Credit Management November 2022

CREDIT MANAGEMENT
CM
NOVEMBER 2022 £12.50
THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND
COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS
COLD
COMFORT
Testing times for the
collections industry
Are Government agencies
united in their compassion
for debtors? Page 10
How must the Prompt
Payment Code evolve?
Page 22

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28
CLIMATE CONTROL
Chris Leslie
10
TROUBLED WATERS
Brendan Clarkson FCICM
16
MEXICAN WAVE
Adam Bernstein
NOVEMBER 2022
www.cicm.com
CONTENTS
10 – Troubled Waters
Amid rising insolvencies, Government
agencies seem far from united in their
approach.
12 – Dramas and Headwinds
With one crisis after another history
tells us that the predictions carried with
them do not always ring true.
15 – Clear thinking
The importance of transparency in
ensuring corporate commitments to
DE&I are delivered.
16 – Mexican Wave
Mexico offers a significant opportunity
but is plagued by societal issues.
22 – Prompt Action
Evolving the concept of prompt
payment.
28 – Climate Control
How is the collections and debt
purchase sector fairing as we head into
2023?
34 – Power to the People
Manufacturers in both the US and the
UK are facing similar challenges when
it comes to international expansion.
CICM GOVERNANCE
22
PROMPT ACTION
Ant Persse FCICM
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 / Neil Jinks FCICM / Allan Poole MCICM
Advisory Council: Caroline Asquith-Turnbull FCICM / Laurie Beagle FCICM / Glen Bullivant FCICM /Brendan Clarkson FCICM
Larry Coltman FCICM / Peter Gent FCICM(Grad) / Victoria Herd FCICM(Grad) / Andrew Hignett MCICM(Grad)
Dave Hindle FCICM / Laural Jefferies FCICM / Neil Jinks FCICM / Martin Kirby FCICM / Charles Mayhew FCICM / Hans Meijer
FCICM / Debbie Nolan FCICM(Grad) / Amanda Phelan MCICM(Grad) / Allan Poole MCICM / Phil Rice FCICM / Phil Roberts FCICM
Chris Sanders FCICM / Paula Swain FCICM / Mark Taylor MCICM / 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.
42 – Game changer
How a 19-year-old with a love of sport
became the Northwest’s Apprentice of
the Year.
Publisher
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CMM: www.creditmanagement.org.uk
Managing Editor
Sean Feast FCICM
Deputy Editor
Iona Yadallee
Art Editor
Andrew Morris
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Email: andrew.morris@cicm.com
Editorial Team
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ISSN 0265-2099
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 3

EDITOR’S COLUMN
Is HMRC about to get tougher
on distressed debtors?
Sean Feast FCICM
Managing Editor
YOU know sometimes
when you can see
a disaster about to
happen, but you feel
powerless to do anything
about it? That’s how I’m
feeling at the moment and it’s making
me feel increasingly ill-at-ease.
No, I’m not talking about the farcical
merry-go-round of British politics –
though that’s terrifying enough. They’ve
managed to take my understanding
of the word incompetence to a whole
new level. What I’m more concerned
about is the looming debt crisis, where
thousands of businesses, and many
hundreds of thousands of consumers,
will find themselves facing bills they
simply cannot pay.
The figures are already there to
prove it. Some 3,619 businesses failed
in August and September, and in
September alone, 12,280 individuals
were declared bankrupt. As Christina
Fitzgerald, President of R3, says, with
rising living costs, both business
owners and employees are under
significant financial strain and it
has led to rising salary demands and
increasing pressure on margins, which
some businesses haven’t, unfortunately,
been able to meet (see news page 8).
Which means creditors are going
to have to be more understanding
than ever of a debtor’s circumstances,
and on the consumer side of things,
organisations like StepChange Debt
Charity are urging much earlier
signposting as regards where help is
available.
But not every creditor, it seems,
is going to be so understanding.
Already the mood music coming from
His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs
(HMRC), for example, suggests that
far from showing greater forbearance,
they might, in fact, get even tougher
on those in financial distress (see
Troubled Waters, page 10). Which worries
me enormously. Because we’ll find
ourselves transported back a decade
or so ago, with the Government saying
one thing about needing to clear out the
aggressive tactics of the private sector
in the collection of debt, whilst failing
to look at the shockingly bad treatment
meted out by agencies in its own back
yard.
Let’s hope I’m wrong, and let’s hope
wiser owls than me who I’ve spoken to
are also wrong, and HMRC will maintain
its supportive approach. Because while
the rest of us may be demonstrating
compassion and forbearance by the
bucketload in the months to come,
HMRC’s privileged position at the head
of the creditor queue has far reachingimplications
for us all.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 4

CMNEWS
A round-up of news stories from the
world of consumer and commercial credit.
Written by – Sean Feast FCICM
Banks must do more to help
with the cost-of-living crisis
MILLIONS of people
across the UK want
to see more action
from banks and
other financial
providers in
supporting their customers through
the cost-of-living crisis.
While the majority of people in the
UK plan to cut back on both essential
and non-essential spending, one in
five (19 percent) people in the UK say
they still plan to borrow more in the
next 12 months to help them manage
the rising cost of living – the highest
in Europe.
Banks are now seen by more than
half of UK consumers (57 percent) as
having a duty to help people during
difficult financial times, second only
to the government (64 percent). Yet
despite this, a new report (Banking
on Banks), finds that two-thirds (64
percent) of people in the UK still think
banks and other financial providers
aren’t doing enough to help their
customers during these difficult
economic times.
The report published by CRIF, a
provider of consumer and business
credit information, surveyed
thousands of people in countries
across the continent including France,
the Czech Republic, Italy, Germany,
Slovakia, and the UK, to better
understand their attitudes towards
financial services and how providers
can better meet their needs during the
rising cost of living.
European consumers, when asked
what banks and financial providers
should be doing to support their
customers, were clear that more
should be done: 40 percent said banks
should be tailoring products and
services to better meet the needs of
individual customers; 37 percent want
to see banks proactively reach out to
customers if they can help them save
money on services like insurance or
bills; and 25 percent want to see their
bank improve their digital services.
With recent innovations in financial
services, including open banking
technology, financial providers can
better utilise customer data to build
a more accurate picture of their
creditworthiness, enabling better
lending decisions with reduced risk.
This allows providers to go further in
providing the services consumers are
calling for including more accurate,
personalised decisions in areas like
lending; the ability to signpost people
to more appropriate, potentially lowercost,
third-party services like utility
providers; and offer advanced warning
to customers of potential issues with
their future finances.
However, trust in financial services
among European consumers remains
a key issue and is acting as a barrier
to enhancing services and improving
reputations. One in five (19 percent)
worry that banks will attempt to sell
them products which aren’t right
for them, and a similar number (18
percent) feel they don’t have their best
interests at heart.
Sara Costantini, CRIF’s Regional
Director for the UK & Ireland, says
that one in five consumers in the UK
now expect to borrow more over the
next year: “Despite this, the majority
of people in the UK feel lenders aren’t
doing enough to help and want to see
them offer more tailored products and
services that meet their specific needs,
as well as ways to lower their bills and
to proactively flag any financial issues
on the horizon.
“Innovations like open banking make
this a possibility. The whole financial
sector needs to work together to
improve customer understanding and
capitalise on the benefits improved
data and analytics can bring. Only by
doing so can we ensure more people
get the services and support they need
to weather these trying times.”
❝
Trust in
financial services
among European
consumers
remains a key
issue and is acting
as a barrier to
enhancing services
and improving
reputations.
❝
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 5

NEWS SPECIAL - EXCLUSIVE
Creditor communication is
key to helping consumers in
financial difficulty
NEW research shows two in
three StepChange clients
surveyed felt they could
have been referred to debt
advice sooner by their
creditors, underlining
the need for earlier intervention,
constructive communication, and
proactive signposting to debt advice.
A new report from StepChange
Debt Charity and Amplified Global
using the lived experiences of people
in debt highlights the crucial role
communications from the financial
services sector and other creditors
can play in helping consumers in
financial difficulty.
The report, entitled Mixed Messages,
assesses the extent to which
communications from creditors help
people take action to resolve their debts.
It finds that while communications
can sometimes be effective, many of
those surveyed said they faced barriers
to getting the help they needed. Only a
minority felt the communications they
received had helped them understand
their options or reassured them that help
was at hand.
Initial barriers to getting help included
feelings of shame and embarrassment
(56 percent of respondents), a lack of
awareness about the seriousness of their
financial situation (35 percent) and a lack
of information about how debt advice
could help them (34 percent).
These barriers were often found to be
compounded by communications from
lenders. Nine in ten survey respondents
said they triggered negative emotions
including fear, helplessness and being
overwhelmed. The common use of legal
and regulatory language was regularly
found to inhibit understanding and
reinforce negative emotions. Just 38
percent of respondents felt that the
communications they received helped
them understand their options and
only 28 percent of people felt these
communications reassured them that
their creditors would help them solve
their problems.
Overall, more than two thirds (69
percent) of those surveyed felt they could
have been signposted to debt advice
earlier, with over half (53 percent) of
StepChange clients surveyed waiting
more than a year before seeking debt
advice.
The Financial Conduct Authority’s
final Consumer Duty rules raise
expectations on the consumer outcomes
delivered by both communications and
support offered to people in financial
difficulty. With the cost-of-living crisis
affecting the finances of so many
households, the report aims to establish
an open dialogue between the advice
sector and the credit industry to address
these issues and ensure a clearer, more
“As tough as it was, it was worth it’’
GARY Brown, CEO of Debt Register, crosses
Tower Bridge as part of his marathon
attempt to complete the 26.2 mile run
around the capital, a challenge he eagerly
signed up for at last year’s British Credit
Awards. Gary was running the London
Marathon on behalf of Place2Be, a London
Based Children’s Mental Health charity that
specialises in improving mental health care
within schools.
Having completed the race in a personal
best time of 3 hours, 50 minutes and 47
seconds, Gary was pleasantly surprised
at his final time as well as the £2,435 he
raised for Place2Be: “As tough as it was, it
was worth it. To raise so much money for a
charity doing such great work made all the
blisters and pain days later more bearable!”
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 6

NEWS SPECIAL - EXCLUSIVE
❝
“We have known for a very long time that early engagement between customers
and those collecting the sums they owe is the best way to avoid problems
developing and for those customers to gain access to support and forbearance
where needed,” – Chris Leslie, Credit Services Association ..
reassuring message on how and where to
access help.
The findings echo those published by
the FCA in June of this year, which also
highlighted the need for firms to be swift to
respond to consumers in financial difficulty,
particularly in the light of the ongoing cost of
living crisis. Its Dear CEO letter to more than
3,500 lenders reminded them to provide tailored
support to struggling borrowers, including
effectively directing customers who need it to
money guidance or free debt advice.
In response to the report, StepChange
believes the Consumer Credit Act requirements
on creditor communications should be revised
to ensure content prescribed by legislation and
rules does not overwhelm people and lead them
to disengage.
StepChange Head of Policy Peter Tutton says
creditor communications need to be simplified:
“These findings are designed to help the advice
sector and creditor organisations decide how
best we can work together, and with regulators,
on practical steps that would deliver earlier
and better identification of financial difficulty
and vulnerability, improve the effectiveness
of communications and ultimately improve
outcomes for customers.
“By developing messaging that focuses
on helping people to resolve their situation,
empathetic communications that recognise the
emotional impact of financial difficulty, and the
presentation of a simple, clear plan of action,
creditors can ensure better outcomes for more
consumers. We hope the experiences outlined
in this report will inform further steps by
government, industry and regulators to improve
the effectiveness of creditor-consumer dialogue
and get people to the help they need earlier and
with less anxiety.”
Responding to the StepChange report, Credit
Services Association Chief Executive Chris
Leslie told Credit Management that it is in
everyone’s best interests – customers, creditors,
and collections agencies – to make dialogue
and discussion as easy and accessible as
possible: “We have known for a very long time
that early engagement between customers
and those collecting the sums they owe is the
best way to avoid problems developing and for
those customers to gain access to support and
forbearance where needed,” he explains.
“That the report highlights the arcane and
outdated regulatory barriers of the Consumer
Credit Act echoes calls for reform we at the CSA
have been making for some time, namely that
the Government must move forward with plans
to end the formulaic statutory notice mailings
which are clearly unnecessary and potentially
confusing for customers. The current legislative
framework is far too restrictive to enable truly
effective communication.
“But this is clearly only part of the wider issue
of driving earlier engagement with those in
financial difficulty and encountering challenges
coming from other sectors of the economy.
There is now widespread information and
signposting for customers towards free debt
advice but the ongoing lack of engagement is
still a significant challenge that all quarters,
including debt advice providers, will need to
address.”
Equifax partners with PrinSIX to enable
Telco’s to bolster social tariff outreach
EQUIFAX and PrinSix have facilitated an Open
Banking solution for KCOM, a Yorkshire-based
broadband provider, to create what it says is
the UK’s first internet service provider (ISP)
accepting applications for a social tariff online.
Social tariffs give eligible low-income
households the ability to access cheaper deals
from their service providers. Social tariffs were
applied to broadband and mobile bills in the
summer to tackle the rising cost of living.
Despite social tariffs being offered by Telco’s,
only two percent of those eligible for the
discount have applied. Due to the lack of uptake,
the Government is increasing pressure on
Telco’s to close the gap – but many are relying
on outdated systems that result in applications
taking up to four weeks to be approved.
Andy Sacre, Product Director of Open
Banking at Equifax UK, says using technology,
like Open Banking, to help more people access
this utility is the exact type of action Telco’s
should take today to combat the rising living
costs: “Our partnership with KCOM and PrinSIX
has replaced out-dated approaches with
intuitive and personalised application journeys,”
he explains.
“This reduced the application timeline for
social tariffs on broadband from four weeks to
four minutes an incredible jump in efficiency.
Ultimately, this means those in the greatest
need of additional financial help will get it
quicker.”
Andy Sacre –
Product Director of Open
Banking at Equifax UK.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 7

CORPORATE insolvencies
decreased by 13.5 percent
in September 2022 to a
total of 1,679 compared to
August's total of 1,940, and
increased by 15.6 percent
compared to September 2021's figure of
1,453.
Corporate insolvency figures
were also 11.3 percent higher than
in September 2019, while personal
insolvencies increased by 4.5 percent
to 10,013 in September 2022 compared
to 9,584 in August, and were 0.5 percent
higher than September 2021's figure
of 9,967. Personal insolvencies also
decreased 18.5% from September 2019's
total of 12,280.
Christina Fitzgerald, President of
R3, the insolvency and restructuring
trade body, says that the corporate
insolvency figures provide a clear
insight into insolvencies before,
during, and after the pandemic: “The
monthly fall in corporate insolvencies
is due to a drop in Creditors’ Voluntary
Liquidations, while the year-on-year
increase has mainly been caused by
a rise in Compulsory Liquidations,
NEWS FOCUS
Directors shutting up shop before
that choice is taken away from them
ONE of Europe’s leading open banking
platforms, Tink, is urging lenders to
prioritise upgrading creditworthiness
assessment models to ensure more
accurate lending decisions.
Traditional lending models are
broken, it believes, and against a
backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis, a
blinkered view of income and expenses
is no longer fit for purpose. As the
economic crisis worsens, Tink says
better decisions on lending are needed
to protect and support consumers and
businesses who might be struggling
with affordability over the coming
months, while reducing the risks to
lenders from a potential new wave of
defaults.
According to Tink’s 2022 survey of
financial executives, two-thirds (68
percent) of UK lenders have tightened
affordability criteria since the
pandemic, but blind spots still exist in
their credit assessments. This has led
to some people being denied access to
borrowing unnecessarily.
For example, UK lenders say that
some of the main reasons that people
which is likely to be due to the end
of legislation around winding-up
petitions. “The increase in corporate
insolvencies between September 2022
and September 2019, on the other
hand, is due to a significant increase
in the number of Creditors’ Voluntary
Liquidations.”
Christina says this is likely to
be due to the triple whammy of
the withdrawal of COVID support,
the economic turbulence, and the
challenging business climate resulting
in directors feeling that they are unable
to continue and choosing to close their
businesses before that choice is taken
away from them: “Businesses have
been operating against a backdrop of
real uncertainty in recent weeks and
months,” she continues.
“A volatile pound, a decline in
consumer confidence and lower
household spending have led to weaker
economic growth, and it seems likely
that these conditions will get worse
before they get better. With living
costs rising, both business owners
and employees are under significant
financial strain as rising costs have
Accurate lending impacted by
outdated assessment models
are denied credit include the inability
to verify identity or legal status (41
percent) or the inability to access
payment history (35 percent). Mirroring
these findings, another Tink study
finds that UK consumer cohorts are
also citing unfair assessments, as a
third (33 percent) of self-employed
workers say their employment status
has been an obstacle for them getting
a mortgage, and a further 31 percent
believe it has hampered their ability to
obtain credit.
The research is said to unveil
two stark truths about traditional
underwriting methods: firstly,
some people who can afford credit
are being excluded because of
outdated credit scoring models;
and the static, retrospective nature
of traditional credit checks means
there is no robust way of protecting
consumers if economic circumstances
change and affordability becomes an
issue.
Tasha Chouhan, UK & IE Banking and
Lending Director at Tink says it’s clear
many lenders still rely on traditional
meant rising salary demands and
increasing pressure on margins,
which some businesses haven’t,
unfortunately, been able to meet.”
Christina believes that sky-rocketing
energy bills are also a major challenge.
She says that while the recently
announced emergency support
package will go some way towards
mitigating these concerns, it may not
provide enough of a safety net: “When
it comes to personal insolvency, the
monthly increase has mainly been
caused by a rise in the Individual
Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) numbers,
which suggests that the issues around
the cost of living are causing more
people to seek help with managing
their debts.
“The past couple of years have been
extremely tough on many people’s
personal finances and household
budgets are significantly more
stretched than they were a year ago.
The rise in the cost of living is showing
no sign of slowing down, real wages
have fallen, and more and more people
are being forced to borrow money to
pay their bills.”
credit checks to determine eligibility
for loans: “There is no place for such
models in our current economic
climate, and the sooner this is
recognised, the better the outcome will
be for both lenders and consumers.”
“New forward-looking models are
drawing on open banking technology
to provide a holistic picture of people's
finances. It’s vital to protect potentially
at risk or vulnerable consumers
from problem debt or default as the
economic climate worsens. At the
same time, it’s key to promoting
financial inclusion, as people now
more than ever need access to safe,
affordable, and regulated borrowing
options.”
UK lenders can adopt new open
banking powered affordability
assessment models which anticipate
future affordability, using up-to-date,
holistic data. Encouragingly, Tink’s
findings indicate a growing appetite
to embrace open banking powered
technologies, with 41 percent planning
to adopt digital solutions for datadriven
credit scoring.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 8

NEWS FOCUS
Firms turn to tech and data
to solve Consumer Duty woes
FIRMS are overwhelmingly
turning to technology
in order to surface data
and insights that solve
the challenge set by the
FCA’s new Consumer
Duty according to new research from
Moneyhub, the Open Finance and
Payments platform, conducted by
Opinium.
In its new report FCA Consumer
Duty: Business Burden or Golden
Opportunity? senior decision makers
were interviewed on their preparedness
ahead of the first Consumer Duty
deadline at the end of last month
(October).
Alarmingly there was a significant
knowledge gap across many firms. Some
38 percent of senior decision makers
said they had either limited or no
knowledge of the upcoming consumer
duty legislation, with some only alerted
to the legislation by the Moneyhub
research. Only one in five (22 percent)
of firms had projects in place in order to
meet the deadline in 2023, and a further
28 percent are currently developing
plans to become compliant
For many of these firms, technology
held the key to Consumer Duty
preparedness. Almost half (48 percent)
of firms plan or are already investing
in technology to develop and deliver
more personalised and targeted
communications. And 41 percent also
have plans to invest in technology
in order to access customer data and
insights.
The FCA’s new regulations are
to ensure that customers receive
communications from financial services
firms that they understand and are
being offered products that meet the
individual’s need at the point of sale and
throughout the entire product lifecycle,
offering fair value and providing support
when they need it. Importantly for FCA
regulated companies, these regulations
will eventually affect firms’ book of
business rather than just new business.
This in itself will prompt a re-evaluation
of products that current customers
are on and whether they are still
appropriate.
Samantha Seaton, CEO of Moneyhub,
says businesses are running out of
excuses: “Businesses must ensure they
understand their customer completely
in order to offer products and services
that fit their circumstances throughout
the entire duration of their relationship.
And the only way this is possible is
with an ongoing holistic view of their
customer's financial universe. Open
Finance truly holds the key for firms to
meet Consumer Duty. But to see Open
Finance’s role as solely a solution to
a problem is a mistake. It is also an
opportunity.
“By better understanding your
customer, it means you can offer super
relevant, appropriate products and
services, and ultimately create stronger
relationships and build loyalty. Smart,
forward-looking businesses will seize
this moment and reap the benefits of
truly understanding their customer.”
FCICM legend and former CM
contributor dies after short illness
FELLOW of the Chartered Institute of
Credit Management Martin Posner has
died after suffering a heart attack at
the age of 84.
Martin, a familiar face and voice
within the Institute, became a member
in 1971, and dedicated considerable
time to promoting the cause of the
ICM (as it was then) and the credit
management profession, serving on
the Education Committee. He was
also an active member of the CICM’s
London Branch and remembered
fondly by fellow committee members
including Burt Edwards, a former
Council member and author of the
Credit Management Handbook, who
wrote to inform us of Martin’s passing.
After ‘retiring’, Martin started a
second career as a trade journalist,
and was a regular contributor to Credit
Management magazine and various
international trade publications. As
well as being a Fellow of the CICM,
he was also a Fellow of the Institute
of Export. Martin was given the
Meritorious Service Award by the CICM
in 1984.
The CICM would like to pass its
condolences to all of Martin’s family.
>NEWS
IN BRIEF
CICMQ Award
Presentation
VODAFONE’S Credit & Collections
Operations Manager, Naomi
Cullen and Credit Manager, Paula
Partington ACICM, hosted CICM’s
Head of Accreditation, Karen Tuffs
FCICM(Grad) at their offices in Stoke-
On-Trent on 9th September. The
Credit & Collections Team meeting
was the ideal opportunity to celebrate
Vodafone’s first CICMQ accreditation,
achieved in October 2021. After a lively
ice-breaker activity, Naomi and Karen
took time to revisit the challenging
criteria and Vodafone’s response,
securing the industry’s esteemed
best practice award. Very well done
Vodafone!
Cutting back
A digital survey, carried out by YouGov
for HSBC, suggests that 60 percent
of Brits whose finances have been
affected by price rises are cutting
back on spending. One in five (21
percent) are now actively saving
money for future bills, while one in
ten are spending more on credit cards.
A further five percent have taken out
a loan or an additional credit card
because of pressure on household
budgets. Despite that, six in ten (60
percent) Brits say they still pay their
credit card balance in full every month,
with nearly nine in ten (89 percent)
saying they hadn’t missed or been late
with a repayment over a six-month
period.
New UK Chief
EQUIFAX, a leading global data,
analytics, and technology company,
has appointed David Wilson as the
Chief Commercial Officer of Equifax
UK. David joins the Equifax team with
a wealth of commercial leadership
experience, spanning two decades in
the sector, and a strong track record
of success transforming global teams
and businesses. Most recently, David
has developed data and analytics
businesses from within the RELX
company portfolio, including CEO and
COO roles.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 9

INSOLVENCY
Troubled Waters
Amid rising insolvencies, Government agencies
seem far from united in their approach.
AUTHOR – Brendan Clarkson FCICM
MUCH has been made
in the past few months
of rising insolvency
numbers, so are we
looking at a recession?
We all know why we
are here: COVID-19, the war in Ukraine,
and the subsequent rise in energy prices
have conspired to make the economical
bounce back we witnessed after the
pandemic last year disappear very quickly.
The number of companies in England
and Wales that were declared insolvent in
August 2022 (1,933) was 42 percent higher
than the number registered before the
pandemic, following the end of temporary
support loans and of forbearance by
creditors and courts.
Protecting businesses
The Government has announced plans
to protect businesses from the worst
potential impacts of soaring energy bills
by discounting supplies to enterprises
across the country. All UK businesses,
including the likes of charity organisations
and public sector operators, will see
their gas and electricity prices restrained
significantly throughout the forthcoming
winter months.
The relevant discounts are intended to
come into effect from October 2022 and
relate to all energy use from the first day
of October through to the end of March
2023.
Let’s remember that at the time of
writing, inflation now stands at 9.9
percent, which is the highest level in
nearly 40 years. And we wait for another
Prime Minister to be chosen and hope
that the message will still be one of ‘more
support to come’.
Surprising response
But whatever comes we need Government
agencies to be singing from the same
proverbial hymn sheet. One surprise
for me has been that HM Revenue and
Customs continue to be one of the main
drivers of the elevated number of petitions
over the past few months.
At this stage, and if the mood music
is correct, its focus seems to be offering
less forbearance rather than more to
businesses that have been struggling
for some time. Hopefully HMRC will
maintain its supportive approach to the
viable businesses struggling in the short
term due to the cost-of-living squeeze and
spiraling costs.
Research also released recently from
funder, Bibby Financial Services, has
indicated that many businesses are at
breaking point, with almost four in five
stating the current economic landscape
is worse than the pandemic and just one
in ten fully prepared to deal with further
cost rises expected.
These figures reflect the continued
toll the sustained economic turbulence
is taking on businesses. Companies
are facing enormous cost hikes just as
household spending is facing its biggest
squeeze in several decades, which delivers
yet another blow to business owners who
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 10

INSOLVENCY
AUTHOR – Brendan Clarkson FCICM
❝
“It will be important for credit managers to continue the good work they did
across the pandemic and talk to their customers, and it will be just as important
for those customers to engage with their suppliers and lenders going forward.’’
were hoping to bounce back to normal
trading levels post-pandemic.
The continuous worries about the rise
in prices and energy costs and the effect
these will have on their margins and
profits will mean any growth in the UK
is almost impossible. The concern about
the cost-of-living is making many people
reluctant to make major purchases and
spend on anything other than the basics.
Borrowing and credit card spending have
also increased as people are, worryingly,
turning to these to cover their costs.
Future predictions
As professionals, none of this actually
changes the jobs we are in, where cash is
still king and principal routes for recovery
remain the same. But as I take my first
steps into my new world of debt, what
does the future hold?
Simply put, who can tell? Who knows
how long the cost-of-living crisis will last
or how we can turn our economy around,
especially given the global influences
outside of our control. Borrowing more is
of course an option, but will be impacted
by higher rates, and the increased
pressure that will bring. Investors are now
predicting that interest rates could more
than double by next spring to 5.8 percent
from their current 2.25 percent, to curb
high inflation.
Insolvency Practitioner (IP) and Partner
Paul Atkinson of FRP thinks the future
looks bleak and has some advice for
credit managers: “The level of debt being
carried by many companies remains
high following the pandemic including
HMRC arrears and Bounce Back Loans,”
he says.
“The rise in interest rates coupled
with low business confidence is likely
to bring about an increase in business
failure. There are no indications of a
dramatic shift in the landscape at present
but Q4 this year into Q1 2023 could see
the long-expected rise in insolvency
numbers. Credit managers need to return
to basics with up-to-date management
information, strict credit terms and a
robust collection process.”
Strangely enough the tsunami of insolvencies
predicted since the pandemic
has not yet materialised due largely to
Government intervention. Ian Defty, a
Partner and IP at Begbies Traynor, certainly
thinks there are choppy waters
ahead: “It will be important for credit
managers to continue the good work they
did across the pandemic and talk to their
customers,” he explains, “and it will be
just as important for those customers to
engage with their suppliers and lenders
going forward.
“The future is uncertain, but the
certainties are that there will be increased
company failures and increased bankruptcies”.
Brendan Clarkson FCICM is the Client
Services Director at Azzurro Law, a
specialist commercial debt collection and
legal recoveries firm. He is also an Advisory
Council member of the CICM.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 11

OPINION
Dramas and Headwinds
With one crisis after another history tells us that the
predictions carried with them do not always ring true.
AUTHOR – Glen Bullivant FCICM
Afew months ago, my daughter
and her husband drove up
from the jungle of the great
metropolis to spend time with
me in the civilised tranquillity
of God’s Own Country.
Breaking the journey, they pulled into a
motorway service area and the first thing they
heard on getting out of the car was a distinct “Ey
up” drifting across the car park as two strangers
greeted each other. Gemma looked at Joe, he
nodded, and they both agreed that they must be
in Yorkshire. Indeed, they were at the services
close to Wakefield and as such, well into the
county and not far from a decent cup of tea.
(When I said they were to spend time with me,
I fully acknowledge the fact that the visit was to
check that I was still breathing in and out, and
that all the insurance premiums were paid up
to date.)
The expression “Ey up” is one which has
greater potential than the usual “Good morning”
or “Good afternoon” as sometimes used by
Southern softies, in so far as it can be more than
just a greeting. It often precedes a comment
or opinion which can be about anything or
everything or nothing at all. I mention it only
because the end of September saw the Pound
Sterling fall to the floor with an almighty thud
and the news media went into overdrive – the
lowest rate against the US Dollar since the Dollar
was created in seventeen hundred and summat
or other. We were in a crisis, the like of which we
have never seen before, and it is almost certain
that the world will end next Tuesday fortnight.
Over my second cup of Yorkshire tea made
with boiling Yorkshire water, I muttered to
myself “Ey up, here we go again!!!”
The thing is, I have been in this business a long
time, and my thanks go to the officials at CICM
at this year’s Fellows Lunch for pointing this out
to members and guests with what can only be
described as some glee. Since I launched myself
into this great profession back in nineteen
hundred, I have experienced more recessions,
booms and busts and associated crises than you
have had hot dinners, and each one has carried
with it predictions of the end of the world from
economic editors, financial gurus and casual
observers who once read a book. They are too
numerous to list here in full but suffice to say
they included power cuts and three-day weeks
lit by candles, the Pound Sterling falling off a
cliff, interest rates to make your eyes water and
company failures in various industry sectors
with spectacular losses and thousands made
❝
The expression
“Ey up” is
one which
has greater
potential than
the usual “Good
morning”
or “Good
afternoon” as
sometimes used
by Southern
softies, in so
far as it can be
more than just a
greeting.
❝
jobless. The world will never be the same again,
they said; we must learn from the mistakes
made, they said; this must not happen again,
they said.
Well, it did and no doubt it will again.
I agree that this crisis has an edge to it which
could be described as unprecedented – the
UK economy has been far from robust for
quite some time, and nobody saw the COVID
pandemic coming, and certainly could not have
known that it would last as long as it did and
that the full impact was going to be with us for
some years to come.
Just when it began to feel safe to get back in
the water, Vlad the Impaler embarked upon
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 12

OPINION
AUTHOR – Glen Bullivant FCICM
❝
Since I launched myself into this great profession back in nineteen hundred, I have
experienced more recessions, booms and busts and associated crises than you have had
hot dinners, and each one has carried with it predictions of the end of the world from
economic editors, financial gurus and casual observers who once read a book.
his “special military operation”, which to
everyone else in the world was, and is, a
full-scale undeclared war against a
neighbour. Just as the pandemic had
showed us just how reliant we had all
become on the manufacturing might of
China and the fragility of all eggs in one
basket just-in-time supply chains (made
even worse by trying to sail sideways
through the Suez Canal), so Vlad’s
actions showed how much we depended
on Russian gas to heat our homes in
Birmingham and Berlin. The wholesale
price of natural gas and oil skyrocketed and
having spent billions to keep businesses
Bolton Abbey, Skipton, UK
afloat during the pandemic, billions more
are now being spent to keep the lights
on in our homes. The cost-of-living hits
consumers and businesses alike, and
bankruptcies and company failures are
inevitable, but what is different about this
crisis compared to those of the 70s, 80s,
90s is more about how we got here rather
than the crisis itself.
Back in my early days of credit
reporting, I would make searches at
Companies House and was often struck by
the number of companies I came across
which had been registered in 1941 or 1942
– by any measure, carrying on business
with bombs raining down on you and
the enemy at the door must be a crisis of
monumental proportions which perhaps
puts subsequent decades into perspective.
I often wondered how they carried on
back then, but they did – they survived
and, in the end, the light at the end of the
tunnel was not a train coming the other
way. In later years, we survived the threeday
week, the transport strikes, the pound
being thrown out of the Exchange Rate
Mechanism (which preceded the Euro),
the dot-com bubble bursting, the property
crashes, the 2008 financial meltdown
and all the other headwinds and dramas
thrown at us.
We did it by being credit professionals,
and we will do it again by being credit
professionals.
Golden Rule Number One is the most
fundamental – know your customer.
I am still staggered by the number of
businesses, large as well as small and
medium sized, who have inaccurate
customer details on their systems, who
fail to keep contact names and numbers
up to date and who perpetrate those
inaccuracies every time they invoice.
Number Two is to ensure that the credit
policy is fit for purpose and can be adapted
to meet changing circumstances and is
understood and appreciated by everyone
in the company from the gatehouse to the
boardroom.
Number Three is constant staff support
and training especially in negotiating and
empathetic skills – this is not the time
for customer liaison staff to have the
interpersonal skills of a JCB.
Number Four is to appreciate that
supplier and customer need each other
more than ever and it is the credit
professional who makes that realisation
work to mutual advantage.
I could go on, but you know you are the
best and you will succeed, rest assured.
I never believe economic forecasters as
experience has shown that their doom
ladened predictions over the years have
invariably been proved wrong. I will
nevertheless make one prediction of my
own: one morning in late September
2052, over your morning coffee and slice
of toast, you will watch an item on the
breakfast news and say to yourself “Ey up,
here we go again!!!”.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 13

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ESG
Clear thinking
The importance of transparency in ensuring
corporate commitments to DE&I are delivered.
AUTHOR – Simona Scarpaleggia
WE are all familiar with the
subject of Diversity, Equity
& Inclusion (DE&I). Never
a day goes by without some
business leader providing
an interview to the media
or making a presentation at an investor meeting
promising great change in terms of how their
workforce is recruited, treated and paid. And yet
the rhetoric rarely, if ever, matches the reality.
The World Economic Forum Global Gender
Gap Index, for example, makes rather depressing
reading. While overall gender parity has improved
since the report was first published in 2006, the
overall gain is a miserly 3.8 percent. To put this
into context, if the pace of improvement was to
continue at that rate, it would be a full 132 years
until the pay gap is finally closed. And in some
countries, the gap has actually gone backwards.
Declarations of intent
As individuals, we witness – as consumers,
employees or management experts – an array of
declarations of intent. We hear how leaders ‘aspire’
to make a difference. Whether such aspirations
are real or imagined, the fact is that those very
same leaders are seldom in place long enough to
drive – or be accountable for– the changes that
need to happen. They end up being little more
than empty words and vague promises that work
well for a sound bite, and to be seen to be doing
and saying the right things, but rarely result in any
positive action.
Change will happen, but at present it is being
forced upon an unwilling audience by the hard
‘stick’ of regulation and compliance, rather than
the carrot of what a truly equitable workforce can
deliver.
The NextGenerationEU post-COVID recovery
plan, for example, includes a package of funding
specifically allocated to improving gender
equality whereas various corporate governance
codes of practice within the UK, Germany, Italy
and others now require businesses to disclose key
information relating to gender equity and pay.
Gender quotas
There was considerable excitement around the
EU’s plan for gender quotas, and a new Directive
that seeks to ensure women have at least 40
percent of seats on corporate boards. The issue is
not the Directive itself, but rather how it is forcing
change rather than bringing all parties willingly
to the table. Even though bias and a tendency
to maintain the status quo of privileges are two
factors that tend to hinder the progress towards
a more equitable workplace, pressure from
stakeholders for greater equity is already strong
and growing. Leaders know that they must steer
❝
Increasing
transparency
in this way will
deliver a number
of benefits. It will
flush out incidents
of attempted
greenwashing or
pinkwashing and
avoid accusations
from third
parties that a
business is being
disingenuous
in its intention
of creating a
more equitable
workforce.
❝
their organisation towards having a more diverse
top table, but they do not want to surrender their
freedom to make their own decisions, neither
are they wholly convinced about whether a more
equitable board works.
The real solution to improving gender equity is
around transparency and being able to measure
and evidence real progress towards a more
equitable workforce. Indeed, measurement is
the most necessary component in turning an
aspiration into something tangible and deliverable.
It is also essential that progress is measured to a
recognized and agreed common standard, so that
performance can be compared across countries,
industries, and nations, and anchored to an agreed
starting point.
So how is this best achieved? Organisations can
create a transparent, effective, and sustainable
equity system based on three pillars:
• Clear, standardised, and comparable measurement.
This means agreeing to third-party certification
as the highest-level of quality and objectivity
regarding the policies you have in place
and the progress you have made. Disclosing these
measurements and your performance to a global
benchmark makes the process safer and more responsible.
• Setting specific, realistic, and achievable shortterm
goals as well as confirming longer-term
ambitions. This means less vague promises that
will be forgotten about long after the current CEO
has moved on and more immediate and preciselydefined
goals where success can be more easily
evidenced and monitored.
• Accountability of leaders and organisations. This
means making business leaders truly accountable
for their promises and their actions, and not
simply making bold statements to satisfy the City.
Increasing transparency in this way will deliver a
number of benefits. It will flush out incidents of
attempted greenwashing or pinkwashing and avoid
accusations from third parties that a business is
being disingenuous in its intention of creating a
more equitable workforce. It will safeguard those
policies that an organisation may already have
in place relating to ESG, and further strengthen
them. And it will put pressure on business leaders
not simply to say the right things, but also do the
right things too, and walk their talk.
Put simply, increasing transparency will
ultimately deliver what everyone is looking to
achieve: Real. World. Change.
Simona Scarpaleggia is a Board Director,
EDGE Strategy.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 15

COUNTRY FOCUS
Mexico offers a
significant opportunity
but is plagued by
societal issues.
MEXICAN WAVE
AUTHOR – Adam Bernstein
IT’S very easy to stereotype a country
and its people. The British are known
for discussions of the weather, tea,
politeness, and an obsession with the
Royal Family.
But of course, there’s more to us. So,
it’s no wonder that Mexicans were mightily upset
when, in 2011, Top Gear presenters Clarkson,
Hammond and May in a segment on a Mexican
sports-car, the Mastretta MXT, referred to it as
‘the Tortilla’, mocked Mexican food as ‘refried
sick’, described Mexican people as ‘lazy, feckless,
flatulent oaf(s)’, and suggested how horrible it
must be to be ‘[wake] up and [remember] you're
Mexican’.
The reality couldn’t be more different. Mexico
has a pre-history that reaches as far as 8000BC
which makes it one of the cradles of civilisation,
the rich history of the Mayan people that stretches
back to 2600BC, was the birthplace of chocolate,
has a cuisine that many gravitate to, and is the
world’s 13th largest oil producer – just behind
Norway and Kazakhstan but ahead of Nigeria.
So, Top Gear may have sought to be entertaining
and comedic, but as we’ll see below, the presenters’
comments should not be taken seriously.
THE COUNTRY OUTLINED
Mexico, officially called the United Mexican
States, is located below the US and borders Texas,
New Mexico, Arizona and California. To the south
is Guatemala and Belize. To the east is the Gulf of
Mexico, while to the west is the Pacific Ocean. It’s
surprisingly large – with 1.96m sq. km and is the
world’s 13th largest country by landmass. The next
largest are Saudi Arabia, Greenland, DR Congo
and Algeria, each with areas of between 2.14m
and 2.3m sq.km. Below it in size are Indonesia,
Sudan, Libya and Iran with between 1.64m to
1.90m sq. km of land each.
With a ‘modern’ history – the Spanish conquest
from the 1500s, independence from Spain in
1836, conflict with the US and France in the
same century – Mexico is presently recognised
as a developing country. Nevertheless, it is a
member of various international bodies including
the United Nations, G20, OECD, the World
Trade Organization, the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation forum, the Organization of American
States, Community of Latin American and
Caribbean States, and the Organization of Ibero-
American States.
❝
‘Mexico offers
an extraordinary
range of sectors
that represent
opportunities…
from 20
leading-prospect
sectors…
[there are] six
clusters… that
represent a
high priority…
[for] export
promotion and
market access.’
❝
The 2020 census, Censo Población y
Vivienda 2020, found the population
to be 126.01m. The CIA World
Factbook thinks that the number is
now 129.15m.
Ethnically it’s 62 percent Amerindian-
Spanish, 28 percent Amerindian, and
10 percent other but mostly European.
And with a 500-year Spanish heritage it’s
not unsurprising that 93.8 percent speak
Spanish only, 5.4 percent speak both Spanish
and an indigenous language, and 0.8 percent
speak indigenous only (or are uncategorised).
Similarly, Spanish influence means that 78
percent of the population is now Catholic,
11.2 percent are Protestant or Evangelical
Christians, and 10.6 percent express no
affiliation.
And as for age, the 2020 census uncovered
a dome-like structure where 27.8 percent
of the population were aged 14 or under,
65.5 percent were aged 15 to 64, and just 6.7
percent were over 65 years of age.
Education in Mexico faces a number of
challenges. AllianzCare says that ‘while
the standard of education in rural public
schools in Mexico can be low, urban public
schools are generally a little better. Private
and international schools, however, usually
offer a higher standard of education that is
better...’
AllianzCare continues to note that
attendance is compulsory and although
public schools are free of charge they are
often underfunded and lack resources –
especially so in rural areas.
Data beyond 2011 is not readily
available, but back then Factbox:
Facts about Mexico's education
system found that over 90 percent
of children in Mexico attended
primary school, but only 62 percent
attended secondary school – just
45 percent finished secondary
school. And only a quarter
passed on to higher education.
Recently, the Programme
for International Student
Assessment, found that
the poorest children in
Vietnam outperform the
children in Mexico.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 16

COUNTRY FOCUS
AUTHOR – Adam Bernstein
ECONOMY
The CIA World Factbook
considers Mexico to be
one of the world’s largest
economies that has underperformed
growth targets
for three decades – a
situation that was not helped
by COVID-19, which disrupted
what is an export-based economy,
by ‘cartel-based violence’ and
corruption.
In fact, corruption in Mexico
is endemic in all parts of society.
Some have suggested that it’s
a function of the elitist and
oligarchic development of
Mexican society where the PRI
– Institutional Revolutionary
Party – held power from 1929
to 2000 through patronage
networks. Mexico was placed
in 124th position (out of 180) in
Transparency International’s
2021 Corruption Perceptions
Index.
Data from the World Bank
noted that Mexico’s GDP in 2021
stood at $1.29tn – the second
largest in Latin America, per
capita GDP was $9.926, the
growth rate was 4.8 percent (it
dropped to negative 8.2 percent
in 2020), and the unemployment
rate was 4.4 percent.
The OECD summarises Mexico
as recovering from a pandemic
that had deep economic and
social impacts. Informal workers,
women and youth were particularly
hit, exacerbating long-standing
social challenges. It also noted that
medium-term growth prospects have
weakened and growth over the past
two decades has been low. Further,
poverty rates and regional inequalities
remain high.
BUSINESS SECTORS
The US Government’s trade department,
in 2021, said that ‘Mexico offers an extraordinary
range of sectors that represent
opportunities… from 20 leading-prospect
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 17
sectors… [there are] six clusters… that
represent a high priority… [for] export
promotion and market access.’
Aerospace and defence
Starting with aerospace and defence, this
sector is estimated to have exported goods
and services to the value of $7.6bn in 2021
(US Government); Aerospace Meetings
Queretaro reckoned it to be nearer
$10.4bn in June 2022.
It’s a relatively young sector. In 2004
there were around 100 manufacturers –
but by mid-2020 that number had grown
to 368. Unlike the sector elsewhere, much
is focused on parts and assemblies that
are incorporated into other’s systems.
Main hubs are in the states of Baja
California (Tijuana-Mexicali), Sonora,
Chihuahua, Querétaro, and Nuevo León.
Services provider Tecma views Mexico ‘as
the twelfth largest exporter of aerospace
and defence products in the world.’
The sector has been boosted by the
growth of aviation, low-cost carriers, and
an open-skies agreement with the US that
has elevated demand for allied services
such as maintenance. There are now
nine large, 57 medium and about 77 small
airports in Mexico according to Airportcodes.io,
but a new international airport
for Mexico City has been cancelled.
There’s also a space programme that is
seeking to expand satellite communications,
environmental modelling and surveillance.
Automotive
This sector is huge and generates some
20 percent of Mexico’s GDP as the country
is the sixth-largest car manufacturer
and is estimated to have made some
3.3m vehicles a year – of which nearly 90
percent are exported.
Car brands in the country include
Audi, Baic Group, BMW, Stellantis, Ford,
General Motors, Honda, Kia, Mazda,
Nissan, Toyota, and Volkswagen.
Beyond cars, Mexico also makes buses,
trucks, tractor trucks and engines. Firms
in the heavy-duty sector include Cummins,
Detroit Diesel Allison, Freightliner–
Daimler, Kenworth Mexicana, Mack
❝
Mexico is also the fifth-largest producer of
automotive parts worldwide. Data for the
size of the sector varies from $78bn to $92bn.
Bloomberg even thinks $120bn covers the size
of the market for parts and vehicles.
continues on page 18 >

COUNTRY FOCUS
AUTHOR – Adam Bernstein
MEXICO
Trucks de México, International-Navistar, Dina
Camiones, Scania, Volvo Group VW, Man Truck
& Bus, Mercedes-Benz, Hino Motors, and Isuzu
Motors.
Mexico is also the fifth-largest producer
of automotive parts worldwide. Data for the
size of the sector varies from $78bn to $92bn.
Bloomberg even thinks $120bn covers the size
of the market for parts and vehicles. Regardless,
the US Trade Department suggests that local
representation is the best route to business
as it lowers manufacturer inventory while
maintaining supply.
Energy
Mexico’s National Electrical System Development
Program cites the total generation capacity
in April 2021 as being 89,479 MW. 35.5 percent
is from clean energy sources (renewable and
non-renewable, such as nuclear and efficient
cogeneration), and 64.5 percent is from conventional
sources (conventional thermal, coal-fired,
gas-fired, and internal combustion).
With an expected population increase to 150m
by 2050, the International Energy Agency sees
a need for more generation capacity. And with
strong demand from industry – taking some 72
percent of current capacity – there is little time
to waste. The 2021–2035 programme calls for
the construction of new combined cycle power
plants; the rehabilitation and the modernisation
of existing hydroelectric plants. Similarly, there’s
a requirement to modernise the transmission
and distribution networks.
On renewables, the International Renewable
Energy Agency considers Mexico to have great
potential to attract large-scale investment.
There are a number of potential opportunities
including Mexico City Government’s Solar City
initiative that seeks to add up to 350 MW of
green capacity over five years while reducing 30
percent of contaminant emissions from mobile
sources by 2024.
Industrial materials
Mexico is a large exporter of mining minerals
and ores, and the US Trade Department says that
half of Mexico’s mining production is dedicated
to the extraction of precious metals, 36 percent
to non-ferrous, seven percent to metallurgy
products, and the remaining six percent to
non-metal ores. Statista states that the sector
employs 368,000 people.
Mexico is a leading producer of silver and is a
major producer of 12 minerals such as fluorspar,
graphite, and strontium. Coal is important for
domestic use as well as the power, metallurgy,
cement, and chemical industries; new coal
deposits need to be found to reduce dependency
on imports. However, investment here has
slowed as a result of the government’s hold on
new licences and a desire for the industry to
wait for better terms.
On plastics and resins, the US government
values the sector at more than $39bn in 2020.
The market is driven by the packaging and
Mexico City is the densely
populated, high-altitude capital
of Mexico. It's known for its
Templo Mayor (a 13th-century
Aztec temple), the baroque
Catedral Metropolitana
de México of the Spanish
conquistadors and the Palacio
Nacional, which houses historic
murals by Diego Rivera. All of
these are situated in and around
the Plaza de la Constitución,
the massive main square also
known as the Zócalo.
construction sectors, which account for 47
percent and 12 percent of sales, respectively.
Of the former, there’s opportunity in food and
drink; thermoformed plastics and electrostatic
discharged coatings. For the latter, Mexico’s
construction industry has switched from being
traditionally metal based to using plastics in
water and gas piping, windows, doors, roofing
tiles, and coverings. In manufacturing, recycling
technologies are growing in importance while
bioplastics are being developed to reduce nonrecyclable
waste.
ICT
Internet growth has spurred on Mexico digital
activity. With more than 84m users and wide
smartphone use cloud storage demand is
expected to grow 30 percent. Spending on
business software, data centres, Infrastructure
as a service (IaaS), CRM and cybersecurity
solutions are also expected to grow – especially as
Mexico has witnessed a number of cyberattacks
recently.
Further, the country aims to be a high-end
software developer for aerospace, industry
and finance. The US Trade Department
reckons that there are 38 IT clusters around
Mexico providing software as a service. The
Government is seeking to provide universal
connectivity – especially in rural areas - via its
Internet para Todos programme. However, it’s
also cut budgets and made changes to VAT for
service providers.
The telecoms market has grown markedly as
a result of mobile telephony. Development of
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 18

COUNTRY FOCUS
AUTHOR – Adam Bernstein
5G is expected to speed up following the
proposed auction of 5G wavebands in
2022. Similarly, television broadcasting
represents an opportunity for investment
following the government’s auctioning of
two national networks.
Infrastructure and construction
With such a large economy and population,
Business Monitor International believes
that this sector will have grown by 12
percent in 2021 (post COVID) and should
maintain a growth rate of 3.1 percent
per year until 2025. As for overall value,
Globaldata thinks the construction
market was worth $151.2bn in 2021.
Announced projects include a new
airport for Mexico City at the Santa Lucía
Military Base; the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
Inter-Oceanic Corridor; the ‘Maya Train’
on the Yucatan Peninsula; rural roads;
and various sector-specific developments
in oil and gas production, refinery
development, agricultural production,
and mines. The Secretariat of Finance and
Public Credit reckons that this spending
should be worth around $82.56bn (2021).
Beyond the public sector, projects are
likely to include mixed-use buildings
(retail, corporate, and housing), offices,
logistics and manufacturing hubs,
shopping centres, and general retail.
Notably, there is demand for plywood,
bricks, concrete and flooring. There is
also call for environmentally friendly
products and services; Mexico has joined
the World Green Building Council (WGBC)
and is seeking to learn best practices from
Europe, Canada, and the United States.
Other sectors
Apart from these six key areas, other
sectors present opportunities too.
Tourism is important as it (pre-COVID
data from Statista) represents around 8.5
percent of GDP, employs 3.9m people,
offers 24,700 plus hotels, and offers
great value to visitors along with golden
beaches and ancient history.
When it comes to the energy sector
Mexico is ranked 13th globally in crude oil
production, 21st in crude oil reserves, 16th
in refined capacity, and 5th in logistics
infrastructure according to the US Trade
Department. Statista noted that in 2021,
the sector accounted for 3.3 percent of
GDP – part of a general decline in recent
years.
Growth did follow market liberalisation
in 2013; now foreign investors can buy
into the energy sector. But the current
government brought in law from June 2021
which prohibited private companies from
importing and exporting hydrocarbons
from a different place than authorised.
There’s also agriculture to consider
which contributes 3.8 percent of GDP –
down from 13.1 percent in 1965 as a result
of the growth of other sectors (World
Bank). The Economist thinks the sector
is worth $39.5bn in 2020. Key products
are coffee and sugarcane, bananas,
pineapples and mangos as well as cacao
and rice. Vanilla is also grown, as is cotton.
Personal Tax
Income tax is banded in to one of 11 rates
from 0 percent on income to 7735 Mexican
Pesos (MXN), up to 35 percent on anything
above MXN 3,898,140.13.
However, for employees considered
non-resident for Mexican tax purposes,
the tax rate applicable varies from 15
percent to 30 percent. The first MXN
125,900 of employment income received
in a 12-month floating period will be tax
exempt. Beyond that the rate is 15 percent
to MXN 1m, above that the rate rises to 30
percent.
Resident individuals are subject to
Mexican income tax on their worldwide
income, regardless of their nationality.
Non-residents, including Mexican citizens
who can prove residence for tax purposes
in a foreign country, are taxed only on
their Mexican-source income.
Corporate Tax
The federal corporation tax rate is 30
percent. But the tax liability for those
engaged exclusively in agriculture,
livestock, fishing, and forestry activities is
reduced by 30 percent. There are no state
corporation taxes.
VAT
The general rate is 16 percent and also
applies to digital sales. VAT exempt
transactions include the sale of land, credit
instruments, residential construction,
interest paid by banks, medical services,
education, and rentals of residential
property. There’s a zero rate for the likes of
publications, basic foodstuffs, medicines,
and agricultural goods and services.
Compulsory profit sharing
Although not a tax, every business unit
with employees (irrespective of the type
of organisation) is required to distribute
10 percent of its annual profits among all
employees, except general directors and
managers. £1 is worth around 23.5 MXN
at the time of writing.
IN SUMMARY
So, despite the description of Mexico by
the presenters of Top Gear, it’s patently
clear that while its culture differs from
ours. It’s most certainly an economy
worthy of consideration; there’s much to
look to exploit – especially as the UK has
left the European Union.
Adam Berstein is a freelance writer.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 19

CAREERS
INCLUSIVE CULTURE
Everyone has a role to play in creating
an organisation's culture.
AUTHOR – Natascha Whitehead
IT can sometimes be hard to think of
how we, as individuals, can make a
real impact on an organisation’s culture
and work environment. It was recently
National Inclusion Week – which is a
chance to remember what we should be
doing as individuals to support inclusion in the
workplace.
If you are stuck for how to do just that, here’s
seven ways you can help:
1BE OPEN
Be open to sharing aspects of your
experiences and values with your
colleagues. While it may seem
daunting, starting open conversations
about what makes us who we
are can pave the way for more inclusive
work environments. Sharing your identity at
work can also help show support for those
around us, particularly those from marginalised
groups. For example, sharing your pronouns
can show solidarity with non-binary or
transgender colleagues, in addition to helping
normalise the acceptance of differences in the
workplace. It’s particularly pertinent if this
openness comes from those higher up in a
business.
2REACH OUT
Reach out and connect with new
people in your organisation. With many
companies offering hybrid or flexible
working arrangements, it’s now not
the norm for colleagues to see each
other face-to-face every day. Reaching out and
connecting with colleagues across different
teams, departments, offices, and even countries
can reduce feelings of isolation and exclusion
for individuals within organisations.
3THANK COLLEAGUES
Thank colleagues who actively contribute
to inclusion activities. Acknowledge and
empower those around you who play a
part in creating an inclusive workplace.
From big actions, like running inclusion
networks and initiatives, to smaller everyday
acts of kindness, championing colleagues who
are creating inclusive environments will ensure
they feel valued and appreciated for their great
work.
❝
A workplace
culture built on trust,
respect, equity, and
inclusivity enables
us all to live by our
values and achieve
our ambitions at
work.
❝
4EXPAND YOUR NETWORK
Enrich and expand your network in
the workplace and beyond. The power
of having a diverse network of friends
and connections at work should not
be underestimated. By reaching out
and connecting with different types of people
at work, either virtually or face-to-face, you’ll
benefit from more diverse perspectives, and
you’ll achieve a greater understanding of other
people’s lived experiences.
Acknowledge gaps in your knowledge, ask
questions, and make time for your own learning
We all have a responsibility to learn more
about the struggles that others face and the role
we can play in creating inclusive cultures, both
inside and outside of the workplace. It shouldn’t
be the sole responsibility of those with lived
experiences of exclusion or prejudice to educate
others, raise awareness, or take action – we all
need to take ownership of our own learning.
5BE AN ALLY
Be an active inclusion ally by developing
your knowledge and listening to those
around you. It’s possible to be an
inclusion ally, no matter what position
you hold in your organisation. Through
acknowledging gaps in your own knowledge,
you’ll learn more about the oppressions that
others face and become a better ally. You can
help to create a safer space for everyone in the
workplace through allyship.
6INVEST TIME
Commit to investing your time in at least
one programme designed to promote
inclusivity. To achieve meaningful
change and make lasting improvements
to workplace inclusivity, long-term
action and commitments need to be made.
Reflect on the unique challenges impacting your
organisation and consider what actions you can
take to overcome these in the future.
We can all take small, simple actions to
support a feeling of belonging for all – to make
our workplaces more open and inclusive. A
workplace culture built on trust, respect, equity,
and inclusivity enables us all to live by our
values and achieve our ambitions at work.
Natascha Whitehead is Business
Director & UK Channel Lead of Hays
Credit Management.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 20

Thursday 2 February,
Royal Lancaster London
KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED FOR
THE SHORTLIST ANNOUNCEMENT
ON 7 NOVEMBER
Following a record breaking 2022 event the
CICM British Credit Awards are back for 2023.
The British Credit Awards recognise the stand out achievements
of the most deserving individuals, teams and organisations in the
international credit industry. Join us as we celebrate your achievements
and recognise all the hard work you have achieved this year.
INTERESTED IN GETTING INVOLVED AND
SPONSORING THE CICM BRITISH CREDIT AWARDS?
• Create new business
opportunities - target
new customers as well as
re-energising current relationships
• Exposure and profile - benefit
from high-profile branding to the
entire UK credit industry before,
during and after the event
• Increase your credibility through
association with the credit industry’s
leading association and awards
• Gain valuable profiling in Credit
Management Magazine through
awards-related editorial coverage
and post-event write-ups
• Gain critical advantage over your
competition by sponsoring the
category most relevant to you
To find out about the exceptional range of sponsorship opportunities available at the CICM British
Credit Awards please contact Will Bolton to request a copy of our full sponsorship information pack.
Will Bolton – Business Development Manager
T: +44 (0)207 484 9796 | E: will.bolton@incisivemedia.com
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 21

OPINION
PROMPT ACTION
Evolving the concept
of prompt payment.
AUTHOR – Ant Persse FCICM
YOU hear politicians say it
all the time, and it has
become something of a cliché,
but small businesses
are the lifeblood of Britain.
However, it’s not just for
the obvious reasons, such as their value
to the economy, in reality it’s because of
what they bring to people. They’re often
in small communities, hiring local people,
creating friendships, partnerships
and giving business owners the chance to
live their dream of ‘being their own boss’.
Yet behind the scenes many of them are
struggling and trying to insulate their staff
from the challenges they face. One such
challenge is a lack of cashflow, which can
mean owners cut their own salary to make
the pay roll.
So it was with some enthusiasm, albeit
slightly guarded, that the sector welcomed
the Prompt Payment Code (PPC) in the
mid 2000’s. But that enthusiasm has
slowly faded away to be replaced with
varying degrees of disappointment and
scepticism.
As a policy, there are few as well
intentioned as the Prompt Payment Code.
Yet, there are also few that appear to be as
troubled.
Powerful message
The policy wording itself delivers a
powerful message, yet if you scrunch
up the paper and throw it away,
nothing happens. No repercussions, no
consequences and more importantly no
action. In fact, those that sign it risk being
banned from the Code if they fail to follow
its rules. But what does this achieve? They
were already ignoring it in the first place.
That’s not to say the PPC is all bad. Far
from it. In some ways it performed well.
It created dialogue and debate over the
challenges of late payment and teased out
many of the issues that both sides face.
It wasn’t a case of all big companies bad,
and all small good, and it did manage to
highlight examples of best practice, as
well as the poorest.
But what we need now is a Code that
work for us in today’s market and creates
a platform to effect real change. Luckily,
the Prompt Payment Code is an excellent
place to start. It’s not a replacement that’s
needed, but an advancement.
Flexibility is key
As an industry, the pandemic taught us
one thing. One size does not fit all, and
the PPC is no different.
One key challenge is that it applies in
principle to the treatment of SMEs as a
sector by larger corporations. However,
larger businesses that are in a position
to trade with other larger businesses on
preferable payments terms such as 60, 90
or 120 days, no longer have an incentive
to trade with SMEs on 30-day terms,
as mandated by the PPC in the 2021
reforms.
In addition to that, payment terms also
give small businesses a way to compete
with other small firms, and healthy
competition is always good for economies.
If we remove payment terms as a tool
SMEs can use to compete, we stifle their
opportunity to grow. Especially when you
consider that in today’s economy, larger
corporations have the financial might
to copy and paste products designed by
SMEs and manufacture them on a large
scale in foreign markets.
The solution therefore is flexibility and
giving space for businesses to negotiate
their own terms that they’re comfortable
with, whilst also utilising technology and
reporting to ensure that those terms are
met consistently.
The PPC was always designed to inspire
prompt payment, rather than early
payment, and so, provided businesses
continue to pay promptly against the
terms agreed, then in theory, behaviour
changes become more possible and the
policy works for all. Of course, this creates
another challenge, and that comes in the
form of enforcement. Without sufficient
consequences the motivation to adhere to
the Code is lost.
Technology as yard stick
Enforcement has always been a sticking
point for the PPC: what is a proportionate
punishment, significant enough to make
a difference? Of recent, the act of naming
and shaming bad payers has seemingly
been the most popular choice. The reason
for this is reputational damage, and
rightly so.
But more important to the consequence
itself is how you reach the decision to
enforce a consequence upon a business.
❝
The solution therefore is
flexibility and giving space
for businesses to negotiate
their own terms that they’re
comfortable with, whilst
also utilising technology and
reporting to ensure that those
terms are met consistently.
❝
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 22

OPINION
AUTHOR – Ant Persse FCICM
❝
As a result, and thanks to being able to rely on knowing exactly when they will
be paid, small business owners can sleep safely without worry that business
can be adversely affected by a lack of cash.
To this end, measurement is crucial to
ensuring that consequences are enforced
upon the right people.
Thanks to advancements in both
technology and Government policy, unlike
in 2008 when the policy was written,
we now have the tools to track late payers
and identify those who are failing to adhere
to the policy.
The Government released new legislation
in 2017 that mandated business
that met a minimum of two out of three
thresholds to report on their payment
performance annually. These thresholds
are:
£36 million annual turnover
£18 million balance sheet
250 employees
needed to genuinely and more effectively
change attitudes to prompt payments.
As a result, and thanks to being able
to rely on knowing exactly when they
will be paid, small business owners
can sleep safely without worrying that
their business be adversely affected by a
lack of cash. In addition, they have the
confidence that those who negatively
impact their business by paying late will
be held accountable and in turn, will
hopefully, pay on time in future. What’s
more, small businesses will retain the
flexibility and control over their payment
terms as a negotiating tool for future
business.
Ant Persse is the CEO of Saltare.
This ensures a considerable number of
businesses across the UK are compelled
to report their payment performance
annually.
This therefore mean the Office of
the Small Business Commissioner has
at its disposal the data needed to track
and subsequently name and shame bad
payers annually.
However, if the Government went one
step further, and mandated the use of
technology to evidence when, where and
how each invoice was paid, we would
have visible and un-arguable proof of
both best and worst practice, helping to
identify late payers in any sector at any
point within a tax year.
Looking forward
The PPC has done good work in changing
the behaviour of business to an extent,
and since its inception and reform in
2021, it has served a purpose, to a point,
to instil confidence in small and micro
businesses.
However, in the wake of a pandemic
in which business have learnt to flex,
opening up new revenues streams,
finding innovative ways to extend credit
lines and lengthening payment terms,
installing a level of flexibility within the
Code is becoming essential.
And in the age of technology, utilising
systems that can monitor, analyse and
flag late payers will give the Office of the
Small Business Commissioner the powers
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 23

CICM TRAINING
Training courses that offer high-quality approaches
to credit-related topics and practical skills
Now, more than ever, the Credit Management and Collections industry is
seeing drastic changes and impacts that affect the day-to-day roles of Credit
and Collections teams.
CICM Training offers high-quality approaches to credit-related topics.
Granting you the practical skills and necessary tools to use in your workplace
and the ever-changing industry. A highly qualified trainer, with an array of
credit management experience, will grant you the knowledge, improved
results, and greater confidence you need for your teams to succeed in the
Credit Management profession.
Get trained with your
professional body and the only
Chartered organisation that delivers
Credit Management training
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 24

On-Demand | Online | Face-to-Face
METHODS OF DELIVERY
CICM Training courses can be delivered through a variety of
options, ensuring a range of opportunities for your teams to
be trained on the most up-to-date methods in the industry.
CICM On-Demand
Training
CICM Online
Training
CICM Face-to-Face
Training
On-Demand training can be viewed anytime, anywhere with our
downloadable training videos.
Online training will be for those who find it easy to learn from the space
of their home or office.
Face-to-face training It’s been a long time coming but now you can mingle
and learn together in the same room as your colleagues and peers.
TRAINING COURSES
CICM have a collection of training courses to meet the needs of your Credit and
Collections’ teams. Take a look at the courses below and start training towards the
CICM Professional Standard.
Advanced Skills in Collections • Best Practice Approach to Collections
Best Practice Skills to Assess Credit Risk • Collect that Cash • Credit Bootcamp Effective
Communication in the Credit Role • Emergency Guide to Credit
Harness your leadership Style • Know Your Customer • Managing Insolvency
Reflect and Develop • Set Targets that Work
For more details, visit our website, scan the barcode
or contact us at info@cicm.com
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 25

HIGH COURT ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
A new path
The HCEOA’s changing education pathway reflects a
wider drive to develop and modernise the High Court
enforcement world.
AUTHOR – Alan J. Smith
AS an association, we are
constantly looking for ways
to support our members
and to improve High Court
enforcement. A key part
of that is ensuring that
we continue to raise standards across the
profession by supporting our student and
associate members on their journey to
become High Court Enforcement Officers.
That is the driving force behind the
HCEOA’s new partnership with the CICM.
We’ve engaged the CICM to work with us
to revisit the Level 4 qualifications and
certificates that form a key part of our
members’ education pathway from student
to full membership status.
This new look education pathway is just
one of the initiatives we’re working on that
we believe will not only help to modernise
the enforcement profession but also help us
strengthen its diversity and ensure its longterm
sustainability.
The new process will see the HCEOA
adopting both a new look Level 4 Diploma
in High Court Enforcement and a new,
regulated CICM Level 4 Certificate in High
Court Enforcement for practical experience
which is required for accreditation and
authorisation. Both will be run and
accredited by CICM.
Traditionally, the route to becoming
a High Court Enforcement Officer was
dependent upon achieving a Level 4 Diploma
in High Court Enforcement and two years
of demonstrated experience assessed
internally by an existing HCEO.
Not only will this make the key education
pathway in High Court enforcement entirely
independent, but it will also enhance
professionalism by ensuring everyone
entering the industry has access to the
best learning materials available as well as
regulating the practical experience as part of
their journey to becoming HCEOs.
For anyone currently working in credit
management, or considering a career
change, being a HCEO can open up new
commercial opportunities as well as offering
a valuable transferable skillset, such as
enhanced legal skills, people management,
relationship building and conflict resolution.
We’re hopeful that the new, independent
accreditation will enable us to attract a
wider selection of candidates from outside
of our existing talent pool, including current
and new members of the CICM, something
the association has been keen to do for some
time.
This is a critical step in moving towards a
more diverse profession which recognises
and values the variety of experiences and
skills that come from a wide range of
backgrounds and circumstances.
This is important as we look to futureproof
the profession by attracting ‘new blood’ to
ensure future generations of HCEOs can
continue supporting UK businesses and
individuals by enforcing their judgments
and recovering money that is owed to them.
Prior to enrolling new entrants onto the
Level 4 qualifications, the CICM, along with
the HCEOA, will manage the transition of
current learners on the HCEOA’s training
programme, ensuring no time or learning is
lost for those already on the journey.
We’re a small profession, but a career
in enforcement, and in High Court
enforcement in particular, can be hugely
fulfilling and challenging but ultimately
rewarding. Our challenge is to reach out
to appeal to more people who are working
in and around the legal and Enforcement
worlds (and eventually beyond) and help
them realise that High Court enforcement
could be the right opportunity for them.
Doing nothing is not an option. Every
profession needs to continuously renew and
refresh the talent pool, and enforcement
is certainly no exception. We’re already
starting to see an impact – four out of every
High Court Enforcement Officers appointed
in the past 12 months have come from
outside of the major firms, and we know
there is interest from others to become a
HCEO.
In many ways this new education pathway
is just the start. There is plenty more for us to
do, and we’re certainly not being complacent
as we look to the future within a profession
that has changed significantly over the past
20 years. There is lots to do, but we’re ready
for the challenge, and this new education
partnership with CICM gives us a great start.
Alan J. Smith FCICM is Chairman of the
High Court Enforcement Officers
Association (HCEOA).
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 26

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Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 27

Climate Control
How is the collections and debt purchase
sector faring as we head into 2023?
AUTHOR – Chris Leslie
"shall we turn the
heating on?...what in
this climate, no chance
mate."
❝
We are now in a position where, while the state will subsidise household
energy costs to a very large degree, consumers look set to still face significant
rising costs accompanied by higher personal finance and housing costs.
❝
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 28

CONSUMER CREDIT
AUTHOR – Chris Leslie
AS the wider economic
environment continues to
dominate the news agenda,
it’s worth taking stock where
the UK’s debt collection and
debt purchase sector fits
into this picture, what risks and prospects
lie ahead and what should be the collective
policy priorities as we head towards 2023.
At the CSA’s recent UK Credit & Collections
conference in Manchester, there was much
talk about the cost-of-living issues facing
consumers, though these pressures were
mostly anticipated to begin squeezing
repayment rates as the winter months draw
on and extra heating needs are accompanied
by highly inflated energy bills.
What few anticipated was that the change
of administration to the Truss/Kwarteng
leadership would be so quickly accompanied
by a series of fiscal commitments that
upset the gilt bond markets, putting even
further upward pressure on mortgage and
Bank of England interest rates. We are now
in a position where, while the state will
subsidise household energy costs to a very
large degree, consumers look set to still
face significant rising costs accompanied
by higher personal finance and housing
costs.
With a typical two-year fixed mortgage
now knocking on six percent, this is
predicted to absorb 27 percent of household
incomes as opposed to around 17 percent
housing costs that most have been used to
in recent times. In other words, the squeeze
on available income after accounting for
essential expenditure is still set to get worse
in the coming year – which in turn will
raise the number of households in deficit
budgets and make the collections challenge
harder still.
We can therefore anticipate a difficult
economic climate in which UK consumers
will continue to borrow but if we have now
moved past the era of ultra-low interest
rates, which seems likely even if the
Government calms the markets somewhat,
then default rates are likely to increase
and the attention of policy-makers and the
media on finance costs and forbearance
needs will also increase. All the more
reason, then, for the collections sector to
maintain the creditable progress made over
recent years in engaging professionally with
customers, upholding high standards and
working with creditors to maintain credit
availability by helping lenders recover
sums owed.
Public perceptions
Public perceptions will continue to play
a large part in the reputational standing
of the collections sector – something
that regulators and the Government will
monitor closely. If the cost of credit is going
to be increasingly under the spotlight,
it is imperative that the wider public
understand that collections isn’t something
done for the sake of it, but is a necessary
part of the process of maintaining ongoing
credit facilities at affordable levels for as
many people as possible.
Fortunately, the evidence suggests
that the numbers of people who ‘get it’
far exceed those who do not believe that
collections is a necessary function. The
Credit Services Association commissioned
pollsters Opinium in the summer and asked
a nationally representative sample whether
they agreed or disagreed with the statement
that ‘It is reasonable for people who miss
payments on the money they owe to be
contacted by a debt collection agency’.
By a ratio of more than two to one, 42
percent felt this was indeed ‘reasonable’
versus only 20 percent who felt it was
‘unreasonable’, with a sizeable remaining
section of the population unsure (see graph
on following page). This suggests that, while
further financial education is always
important in sharing with the public how
the financial services cycle operates, we
have strong grounds for optimism that more
people understand why debt collection
agencies must exist than those who do not.
The CSA’s latest survey of member firms
suggests that the UK collections sector now
holds over £30bn of consumer debt for
collection, across more than 25m customer
accounts. In terms of commercial debt, the
sector holds £4bn across 1.5m accounts.
So there is an ongoing and significant
role for collections and debt purchase
agencies to play in the economy, not to
mention the employment contribution
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 29 continues on page 30 >

CONSUMER CREDIT
AUTHOR – Chris Leslie
made by CSA member firms who employ
over 11,000 people across the country.
Despite the role played by our sector
and the level of public awareness, we still
consistently see myths and misconceptions
repeated often in heightened media
terms, which can damage consumer
confidence in engaging with collections
agencies. The truth is that early dialogue
and conversations between customers,
creditors and their collections agencies
remain one of the best ways to tackle
problem debt, addressing difficulties and
accessing forbearance that some people
are unaware might be available.
Positive development
Earlier this year we saw the positive
development of the Money & Pensions
Service emphasise on its public website
the potential gains for consumers in
engaging directly with DCAs. Signposting
to independent debt advice is of course
extremely important. But it is also
essential for those who shape public
opinion in money and finance issues to
state the obvious too often neglected; that
picking up the phone and talking with
lenders and collections agencies is likely
to be a beneficial way forward for all
concerned – the sooner the better. We can
take heart that our sector has a reasonable
track record in providing good customer
outcomes. One way to measure this is
to examine complaint levels, and while
of course there will always be customer
complaints, CSA member firms tell us
that these tend to arise on less than a fifth
of one percent of accounts, from which
around 27 percent are ‘upheld’ by firms
when examined further.
This complaints’ rate is echoed by the
complaints trend received by CSA in
respect of allegations that a member firm
has breached our Code of Practice, where
we have an ‘uphold’ rate of 34 percent
this year. So too is this reflected in the
complaints data reported recently by
the independent Financial Ombudsman
Service, which says that in 1,101 cases,
24 percent were upheld, which compares
well with the 43 percent uphold rate
across all other financial services types.
Our Opinium polling asked those
who said they had been contacted by a
debt collection agency in the last five
years to rate the professionalism of the
agency that contacted them. The results
were pleasingly positive, with a majority
responding that their contact experience
had been ‘good’ or ‘excellent’.
This is a finding that would probably
confound those who are in the habit of
demonising the process of debt recovery,
who tend to paint a negative portrait of a
heavy-handed process placing additional
stress on those in debt. The reality is
that many customers are pleasantly
surprised that helpful and patient support
is available, together with options to
rephase payments over a longer time
scale or reach a settlement arrangement
involving significant forbearance.
Testing times
The next few years, however, will be
testing. The end of the era of ultra-low
interest rate comes at a time when new
regulations such as the FCA’s Consumer
Duty are being introduced. The collections
sector is well placed to cope – and navigate
possible reforms to insolvency on the
horizon and debt relief initiatives such as
the Statutory Debt Repayment Plans.
If collections agencies and debt
purchases continue to be guided by the
principles of the CSA’s Code of Practice,
they will succeed in further bolstering
their professionalism, resolving problem
debts for customers, and proving their
value in maintaining credit in the
economy more widely.
Chris Leslie is the Chief Executive
of the Credit Services Association.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 30

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Probably thebest debt collection network worldwide
Razvan-Costin
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Semnat digital de Razvan-
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Data: 2022.08.08 18:47:58
+03'00'
Moneyknows no borders—neither do we

International Trade
Monthly round-up of the latest stories
in global trade by Andrea Kirkby.
Changing demographics -
more babies needed
ACCORDING to Australian website
quillette.com, the world is facing slowing
population growth and demographic
decline. In fact, total world population
growth last year was the smallest in half
a century and the global population is
expected to peak sometime later this
century. And by 2050, it’s reckoned that
some 61 countries will see population
declines to the point that the UN thinks
that by 2100 the population will be about
a billion below today’s level – and it’ll be
greyer. To make the point the site states
that in 1970 the median world age was 21.5
years. By 2020, it was 30.9, but by 2100 it
will be 41.9.
As to where the greatest changes are,
Europe’s birth-rate is now below the 2.1
rate required to replace the population; the
birth rate in England and Wales has hit a
record low and a fifth of all British women
are childless by mid-life; and fertility has
dropped “precipitously” in China, Taiwan,
South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore.
And in Japan, population growth has been
declining since the 1960s.
This is a problem for societies and
businesses alike. On the one hand there’s
a looming pension crisis where the
populations won’t have saved as much
as they ought – a problem exacerbated
by the current economic crisis, and there
will be fewer working and paying into the
system at a time when more are taking
money out of the system.
But for firms, demand for goods and
services is going to change and they need
to plan ahead by watching the trends. In
broad brush terms, if you can be first to
market with an appropriate product or
service for the new demographic, you’ll
gain first mover advantage.
GO GO VIETNAM
HOW ironic is it that a former foe of the
capitalist US, communist Vietnam, is
doing rather well economically, reports
credit insurer Atradius.
It noted that the Communist Party of
Vietnam (CPV) remains firmly in power,
despite some public discontent over the
lack of personal freedom, government
corruption and land seizures by the
administration. But it appears that
effective measures against the spread
of Coronavirus increased the legitimacy
of the Government.
Corruption is still a problem
which the CPV seems determined to
fight and disputes with China over the
South China Sea are serious issues to
deal with. However, the economy is
doing OK.
It saw annual growth rates around
7.0 percent between 2012 and 2019, a
slowdown to 2.9 percent in 2020 and
to 2.6 percent in 2021 because of the
pandemic. But it was one of the few
economies that managed to avoid an
economic contraction in 2020.
Atradius reckons that in 2022 the
economy will grow by 7.7 percent and
private consumption should grow by
7.2 percent. There may be a small
denting of these numbers
as economies elsewhere
struggle and so require
less. But nevertheless,
Vietnam should be on any
exporter’s to visit list –
especially if they’re
involved in agriculture,
consumer goods,
electronics/ICT,
machines and
engineering, and
transportation
and logistics.
Government backs Middlesbrough boat builders
FAMILY-owned shipbuilder, Parkol
Marine Engineering, has launched
a new vessel, Green Isle, which on
completion will sail to the west coast of
Ireland from Middlesbrough, marking
its expansion across the country.
The boat is the second to be built as
a result of a new £3m Bond support
package from UK Export Finance
(UKEF). And the contract is the second
exporting win for the business,
with the first contract secured in
2020 for a 27-meter fishing trawler
commissioned by Irish fishing
company D&N Kirwan.
UKEF’s Bond Support deal helped
Parkol and NatWest to provide security
for the buyer’s stage payments in the
form of advance payment guarantees.
Sally Atkinson, director of Parkol
Marine Engineering said: “Exporting
has opened up new opportunities
for our business. Thanks to UKEF’s
support, we’ve unlocked another
major contract and expanded our
business in Ireland by delivering a
high-quality vessel. We’re looking
forward to continuing to capitalise on
our exporting potential and reach new
markets.”
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 32

The dollar hurts developing countries
FOR more than a year the US dollar has
been increasing in value relative to other
major currencies including sterling and
the euro. Following the UK chancellors
mini-budget, sterling has fellen to its
lowest point against the dollar in more
than 50 years as the markets have
little confidence in the Government’s
policies and the pound. It’s not ideal for
British importers – and the public – as it
increases costs of goods priced in dollars,
but it will help exporters as their goods
become comparatively better value.
At the time of writing (End September)
the dollar to sterling rate dropped as low
as $1.04. The euro against the dollar was
worth €1.04 too.
However, the dollar’s rise isn’t
great for developing countries either,
especially those that owe debts that are
dollar denominated. Sri Lanka and the
Lebanon are prime examples; their debts
Changing tastes
essentially have become more expensive
to service.
And the problem could get worse as the
US Fed increases interest rates higher
and faster as it attempts to fight inflation.
So, if you’re trading with a developing
or emerging country that is known to
have a high level of indebtedness and/
or high inflation rates – think Turkey
and Argentina – then plan for trouble.
You risk both non-payment as firms fail
in faltering economies and a decline in
business as customers become unable to
make purchases.
While Sri Lanka is the most recent
offender in terms of defaulting on
its debt, Alexander Tziamalis, senior
lecturer in economics at Sheffield Hallam
University, thinks that other countries
in “grave danger” of defaulting on their
debts include El Salvador, Ghana and
Bangladesh.
CHINA’S GROWING INFLUENCE:
THE SOLOMON ISLANDS
FOR those wanting to trade where China is
exerting its influence – a warning.
According to Nikkei Asia, the
Government of the Solomon Islands has
told foreign naval vessels to stay away,
including the US coast guard ship Oliver
Henry and HMS Spey.
The move comes as the government
there wants to borrow almost $100m from
China to pay for mobile phone towers
supplied by Huawei. It’s ordered public
broadcaster SIBC to seek approval before
airing stories – all at a time when the
OUR tastes, or rather, what we’re being sold,
are changing if a report in MoneyWeek is to
be believed.
Apparently healthy comestibles such as
sea-moss smoothies and spicy rose wine
cocktails are in vogue. Selfridges is now
selling a variety of seaweed-based £40
tonics, £30 jars of edible gel and £7 fresh
smoothies. The retailer reckons that sales
of related products are up 27 percent in the
past month.
The trend is rising overseas too. In the
US, a less healthy yet equally unusual
trend among TikTok users has led to wine
drinkers up in the US adding jalapeño
peppers to their wine.
prime minister is trying to delay the
country’s 2023 election.
Many fear that the country is lurching
toward authoritarianism and it’s hardly
surprising when the threat to prevent
foreign journalists from entering the
Solomon Islands if they’ve criticised its ties
to China is considered.
The point is this. If you want to export
to countries with ‘interesting’ connections
you’ve got to mind what you say and write.
Now whether you want to self-censor, that’s
up to you.
Something else to consider is the
decriminalisation of recreational cannabis
in the US last year, and while it’s not yet
legal to sell marijuana, it can be smelt
everywhere in New York as unlicensed
dispensaries are tolerated by police. But
outlets are due to be granted licences within
months, and the city is close to opening
a cannabis market worth around $10bn a
year – and with growth potential, given that
more Americans now smoke marijuana
(16 percent) than cigarettes (11 percent)
according to a Gallup poll.
So if you’re looking for an edge or a new
market, very simply, find a trend and sit on
its coat tails.
BRITAIN IS
FAILING IN AFRICA
THE Spectator recently commented that
the US, Russia and France, “are courting
Africa” while China has been there for
decades. It credits China with doing well
because it “gives local governments what
they want – mainly infrastructure to
support economic growth for a growing
population” – while understanding the
cost of business in “ways that squeamish
Westerners could never stomach”.
The publication said of Africans that
“every time the Chinese visit, we get a
hospital, every time the British come, we
get a lecture.”
But – and this should be important to
exporters – Africa is rising in prominence
because in less than 30 years, 25 percent
of the global population will be African.
Notably, 75 percent of Africans are under
30, the continent has more than half of
the world’s arable land, many minerals
including critical metals and 17 rare earth
elements.
So, British exporters have a choice.
Gain some elbow room at the table while
listening instead of talking – or watch
the Chinese and other nations gobble up
African business.
CURRENCY UK
❝
“Every time the Chinese
visit, we get a hospital, every
time the British come, we get
a lecture.”
❝
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 1.16042 1.08992 Flat
GBP/USD 1.14789 1.05042 Down
GBP/CHF 1.13465 1.03458 Up
GBP/AUD 1.81444 1.61473 Up
GBP/CAD 1.56372 1.43178 Up
GBP/JPY 167.804 151.217 Flat
This data was taken on 17th October and refers to the
month previous to/leading up to 16th October 2022.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 33

BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY
Power to the People
Manufacturers in both the US and the UK are
facing similar challenges when it comes to
international expansion.
AUTHOR – Adam Bernstein
IN an age of globalisation where the world has
shrunk so that communication and trade can be
done at the press of a button, it’s telling that despite
threats such as COVID, protectionism and even the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, the world economy is
surviving.
As the Bank of England noted in the July 2021 issue of
Bank Overground, the COVID pandemic caused significant
disruption to global trade - in 2020, it fell by 8.9 percent. But
trade has rebounded. Indeed, the World Economic Forum
said in a report entitled three charts that show the state of
global trade in 2022 – and they might surprise you, published
September 2022, that global trade was 10 percent higher
than pre-pandemic levels in May 2022.
But there are still plenty of threats around. Weaponised
energy supplies, Russia’s maintenance of its bellicose stance,
a general shortage of labour, and rising inflation are but
some. Fortunately, commerce – especially manufacturing
and transport – has become far more resilient through
greater levels of digitisation and automation. Such capitalintensive
processes meant that they could cope in an era of
social distancing.
Nevertheless, manufacturers still need to find ways to
deal with the potential for disruption to supply chains from,
for example, US action in relation to Chinese technology
abuse, rising protectionism, and regional conflicts that
spill over into the global marketplace. With the scene set,
it’s interesting to note the results of a survey from law
firm Walker Morris of 200 senior managers in US and UK
manufacturing firms, specifically, those located in the US
Midwest and the UK’s Northern Powerhouse.
It made a number of findings and noted that both regions
have plenty in common and are traditional industrial areas
that do much for exports. They have moved on and feature
newer industries including renewable energy, electric
vehicles, bioscience, nanotechnology and advanced
manufacturing. Both areas are still involved in heavy
industry, but they now possess research centres,
innovation parks and high-tech production facilities.
James Crayton, Head of Commercial at Walker
Morris, says the object of the survey was to understand
the challenges and opportunities that both regions
are facing.
In overview
From the data it appears that more than half (52
percent) of the US and UK manufacturers said that
international expansion was a goal of theirs and 93
percent saw opportunities for increased bilateral
trade. However, firms on both sides of the Atlantic
said they struggled with regulation; foreign legal
systems in particular posed a challenge for 87
percent of businesses.
At the same time, digital transformation was
on their minds, and 76 percent said that they were
investing in operational technology. But finding
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 34

BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY
AUTHOR – Adam Bernstein
❝
They have moved on and feature newer industries including renewable energy,
electric vehicles, bioscience, nanotechnology and advanced manufacturing.
Both areas are still involved in heavy industry, but they now possess research
centres, innovation parks and high-tech production facilities.
the people and skills to implement that
technology was a challenge for 76 percent of the
respondents, and 65 percent of those interested
in more bilateral trade were driven by the
desire for better access to advanced production
methodologies and processes.
In light of this Crayton comments that “with so
many shared issues, there is much to be gained
from increased trade and knowledge sharing.”
He added that “international trade is likely to be
an increasing part of many businesses’ growth
strategies. Increased cross-border cooperation
and learning should go hand in hand with this,
as well as careful consideration of the legal
challenges it brings.”
Greater levels of disruption
Manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic said
they faced similar challenges. In fact, disruption
and change is nothing new to them. But in
recent times manufacturing has had to deal
with thornier issues such as COVID, US political
uncertainty, Brexit and geopolitical issues with
China and Russia.
But as Crayton comments that “most of the
problems wrought by the pandemic aren’t new:
in many cases, they exacerbated already-present
issues. Manufacturing’s exposure to commodity
markets and ‘just-in-time’ procurement meant
businesses were affected by economic shock or
supply chain interruption immediately; both of
which are happening with increasing frequency.”
He points out that international trade disputes
and pressure to become more environmentally
sustainable are similarly on the rise. Interestingly,
the survey found that another challenge
is finding the right M&A opportunities and 38
percent said this can be difficult.
And then there’s the matter of the skills gap in
manufacturing which follows on from a rapidly
aging workforce and a shortfall of new hires. On
top of that are problems with new regulations
– a challenge for 68 percent of respondents,
and stiff competition made harder through the
deployment of technology.
One approach to dealing with these challenges
found by the survey is diversification into
new markets or sectors. On this Crayton says
that “over half of our respondents (52 percent)
are pursuing international expansion as a
strategic goal and one in three (34 percent)
is targeting growth through mergers or
acquisitions.” He added that spreading risk
and achieving growth through expansion is
attractive, but the biggest challenge businesses
face is regulation.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com /November 2022 / PAGE 35
continues on page 36 >

BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY
AUTHOR – Adam Bernstein
Regulatory headaches
As with firms elsewhere, bureaucracy and
regulation are hurdles for both US and UK
businesses chasing international expansion.
Crayton does seem surprised that red tape
was the biggest hurdle that businesses reported
when trading internationally. He details that
some 87 percent said they were experiencing
challenges in working with foreign legal
systems, 80 percent were hindered by barriers to
trade such as tariffs and quotas, and 53 percent
said the volume of regulation in their target
market was an issue. “There are many factors
at play,” says Crayton, “from more rigorous
environmental standards and data protection
rules in response to societal changes, to the reemergence
of protectionism and embargos as a
result of political instability.”
But all is not lost he says, and he advises
starting early when forming a plan. He says that
“the regulatory landscape can appear daunting
and so the answer is to start working through
it as early as possible. Identifying the key legal,
regulatory and compliance issues that need to
be dealt with at each stage of the supply chain,
be that for the manufacturer, distributor,
retailer or an authorised representative.”
In his view, doing this provides time to
overcome any regulatory hurdles and put the
right contractual and other protections in place.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that while technology
can automate many processes, especially those
associated with finance or human resources,
regulatory compliance represents far greater
complexity. As Crayton knows from first-hand
experience, “it requires an in-depth knowledge
of the regulation in question and the markets or
scenarios it applies to.”
And he gives an instance - a US-based medical
devices company with a subsidiary in the UK.
The business sourced products worldwide,
which were stored in a warehouse in mainland
Europe before being shipped to customers
throughout the EU. This meant the company
was subject to overlapping medical devices
regulations, conformity standards and other
requirements that varied from country to
country. The company needed to understand
how they could sell and ship goods – and also
what would happen if there was a fault with a
product.
The solution, he says, was a review of the
supply chain model to map out legal roles
and responsibilities, for example, who was
responsible for ensuring appropriate conformity
assessments had been conducted and the
products marked accordingly?
Once completed the company was given
advice on what registrations, licences and
authorisations were needed at each stage and
what safeguards, procedures and contractual
clauses the company needed in order to fulfil its
responsibilities without unwittingly taking on
undue risk or liability.
❝
“A shared
language,
similar culture
and legal
systems with
commonalities
mean any
changes to
business
models can be
undertaken in
a landscape
that feels less
alien and more
familiar than
most other
locations
around the
world.”
❝
Regulation is undeniably complex but most
of it is there for a reason. It’s also unavoidable
for any business wanting to move goods a round
the world. But as Crayton says, “while it can
be time consuming, it’s a surmountable hurdle
– by understanding the detail and finding
creative commercial solutions there is usually
a way through it and this is enhanced if you
work with advisers who know your sector and
market.”
Strengthening trade ties
Apart from sharing similar challenges, the
survey found that most businesses saw
opportunity in the prospect of increased US-UK
trade.
As before, some 93 percent said they saw
opportunity for increased bilateral trade
between the US Midwest and UK Northern
Powerhouse. On this Crayton thinks such
positivity reflects the common heritage and
familiarity the US and the UK share, as well
as their proximity to major markets: “A shared
language, similar culture and legal systems with
commonalities mean any changes to business
models can be undertaken in a landscape that
feels less alien and more familiar than most
other locations around the world.”
Remarkably, Brexit doesn’t appear to have
discouraged US companies from using the
UK as an entrance into Europe as 54 percent
thought access to Europe was a bilateral trade
opportunity.
However, despite there being many shared
features in the US and UK legal systems, Crayton
says to not assume that what has been successful
at home will work again in a new overseas
market. In other words, and as he says, “doing
some diligence and seeking expert opinion on
the ground is invaluable to check assumptions.
Small changes in the legal, commercial or
taxation environment might not be visible at
first blush but could become serious issues
either immediately or further down the line.”
When respondents talked about access to
markets, knowledge and technology were the
key factors: 65 percent said bilateral trade would
grant access to more advanced production
facilities, 59 percent mentioned that access to
R&D or innovation centres would be a major
advantage, and 57 percent across the UK and the
US highlighted that access to regional markets
were a draw.
Crayton emphasises the power of this and
refers to the UK’s network of High Value Manufacturing
Catapults: “over the past decade, these
centres of industrial innovation, four of which
are located in the north of England, have become
beacons for research, development and
expertise, helping to turn ideas into commercial
applications for the UK and increasingly international
businesses…Manufacturing USA is
blazing a similar path, with four of the current
16 institutes located in the Midwest.”
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 36

BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY
AUTHOR – Adam Bernstein
It’s all about tech investment
Something else the survey discovered
was that many manufacturers had
already invested in the ‘basics’ of digital
technology with 89 percent having
already invested in cloud computing, 86
percent in cybersecurity, and 75 percent
in automation. For Crayton, it’s of note
that “most have invested in supply chain
tracking and visibility, and some form of
e-commerce portal. But moving forward,
manufacturers intend to build on this
foundation with more sophisticated
digital tools.”
Here he points out that 5G is the most
likely technology in the next few years
with 56 percent planning to invest in it
within two years. Beyond that, it appears
that similar numbers are planning to
invest in augmented, virtual or mixed
reality (53 percent) and AI and machine
learning (46 percent) over the same time
frame.
However, as Crayton has learned from
the survey, “a lack of skills is likely to be
slowing the implementation of these
higher-level technologies. 63 percent
said that a lack of in-house knowledge to
implement, operate and maintain new
technologies is a barrier to investing in
them.” Of course, technologies also bring
new legal questions which need to be
set out clearly in contracts. Consider the
rights to use a technology, how (if) it can
be owned, and how to prevent it being
exploited by rivals. And then there’s the
matter of cybersecurity – a board-level
issue – and those devices in factories
which monitor or collect data that can
be easy targets for attack. In relation to
this Crayton says firms should “ensure
they understand the security protocols
and establish industry standard processes
for maximum protection of data and
confidential information.”
Sophisticated technologies can capture
huge quantities of data which in turn
provide invaluable industry knowledge:
“Businesses,” says Crayton, “should ensure
they are very clear with their suppliers
about who can use the information
emanating from these systems and for
what purposes.”
There are also the similarities between
the countries in terms of capital
investment plans. Overall, the survey
found that 76 percent aim to invest in
operational technology and 60 percent
in skills - the numbers in the US and UK
were almost exactly the same here.
However, it’s very obvious that
technology can presents significant
hurdles for businesses. But as Crayton
explains, there are solutions to help firms
export. In particular, he suggests working
with the right advisers “to gain knowledge
and share best practice, especially so in
times of change when you don’t have all
the answers.”
He also says that digital transformation
is not just complicated from a technical
and organisational perspective, it’s also
problematic from a legal standpoint too.
And this leads to Crayton’s last comment
– that “there can be significant legal issues
to grapple with when pursuing digitally
driven change and it’s important to work
with partners who have done it before.”
His advice? “Take a step back to
understand each challenge and think
about the problems in a creative way.
Avoid a rigid approach and ensure the
commercial goal is always kept in mind.”
Conclusion
As the survey has found, the parallels
between the US Midwest and UK Northern
Powerhouse are striking in terms of the
challenges firms face, the opportunities
they seek and the investments they’re
planning.
It’s clear, however, that there are
a myriad opportunities in increased
bilateral trade between the US and UK
and companies are very aware of them.
But in so doing, there are many specific
challenges relating to international trade
that need to be countered.
Adam Berstein is a freelance writer.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 37

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
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
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
FIS GETPAID solution is a fully integrated, webbased
order-to cash (O2C) solution that helps
companies improve operational efficiencies, lower
DSO, and increase cash flow. The solution suite
includes strategic risk-based collections, artificial
intelligence, process automation, credit risk
management, deduction and dispute resolution and
cash application. FIS is a global leader in financial
services technology, providing software, services
and outsourcing of the technology that empowers
the financial world.
T: +447730500085
E: getinfo@fisglobal.com.
W: www.fisglobal.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
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 38

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 367 092
E: a.whitehurst@courtenforcementservices.co.uk
W: www.courtenforcementservices.co.uk
Shoosmiths’ highly experienced team will work
closely with credit teams to recover commercial
debts as quickly and cost effectively as possible.
We have an in depth knowledge of all areas of debt
recovery, including:
• Pre-litigation services to effect early recovery and
keep costs down • Litigation service • Insolvency
• Post-litigation services including enforcement
As a client of Shoosmiths, you will find us quick to
relate to your goals, and adept at advising you on the
most effective way of achieving them.
T: 03700 86 3000
E: paula.swain@shoosmiths.co.uk
W: www.shoosmiths.co.uk
Forums International has been running Credit and
Industry Forums since 1991 covering a range of
industry sectors and international trading. Attendance
is for credit professionals of all levels. Our forums
are not just meetings but communities which
aim to prepare our members for the challenges
ahead. Attending for the first time is free for you to
gauge the benefits and meet the members and we
only have pre-approved Partners, so you will never
intentionally be sold to.
T: +44 (0)1246 555055
E: info@forumsinternational.co.uk
W: www.forumsinternational.co.uk
Data Interconnect provides corporate Credit Control
teams with Accounts Receivable software for bulk
e-invoicing, collections, dispute management and
invoice finance. The modular, cloud-based Corrivo
platform can be configured for any business model.
It integrates with all ERP systems and buyer AP
platforms or tax regimes. Customers can self-serve
on mobile friendly portals, however their invoices are
delivered, and Credit Controllers can easily extract
data for compliance, audit and reporting purposes.
T: +44 (0)1367 245777
E: sales@datainterconnect.co.uk
W: www.datainterconnect.com
Serrala optimizes the Universe of Payments for
organisations seeking efficient cash visibility
and secure financial processes. As an SAP
Partner, Serrala supports over 3,500 companies
worldwide. With more than 30 years of experience
and thousands of successful customer projects,
including solutions for the entire order-to-cash
process, Serrala provides credit managers and
receivables professionals with the solutions they
need to successfully protect their business against
credit risk exposure and bad debt loss.
T: +44 118 207 0450
E: contact@serrala.com
W: www.serrala.com
American Express® is a globally recognised
provider of business payment solutions, providing
flexible capabilities to help companies drive
growth. These solutions support buyers and
suppliers across the supply chain with working
capital and cashflow.
By creating an additional lever to help support
supplier/client relationships American Express is
proud to be an innovator in the business payments
space.
T: +44 (0)1273 696933
W: www.americanexpress.com
Chris Sanders Consulting – we are a different sort of
consulting firm, made up of a network of independent
experienced operational credit and collections
management and invoicing professionals, with
specialisms in cross industry best practice advisory,
assessment, interim management, leadership,
workshops and training to help your team and
organisation reach their full potential in credit
and collections management. We are proud to be
Corporate Partners of the Chartered Institute of Credit
Management. For more information please contact
enquiries@chrissandersconsulting.com
T: +44(0)7747 761641
E: enquiries@chrissandersconsulting.com
W: www.chrissandersconsulting.com
Esker’s Accounts Receivable (AR) solution removes
the all-too-common obstacles preventing today’s
businesses from collecting receivables in a
timely manner. From credit management to cash
allocation, Esker automates each step of the orderto-cash
cycle. Esker’s automated AR system helps
companies modernise without replacing their
core billing and collections processes. By simply
automating what should be automated, customers
get the post-sale experience they deserve and your
team gets the tools they need.
T: +44 (0)1332 548176
E: sam.townsend@esker.co.uk
W: www.esker.co.uk
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 39

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.
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
For further information and to discuss the
opportunities of entering into a Corporate
Partnership with the CICM, please contact:
corporatepartners@cicm.com
The CICM Benevolent Fund is
here to support members of
the CICM in times of need.
Some examples of how CICM have helped our members are:
• Financed the purchase of a mobility scooter for a disabled member.
• Helped finance the studies of the daughter of a member who
became unexpectedly ill.
• Financed the purchase of computer equipment to assist an
unemployed member set up a business.
• Contributed towards the purchase of an orthopaedic bed for one
member whose condition was thereby greatly eased.
• Helped with payment for a drug, not available on the NHS, for
medical treatment of another member.
If you or any dependants are in need or in distress, please apply today – we are here to
help. (Your application will then be reviewed by the CICM Benevolent Fund committee and
you will be advised of their decision as quickly as possible)
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 40

Shortlisted as Debt Collection Agency of the Year, for
the British Credit Awards, Global Credit Recoveries Ltd
are specialists in Arbitration and Debt Collection with
offices in London & Dubai and an extensive global
partner network.
We have the ability, and network, to have someone visiting
your debtors offices, throughout EMEA, within 72 hours.
Collecting International Debt for over 28 years.
Contact Global Credit Recoveries:
Charles Mayhew FCICM or Joshua Mayhew ACICM
Email: info@globalcreditrecoveries.com
U.K Telephone: +44 (0) 203 589 6655
U.A.E Telephone: +971 (0) 4 8790 250
www.globalcreditrecoveries.com
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 41

YOUNG MONEY
Game changer
How a 19-year-old with a love of sport became
the Northwest’s Apprentice of the Year.
AUTHOR – Roshika Perera
WHEN he was 16, Sam
Johnson had his heart
set on becoming a sports
coach or manager. Today,
however, he is a credit
controller and studying
for the CICM Level 2 course.
Describing himself as a typical jack-the-lad
character who was more interested in sport and
hanging out with friends than in studying for
exams, pursuing a career in credit after leaving
school was a rather unexpected turn of events.
Despite graduating with a BTEC in Sport,
Sam’s interest in a sporting career began to
wane as he grew older. So, he began to consider
other options. Even though he felt pressured
by his teachers to go to university, he knew it
wouldn’t be the right choice for him: “I knew I
didn’t want to study for three years straight. I
thought an apprenticeship would suit me more
as an individual and it meant I could earn and
learn at the same time.”
Family conversations
After a few conversations with family members
who worked at United Utilities, he decided to
apply to be an Apprentice Credit Controller at
the company. Although he didn’t know what a
credit controller was, he was intrigued by the
job’s focus on negotiation. With a keen interest
in business and relationship-building - which
he developed playing sports and running a
side-hustle selling confectionery at school – he
had a feeling he might enjoy it.
“I know it seems daft, but I was often thinking
of new ways of getting people to come back to
me to buy sweets, chocolate, and Lucozade,” he
says. “I was always thinking about increasing
my profit and turnover, as well as building a
good relationship with my customers.”
What is certain is that a career in credit
reignited the passion he felt as a young
entrepreneur and footballer: “It seemed like
everything I had been looking for. What I most
liked about sports was the strategy, planning
and strong relationships that it takes to win.
My job as a credit controller requires the same
skills, which is why it keeps me interested dayin
and day-out.”
Finding his feet
Admittedly, the transition from school to the
world of work was tougher than expected. Just
as in school, Sam confesses that he was more
interested in making friends than learning: “I
was still one of the lads who wanted to impress
people rather than work. But that soon changed
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 42

YOUNG MONEY
AUTHOR – Roshika Perera
❝
“Winning the award makes me feel like I’ve made the right
career choice. It’s given me a huge morale boost and makes me
want to excel in my career and as an individual.”
as I became motivated by the job. It’s
what naturally happens to me when I
develop a passion for something. Once
I realised this is what I really want to
do with my career, I was determined
to work hard.”
Although he was concerned at first
by his youth and lack of experience, it
didn’t take long for him to settle into
his job. His innate confidence and
outgoing personality helped him build
relationships with more experienced
colleagues, from whom he was eager
to learn:
“I did find it nerve-wracking to
interact with people who were twice
my age and had twice as much
experience,” he admits. “But by
being approachable and showing my
colleagues that I was there to learn,
I built good relationships with them.
It’s all about getting to know people.”
CICM Apprenticeship
Sam has found the CICM Level 2
Apprenticeship to be of immense
benefit: “Doing the CICM course has
helped me massively. For example,
learning about risk management and
customer service has helped me excel
further in my job as a credit controller.
“In terms of customer service, CICM
has taught me ways to resolve a range
of customer issues. For instance,
the course has taught me methods
of calming a customer down when
they’re unhappy with our service.”
When asked what he most enjoys
about the apprenticeship, Sam says it’s
customer collections: “I enjoy creating
relationships with people before trying
to push a payment. They’re trying to
pay less while I’m trying to get more
– I love the challenge of negotiating
and coming to an agreement. After
all, it helps get cash into the business,
which is the main aim.”
Of course, he has also found the
course to be intellectually challenging:
from legal modules to accounting
principles, he has had to absorb a
huge amount of knowledge in a short
period of time.
Yet, as he has done throughout
school, Sam rose to the challenge
by building relationships with his
fellow CICM apprentices: “It’s great to
have people around you that you can
learn from and help out in return. If
I did my learning outside of CICM, I
wouldn’t have the network of people
that I’ve been introduced to. It’s been
massively beneficial to have a group
of people who are going through the
same experience as you.”
Work-life balance
Juggling a full-time job alongside
studying for the CICM course is no
easy feat. But however much work
he has to do, Sam always makes time
for friends, family and fun. And
with his newfound independence
and freedom, he is beginning to
realise that there’s more to life than
Warrington, and is keen to travel as
much as possible.
“I’ve enjoyed visiting new places
like Berlin and Dubai. I also make
sure that I still spend quality time
socialising with my friends. And of
course, sport is still a big part of my
life. Although I don’t play it as much
since leaving school, bonding with
friends over football and rugby is still
a big part of who I am.”
While reminiscing over his love of
sports, Sam realises that playing sports
from a young age has served him well
as an adult: “Playing sports has allowed
me to build relationships with people
from different backgrounds and has
made me a better communicator. I’ve
always found it easy to make friends
since I was a young kid, which has
definitely helped me progress in my
career.”
So, what’s next?
Sam remains excited and hopeful
about his career in credit management,
particularly in light of his most
recent achievement. On 6 October,
he won the award for the Apprentice
of the Year in the Northwest, a
highly prestigious competition with
hundreds of applicants. As a result, he
has been nominated for Apprentice of
the Year in England.
“Winning the award makes me feel
like I’ve made the right career choice.
It’s given me a huge morale boost and
makes me want to excel in my career
and as an individual,” he concludes.
❝
“In terms of
customer service,
CICM has taught
me ways to
resolve a range of
customer issues.
For instance,
the course has
taught me methods
of calming a
customer down
when they’re
unhappy with our
service.”
❝
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 43

collections learning initiative
•
•
•
•
•
•
collections learning initiative
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 44

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
Adrian Laljee
Hassan Cisay-Rule
Collins Edo
Kurtis Mutch
Reece Smith
Sanjay Chand
Steven Aldridge
Tyler Cole
Yama Sherzad
Martin Rutt
Amandip Kaur Bhadal
Ben Dickensen
George Harris
Jacqueline Burbank
Lorna Smith
Nitin Patel
Sam Allsopp
Stephanie Hill
Susan Orchard
Madeleine Hubel
Mobolaji Coker
Rebecca Nyhlén
Emma Blood
Silvana Spada
debbie Cook
Thomas Brunt
Denzil Hannam
Danielle Hitchin
Katrina Howarth
Emily Pratt
Emma Neville
Kemal Kasapovic
Ramona Barbosu
Aimee Woolnough
Austen Constantinou
Temitope Okubote
Jolanda Buth
Michael Quinn
Greg Gaszcak
Christopher Martin
Lyn Whipp
Matthew Walmsley
Kadeen Barrett-Edwards
Sara Bennett
Cheryl Fenwick
Paula Mäkinen-Dantas
Lisa Thompson
Nazia Saleem
Leo Penney
Dean Moffat
Ricole Douglas-Francis
Matthew Fowler
Simon Williams
AFFILIATE
Hawawu Salifu
Martin Storrer
Belinda Verdi
Charlotte Underhill
Claire Collier
Emma Wright
Jayne Donlan
John Corns
Lisa Mould
Rozwana Parveen
Lucy Dalton
Sukhi Sidhu
Calum Scriven
Mark Eden
Katie Rabin
Rukeya Khayer
Sandy Jagpal
Andrew Ould
Jurgita Maminskaite
Mahsa Azimy
Parmesh Nijjar
Rachel Sweeney
Sarah Smith
Rebecca Hawkes
Becki Tustin
Ciara Barry
Jacqueline Hackleton
Lisa Konrath
Congratulations to our current members who have upgraded their membership
UPGRADED MEMBERS
Lorna Westgarth-Pearce MCICM
Morgan Sheldon FCICM
AWARDING BODY
Congratulations to the following, who successfully achieved Diplomas
Level 3 Diploma in Credit Management (ACICM)
Lanza Wilson Erica Guthrie Donna Buyer
Raise your credibility and
boost your career prospects
– Apply for your upgrade today
Contact: info@cicm.com for more details
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 45

LEGAL MATTERS
A respectable face
A senior partner helped herself to money from her
firm’s client account. Were the innocent partners liable
to the beneficiaries, or was a defence open to them?
AUTHOR – Peter Walker
respectable face can sometimes
hide unpleasantness costing
money for innocent people and,
possibly, for Credit Managers.
A.
On 25 March 2017 the Yorkshire
Post, reported that a 67-yearold
senior partner in a firm of solicitors stole
‘almost £4m’ from her firm’s client accounts
‘to fund a lavish lifestyle for herself and close
family members.’
Nothing was sacred for this person who at
one time was registrar of the Church of England
Diocese of Wakefield. Her activities included
the misappropriation of funds from the Bishop
of Wakefield fund.
The immediate effect of the trial was a sevenyear
prison sentence, the financial collapse
of her solicitor’s firm, and the loss of jobs of
the employees. There were legal problems to
be sorted out many years later such as by the
judges of the Court of Appeal in Bishop of Leeds v
Dixon Coles & Gill [2022] 2 WLR 16.
They learnt of the discovery by one of
the partners on Christmas Eve 2015 of an
unauthorised payment of some £5,000
by another partner, from the firm’s client
account. It must have been an unpleasant
festive season, because there were more
discoveries, which led eventually to the criminal
proceedings.
The Yorkshire Post referred to ‘a crooked lawyer’
who ‘plundered’ the firm’s client accounts
‘of almost £4m to fund her addiction to high
living.’ She was also described as ‘a pillar of the
church’, a onetime registrar with the Diocese of
Wakefield, who ‘stole [money] belonging to the
Bishop of Wakefield Fund’.
She pleaded guilty, so she was sentenced to
seven years in prison, but that was not an end
to the matter. She was struck off the Solicitors’
Roll, and she was ordered to repay some of the
money. The Yorkshire Post reported that her son,
who, according to a judge had ‘buried his head
in the sand, had received some of the money,
but was ordered to repay some of that.
The case reveals therefore some possibilities
of restitution from the proceeds of crime, and
not only from the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
I was astonished to discover that the Police
Property Act 1897 is still around – in the 1970s I
used its procedure to recover some property for
a retailer of which I was the Company Secretary.
It has been much modified, for example, by the
Police (Property) Regulations 1997 (SI 1997 No
1908).
❝
‘A crooked
lawyer’ who
‘plundered’ the
firm’s client
accounts ‘of
almost £4m
to fund her
addiction to
high living.’
❝
Defence
There was plenty to keep the lawyers busy, and
they included judges of the Court of Appeal
in Bishop of Leeds v Dixon Coles & Gill [2022]
2WLR 16. The Bishop and the Leeds Diocesan
Board of Finance claimed compensation for
misappropriation of funds from the former firm
and fraudulent breach of trust from the second
defendant, i.e. the senior partner. In reality,
the innocent partners were facing the music
too. The claim arose out of four conveyancing
transactions, where the Diocese only received
part of the proceeds.
The innocent partners were truly innocent, so
the judges considered whether the provisions of
the Partnership Act 1890 could help. According
to section 9 ‘Every partner of a Firm is liable
jointly with the other partners for all debts and
obligations or the firm incurred while he is a
partner.’ Section 10 refers to ‘any wrongful act
or omission of a partner acting in the ordinary
course of business of the firm’, etc., causing
loss or injury to any third person (not being
a partner) where the firm has to make good
the loss. Section 11 sets out some examples of
misapplication of funds, when the firm is also
liable. Section 12 emphasises the liability of
each of the partners in certain circumstances.
Section 13 considers a partner acting as trustee
who improperly employs trust property in the
business or on the account of the partnership.
Wrongful act
The Law Lords discussed some of these
provisions in Dubai Aluminium Co Ltd v Salaam
[2003] 2 AC 366. The plaintiff made several
payments totalling some US$50m under a
bogus consultancy agreement. There were
various bogus sub-agreements too. One of
the defendants was represented by a firm of
solicitors, and although there were claims
against one of the partners alleging dishonesty,
albeit not tested in a court of law, the remaining
partners were innocent.
The firm, however, had settled a US$10m
claim, and they sought a contribution from the
defendant, who was one of its clients and one of
the fraudsters. The claim was based on the Civil
Liability (Contribution) Act 1978. Section 1(1)
which states that any person liable in respect
of any damage suffered by another person may
recover a contribution from any other person
liable for the same damage. The court concluded
that the defendant was liable, but then had to
decide whether the firm was liable for the loss.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 46

LEGAL MATTERS
AUTHOR – Peter Walker
The Law Lords noted that the reference
to unlawful acts and omissions in section
10 of the Partnership Act was not limited
to common law tort. Those unlawful acts
and omissions included other matters
such as breach of revenue laws (Attorney
General v Stanyforth [1721] Bunb 97).
There was also authority that a stranger
to a trust could be liable for assisting in a
breach of trust (Barnes v Addy [1874] LR 9
Ch App 244).
Lord Nicholls then considered the
nature of the acts of the senior partner of
the firm, who had drafted the consultancy
agreements for the defendants. This was
within the firm’s activities but would
not have been authorised because of
their underlying dishonest purpose. The
defendant still possessed the proceeds
from the fraud, so it was equitable that
the firm was entitled to a contribution
from him.
Limitation
There was a complication in the Bishop
of Leeds case, which was not present in
other cases. The frauds occurred more
than six years before the commencement
of the case. The partners would normally
be able to rely on the limitation of six
years of bringing an action in accordance
with the Limitation Act 1980, The Diocese
was basing its claim on the basis that the
firm of solicitors acted as trustees of the
money in the client accounts.
The Act, however, states that no period
of limitation applies to a beneficiary under
a trust under specified circumstances.
They include ‘fraud or fraudulent breach
of trust to which the trustee was a party’
(s21(1)(a)). Another exception is an action
‘to recover from the trustee trust property
in possession of the trustee, or previously
received by him and converted to his use’
(s21(1)(b)). There is a general limitation of
six years ‘from the date on which the right
of action accrued’ (s21(2)).
The result was that the firm was only
liable if the partners were ‘party or privy’
to the senior partner’s breaches of trust.
They were of course innocent, so the sixyear
limitation applied.
In the Bishop of Leeds case the judges
went further back in time, when they
considered a mortgage fraud in Thomas
v Heard [1894] 1 Ch 599. There were three
sets of mortgagees, and the second of
them authorised the sale of the mortgaged
property. The third mortgagee, Mr Searle,
was a solicitor, who acted as such in the
transaction. In 1878 he received £1,700.
£1,000 was used to pay the first mortgagees,
so the solicitor held £700, but he kept all
that money, including the amount owed
to the remaining mortgagee. He did not
tell that other mortgagee about the sale
of the property. In order to disguise his
dishonesty, he had been handing over
interest to that other mortgagee, and he
continued to do so.
All was well until 1892, when Mr Searle
became bankrupt. The other mortgagee
then discovered that he had been duped
and that he should have been paid some
£300 out of the proceeds of sale. The
plaintiff’s action was against the first
mortgagees, who did not know of Mr
Searles’s fraud. In the Court of Appeal
Lindley LJ ruled ‘that the cause of
action did accrue when Searle received
the money. Section 8 of the Trustee Act
1888 relevant at the time provided some
exceptions, such as the complicity of
the defendants, conversion of the trust
property and so on, but they did not apply.
Lindley LJ added, ‘The case seems a very
hard one; the Plaintiff has been deprived
of his property by a breach of trust of
which he knows nothing, and without any
fault or negligence of his own.’ He noted,
however, that ‘the Defendants have not
benefited’.
In the Bishop of Leeds case Asplin LJ
commented that ‘it would be surprising
if the defence of limitation afforded by
section 21(1)(a) of the Limitation Act 1980
were not available to an entirely innocent
partner merely as a result of being liable
for the fraud of a fellow partner committed
in the ordinary course of business’.
People or businesses owed money must
be vigilant and not let matters drag on. In
extreme cases they could lose their right
to their money because so much time
has elapsed that the Limitation Act 1980
comes into effect.
Peter Walker is a freelance writer.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 47

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the cost of your
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print and return to CICM, 1 Accent Park, Bakewell
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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
CM
CREDIT MANAGEMENT
THE CICM'S HIGHLY ACCLAIMED MAGAZINE
Credit Management, the magazine of the Chartered Institute of Credit
Management (CICM), is the leading publication in its field. The magazine
includes full coverage of consumer and trade credit, export and company
news, as well as in-depth features, profiles and opinions. To receive the free
magazine you must be a member of the CICM or subscribe.
SPECIAL
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IN DEPTH
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Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 49

LOOKING FOR
YOUR NEXT
CAREER MOVE?
SENIOR ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE SPECIALIST
London (Whitechapel), up to £50,000
A new opportunity has arisen at a friendly, energetic, and growing
media company to take on a challenging but rewarding AR
role, working on a high-profile client account. This role requires
experience working on key client projects, a strong understanding
of billing processes and someone who can build strong,
meaningful relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
You should expect to be a valued member of the team, with many
challenging responsibilities. Ref: 4284579
Contact Francesca on 020 3465 0020
or email francesca.powell@hays.com
CREDIT CONTROLLER
(HYBRID & FLEXIBLE WORKING)
Chesterfield, up to £28,000
You will be working for a large and reputable utility supplier
in Chesterfield, an organisation which has a strong team
culture. An inclusive and casual environment where you will
be supported and made to feel part of a team. You will work
in the credit control department alongside another 5 credit
controllers. This role will include communications with both
residential and commercial customers and requires at least
3 years’ experience. Ref: 4279261
Contact Rebecca on 01142 738775
or email rebecca.drake@hays.com
GERMAN SPEAKING CREDIT CONTROLLER
Gloucester, £25,000-£30,000
This is a fantastic opportunity for a German speaking credit
controller looking to learn and grow within a company. In this role
you will be responsible for proactively collecting payment on AR
debt across designated customer accounts. You will be capable
of the timely identification of risk, due to late/non-payment and
escalating issues to AR management and relevant sales contacts.
You will also be able to collate and communicate customer
remittances to the cash allocation drive to ensure timely cash
allocation and appropriate customer ageing. Ref: 4291854
Contact James on 01242 226 227
or email james.bailey1@hays.com
CREDIT ANALYST
Gloucester, £25,000
A well-established and rapidly growing international manufacturer
and distributor, within the tech industry is looking to recruit
for an exciting new role within their credit control department.
This is a permanent, hybrid position where your duties will
include AR reporting, reconciling accounts, payment allocation
and customer account analysis. You’ll work within a friendly
atmosphere, with a results driven team of people who
demonstrate strong work ethics and a desire to succeed.
Ref: 4291551
Contact James on 01242 226 227
or email james.bailey1@hays.com
hays.co.uk/creditcontrol
© Copyright Hays plc 2022. The HAYS word, the H devices, HAYS Brave WORKING | Curious FOR YOUR | Resilient TOMORROW / www.cicm.com and Powering / the November world of work 2022 and / PAGE associated 50 logos and artwork are trademarks of Hays plc.
The H devices are original designs protected by registration in many countries. All rights are reserved. CM-1130635765

CREDIT CONTROL TEAM LEADER
West London, £32,000 + monthly bonuses
This is an exciting opportunity for a progressive candidate to
join a leading global business in a leadership role. You will be
heading up a team of 9 credit controllers, who are responsible
for the high-spend key accounts. This role is highly process
driven, therefore will suit an individual who is used to account
managing bluechip customers. A senior credit controller
looking to take their first steps into a leadership role would be
considered for this position. Ref: 4285947
Contact Mark on 07565 800574
or email mark.ordona@hays.com
HEAD OF CREDIT RISK & COLLECTIONS
Port Talbot, £65,000-£75,000
Managing all credit activity across Europe, this role is for an
experienced manager with a strong background in financial
accounting. You will be leading a dedicated team of credit risk
specialists to provide comprehensive credit risk mitigation
measures within the business. The benefits package is
exceptional; bonuses, executive company car, private healthcare
and one of the best pensions in the market. You will need to be a
commutable distance from Port Talbot as this role will see you in
the office 2/3 days out of 5. Ref: 4292657
Contact Emma on 01792 642042
or email emma.lewis@hays.com
HEAD OF BILLING
6 MONTH CONTRACT (HYBRID)
Manchester City Centre, up to £60,000
This role requires a new starter to come in and undertake a
project which involves delegating workload and reshaping the
department. You will be the most senior figure within billing
and have full autonomy to mould and guide the department.
This is a hybrid opportunity, with a maximum of 2 days a week
in the office. Ref: 4294821
Contact Adam on 0161 236 7272
or email adam.crossland@hays.com
This is just a small selection of the many opportunities
we have available for credit professionals. To find out
more, visit our website or contact Natascha Whitehead,
Credit Management UK Lead at Hays on 07770 786433.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 51

SOME members of the CICM
arrived on a balmy Thursday
night to take in the sights of
Durham’s medieval streets in
the company of Institute of
Tourist Guiding member, Ken
Bradshaw for out Northeast Branch Event.
Durham has a wonderful history and
still contains some impressive buildings
dating back to the 11th century.
Top of the list, of course, is the
magnificent Norman Romanesque
cathedral built between 1093 and 1133 by
the incredibly powerful and rich Prince
Bishops. These were Norman overlords
given power not only as a Bishop but
also a King, in effect they were Kings
of Northern England. Before this, the
Anglo Saxon monks arrived here in 995
having travelled throughout the north
of the country since 875 when they were
attacked by marauding non-believing
Vikings from the island of Lindisfarne.
They brought the coffin with the body
of St. Cuthbert, who had been seen to be
incorrupt 11 years after he died in 687 and
thus began the cult of Cuthbert.
Earlier, the group had seen some
wonderful buildings in the marketplace,
its Guildhall, Town Hall and St. Nicholas
church all rebuilt in the mid- 19th century.
The most stunning sculpture is that of the
1861 copper plated Huzzar on a horse,
BRANCH NEWS
King of the North
North East branch
who was 3rd Marquis of Londonderry
and a not very well-liked coal baron.
An unbelievable character, he was all
about the bottom line and campaigned
vigorously to keep children down the
mine to make as much money as possible.
Down on the river we saw the popular
bar Jimmy Allen, an unfortunate
character who was incarcerated at the
end of the 17th century as he’d stolen a
horse. A fine musician, he wrote to the
king for clemency but alas it came back
too late to save him. From there, we had
the opportunity to see the Elvet bridge
created by Prince Bishop Hugh de Puiset
in the 12th century with its massive pillars
almost reminiscent of those found in the
cathedral. We also saw some fine athletes
demonstrating their sporting prowess on
the River Wear in their narrow rowing
boats. A great evening was had by all, and
Ken was a first-class guide.
Ken Bradshaw is a qualified and
fully insured Blue Badge Guide; more
information can be found here: https://
www.kenbradshawnetourguide.co.uk
Author: Mark Alcock
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 52

ON a chilly Tuesday evening in September,
Sheffield & District Branch members
and guests entered the historic former
combined Police, Fire and Ambulance
Station in Sheffield City Centre, which
is now the National Emergency Services
Museum. What better place to have our
‘Focus on Fraud’ event, than in a building
which has no doubt played host to
fraudsters of yesteryear.
Upon arrival, members and guests
crossed the cobbled courtyard and
climbed the age-old worn stone steps to
the first-floor gallery where they were
greeted by committee members and
enjoyed a delicious ‘Made in Sheffield’
buffet supper. With the opportunity for
networking prior to taking seats for the
featured presentations, Chair, Jamie
Thornton, welcomed everyone and asked
that should the fire alarm sound, no-one
use the fireman’s pole to exit the building.
Jamie then introduced our first speaker of
the evening – DS Phil Butterworth of South
Yorkshire Police Digital Investigations
and Intelligence Unit.
Sargent Butterworth gave a brief
introduction, explaining his role in the
force and then talked us through the
top five hacking topics – Social Media
Hacking, Virus Hacking, Personal
Hacking, Extortion Hacking and Service
Hacking. We all had a good think about
just how safe our information really is
BRANCH NEWS
Night at the Museum
Sheffield & District Branch
and what it is worth to others, and took on
board guidance on passwords and other
very useful but simple security measures
that we can take both personally and in
our businesses. The presentation moved
on to looking at two case studies, making
us aware of some useful websites and
services and ended with a few words on the
unregulated world of cryptocurrencies.
Many questions were asked by members
throughout the presentation, which was
very informative if not a little alarming at
times.
Following a short break Jamie
Thornton introduced our second speaker
for the evening – Darren Hodder of
Fraud Prevention Network. Darren
introduced himself and talked to us
about the collaborative nature of the
Fraud Prevention Network. We looked at
Authorised Push Payment Fraud and its
frightening year on year growth as well
as the financial consequences of weak
passwords. Darren covered the current
fraud trends and gave some useful tips
for us to take back to the office. Members
and guests shared their own experiences
of attempted fraud, one of which was
even new to Darren! We all agreed on the
importance of continuing to report fraud
and attempted fraud and that fraud seems
to be the fastest growing industry.
A most enjoyable ‘Night at the Museum’
was had by all. Many thanks to DS
Butterworth and Darren Hodder for their
valuable time and excellent presentations
and thanks to all attending members and
guests for making the evening a great
success.
Author: Paula Uttley, Vice Chair
Author: David R Thornley
MAAT FCICM (Grad)
Navigating Stormy Seas
Northwest Branch
WITH the economic outlook around the
world in such an uncertain and volatile state
at present, the Northwest Branch considered
this to be an appropriate time to inform and
hopefully inspire branch members and
credit professionals from around the region
to take up the challenges that this presents.
The city centre offices of WEX in
Manchester provided the venue for the
branch’s “Navigating Stormy Seas” event
which was attended by 35 in person delegates
and a further 15 who joined via Zoom.
Those in attendance were treated to
an excellent buffet lunch followed by
presentations from Nick Hulland of Aon
Trade Credit and WEX’s own Vice President
of Global Risk Strategy, Chad Williams,
who presented via video link from his
headquarters in Maine, USA.
Nick discussed the current state of
the credit insurance market and how he
envisages this developing in the short to
medium term. He also described how
this could be a useful tool in protecting a
business’ receivables portfolio, as well as
going through some of the pitfalls commonly
experienced by companies whose claims
end up being rejected.
Chad’s presentation detailed the policies
and procedures taken by WEX to manage
its wide-ranging and diverse debtor book
around the world and to offer suitable words
of encouragement to those of his colleagues
attending.
The event concluded with an informative
open discussion between those present.
The branch committee would like to
express its thanks to Nick and Chad for their
presentations, to all those who attended,
and to WEX for hosting the event.
The branch will be looking to put on
similar events in the future and any ideas
for suitable topics are welcomed and will be
given due consideration.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 53

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 / November 2022 / PAGE 54

HR MATTERS
Advantage by deception
A stark warning to never stretch the truth, followed
by a case that demonstrates advantageous treatment
will never be unfavourable.
AUTHOR – Gareth Edwards
IN a recent case, the Supreme
Court held that profits made by
an employee who committed CV
fraud in order to gain a senior position,
should be confiscated.
In the case, R v Andrewes, Mr
Andrewes applied for the position of CEO
at St Margaret's Hospice in 2004. He fraudulently
claimed to have relevant qualifications
and experience which he did not in
fact have. Both the degree he claimed to
hold, and the experience he said he had,
were considered essential to the role and
he would not have been employed without
them.
Andrewes was said to have performed
well in the role during his tenure. He remained
in post until March 2015 when
his employment was terminated after
the truth about his qualifications and
experience started to emerge.
In January 2017 Andrewes was convicted
of obtaining a pecuniary advantage by
deception and two counts of fraud. He
was sentenced to two years' imprisonment
and the Crown sought a confiscation order
against him. His net earnings during
the relevant period were £643,602.91 and
the available amount was agreed to be
£96,737.24. The judge ordered the confiscation
of that sum, rejecting Andrewes'
argument that he had not benefited from
his criminal conduct because he had
earned his remuneration from the work
he did.
Andrewes appealed against the confiscation
order and the Court of Appeal
allowed the appeal. The Crown appealed
to the Supreme Court which restored the
confiscation order.
It said that it would have been disproportionate
to confiscate Andrewes' full
net earnings as there was value in the
services he performed for the hospice.
However, he would not have obtained
the position as CEO if he was truthful
about his qualifications and experience
in his application. The court should
seek to remove the profit made by
the fraud by confiscating the difference
between the higher earnings obtained
through the fraud, and the lower
earnings that would have been
obtained had there been no fraud. The
Supreme Court held that a confiscation
order for the amount of £244,568 would
be proportionate in this case. As the
available funds were lower than this,
the recoverable amount was limited to
£96,737.24.
COVID special leave policy
IN a recent case, Cowie and others v Scottish Fire
and Rescue Service (SFRS), the Employment Appeal
Tribunal (EAT) found that preconditions in a 'special
leave' policy did not amount to unfavourable
treatment.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, SFRS had introduced
a 'special leave' policy in an attempt to
help employees balance their work/life responsibilities.
Under the policy, employees were entitled
to a non-contractual benefit allowing them
to take 'special leave' where a childcare responsibility
impacted their working life.
During the pandemic SFRS extended the policy
by allowing staff to take special leave for
COVID-related absences, as long as all time off in
lieu (TOIL) and annual leave had been exhausted.
Two groups of employees brought claims in respect
of the policy. One group argued it was indirectly
discriminatory on the grounds of sex, and
the other claimed discrimination arising from a
disability. The claimants argued that they were
subject to unfavourable treatment as they had
to use their accrued TOIL or annual leave whilst
they were unable to work during the pandemic.
The Tribunal dismissed the indirect sex
discrimination claim as there was no evidence
that the policy caused a group disadvantage to
women.
However, the Tribunal did uphold the claim of
discrimination arising from a disability, although
did not award the claimants any compensation. It
held that staff who were forced to use up annual
leave whilst shielding, and who lost their flexibility
around when to use their TOIL, suffered unfavourable
treatment because of something arising
in consequence of a disability. However, there
was no evidence that the claimants had suffered
any injury to feelings, so no compensation was
awarded.
The employees appealed against the indirect
sex discrimination finding, whilst SFRS appealed
against the discrimination arising from a disability
finding.
The EAT found that there was no unfavourable
treatment. It was not discriminatory for staff to
have to use up accrued holiday and TOIL before
qualifying for special leave. For the purposes of
both claims, the special leave policy was favourable
treatment. The fact that it could have been
more favourable, had the conditions around
TOIL and annual leave not been attached, did not
make it unfair.
This case demonstrates that advantageous
treatment will never be unfavourable, even if it
could have been more advantageous than it was.
Employers are entitled to apply eligibility criteria
to discretionary benefits, although individual advice
should be sought if there are any concerns
around the fairness of a proposed policy.
Gareth Edwards is a partner in the employment
team at VWV.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 55

Cr£ditWho?
CICM Directory of Services
COLLECTIONS
COLLECTIONS LEGAL
CREDIT DATA AND ANALYTICS
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.
BlaserMills Law
High Wycombe | Amersham | Marlow | Silverstone
Rickmansworth | London
Jackie Ray : 07802 332104 | 01494 478660
jar@blasermills.co.uk
Nina Toor : 01494 478661 nit@blasermills.co.uk
Edward Bible : 07766 013352 ceb@blasermills.co.uk
www.blasermills.co.uk
Commercial Recoveries & Insolvency
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.
CoCredo
Missenden Abbey, Great Missenden, Bucks, HP16 0BD
T: 01494 790600
E: customerservice@cocredo.com
W: www.cocredo.co.uk
For over 20 years, CoCredo, as one of the UK's leading Credit
Report companies, has helped protect thousands of customers
from bad debt. Our data is compiled and constantly updated from a
variety of prominent UK and international suppliers, encompassing
230 countries, so that our clients can access the latest available
information in an easy-to-read report. We offer tailored products
and service solutions, from market-leading Dual Reports and
integrated XML solutions, monitoring and delivering flexible 'data
on the go' package options that reduce costs and boost cash flow.
Our clients feel valued that we are a part of their customer journey
and we have consistently been finalists and winners of numerous
Small Business and Credit Awards since 2014.
We provide award-winning customer service which is reflected in
our client retention rate of 99%.
Global Credit Recoveries
GCR 20-22 Wenlock Road,
London N1 7GU
Charles Mayhew FCICM or Joshua Mayhew ACICM
T: +44 (0) 203 368 8630
E: INFO@GLOBALCREDITRECOVERIES.COM
W: WWW.GLOBALCREDITRECOVERIES.COM
Shortlisted as DCA of the Year, by the CICM, for the British Credit
Awards, Global Credit Recoveries Ltd are specialists in Arbitration
and Debt Collection globally.
We specialise in the UK, Europe, The Middle East and the U.S.A,
working as an extension of many CICM members companies for
over 28 years.
Speak with us today in our London or Dubai offices, to see how
we can assist you.
We have the ability, and network, to have someone visiting your
debtors offices, throughout EMEA, within 72 hours.
Recovering funds globally, on a No-Recovery, No-Fee basis.
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
Cr£ditWho?
CICM Directory of Services
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.”
CONSULTANCY
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. For more information please contact:
enquiries@chrissandersconsulting.com
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.
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
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.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 56

FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION OPTIONS
AND PRICING CONTACT
paul@centuryone.uk 01727 739 196
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
ENFORCEMENT
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.
FOR
ADVERTISING
INFORMATION
OPTIONS AND
PRICING CONTACT
paul@centuryone.uk
01727 739 196
Cr£ditWho?
CICM Directory of Services
ESKER
Sam Townsend Head of Marketing
Northern Europe Esker Ltd.
T: +44 (0)1332 548176 M: +44 (0)791 2772 302
W: www.esker.co.uk LinkedIn: Esker – Northern Europe
Twitter: @EskerNEurope blog.esker.co.uk
Esker’s Accounts Receivable (AR) solution removes the all-toocommon
obstacles preventing today’s businesses from collecting
receivables in a timely manner. From credit management to cash
allocation, Esker automates each step of the order-to-cash cycle.
Esker’s automated AR system helps companies modernise
without replacing their core billing and collections processes. By
simply automating what should be automated, customers get the
post-sale experience they deserve and your team gets the tools
they need.
SERRALA
Serrala UK Ltd, 125 Wharfdale Road
Winnersh Triangle, Wokingham
Berkshire RG41 5RB
E: r.hammons@serrala.com W: www.serrala.com
T +44 118 207 0450 M +44 7788 564722
Serrala optimizes the Universe of Payments for organisations
seeking efficient cash visibility and secure financial processes.
As an SAP Partner, Serrala supports over 3,500 companies
worldwide. With more than 30 years of experience and
thousands of successful customer projects, including solutions
for the entire order-to-cash process, Serrala provides credit
managers and receivables professionals with the solutions they
need to successfully protect their business against credit risk
exposure and bad debt loss.
VISMA | ONGUARD
T: 020 3966 8324
E: edan.milner@onguard.com
W: www.onguard.com
VISMA | Onguard is a specialist in credit management software
and market leader in innovative solutions for order-to-cash. Our
integrated platform ensures an optimal connection of all processes
in the order-to-cash chain. This enhanced visibility with the secure
sharing of critical data ensures optimal connection between all
processes in the order-to-cash chain, resulting in stronger, longerlasting
customer relationships through improved and personalised
communication. The VISMA | Onguard platform is used for
successful credit management in more than 70 countries.
ENFORCEMENT
Court Enforcement Services
Adele Whitehurst – Client Relationship Manager
M: +44 (0)7525 119 711 T: +44 (0)1992 367 092
E : a.whitehurst@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.
FINANCIAL PR
Gravity Global
Floor 6/7, Gravity Global, 69 Wilson St, London, EC2A 2BB
T: +44(0)207 330 8888. E: sfeast@gravityglobal.com
W: www.gravityglobal.com
Gravity is an award winning full service PR and advertising
business that is regularly benchmarked as being one of the
best in its field. It has a particular expertise in the credit sector,
building long-term relationships with some of the industry’s bestknown
brands working on often challenging briefs. As the partner
agency for the Credit Services Association (CSA) for the past 22
years, and the Chartered Institute of Credit Management since
2006, it understands the key issues affecting the credit industry
and what works and what doesn’t in supporting its clients in the
media and beyond.
FORUMS
FORUMS INTERNATIONAL
T: +44 (0)1246 555055
E: info@forumsinternational.co.uk
W: www.forumsinternational.co.uk
Forums International Ltd have been running Credit and Industry
Forums since 1991. We cover a range of industry sectors and
International trading, attendance is for Credit Professionals of all
levels. Our forums are not just meetings but communities which
aim to prepare our members for the challenges ahead. Attending
for the first time is free for you to gauge the benefits and meet the
members and we only have pre-approved Partners, so you will
never intentionally be sold to.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 57

Cr£ditWho?
CICM Directory of Services
FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION
OPTIONS AND PRICING CONTACT
paul@centuryone.uk 01727 739 196
INSOLVENCY
PAYMENT SOLUTIONS
RECRUITMENT
Menzies
T: +44 (0)2073 875 868 - London
T: +44 (0)2920 495 444 - Cardiff
W: menzies.co.uk/creditor-services
Our Creditor Services team can advise on the best way for you
to protect your position when one of your debtors enters, or
is approaching, insolvency proceedings. Our services include
assisting with retention of title claims, providing representation
at creditor meetings, forensic investigations, raising finance,
financial restructuring and removing the administrative burden
– this includes completing and lodging claim forms, monitoring
dividend prospects and analysing all Insolvency Reports and
correspondence.
For more information on how the Menzies Creditor Services
team can assist, please contact Bethan Evans, Licensed
Insolvency Practitioner, at bevans@menzies.co.uk or call
+44 (0)2920 447 512.
LEGAL
Shoosmiths
Email: paula.swain@shoosmiths.co.uk
Tel: 03700 86 3000 W: www.shoosmiths.co.uk
Shoosmiths’ highly experienced team will work closely with credit
teams to recover commercial debts as quickly and cost effectively
as possible. We have an in depth knowledge of all areas of debt
recovery, including:
•Pre-litigation services to effect early recovery and keep costs
down
•Litigation service
•Post-litigation services including enforcement
•Insolvency
As a client of Shoosmiths, you will find us quick to relate to your
goals, and adept at advising you on the most effective way of
achieving them.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Cr£ditWho?
CICM Directory of Services
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.
FIS GETPAID
25 Canada Square
London, GB E14 5LQ
T: +447730500085
E: getinfo@fisglobal.com.
W: www.fisglobal.com
The award-winning FIS GETPAID solution is a fully integrated,
web-based order-to cash (O2C) solution that helps companies
improve operational efficiencies, lower DSO, and increase cash
flow. GETPAID provides process automation, artificial intelligence,
and workflow across the O2C cycle, with detailed analysis and
reporting for accurate cash forecasting. FIS is a global leader in
financial services technology that empowers the financial world.
For more information visit https://www.fisglobal.com/en/cashflowand-capital/credit-and-collections
or email getinfo@fisglobal.com.
FOR ADVERTISING
INFORMATION
OPTIONS AND
PRICING CONTACT
paul@centuryone.uk 01727 739 196
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 58

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
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / November 2022 / PAGE 59

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