at Clarke Willmott, a leading full-service UK law firm,

has accomplished best practice with CICMQ accreditation, demonstrating its

dedication to quality and continual progress.

Philip Roberts FCICM

is a Partner at Clarke Willmott.

He was in conversation with

Mona Yazpandarast and

Laura Rhodes.

Established in 1888,

Clarke Willmott LLP is one

of the earliest national law

firms with seven offices

across England and Wales.

It has been awarded the

Law Society’s Lexcel quality

mark in recognition of

its compliance and care

standards. The firm consists of

over 500 lawyers and support

staff, including over 100

partners. This accreditation

comes as another feather

in the hat for the company,

congratulations to the

whole team!

CM: How big is your debt recovery

team and what services do you provide?

PR: The firm’s 29-strong debt recovery

team is one of the largest in the UK

and has been operating for 30 years.

Our services range from high-volume,

pre-legal debt collection through to all

aspects of debt litigation and insolvency

action. Clients include government

departments, local authorities, utility

companies, insurance companies,

commercial businesses and FCA

regulated companies. We are ranked as

top tier in Legal 500 for Debt Recovery.

CM: What are the advantages

of being accredited to CICMQ?

PR: The benefits of us gaining

accreditation are twofold. For the team it

is a real feather in our caps and a nod to

the hard work they put in to continuously

meet the high standards we set. To

have an industry leading organisation

like the CICM confirm this is a real

achievement. But more, it also gave us

a great opportunity to review ourselves

and what we do and look for areas of

improvement. Many new processes have

been introduced since the workshop and

we’ve seen great improvements in several

areas because of this.

CM: What are the reasons that

you sought CICMQ accreditation?

PR: CICM promotes best practice in

industry standards and the CICMQ

accreditation is confirmation that the

team are achieving this. We wanted

to go for the accreditation to prove to

ourselves and show to clients that we

meet the high standards set. Also, after

initial discussions, we realised how

much we could gain from the process

by asking for the team’s thoughts, ideas

and input and finding out if there

were areas for improvement. It’s also a

great opportunity to join many leading

companies in the CICM Best Practice

group which will be really beneficial in

knowledge sharing.

CM: What were the central

challenges you faced in gaining

accreditation?

PR: Initial talks happened in the weeks

leading up to the first lockdown of the

pandemic in 2020 and the accreditation

process was necessarily postponed due

to this. When we decided we would do

it remotely, we weren’t sure how the

same level of staff engagement could

be captured via video conferencing.

However, CICM had already overcome

any issues with this and had a great

virtual alternative in place, which worked

brilliantly.

CM: Is there anything you will do

differently next time now that you

have gained accreditation? Any key

lessons learned?

PR: Following the workshop experience,

we know that our team have some

brilliant ideas for improvements. We

will be more proactive, and team led in

asking for those ideas to be put forward

to us. As we will have another review in

18 months, we will know how to properly

document and display all adjustments

and improvements that happen along the

way so that we can demonstrate how we

have developed. Our biggest lesson learnt

is that the team want more and better

communication, which is now very much

a part of our everyday working.

CM: Does the team receive any

CICM Training and are there plans

for this to begin or expand?

PR: We are working with CICM to

discuss team and individual training

going forward and are excited about the

benefits this could bring.


BRITISH CREDIT

AWARDS 2022

In Partnership with

Thursday 24th March, Royal Lancaster London

MEET THE 2022 FINALISTS, THOSE WHO

WERE HIGHLY COMMENDED AND WINNERS

B2B TEAM OF THE YEAR AWARD

Sponsored by

Finalists:

• Aggregate Industries (UK) Limited

• Anixter Ltd

• Biffa Waste Services Ltd

• Scottish Water Business Stream

• Skyscanner

• Stonegate Group

• The Adecco Group UK & Ireland

• Valor Hospitality Europe Ltd

• Weightmans LLP

Winner: Associated British Ports

B2B SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Sponsored by

Finalists:

• Cedar Rose International Services Ltd

• CoCredo

• Flint Bishop LLP

• Forums International Ltd

• Sidetrade

• Softcat PLC

Winner: Chaser

SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Sponsored by

Finalists:

• CoCredo

• Forums International Ltd

• Payt Software

Winner: Escalate Law

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION AWARD

Sponsored by

Finalists:

• Marston Holdings

• Weightmans LLP (Highly Commended)

Winner: Shoosmiths LLP

INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY AWARD

Sponsored by

Finalists:


• Chaser

• Debt Register

• HighRadius

• Themis Global

• United Utilities

Winner: IncomeMax

RISK MANAGEMENT ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Sponsored by

Finalists:

• Anixter Ltd

• Exclusive Networks Ltd

• Invictus Risk Solutions LLP

• Royal Mail Group

• RS Components Limited

Winner: Company Watch

SHARED SERVICE PROVIDER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Sponsored by

Finalists:

• Associated British Ports

• RS Components Limited AR SSC

• Saint-Gobain Ltd

• Sidetrade


• WSP UK Ltd

Winner: Biffa Waste Services Ltd


DEBT COLLECTION AGENCY OF THE YEAR AWARD

Sponsored by

Finalists:

• Athena Collections Ltd

• Darcey Quigley & Co


• Global Credit Recoveries Ltd

• Themis Global

• Thornbury Collections

• ZZPS Ltd

Winner: Atradius Collections Ltd

LEGAL PROVIDER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Sponsored by

Finalists:

• AJJB LAW

• Blaser Mills LLP

• Escalate Law


• MKB Law

Winner: Clarke Willmott LLP

Winner: DWF Law LLP

GIVING BACK AWARD

Sponsored by

Finalists:

• Bryony Crossland FCICM(Grad), Anixter Ltd (Highly Commended)

• Essentra Plc

• Exclusive Networks Ltd

• Lovetts Solicitors


Winner: Scottish Water Business Stream

RISING STAR AWARD

Sponsored by

Finalists:

• Abbie Carter ACICM, Aggregate Industries (UK) Limited

• Amber Durrant, Shorterm Ltd

• Jamie Barker, Oilfast Ltd T/A Fleetmaxx Solutions

• Silvana Miljevic, RS Components Limited

• Stacey Smith, Biffa Waste Services Ltd

Winner: Ethan Court, Themis Global

RESILIENCE & CONTINUITY AWARD

BEST EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Sponsored by

Finalists:

• CoCredo

• Essentra Plc

• Marston Holdings


• Weightmans LLP

• ZZPS Ltd

Winner: Stonegate Group

THE SIR ROGER CORK PRIZE

Winner: Liana Jones

THE JENNY OLDFIELD SUPPORTING

WOMEN IN CREDIT AWARD

Finalists:

• Lydia Morris, Anixter Ltd

• Michelle Dacoron ACICM, Anixter Ltd

Winner: Anita Pickersgill MCICM, Thornbury Collections

CREDIT PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR AWARD

Sponsored by

Finalists:

• Brendan Clarkson FCICM, Begbies Traynor

• David Thornley FCICM(Grad), Fort Vale Engineering Ltd

• Debra Pennington FCICM, Clarins UK Ltd

• Lisa McKenzie MCICM(Grad), Tarmac Trading Ltd

• Mike Darbyshire, Brabners LLP

• Philip Roberts FCICM, Clarke Willmott LLP

• Simon Quigley, The Adecco Group UK & Ireland

• Steven Kershaw ACICM, Oilfast Ltd T/A Fleetmaxx Solutions

• Tina Daulton MCICM, Biffa Waste Services Ltd

Winner: Dee Weston FCICM, Exclusive Networks Ltd

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO THE INDUSTRY AWARD

Sponsored by

Finalists:

• Andrea Baker FCICM, Sidetrade

• Brenda Linger FCICM, Credit Management Ltd (Highly Commended)

• Debra Pennington FCICM, Clarins UK Ltd

• Lynne Darcey Quigley, Know-it Global/Darcey Quigley & Co

• Mike Segall FCICM, Mike Segall Consulting Ltd

• Mr John A. Smith FCICM

Winner: Angela Widdup ACICM, Royal Mail

Sponsored by

Finalists:


• Clarins UK Ltd

• CoCredo

• Optimum SME Finance Ltd

• RS Components Limited

• Stonegate Group

Winner: Skyscanner

Don't

miss the awards

supplement in

next months

issue of CM

magazine

CICM EXCELLENCE IN CREDIT MANAGEMENT AWARD

Winners: Aggregate Industries (UK) Limited

Veolia ES UK PLC

RS Components Limited

The Adecco Group UK & Ireland

HSCNI - BSO Shared Services

For more information visit www.cicmbritishcreditawards.com

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


BUSINESS

MATTERS

Sean Feast FCICM speaks to

Cato Syversen, CEO of Creditsafe,

about the impact of COVID on the

business information sector.

PART 2

The breadth of data needed,

and the challenge in finding

that data, will continue to

grow over the next 12 months:

“We know these processes

are designed to safeguard

businesses and the wider

economy from corruption and

fraud so restricting valuable

data can be damaging.”


CREDIT REFERENCE AGENCIES

AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM

‘‘By offering trusted intelligence and aiding decision-making,

Creditsafe and other business information providers will play a pivotal

role in the economic recovery.”

CATO Syversen believes the

evolution and emergence of new

legislation and regulations has

raised significant challenges for

the industry: “Much of the new

legislation is, of course, a positive

change and supports our industry,” he says. “The

Payment Services Directive (PDS2), for example,

and Commercial Credit Data Sharing (CCDS)

provides visibility over consented banking data

and enhances our ability to assess real-time

liquidity.

“Yet on the other hand, there are new regulations

that restrict our access to vital business

information and in turn reduces transparency.

We are seeing it today for instance with the

restrictions being imposed on Ultimate Beneficial

Owner (UBO) registers due to privacy reasons in

certain countries.”

While Cato understands and welcomes

legalisation and regulations that protect the

identity of individuals, he recognises this causes

problems for the industry and Creditsafe’s clients:

“The need for more information about companies

and persons has grown in order for organisations

to meet the requirements for Know your business

(KYB) and Know Your Customer (KYC).”

The breadth of data needed, and the challenge

in finding that data, will continue to grow over

the next 12 months: “We know these processes

are designed to safeguard businesses and the

wider economy from corruption and fraud so

restricting valuable data can be damaging,” he

continues. “When legalisation and regulations

are being considered it is important that there is a

balance to the decision process from Government

authorities.

“Organisations like Creditsafe play a pivotal

role in stimulating trade credit and safeguarding

businesses, so we need as much information as

possible to provide the right insights and guidance

to our customers. To assist organisations with

the ever-increasing complexity of compliance,

Creditsafe will provide new capabilities that

simplify the interpretation of data and assist

all functions in meeting their compliance

requirements.”

DATA AVAILABILITY

During the early stages of the pandemic, Cato

admits there was some disruption in terms of data

availability. However, these were quickly resolved

with many suppliers utilising technology more

and settling into working from home.

As the pandemic progressed, there were also

issues with the availability of information from

Government agencies relating to support packages

which had been given to companies over the

last two years: “A number of countries provided

financial support to businesses in terms of grants,

loans, and the ability to defer taxation, which was

crucial to the survival of some business during the

unprecedented times,” he says.

“This lack of visibility, however, continues to

cause us some challenges as we do not always

know what financial support has been provided

to what company, and how this might impact

their ability to continue to trade. We source this

information where it is available and consider this

within our assessments.”

Cato says the business is now receiving this

information based on companies submitting their

financial statements which include the financial

support they have received: “In a perfect world

this information would have been made available

by all Government agencies,” he continues, “but

of course we understand during such times this

cannot always be achieved.”

Alternative data is another area in which

Creditsafe has been investing to deliver greater

value and insights: “For over a decade Creditsafe

has made significant efforts to collect payment

performance data. This type data is invaluable

when analysing risk in terms of cashflow and this

has really supported our customers during the

pandemic. In the past two years over 60 percent

of the reports we have supplied to our customers

have given insights into the company’s payment

performance.”

Crucially, Cato says, he recognised the

pandemic was changing the landscape of trade

credit virtually overnight, and they had to

respond: “We introduced our COVID-impact score

in 2020; developed by our Analytics and Data

Teams the score helps companies to understand

the immediate and long-term impact that the

pandemic and restrictions is likely to have across

all sectors globally.”

Trade finance tends to be highly vulnerable

in times of economic crises, especially in the

short-term, leading to increased prices and

reduced overall availability. This presents both an

opportunity and a threat: “Now more than ever,

business information providers play a pivotal role

in providing companies with guidance, insights

and confidence when providing trade credit. We

have seen even during the pandemic that the

usage of our services has continued to grow, even

with sectors that have been regularly closed for

business due to restrictions being imposed on

them.

“Trade finance serves as the lifeblood of the dayto-day

international trade in goods and services by

enabling transactions between buyers and sellers

around the globe. More specifically, it provides

the fluidity and security needed to allow for the

movement of goods and services,” Cato adds.

SIGNIFICANT IMPACT

Although precise figures on the magnitude of

trade finance are unavailable, it is assumed to

be significant: in 2009, it was estimated to have


CREDIT REFERENCE AGENCIES


contributed to between 80 percent to 90

percent of all world trade.

“By offering trusted intelligence and

aiding decision-making, Creditsafe and

other business information providers

will play a pivotal role in the economic

recovery,” Cato continues. “We did the

same during the 2008 Global Finance

Crisis by providing accessible services

and solutions that continue to support

our clients with their risks and

opportunities.”

Cato says that the business has been

sourcing additional and alternative data

and developing new solutions: “With

the recent addition of CCDS and Open

Banking Data in our services we have

been able to confidently recommend

higher credit limits to certain businesses

and in particularly SMEs, which naturally

promotes growth all the while reducing

overall exposure to risk. Additions like

these,” he continues, “allow our clients

to respond to new economic challenges,

continue to make informed decisions,

remain resilient and even thrive in times

of uncertainty.”

In the context of a challenged and

challenging world, Creditsafe has found

ways of working smarter. In the credit

world this has translated into a drive

or expectation to onboard more clients

in record speed while simultaneously

reducing exposure to risk: “At Creditsafe

we are enabling businesses to achieve this

by continually acquiring new sources and

types of data and combining this with new

technologies and analytical capabilities to

create holistic and intelligent solutions,”

Cato says.

“The Open Banking and Commercial

Credit Data Sharing initiatives in the

UK are revolutionary for the lending

market in particular, and we are helping

businesses incorporate this data into

their credit policies to allow them to

extend more trade finance to businesses

without an increase in risk. As one of

only four credit reference agencies with

access to Open Banking Data, we are in

a unique position to support businesses

in growing faster and more sustainably.

When we combine this data with our

new technologies and capabilities it truly

changes the landscape.”

An example Cato gives is of its new

automated credit decisioning solution

Check & Decide. This can be configured

to include compliance checks, Open

Banking data, credit reports and any

third-party data source: “Checks which

previously could have taken a company

up to 30 days to perform manually, can

now be performed by this technology

within seconds,” he concludes. “Our

clients have a universe of data at their

fingertips and Creditsafe enables them to

use it on-demand at the right time for the

right decision.”

Working lives

Credit Management speaks to Craig Evans about life after Lockdown.

CM: What is the biggest single issue

facing your industry today and over the

next 12 months?

CE: Probably the biggest issues facing our

industry today, like many industries, is

the need to adopt a new way of working.

The pandemic has triggered seismic

shifts in how we work, causing many

companies to transition from an officecentric

culture to more flexible ways of

working. This shift is largely still in the

experimental phase, as businesses across

our industry try to conceive of and test

effective post-pandemic working models

for their operations and staff. Of course,

what works for one company may not

work for another; business needs will vary

depending on size and structure. I know

many organisations in our industry are

doing their best to make working more

flexible – as well as less burnout-prone,

thanks to recent conversations about

mental health, work-life balance and

burnout.

CM: To what extent has the pandemic

impacted the sector? How have you

responded? How have you remained

relevant?

CE: The pandemic has stimulated the

industry to look at how data drives

organisations. As the need for more

current data grew, the industry reacted

with new scores based around the

impact the pandemic was having on

businesses, creating new analytic models

for customer and supplier impact risks,

fraud risks, social risks, growth risks etc.

Graydon was quick to respond to this,

creating and releasing the first Impact

score in the industry, followed by new

predictive risk scores and fraud scores.

The customers’ demand for these scores

and insights put Graydon’s data-driven

insights at the centre of the key decisions

being undertaken to manage risks across

all industries.

CM: What role can your business play in

supporting the economic recovery?

CE: For me, the role Graydon can play is

in several parts: we can help to create and

make businesses ready for investment,

through our scores and insights; help

companies to grow their revenues,

through our data-driven analytics; and

allow our customers to reduce their costs,

by deploying automation and business

process flows to onboard customers and

suppliers far quicker and with minimal

manual intervention. To encourage

innovation, using our scoring and

analytics as a service offering, we can

help to create a strong enabling

environment and encourage workforce

readiness by facilitating upskilling and

reskilling programs for risk management,

digital platforms, and new industry

expertise.

CM: What new ‘products’ or initiatives

have you launched/are you planning to

launch that will benefit credit managers/

businesses?

CE: In 2021 we launched our Insights

platform – our next-generation data

intelligence platform. All our products

on this platform have been created and

deployed since the start of the pandemic.

Enhanced and improved searching and

identification intelligence. New scores for

business risk, corporate fraud risk, impact

risk, growth scores, payment scores. New

linkages to identify the networks and

ownerships of businesses, the people

and entities behind them. An enhanced

rules-based credit decisioning tool. New

solutions for automation of onboarding

customers/suppliers using a single API

and a dedicated platform for managing

the fraud risk, credit risk and AML/

KYC risk. A completely new solution for

managing compliance risks. A new suite

of API solutions to allow our customers

to integrate. Wider and deeper data for

insights on international businesses and

a new marketing data product, allowing

our customers to access over nine million

companies.

Craig Evans is Commercial Director

for Graydon UK.


Take the guesswork out

of Accounts Receivable

Intelligent automation software to

streamline credit-to-cash processes

BOOK A DEMO

YayPay.com/smartar


VIEW FROM THE SEAFRONT

Brave New World?

Our present can learn much from our past.

AUTHOR – David Andrews

AS the years flash and blur

one into the other, it is

not always easy to have

perfect recall.

But it was – I think –

2000, and I was perched

outside a little cafe in Brighton’s Seven

Dials, hoping to catch the last few rays

of a fading sun. I was reading And Quiet

Flows the Don, which remains one of the

great works of 20th century literature.

Mikhail Sholokhov’s magisterial

work examines the lives of a Cossack

community, just prior to the outbreak of

WW1.

It is not an easy read, but like those

other great works, War and Peace and

Anna Karenina, the novel delivers an

extraordinary perspective as to the inner

character of the Russian people. Strong,

noble... proud. And desperately loyal to

the notion of the Motherland.

As the shadows spread, the guy who I

had clocked sitting opposite me, inclined

his head in my direction.

‘Excuse,’ he said, in faltering English.

‘May I ask….’

‘Yes,’ I said, thinking, dude is from

Eastern Europe…ask away…

‘May I ask…do you like book?’

‘I do,’ I said. ‘It is long and difficult. But

yes, I like it.’

‘So do I,’ he said. ‘But I have only read

it in Russian,’ he added with a beaming

smile.

‘Well,’ I said, ‘I guess that it is always

preferable to read in the vernacular.’

‘Sure,’ said my new friend. ‘I am

Russian – from Moscow – so it is not

so hard for me.’ Again with the wide

beaming grin.

So we talked. About the book, about

Russia then and in its illustrious past.

And then we talked about President

Putin.

Back then Vladimir Putin was

something of an untried head of state.

He had risen to power through the

murky mechanisms of the KGB and the

impenetrable protocols of the Kremlin.

‘We do not know anything about him,’

said my friend. ‘But in Russia sometimes

it does not do to ask too many questions.’

I nodded. For despite the effective

toppling of the former Soviet Union

empire, many of the old guard Russians

were still trying to cling on to increasingly

outmoded notions of State power.

‘Apparently the guy had to drive a taxi

for awhile,’ said my chum, cackling at

the thought of Vlad behind the wheel of

a Lada ferrying a bunch of vodka-fuelled

Muscovites around town.

‘But hey,’ he said, ‘this is the brave new

face of Russia.’ Nodding in the direction

of my book, he whispered: ‘I wonder

what Sholokhov would have made of it

all?’

AGGRESSIVE EXPANSION

Who knows? But I would bet my last rouble

that neither he nor contemporaries like

Alexander Solzhenitsyn would have

figured modern Russia for the aggressive

expansionist regime it appears to

have become under the ailing Putin

administration.

Much water has flowed through the

Don over the past weeks, and whichever

way the conflict takes us, we can be

sure of one thing – our erstwhile cosy

relationship with the Russian oligarch

elite in Londongrad and the complexities

of the Russian banking system in the City

will almost certainly be dismantled.

As James Joyce said, there are no

certainties – only outcomes – and no

commentator can accurately predict

where we will all be as 2022 unfolds.

Hard though, following two years of a

pandemic crisis which has seen millions

disenfranchised around the globe, to

now be countenancing a major conflict

which will impact on all our ways of life.

Sure, we will be hit with higher energy

bills, filling our vehicles with fuel will be

eye wateringly expensive, and for those

whose livelihoods have been shaped by

commercial relationships with Russian

firms and tourism – the hotel and travel

industry was just getting back on its feet

– lean times stretch ahead.

Assuming our leaders can maintain

an uneasy peace going forward in the

face of Russian expansionism, there are

some positives for the UK economy as we

finally emerge from the pandemic.

In the first quarter of the year UK GDP

was the highest in Europe, eclipsing

even the powerhouse that is the German

economy. We have a full employment

economy for the first time since 1988,

and in more ‘normal’ times this would

have stood us in good stead.

FAR FROM NORMAL TIMES

What a difference a few months makes.

Most of us waking up on New Year’s Day

probably did not envisage a threat to

world peace as being high on the 2022

agenda. Funny, is it not, how the spectre

of the pandemic, which once dominated

every news bulletin, has now receded

into the distance.

The economic triple whammy of

COVID-19, rising energy prices – and

now a full-blown conflict will ensure that

2022 is a turbulent year.

But we have been here before. Most

obviously in the early 1960s with the

Cuban missile crisis, and with endless

wars in the intervening 60 years. As

Aldous Huxley said, it is our world. It

is a brave new world. Let us hope it is a

secure world.

David Andrews is a

freelance Journalist.


Fill your vacancy or find your next career

move at www.portfoliocreditcontrol.com

PROUD

SPONSORS

OF THE

OUTSTANDING

CONTRIBUTION

TO THE

INDUSTRY

at The BRITISH CREDIT

AWARDS 2022

Congratulations to all the

winners and

well done to all nominees!

Thank you for a great

evening of celebrations!

Portfolio Credit Control, part of the

Portfolio Group, are proud to be the only

true specialist Credit Control recruitment

agency in the UK.

Contact us to hire

the best Credit Control talent

Scan with your phone to fill your vacancy or find your next career move

at www.portfoliocreditcontrol.com

Contact one of our specialist recruitment consultants to fill your vacancy or find your next career move!

LONDON 020 7650 3199

1 FINSBURY SQUARE, 3 RD FLOOR, LONDON EC2A 1AE

MANCHESTER 0161 523 5585

THE PENINSULA, VICTORIA PLACE, MANCHESTER M4 4FB

www.portfoliocreditcontrol.com

recruitment@portfoliocreditcontrol.com

theportfoliogroup

portfoliocredit

Rated as Excellent

portfolio-credit-control


Managing

procurement

challenges

Is it a regulatory framework that is

complex and inefficient or one that

is a force for good competition?


BUSINESS

AUTHOR – Adam Bernstein

WHETHER a public body is looking

for providers of goods or

services, or a potential provider

is trying to obtain a contract to

supply these, there’s a process

to follow and it is not infallible.

As a result, contracts may be challenged. But in contrast

to other forms of legal claim, the timescales in

challenging public tenders are extremely short.

PROCUREMENT DEFINED

Procurement is the process of obtaining products or

services from a third party and occurs every day in

both the public and private sectors. Although it is advisable

that those involved within procurement in the

private sector develop clear processes and documentation,

Nathan Talbott, a partner at law firm Wright

Hassall, advises that it is only the process of public

procurement that is specifically regulated.

He outlines how, since the 1970s, the World Trade

Organisation (WTO) and the European Union (EU)

have regulated the procurement of goods and services

by public authorities in order to protect openness,

transparency and non-discrimination in these transactions.

He says that the UK is bound to these principles

by its treaty obligations and has since developed

defined UK procurement regulations accordingly.

It's natural to question whether Brexit may have

changed the landscape but Talbot says the UK’s international

commitment still stand: “even though the UK

has now left the EU, UK procurement regulations still

apply. The UK became a member of the WTO’s Agreement

on Government Procurement in January 2021.

So, going forward, any national laws relating to public

procurement will continue to be made within the

framework of these international commitments.”

For the record, the main regulations currently applicable

to public procurement are the Public Contracts

Regulations 2015, the Concession Contracts

Regulations 2016, the Utilities Contracts Regulations

2016, and the Defence and Security Public Contracts

Regulations 2011.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

LAW APPLIES

As to how the rules surrounding public procurement

apply, Talbot explains that there are three conditions

to be met. Firstly, the contracting authority must be a

public authority explains Talbot: “state, regional and

local authorities, and other bodies governed by public

law are subject to procurement regulations.”

That said, Talbot explains that a distinction is made

between central Government authorities – which includes

Government departments and non-departmental

Government bodies, such as the British Library, the

Competition and Markets Authority, and NHS Trusts –

and sub-central authorities which includes local Government,

police and fire authorities, and universities.

“These distinctions,” he says, “are important as they

affect the threshold value of contracts that require

compliance with the regulations.” The second condition

which Talbot explains is that the tender must

be for works, products, services or concessions and

the contracts envisaged must be for public supplies,

public services or public works. In contrast, there are

There are time limits for challenges.

Court proceedings must start 30 days

from when the bidder first knew 'or

strongly suspected,' that the contracting

authority had breached the regulations.

separate regulations when it comes to defence and security

matters, as well as contracts for utility activities

such as water, energy, transport and postal services.

There are also separate regulations when the contract

related to a concession and operating risk is to be

transferred to a concessionaire.

The third condition Talbot mentions is that the value

of the tender must be above specified thresholds.

“Most procurement regulations only apply to contracts

above certain thresholds,” he explains. “However,

public contract opportunities below the threshold values,

but over £10,000 (central Government) or £25,000

(sub-central Government) must still be published on

the Government’s Contracts Finder website to allow

interested parties the opportunity to respond.”

For works contracts or concessions, the current

threshold is £5,336,937 regardless of the type of contracting

authority. For supplies and services for defence

and security, the threshold is £426,955, again

regardless of the type of authority. But for general

supplies and services, the central Government threshold

is £138,760, sub-central Government threshold is

£213,477, and for utilities, it’s £426,955. All are current

from 1 January 2022.

Understanding whether a tender is subject to public

procurement regulations not only enables authorities

to follow the correct processes and but it also helps

bidders to know what to expect, and, should they have

any concerns about decisions, they know when they

may bring a challenge.

THE TENDER PROCESS

It’s important to understand that tenders regulated by

public procurement law must use one of several specified

processes to evaluate and award a contract. Each

involves minimum time limits, selection and award

criteria, and the obligation to disclose various details

when announcing the results. And as for announcing

the results of tenders, the contracting authority must

notify all bidders individually of the criteria for an

award, the reasons for selecting the successful bid,

the scores of the winning and the unsuccessful bidder,

and when a standstill period will end. This must

be at least 10 days from the notification during which

time the awarded contract may not be finalised as unsuccessful

bidders may want to review the feedback

from the tender.

There’s a big ‘but’ here though: Tenders can be challenged

for a number of reasons – before or even after

the outcome has been decided – that include the design

of the tender being partial to certain suppliers;

tender documents containing a mistake; inappropriate

negotiation with potential suppliers; valuation of

the bids wrongly excluding a bidder, or not applying

award criteria correctly; the process specified by the


continues on page 20 >

BUSINESS


regulations was not followed; or the required information

was not provided to all bidders.

And Talbot has seen challenges come from individuals,

public entities or groups who made a bid, and these

challenges can also be made by key sub-contractors or

bid consortia partners may. Also, if a procurement contract

is being modified, those involved in the original

tender may bring a challenge, and this can also be said

for those who were not involved but can show they had

sufficient interest in the procurement process at the

time of the attempted modification.

SOLUTIONS FOR UNSUCCESSFUL BIDDERS

With this in mind, can a challenge be mounted before

a contract is concluded? In answer, Talbot advises

that it can: “A court may set aside the decision of the

contracting authority or order that the contacting

authority amends or reissues a document.” But where

a challenge is made after a contract is concluded, he

says that a court may declare that contract ineffective,

and/or impose a financial penalty on the contracting

authority. In both situations damages may also be

awarded.

But there are, necessarily, time limits for challenges.

Court proceedings must start 30 days from when the

bidder first knew, 'or strongly suspected,' that the

contracting authority had breached the regulations.

Talbot has seen this happen when notification of an

award decision is received. But, if an infringement

becomes apparent sooner, he recommends that a

bidder should not wait for the award notification to

bring a challenge: “the clock starts ticking as soon

as a bidder is aware of the breach, and incorrectly

calculating this will usually prevent a challenge being

made.” It should be remembered that there are tight

timescales in public procurement disputes and so

there is limited scope for pre-litigation actions or

negotiation. Nevertheless, in Talbot’s experience,

courts have recommended that unsuccessful bidders

send contracting authorities a letter of claim before any

formal proceedings are issued to grant an opportunity

for a challenge to be settled without litigation. “Quick

decisions may need to be made about bringing more

formal challenge proceedings,” he explains, "which

always involve significant expenses.” This means that

the merits of any challenge and the sums involved must

be carefully considered before issuing a claim.

It’s worth pointing out that in replying to a claim,

contracting authorities have been encouraged by

the courts to respond promptly while providing the

claimant with all information which it is entitled to.

Authorities will need to establish whether there are

good grounds for the challenge; if more time is needed

for this it may extend the standstill period.

As to what may happen next: “legitimate challenges

may be dealt with by corrective action such as

suspending or setting aside the contract award,” says

Talbot. “But, if after investigation the contracting

authority believes that the contract award was lawful,

unless the claimant is prepared to drop its challenge,

litigation may be unavoidable.”

Practically speaking, if legal proceedings are issued

before a contract has been entered into with a successful

bidder, the conclusion of that contract is automatically

suspended. But a contracting authority may apply to

a court to end this suspension if it can show that the

claimant does not have an arguable case, that damages

will be an adequate remedy, and that the suspension

would inhibit vital public services for a significant time.

CONFIDENTIALITY IS IMPORTANT

Protecting confidential information, such as the price

of the winning bid, is important in procurement challenges

– just as it is in other commercial situations.

Even so, while unsuccessful bidders want to determine

whether bids have been correctly marked, contracting

authorities want to avoid pointless disclosure

and breaches of confidentiality. This means that they

must disclose enough for the unsuccessful bidder to

understand why it has lost. “Refusing this level of disclosure

may,” in Talbot’s view, “prevent an authority

from later using that evidence in support of an application

to lift the automatic suspension imposed when

proceedings are issued.”

Talbot adds that it should also be remembered that

a successful tenderer may be joined with a contracting

authority in any court proceedings to protect its confidentiality

and any damages claim it may have because

of the delay caused by an unsuccessful challenge.

“Courts manage litigious proceedings carefully,” Talbot

says, “to balance the protection of confidentiality and

open justice; parties are encouraged to use confidentiality

rings and undertakings to facilitate the disclosure

of confidential information.” All of this should give all

some assurance, but they can also add to the length,

complexity, and cost of proceedings.

THE FUTURE

While this process has been set in stone for some time

now, it should be noted that the procurement process

could be changing soon. In December 2020, the Government

published its Green Paper: Transforming

Public Procurement. In June 2021 the Cabinet Office,

which is responsible for public procurement, published

new information and guidance that requires contracting

authorities to consider national strategic priorities

when undertaking procurement, rather than simply

awarding the most economically advantageous tender.

These priorities include creating new businesses,

new jobs, and new skills; tackling climate change and

reducing waste; and improving supplier diversity, innovation,

and resilience. Talbot says that the Government

intends to make this law.

“It has also outlined its intention in the Green Paper

to consolidate the four different sets of procurement

regulations currently in operation, while simplifying the

seven possible procurement procedures that may now

be used into three streamlined procedures,” explains

Talbot. Furthermore, new Civil Procedure Regulations

are also envisioned to fast-track legal challenges and to

clarify issues of disclosure and confidentiality.

IN SUMMARY

Making public procurement processes faster and

simpler will be good news for both public authorities

and potential suppliers. But, for now the existing rules

apply, and anyone involved in public procurement

should be aware of the processes, time limits and

challenges, and the need for expert advice and support

as expeditiously as possible.


ASK THE EXPERTS

High Fidelity

What’s the best way of managing a high

volume of low balance debts?

MANAGING large volumes

of low value accounts can

be challenging and hard to

manage. Various options are

open to the hard-pressed

credit manager. They could

outsource to a commercial debt collection agency.

They could decide to litigate themselves. Or they

could adopt a hybrid approach, selling their debt

to a debt buyer which then collects and/or litigates

on their behalf.

Technology is another solution. Collections

systems are available that can be implemented

within minutes and collecting debts within hours,

and from all over the world. They

recognise that the biggest reason

for non-payment of an invoice is

often because it has simply been

lost in the system, addressed to

the wrong person, or just that

the right person is no longer

contactable because of COVID.

So looking at the options, what

are the benefits to a finance team

in selling their debt? How is it that

a third party is better positioned

to use the court system than the

businesses they represent? Has

the court system really ground

to a halt? And could credit managers avoid selling

their debts or using the court process altogether

by adopting new technologies?

MANAGING AGING DEBTS

A credit manager in any credit team will have a

continual flow of new arrears accounts/unpaid

invoices to deal with. There comes a point,

however, when chasing the aging historical debt

ends, and focus turns onto newer debt with a

better chance of collection. So what do they do

with a tranche of debt they cannot collect? Karen

Savage of Azzurro Law, believes selling those

debts can be a good solution: “Selling the older

debt provides a cash injection into the business

and transfers customer management to the debt

buyer,” she explains. “Importantly though, the

seller does not lose control after sale and certain

collection strategies can be agreed or excluded

post sale.”

Karen says that credit teams that want to keep

their internal collection team overhead down

do this very well: “Some creditors sell us their

debts after six weeks beyond terms. Selling at this

earlier stage achieves a higher price because it

is still relatively ‘fresh’ in terms of the collection


“By selling to

a commercial

debt purchaser,

management and

collection of the

customer then

becomes their

responsibility’’

cycle. After purchase of the accounts and sending

the notice of assignment to the customer, we use a

variety of data sources to help place the accounts

into the most appropriate collections strategy, and

into litigation where appropriate.”

A credit manager could, of course, litigate

themselves, but to do so – especially in volume

– requires a sophisticated case management

system: “Whilst it is possible for a credit manager

to deal with litigation for small volumes via

Money Claims on-Line, this is not efficient for

higher volumes of claims,” she says. “By selling to

a commercial debt purchaser, management and

collection of the customer then becomes their

responsibility. Taking action

themselves through court, even

assuming they are successful,

can take many months to

achieve payment where sale can

generate immediate cash and

allow the credit team to focus on

the current outstanding debts.”

FAILING SYSTEMS

Karen, a veteran litigator for

almost 30 years, believes that

talk of a failing court system has

been greatly exaggerated: “Use of

litigation strategies on the right

accounts is still very much integral to what we

do and has been through COVID,” she says. “We

have been issuing court claims throughout the

pandemic.”

By way of example, Karen says that while

enforcement activity did indeed pause at various

points in the pandemic, they still managed to

issue 2,200 court claims and recover £10 million

in the last two years within Azzurro Law, and that

doesn’t include the amount collected by Azzurro

Associates’ wider DCA and legal panel and/or the

debt collection agencies associated with its parent

business.

But what about the expense? “Utilising litigation

is very effective, but there is often an arbitrary

limit set within a business as to what size of debt

to incur court fees on,” Karen continues. “Because

we have access to multiple sources of credit

bureau data, we make sure that we litigate on the

cases with the best propensity to pay and allow

forbearance and breathing space where required.

“Utilising a blend of multiple bureau

information together with years of commercial

litigation experience helps us to achieve

significant recoveries. The investment we and

others have made in case management systems,

Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / April 2022 / PAGE 21 continues on page 22 >

ASK THE EXPERTS


specialist collectors and bureau data would

likely be beyond the reach of many credit teams.

Much investment is made in the underwriting

and customer onboarding process within a

business, but less so in the collections team.”

THE ART OF PERSUASION

Philip Roberts, Partner within the Business

Recovery Unit in Clarke Wilmott, believes that

every effort should be made to obtain settlement

of a debt prior to litigation, particularly with

lower balance/higher volume debts: “A debt preaction

protocol (PAP) letter is a very persuasive

tool to prompt payment or engagement from

a customer and will often lead to an amicable

settlement,” he explains.

There will however always be cases that do not

settle at the pre-action stage despite a creditor’s

best efforts: “Provided a focussed approach is

taken and the ultimate recoverability of the debt

is considered, then litigation is a good solution

for these debts. Customers will often choose

to ignore the debt and will not appreciate the

gravity of the situation until such time that they

receive a claim from the court. The future credit

reference implications that a CCJ could bring

also become more apparent at this stage.”

With costs largely recoverable and with

enforcement methods becoming available once

a judgment is obtained, Philip says that debt

litigation is an effective step when sometimes

the only other option is for the debt to be written

off. He also agrees with Karen that the court

system has not necessarily ground to a halt but

more cautiously describes it as a ‘mixed bag’.

“It depends on what court function you are

using,” he explains. “The more process-driven

aspects such as issuing claims, obtaining

default/agreed instalment judgments are subject

to delays – but only a matter of weeks generally.

Where we are experiencing difficulty is when

a case is defended or there is a requirement

for judicial involvement. It depends on the

particular county court hearing centre, but

sadly, it is not uncommon for hearings to be

cancelled at the very last minute due to ‘a lack of

judicial availability’ i.e. there is no District Judge

to hear the proceedings. This is at a point where

the parties are prepared for the hearing and the

costs of instructing counsel have already been

“There are hundreds of

businesses out there who generate

large volumes of often low value

debt, where their only solution to

late payment is to write it off or go

through the courts. There has to be

a better way.”


ASK THE EXPERTS


incurred. It can be several months before

the claims are then relisted.”

Philip says the court system seems to

be coping better with dealing with cases

remotely but it seems to be a simple case

of capacity and having the judges available

to deal with the volume: “In respect of

enforcement,” he continues, “the delays

with county court bailiffs have been evident

for many years and the pandemic has

certainly not done anything to help this.

Other types of enforcement such as charging

orders are less affected but again, if a

hearing is required, they are subject to

the same issues in terms of District Judge

availability.”

Paula Swain, Partner at Shoosmiths, is in

agreement with Philip in that the ability or

otherwise of the court system to cope with

the current workload is mixed: “I’ve heard

that CCJs are back up to pre-pandemic

levels,” she says. “However, the courts are

dealing with a backlog of work – particularly

getting cases through to a hearing stage.”

Notwithstanding those challenges,

Paula is still confident that litigation can

be an effective strategy for low-value high

volume debts: “Where there is high volume

there is usually a large unpaid sum sitting

on a ledger,” she says. “Often the costs of

litigation are seen as a barrier to taking

steps to enforce low value sums. However,

if we zoom out, this often leaves a large sum

of money uncollected. This helicopter view

is a better starting point when considering

which strategy to adopt.”

Paula says that a good way to start is

with a trial of cases to test for ‘gone aways,

disputes or requests for time to pay. This,

she says, will help to inform the likely

performance of the remainder of the ledger

should you choose litigation for some of

those accounts: “While court fees and fixed

costs can be recoverable (with interest and

late payment charges where applicable),

this does depend on the Defendant’s ability

to pay,” she adds.“Categorising debt (where

possible, and with support from litigation

experts) can be an important investment of

time.”

COLLECTIONS PLATFORMS

Gary Brown, Founder of Debt Register,

comes at the issue of collecting high volumes

of low-balance debts from a different angle.

He agrees with Karen’s point that it is not

viable for a business’ credit team to litigate a

high volume of low balance debts in the vast

majority of cases. Litigation is both time

consuming and costly to conduct in-house,

without any guarantee of success.

His reasoning is supported by some

interesting statistics: between January –

March 2019 the mean time taken for small

claims (debts under £10,000) to go to trial

was 36.9 weeks. Multi/fast track claims

(debts over £10,000) took 58.5 weeks to go to

trial, up 3.9 weeks and 1.8 weeks respectively

compared to the same period in 2018.

Fast forward to July – September 2021

and the mean time taken for small claims

and multi/fast track claims to go to trial was

50.7 weeks and 70.6 weeks respectively, 12.6

weeks longer and 11.3 weeks longer than the

same period in 2019 and 1.9 weeks and 8.4

weeks longer for the same quarter in 2020

respectively.

“This means that if we issue a legal

claim today for an outstanding commercial

debt and it is allocated to the multi/fast

track within the UK court, and that claim

is defended, then we would be looking

at a trial date around September 2023. It

means credit managers run the risk of

their customers raising a spurious defence,

simply to push out their credit and/or avoid

payment altogether. And for a debt of

£10,000.01, the claimant would have to pay

out over £1,000 up front with no guarantees

of getting any of that back.”

Gary’s solution is a new software platform

that automatically identifies and verifies

email contacts within a customer who is

responsible for paying the bills. (Incorrect

emails are still the biggest cause of requests

for collections going unanswered.) It

asks for that bill to be settled, with the

consequence that failing to do so will

result in the company being reported

to the leading credit reference agencies

(CRAs). This damages their credit score,

as well as their reputation, in an age when

payment performance has to be reported to

shareholders.

“Debt Register delivers a tangible and

direct consequence for those companies

should they continue not to pay an

undisputed, overdue invoice,” he adds,

“and it is this ‘consequence’ that seems to

concentrate the mind!”

Gary used his system recently to

successfully collect a £2,502 debt that was

more than four years (1,499 days) overdue –

and it did it within 45 minutes of the new

software-as-a-service platform going live

and the debt being uploaded. Gary invented

the system having spent his life working in

credit management and becoming fed up

with customers who sat on their invoices

without paying them: “It’s an industrywide

problem and I was determined to do

something about it,” he explains.

“There are hundreds of businesses out

there who generate large volumes of often

low value debt, where their only solution to

late payment is to write it off or go through

the courts. There has to be a better way.”

“Whilst it is

possible for a

credit manager

to deal with

litigation for

small volumes

via Money Claims

on-line, this is

not efficient for

higher volumes of

claims.”


COUNTRY FOCUS

Kazakhstan has a

rich history of trade

past and present.

Space Odyssey


IT’S very easy for the media to typecast or

malign a subject whether that is a person,

organisation, or country. And so, it falls

to this opening paragraph to explain that

Kazakhstan, or officially, the Republic

of Kazakhstan, is not as the fictional

character Borat Sagdiyev would have observers

believe.

Rather, it is a large country with much in the

way of resources and an interesting heritage. It

needs to be pointed out that Kazakhstan has the

world’s largest space launch facility, possesses

five UNESCO World Heritage sites with another 14

on a tentative list, is on the ancient Silk Road, and

became the first former Soviet republic to repay

all its debt to the International Monetary Fund in

2000, seven years before it was due.

So, yes, Borat is a comedic characterisation

of Kazakhstan, but he isn’t in the slightest bit

representative.

OVERVIEW

Bordering five countries in central Asia – Russia,

China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan,

Kazakhstan is the world’s largest landlocked

country, at 2,724,900 km2, and is larger than all

Western Europe. Statistically, it’s the world nineth

largest country and occupies slightly less than

four times the area of Texas – yet it maintains a

small navy which operates with 3000 sailors and

14 patrol boats on the Caspian Sea.

It’s history, considering the Silk Road,

reaches far back in time. Nomadic tribes roamed

the steppes and between the 13th and 15th

century the land was under the rule of the Mongol

Empire. The Kazakhs became preeminent by the

16th century and raided Russian lands throughout

the 18th century. Russia responded and in the

19th century ruled the area as part of its empire.

Reorganised after the 1917 Russian Revolution, it

became a Soviet republic in 1936 and was the last

of the Soviet republics to declare independence in

1991.

The country is a member of several organisations

including the Eurasian Economic Union, World

Trade Organisation, United Nations, Organisation

for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Euro-

Atlantic Partnership Council, and Organisation of

Islamic Cooperation.

The World Bank found that in 2019 Kazakhstan

was placed 25th for the ease of doing business;

something that is no doubt aided with 12 special

economic zones that offer tax incentives.

Kazakhstan has the world’s

largest space launch facility,

possesses five UNESCO World

Heritage sites with another 14

on a tentative list.

DEMOGRAPHICS

Kazakhstan is one of the most populous countries

in the world in terms of ethnicities, with,

according to the Embassy of the Republic of

Kazakhstan in Washington DC, 130 represented,

from Kazakh (58.9 percent of the population) to

Russian (25.9 percent), Ukrainian (2.9 percent),

Uzbek (2.8 percent), and Uighur, Tatar and

German (1.5 percent each). Although a secular

state Indexmundi suggests (2009 data) that the

country is 70.2 percent Muslim and 26.2 percent

Christian.

In population size, the CIA World Factbook,

estimated the population to be around 19.2m in

July 2021. However, census data from 1999 noted

a population of 13.7m and in 2009, 14.8m. While

this indicates a strong growth rate, statistics can

prove almost anything. The reality, according to

World Bank data covering the period 1961 to 2020,

is somewhat different with a declining growth

rate from four percent in 1961 to one percent

in 1990 and negative two percent in 1995. From

then onwards the growth rate rose to nearly two

percent in 2010. Thereafter it has flatlined.

The population pyramid of the country is

Christmas tree-like in profile with 2020 estimates

from the data from the US Census Bureau

International Database suggesting that 26.1

percent of the population is aged 14 or under, 12.9

percent aged 15-24 years, 42.2 percent aged 25-54

years, 10.2 percent 55-64 years and just 8.4 percent

aged over 65 years. Kazakhstan is, in other words,

a young country – a fact illustrated by a median

age of 30.9 years. In the UK the median age is 40.5

years.

As to where the population is located, it’s

estimated that 58 percent is urban with, according

to the CIA World Factbook, a rate of urbanisation

between 2020 and 2025 of 1.19 percent.

Only three cities have more than 1m inhabitants

– Almaty, the capital, Nur-Sultan and Shymkent.

Only 19 cities have more than 100,000 residents

and of those, only 11 have more than 200,000.

Another 60 have five-digit populations.

KEY INDUSTRIES

When it comes to business sectors, World Bank

data says that services accounts for 55.5 percent

of Kazakhstan’s GDP and employs 64.1 percent of

the working population. In comparison, industry

generates 33 percent of GDP and employs 20.5

percent of the population and agriculture makes

up 4.5 percent of GDP and 15.4 percent of workers.


COUNTRY FOCUS


The yurt is a nomadic dwelling used among

the Kazakh and Kyrgyz people. It has a wooden

circular frame covered with felt and braided

with ropes, and can be easily assembled and

dismantled within a short period of time.


The economy’s GDP in 2020, according

to the World Bank, was $171.2bn. In

comparison, the UK’s GDP is $2.87tn.

Looking to industry first, with vast

swathes of land, it shouldn’t surprise that

Kazakhstan is rich in mineral resources.

Indeed, according to The Observatory

of Economic Complexity, albeit citing

data from 2019, the top exports from

Kazakhstan were crude petroleum

($34.3bn), petroleum gas ($3.52bn), refined

copper ($2.7bn), ferroalloys ($1.92bn),

and radioactive chemicals ($1.71bn).

It was also the world's biggest exporter

of chromium oxides and hydroxides

($145m). Exports mainly went to China,

Italy, Russia, Netherlands, and France.

The US Government offers up a little

more detail, and notes that the country is

the world’s largest producer of uranium

and possesses enormous deposits of a

wide range of metals, including gold, iron,

chrome, copper, zinc, vanadium and rare

earths. Kazakhstan also has the second–

largest oil reserves and the second–largest

oil production after Russia among the

former Soviet republics.

Kazakhstan has an embryonic motor

sector that started with a June 2014 project

to assemble 3,000 Toyota Fortuner vehicles

a year. The Kazakhstan Autos Market

Report 2010-2019, from Focus2Move,

noted that the Kazakh car industry was

developing rapidly producing $2bn

worth of products annually. However,

the industry experienced a decline with

sales dwindling to only 46,000 in 2016.

That said, The Astana Times, wrote that

in 2020 the Kazakh economy observed the

biggest growth in its automotive industry

and saw a 53.6 percent growth, despite the

COVID-19 pandemic.

Agriculture features heavily in

Kazakhstan and a 2020 Credit Agricole

report states that the country’s large

agricultural area ranks it 6th in the world.

It’s made up of arable land and pasture.

However, the sector suffered from a

serious decline following the fall of the

Soviet Union but has recovered in the last

20 years.

While Agriculture in Kazakhstan is

extensive, ageing infrastructure limits

its development. More than half of the

products are vegetable crops along

with cereals, wheat, and oilseeds – in

fact, Kazakhstan is one of the world's

leading wheat producers. Livestock and

dairy make up a significant share of the

agricultural sector. Kazakhstan is almost

self-sufficient in agri-food.

In relation to services, the financial

sector, transport, and technology are the

most important. Tourism, although not

yet very developed – it represented just 0.3

continues on page 26 >

COUNTRY FOCUS


percent of GDP in 2014 – was experiencing

strong growth until COVID-19 took hold of

the world; the World Economic Forum's

Travel and Tourism Competitiveness

Report 2017 stated that travel and tourism’s

GDP in Kazakhstan was worth $3.08bn or

1.6 percent of total GDP. Unfortunately, as

Credit Agricole commented, the pandemic

halted development and has, in fact,

severely hit retail, hospitality, wholesale,

and transport sectors, which account for

around 30 percent of employment, mostly

concentrated in cities.

It's also notable that the US Government

suggests that the country has a growing

middle class which, combined with a rise

in real incomes has increased demand for

quality products and brand names. So,

while inexpensive Russian and Chinese

goods flow across Kazakhstan’s borders,

Western goods and expertise are also in

demand. In some cases, consumers are

willing to pay more for imported goods

and services that offer higher quality

and innovation. That aside, it is said

that customer service in Kazakhstan is

sometimes lacking; providing customers

with after-sales service could give

businesses an edge in the market.

TAXATION

The tax rate for corporations is set at 20

percent and is assessed over the calendar

year. All Kazakhstan legal entities and

branches of foreign legal entities are

subject to Corporate Income Tax (CIT).

Taxable income is determined on a

taxpayer's aggregate annual income less

allowable deductions.

There is a reduced CIT rate of 6 percent

which applies to the qualified agricultural

income of legal entities producing

agricultural products.

There are no regional or local income

taxes in Kazakhstan.

A Mineral Extraction Tax applies to

subsurface contracts on production and/

or combined exploration and production

of oil and gas products. The tax rate is

progressive (from 0 to 30 percent) and

depends on the world price fluctuations

of crude oil.

The current rate of VAT is 12 percent

and applies to goods, works and services.

Exports and transport services attract a

zero rate of VAT as do other items such as

medicines, financial and legal services.

Kazakhstan has gone down the route

of e-invoicing when it comes to VAT as

well for certain types of goods; it’s done

this to the point of requiring such items

to be registered in a virtual warehouse –

without registration invoices cannot be

raised and goods cannot be sold.

As for customs duties, the Kazakhstan

Customs Code and the Customs Code of

the Eurasian Economic Union brought

in several provisions from January

2018 to simplify procedures, integrate

information technology, and reduce 'red

tape' issues in customs control procedures.

Customs duties apply to goods imported

to the Customs Union countries from third

countries. Goods from Customs Union

countries should be generally exempt

from Kazakhstan customs duties. Income

tax is a single flat rate of ten percent (in

some cases 20 percent) is applicable;

five percent is applicable on dividends

received in Kazakhstan.

Employees also pay Obligatory Pension

Contributions at a rate of ten percent out

of their gross income to the State Pension

Centre of Pension Payments. This is

capped at 50 times the minimum monthly

wage per month.

And since January 2021, employees have

had Obligatory Social Medical Insurance

contributions withheld at a rate of two

percent out of their gross income which is

paid to the Social Health Insurance Fund.

This is capped at ten times the minimum

monthly wage per employee per month.

As for employers, they need to pay

Obligatory Social Insurance Contributions

at the rate of 3.5 percent to the State

Pension Centre of Pension Payments

to a cap of seven times the minimum

monthly wage. Employers must also pay

social tax at the rate of 9.5 percent of

gross remuneration (salaries and certain

benefits provided) of all employees (local

and expatriate).

They must also pay Obligatory Social

Medical Insurance Contributions which,

from January 2020, increased to the rate

of two percent to a limit of ten times the

minimum monthly wage.

CHALLENGES

Kazakhstan has much going for it but the

country is not without its challenges.

Firstly, it is a landlocked country and

has no direct access to Western European

markets; it can only be accessed via

China and Russia, the latter of which

may become problematic considering

its activities in Ukraine. And let’s not

forget that in January 2022 Russia ‘helped’

stabilise Kazakhstan after civil unrest.

With this in mind, the lack of sea access

and high transport costs can hamper

the country’s competitiveness in the

international market and also the cost of

imports.

The post-Soviet infrastructure needs

further upgrades, and the Kazakh

Government is looking at developing

Astan

forwarding services, expanding toll

roads, implementing competitive tariffs,

and is involved in projects such as the

UNECE Euro-Asian Transport Links, and

TRACECA – an international transport

programme involving the European

Union and 12 member states of the

Eastern European, Caucasus and Central

Asian region.

Competition is strong and Russia,

China and EU countries are all seeking

to make inroads in the market. But again,

with only two real routes to market, one

of which could be cut off, there could be

problems for those wanting to do business

in Kazakhstan.

Eurasian economic integration

hasn’t really taken off. What started

as a Customs Union between Russia,

Kazakhstan and Belarus in 2010 became

the Single Economic Space in 2012 only to


COUNTRY FOCUS


Nur-Sultan, originally known as

Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, and most

recently Astana, is the capital city

of Kazakhstan. The city acquired

its present name on 23 March 2019,

following a unanimous vote in

Kazakhstan's parliament. It was named

after Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of

Kazakhstan from 1990 to 2019.

a, Kazakhstan

be superseded by the Eurasian Economic Union

(EAEU) in 2015, when Kyrgyzstan and Armenia

joined.

However, the EAEU has not added much to

Kazakhstan’s trade with the other member

countries. This is partly due to a nonstandardised

common customs code and

unclear documentation requirements.

The Kazakh economy still relies on oil and

is vulnerable to external shocks. It follows that

external demand – especially from China and

Russia – and global oil demand and prices, will

determine Kazakhstan’s future until it can find

other sources of revenue.

Corruption is a challenge in Kazakhstan, despite

an improvement in its ranking in the Corruption

Perception Index rank from 124 in 2018

to 94 in 2020; the judiciary, police, and customs

are often cited as the source of problems. And

lastly, there are still concerns, in the US Government’s

view, in relation to systemic issues

Competition is

strong and Russia,

China and EU

countries are all

seeking to make

inroads in the

market. But again,

with only two real

routes to market,

one of which could

be cut off, there

could be problems

for those wanting

to do business in

Kazakhstan.

such as the rule of law and an independent

judiciary; intellectual property protection;

the interpretation of laws by officials –

especially with regard to taxation, collection

of revenues, and customs procedures;

outdated Soviet-era regulations; and the

criminal liability and investigations for

incidental tax violations.

SUMMARY

So, Kazakhstan is not as Borat has

portrayed, but instead a country

with serious potential. It has its

challenges, not least of which

is its reliance on Russia and

China for access. But nevertheless,

it’s a market that is

worth investigation.

Adam Bernstein is a

freelance writer.


PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

A Higher Standard

Professional Standards will advance the

credit industry and the people working in it.


AS credit professionals and members

of the Chartered Institute of Credit

Management, we strive to be the

very best we can be. Upholding the

Standards by which we operate and

ensuring best practice is our modus

operandi.

Yet finding a commonly accepted way of measuring

best practice has always been a challenge. Until now.

In February 2022, the CICM launched its official

Professional Standards to members of the Institute,

thanks to the time and dedication of the Institute’s

Chief Professional Development Advisor, Dr Debbie

Tuckwood.

The Professional Standards are a definitive and

comprehensive learning tool globally for CICM

members, giving them the help and support they need

to further their careers.

Thanks to the hard work of Debbie and her team,

as well as the input of fellow industry professionals,

academia and Government, the credit and debt

management industry now has an outstanding

advertisement for the skills our people possess and use

every day.

“Credit Management is a very

wide profession with 100's of job

types and titles however these

Professional Standards are relevant

to us all whatever position we

currently hold or aspire to.”

“Reading through the Standards makes me

very proud to be a member of CICM, our

professional body, showing the way and

setting the Standards. This is excellent work

and defines our contribution to each finance

department and the economy.”

Sharon Adams FCICM (Grad),

Open Market Credit Control Manager at Beazley

FOR a long-time, many outside the industry have struggled to

fully appreciate the breadth of a credit and debt management

professional's skills and because of that, they’re often undervalued or

underrepresented, especially in junior or entry-level roles.

This is one of the many challenges the Professional Standards aim

to fix, by providing a clearly defined checklist of the skills many credit

and collections managers possess and in doing so, giving employers

and recruitment teams a greater understanding of the profession.

Considering the sheer size of the credit and debt management

industry, and the thousands of jobs within it, being able to give

recruiters a greater understanding of what we do and how we do it will

not only increase the prospects of many members but also provide a

much wider appreciation of the industry and the contributions our

members make to protecting and growing the organisation’s they

represent.

Laurie Beagle FCICM,

Director of Forums International Ltd

AS part of the CICMs commitment to learning and

continual professional development, the Professional

Standards will not only show the world what CICM

members are capable of but will also provide those

members with their own professional development

plan.

Designed to be applicable to each membership level,

the Standards define CICM expectations for each level.

Beginning with Affiliate and spanning through to

Fellow, the Standards clearly define what each member

should aim to achieve within their time as a member.


PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS


“I feel that the CICM is leading the

way in ensuring its members and the

wider industry are at the forefront of

professional Standards and ensuring

the members remain confident in all

business activity.”

Vince Butler MCICM,

Managing Director at VTK Investigations Limited

NOT only does this give a clear definition of what’s expected

of members, but it gives budding and long-serving members a

roadmap that they can follow to develop their career further.

And while to some this may seem rudimentary, in the credit

and debt management industry development is often pegged

to a certain career path rather than the wider sector. With

specific skills and disciplines such as debt recovery, litigation

services and others often collectively summarised as ‘credit’, a

clear roadmap is imperative.

“I am so proud, that I am part of

a professional body, that strives

for continuous improvement

in the development of Credit

Management, and its importance in

companies.”

Dee Weston FCICM,

Credit Manager at Exclusive Networks Ltd

“The CICM Professional Standards

provide a robust framework for credit

management professionals at all stages

of their career. The Standards are a vital

benchmark for self-reflection and help to

identify knowledge/skills gaps to assist

continued progression.”

Karen Tuffs FCICM (Grad),

Head of Accreditation, CICM

THE benefits of a roadmap like this can be seen in the choices

it presents to new or younger members on the cusp of their

future development. Considering the CICM has the broadest

range of qualifications and courses available to members and

non-members alike, providing young members with early

access to ‘what they need to do’ to achieve the higher levels

of membership grants them control over how and what they

study in the future. It’s something, many current Fellows had to

painstakingly discover for themselves.

Outside of offering a roadmap for professional development

and a clear advertisement for how qualified CICM members

are, the Standards also give both insiders and outsiders a look

at the skills and behaviours of those working in credit and debt

management and what makes them ‘tick’.

Split into key sections, the Standards identify what’s required

of a CICM member within Business Skills, Personal Skills and

Behaviour Skills.

Each section outlines the key knowledge, skills and behaviours

credit and debt management professionals must work to develop

in order to have a successful career including the likes of:

Business Skills:

• Business & Regulatory Acumen

• Knowing your customer/client

• Financial and Data Interpretation

• Innovation & Change

• Policy and Strategy

Personal Skills

• Communication & Relationships Building

• Problem Solving and Decision Making

• Support & Influencing

• Team building & Leadership Passion for Learning and Drive

Behavioural Skills:

• Inquiring • Future Focus • Ethical • Resilience • Resolute

As well as looking into behaviours and business and personal

skills, the Standards also delve into skills within specific

technical areas and specialisms. These sectors include, but

are not limited to:

• Consumer Credit Risk Management • Trade Credit Management

• Cash Collections • Enforcement • Debt Recovery.

The Professional Standards are now available

online at: www.cicm.com/cicm-professional-Standards/

A Special thanks go to the following for their support and input to

Professional Standards: 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.


International Trade

Monthly round-up of the latest stories

in global trade by Andrea Kirkby.

Peopleforce shows the power of Government

THE Government naturally

welcomes any opportunity to

broadcast its successes and

the activities of the UK Export

Finance (UKEF) department are

no exception.

At the end of January, it wrote about a

firm – Peopleforce Recruitment – that it

had recently helped win, or rather retain,

business. As the story goes, Brightonbased

Peopleforce Recruitment, a

company that provides specialist contract

workers to organisations in the aviation

and healthcare sectors, both in the UK and

Europe, needed some help in carrying on

business overseas. The company is an

experienced exporter and places close to

90 percent of its candidates with overseas

organisations looking for skilled recruits.

The problem that Peopleforce Recruitment

faced is not unique – the delay before

it gets paid. Like others in the same

situation, Peopleforce Recruitment had

to rely on advanced payment schemes

to ensure its candidates get paid on time,

which are themselves protected by trade

credit insurance in case a client cannot

pay them.

However, Peopleforce Recruitment

needed Government backing after its

credit insurer withdrew cover for a £2m

contract with an aircraft maintenance

company, in Estonia, after the outbreak

of COVID-19 and the imposition of global

travel restrictions which had had a

significant impact on the aviation industry.

The company had to cover advance

payments to 50 contractors in Turkey and

100 contractors in Estonia. The deal was

worth hundreds of thousands of pounds

and an Export Insurance Policy from UKEF

helped bridge the financing gap.

Exporters say Brexit trade deal is stopping growth

AS we all know, the Government’s post-

Brexit trade deal sought to ensure that

UK exporters could continue to sell into

the EU without facing tariffs. However,

selling in Europe still requires exporters

to fill out plenty of paperwork.

But according to a new survey from

the British Chambers of Commerce

(BCC), exporters believe the UK-EU post-

Brexit trade deal is not helping them

increase sales.

The survey found that 71 per

cent of businesses disagreed with

the statement that Prime Minister

Boris Johnson’s trade deal was

“enabling their business to grow or

increase sales”, while the majority

of respondents said, “it has pushed

up costs, increased paperwork and

delays, and put the UK at a competitive

disadvantage.” As for the main

complaints noted in the survey, they

related to increased costs of paperwork,

a lack of time or resources within small

firms to handle the new bureaucracy,

and that some EU customers are put off

by the new regulations.

The BCC wants the government

to negotiate with the EU to remove

the need to acquire export health

certificates if sending food overseas

and to simplify the costs of EU-imposed

VAT.


Latin America’s digital revolution

A region that was once an innovation

desert is changing rapidly and as

MoneyWeek has commented: “billions of

dollars of venture capital funding and the

impact of the pandemic are creating new

tech giants.”

While many assume that the region

is an innovation desert – 'a barren,

bureaucratic, venture capital-starved

landscape with few successful tech

start-ups' – partly because of its rich

mineral resources and poor education,

weak internet coverage and excessive

bureaucracy, it looks like the opposite

is true. In fact, as the report notes: “the

terrible quality of local services makes the

region a fertile ground for start-ups with

good solutions.”

It also appears that Latin America has

several things going for it. The middleclass

population expanded from 33m

households in 2008 to 46m households in

2018; urbanisation is rising and cities are

growing – some 260m, around 40 percent

of the total population in the region live

in the 200 largest cities and generate

60 percent of its GDP. Internet usage in

the region has risen exponentially and

covered 450m in 2019, up from just 200m

in 2010. On top of that, social-media use

there is higher than any other in the world

and is almost double the North American

average.

The bottom line is that with rising

purchasing power and increasingly

widespread internet access, people are

more willing to purchase products and

services through new tech platforms. And

it’s this that is spurring on tech in the

region.

Supply chains are moving again

A report in The Times recently commented

that the great supply-chain crisis which

is behind the rise in inflation may be over

soon. The report was referring to the Baltic

Dry index which measures the price of

shipping bulk goods around the world.

The Times noted that the index can

be used to measure the stability and

efficiency of global supply chains. In

troubled times the index rises sharply -

last October , for example, it rose to 5,700

because of high demand and busy ports.

But recently, the index has fallen back to

1,900 – a level last seen in March 2021 -

which is not too far off the average seen

over the past thirty-five years.

The issues that plague supply chains are

still present, but logistics firms can cope

with them.

Lidl and below the middle?

SUCCESSFUL discounters make a good

living by working with razor thin margins,

huge volumes, and high levels of capex.

But not all make success of it. Consider

Tesco’s recent announcement that it cannot

compete with Aldi and Lidl at the bottom of

the grocery market; it’s closed it’s “Jack’s”

chain set up only four years ago. Think also

of BA’s low budget airline Go that couldn’t

take on the likes of Ryanair. And then

there’s the 1980s US automotive sector that

lost out to cheaper Japanese cars flooding

the US market.

Firms that want to aim low need to be

savvy about how they tackle such markets

says MoneyWeek. And it offers two tips.

First, with tiny margins every penny

counts. Firms need to be penny efficient

and be able to manage stocks with

All aboard

IN a country as vast as India, a good

railway is essential. And it appears that

the Indian Government has recognised

as much with a budget for the coming

year that includes a big increase in

infrastructure. In more detail, Nikkei

Asia believes that this includes a 35.4

percent increase in capital expenditure

to 7.5trn rupees (around £74bn), or about

2.9 percent of GDP, with the money to be

spent on railways, roads, power, telecoms,

and affordable housing in a bid to boost

growth and jobs.

India is also planning to spend an

additional 195bn rupees (£1.9bn) to

increase local manufacturing of solar

modules as it attempts to reduce imports

from China; the Government has pledged

to meet 50 percent of India’s energy

requirements from non-fossil fuel sources

by 2030.

The Government is hoping for growth

in the next fiscal year of between eight

and 8.5 percent.

precision while getting staff to perform to

their best.

Next, it’s important to recognise that

punters at the low end of the market are

most likely cash-poor and susceptible to

inflation. Endless rounds of special offers

are critical and there’s no room for errors

which can wipe out profits. Similarly, sight

shouldn’t be lost of the fact that sales

growth will be a function of more outlets

rather than increased prices or sales per

head.

While firms that get their offer right may

not see huge year-on-year sales growth,

they should be able to churn out revenue

every year and could be almost impossible

to beat. If German retailers Aldi and Lidl

can do that in the UK, there’s no reason

why UK firms cannot do the same overseas.

Israel bound

THE UK is looking to a new trade deal

with Israel and Secretary of State Anne-

Marie Trevelyan recently met her Israeli

counterpart, Orna Barbivai.

Having left the EU, the Government is

targeting fast-growing economies with

wealthy middle classes in the hope that

there will be demand for premium exports

and professional services.

Initially the UK signed deals just to

keep existing trade arrangements in

place. However, it is now revisiting those

in search of better terms – including that

with Israel. But prior to any trade talks,

the Government launched an eight-week

consultation that is seeking views from

the public and business on the priorities

for any deal. The consultation closes on 30

March.

Trevelyan said of the talks that “unlike

in the past, we can now work with friends

and allies like Israel to strike deals that are

truly tailored to our strengths in areas like

digital trade, services and life sciences.”

UK exports to EU plunge

RECENT data from the Office for National

Statistics (ONS) has illustrated what many

know – that UK exports to the EU have

fallen. In truth, they’ve fallen by £20bn in

the first full year after Brexit as a result of

increased costs and red tape.

Putting the level of UK exports into

context, those to the EU fell by 12 percent

between January and December 2021

compared with 2018 figures, whereas those

to non-EU destinations were down by just

six percent.

It does appear that the UK is trading

with partners further afield: Imports from

the EU also fell – by 17 percent to £222bn

– the lowest in five years, but imports from

non-EU countries rose from £206bn in 2020

to £254bn in 2021, the highest on record.

And there’s more trouble in store for UK

firms. From July there will be new physical

checks on plants, health certificates will

be needed for animal products, and all

imports will need safety and security

declarations.

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 1.21749 1.14688 Flat

GBP/USD 1.42267 1.30012 Down

GBP/CHF 1.30379 1.21222 Down

GBP/AUD 1.91848 1.77583 Down

GBP/CAD 1.75788 1.65718 Down

GBP/JPY 158.099 148.906 Flat

This data was taken on 17th March and refers to the

month previous to/leading up to 16th March 2022..


PAYMENT TRENDS

Back on the horse

Steady improvements to late payments across

regions and sectors.

AUTHOR – Rob Howard

LAST month’s late payment statistics

did not make for pleasant reading.

The latest figures, however, show

a number of regions and sectors

moving in the right direction once

again. The average Days Beyond

Terms (DBT) across regions and sectors in the

UK reduced by 1.6 and 3.1 days respectively.

In Ireland, the figures dropped by 0.9 and 0.4

days respectively. Average DBT across regions in

Northern Ireland reduced by 3.7 days.

SECTOR SPOTLIGHT

The UK sector statistics are indeed encouraging,

with 20 of the 22 sectors moving back in the

right direction and reducing late payments.

The Water & Waste sector saw the biggest

improvement, reducing its overall DBT by 11.6

days. The Public Administration sector also

saw an upturn, cutting its late payments by

7.1 days. Real Estate (-5.8 days), Transportation

and Storage (-5.4 days) and Manufacturing (-4.8

days) sectors also made necessary reductions.

Business from Home is the new best performing

sector, following a reduction of 4.3 days, with an

overall DBT of 8.1 days.

Over in Ireland, only four sectors managed

to reduce DBT, but they do include notable

improvements for the Transportation and

Storage and Real Estate sectors, with reductions

of 17.7 and 14.5 days respectively. Some 11

sectors saw no change, including five that have

an overall DBT of zero days. Of those moving in

the wrong direction, the Agriculture, Forestry

and Fishing saw the biggest increase (+12.3

days), while the Professional and Scientific (+5.6

days) and Construction (+5 days) sectors also

saw unwanted increases to late payments.

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT

As with the sector standings, the majority of

UK regions are improving, with nine of the 11

making reductions to late payments. Wales

made the biggest improvement, and moves

off the bottom of the standings following a

reduction of 8.9 days. Elsewhere in the UK, the

North West (-2.9 days), South East (-2.5 days),

Scotland (-2.3 days) and East Midlands (-1.9

days) all made steady improvements.

The regional figures are mixed, with 16

regions seeing no change to their DBT, seven

improving and only three seeing increases.

Kildare saw the biggest improvement, reducing

its DBT by a huge 63.6 days. Mayo also saw a

sizeable reduction of 42.7 days, which means it

is now one of 14 regions with an overall DBT of

zero days. At the other end of the scale, however,

a frankly unfathomable increase of 103.5 days

means Louth now has an overall DBT of 120

days.

In Northern Ireland, businesses in Leinster

have made strides to reduce late payments. A

reduction of 13.2 days means its overall DBT

is down to 9.2 days. Ulster is back as the best

performing region with zero DBT overall, with

Munster not far behind on 0.2 days.


STATISTICS

Data supplied by the Creditsafe Group

Top Five Prompter Payers

Region Feb 22 Change from Jan 22

South West 10.8 -0.8

Yorkshire and Humberside 11.1 -1.1

Wales 13.7 -8.9

East Midlands 14 -1.9

North West 15.2 -2.9

Bottom Five Poorest Payers


Northern Ireland 24.2 3.2

East Anglia 19.9 -0.2

London 17.7 -1.1

West Midlands 16.1 1

Scotland 15.6 -2.3

Top Five Prompter Payers

Sector Feb 22 Change from Jan 22

Business from Home 8.1 -4.3

Financial and Insurance 10 -3.7

Public Administration 10.4 -7.1

Entertainment 11.8 -2

Education 12.7 -3.9

Bottom Five Poorest Payers


International Bodies 23.6 1.2

Mining and Quarrying 22 -2.6

Energy Supply 20.9 -0.1

Professional and Scientific 18.5 -1.3

Other Service 18 -2.4

Getting better

Water & Waste -11.6

Public Administration -7.1

Real Estate -5.8

Transportation and Storage -5.4

Dormant -5.1

Manufacturing -4.8

Business from Home -4.3

Education -3.9

Financial and Insurance -3.7

IT and Comms -3.7

Business Admin & Support -3

Health & Social -3

Construction -2.6

Mining and Quarrying -2.6

Other Service -2.4

Entertainment -2

Professional and Scientific -1.3

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing -0.6

Hospitality -0.4

Energy Supply -0.1

Getting worse

SCOTLAND

-2.3 DBT

International Bodies 1.2

Wholesale and retail trade 0.8

NORTHERN

IRELAND

3.2 DBT

SOUTH

WEST

-0.8 DBT

WALES

-8.9 DBT

NORTH

WEST

-2.9 DBT

WEST

MIDLANDS

1 DBT

YORKSHIRE &

HUMBERSIDE

-1.1 DBT

EAST

MIDLANDS

-1.9 DBT

LONDON

-1.1 DBT

SOUTH

EAST

-2.5 DBT

EAST

ANGLIA

-0.2

DBT

Region

Getting Better – Getting Worse

-8.9

-2.9

-2.5

-2.3

-1.9

-1.1

-1.1

-0.8

-0.2

3.2

1

Wales

North West

South East

Scotland

East Midlands

London

Yorkshire and Humberside

South West

East Anglia

Northern Ireland

West Midlands


PAYMENT TRENDS

Getting worse / no change

MUNSTER

0 DBT

KERRY

0 DBT

CLARE

0 DBT

GALWAY

0 DBT

CORK

0 DBT

CONNACHT

1.5 DBT

ROSCOMMON

4 DBT

DONEGAL

0 DBT

LEITRIM

-13.2 DBT

LONGFORD

0 DBT

CAVAN

0 DBT

CARLOW

0 DBT

ULSTER

-2.9 DBT

LOUTH

103.5 DBT

KILKENNY

0 DBT WEXFORD

0 DBT

MONAGHAN

0 DBT

Transportation and Storage -17.7

Real Estate -14.5

Wholesale and retail trade -2.5

IT and Comms -0.5

Business Admin & Support 0

Education 0

Energy Supply 0

Entertainment 0

Health & Social 0

Hospitality 0

Top Five Prompter Payers – Ireland


Cavan 0 0

Clare 0 0

Cork 0 0

Donegal 0 0

Kerry 0 0

Bottom Five Poorest Payers – Ireland


Louth 120 103.5

Monaghan 91.8 0

Carlow 65 0

Wexford 48.2 0

Roscommon 12.7 4

Top Four Prompter Payers – Northen Ireland


Ulster 0 -2.9

Munster 0.2 0

Connacht 6 1.5

Leinster 9.2 -13.2

International Bodies 0

Mining and Quarrying 0

Other Service 0

Public Administration 0

Water & Waste 0

Getting better

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 12.3

Professional and Scientific 5.6

Construction 5

Manufacturing 3.4

Financial and Insurance 0.1

Top Five Prompter Payers – Ireland


Entertainment 0 0

Health & Social 0 0

Hospitality 0 0

International Bodies 0 0

Other Service 0 0

Bottom Five Poorest Payers – Ireland


Entertainment 0 0

Health & Social 0 0

Hospitality 0 0

International Bodies 0 0

Other Service 0 0

The regional figures are mixed,

with 16 regions seeing no change

to their DBT, seven improving and

only three seeing increases.


HIGH COURT ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ASSOCIATION

Modernising through

life-long learning

How can professional development ensure High Court

enforcement remains ethical and responsible in 2022?

AUTHOR – Michael Jackson

AS with any profession, High

Court enforcement has undergone

some radical changes

over the last 20 years. The

old-fashioned misconceptions

of the burly bailiff are long

gone, replaced by responsible, informed and

well-respected enforcement professionals dedicated

to helping creditors, informing debtors,

and supporting Government.

An integral part of this shift is the new and

ongoing collaborative relationships between

the High Court Enforcement Association

(HCEOA), the Chartered Institute of Credit

Management and other organisations and

leading bodies such as CIVEA, Centre for

Social Justice and debt advice agencies.

This includes the development of a new

independent oversight body for enforcement,

the Enforcement Conduct Board, which

recently announced the appointment of its

first chair, Catherine Brown. We’re looking

forward to engaging with her and that new

body as things progress.

The latest output from some of these ongoing

collaborations is the publication of CICM’s new

Professional Standards for credit, collection

and enforcement professionals. A first for the

profession, the new Professional Standards

define the unique skills and contribution that

these professionals deliver in protecting and

growing business and the economy.

Representatives of HCEOA worked closely

with CICM on the development of the new

Professional Standards, which will help guide

qualified High Court Enforcement Officers,

enforcement agents, and others in credit and

collections as they grow and develop into the

profession.

We have enjoyed a close working

relationship with the CICM for many years

and our education working group was

integral to the development of several of

the CICM’s enforcement qualifications to

ensure all enforcement agents and High

Court Enforcement Officers are appropriately

qualified.

We’re looking forward to continuing this

collaboration as we undertake a joint review

of the Level 2, 3 and 4 qualifications to ensure

prospective enforcement agents are being

given all the tools they need to navigate difficult

situations appropriately and responsibly.

All High Court Enforcement Officers

(HCEOs) must complete a Level 4 Diploma

in High Court Enforcement in order to gain

full membership to the HCEOA and apply

for authorisation. However, it’s an essential

requirement that all members of the HCEOA

continue with their professional development

once they’ve completed their initial training.

This is to ensure they stay up to date with

changes in legislation and the application of

these, along with updates on best practice. In

turn, this helps them to deal with the handling

of customers and clients and dealing with

enforcement process on a day-to-day basis.

During the training phase of the

qualification there is a period where a trainee

must work with an authorised HCEO, who acts

as a mentor to the student. The experienced

HCEO will help to demonstrate the application

of the law and build the student’s experience

in enforcement, dealing with the various

challenges that arise on the job.

As an Association we have our own code of

best practice, which states that High Court

Enforcement Officers must ensure that all

enforcement agents and other employees

engaged in the enforcement process are

provided with appropriate training. We

annually run training sessions specifically on

High Court Enforcement for all our members

to help support in their continuous

professional development. In addition, all

members have access to the members’ area

of our website, where we have extensive

resources available to help find answers to

any questions as well as access to a support

network of other experienced HCEOs.

While it’s not compulsory for all HCEOs to

become members of the CICM once they’ve

finished their qualifications, we recognise

the importance that these shared standards

have in supporting professional development

and giving clear training pathways for those

looking to enhance their skills.

‘Ethical and responsible’ are easy words for

organisations to bandy around. In order to

live and breathe them, it’s important for us

as High Court Enforcement Officers that we

‘walk the walk’ as well as ‘talk the talk’. We all

have to continuously work at professional and

personal development. Engaging proactively

and comprehensively with the likes of CICM

and the new Enforcement Conduct Board

ensures that we do just that.

Michael Jackson is Vice-chair of the High Court

Enforcement Officers Association (HCEOA).

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

Apprentice profile

MILLIE Singleton is a Level 2

Apprentice Credit Controller at

United Utilities who started her

career in September 2021, fresh out

of School. She admits to having had

no prior experience or knowledge

regarding the world of work at all: “After researching

about the Credit Industry it truly inspired me to get out

of my comfort zone and expand my knowledge, this

made me eager to learn more,” she explains.

“Straight after learning that I would gain my

qualification through the CICM I realised that I have been

given an excellent opportunity for now and throughout

my career as it is internationally recognised.”

The Level 2 Apprenticeship Scheme, she believes,

leads to endless opportunities to develop her career.

She hopes to move on to achieve her Level 3, with the

long-term goal to gain Level 5 and progress to senior

management: “Having been on the programme for six

months, I have already learned so much about the role

and how every single job role plays a vital part within the

credit industry,” she continues.

CAREER BUILDING

Millie says she is excited about building a career within

credit management and to working more closely with

the CICM as her professional body: “It has been around

for more than 80 years, although it was originally known

as the Institute of Credit Men... thankfully things have

changed!” she adds.

So far, Millie has learned a variety of different things

whilst studying: “I have learned about the policies and

procedures at United Utilities and also within credit

management and how our day-to-day work relates to the

wider credit community.

“I have gained knowledge on the risks the company

faces daily and how we work to mitigate them and

achieve our end goal of cash collection, while still

providing outstanding customer service. Everything we

have covered so far has given me a greater insight into

regulation and compliance, so why we do what we do.”

The Apprenticeship has been delivered by tutors and

talented coaches within the business: “They are very

supportive and informative, and have helped us learn so

much already,” she says, “and I am looking forward to

learning so much more with the support that CICM and

Kaplan are providing. I know that I am receiving the best

possible training to help me complete my qualification

and progress my career.”

Latest in a new series

of how CICM-led

Apprenticeships are

supporting professional

development.

Millie Singleton

Level 2 Apprentice Credit Controller

at United Utilities

‘‘I am looking forward to learning so

much more with the support that CICM

and Kaplan are providing. I know that I

am receiving the best possible training to

help me complete my qualification and

progress my career.”

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


Screen your clients

against global PEP

and sanction lists

Complete peace of mind on

every AML check you perform

Call us to book a free demo:

+44 (0)113 223 4491

Visit us online:

smartsearch.com

Find us on:

Seamlessly integrate your

current API into the platform

Screening against 1,100

global watchlists

Daily monitoring services

SmartSearch delivers verification services for individuals and businesses in the

UK and international markets. These services include worldwide Brave Sanction | Curious & | Resilient PEP / www.cicm.com / April 2022 / PAGE 37

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

ESG

EQUITABLE THINKING

Gender equity strategies have to be intentional,

prioritised, and measured.

AUTHOR – Aniela Unguresan

EVERY organisation is unique, and

each is, or should be, on a journey

towards gender balance, diversity and

inclusion.

The problem for those looking to

improve their standing in this area

is that there are just so many variables. Different

starting points, different national specificities

in terms of policies and cultures, and different

opportunities for industries when it comes to the

available talent pool are just some of the hurdles

to overcome. And this can either help or hinder

an organisation in its efforts to implement gender

balance, diversity and inclusion.

But despite these differences, there are three

fundamental characteristics required to successfully

implement change and they apply, regardless of the

maturity of an organisation, to its location, and the

industry it operates in.

Simply stated, they are that a programme needs to

be intentional, prioritised, and must be measured.

INTENTIONAL CHANGE

Looking at the first, it’s clear that in fostering gender

diversity and inclusion today, workplaces still need

to evolve, even though they look completely different

compared to those of 20 years ago. The pace of change

is not as fast as many would like, and it’s easy to be

lured into thinking that change happens naturally

and there is never any need for intervention because

change always happens regardless.

However, there is nothing natural about

changing the distribution of power and authority

within an organisation between a historically

overrepresented group and that which is historically

underrepresented. While we’re talking here about

gender, it applies equally to race and ethnicity, sexual

orientation, or gender identity. In fact, inequity

can relate to anything which makes one group

historically overrepresented in an organisation and

another underrepresented.

Because change does not happen naturally there

needs to be a very clear intention to implement

change based on a well-defined view of why we are

making it. We need to understand why we want to

redistribute power authority, why we want to have

broader representation, and why we want to have

gender balance diversity inclusion.

In other words, behind the intention to change

there must be an understanding of why we are

acting. This means considering the benefits to the

organisation, employees, men – the historically

overrepresented group, and similarly, women, the

historically underrepresented group.


ESG

AUTHOR – Aniela Unguresan

PRIORITISED CHANGE

The second characteristic is a need for changed-related actions to be

prioritised. Organisations are fascinating. They are in a constant state

of flux as priorities shift, leadership changes, and requirements change.

There is much that happens in the life of an organisation and its energy

and attention can become polarised towards something that feels more

urgent precisely because it is more immediate.

This is why it is important for gender balance diversity inclusion

programmes to be considered as strategic and vital for the organisation in

achieving its mission. And when a programme is prioritised, three things

happen as a result. The first is that the programmes gain the support

of the top leadership team. Next, it gains the allocation of necessary

resources. And thirdly, accountability for results becomes entrenched.

MEASURED CHANGE

And it’s this accountability for results that demands the third

characteristic – measurement. So, when we talk about accountability,

which is key for progress, we need to be able to measure what has

changed. This is why actions need to be intentional, prioritised, and

have a very clear set of quantitative and qualitative measurements that

allow an organisation to understand what works, and why. We need to

be able to reproduce actions and behaviours that lead to positive results.

Likewise, by measuring change we can understand what does not work,

and why, so that we can fine tune actions or discontinue them.

Following the EDGE methodology establishes a framework of

measurement that looks at diversity-related indicators such as

representation, talent in the pipeline, and where men and women are in

relation to the jobs and functions that they occupy.

Once this is complete, we can consider equity related indicators

around, for example, equal pay for equivalent work. But we also need

to consider the effectiveness of policies and practices with the aim of

constructing an organisational infrastructure which creates equitable

career flows.

From here we are able to examine the all-important indicators that

are linked to inclusion. By this we mean diversity-related indicators and

representation, equity-related indicators and equity of pay, and equitable

career flows supported by the organisational framework. Once these are

in place, it is possible to then scrutinise inclusion-related indicators such

as how employees feel about career development opportunities.

This robust framework of measurement – which is holistic and looks

at both quantitative and qualitative indicators as well as processes and

outcome – forms the backbone of a process that will sustainably support

attention, focus, and energy on those actions which are, by definition,

both intentional and prioritised.

AVOIDING MEDIOCRITY

EDGE has established a global standard which drives organisations to

not be introspective. While it’s a natural tendency for organisations to

compare themselves with their peers within their own business sector or

country, this might not be the right standard to use as a gauge, especially

if it’s referring to the median of a very average performing group. It’s

for this reason that global standards and independent third-party

verification are valuable and powerful instruments of change.

Ultimately, no organisation should adopt mediocre business practices

just to fall in line with mediocrity in their industry. On the contrary, when

it comes to the lifeblood of an organisation it should want to be the best.

And this is exactly what EDGE seeks to do in diversity equity and

inclusion. With a standard that highlights what are good employee

representation, pay equity, effective policies and practices the appearance

of what an inclusive culture looks like will become apparent.

Aniela Unguresan is Founder of the

EDGE Certified Foundation.


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

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

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

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.

For further information and to discuss the opportunities of entering into a

Corporate Partnership with the CICM, please contact corporatepartners@cicm.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

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


collections learning initiative

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

collections learning initiative


MARKETING & EDUCATION

Virtual Classes

for 2022

Get CICM qualified by attending

Virtual Classes: The best of both worlds.

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

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

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

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

LEVEL

3

Accounting Principles

28 April

Business Environment

Classes start in June

Credit Management (Trade, Export and Consumer


LEVEL

5

Compliance with legal, regulatory,

ethical and social requirements


Strategic Planning


Process Improvement


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

Register your interest today

Effective communication

4 April @ 9:30am

Collect that cash


Reflect and develop


Collection skills


Advanced collection skills


Best practice skills

to assess credit risk


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

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

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

Book your place today, visit www.cicm.com

or contact a member of our team on 01780 722900


CICM Resource Centre

Delivering the best

Resources for you

and your team

Member Exclusive resources

Whether you’re completely new to credit

management or want to take your skills to the next

level, our free guides, toolkits,

Serrala

blogs and tips are

CP

designed to help you enhance your knowledge,

stay informed about developments and gain advice

from a range of experts.

Keeping you up-to-date with:

Help and Advice from our Corporate Partners

Money and Debt Advice / Wellbeing / Legal Advice

Log in to your members area for

Member Exclusive resources

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 There's still time...

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 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

There is still time to put yourself forward, to give something back

NOMINATIONS CLOSE 13 APRIL 2022.

The Chartered Institute

of Credit Management

Elections

2022

Brave | Curious | Resilient


JOIN FORUMS INTERNATIONAL

Get ahead in Credit and have Forums International by your side.

The goal of Forums International is to provide you with the tools you

need to ensure your future success. We have a wealth

CREDIT

of

FORUMS

Members

2022

that

can help you succeed in your career and offer:

Quarterly

Forum

Groups

Roundtables

on

hot topics

Drop-in

sessions and

other ad-hoc

events online

Access to

INFO-Hub

24/7 to post

questions &

experiences

Access to the

Forums

archive

Become a Member today and see the power of Forums International:

E mail: info@forumsinternational.co.uk or visit:

W W W .FORUMSINTERNATIONAL.CO.UK


CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF CREDIT MANAGEMENT

ONLINE EVENTS

Keep an eye on our events calendar at CICM.COM for all CICM events!

Visit our website and book online at: www.cicm.com/cicm-events

Many of our events are now

available online, along with a new

series of live recorded webinars

for the credit profession.

Visit our website for updates

and instructions on how to register...


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/

Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / March 2022 / PAGE 50

18 th Annual

UK AML & Financial Crime Seminar

CPD points

7 for Main Seminar

3.5 for each Masterclass Stream

Certificate of Attendance is provided.

Who should attend?

Essential updates from the Home Office, FCA, HMRC, OFSI,

FCDO, JMLSG, Companies House, CPS, Met Police and leading

cross-industry experts – all you need to know in 2022!

27/28 April 2022, hosted by Herbert Smith Freehills.

Held hybrid – delegates can choose to participate in person or virtually.

Speakers

• All parts of the financial sector Alexandria Reich, Senior Research Fellow, Royal United Services Institute (RUSI),

• Accountants

• Gambling sector

• Government

• High value dealers

• Insurance sector

• Law enforcement

• Law firms

• Money service businesses

• Real estate agencies

• Regulators

• TCSPs

SPONSORS

and Lead of RUSI report on Illegal Wildlife Trade and Illicit Finance in the UK

Carol Smit, Executive Secretary, JMLSG

Clive Gordon, Head of Financial Crime Specialist Supervision Department, FCA

Debbie Price, Deputy Head of Division, Proceeds of Crime, CPS & until recently Head

of the UK FIU, NCA

Dhar Solanki, Global Anti-Financial Crime Officer & MLRO, Europe Arab Bank

James Siswick, Chief Officer, Efficient Frontiers International

John Roch, DS, Central Specialist Crime Head of Economic Crime, Met Police

Kevin Kelly, Chief Inspector & Head of UK’s National Wildlife Crime Unit

Linda Baskett, Financial Crime Director, Aon UK

Luke Fothergill, EMEA Head of AML, Citigroup

Matt Allen, Head of Financial Crime Strategy, Policy and Frameworks, Santander UK

Matthew Touzel, MSB & HVD Strategic Lead, Economic Crime Supervision, HMRC

Martin Swain, Director of Policy, Strategy and Planning, Companies House

Marta Lia Requeijo, Head of Financial Crime & MLRO, ClearBank

Marcus Wogart, Group Head Financial Crime Risk, NatWest Group

Mike Green, Senior Guidance & Sanctions Advisor, The Office of Financial Sanctions

Implementation (OFSI)

Neil Tyson, Director, Rightway Compliance, Fraud Resource Management Centre

Nick Sharp, Deputy Director Economic Crime, HM Revenue & Customs

Owen Rowland, Deputy Director & Head of Economic Crime Unit, Home Office

Pete Maydon, Assistant Director, Strategy AML Supervision, HMRC

Paul Munson, Head of Compliance & MLRO, Solidi Crypto Currency Exchange &

previously Senior Associate at EMA and the FCA

Perpetua Gitungo, MLRO & Financial Crime Lead, Wise Ltd

Rob Wishart, Regional Coordinator AML - Global Investigations Unit EMEA, Citibank &

previously CoLP DS and Head of Economic Crime Directorate

Simon Murphy, Head of Sanctions Unit’s Strategy and Engagement Team, Foreign

Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)

Susannah Cogman, Partner & MLRO, Herbert & Smith Freehills

events@amlpforum.com – www.amlpforum.com

events@amlpforum.com – www.amlpforum.com

HR MATTERS

LOSING OUT

When time runs out and practical jokes go wrong.

AUTHOR – Gareth Edwards

ANOTHER case involving the

Court of Appeal, confirmed

in the case of Andrew Chell

v Tarmac Cement and Lime

Ltd, that an employer was

not liable for the personal

injury sustained by a contractor when a

practical joke went wrong.

Mr Chell and Mr Heath were colleagues

working on a site run by Tarmac. Chell was

a contractor supplied by a third party, and

Heath was Tarmac’s employee. Tensions

arose between Tarmac’s employees and the

contractors. Chell raised concerns about the

tensions with his supervisor, who in turn

raised the issue with Tarmac.

A few weeks after Chell raised his concerns,

Heath played a prank on him involving

exploding pellet targets close to Chell’s ear

which led to him suffering a perforated

eardrum, hearing loss and tinnitus as a result.

Heath was dismissed by Tarmac as a result.

Chell brought a personal injury claim

against Tarmac, arguing it was both directly

and vicariously liable for Heath's actions. The

claim was rejected by both the County Court

and the High Court.

Chell appealed to the Court of Appeal

which rejected the appeal. It agreed there

was not a sufficiently close connection

between Heath's actions and his work to

make it fair, just and reasonable to hold

Tarmac vicariously liable for the prank and

resulting injury to Chell. The explosive pellets

were not Tarmac’s equipment, nor used in

any part of Heath's work, and he was not

authorised to use them. He was not working

on the same task as Chell or supervising him

at the time of the prank. The risk created by

the prank was also not inherent in Tarmac’s

business.

On the issue of direct liability, the Court of

Appeal also found no reasonably foreseeable

risk of injury to Chell by Heath’s actions.

If there was a duty of care, there was no

breach by Tarmac. Whilst Chell had reported

concerns around tensions with Tarmac’s

employees, there was no indication Heath

would play the prank or exhibit violence

towards Chell. There was a general site

rule prohibiting the intentional or reckless

misuse of equipment. As Heath had hit the

pellets with a hammer, it was he that had

broken this rule.

THE Court of Appeal has determined that

the demotion of an equity partner who

had reached the employer's contractual

retirement age was a one-off act rather

than the continuing application of a

discriminatory rule.

In Parr v MSR Partners LLP, Mr Parr

was an equity partner at accountants’

firm, MSR Partners LLP (formerly Moore

Stephens LLP). Under the terms of the

members’ agreement, partners had a

normal retirement age of 60. Parr wanted

to work beyond that, and his request was

agreed, subject to him continuing to work

for a further two years only, and on the

basis that he would continue as a salaried

partner.

Parr agreed to this change but found

out the business was to be sold and that,

as a salaried partner, he would miss out

on any share of the sale proceeds. He

One-off or continued act

brought a claim for age discrimination in

the Employment Tribunal (ET).

The parties have argued over whether

Parr was in time to bring his claim.

The usual deadline to lodge a claim is

three months starting with the date of

the act complained of. Where an act of

discrimination is a ‘continuing act’, it will

be treated as having occurred at the end

of that period, meaning the time limit for

bringing a claim will only start to run at

the end of the ‘continuing act’.

The ET considered the act of demoting

Parr to be a continuing act and found the

claim to have been brought in time. Moore

Stephens (as it was) appealed successfully

to the Employment Appeal Tribunal

(EAT), which differentiated between a

continuing act and a one-off conduct,

leading to ongoing losses.

Parr then appealed to the Court of

Appeal which upheld the EAT decision.

There is a distinction between a one-off

decision and a continuing act. In Parr’s

case, his demotion was a one-off act. Had

Parr been dismissed rather than demoted,

it would have been clear when the time

limit for a claim started to run. The Court

of Appeal says demotion should be treated

in the same way as dismissal would have

been, i.e., as a one-off act. This means

Parr’s claim was indeed out of time, as the

EAT had said.

From an employer’s perspective, it is

likely to be beneficial to construe any

acts of alleged discrimination as one-off

acts as far as possible, in order to start the

time running on the deadline for bringing

a claim.

Gareth Edwards is a partner in the

employment team at VWV www.

gedwards@vwv.co.uk

The Court of Appeal says demotion should be treated in the same way as dismissal

would have been, i.e., as a one-off act. This means Parr’s claim was indeed out of time,

as the EAT had said.


BE ONE CLICK AWAY

FROM OUR WEBSITE

How to set up a great one click link to the CICM website

on your mobile phone. Follow these four simple steps...

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

Go to cicm.com > Click highlighted icon at bottom of screen > Click add to Home screen icon

> Click add icon at top right of screen > CICM icon will appear on your screen

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

Open cicm.com in Google Chrome browser > Tap Menu button > Tap add shortcut to Home screen

> Icon will appear on your screen. Menu button on other Android devices may be displayed differently.

ADVANCING THE CREDIT PROFESSION

T: +44 (0)1780 722900 | WWW.CICM.COM

TAKE CONTROL OF

YOUR CREDIT CAREER

E-BILLING ANALYST

London, competitive salary + bonus

This legal firm is looking for an experienced candidate to

join a senior role in their e-billing team. This role will involve

day-to-day management of the e-billing team and submitting

bills and invoices onto e-billing software. Additionally, this

candidate will undertake system and process analysis to

improve the team’s productivity.

Ref: 4159703

Contact Daniel Lee on 020 3465 0020

or email daniel.lee1@hays.com

REGIONAL CREDIT MANAGER

Port Talbot, competitive salary + benefits

A growing organisation with a strong national presence has

opened a new office in Port Talbot to support their continued

expansion and they are now looking for a Regional Credit

Manager. You will lead an office-based team and deliver support

to branch managers across Wales. Your role will be a highly

visible member of the management team and you will spend

time out and about in the region. With a proven background in

credit management, you will be accountable for maintaining and

driving the company objectives to deliver outstanding results.

Ref: 4147467

Contact Emma Lewis on 01792 642042

or email emma.lewis@hays.com

CREDIT MANAGER

Cumbria, up to £60,000 + benefits

This is a well-established, highly regarded and expanding

business, operating UK wide, with its Head Office function in

Carlisle. This role is part of the senior finance management

team, managing credit risk and credit control across a

high volume of customers. We are looking to speak with

experienced credit managers, particularly those who are

familiar with high-volume environments and change processes.

This is a fantastic opportunity where you can achieve results

and be rewarded accordingly.

Ref: 4160899

Contact Heidi Wright on 01228 515795

or email heidi.wright@hays.com

ASSISTANT BILLING MANAGER

Chelmsford (hybrid working, 3 days in the office),

£40,000-£55,000

A fantastic opportunity to join a leading international law firm

and be part of the leadership structure of a successful finance

department. You will split your time between managing a team

of 13, at varying experience levels, and supporting the Billing

Manager with strategy and ongoing improvement projects. This is

a great opportunity for an experienced legal billing professional or

someone looking to take their first step into management.

Ref: 4161290

Contact William Plom on 01603 760141

or email william.plom@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

COLLECTIONS AGENT – CREDIT SERVICES

Basildon, £25,000-£30,000

Working for a leading international accountancy practice you

will handle the collection of debt from a wide-ranging number

of clients as part of their credit services team. Clients range from

SMEs to large corporate businesses, within both the public and

private sector. You will have previous experience in a similar

collections or credit control role and be comfortable operating

in a high-volume environment.

Ref: 4165759

Contact William Plom on 01603 760141

or email william.plom@hays.com

CREDIT CONTROLLER/SALES LEDGER

Farnham, up to £27,000

Working in a sole charge role, you will be responsible for

minimising aged debt and maximising company cash flow.

Your varied duties will include accurately producing invoices,

chasing payments, resolving queries and processing payments.

This role would suit a skilled credit controller who enjoys

working autonomously and taking control of the entire order

to cash process.

Ref: 4235961

Contact Natascha Whitehead on 07770 786433

or email natascha.whitehead@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


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

001/08/2021

DATE OF THE PENETRATION TEST

20th of August 2021

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


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

Alliyah Mcateer

Simon Varley

Millicent Rodman

Kerry Soper-Dyer

Anthony Morrow

Reza Khalaji

Suvendu Ghosh

James Knight

Emma-Louise Schofield

Stacy Williams

Zuzana Holden

Jack Allen

Modupe Fakunle

Yvonne Gander

Capucine New

Sally Tagg

Fiona Instance

Sharon Reynolds

Ronan O'Neill

Lisa Marie Kerr

Ashleigh Scully

Lewis Hudson

Marzena Kondraciuk

Gavin Handman

Affiliate

Gillian Crotty Miriam Turton Luke Boorman Melanie Phillips

Members

Raj Gill Sylwia Chaber Ahmed Nazif Diya Pardasani

Congratulations to our current members who have upgraded their membership

Upgraded member

Abdelaziz Eshra MCICM Harvey Fielding MCICM Chris Hardman MCICM

AWARDING BODY

Congratulations to the following, who successfully achieved Diplomas

Level 3 Diploma in Credit Management (ACICM)

Candice Marlen Julie Coghlan Kimblerley Morgan

Level 3 Diploma in Credit & Collections (ACICM)

Leo Rossiter Glenn Langdown Mona Rathod

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

Satya Oleti

Harvey Fielding

Raise your credibility and boost your career prospects

– Apply for your upgrade today

Contact: info@cicm.com for more details

WE WANT YOUR BRANCH NEWS!

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

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


TECHNOLOGY

Better by Application

A round-up of apps you simply cannot do without!

MEETER (for Zoom, Teams & Co) lets you

easily manage your calls – you can join

scheduled meetings from your calendar

(Zoom) Hangouts, Webex, Teams and many

more, and also initiate 1:1 audio calls.

Simply connect your calendar and Meeter

will automatically pull all your upcoming

calls and let you manage them in one place,

as well as sending ‘join here’ notifications.

No more last-minute searches through your

calendar to find the right link.

CHRONICLE is described as the easiest

and fastest bill manager in the App Store. In

addition to reminding you to pay your bills,

Chronicle keeps track of all your payment

history, including confirmation numbers,

so you always have proof of payments. With

Chronicle Pro, there are many additional

features, such as intelligently estimating

amounts due, creating monthly & annual

reports and custom making repeat intervals

to make bills less of a chore.

SIMPLIFY GMAIL is a browser extension

that transforms the Gmail website into a

more serene experience, with additional

white space, cleaner compose menus, and

the ability to group emails by date. At the

same time, it adds new features, such as

extra keyboard shortcuts, email tracker

blocking and a ‘hide inbox’ feature to help

you focus. This extension gives Gmail’s

desktop website a much-needed facelift.

LEGION NETWORK is described as an allin-one

super app for all blockchain services

– crypto, NFTs, gaming and software. The

app combines Legion Network’s blockchain

ecosystem with cutting edge technology.

It mostly functions as a crypto wallet, but

also has an NFT marketplace. It also offers

materials and resources for individuals

interested in learning more about NFT,

GameFi, Defi, etc. and even has an in-built

wallet in the app.

ITSETTLED is a new automated credit

control app which the developers say

provides a legally compliant process for

chasing invoices. You simply submit your

invoices to the app, and the app will guide

you through the following steps. You have

the option of sending your invoice letters

yourself or having the app do it for you.

Itsettled can be integrated with accounting

softwares such as FreeAgent, QuickBooks

and Xero.

SNOOP is a mobile app that helps people

save money on bills and subscriptions.

It provides a one-of-a-kind stream of

customised money-saving tips. The app sorts

your spending, keeps tab of payments in the

payment hub, and suggests live discounts

and money saving ideas on day-to-day basis.

It also keeps check of mortgage deals and

has an insurance checker feature, providing

a fully integrated and streamlined money

management platform.

KIWI FOR GMAIL is a desktop application

that is said to save your time in and out of

Google by remembering what you had up,

where you had it and how you left it. The 3.0

update filters your view by Date, Importance,

Unread, Attachments and starred or combine

filters to create a shortlist of your most

relevant emails. The app introduces new

toolbar on the left side of the traditional

Gmail interface, providing quick access to all

G suite applications and documents.

KEAP MOBILE is positioned as an all-inone

email marketing platform that includes

features like marketing automation and CRM

service to assist small businesses with their

growth. The app allows you to sync Gmail and

Outlook accounts to manage data and send

emails in a single location. Quote templates,

invoices, payments, reports, proposal

templates, and an advanced marketing

campaign builder are among the additional

features.



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.

Credica Ltd

Building 168, Maxell Avenue, Harwell Oxford, Oxon. OX11 0QT

T: 01235 856400E: info@credica.co.uk W: www.credica.co.uk

Our highly configurable and extremely cost effective Collections

and Query Management System has been designed with 3 goals

in mind:

•To improve your cashflow • To reduce your cost to collect

• To provide meaningful analysis of your business

Evolving over 15 years and driven by the input of 1000s of

Credit Professionals across the UK and Europe, our system is

successfully providing significant and measurable benefits for our

diverse portfolio of clients.

We would love to hear from you if you feel you would benefit from

our ‘no nonsense’ and human approach to computer software.

Data Interconnect Ltd

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.

FOR

ADVERTISING

INFORMATION

OPTIONS AND

PRICING CONTACT

paul@centuryone.uk

01727 739 196

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.

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.

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.

Cr£ditWho?



Cr£ditWho?


FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION

OPTIONS AND PRICING CONTACT

paul@centuryone.uk 01727 739 196

FINANCIAL PR

LEGAL

PAYMENT SOLUTIONS

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.

INSOLVENCY

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.

Cr£ditWho?


Shoosmiths

Email: paula.swain@shoosmiths.co.uk

Tel: 03700 86 3000 W: www.shoosmiths.co.uk

Shoosmiths’ highly experienced team will work closely with credit

teams to recover commercial debts as quickly and cost effectively

as possible. We have an in depth knowledge of all areas of debt

recovery, including:

•Pre-litigation services to effect early recovery and keep costs down

•Litigation service

•Post-litigation services including enforcement

•Insolvency

As a client of Shoosmiths, you will find us quick to relate to your goals,

and adept at advising you on the most effective way of achieving

them.

PAYMENT SOLUTIONS

American Express

76 Buckingham Palace Road,

London. SW1W 9TQ

T: +44 (0)1273 696933

W: www.americanexpress.com

American Express is working in partnership with the CICM and is a

globally recognised provider of payment solutions to businesses.

Specialising in providing flexible collection capabilities to drive a

number of company objectives including:

• Accelerate cashflow • Improved DSO • Reduce risk

• Offer extended terms to customers

• Provide an additional line of bank independent credit to drive

growth • Create competitive advantage with your customers

As experts in the field of payments and with a global reach,

American Express is working with credit managers to drive growth

within businesses of all sectors. By creating an additional lever

to help support supplier/client relationships American Express is

proud to be an innovator in the business payments space.

Bottomline Technologies

115 Chatham Street, Reading

Berks RG1 7JX | UK

T: 0870 081 8250 E: emea-info@bottomline.com

W: www.bottomline.com/uk

Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ: EPAY) helps businesses

pay and get paid. Businesses and banks rely on Bottomline for

domestic and international payments, effective cash management

tools, automated workflows for payment processing and bill

review and state of the art fraud detection, behavioural analytics

and regulatory compliance. Businesses around the world depend

on Bottomline solutions to help them pay and get paid, including

some of the world’s largest systemic banks, private and publicly

traded companies and Insurers. Every day, we help our customers

by making complex business payments simple, secure and

seamless.

PAYMENT SOLUTIONS

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.

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.

FOR

ADVERTISING

INFORMATION

OPTIONS AND

PRICING CONTACT

paul@centuryone.uk

01727 739 196


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


The software platform to automate and

optimise your order-to-cash process

Connect your organisation with your customers.

Manage risks and decrease DSO by 20%.

Connecting data. Connecting you.

www.vismaonguard.com

+44 (0) 20 396 683 24


Credit Management April 2022

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?