CREDIT MANAGEMENT JULY and August 2022

NEWS FOCUS - EXCLUSIVE
“While the Prompt Payment Code reforms are a
welcome acknowledgement of the importance
of timely payments, businesses are still suffering
from poor payment behaviour.”
“Many of these businesses have been weakened
by COVID and are unable to hire employees and
develop their products and services in the way
their otherwise would.”
In addition, 67 percent of companies
say that prompt payments would make it
possible to pay their own suppliers faster
and 46 percent believe that they would be
able to hire more employees.
“It is heartening to see that businesses
are focusing on sustainability,” says
Eddie. “It is important to realise that faster
payments and good business practices
around payments enable businesses to
take the action they need across a range
of areas. “While the Prompt Payment Code
reforms are a welcome acknowledgement
of the importance of timely payments,
businesses are still suffering from poor
payment behaviour.”
GOVERNANCE CHALLENGE
These aren’t the only sustainability issues
that businesses have in their sights. When
it comes to governance, 50 percent expect
to see more scrutiny around customer
discrimination in the years ahead.
The same proportion, however, admit
they don’t know for sure whether their
own sales teams are treating customers in
a way that could be considered unethical,
such as racial or social profiling.
“A code of ethics would be a good start
for businesses,” says Eddie. “However, 70
percent of the business surveyed don’t
have one in place, though 45 percent say
they intend to implement one. We expect to
see organisations looking deeper into these
issues in the coming years. Late payment
is one of a key set of environmental, social
and governance issues that will demand
their attention.”
For a full copy of the report, visit
www.intrum.co.uk/business-solutions/
analytics-insights/
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / July & August 2022 / PAGE 9