CM October 2023

CREDIT MANAGEMENT
CM
OCTOBER 2023 £13.00
THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND
COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS
FOLLOW
MY LEADER
StepChange is tied
to a new future.
Invoice Finance is the
unsung hero of cashflow
funding. Page 22
Belgium is highly exposed
to the performance of its
trading partners. Page 34

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SEAN FEAST FCICM
MANAGING EDITOR
Editor’s column
Working together will help more
individuals become debt free
STEPCHANGE has been
through some difficult times
in recent months. It had to
manage its way through the
disappointment of the Money
and Pension Service’s decision
not to go ahead with its bid for national
debt advice and and Debt Relief Order
delivery. It required a pivot, and a need
to revisit its place in a constantly evolving
debt landscape.
That it is emerging from such
disappointment is a credit to its Chief
Executive, Vicki Brownridge, who I caught
up with in our interview on page 12.
What I particularly admire about Vicki is
her candour, especially when it comes to
the thorny issue of FairShare and future
funding models.
Our readers will remember that it has
been a particular hobby horse of ours for
some time, and our previous frustration in
failing to receive a straight answer to what
we always considered a comparatively
straight question. Vicki is different. She
acknowledges that all is not well and it
needs fixing, and the extent to which
StepChange will be able to continue to
help clients at the current rate – c15,500
per month (as at July 2023) – will be a
challenge.
Pressure on household incomes
means there are fewer people with any
level of repayment potential coming for
debt advice. Deposits are also reducing
for those who are already on debt
management plans because their budgets
have been further impacted by the costof-living
crisis. As the charity’s funding
is linked to that one, single solution, its
funding therefore tends to be squeezed.
Help is at hand, however, from what in
some ways is an unlikely source. Whereas
in the past, the debt purchase industry and
the charity sector have been obliged to rub
along like untrusting siblings, I sense a
new spirit of genuine collaboration. Vicki
senses it too and says that the charity’s
relationship with the debt purchase
sector is probably the strongest it has
ever been. She says she has seen a major
improvement in collections practices over
the last few years and many incidences
of best practice in terms of treating
customers fairly.
Let us hope that is the case, because only
by working together will the charities and
creditors achieve their mutual declared
ambitions of delivering better consumer
outcomes. And if they can do that, then
they will ultimately help more individuals
to become debt free.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 3

CONTENTS
October 2023 issue
08 – MOVING TARGETS
Is it Plus ça change in the world of collections?
10 – THE FEAR INDEX
Trading in administration: is there reason to fear?
11 – NAME CHECK
Customer service requires the appropriate level of
respect.
12 – FOLLOW MY LEADER
Sean Feast FCICM speaks to Vikki Brownridge
of StepChange about Leadership and the future of
charity funding.
16 – WITHOUT FAIL
Understanding the proposed ‘failure to prevent
fraud’ offence.
22 – HERO WORSHIP
Invoice Finance is the unsung hero of cashflow
funding.
27 – BENEVOLENT THINKING
The CICM is relaunching its Members’ Financial
Support Fund.
28 – LIFE IN PERSPECTIVE
Supporting people through the cost-of-living crisis.
34 – TRADING PLACES
Belgium has great depth as a potential export
market.
38 – REGIME CHANGE
A new costs regime is about to land for debt
claims, and it could hurt your bottom line.
42 – SPHERE OF INFLUENCE
Does the FCA crackdown on ‘finfluencers’ go far
enough?
52 – REPUTATION MATTERS
Reputation and the importance of keeping good
company.
10
INSOLVENCY
Trading in administration:
is there reason to fear?
46
AI IN THE
WORKPLACE
52
REPUTATION
MATTERS
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 4

CICM GOVERNANCE
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
12
FOLLOW MY
LEADER
34
COUNTRY FOCUS
Belgium is highly
exposed to the
performance of its
main trading partners.
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) / 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
Jamie Thornton MCICM / 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.
Publisher
Chartered Institute of Credit Management
1 Accent Park, Bakewell Road, Orton Southgate,
Peterborough PE2 6XS
Telephone: 01780 722900
Email: editorial@cicm.com
Website: www.cicm.com
CMM: www.creditmanagement.org.uk
Managing Editor: Sean Feast FCICM
Deputy Editor: Iona Yadallee
Art Editor: Andrew Morris
Telephone: 01780 722910
Email: andrew.morris@cicm.com
Editorial Team
Joe Clarkson, Rob Howard, Roshika Perera,
Melanie York and Mona Yazdanparast
Advertising
Paul Heitzman
Telephone: 01727 739 196
Email: paul@centuryone.uk
Printers
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ISSN 0265-2099
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
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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.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 5

CMNEWS
A round-up of news stories from the
world of consumer and commercial credit.
Midlands constituencies most under
pressure as cost-of-living bites
THE Midlands is the region of the UK
hit hardest by the rising cost-of-living,
with the cities of Birmingham, Leicester
and Coventry all being found to be
financially worse off in 2023 than the
year before.
Data from the latest Financial
Vulnerability Index (FVI) conducted by
Lowell shows 41 percent of all areas
that became financially worse off this
year are in the Midlands. While the
South continues to be better off than
the UK average, and the North sees
improvements in its FVI Score, the
Midlands finds itself squeezed with
many of the worst-performing areas in
the latest FVI Index.
In terms of specifics, financial health
in the West Midlands is now 12 percent
worse than the UK average, while the
East Midlands is just over five percent
Written by – Sean Feast FCICM
Financial worry taking its toll on
mental health of young people
THE burden of financial
worry is having a
significant impact on
the mental wellbeing of
millions across the UK,
particularly young adults.
New research from responsible
lender, Creditspring, suggests that
almost a third (30 percent) of Brits say
their mental health has significantly
worsened since the start of the costof-living
crisis, rising to almost half (48
percent) among 25-34-year olds.
The research shows that financial
woes are directly contributing to this
widespread decline in mental health,
with approaching a quarter (23 percent)
saying that this is the worst their
mental health has ever been because
of money worries, increasing to more
than a third (36 percent) among 25-34
-year olds.
The research comes as recent data
from the Office for National Statistics
shows that people aged between 25 and
34 are more than three times as likely
to experience financial vulnerability
compared with those aged 75 years and
over.
There is a clear need for increased
financial support and mental health
resources to address this growing crisis
– particularly for younger generations.
Indeed, 23 percent of people aged
between 25 and 34 have already sought
mental health support as a result of
their financial situation, and one in
five in this age group have used a debt
advice charity in the past 12 months.
The data also points to the perceived
inadequacy of Government support,
with nearly three in ten (29 percent)
people across the UK saying they’ve had
to seek help elsewhere because there’s
worse off, having been more financially
healthy than the UK average in 2017.
The 10 Midland’s constituencies –
covering 700,000 people – accounts
for over a third of the UK’s financially
vulnerable constituencies; data shows
that these constituencies have high
numbers of full-time workers and
families with children.
Analysis indicates that ordinary
working families are bearing the burden
of the high cost-of-living. In areas with
higher levels of social housing and
benefits usage, the improvements in
financial health have been much more
significant suggesting that Government
support may be outstripping pay in its
effect on financial health.
Lowell’s UK CEO John Pears says
that households in the Midlands are
struggling the most as they borrow to
not been enough financial support from
the Government. This rises to around
four in ten among 25-34-year olds.
Access to the right support will
be critical to turning the tide on this
crisis. Nearly half of young people say
their mental health cannot improve as
long as they are in debt, and a similar
number say they feel stuck and that
there is nothing they can do to improve
their financial situation. Despite this,
only 10 percent of people say that their
bank has contacted them about mental
health support, and more than half (57
percent) say that they’ve heard nothing
from their bank on this topic.
Better financial education has an
important role to play in empowering
people with the knowledge needed to
take control of their finances, and it is
important that people receive
this early on in their financial lives.
meet the inflated costs of everyday
spending: “It’s a reverse in fortunes
from a few years ago as the gap with
the rest of the UK widens,” he explains.
“The Midlands is sadly not participating
in the cautious recovery the rest of the
UK is experiencing. With the recent
news of Birmingham City Council’s
declaration of bankruptcy there are
likely to be further challenges for those
most financially vulnerable who rely on
critical services from the Council.” The
FVI is an innovative tool to measure and
track financial resilience, nationally and
locally, across the UK. Created by Lowell
and the Urban Institute, and provided
by Opinium, the index is described as
bringing together publicly available
measures and Lowell’s proprietary
data to give a clear picture of financial
vulnerability in the UK.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 6

ALDERMORE has provided a property
loan to Polyglobal for the acquisition of
another trading business, B.V.A. Tools &
Plastics, a tool manufacturer that is also
based in Wakefield and is a specialist in
the plastics injection moulding industry.
The acquisition took place earlier this
year and will allow Polyglobal to enhance
NEWS ROUNDUP
Plastic fantastic
There is an appetite for this among the
youngest respondents, with two in five (42
percent) 18-24 year olds agreeing that they
need financial education to help them make
better decisions.
Neil Kadagathur, CEO and Co-Founder
of Creditspring, believes the findings are
enormously concerning: “The fact that so few
people have been contacted by their bank
about mental health support only serves to
highlight the disconnect between financial
health and mental wellbeing,” he says.
“There is a significant opportunity here
to create more integrated, joined up support
networks for consumers, and it is imperative
that we work together to address this issue
head-on by providing comprehensive support
systems that merge financial support with
mental health resources.
“Moving forward, we want to see
policymakers, financial institutions, health
services, and charities come together in
partnership to develop more integrated
solutions that address this intersection of
mental health and financial distress. In
doing so, we will collectively work towards a
future where peoples’ mental wellbeing is
no longer dictated by the state of their
finances.”
manufacturing processes, whilst reducing
costs and crucially allows expansion into
new markets and targeted customers.
Polyglobal is a longstanding Aldermore
customer and has been with the bank
since 2015. Aldermore has backed their
growth plans using its specialist finance
teams and products.
Scammers target younger groups
UNDER 25s are more likely than older
age groups to have been targeted in
an impersonation scam and also be
swayed to provide personal or financial
information, according to new research
by UK Finance’s Take Five to Stop Fraud
campaign.
An impersonation scam is where a
criminal contacts you pretending to be a
person or organisation you trust. These
scams can be very sophisticated and
often start with attempts to trick you
into disclosing personal and financial
information. Criminals then use this
information to impersonate someone you
trust, making it seem genuine, but their
ultimate aim is to try to steal your money.
Worryingly, almost half (49 percent) of
18-24-year olds surveyed said that they
had been contacted by an impersonation
scammer. This compares to only a third
of those aged over 55 (33 percent) who
had been contacted. Of the 18-24-year
olds targeted, over half (52 percent)
said they actually shared personal
information or made a payment as a
result of the request.
Young adults aged 18-24 were the
most confident of any age group in their
ability to identify a scam with 91 percent
saying they were confident that they
would be able to spot a fake request for
personal information online. This level
of confidence could put them at risk, as
just over a quarter (27 percent) said they
will always take steps to check if the
organisation or person can be trusted
when asked for personal information out
of the blue. This is in stark comparison
to older age groups, with over 60 per cent
of those aged over 55 saying they always
take steps to check out unexpected
requests.
UK Finance figures show over £1.2
billion was stolen through fraud in 2022.
There were 45,367 cases of impersonation
scams in 2022 costing at total of £177.6m,
UK Finance figures show.
>NEWS
IN BRIEF
Keeping in Cynergy
CYNERGY Bank has secured a £20
million Tier 2 capital facility from
British Business Investments, a
wholly-owned commercial subsidiary
of the British Business Bank. The
capital will be deployed across
Cynergy Bank and Cynergy Business
Finance. The new funding will enable
the challenger bank to accelerate
the delivery of its current business
strategy to be the UK’s premier ‘human
digital’ bank and market leader in the
SME lending space. The Tier 2 Capital
facility is also said to support Cynergy
Bank’s growth plans, which includes
delivering over £250m of new-to-bank
lending across the SME and property
sectors.
We’re all doomed.
SAVEMONEYCUTCARBON, a
sustainability consultant, claims
levels of profound concern about
the state of our planet’s climate are
rising to the point where people are
unable to perform at work. While it
is not yet a medically diagnosable
condition, the growing prevalence of
‘eco-anxiety’ can be seen to impact
all aspects of life, affecting all age
groups. Force of Nature, a youth nonprofit
organisation found that more
than 70 percent of young people feel
hopeless due to the climate crisis
and 56 percent believe humanity is
doomed, while only 26 percent feel
that they know how to contribute to
solving the problem.
Picture perfect
A new £243,000 asset finance loan
from Allica Bank, brokered by media
industry finance specialist Medialease,
is helping award-winning camera
rental company VMI TV to access
and maintain the very latest highend
equipment to meet evolving
customer demand. Founded in 1979,
VMI supplies high-end production
for the likes of the BBC, ITV, Sky,
Universal Pictures and Netflix. The
deal was agreed in part thanks to the
Government’s Recovery Loan Scheme
(RLS) that offers a 70 percent recovery
guarantee to the lender, helping them
to share the risk.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 7

NEWS
MOVING TARGETS
Is it Plus ça change in the world of collections?
AUTHOR – Stephen Kiely
TOUCHING, as it does,
so many customers in
the most vulnerable
of situations, the debt
collection industry is
regularly in the glare of
public and regulatory attention.
The popular view of the industry
might be mixed at best, but one thing
seems apparent: the need for an
effective collections sector to protect
beleaguered creditors remains all too
real. The number of registered company
insolvencies jumped 13 percent in Q2
2023 compared to Q2 2022, and reached
the highest level since Q2 2009.
Similarly, a new report, published last
month, found that more than a quarter of
small business owners in the UK believe
that they will be forced to cease trading
if the outlook for their business does not
improve.
Jonathan Portes, professor of
economics and public policy at King’s
College London said: “While the energy
price spike has abated, and labour
shortages have eased somewhat, more
generalised inflationary pressures mean
that SMEs are being squeezed from both
ends, with some input costs rising and
consumer demand impacted as real
incomes have fallen. Recent rises in
interest rates will exacerbate both.”
Image building
In the face of such need and opportunity,
the collections industry has long sought
to improve its image – driving up
standards wherever it can. As part of this
trend, for many of the larger, investmenthungry
debt purchasers, a new phrase
has hit the boardrooms and company
reports: ‘Environmental, Social and
Corporate Governance’ or ESG.
Zach Lewy, Chief Executive of Arrow
Global was quick to boast of its ESG
credentials. “We have benefitted from
the success of further embedding ESG
processes across our businesses,” he says.
“Empowering our teams to incorporate
sustainability into what they do,
identifying where we can drive positive
impact and developing our measurement
and reporting capabilities are all critical
steps in our journey.
“We remain proud of our trackrecord
as an asset manager and with
our disciplined investing, underwriting
approach and propriety deal flow. We
know we have tremendous opportunity
ahead of us. ESG is at the heart of value
creation, and the pandemic and other
societal issues have accelerated the pace
of change around ESG.”
Technology
Meanwhile, in a competitive market
where participants must seek every
advantage, DCAs and debt buyers
continue to act as early adopters of
new technology. Last month, Intrum
partnered with Aryza Group to automate
its business processes in the Netherlands.
To objectively evaluate the performance
of bailiffs handling ongoing files, Intrum
already leverages Aryza Control on half a
million claims worldwide.
Guy Colpaert, managing director
at Intrum Benelux, said: “This
strategic collaboration enables us to
automate our business operations,
enhance performance, and establish
a prominent market presence in the
Netherlands. Aryza Control provides
us with unprecedented transparency
and control across the entire collection
process, allowing us to make informed
decisions, improve efficiency, and deliver
exceptional results.”
Last month, Arvato announced that
it has partnered with KYP.ai to drive
its digital transformation, artificial
intelligence (AI) and robotic process
automation solutions. Debra Maxwell,
CEO at Arvato CRM Solutions, said:
Worst environment for SMEs
in more than a decade
RESEARCH from global SME funder,
Bibby Financial Services, reveals
that 2023 is the worst economic
environment for small and medium
sized enterprises (SMEs) in 15 years.
Findings from the 2023 Global
Business Monitor, which surveyed
SME owners and decision makers
from nine countries, show inflation (55
percent), energy costs (49 percent) and
uncertainty over local economies (28
percent) are stifling business growth in
2023.
Notwithstanding these challenges,
SMEs are upbeat about their own
prospects. The vast majority (85
percent) are confident about their
prospects for the remainder of 2023, and
nearly two thirds (64 percent) anticipate
that sales will increase over the coming
months.
Jonathan Andrew, Global Chief
Executive Officer at BibbyFinancial
Services, believes that business
owners are battling with a cost-ofdoing-business
crisis on two-fronts:
significantly higher costs and monetary
policy leveraged to tackle this primary
issue: “The fact that so many are
positive about their own prospects
in the face of these challenges is
testament to the ingenuity and
determination of SME owners around
the world,” he says.
Regional variations paint a more
nuanced picture. In the Republic of
Ireland, SMEs are hugely optimistic with
90 percent saying they feel confident
about their prospects. Conversely, over
a fifth (21 percent) of Polish SMEs lack
confidence in their outlook for the
remainder of this year.
German SMEs are the most bullish
in their trading expectations, with 75
percent anticipating that sales will
grow over the coming months. In the
UK and the Netherlands, there is greater
caution, with 54 percent predicting only
a slight increase in sales.
Despite an optimistic outlook,
cashflow remains an obstacle to
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 8

“Where there may still be those questioning the new
regulation, today’s action by the FCA is an important reminder
to all financial services that Consumer Duty is now live and
firms are bound to meet its requirements.’’
– Andrew Gething, Managing Director of MorganAsh
“Having the ability to provide this digital
transformation platform to our clients
is paramount. It puts the customer and
the employee at the forefront, utilising
data mining effectively to help automate
relevant tasks. It also highlights the value
that an innovation-led, digital approach
to customer experience can deliver for
our clients, both within the public and
private sectors.”
Consumer Duty
Another long-running issue is Consumer
Duty, which remains a matter of concern,
with few collectors certain whether
the impact upon their business will be
substantial or minor. This situation may
soon be given some real clarity after
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has
finally taken action, requesting value
assessments from nine banks.
Andrew Gething, Managing Director
of MorganAsh insisted that this should
act as a wake-up call for all concerned.
He said: “Where there may still be those
questioning the new regulation, today’s
action by the FCA is an important
reminder to all financial services that
Consumer Duty is now live and firms
are bound to meet its requirements –
or face investigation. As the base rate
has continued to rise, the spotlight has
remained on savings and the rates being
offered by both banks and lenders.”
Meanwhile, Peter Lemon, consultant
for FICO insisted that more personalised
journeys, processes and decisions must
now take centre stage as customer
needs, characteristics and vulnerabilities
become key actionable insights.
He expects to see ‘foundational changes
made’ in how the industry manages data
and uses analytics, including AI. The
ability to ingest more types of data is key,
as is the breaking down of product silos
to get a fuller picture of each customer.
AI and machine-learning models will
help collectors analyse much more
data from different sources to get a
better picture of customer needs and
vulnerabilities.
An essential aspect of the new
regulatory framework will be the need
to establish a robust feedback loop and
adaptability measures. As such, ongoing
monitoring and testing will play a crucial
role.
Acquisitions
With such pressures, it is perhaps
unsurprising that the sector is
consistently busy with acquisitions. In
April Phillips & Cohen Associates (UK)
completed the acquisition of Ardent
Credit Services, a Liverpool-based
debt recovery and credit management
services provider, following approval
from the FCA. Meanwhile, Arrow Global
Group completed the full acquisition of
Maslow Capital, a provider of real estate
finance. Founded in 2009, Maslow Capital
has built a track record in originating,
underwriting, and servicing specialist
real estate loans ranging from £10m to
£300m.
Conversely, Intrum continued to
reduce its geographical footprint by
exiting operations in the Baltics and
Romania. The servicing platforms and
investment portfolios of Intrum Baltics
are being acquired by Aktiva Finance
Group for a cash consideration of €30m.
The transaction, which consider 100
percent of the equity interest in Intrum
Estonia AS, Intrum Latvia SAI and Intrum
Lithuania UAB, is expected to close in Q3
for the Estonian and Latvian businesses
and in Q4 for the Lithuanian business.
And so, the debt collection industry
moves on, ever changing and ever
adapting - a truly dynamic force.
Steve Kiely is a freelance business writer.
“While the energy price spike has abated, and labour shortages
have eased somewhat, more generalised inflationary pressures
mean that SMEs are being squeezed from both ends.’’
progress for SMEs across international
markets. Findings reveal that 26
percent of small businesses have
insufficient cashflow to grow, and 10
percent don’t have enough to operate
effectively on a day-to-day basis.
This issue is exacerbated by supplychain
pressure with more than a third
(35 percent) of those surveyed writingoff
monies owed in the last 12 months
and 31 percent reporting customers and
suppliers going into administration.
More than half (51 percent) say
customers are taking longer to pay than
in 2022, and a similar proportion say
they are being forced to pass on higher
costs to customers (50 percent).
“While the overriding sense of
optimism is encouraging, slow growth
across international economies,
inflation and rising interest rates are
beginning to impact supply-chains,”
Jonathan continues. “For small
business owners, there is no onesize-fits-all
solution to navigating the
uncertain outlook ahead. What is clear
across all markets is that SMEs need all
the support they can get from both the
private and public sectors.”
The majority (89 percent) of SMEs
plan to invest in their businesses
this year. The most popular areas
earmarked for investment are sales
and marketing, staff training and
development, and digital technology
and IT.
To support these investment
intentions, SMEs are increasingly
turning to third-party financing. Nearly
half (46 percent) are more likely to
use external finance than before the
COVID-19 pandemic with bank and
government loans, and unsecured
lending the most popular options.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 9

INSOLVENCY
THE FEAR INDEX
Trading in administration: is there reason to fear?
AUTHOR – Giuseppe Parla
FINDING out that a key customer
has entered administration
is understandably a
concerning time for credit
managers, particularly if
there are unpaid debts and
uncertainty about how or when they might
be paid. But what if the insolvent business
continues to trade? Will continuing to supply
them be detrimental to you?
When a company enters administration,
the appointed administrators, who are
licensed insolvency practitioners, must
achieve one of the statutory purposes of
an administration. The Insolvency Act
1986 states that an administrator must
perform their functions with the objective
of: (i) rescuing the business as a going
concern; or (ii) achieving a better outcome
for creditors than would have been likely
had it been wound up; or (iii) realising
property in order make a distribution
to one or more secured or preferential
creditors.
An administration offers the company
protection by way of a moratorium and
no legal action can be taken against a
company, without the administrator’s
consent or permission of the Court whilst
the moratorium is in place.
Change in personnel
So when might an administration process
be used? It may be that the business was
not being managed in the right way, and
a simple change of personnel at the top
of the organisation may be sufficient to
reset the business on a more viable path.
In other scenarios, the Board may have
been trying to expand the business too
quickly; taking on too much debt and
overstretching financially. Refocusing on
core activities and disposing of certain
assets could put the business back on the
road to recovery.
As a creditor, you will receive a set of
proposals within eight weeks from the date
that the company entered administration.
If the administrator decides to continue
trading the business in administration,
with the aim of rescuing the business as
a going concern, they will automatically
assume certain responsibilities as Officers
of the Court. An administrator will be
personally liable for the trading costs
incurred, so your post-administration
supplies will be paid as an expense of the
administration.
For credit managers, continuing to trade
with a business in administration could
‘It is likely that
an administrator
will want to enter
into new terms
of business with
you, which may
provide you with an
opportunity to revise
your credit terms
with this business.’
seem a high-risk. However, it is unlikely
to be as risky as trading with a business
that is continuing to rack up debts and
missing payment deadlines outside an
administration process. Credit managers
can take some comfort that when you are
dealing with an administrator, you are
dealing with an Officer of the Court, so
you are unlikely to be left with any further
unpaid debts for the administration
period.
As a credit manager, if you feel unable
to continue trading with a customer
going through an administration process,
because of the large amount outstanding,
you should consider speaking to the
administrators directly. While it may not be
possible for one creditor to be prioritised
over another, the administrators may be
willing to discuss ongoing trade with a
critical supplier.
It is likely that an administrator will
want to enter into new terms of business
with you, which may provide you with an
opportunity to revise your credit terms
with this business.
In summary, credit managers should
stay open minded about trading with a
company in administration. Any future
debts they run up will be met by the
administration estate, and a positive, longterm
commercial relationship may still be
possible.
Giuseppe Parla is a Business Recovery
Director and Licensed Insolvency Practitioner
at Menzies LLP.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 10

OPINION
Name check
Customer service requires the
appropriate level of respect.
AUTHOR – Stephen Lewis FCICM
THE other day I had
occasion to contact a senior
management team at a wellknown
High Street Bank’s
Head Office in London.
To set the scene: I was
working towards a conclusion of a
complicated Life Insurance matter on
behalf of a client – it was literally a matter
of life and death regarding a delayed
settlement, through no fault of my client.
As a consequence, I was treating the
matter with a great deal of gravitas in my,
hopefully, usual professional manner.
As most readers are aware, particularly
with banks, it is never easy to get through
to the same person twice, as they work in
teams. So, on the third try that morning I
was connected to a new ‘Team Manager’
who introduced themselves by their
first name and as the senior manager
responsible for my case. I explained in
simple terms, again, the ongoing situation
and quoted the three separate reference
numbers I had on the file. To which came
the reply: ‘Hold on my lovely and I’ll check
the file. Won’t keep you holding long.’
Now, dear reader, if you don’t react in
any way to the above statement, read no
further. I, on the other hand, did react.
Within a millisecond, all my 40 years
of teaching and being taught about
‘customer facing professionalism’ flashed
through my brain. As calmly and politely
as I could I replied: ‘Don’t call me “my
lovely”, I have a name – it’s Stephen Lewis
or Stephen.” Immediately the manager
responded: ‘I apologise Mr Lewis, please
hold and I will find the file.’
Ok you say. Sorted. But I was left
somewhat shaken. Perhaps it’s me, but in
that brief moment of being addressed in
a light-hearted term of endearment I lost
all confidence in the bank, the person I
was dealing with and, more importantly,
a successful and speedy conclusion to my
case. Why? Because I felt that the person
on the other end of the line was not a
senior manager at all, nor was I through
to the right person. More than this, I felt
indignant at the disrespectful way I had
been addressed. I felt I had been almost
verbally abused (or am I going too far?).
Changing attitudes
I appreciate that we live in a world of
work that is rapidly changing, where we
speak to people using different terms
and dress in different ways. Work is
now far more ‘casual’ than it ever was in
many ways – casual clothes and casual
attitudes. To that end, some might say I
am overreacting, but am I? Would that
same bank call handler walk into the
Boardroom and address the Chairman
of the Bank with ‘Hello my lovely’? If the
roles were reversed, and the chairman
addressed the senior manager as ‘my
lovely’ I can only think what the HR team
would have made of it all and would fully
expect to read details of the harassment
case in a subsequent issue of the Bankers
Review!
We live in a world of opposites and
contradictions so my mantra has always
been: ‘Keep it simple – Keep it safe’. It
used to be ‘keep it simple stupid’, but I
don’t use that anymore since I had to talk
my way out of a training course attendee
accusing me of calling them stupid!
The customer is the most important
person to any business, and we should
never presume or assume who we/they
are. So always start any conversation,
verbal or written with the respect
that they/we feel is deserved.
Always address the customer with
an acceptable title, be it Mr, Mrs,
Ms – it carries no risk and allows them
to invite you to call them by a first name
or anything else. But never give yourself a
title. I always teach that scenario.
If someone invites a more relaxed
greeting, then you are more than halfway
to solving a problem. If they continue to
call me ‘Sir’ or ‘Mr’ I need to work a little
harder to break down the barriers. In debt
collection in particular I always say that
you can’t make people pay – you can only
make people want to pay! It is much the
same in any other business or personal
scenario. People don’t want to be forced
into anything; we have to want to do
something.
Some of you may disagree. Some of you
don’t mind that unsolicited call calling
you by your first name and asking how
your day is going. Maybe I am just being
old fashioned, but I do.
Stephen Lewis FCICM is a credit and
collections consultant.
The customer is
the most important
person to any
business, and
we should never
presume or assume
who we/they are.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 11

INTERVIEW
FOLLOW
MY LEADER
Sean Feast FCICM speaks to
Vikki Brownridge of StepChange about
leadership, charity funding, and making
the most out of life’s opportunities.
IT was early in her career that Vikki
Brownridge discovered she had
a flair for leadership. She was 19
and running a newly established
contact centre for Avery Berkel,
the famous manufacturer of
weighing equipment: “I found I really
enjoyed leading people,” she explains, “and
leading the development of new products
and services. I loved the hustle and bustle
of the contact centre environment but also
knew that my future career had to be in
leadership.”
Perhaps it’s no surprise, therefore, that
Vikki is now the Chief Executive of the UK’s
leading debt charity, StepChange, but what
is perhaps more of a surprise is her journey
in getting there.
Born in Leeds, coincidentally where
StepChange had its first office, Vikki is
from a typical working-class background.
Her father was a bus driver, and her mother
had a series of part-time jobs to make ends
meet. Educated at the local State school,
a passion for racket sports led to a Sports
Scholarship at an Independent School,
Woodhouse Grove: “I played squash for the
County and for the North West of England
and this led to a scholarship that gave me
an opportunity I would not have otherwise
had,” she explains.
Telephone banking
Enjoying English and History, she did well at
GCSEs until family circumstances obliged
her to leave school before her A levels and
find a job. She joined First Direct, one of
the early trailblazers in telephone banking,
as a Banking Representative and after two
years moved on to Club 24 as a Customer
Service Advisor, exposing her to the world
of credit: “I worked on the phones and then
took on a supervisory role,” she says. “It was
my first career stepping-stone, learning
how to lead and be a mentor to others. I
really enjoyed it.”
An opportunity to join Avery Berkel
tempted her away, and in 1996 she joined
the firm to lead its newly established
contact centre in Leeds from which it
would manage and despatch engineers to
service Avery equipment across the UK: “I
took everything I had observed and learned
in larger contact centres and applied them
at Avery,” she says.
Her talent and abilities were quickly
recognised, and she soon after found
herself working on a major transformation
programme with KPMG, migrating
10 disparate systems into one: “It was
the time of the Millennium bug,” she
recalls, “and our systems were not
Millennium compliant. I led the project
team representing the contact centre
environment, and the programme helped
widen my experience and broaden my
skillsets into project management.”
With the programme successfully
completed, after a brief spell with BT
Cellnet, Vikki was enticed back to Club 24,
which had since become Ventura, to lead
its Telemarketing and Collections division
as an Operations Manager. She spent five
enjoyable years at the business, during
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 12

which time she managed a team of more than
500 people responsible for delivering multimillion-pound
contracts.
After a short career break following
maternity leave, Vikki looked for another role
through a headhunter and was presented with
two opportunities: one of those opportunities
was the Consumer Credit Counselling
Service – now known as StepChange: “The
headhunter said it was a bit of an odd one,
because although it was a charity, it operated
very much as a business,” she explains.
“I went in for the interview and was
immediately hooked. There was a strong
sense of purpose, and I loved the fact that it
existed purely to help other people. I am as
passionate about the Charity today as I was
when I first arrived. It’s an organisation that
truly believes in its purpose. You may well
love your job in other firms, but you can never
replicate that feeling you get when you help
people like we do.”
Career progression
Vikki started as an Advice Centre Manager
in 2005, and steadily progressed through the
ranks. She became Head of Debt Advice in
2007 and Head of Strategic Relationships in
2015. Joining the executive team, she was
appointed Director of Charity Development
in 2018, Director of Client Experience in 2021,
and Director of Operations later the same
year, before finally becoming Chief Executive
in May 2023.
Any talk of the cost-of-living crisis having
passed, or even being on its way out, is
somewhat premature, Vikki believes: “It’s
a real and present problem,” she explains,
“it’s not a 2022 issue. Yes, energy prices are
coming down and there are a few other
positive indicators but consumers have been
hit by a series of compounding difficulties:
high energy bills; debts accumulated during
the pandemic; high inflation impacting
food prices; and high interest rates affecting
mortgagees and renters alike.
“More than a third (34 percent) of
those coming to us for debt advice are in a
negative budget situation. Put another way,
they have less coming in than going out.
“We have a good partnership with the
CICM in learning and development
and make the qualification available to
our employees. It has been a successful
partnership with some strong results.”
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 13 continues on page 14 >

INTERVIEW
That needs collective action, not just from
the advice sector but also from the banks
and other creditors. It’s going to take
policy change and other interventions
from the Government and regulators
to solve. This isn’t just about people on
benefits; it’s also about people who are in
full time employment but have no other
means of increasing their income.”
The figures Vikki shares from the
charity’s recent Impact Report show
the value she believes that StepChange
delivers. In 2022 it reached more than 2.8
million customers, 167,000 received full
debt advice and c178,000 clients had an
active debt management plan. Its clients
repaid more than £371m in debt, and
25,500 became free form problem debt
entirely. It recorded more than six million
visits to its website.
Future funding
To what extent StepChange will be
able to continue to help clients at the
current rate – c15,500 per month (as at
July 2023) – will be a challenge, not least
because of a question mark over future
funding. StepChange is currently funded
predominantly through a Fair Share
Contribution, a funding model whereby
creditors who receive a payment from
one of their customers on a StepChange
debt management plan pay a percentage
contribution for the charity’s service,
based on the payments they receive.
“What we are seeing,” Vikki explains, “is
that the pressure on household incomes
means there are fewer people with any
level of repayment potential coming
for debt advice and depositsare also
reducing for those who are already on
debt management plans because their
budgets have been further impacted by
the cost-of-living crisis. As our funding is
linked to that one solution, our funding
therefore tends to be squeezed.
“That said, we are having very positive
conversations with our existing funders
about other ways of supporting us to
support their customers where a debt
management plan might not be available
or might not be the best outcome for
them.”
Vikki says that the charity’s relationship
with the debt purchase sector is probably
the strongest it has ever been. The
increase in debt sale activity in recent
years means that a large proportion of
StepChange’s debt management book is
with the debt purchasers rather than the
banks, which means it is disbursing a
significant amount of money to the debt
purchase sector. Funding is contractual in
most debts sales and that instantly creates
an important relationship between the
two parties. “We work closely with them to
provide the level of information they need
about their customers, and the feedback
we receive from the major purchasers
we work with is that the ‘stickability’ of
our debt management plans are very
strong,” she says. “That is obviously
a benefit to the purchaser and their
customers, since their customers will
ultimately become debt free more
quickly.” Vikki says she works hard to
maintain those relationships: “I have
seen practices within the collections
and purchasing sectors significantly
improve during my time with the charity.
Regulation has had a strong hand in that,
of course, but we also see good practice in
terms of customer service and a focus on
consumer outcomes.
“There was a regulatory sea change
ahead of the pandemic,” she continues,
“and then there was a sea change during
the pandemic, and how much more
a creditor could do before referring a
customer on for additional support.
“Leading the
development of
new products and
services. I loved the
hustle and bustle of
the contact centre
environment but
also knew that my
future career had to
be in leadership.”
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 14

INTERVIEW
“Now we have Consumer Duty as
another layer which changes the
landscape as regards what the future
role of debt advice should be, given that
organisations are doing more themselves
for their customers from the start. This
is, of course, a good thing but needs to be
considered in the context of what is the
debt advice sector for and how should
it be funded. We must ensure that the
customers who cannot be supported by
their creditors still get good advice and
good outcomes.”
Consumer Duty
Vikki believes that the new Consumer
Duty, which came into effect at the
end of July, is a good thing in helping
organisations to focus on outcomes:
“You can tick boxes but still deliver a
poor outcome,” she says, “but what the
Consumer Duty looks to enable is that you
are thinking more broadly. For example,
“There was a regulatory sea
change ahead of the pandemic,
and then there was a sea
change during the pandemic,
and how much more a creditor
could do before referring a
customer on for additional
support.’’
how have you monitored and measured
that the product or advice you’ve provided
is right for that individual? It will be an
evolving journey for the industry and
for individual businesses. It’s made us
look at ourselves as a consumer facing
organisation and that can only be a good
thing.”
StepChange is currently working
through its actions based on a strategy
to the end of 2024. This includes a
significant investment in new digital
technology to transform its back-office
environment from a process and systems
perspective. It means allowing those on
a debt management plan, or similar, to
interact digitally, at their own pace or at a
time and in a way that suits them.
It’s part of a much wider investment
the charity has made in the digital space:
“We have already invested in creating an
omni-channel debt advice journey,” Vikki
explains, “or how I prefer to describe it –
an advisor-backed digital journey.
“Three quarters (75 percent) of
customers going through our debt advice
journey do so online, and by having a
digital capability we can help even more
people in a more efficient and effective
way, but with the same level of funding.
It’s enabling us to automate some of our
manual processes and interact with our
creditor partners more effectively and
bring efficiencies to them as well.”
StepChange also continues to invest in
the assisted learning and development of
its own people, supported by the Chartered
Institute of Credit Management: “We have
a good partnership with the CICM in
learning and development and make the
qualification available to our employees,”
she says. “It has been a successful
partnership with some strong results.”
While Vikki is delivering on the current
strategy, she also has her eyes fixed on the
future. In October 2022, the Money and
Pension Service (MaPS) announced the
outcome of its commissioning process for
the funding of debt advice. Unfortunately,
StepChange was unsuccessful in its bid
for national debt advice and Debt Relief
Order delivery: “This obliged us to pivot
and make adjustments,” Vikki concedes,
“but we are in a good place and there are
exciting times ahead.”
Evolving landscape
The challenge, Vikki explains, is how the
charity evolves in a constantly evolving
debt landscape. She is, however, clear in
her mission: “We want to achieve stability
of funding, and be acknowledged as an
efficient, accessible, digitally-backed
service,” she says. “We also want to explore
how we can further diversify our products
and services to help more people in line
with our charitable purpose which is to
support the alleviation of poverty.”
While Vikki has undoubtedly got the
‘bug’ when it comes to social purpose, she
has yet to find a similar interest to replace
her squash, beyond supporting her
daughter and two sons in their sporting
or academic endeavours: “Injury obliged
me to give up squash,” she smiles, “so now
I have to content myself with walking my
two dogs and standing on the touchline
most weekends watching the boys play
rugby.”
And what advice would she have given
her younger self? Vikki is phlegmatic:
“There are many different ways to be
successful,” she says, “and of course
your individual circumstances and
opportunities will play a part. But I do
believe that with the right drive, ambition
and belief in yourself, combined with a
strong work ethic, anything is possible.”
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 15

FRAUD PREVENTION
WITHOUT FAIL
Understanding the proposed ‘failure
to prevent fraud’ offence.
AUTHOR – Annie Birch
THE Government intends to
introduce a new ‘failure to
prevent fraud’ offence as an
amendment to its Economic
Crime and Corporate
Transparency Bill. In April
2023, the Home Office published a fact
sheet, which was updated in June (2023),
and tabled an amendment to introduce
the offence, which is supported by the
Serious Fraud Office and the Crown
Prosecution Service.
The new offence is likely to come into
force by the end of 2024 and will form
part of broader reforms of UK corporate
criminal liability. These also include
proposed changes to replace the ‘directing
mind and will’ test for corporate criminal
liability with a new ‘senior managers’
test which, if introduced, could make
prosecuting organisations for criminal
offences much easier more generally.
Recent proposed amendments have also
introduced a failure to prevent money
laundering offence, although it remains
to be seen whether this will be included
in the final legislation.
Coupled with the renewed focus of
the Serious Fraud Office, Financial
Conduct Authority and other authorities
on the prevention of fraud, this will
significantly shift the landscape for
organisations carrying on a business in
the UK, in a similar way to the impact of
the Bribery Act (BA) more than a decade
ago. In particular, it will shift the focus
from organisations as victims of fraud
(inward fraud) to make it easier for
organisations to be prosecuted for fraud
committed by employees or third parties
(outward fraud). It will also require many
organisations to make significant changes
to fraud compliance programmes in order
to prevent a wide range of fraud offences.
Framing the offence
The new offence will make an organisation
liable if it fails to prevent a specified fraud
offence from being committed where an
employee or agent commits the fraud,
and the fraud is intended to benefit the
organisation or a person to whom services
are provided on behalf of the organisation.
Importantly, the offence will have
a defence of ‘reasonable procedures’
to prevent fraud. This means it will
effectively require organisations to review
and enhance their anti-fraud systems
‘Reasonable
procedures’ to
prevent fraud.
This means it will
effectively require
organisations
to review and
enhance their antifraud
systems and
controls to cover
fraud committed
for their benefit
by employees or
agents.
and controls to cover fraud committed
for their benefit by employees or agents.
That said, the Government has stated that
there may be circumstances where it is
reasonable for an organisation to have no
fraud prevention procedures in place.
The offence was initially drafted to
apply to all ‘large organisations’, with
such a threshold being met where an
organisation satisfied two or more of
the following conditions in the financial
year preceding the year of the offence:
more than 250 employees, more than
£36m turnover, and/or assets of more
than £18m. However, recently agreed
amendments have resulted in this
requirement being removed, meaning
that the offence is likely to apply to all
organisations, regardless of their size.
Although the exact jurisdictional scope
remains unclear, the new offence will also
apply to organisations and employees who
are based overseas where an employee
or agent commits a fraud offence under
UK law or which targets UK victims. This
appears to be slightly different from the
jurisdictional scope of the BA which
focuses on organisations carrying on a
business in the UK.
Types of fraud
There has been continuing debate as to
which types of fraud offence should be
included in the ‘failure to prevent’ fraud
offence. The proposed offence captures
the fraud and false accounting offences
which the Government considers are most
likely to be relevant to large corporations.
These are:
• Fraud by false representation
(section 2, Fraud Act 2006)
•Fraud by failing to disclose information
(section 3, Fraud Act 2006)
• Fraud by abuse of position
(section 4, Fraud Act 2006)
• Obtaining services dishonestly
(section 11, Fraud Act 2006)
• Participation in a fraudulent business
(section 9, Fraud Act 2006)
• False statements by company directors
(Section 19, Theft Act 1968)
• False accounting
(section 17, Theft Act 1968)
• Fraudulent trading (section 993,
Companies Act 2006)
• Cheating the public revenue
(common law)
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 16

Although the exact jurisdictional
scope remains unclear, the
new offence will also apply to
organisations and employees
who are based overseas where
an employee or agent commits
a fraud offence under UK law or
which targets UK victims.
The types of conduct that could be
caught are broad. Offences could arise out
of warranties and representations made
in transaction documents, prospectuses,
annual reports, and insurance claims.
Crucially, there would have to be dishonest
intent for an offence to be committed.
According to Home Office guidance
conduct caught will include ‘dishonest
sales practices, false accounting and
hiding important information from
consumers or investors’ and ‘dishonest
practices in financial markets.’
The cheating the public revenue
element of this new offence may also
cross over with organisations’ existing
obligations under the failure to prevent
tax evasion offences introduced under
the Criminal Finances Act 2017. It may
be possible for organisations to build on
existing procedures already in place in
this regard.
Failure to prevent
Recent proposed amendments have
also suggested expanding the failure to
prevent fraud offence to include moneylaundering
offences. Whilst the precise
form of these – and whether they will
actually be included – is still to be
determined, it is expected that five money
laundering offences will be caught by the
new provision:
• Concealing, disguising, converting,
transferring or removing criminal
property (section 327, Proceeds of Crime
Act 2002 (PoCA))
• Arrangements facilitating the
acquisition, retention, use or control of
criminal property (section 328, PoCA)
• Acquisition, use and possession of
criminal property (section 329, PoCA)
• Failing to disclose knowledge or
suspicion of money laundering
(section 330, PoCA)
• Tipping off (section 333a, PoCA)
It remains to be seen how this would
interact with the existing money
laundering legislative framework.
Impact of the new offence
The ‘failure to prevent’ model will make
it easier to prosecute organisations
compared to the current position in which
an organisation will only be held liable for
fraud where a ‘directing mind and will’ has
been directly involved. In practice, it has
been very difficult to attribute liability for
fraud to organisations, particularly large
global groups.
The move towards a failure to prevent
offence will increase the chance of
prosecutions against organisations. This
includes an increased risk of private
prosecutions being brought by individuals
who are victims of fraud.
It is also envisaged that there will be an
increase in the number of organisations
entering into deferred prosecution
agreements (DPAs) in relation to failure
to prevent fraud, effectively settling the
case without any formal requirement to
admit criminal liability. Once the offence
is in force, organisations which identify
conduct covered by the new offence will
have to carefully consider the risks and
benefits of a DPA, particularly given the
risk of parallel civil claims.
Simple steps
The Government has announced that it
will produce specific guidance providing
organisations with information about
what reasonable procedures will look like
in due course – akin to the BA adequate
procedures guidance. Whilst the precise
form of the new guidance is unclear, it is
hoped that it will be detailed and tailored
to sectors so as to highlight particular
fraud risks that may be faced in each
sector with detailed examples of red flags.
This will considerably assist organisations
in conducting their risk assessments and
tailoring their policies and procedures.
The Government will also likely need to
clarify how, for regulated firms, this will
interact with existing financial crime
processes required.
Pending guidance being published,
and as a first step, organisations should
consider whether any existing fraud
risk assessment covers outward fraud in
sufficient detail or otherwise needs to
be revised. The risk assessment should
be reviewed by reference to fraud issues
the organisation and/or its peers have
encountered.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 17 continues on page 18 >

FRAUD PREVENTION
AUTHOR – Annie Birch
As highlighted there are a broad range of
potentially complex offences covered and therefore
risk assessments will need to be wide ranging
and incorporate input from a number of different
functions within an organisation. Organisations
should therefore make sure that individuals tasked
with conducting a risk assessment and putting in
place procedures have a sufficient understanding
of the offences covered. It is important that legal
and compliance are closely involved to ensure the
nuances of the offences are addressed both in
the risk assessment itself, and in policies and the
procedures to implement them.
Based on the results of their risk assessment,
organisations should ensure that anti-fraud
policies, systems and controls manage the risks
identified effectively. This means putting in place
anti-fraud policies and procedures that mitigate
outward fraud committed for the benefit of the
organisation.
Recent proposed
amendments have also
introduced a failure to
prevent money laundering
offence, although it remains
to be seen whether this
will be included in the final
legislation.
Tailored training
Training, including tailored training for those in
higher risk positions, should be organised. Given the
complexities, case studies will be really important
in policies and training to ensure individuals fully
understand where offences may arise.
Financial controls need to be reinforced and
tailored to ensure that any potential red flags are
picked up and investigated. Also, two person checks
will be required.
Due diligence will be necessary in respect of
transactions for clients and contracts (for example,
suppliers), particularly on third party agents given
the offence will apply to the acts of agents acting
on the organisation’s behalf. Where possible fraud
due diligence should be integrated with existing
processes such as anti-bribery and corruption
due diligence processes already in place. Also,
contractual provisions should cover outward fraud.
Organisations also need to put in place effective
audit and monitoring processes in relation to
fraud, and in particular for third parties. Medium
and high risk third parties should be monitored
more closely and on a more regular basis. And as
for due diligence processes, it is recommended that
fraud monitoring and review processes are built in
to existing procedures.
Lastly, there should be a regular internal review
of systems and controls along with a clear tone
from the top. Fraud should be an agenda item at
board and senior management level to ensure this
is prioritised and given the appropriate oversight.
Summary
A change to the law in relation to fraud is coming,
regardless of how it is finally enacted. With the
emphasis on ‘preventing’ fraud rather than pinning
the blame on a ‘controlling mind’, organisations
need to implement procedures that de-risk the
likelihood that action will be taken against them.
Annie Birch is a Senior Associate
at Norton Rose Fulbright LLP.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 18

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Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 20

HIGH COURT ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
The Digital Dawn
The modernisation of writs in England and Wales
would unshackle Courts and HCEOs.
AUTHOR – Michael Jackson
IN an age where digital transformation
is reshaping every facet
of society, the legal system is no
exception. While electronic judgments
were already introduced
several years ago it seems almost
impossible to believe that there isn’t yet a
digital system for submitting and processing
writs in the County and High courts,
although a semi-electronic system is just
now being considered.
At present, High Court Enforcement
Officers (HCEOs) submit around 140,000
writs to the court system each year. This
is equal to approximately 360,000 pages
of forms which must be filled in by hand,
sent by post to the courts to manually seal,
then returned by post to the issuing HCEO
who must then manually process them.
Not only is this incredibly time consuming,
but it is also costly, has negative environmental
impacts and raises important
points around accessibility and future improvements
to the justice system.
Efficiency gains through digital
transformation
Introducing a digital process for
submitting writs would have significant
impact on time saved by both HCEOs
and the courts. Paperwork could be sent
and received within minutes rather than
days and electronic copies can be easily
searched for and recalled if needed.
It would allow for better resource
allocation in both enforcement businesses
and the courts, which would enable
HCEOs and the court’s teams to focus on
other important areas.
Of course, this time saving would equate
to financial savings to the public purse
as court staff usually paid to manually
complete writs could be assigned to other
tasks. Courts and enforcement businesses
would also see tangible cost savings by
spending less on stationery, storage,
printing, and postage, which would limit
future upward pressure on enforcement
fees. (As an aside, High Court enforcement
fees have been static for a decade now,
though the Ministry of Justice is currently
reviewing them, but that is another article
for another day).
Enhanced security and analytics
Digital formats would provide enhanced
security for all involved. Paper documents
are vulnerable to loss, damage, or theft,
which can be disastrous in legal cases.
With digital storage and encryption
measures, sensitive case information is
better protected. Access controls ensure
that only authorised individuals can view
or modify the documents, preserving
the integrity and reputation of the
enforcement process.
There is also a real opportunity to use
digitisation of writs to analyse case data
to identify trends, track performance
metrics, and make informed decisions
about resource allocation and procedural
improvements. This data-driven approach
can lead to more informed policy decisions
and optimisations within the justice
system and enforcement businesses.
By reducing the
reliance on paper
and embracing
digital alternatives,
the enforcement
profession can
contribute to
environmental
conservation efforts.
Streamlined case management
Whilst accepting accessibility by phone is
vitally important for many, we also need
to ensure that we embrace other methods
as well. Enforcement businesses have
already made significant investments into
digital customer communications with
many using email, webchat, and online
customer portals to enable self-service.
As we move forward and continue to
evolve, there will be a growing demand
by customers to have much greater
accessibility with expectations for
enforcement businesses to have facilities
operating 24/7.
Moving towards a digital first future
will give UK businesses and individuals
hoping to recover the money that is owed
to them greater trust in the enforcement
process, with enforcement agents able to
show electronic versions of instructions
and, where possible, producing live
documentation electronically at the point
of need.
Electronic sharing of documents allows
for real-time updates, comments, and
revisions. This collaborative approach not
only improves communication but also
expedites case preparation and resolution.
Enforcement agents can work more
efficiently, leading to better outcomes for
their clients.
Environmental sustainability
Going digital is also a step towards
environmental sustainability. The legal
system, like any other sector, produces
a significant amount of paper waste.
By reducing the reliance on paper and
embracing digital alternatives, the
enforcement profession can contribute to
environmental conservation efforts. This
move aligns with broader societal goals
of reducing the carbon footprint and
preserving natural resources.
The future of enforcement
Above all, a more efficient and accessible
legal system positively impacts public
perception. When people and businesses
experience faster case resolution, reduced
administrative hassles, and improved
access to legal services, they are more
likely to trust and engage with the justice
system. This fosters a sense of fairness
and accountability, which are essential
elements of a just society.
While HCEOA is encouraging its
members to continue to invest in
improvements to their systems and
welcomes the move to be able to apply
for a writ by email as opposed to post,
what’s really needed is a digitisation
plan for writ enforcement. Ideally, we
need a streamlined digital writ that can
be automatically submitted via a digital
link with the courts, so that Judgment
Debtor Applications, Stays and other
Court Orders can automatically notify the
HCEOs, but that system change lies with
the Government.
Michael Jackson is Vice Chair of
the High Court Enforcement Officers
Association (HCEOA).
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 21

BUSINESS FINANCE
HERO WORSHIP
Invoice Finance is the unsung hero
of cashflow funding.
AUTHOR – Ant Persse FCICM
IN the world of business
financing, there's an unsung
hero that is not utilised to its
full potential – Invoice Finance.
It's a financial tool that could
revolutionise the way businesses
manage their cashflow and, in turn,
supercharge the economy. But why do we
think it's a game-changer that deserves
more attention?
Invoice Finance, despite its immense
potential, remains one of the most
underutilised of all cashflow management
tools in the United Kingdom. There's a
staggering amount of money – many
hundreds of billions of pounds – tied up
in unpaid invoices, sitting on the balance
sheets of countless businesses across the
nation. By providing the key to unlocking
these dormant funds, Invoice Finance
could have a profound impact on the
overall economy.
In 2022, UK Finance reported that its
members across Invoice Finance and
Asset-based Lending supported £314
billion of client sales, up from £276
billion in 2021. Client numbers, however,
remained relatively static (at c35,000
businesses); the increase was due to the
turnover of the average client increasing
(from £7.9 million to £9 million).
Indeed, looking at client numbers in
the sub £10 million turnover bracket
(around 29,000 businesses) paints a
rather gloomy story: they fell, (although
it is worth noting that the number of
new bank loans and overdraft facilities to
SMEs also fell).
So why do client numbers remain so
stubbornly stationary and why don’t more
businesses use it? One of the primary
reasons Invoice Finance is underutilised
is because of a simple lack of awareness
among businesses. Many entrepreneurs
and business owners are unfamiliar
with what Invoice Finance is and how
it works. In simple terms, it allows
businesses to access cash against
invoices that are not yet due for payment,
providing a significant boost to their cash
flows.
It's often said that businesses don't fail
because they aren't profitable; they fail
because they run out of cash. Invoice
Finance addresses this critical issue by
ensuring that businesses have access
to the cash they need when they need
Ant Persse FCICM
Chief Executive Officer
of Optimum Finance.
It's a financial
tool that could
revolutionise the way
businesses manage
their cashflow and,
in turn, supercharge
the economy.
it most, supporting the old adage that
cashflow is the lifeblood of business.
Multi-sector appeal
Unlike some other forms of funding,
Invoice Finance doesn't discriminate
based on the size, age, or credit risk profile
of a business. This inclusivity means that
a substantial portion of the business
population can benefit from it. Whether
you're a new start-up or an established
company in need of a financial boost,
Invoice Finance can be the solution.
Imagine being a fledgling business
or a company in need of a financial
lifeline. Many ‘traditional’ funding
options such as a commercial loan or
overdraft can be challenging to secure.
Invoice Finance, on the other hand,
embraces entrepreneurship and growth,
offering a much-needed cashflow buffer
for businesses at all stages of their
development.
Take the example of Mondo Brewery
Company, one of London’s most successful
craft brewing enterprises. The co-founder
and Director Todd Matteson opted for
Invoice Finance as a cashflow funding
tool better suited to his company’s needs.
Optimum Finance pays Mondo an agreed
percentage of the invoice value as soon as
it is submitted, driving access to liquidity
at the point of invoice as opposed to
needing to wait. Mondo buys hundreds
of kilograms of hops and many tons of
malt weekly, along with the chemicals
necessary to the brewing process. It
creates something in the order of 45,000
litres of craft beers every month to a
total of approximately 5,000 hectolitres
a year.
“Optimum advances 85 percent of
the invoice value,” Todd explains, “with
access to up to £250,000 at any one time,
and this is a tremendous benefit in paying
our own suppliers and giving us greater
flexibility in our purchasing decisions.”
Specialist automotive power tools
business Kielder is another good example
and from a completely different industry.
Paying suppliers and staff while waiting
to be paid themselves by some of the
major resellers was the challenge, and
Invoice Finance the solution.
Mo Han, co-founder and Head of
Purchasing at Kielder, says the benefit
of Invoice Finance is that it releases cash
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 22

“Optimum advances 85 percent of the invoice value
and that helps us not only pay our own people and our key
suppliers, but also enables us to offer discounts on bulk orders
to our key customers.” – Ant Persse FCICM.
into the business almost immediately,
regardless of how long it takes a customer
to finally pay: “Optimum advances 85
percent of the invoice value and that
helps us not only pay our own people and
our key suppliers, but also enables us to
offer discounts on bulk orders to our key
customers.
“With some of our customers requiring
60-day payment terms, it enables us to
bridge the cashflow gap, and do so with
what is effectively our own money. What’s
especially good about it is that as we grow,
so the amount of cash available to us also
grows, and this will help us expand.”
Powerful tool
Invoice Finance can be a powerful tool
for any business that engages in trade
with other businesses. It provides a way
to bridge the gap between the delivery
of goods or services and the receipt of
payment. However, it's worth noting that
Invoice Finance can be slightly more
complex when dealing with contractual
debts, making it more challenging to
secure for businesses in industries like
construction.
In conclusion, Invoice Finance is
a financial instrument that holds the
potential to reshape the financial
landscape for businesses in the UK. It's a
solution that can empower businesses to
unlock cash trapped in unpaid invoices,
maintain healthy cashflows, and foster
growth, all while being accessible to a
wide range of businesses. As awareness
of its benefits grows, it could become a
cornerstone of financial management
for businesses across the country,
contributing to a more resilient and
thriving economy.
Ant Persse is Chief Executive Officer of
Optimum Finance. Article adapted from a
presentation given to the CICM Think Tank.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 23

CICM CORPORATE PARTNER
BETTER OUTCOMES
TCN hosts its first UK networking and education event for
users of technology in the credit and collections industry.
outcomes for
your business and
customers through
technology,’ was hosted
by TCN, a global
‘BETTER
provider of a comprehensive
cloud-based call centre platform
for enterprises, contact centres, BPOs,
and collection agencies.
The event held at The Holiday Inn in
Leamington Spa in June, was supported
by industry partners and the Chartered
Institute of Credit Management (CICM),
with which TCN has recently become a
Corporate artner.
TCN also announced new integrated
solutions partnerships in the UK with
DebtStream and Debtrak, which also
supported the event. Round table
discussion topics were moderated by Luke
Sculthorp, Head of Strategic Relationships
at CICM. Kerry Sherman, Vice President
and Co-Founder of TCN also flew in from
the US for the event and Adrian Stefan,
Director of Sales in the EU came from the
EU head office in Bucharest, Romania.
Delegates from a range of collection
industry sectors including collection
agencies, legal recoveries, enforcement,
BPO’s, leasing and more, were all in
attendance.
These delegates were invited to hear
from the three partner companies,
network, ‘lunch and learn,’ and to discuss
two main topics.
1) Understanding the challenges resulting
from tighter regulations, combined with
a worsening economic outlook, and the
part technology can play in mitigating
those pressures.
2) Technology deployment, procurement,
and usage of best practices to maximise
efficiency and achieve best mutual
outcomes for consumers and companies.
Introducing the first topic, Luke
Sculthorp, from CICM said: “The economy
and inflation aren’t moving if we compare
ourselves to other economic areas such as
the US. There are no increases in taxation,
it’s going to affect your customers and it’s
going to become more challenging.
“How do we see technology and
technical innovation affecting the
collection sector?” Delegates discussed
consistency of customer journey, and
giving the consumer a choice over their
preferred communication channel as well
as confusion over consumer duty and
how to navigate their customer’s differing
views of what consumer duty is while
giving consumers a ‘fair deal.’
For topic two, discussion led to not
wanting technology to become bolt on after
bolt on and to ensure it works effectively
without becoming too complex. They also
discussed how the procurement process
should be individualised for companies
and ensure all levels of the business are
onboard and understand how it can
benefit customers while ensuring the
clients know how to properly use the
technology at their disposal.
Opening the event and introducing the
partnership, Spencer Taylor, Regional
Head, Sales and Operations UK & Eire at
TCN, said: “There are many issues facing
the UK economy currently, a lot of people
are also finding themselves in debt
for the first time. So today, we want to
discuss how technology can help, as well
as the procurement and implementation
processes and how systems can integrate
together to deliver more than the sum of
their component parts.
“As suppliers it’s incumbent on us
to help clients and create the best
solutions that help drive cost savings and
efficiencies. These three technologies are
an example of how we can work together
with other suppliers in an integrated
way, and they fit well together for credit
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 24

“As suppliers it’s incumbent on us to help clients and create
the best solutions that help drive cost savings and efficiencies.
These three technologies are an example of how we can work
together with other suppliers in an integrated way.”
– Spencer Taylor, TCN.
Below: Delegates at the TCN
event ‘Better outcomes for your
business and customers through
technology,’ at The Holiday Inn in
Leamington Spa earlier this month.
80 percent of our work as technology
partners is consultancy. We give you the
tools and you can do the configuration
work, or we can do it for you. If you have a
client coming on board and need
assistance with explaining the technology
you’re using and its benefits to your client
you ask your tech provider. You’ll find
we will be very happy to help and we
can answer all the questions about the
technology, its features, benefits to your
client and integrations, we are part of
your team.”
Delegates at the event also raised £165
for the debt charity Step Change, which
was match funded by TCN, with a total of
£330 being donated.
Michael Jewitt from Oriel Collections
was the lucky recipient of the £250 Virgin
Experience Days gifted by TCN at the
event last week.
TCN is planning its next lunch and
learn event in autumn this year. Check
out the TCN website and TCN on LinkedIn
for further details.
TCN, Inc is a global provider of a
comprehensive, cloud-based call centre
platform for enterprises, contact centres,
business process outsourcing firms
(BPOs) and collection agencies.
Below: Michael Jewitt from Oriel
Collections is presented with the £250
Virgin Experience Voucher gifted by
Spencer Taylor, Regional Head Sales, and
Operations UK & Eire at TCN.
collections/BPO’s, becoming a ‘superplatform’.”
TCN has two decades of experience
building contact centre systems, based in
the cloud from day one. With over 2,000
clients worldwide across most continents,
handling billions of calls a day, global data
centres and offices worldwide we provide
unrivalled support and service wherever
our users are located.
Martin O’Donnell, CPO, and Co-Founder
DebtSteam said: “We used self-service
platforms in other roles and realised there
was a change within the industry and to
build your own platform takes a lot of
time and resource. “So, we have created
an out of the box platform which can be
integrated into any CRM – it’s all driven
dynamically, for personalised journeys
using individuals data. Together, the
three platforms, offer a seamless end to
end collections journey, its collections
made digital.”
Mark Jones, Director Request
Computing, said: “Request Computing
implements and supports Debtrak in
the UK, Europe and USA. Debtrak was
established in 2010 and the
platform has been deployed
extensively worldwide boasting
credit providers, banks, government
agencies, collection agencies and
BPO’s amongst its clients. “The
CRM product and the functionality
within it is very powerful, intuitive and
accessible. Spencer added: “More than
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 25

Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 26

FINANCIAL SUPPORT
Benevolent thinking
The CICM is relaunching its Members’
Financial Support Fund.
AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM
THE current economic
uncertainty and cost-ofliving
crisis have created
hardship for many people,
young and old, able or less
able, wherever you may sit
on the social scale. Every so often, any
one of us may need a helping hand, a
benevolent gesture, to get us through a
difficult period.
It was with this in mind that almost
30 years ago the Institute of Credit
Management – as it was then – set up the
Benevolent Fund to assist members and
former members of the Institute, or their
dependents, who are ‘in conditions of
need, hardship or distress’. Now that fund
is being rebranded and relaunched as the
Members’ Financial Support Fund.
Since its original launch back in 1994,
the Fund has come to the assistance of
many different members with varying
needs. It has helped finance the purchase
of a mobility scooter for a disabled
member and fund the studies of the
daughter of a member who became
unexpectedly ill. It has financed the
purchase of computer equipment to assist
an unemployed member set up a business
and contributed towards the purchase
of an orthopaedic bed for one member
whose condition was thereby greatly
eased. It has even helped with payment
for a drug, not available on the NHS, for
medical treatment.
The fact that even more people haven’t
been helped over the years is primarily
due to a lack of awareness; although
signposted and easily visible on the CICM
website, it is still largely unknown. It’s
why the Institute has appointed Peter
Wallwork FCICM, to Chair the Committee
who consider applications, and to
spearhead a new campaign and a rebrand.
“The Fund is a tremendous benefit
to members and their families, but not
enough people know about it,” Peter says.
“This has two impacts: firstly, it means
we’re not getting help to people who might
desperately need it, and secondly we’re
not attracting donations from corporates
or individual contributions and legacies
that would mean we could help even
more people though a potentially difficult
period in their lives.”
The application process for funding is
easy; there is a simple form to complete
to explain your circumstances and how
the funding would be used. Peter admits
it’s difficult to be prescriptive about
what might/might not be considered,
but that should never put off members
from applying if they are facing genuine
financial hardship: “Sometimes even a
few hundred pounds can make all the
difference,” he says, “and we recognise
that.
“From the examples we’ve already
given, you can see a diverse range of needs
we’ve been able to accommodate, from
technology to life-enhancing medication,
and corporate donors especially can
see how any contributions they make
very much fit within the ‘S’ of their
Environment, Social and Governance
(ESG) policy.”
The Members’ Financial Support Fund
is just one of a range of member support
services available through the Institute
that includes technical, business or legal
advice.
If you need support, or would like to
support other members, please email
governance@cicm.com or go online at
https://www.cicm.com/member-adviceservice/
and find out more.
“Sometimes even a
few hundred pounds
can make all the
difference, and we
recognise that.’’
– Peter Wallwork FCICM
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 27

LIFE IN
PERSPECTIVE
Supporting people through
the cost-of-living crisis.
‘‘Working alongside creditors, the debt collection
industry and the wider money and credit sector is also
key in ensuring there are safe routes out of financial
difficulty for the millions of people struggling.’’
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 28

DEBT ADVICE
AUTHOR – Jane Tully
HIGH prices and the impact
they are having on
UK households remain
in the spotlight of Governments,
regulators and
the media. Stubbornly
high inflation and rising interest rates,
alongside the regular drumbeat of research
highlighting the scale and breadth
of financial difficulties continues to add
to this focus.
Our own research from June, based on
UK wide polling, showed that 11.6 million
(22 percent) UK adults were behind on
one or more household bill, up from
7.9 million in March 2022. But what do
these types of statistics tell us about the
lives of people in debt? What does this
mean for the day-to-day challenges faced
by many households, and what is needed
to help the millions of people struggling
now?
(56 percent) of all Business Debtline
clients having a deficit budget (income
not enough to cover essentials). It has
been a perfect storm for small businesses.
Many were still reeling from the financial
effects of Covid when the cost-of-living
crisis hit. Nearly a quarter (23 percent)
of Business Debtline clients continue to
cite ‘Coronavirus’ as the main reason for
financial difficulty.
It is these existing challenges,
compounded by growing pressure from
all areas, that are now taking their toll on
our clients. More than half (57 percent) of
Business Debtline clients and two thirds
(66 percent) of National Debtline clients
surveyed said they had gone without
essential items like food, toiletries or
clothing because they could not afford
them.
Trussell Trust, to ensure that Universal
Credit and other benefits always provide
enough to live on so people do not have to
go without essentials. We need safe routes
out of debt for the many millions of people
who have fallen behind. The immediate
introduction of measures to improve
access to Debt Relief Orders (DROs) would
be a good first step. DROs are a vital
insolvency option, however many people
face barriers accessing these, not least the
£90 fee. The Department for Business and
Trade should work with the Insolvency
Service to provide ways of improving
access to DROs. This should include
reviewing the maximum debt limit, to
ensure anyone who has little available
income and minimum assets can access
a DRO, as well as reviewing the rule that
only allows a DRO once every six years.
Debt landscape
At National Debtline and Business
Debtline the majority of people we
help are on low incomes. The average
household income of a National Debtline
client is £20,566. Many were experiencing
financial difficulty going into this period.
Soaring energy bills, and rising food, fuel
and other essential costs have made many
difficult situations worse.
Since 2017, the average amount of
priority debt (including council tax,
energy and rent arrears) held by our
clients increased by 54 percent from
£2,642 in 2017 to £4,080 in 2022. This
growing debt burden, and the challenges
it brings, extends across all debt areas.
Credit card arrears remains one of the
most common debts for our clients. We
have also seen the average amount owed
on personal loans increase by a fifth (21
percent) – from £7,915 in 2021 to £9,548
in 2022. The average amount owed for
buy-now pay-later debts has also risen
significantly, from £380 in 2021 to £556 in
2022, a rise of 46 percent.
A key driver of these increases is that
incomes for the people we help can’t
keep pace with rising prices. Two in five
National Debtline clients do not have
enough coming in to cover their essential
costs, and this gap in our clients’ finances
is widening. Last year the average budget
shortfall was -£393, up from -£308 the year
before.
The personal impact
These difficulties extend beyond personal
finances and into those of the small
businesses we help, with more than half
A key driver of these increases is
that incomes for the people we help
can’t keep pace with rising prices.
Two in five National Debtline clients
do not have enough coming in to cover
their essential costs, and this gap in our
clients’ finances is widening.
Many of our clients are turning to
credit to plug gaps in their budgets. A
third (32 percent) of National Debtline
and Business Debtline (31 percent) clients
surveyed reported using credit to cover
essentials like energy or council tax. As
costs remain high, debts are mounting,
and with interest rates set to rise further
and prices remaining high there is little
respite in sight.
Complex case
In most cases, the situation for our clients
is complex. There are often multiple debts
involved, which combine with the worry,
anxiety, fear and embarrassment brought
about by being in debt. A major driver
of debt problems is simply not having
enough coming in to afford the basics. We
are calling on the Government to adopt
an Essential Guarantee, proposed by the
Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the
There is also much more work needed
to improve the ways government,
both central and local, collects debts,
particularly the rate at which deductions
are taken, such as benefit overpayments.
And for specific debts, such as energy
arrears brought about by soaring energy
prices, more tailored support is still
needed.
These recommendations are, however,
just a starting point. Access to free,
independent debt advice continues to
play an important role in supporting the
hardest hit. Working alongside creditors,
the debt collection industry and the
wider money and credit sector is also
key in ensuring there are safe routes out
of financial difficulty for the millions of
people struggling.
Jane Tully is Director of External Affairs
and Partnerships at the Money Advice Trust.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 29

AWARDING BODY
Congratulations to the following, who have successfully achieved Diplomas
Level 3 Diploma in Credit Management (ACICM)
Gary Maitland
Seana Nixon
Zoe Pellow
Steven Roberts
Chloe Anduiza
Anthony Bowes
Jenna Chamberlain
Ashton Chatterton
Matthew Hawkins
Joe Knight
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International Trade
Monthly round-up of the latest stories
in global trade by Andrea Kirkby.
Ferrari proves ‘ultra-luxury’
can be bullet proof
FERRARI has increased its
forecasts for the year ahead as
it has benefitted from cash-rich
consumers’ ambivalence to
challenging economic conditions.
CityAM wrote that the company
reported revenues of €1.47bn, up 14.1
percent year-on-year and for the year
ahead, and is anticipating modest
additional growth of around €2.2bn, as
opposed to its last forecast of between
€2.13bn and €2.18bn.
Ferrari’s results are just the latest of a
number of luxury carmakers who have
been cashing in on demand for luxury
vehicles and supercars, with the likes of
Porsche and Bentley also benefitting from
wealthy consumers’ spending during the
cost-of-living crisis.
MoneyWeek also commented on the
subject. It wrote about the value of the
luxury goods market – beauty products,
watches, jewellery and shoes – which
has almost tripled from €122bn to €354bn
since 2002. One reason for this has
been “the consistent growth in both
the number and level of wealth of the
world’s wealthiest people.” The number
of millionaires is expected to reach 87m
by 2026.
The point of this particular story is that
if you want to protect revenue streams a
good way to do it is to kick your product
lines into the realms of the luxury
market. Customers there are invariably
too rich to feel the need to cut back.
NEW HIGH-SPEED ELECTRIC
RAILWAY IN TURKEY
UK Export Finance (UKEF) has
announced that it has underwritten
€781m of financing – around £680m
– to support construction of a 286km
high-speed electrified railway across
southern Turkey.
With financing provided through
UKEF’s Buyer Credit Facility, Rönesans
Holding will finish construction of
the Mersin-Adana-Gaziantep High
Speed Railway on behalf of the Turkish
Ministry of Transport.
The financing should, it is hoped,
create multimillion-pound export
contract opportunities for UK’s firms
involved in infrastructure, engineering
and project management.
But beyond the direct financial
impact of the deal, there exists the
likelihood that the new line which is
able to carry trains travelling up to
200kmh, will aid infrastructure and
growth in the region. It should also
reduce the travel time from Gaziantep
to Mersin by four hours; Mersin is the
second largest container port in the
country.
It should be noted that Gaziantep
was near the epicentre of the 7.8
magnitude earthquake which struck
Turkey in February 2023. There
might be opportunities to help with
reconstruction.
THE US just cannot help itself – it
cannot stop spending. However, such
largesse can be of use to overseas firms.
The latest round follows on from a
new climate-focused industrial policy
law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and
overseas firms could become some of
the biggest beneficiaries.
The Wall Street Journal reckons
that this new spending isn’t a sign
A new round of cash for the US
of economic weakness, but rather an
indication that key foreign firms see the
US market as an ‘opportunity too large
to pass up, even if that means building
factories abroad and risks training up
Americans to be competitors.’
The new legislation provides
Government support to those willing to
invest. According to ukandeu.ac.uk, ‘the
Act aims to spur investment in green
technology in the United States by
devoting $369bn in subsidies through
grants, loans and tax credits to public
and private entities.’
Beyond the hard cash, it also
suggests that there are market
opportunities in serving the climate
protection sector.
So, if you want handouts to
manufacture you know where to go.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 32

China recovery sill plagued by COVID
A recent note from Deloitte, and comment
from the BBC, offers an interesting
perspective on China's post-COVID
recovery which has been plagued by
weak domestic demand as evidenced by
slowing consumer spending and a slump
in private investment.
Its zero-COVID rules placed the
population under draconian restrictions
but without the substantial financial
payment to affected households that
were made in the US and Europe.
With spending channelled towards
infrastructure spending and businesses,
Chinese households that had experienced
the fruits of decades of growth have been
exposed to job insecurity and a loss of
income, many for the first time.
New Middle East trade commissioner
THE Department for Business and Trade
has appointed a new trade commissioner,
Oliver Christian, to cover the Middle East
and Pakistan, albeit while a permanent
candidate can be found.
With a brief to ‘lead the UK’s overseas
effort to promote UK trade, investment,
trade policy and export finance’ and
‘generate business opportunities for the
UK while contributing to the growth of
VIETNAM SHOULD
BE AN EXPORT TARGET
‘VIETNAM’S economic moment has
arrived,’ says the Financial Times. The
economy was Asia’s fastest-growing
last year and is reportedly one of only a
handful globally to have managed two
consecutive years of growth since COVID.
From reports, Vietnam is benefitting
from multinationals who are looking to
diversify away from China. Such firms
include Dell, Google, and Apple who are
now manufacturing in Vietnam.
There are some concerns for the
country. Local shares fell by almost onethird
in 2022 caused by ‘overleveraged
real estate’ and ‘political shifts.’ Also, an
anti-corruption crackdown led to the
resignation of the country’s president
in January (the role is mostly that of a
figurehead).
And late in 2022 authorities clamped
down on land speculation and the
building of luxury properties; dozens
of property firms have missed bond
payments.
Regardless of the political
machinations, there’s still good business
to be done in Vietnam.
In the absence of Western-style support
for households, consumers have battened
down the hatches and are avoiding major
new commitments. The Chinese housing
market has weakened, there is higher
youth unemployment, now at over 21
percent, and unsurprisingly, consumers
have become more cautious and are
prioritising saving and paying off debts
over spending.
Caution is also being applied to the
corporate sector; Chinese factories
that expanded to meet surging western
demand in 2021 and 2022 are facing
flagging exports and domestic consumers
have not filled the gap, leaving some firms
with excess inventories which they have
tried to shift by cutting prices.
sustainable, resilient, and productive
economies across the region’ the
commissioner could be a man worth
getting to know.
While it’s not obvious how to make
contact with the commissioner, one route
is via the Department for Business and
Trade’s own website at https://tinyurl.com/
y82zv2zy. Another is via its Twitter, sorry X,
account on the same page.
UK TRADE
IN NUMBERS
THE Department for Business and Trade
has released updated trade data. Looking
at the top 30 export markets for UK
firms for both goods and services, some
destinations were to be expected while
others were more of a surprise.
For the four quarters to December 2022,
in pole position was the US including
Puerto Rico with trade valued at £168bn
(20.6 percent of exports). Germany
was next at £55.88bn (6.9 percent). The
Netherlands was third at £55.88bn (6.8
percent) and Ireland and France were
next with £54.65bn (6.7 percent) and
£43.27bn (5.3 percent) respectively.
All the other usual suspects in the
top 30 featured including China, Spain,
Canada, Japan, and Australia.
But bottom of the list, and still
noteworthy since the destinations are
still in the top thirty, are Qatar at £4.94bn
(0.6 percent), Cayman Islands £4.81bn (0.6
percent), Jersey £4.58bn (0.6 percent),
Gibraltar £4.56bn (0.6 percent), and
Nigeria £4.33bn (0.5 percent).
In total, exports to the top 30
destinations were worth £710.3bn.
EU TACKLES
‘SUBSTANDARD’ FOODS
NILS Klawitter in Spiegel International
recently commented on what some might
call ‘fish finger-gate’.
Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico
has been speaking up for 103m people
living in Central and Eastern Europe over
substandard fish fingers. It appears that
for years, EU citizens living there have
been ‘forced to make do with second-rate
versions of brand-name products’ such
as more heavily breaded fish fingers or
yoghurts with less fruit.
This story is all about the EU’s
‘commitment to unity’ and the bloc is now
looking at the subject following comment
from several leading Eastern European
politicians.
Klawitter refers to ‘questionable’ industry
studies that state that some companies
alter recipes to suit regional tastes and
that sometimes, they’re selling ‘inferior’
products to boost profits.
The suggestion is that if firms that cannot
‘adequately explain’ product differentiation
they could face legal proceedings. Klawitter
says that some firms are staving off a
potential PR disaster by taking action.
Leibniz, for instance, now uses butter
instead of palm oil in the biscuits it sells.
SEVERE DROUGHTS PRESENT
OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS
MoneyWeek recently commented on the
severe droughts that seem to be becoming
more common. It wrote that there are now
fears that in a few years’ time Spain’s water
supply will no longer cover demand from
the agriculture and tourism sectors. This
points to rising demand for desalination
plants in the next few years which will
bode well for those active in this market.
The publication referred to a US firm,
Energy Recovery, and its pressureexchanger
technology which makes the
desalination process up to 60 percent more
energy-efficient. The technology is also
helpful for refrigeration systems, which
look set to become another growth area for
the firm.
Companies that have technology that
can help the Spanish – and others – with
their water needs, have an open door.
For the latest exchange rates visit
www.currenciesdirect.com or call 020 7874 9400
HIGH LOW TREND
GBP/EUR 1.17583 1.15371 Up
GBP/USD 1.27954 1.24525 Down
GBP/CHF 1.12428 1.10927 Flat
GBP/AUD 1.99619 1.94302 Down
GBP/CAD 1.73130 1.69810 Down
GBP/JPY 186.617 182.741 Flat
Currency Exchange Rates for the previous month:
11th August to 11th September.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 33

COUNTRY FOCUS
Belgium is highly
exposed to the
performance of its main
trading partners.
Trading places
BELGIUM isn’t that far from
the UK yet not that many
people know the depth of
its character or its potential
as an export market.
With a rich history,
along with a major diamond industry,
three official languages, and a variety of
beers, waffles and heavenly chocolates, it
also is well-known for its medieval towns,
national football team and for suffering
during two world wars.
Belgium, or rather, the Kingdom of
Belgium, is a relatively young country
which only came into existence in its
modern form in 1830. Its name originates
from ‘Belgica’, a title given by the Romans
to the northern part of Gaul which Julius
Caesar conquered a few decades before the
Christian era. The word is derived from the
fierce tribes in the area which the Romans
had to subdue.
In the Middle Ages, Belgium was divided
in fiefdoms: the County of Flanders by the
sea, the Duchy of Brabant, the Principality
of Liège along the Meuse River and so on.
During the late Middle Ages, present-day
Belgium, Holland and Luxemburg were
unified into the so-called XVII Provinces
and became part of the lands originally
belonging to the Dukes of Burgundy.
In 1792, following the French Revolution,
France invaded the Austrian Netherlands
which were annexed to become part of
the Napoleonic Empire. Post Waterloo, the
former Austrian territories were reunited
with Holland into the United Kingdom of
the Netherlands. The union only lasted
until 1830 when the Belgians revolted
against Dutch rule to become independent.
July 1831 saw Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-
Gotha became the first King of the Belgians.
The German Empire invaded a neutral
Belgium in 1914 to outflank the defences
of the French army. The Belgian army
resisted, holding territory north of Ypres
alongside the British and French armies
until the Armistice of 1918. The country
was again invaded in 1940 but surrendered
after two weeks.
Following World War Two, Belgium led
the way to European unification being
one of the six founding members of what
became the European Union. Its capital,
Brussels, now hosts several European
institutions and is the headquarters of
NATO.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 34

COUNTRY FOCUS
AUTHOR – Adam Bernstein
Demographics and geography
Bounded by the English Channel and the
UK to the northeast, the Netherlands to
the north, Germany and Luxembourg to
the east, and France to the south, Belgium
is very reachable. For British firms it’s only
50 miles away at its closest point across
the English Channel; air travel offers even
greater accessibility.
Belgium isn’t very expansive and covers
just 30,528 sq. km (compared to the UK’s
242,495 sq. km). But, with a population of
11.7m according to Statbel, it is the 22nd
most densely populated country in the
world and the 6th in Europe.
According to the World Cities Database
from simplemaps, at the end of March
2023 there were 388 towns and cities of
8500 inhabitants. Brussels was the largest
with 1.74m people, Antwerp next with
529,000, Ghent had 265,000, Charleroi
202,000 and Liège had 197,000 residents.
Four more cities had a population of more
than 100,000, and 19 others had between
50,000 and 100,000, 321 others had 10,000
to 50,000 residents, and just 49 had
between 8500 to 10,000 inhabitants.
In terms of demographics, Belgium is
aging – so reckons the World Population
Review. It noted a population growth
rate of just 0.41 percent which puts it in
173rd place. The average age in Belgium
is now 41.9 years and some 30 percent are
approaching retirement. Peak population
of around 12.5m is expected around 2050
after which the population should decline
to 11.5m by the end of the century.
Healthy Belgium noted in July 2023
that life expectancy for men is now 79.5
years compared to 83.8 years for women.
Index Mundi offers data on age bands
based on 2020 estimates – those aged 14
or under made up 17.22 percent of the
population, 15–24-year-olds accounted for
11.2 percent, those in the 25-54 aged band
equated to 39.23 percent, those between
55-64 took up 13.14 percent and 19.21
percent of the population were over 65
years of age.
With a complex history – as outlined
above – it’s not hard to see why the country
is just as complex administratively. In
essence, the country is divided into three
autonomous regions – Flanders in the
north, Wallonia in the south and Brussels-
Capital. There are three official languages
– Dutch, French and German. However,
French is the lingua franca.
It’s been said that Belgium suffers from
fractured public life where the political
parties are not just driven by ideological
interest but also by regional self-interest.
Politico recently (July 2023) wrote an
op-ed story entitled ‘Mounting concern
The Port House, is a government building
located in Antwerp, Belgium, built between 2009
and 2016. It is located in the area of Eilandje,
in the Port of Antwerp, and acts as the new
headquarters of the Antwerp Port Authority,
housing various departments.
The German
Empire invaded a
neutral Belgium in
1914 to outflank
the defences of
the French army.
The Belgian army
resisted, holding
territory north of
Ypres alongside the
British and French
armies until the
Armistice of 1918.
over migration is fuelling a surge for
Flemish independence parties ahead of
an election next year.’ In essence, it said
that the country has a dysfunctional
national political life. Proof of this was
indicated by long periods without an
officially functioning Government – 589
days between 2010 and 2011 and 500 days
during 2018 to 2019, nearly three years in
total.
Politico also reported that the Vlaams
Belang party — which wants Flanders to
move away and into a fully independent,
breakaway state — is now the biggest
political force in the country.
The economy
Both Coface and Lloyds Bank highlight
some concern for the Belgian economy,
primarily because of the price of energy
and the country’s great reliance on gas for
its chemical and pharmaceutical sector.
Lloyds commented that the Belgian
economy rebounded strongly in 2021
and the first half of 2022, but that high
energy prices, declining confidence and
weakening international trade slowed
GDP growth in the second part of the
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com /October 2023 / PAGE 35
continues on page 22 >

COUNTRY FOCUS
year. While the IMF estimated an overall
growth of 2.4 percent, the EU’s Economic
forecast for Belgium, last updated in May
2023, outlined growth of 3.2 percent in
2022, a forecast of 1.2 percent for 2023
and a projected rate of 1.4 percent in 2024.
In dollar terms, GDP hasn’t grown much
(despite peaks and troughs) since 2008
when it stood at $517.33bn; in 2022 it was
listed as being $578.6bn. In comparison,
GDP more than doubled between 2001
($236.75bn) and 2008 according to the
World Bank.
The problem for Belgium is that it is
highly exposed to the performance of its
main trading partners who, according to
Worldtopexports.com – citing May 2023
data – were Germany (21.2 percent of
exports), the Netherlands (13.8 percent),
France (13.1 percent), the US (5.9 percent)
and the UK (5.2 percent). Another
ten countries made up the top fifteen
countries that generated 78.4 percent of
Belgian exports.
As for inflation, EU data recorded this as
10.3 percent in 2022, 3.4 percent for 2023
and an estimated 3.5 percent for 2024. The
unusually high inflation rate has been
attributed to sharp increases of wholesale
gas and electricity prices that quickly fed
into retail prices.
Unemployment in 2022 stood at 5.6
percent, is expected to be 5.8 percent
for 2023 and is predicted to drop to 5.7
percent in 2024. A low labour market
participation rate could be a problem for
Belgium in the coming years; worryingly,
unemployment disproportionately affects
the young, non-European immigrants
and those in Wallonia. The World Bank
reckoned that Belgian GDP per capita
for 2022 was $49,582.80. In comparison,
the World Bank puts Burundi bottom at
$238.40, Romania at $15,892.10, Italy at
$34,158, the UK at $45,850.40 and Monaco
top at $234,317.10. All things are relative.
Industry and business sectors
A Belgian Government agency, Federal
Public Service Economy, noted in its
Economic Outlook of May 2022, that the
Belgian economy, just like any modern
industrialised economy, is characterised
by the growing importance of services. It
stated that the share of market services
(including wholesale and retail, financial
activities and insurance) represented
55.4 percent in 2020, compared to only
13.8 percent for industry and 5.3 percent
for construction with the rest split
between non-market services (including
healthcare), energy and agriculture.
Stanbic Bank interestingly draws
attention to significant discrepancies
between the three Belgian regions.
Flanders has succeeded in developing the
AUTHOR – Adam Bernstein
second largest petrochemical industry in
the world. Wallonia is in the middle of
restructuring, following the closure of
its collieries and a large number of steel
plants. Brussels distinguishes itself in the
areas of telecommunications, software
development and the pharmaceutical and
automobile industries. It commented that
the Belgian economy is largely oriented
towards services. In fact, the tertiary
sector accounts for 68.8 percent of GDP
and employs 78 percent of the active
population.
The EU in a recent, but undated, EURES
post commented that there are few major
industrial companies in Belgium. There is
steel giant ArcelorMittal, which is based
mainly in Wallonia. In Flanders there
is a Volvo Cars factory in Ghent, and an
Audi factory in the Brussels municipality
of Forest. The post added that the top 10
is made up entirely of service businesses
in the transport and communications,
finance, and distribution/retail sectors.
And in backing the data from Stanbic,
the EU noted that the service sector is
mostly based on commerce, transport
and hospitality along with public
administration, education and business
services: ‘The most common occupations
in Belgium are office workers in both
the public and private sectors (general
duties); shop assistants; home help;
maintenance staff in offices, hotels and
other businesses; and teachers.’
Chemical, plastics and life sciences
The European Chemical Industry Council
(Cefic) states that the Belgian chemical
sector is worth some €74bn and directly
employs 97,400 workers in more than 720
companies with another 220,000 employed
indirectly. The sector accounts for more
than one third of all Belgian exports, ‘40
percent of the industrial value-added and
two thirds of all private investment in
research and development.’
Cefic details that the sector is spread
out through the country with a chemical
cluster at the port of Antwerp which is in
turn connected with sub-clusters in the
Feluy-Seneffe-Manage triangle, Jemeppesur-
Sambre, along the Albert Canal,
Tessenderlo, Ghent and elsewhere.
Beyond that are life sciences in the
Walloon-Brabant province east of Brussels
and around Antwerp. Ghent has biotech
and medical, industrial and agricultural
biotechnology. Plastic and rubber
processing is spread across the country.
Interestingly, Agro&Chemistry noted,
in April 2022, that the sector saw its
strongest growth in 20 years and that
within the EU, Belgium has even become
the second most important exporting
country for chemicals, plastics and
pharmaceuticals, following Germany. It
added that chemistry and life sciences
also account for 40 percent of all Belgian
patent applications; 982 were filed with
the European Patent Office in 2021.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 36

Manufacturing
Federal Public Service Economy data for
2020 recorded that the biggest segments
within the manufacturing sector were the
pharmaceutical industry (20.4 percent of
the total value added), food and beverage
industry (15.3 percent), chemical industry
(15 percent), and basic metals and
fabricated metal products (11 percent).
In more detail, Federal Public Service
Economy noted other elements of the
Belgian manufacturing sector included
electrical equipment, textiles and
leather goods, furniture and machinery
equipment, transport equipment, wood
and paper products, and computer and
optical equipment.
Overall, the World Bank reckons that
the entire manufacturing sector is worth
around $72.95bn which equates to around
€66.68bn (at the time of writing). However,
that doesn’t quite stack up with data from
the Federal Public Service Economy and
Cefic. Indeed, the Federal Public Service
Economy detailed that (in 2020) pharma
and chemicals were worth a collective
35.4 percent of GDP which equates to
around €204bn.
Agriculture
Agricultural activity in Belgium has
continued to shrink – both in terms of
employment and in its contribution
to the GDP. However, it’s key crops are
sugar beets, chicory, flax, cereal grains
and potatoes. The country also cultivates
fruits, vegetables and ornamental plants.
Back in 2019 the OECD said that farms
were mainly owner operated, but that
the share of corporate farms was
increasing and had reached 15.8 percent
in 2016.
Some 44 percent of the land surface
of Belgium is cultivated with farmland
increasingly concentrated. In 37 years,
the average utilised agricultural area per
farm holding has more than tripled in
Flanders (from 8.4 ha in 1980 to 26.4 ha
in 2017) and in Wallonia (from 20.7 ha to
56.6 ha). Livestock farming has become
significantly more intense.
The problem for the sector, according
to FPS Foreign Affairs (April 2022) is that
agricultural land is subject to competition
from housing, industrial areas and road
infrastructure, even in the countryside,
which is forcing up land prices. This
is why Belgian Common Agricultural
Policy (CAP) financial support is aimed at
investments in agricultural holdings and
the setting up of young farmers. CAP also
introduced an obligation on farmers to
put into place practices that are good for
the environment.
Similarly, a Common Fisheries Policy
seeks to preserve marine biological
COUNTRY FOCUS
resources while managing the European
Union's fishing fleet – even so, some
fish stocks are overexploited; €6.1bn will
be given to sustainable fishing and the
survival of fishing communities between
2021 and 2027.
Tourism in Belgium
Statista recently commented that
Belgium's accessibility is what makes it
a popular travel destination in Europe.
It has a coastline, historically interesting
cities as well as a decent cuisine. In other
words, it has much to offer in the way
of attractions and cultural activities for
tourists.
In 2019, the number of overnight tourist
stays in Belgium peaked at approximately
42.5m before understandably declining
to around 20m in 2020 following
COVID. Some 313,600 people work in
the sector – a figure which Statista says
is almost identical to the level pre-
COVID. The sector was worth €25.9bn
in 2022, down 11 percent on 2019’s
€29.1bn.
However, more recently, in July 2023,
the Brussels Times wrote that Belgium's
tourism sector clocked a record 51m
overnight stays last year, largely in coastal
areas and Brussels. The growth, however,
was spread unevenly across Belgium
with West Flanders seeing over 14m
overnight stays, followed by Brussels and
Antwerp province at seven million and six
million a piece. The Belgian Ardennes's
Luxembourg province saw over 4.1m
overnight stays.
Tax (Corporate)
The general rate of corporate income tax
(CIT) is levied at a rate of 25 percent. This
rate applies to both Belgian companies
and Belgian permanent establishments of
foreign companies.
A reduced rate applies to small and
medium-sized enterprises (based on
article 1:24 of the Code for Companies
and Associations or on article 15 of the
old Companies Code, and provided
several other conditions are met). Such
businesses are able to benefit from a
reduced rate of 20 percent on the first
€100,000 of profit.
A surcharge is due on the final CIT
amount upon assessment. The surcharge
can be avoided if sufficient advance
tax payments are made. Currently,
the surcharge is 6.75 percent.
There is also a tax of 100 percent
that is applicable to so-called ‘secret
commissions’ - any expenses
where the beneficiary is not
identified properly by means
of official forms filed with the
Belgian tax authorities.
Belgium
Value Added Tax
The standard rate of VAT is 21 percent.
However, there is a 12 percent rate
that applies almost randomly to
phytopharmaceutical products, inner
tubes, certain combustible material,
margarine, social housing and certain
renovation works, and restaurant and
catering services.
There is also a six percent rate on
numerous other supplies such as basic
necessities (food and medicines),
passenger transport, repair of bicycles,
some medical supplies and prostheses,
and hotels and camping. Beyond that
there is a VAT exemption for supplies that
include education, banking, insurance
and cultural services.
Personal Tax
Tax brackets apply to net taxable income
after the deduction of social security
charges and professional expenses. There
are four bands – 25 percent for income
under €15,200, 40 percent on income from
€15,201 to €26,830, 45 percent on income
between €26,831 and €46,440, and 50
percent on income over €46,440.
Interest and dividends paid out and
collected via Belgian financial institutions
are, in principle, subject to a flat-rate tax
of 30 percent. Up to €980 can be earned
interest free; interest exceeding this
amount is subject to 15 percent tax.
Dividend payments are exempted for the
first €800.
Summary
On the face of it, Belgium has much to
offer British firms. However, while the
common thread that holds Belgians
together is Europe, as is the case
elsewhere, Belgium is a little fractured.
Applying some common sense and
regional sensitivities to discussions would
be a worthwhile move.
Adam Bernstein is a freelance
finance writer for CM magazine.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 37

OPINION
REGIME CHANGE
A new costs regime is about to land for debt
claims, and it could hurt your bottom line.
AUTHOR – Paula Swain
IF you are familiar with litigation in
the courts of England and Wales, you
will be acutely aware of the challenge
of trying to recover your legal costs.
Late payment interest and express
terms providing for an indemnity on
legal costs can be mitigating factors, but there
will always be those cases where the court
decides to reduce your costs recovery. A new
set of court rules could worsen that position,
leaving a larger gap between your costs and
your recovery.
From 1 October 2023, a new intermediate
track and corresponding fixed recoverable
costs for less complex claims valued at more
than £25,000 but not more than £100,000 will
arrive through changes to Practice Direction
45. Your ability to recover legal costs from the
other side will be prescribed and limited, and
it is very likely that you could find yourself
with difficult decisions to make about how
far you are willing to push a case if your costs
exposure is likely to far exceed your ability to
recover those costs.
The complexity of a claim becomes a point
for consideration (and potential dispute) as
the amount for fixed recoverable costs will
depend in part on the complexity band a case
is assigned (there are four). While complexity
will be determined by the court, an early
indication suggests that debt claims will sit
within band one – being the least complex
cases the court expects to deal with. I will
not be alone in feeling some concern here,
particularly when I think back on almost 25
years of defended debt litigation. There have
been some technically complex and difficult
disputes within the value banding of £25,000
to £100,000 which have incurred significant
amounts of management and legal time. How
this new regime will deal with those hard to
resolve and heavily contested cases is a risk to
be managed.
Where the complexity band to which a
claim is assigned determines the costs that are
to be allowed, there could be many arguments
about whether a band one assignment for
debt is appropriate. The parties can agree the
complexity band to which a claim is assigned
(although that is not binding on the court), and
where parties are legally represented more
agreement might be possible. This might be
a harder discussion where your opponent is a
litigant in person.
Costs exceeding fixed recoverable costs
The court may consider a claim for an amount
of costs (excluding disbursements) which
is greater than the fixed recoverable costs
where there are exceptional circumstances
making it appropriate to do so. However, if
the court assesses the costs (excluding any
VAT) as being an amount which is in a sum
less than 20 precent greater than the amount
of the fixed recoverable costs, the court shall
make an order for the party who made the
claim to be paid the lesser of— (a) the fixed
recoverable costs; and (b) the assessed costs.
Unreasonable behaviour
If an order for costs is made in favour of a
party whom the court considers has behaved
unreasonably, the other party may apply
for an order that those costs be reduced by
an amount equivalent to 50 percent of the
fixed recoverable costs which would otherwise
be payable. Unreasonable behaviour is
conduct for which there is no reasonable
explanation.
The Costs
The table included below is not an exhaustive
list and does include some changes to fixed
recoverable costs for cases which have been
or would be allocated to the Fast Track. The
stages referenced below (for cases assigned
to complexity band one) illustrate how
prescriptive the new fixed costs regime will
be.
Leaving aside the costs of a barrister
representing a case on the new track, and your
own attendance at trial, if you successfully
progressed a disputed claim for payment
of £50,000 to trial (stage eight), your fixed
recoverable costs would be limited to £14,100
(net of VAT where appropriate). If the court
does not enforce any indemnity for legal costs
in your terms and conditions, you could end
up with a significant gap between your own
legal costs and what you can recover from
the paying party.
It is likely that this new regime will
also affect the tactics of settlement.
Where the costs escalate as the
case passes through the defined
stages, the arrival of each stage
will be a key trigger point for
consideration about the possibility
and commerciality of
settlement.
Paula Swain FCICM is
Partner at Shoosmiths.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 38

The court may consider a claim for an amount of costs
(excluding disbursements) which is greater than the fixed
recoverable costs where there are exceptional circumstances
making it appropriate to do so.
Stage
Fast Track
If parties reach a settlement prior to the claimant
issuing proceedings and the debt is more than £10,000.
If proceedings are issued but the case settles or
is discontinued before trial.
If the claim is disposed of at trial.
£580
(1) On or after the date that the court issues the claim,
but before the date that the court allocates the claim:
£2,100.
(2) On or after the date that the court allocates the claim,
but before the date that the court lists the claim for
trial: £2,500.
(3)On or after the date that the court lists the claim for
trial but before trial: £3800.
£3,800 (plus fixed trial advocacy fees)
Intermediate Track
Stage 1 – from pre-issue up to and including the date
of service of the defence.
Stage 2 – specialist legal representative providing post-issue
advice in writing or in conference or drafting a statement of
case (if obtained).
Stage 3 – from the date of service of the defence up to the
earlier of the date set for CMC or the order giving directions.
Stage 4 – from the end of Stage 3 up to and including the date
set by the court for inspection of documents.
Stage 5 – from the end of Stage 4 up to and including the later
of the dates set by the court for service of witness statements or
expert reports.
Stage 6 – from the end of Stage 5 up to and including the date
set for the pre-trial review or up to 14 days before the trial date,
whichever is earlier.
Stage 7 – specialist legal representative advising in writing or in
conference following the filing of a defence (if obtained).
Stage 8 – from the end of Stage 6 up to the date of the trial.
Stage 9 – attendance of a legal representative (other than the
trial advocate) at trial.
Stage 10 – advocacy fee for the first day of trial .
Stage 11 – advocacy fees for subsequent days, less an amount
equivalent to 50 percent per day where, on any subsequent day,
the trial lasts no more than half a day.
Additional fee payable once only where a mediation or joint
settlement meeting takes place.
£1,600 + an amount equivalent to 3 percent of the
damages (costs will be subject to assessment up to this
maximum figure).
£2,000
£4,000+ an amount equivalent to 10 percent
of the damages.
£4,600 + an amount equivalent to 12 percent
of the damages.
£5,200 + an amount equivalent to 12 percent
of the damages.
£5,900 + an amount equivalent to 15 percent
of the damages.
£1,400
£6,600 + an amount equivalent to 15 percent of the
damages, less £580 if that party did not prepare the trial
bundle. NB: Apart from stages 2 and 7, these are
cumulative figures up to the stage in question.
£580 per day, less an amount equivalent to 50 percent
per day where, on any subsequent day, the trial lasts no
more than half a day.
£3,200
£1,400
£1,400
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 39

HR MATTERS
STRIKE FORCE
Strikes, parental leave and a breach of contract
AUTHOR – Gareth Edwards
THE High Court has upheld
a judicial review of
regulations that allowed
businesses to use agency
staff to cover for striking
workers.
Last year, the government introduced
regulations to remove the ban on
employers using temporary workers
to perform duties normally performed
by striking workers during industrial
action. The aim of the regulations was to
reduce the disruption caused by industrial
action.
However, 13 trade unions brought
a judicial review of the government's
decision to pass these regulations, citing
a failure to consult before legislating,
also alleging a breach of Article 11 of the
European Convention on Human Rights
that prevents unlawful interference
with the rights of trade unions and
their members.
The High Court upheld the challenge
on the consultation ground. Having
decided the case on this one ground it
did not express a view on that relating to
Article 11. The High Court has quashed
the regulations with effect from 10 August
2023. This means that from that date,
employers will no longer be able to use
temporary staff to cover the duties of
striking workers.
Government report on shared parental leave
THE Department for Business & Trade
(DBT) has published a report on the
Shared Parental leave (SPL) scheme.
Take-up rates remain very low, with only
one percent of eligible mothers and five
percent of eligible fathers or partners
taking SPL.
SPL is a type of family leave that enables
eligible employees to take flexible leave
during the first year of their child's life
or the first year after adoption. Families
who opt to take SPL can take up to 50
weeks of leave, of which up to 39 weeks
can be paid at the weekly statutory rate
(currently £172.48). Partners can take leave
concurrently or consecutively depending
on their preferences and subject to certain
eligibility and notice criteria.
The DBT report shows that SPL takeup
varies by age, income, qualification
level, and occupational status. Eligible
Factors
encouraging
parents’ decision
to use SPL
include support
from partners,
employers and a
desire for flexible
working.
employees who take up SPL and Shared
Parental Pay (ShPP) are more likely to
be older, white, highly qualified, work
in large organisations, earn a higher
income, and have progressive gender role
attitudes.
Factors encouraging parents’ decision
to use SPL include support from partners,
employers and a desire for flexible
working. Conversely, financial pressure
was cited as a principal reason for not
making use of SPL. Some parents who
did not take SPL also reported that
this was because the SPL scheme was
too complicated to manage. Whilst 85
percent of parents who took SPL said
they were satisfied with their current
working arrangements, 15 percent of
fathers or partners who took SPL reported
that it negatively affected their career
progression.
High Court dismisses interim injunction
IN the case of Hine Solicitors Ltd v Jones
and another, a former employer failed in
their application for an interim injunction
against an employee who resigned in
breach of the notice provisions in her
employment contract.
Under the contract, the employee was
prevented from giving notice until she
had served a three-year minimum period
of employment. She resigned in breach of
this clause.
Hine originally sought an injunction
to prevent the employee from working
elsewhere until the expiry of the
contractual term. However, that
application was withdrawn and Hine
instead sought an order to prevent
the employee from enticing away or
attempting to entice away any clients
of the firm. Hine argued the employee
had committed a repudiatory breach of
contract by resigning in breach of the
contractual term. It argued that the breach
was not accepted and that it was seeking
relief to prevent the employee breaching
the common law duty of fidelity.
The High Court found that the
contractual term was valid and effective.
However, it dismissed the application for
injunctive relief which is used to stop an
alleged breach pending a full trial.
In this case, Hine had only raised the
employee's alleged breach of contract on
her penultimate day at work after she
had served three months' notice, and
after she had had an exit interview, a
handover meeting, a leaving dinner and a
leaving presentation. There was therefore
a serious question as to whether the
employee's alleged breach of contract had
in fact been ‘accepted’ by Hine when she
resigned.
In respect of the employee's conduct,
she had not breached the non-compete
provisions in her contract and there was
no evidence she had taken any steps to
entice clients away from Hine.
This decision highlights the importance
of taking prompt action where an
employer is seeking injunctive relief. The
case also demonstrates the difficulty of
relying on implied duties to protect client
relationships.
Gareth Edwards is a partner in the
employment team at VWV.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 40

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Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 41

OPINION
Sphere of Influence
Does the FCA crackdown on ‘finfluencers’ go far enough?
AUTHOR – Gene Chui
time of soaring living
costs and a prevailing
sense of financial
uncertainty, it becomes
increasingly crucial for
people to seek sound
A.T a
guidance on managing their finances. Yet
it seems many people are willing to place
their trust in social media financial influencers,
even though they can’t be sure
if the advice is good or bad. Worse still,
they’re not even sure whether the person
is qualified to give financial advice or not.
A report published in Performance
Marketing World earlier this year found
that so-called ‘finfluencers’ had an average
follower growth rate of eight percent in
2022 - double the four percent for all other
influencers specialising in other sectors.
‘Finfluencers’ have also been credited
in-part with the surge in self-directed
investors since COVID-lockdowns.
Whatever you may think of them, social
media influencers are popular and have
become an essential part of marketing for
many financial products and services.
The digital landscape has greatly
evolved since the Financial Conduct
Authority (FCA) first issued guidance on
social media promotions back in 2015,
which has prompted the publication of
proposals for new guidelines in July 2023.
Social media influencers were absent
in earlier guidelines but are a notable
inclusion in the latest round. The FCA has
come to recognise the significant notoriety
of ‘finfluencers’ and cite research that
found 62 percent of 18-29 year olds follow
an influencer sharing information on
managing finances, and 74 percent say
they trust their advice. As a result of
which, nine in 10 have been encouraged
to change their financial behaviour.
Lucy Castledine, Director, Consumer
Investments at the FCA, says that she
has seen a growing number of ads falling
short of the guidance the authority has
in place to prevent consumer harm: “We
want people to stay on the right side of
our rules,” she says, “so we’re updating
our guidance to clarify what we expect of
firms when marketing financial products
online. And for those touting products
illegally, we will be taking action.”
Route to market
Social media and hordes of influencers
have become an essential route to market
for newer investment apps, cryptoassets
and buy-now-pay-later services that offer
The public
should take the
time to do their
own research,
educate themselves
about the risks, and
seek professional,
qualified financial
advice. And if
it sounds too
good to be true, it
probably is...
instant gratification. The FCA actually
found that 58 percent of 18–40 year
olds who invest in high-risk investment
products said that hype on social media
and the news were the reason for
their investment decisions, suggesting
that many financial companies have
grabbed the opportunity through mobile
technologies to exploit an excitable
population’s appetite for success.
Furthermore, in Q4 of 2022 alone,
69 percent of the financial promotions
amended or withdrawn by the FCA were
featured on website or social media
channels. Demonstrating that consumers
using digital channels to inform their
financial decisions will likely have seen
promotions that are deemed to have
broken FCA guidelines.
There is much to welcome in the new
FCA proposals for those both looking to
enforce or play by the rules. Formal guidance
will hopefully provide clarity for
firms, legal teams, marketing agencies,
influencers, and most importantly, consumers.
To help ensure protection for all.
However, before we commend the
good intentions and progress being made
by the FCA, let’s remember that social
media influencers have been a presence
as far back as 2009. Their influence in the
finance industry has been widespread
and operating under older guidelines also
set out to protect consumers, including
the need for disclaimers and risk
warnings, for many years. Some might
argue that this is slow intervention from
the regulator and that the new guidance,
which predominantly focuses on
prioritising risk messaging and labelling
does not go far enough, especially for the
many who have already felt the adverse
effect of social media advice.
Although the guidance – that
promotions must be ‘fair, clear and not
misleading’ – might provide enforcement
agencies with some flexibility, these
proposals may be too focused on social
media product promotions. They may
also prove too rigid to address the fastchanging
and more creative forms of
marketing tactics employed across social
media and digital platforms. If they have
not already, the FCA needs to consider
how they can continually review the
vast amounts of social media content
produced globally that impact those in
the UK and how often they need to update
their guidelines. It definitely cannot wait
another eight years.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 42

“We want people to stay on the
right side of our rules, so we’re
updating our guidance to clarify
what we expect of firms when
marketing financial products
online.”
– Lucy Castledine, Director,
Consumer Investments at the FCA
The increasing popularisation of AI tools
that will enable social media influencers
to accelerate content production is only
set to make an already difficult challenge
much harder. How do the FCA and other
regulators seek to keep up?
Artificial influences
Fully AI-generated influencers have
already been birthed and have substantial
followings into the millions. A US study
reported by the Influencer Marketing
Hub in December 2022 found that 58
percent of respondents were following
an AI-generated influencer. The hope
might be that AI can produce more
accurate information, but early signs
are that AI is already showcasing biases
and inconsistencies. The social media
landscape has already moved on and
the rate of change only appears to
be accelerating. New AI technology
aside, modern integrated marketing is
sophisticated and complex. Brands can
have six figure marketing budgets, some
into the millions, and their marketing
strategies take a holistic approach across
multiple channels, of which social media
and influencers are just one element.
The new proposals remind firms that
image advertising and brand association
activities, which are central to social
media influencer partnerships, are likely
to be exempt from many of the FCA’s
financial promotion rules. Emphasising
the rigidity of the social media guidelines
and lack of cohesion between all
marketing disciplines to serve up grey
areas for brands to exploit.
Increasing numbers of celebrity
investors and owners acting as the public
face for their businesses including the
blatant use of personal social media
profiles to attract audiences is also
a key consideration that seems to be
overlooked. After all, ‘fair, clear and not
misleading’ can be open to interpretation.
It could be too late by the time a regulator
can act on specific pieces of content, as
the damage may already have been done.
Ultimately, although the technology
has advanced and the world has evolved,
the advice should remain the same. The
public should take the time to do their
own research, educate themselves about
the risks, and seek professional, qualified
financial advice. And if it sounds too good
to be true, it probably is…
Gene Chui is Head of Digital PR & Social
Media at Gravity Global.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 43

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Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 44

Each of our Corporate Partners is carefully selected for
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Court Enforcement Services is the market
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Shoosmiths’ highly experienced team will work
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T: +447730500085
E: getinfo@fisglobal.com.
W: www.fisglobal.com
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.
TCN is an industry leader in call centre technology
with offices around the world including, the United
Kingdom, the United States, Romania, Canada,
India and Australia. TCN has met the global
communication needs of its diverse customers.
Utilising best-practice solutions and 24/7 technical
support, TCN empowers clients to drive consumer
interactions through omni-channel, inbound and
outbound communications. TCN’s call centre
platform is entirely web-based and available
on-demand with unlimited capacity.
The UK’s No1 Insolvency Score, available as a
platform to help businesses manage risk and
achieve growth. The only independently owned
UK credit referencing agency for businesses. We
have modernised the way companies consume
data, to power businesses decisions with the most
important data taken in real-time feeds, ensuring
our customers are always the first to know. Enabling
them to deliver best in class sales, credit risk
management and compliance.
T: +44 (0) 1302 513 000
E: sales@keyivr.com
W: www.keyivr.com
T: +44 (0) 800-088-5089
E: spencer.taylor@tcn.com
W: www.tcn.com
T: +44 (0)330 460 9877
E: sales@redflagalert.com
W: www.redflagalert.com
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 45

WORKING LIFE
AI in the Workplace
How finance professionals and employers feel about AI.
AUTHOR – Natascha Whitehead
THE rapid rise of generative
AI has dominated the news
in recent times, sparking
questions over how these
advancements in technology
might impact the workplace
and careers in the long term. Our research,
which received over 1,150 responses from
accountancy and finance professionals and
employers across the UK, sheds light on the
current attitudes towards, and usage of, AI in
the sector.
Upskilling is essential
Our research suggests that it’s still early days
in terms of adopting AI into the workplace,
as most (88 percent) accountancy and finance
organisations say they are not currently using
AI tools such as ChatGPT. As it stands, there
are several factors holding employers back
but the main cited reasons for not utilising
AI tools is due to a gap in knowledge and a
lack of awareness or understanding of the
benefits (22 percent), as well as the belief that
AI tools are not required in their organisation
(21 percent).
That being said, over two thirds (69 percent)
of finance employers intend to allow staff to
use AI tools like ChatGPT in the future, under
the condition that usage is monitored. Whilst
many employers are keen to keep an eye on AI
usage, 10 percent intend to allow staff to use
AI unmonitored within their organisation.
In contrast, there are some employers who
believe the risks will outweigh the benefits;
18 percent of finance employers anticipate
they will ban their employees from using AI
tools and technologies.
One of the key takeaways from our findings
is the urgent need to upskill if finance
employers and professionals want to begin
to take advantage of AI in their day-to-day
working life. Only one in ten (10 percent)
finance professionals say they have used an
AI tool in their current role and a third (33
percent) feel they do not possess the right
skills to enable them to make the best use of
AI tools and technology.
Likewise, more than half (55 percent) of
finance employers say they are not equipped
with the right skills in their workforce to
utilise AI and confess that both technical and
soft skills are lacking. So far, over half (54
percent) of finance professionals say their
employer is not helping to prepare them for
the use of AI in the workplace; less than a
quarter (24 percent) of finance employers
say they are investing in training for staff to
upskill in AI tools and technologies. Training
is important for assessing the positive
With careful
and considered
application,
AI could lend
a helping
hand to credit
professionals
rather than push
them out of
their jobs.
contribution AI can make in the workplace,
as well as reflecting on and playing into
the skills and attributes that make humans
irreplaceable. Our research emphasises that
employers must invest in training to support
upskilling at a fast enough rate to keep up
with our ever-changing digital age.
Mixed attitudes
Our research reveals various attitudes
towards AI and, unsurprisingly, there is
a sense of uncertainty over how best to
respond to the growing presence of AI in the
workplace. More than a third (38 percent)
of finance employers are undecided if we
should embrace AI and a further 38 percent
of professionals share this sentiment. On top
of this, eight percent of employers and nine
percent of professionals in the finance sector
are apprehensive about AI and think it should
be feared.
On an optimistic note, most accountancy
and finance employers believe the way
forward is to work alongside AI, as more than
half (54 percent) think we should embrace
AI in the workplace. Similarly, 53 percent
of finance professionals think AI should be
welcomed into the workplace with open arms.
Whilst 10 percent of finance professionals
believe AI will have a negative impact on
their role, more professionals expect AI tools
will positively impact their job (26 percent).
Although just under a third (32 percent)
of finance professionals anticipate AI won’t
impact their job at all, a similar number
of professionals expect the types of tasks
they carry out will change in the future as a
result of AI tools (30 percent). With careful
and considered application, AI could lend
a helping hand to credit professionals
rather than push them out of their jobs. The
automation of certain activities, such as data
entry, could allow professionals to spend less
time on repetitive tasks and more time on
high value tasks and invest in improving their
skillsets, to future-proof their careers. Some
of the wider benefits associated with AI in
the finance sector include reduced human
error, cost savings, process efficiencies and
improved productivity.
Ultimately, it’s crucial for employers and
professionals to prioritise developing their
skills to keep up with the pace at which
technology is progressing, so they can be
aware of the risks of AI as well as reap the
rewards of what AI has to offer within credit
management.
Natascha Whitehead is Business Director at Hays
specialising in Credit Management.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 46

PAYMENT TRENDS
MAKING HEADWAY
The latest late payment figures show improvements
across the board.
AUTHOR – Rob Howard
ON the face of it, the
latest late payment
statistics are brimming
with positives, with the
vast majority of UK and
Irish regions and sectors
making improvements to their Days
Beyond Terms (DBT). The average DBT
across UK regions and sectors reduced by
3.1 days and 2.7 days respectively. Over in
Ireland, the average DBT figure dropped
by 2.9 and 5.8 days respectively. Average
DBT across the four provinces of Ireland
decreased by 7.3 days.
Sector spotlight
Most sectors across the UK are on an
upward trajectory, with 18 of the 22 sectors
making reductions to late payments. The
Business from Home sector, in particular,
is on the charge, slashing its DBT by 13.3
to 10.4 days overall, the biggest reduction
by some distance. A cut of 6.7 days has
shot the Energy Supply up the standings,
now with an overall DBT of 3.9 days. But
it’s the Public Administration that takes
top spot with a cut of 6.2 days taking its
overall DBT to 1.9 days, making it the best
performing UK sector. Of the four sectors
moving in the wrong direction, the
Education sector saw the biggest jump,
with an increase of 6.3 days taking its
overall DBT to 15.1 days. It was the worst
performing UK sector but summer is over
and a new academic term could remedy
this.
In Ireland, the outlook is similarly rosy,
with all but two of the 20 sectors on the
up or seeing no change to DBT. Although
the Business Admin and Support sector
remains at the bottom of the rankings,
it did however make a significant move
forward, reducing its DBT by a sizeable
33.3 days to 33.2 days overall. Similarly,
The Water & Waste sector is also fighting
back, with an improvement of 16.8 days
taking its overall DBT to 30.1 days. At the
opposite end of standings, reductions for
the Entertainment (-6.2 days), Hospitality
(-6.6 days), IT and Comms (-9.8 days)
and Public Administration (-2.0 days)
sectors, mean they join the Education,
International Bodies and Mining
Quarrying (who all saw no change to DBT)
sectors with an overall DBT of zero days.
Regional spotlight
It’s one-way traffic across UK regions,
with all 11 moving in the right direction
and reducing DBT. The South West is
now the best performing region with
an overall DBT of 6.7 days thanks to a
decrease of 6.1 days. It’s closely followed
by the South East, with a reduction of
4.4 days taking its overall DBT to 7.7
days. Northern Ireland saw the biggest
improvement, taking 6.6 days off its DBT.
Once again there were some significant
reductions to DBT across the Irish
counties, and no bigger than in Kildare,
slashing 45.4 days off to take its overall
DBT to zero days. Elsewhere, the counties
of Meath (-39.1 days), Offaly (-30.6 days),
Wexford (-27.2 days) and Wicklow
(-23.5 days) also made noteworthy
improvements to their DBT. Alongside
The Water and
Waste sector is
also fighting
back, with an
improvement of
16.8 days taking
its overall DBT to
30.1 days.
Kildare, there are 10 other counties
tied on zero days DBT. However, at the
opposite end of the standings, Westmeath
and Donegal remain cut adrift by some
distance, and even from each other,
neither county saw any change, keeping
their overall DBT at 120 and 80 days
respectively.
As with the UK, it’s a clean sweep
across the four Irish provinces, with each
making reductions to late payments.
Leinster remains the best performing
province after cutting its DBT by a further
5.1 days, taking its overall DBT to 2.2
days. Connacht isn’t too far behind on 3.7
days overall, following a reduction of 3.8
days. Munster too (-3.7 days) made steady
progress, but Ulster saw the biggest
improvement, chopping its DBT by 16.7
days, taking it to 18 days overall.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 47

STATISTICS
Data supplied by the Creditsafe Group
Top Five Prompter Payers
Region August 23 Change from July 23
South West 6.7 -6.1
South East 7.7 -4.4
West Midlands 8.2 -3
East Anglia 8.5 -3
East Midlands 8.8 -2.6
Getting worse
Education 6.3
International Bodies 4.9
Financial and Insurance 3.2
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 0.1
Bottom Five Poorest Payers
Region August 23 Change from July 23
London 13.5 -3.5
Scotland 11.6 -0.8
Yorkshire and Humberside 10.3 -2.1
Northern Ireland 9.9 -6.6
North West 9.7 -1.2
Top Five Prompter Payers
Sector August 23 Change from July 23
Public Administration 1.9 -6.2
Energy Supply 3.9 -6.7
International Bodies 5.9 4.9
Entertainment 6.4 -0.7
Mining and Quarrying 6.6 -3.7
Bottom Five Poorest Payers
Sector August 23 Change from July 23
Education 15.1 6.3
Health & Social 13.9 -1.6
Wholesale and retail trade 11.4 -2.9
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 11.1 0.1
Financial and Insurance 11 3.2
Getting better
Business from Home -13.3
Energy Supply -6.7
Public Administration -6.2
IT and Comms -5.7
Other Service -5.6
Business Admin & Support -4.9
Professional and Scientific -4.9
Manufacturing -4.3
Mining and Quarrying -3.7
Hospitality -3.6
Construction -3.4
Dormant -3.4
Wholesale and retail trade -2.9
SCOTLAND
-0.8 DBT
Health & Social -1.6
Transportation and Storage -1.6
NORTHERN
IRELAND
-6.6 DBT
SOUTH
WEST
-6.1 DBT
WALES
-1.4 DBT
NORTH
WEST
-1.2 DBT
WEST
MIDLANDS
-3 DBT
YORKSHIRE &
HUMBERSIDE
-2.1 DBT
EAST
MIDLANDS
-2.6 DBT
LONDON
-3.5 DBT
SOUTH
EAST
-4.4 DBT
EAST
ANGLIA
-3 DBT
Real Estate -0.7
Region
Getting Better – Getting Worse
-6.6
-6.1
-4.4
-3.5
-3
-3
-2.6
-2.1
-1.4
-1.2
-0.8
Northern Ireland
South West
South East
London
East Anglia
West Midlands
East Midlands
Yorkshire and Humberside
Wales
North West
Scotland
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 48

PAYMENT TRENDS
DONEGAL
0 DBT
ULSTER
-16.7 DBT
Getting worse
Waterford 6
KERRY
-2 DBT
CONNACHT
-3.8 DBT
GALWAY
2.6 DBT
MUNSTER
-3.7 DBT
LAOIS
0 DBT
CAVAN
-6.1 DBT
WESTMEATH
0 DBT
LEINSTER
-5.5 DBT
DUBLIN
-12.7 DBT
KILDARE
-45.4 DBT
KILKENNY
0 DBT
Carlow 3.5
Galway 2.6
Clare 1
Getting better
Kildare -45.4
CORK
-19.8 DBT
Meath -39.1
Offaly -30.6
Top Five Prompter Payers – Ireland
Region August 23 Change from July 23
Cavan 0 -6.1
Cork 0 -19.8
Kerry 0 -2
Kildare 0 -45.4
Laois 0 0
Bottom Five Poorest Payers – Ireland
Region August 23 Change from July 23
Westmeath 120 0
Donegal 80 0
Kilkenny 28 0
Galway 12 2.6
Dublin 11 -12.7
Top Four Prompter Payers – Northern Ireland
Region August 23 Change from July 23
Leinster 2.2 -5.1
Connacht 3.7 -3.8
Munster 9.3 -3.7
Ulster 18 -16.7
Wexford -27.2
Wicklow -23.5
Louth -21.7
Cork -19.8
Dublin -12.7
Longford -7.6
Cavan -6.1
Kerry -2
Tipperary -1.8
Limerick -1.3
Roscommon -0.7
Nothing changed
Top Five Prompter Payers – Ireland
Sector August 23 Change from July 23
Education 0 0
Entertainment 0 -6.2
Hospitality 0 -6.6
International Bodies 0 0
IT and Comms 0 -9.8
Bottom Five Poorest Payers – Ireland
Sector August 23 Change from July 23
Business Admin & Support 33.2 -33.3
Health & Social 32 -9
Water & Waste 30.3 -16.8
Energy Supply 28 0
Other Service 17.1 8.6
Donegal 0
Kilkenny 0
*
Laois 0
Leitrim 0
Mayo 0
Monaghan 0
Sligo 0
Westmeath 0
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 49

LOOKING FOR
YOUR NEXT
CAREER MOVE?
SENIOR CREDIT CONTROLLER
Harlow, up to £40k
An established and successful manufacturing company in
the heart of Harlow are looking for a new Team Leader to
oversee the credit and receivable functions. This role would suit
someone who has previously supervised a team or would like
to step into a leadership role. You’ll support the AR Controllers,
manage credit limits, deal with escalations, review accounts
and work towards DSO KPIs. This role is office-based.
Ref: 4444888
Contact Gemma Booty on 01245 782 131
or gemma.booty@hays.com
CREDIT CONTROLLER
Basildon, up to £25k
We’re working with an established SME business in the
construction industry to recruit a new Credit Controller.
This business has consistently delivered a fantastic bespoke
service to its customers and prides itself on a positive and
collaborative office culture.
Ref: 4427973
Contact Jeffrey Hlongwane on 03330 106 528
or jeffrey.hlongwane@hays.com
CREDIT CONTROLLER
Sale (Trafford), £26k-£27.5k plus 5% bonus
A large, reputable organisation based in Sale, Trafford
is seeking an experienced Credit Controller to join
their expanding team. Reporting to the Credit Manager,
you’ll be tasked with managing your own B2B ledger,
chasing overdue payments, query resolution, rapport
building and allocation of cash.
Ref: CRJ254
Contact Joanna Taylor-Coburn on 0161 926 8605
or joanna.taylor-coburn@hays.com
CREDIT CONTROL TEAM LEADER
Bury St Edmunds, £40k-£45k
We’re delighted to support a rapidly expanding business
in Suffolk, seeking an experienced Credit Controller.
You’ll take the lead by supporting and motivating the
team, collecting UK and European debt, improving their
DSO and refining internal processes and systems.
Ref: 4455904
Contact Andy Jarman on 01603 760 141
or andy.jarman@hays.com
hays.co.uk/credit-control-jobs
© Copyright Hays plc 2023. The HAYS word, the H devices, HAYS WORKING Brave | Curious FOR YOUR | Resilient TOMORROW / www.cicm.com and Powering the / October world of 2023 work / 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-1269461039

GROUP REVENUE TEAM MANAGER
Southampton, up to £100k plus benefits
You will be working within a growing group credit control
function, managing and building the senior leadership team
within the company’s revenue function. You’ll also ensure
a smooth working capital cycle across everything from WIP
to billing and Collections.
Ref: 4447913
Contact Jack Bailey on 023 8202 0104
or jack.bailey1@hays.com
CREDIT CONTROLLER
South Cambridge, £13.38 an hour (40hrs per week)
An evolving company just south of Cambridge is searching
for a Credit Controller to take on this three-month position.
This role will suit a candidate with previous experience in a
Credit Control or similar finance role. You’ll require strong
numerical and IT skills, with proficiency in Microsoft Excel
and accounting software.
Ref: 4446251
Contact Oliver Ford on 01223 361 507
or oliver.ford@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 / October 2023 / PAGE 51

ESG
Reputation matters
Reputation and the importance of keeping good company.
AUTHOR – Simona Scarpaleggia
REPUTATION is defined as
the opinion that people
in general have about
someone or something,
or how much respect
or admiration someone
or something receives, based on past
behaviour or character. On that very
point, Socrates claimed: “Regard your
good name as the richest jewel you can
possibility be possessed of.”
His words still ring true today, for the
importance of reputation in business
has never been more critical, especially
when it comes to a company’s ‘good’ or
‘bad’ track record in Diversity, Equity and
Inclusion (DE&I). Depending on how an
organisation’s DE&I progress is measured,
monitored and communicated can have a
direct impact on how an organisation is
perceived, and how it performs.
When I joined IKEA in Switzerland,
while the business was considered a
market leader, its brand perception was
challenged. Of the three critical measures
– quality, low price and sustainability –
we only rated highly on low price, and
that was a risk for our brand positioning.
Whereas there was an advantage in being
considered affordable, it was to our
detriment to be poorly thought of in terms
of the quality of our product, and our
commitment to sustainability and social
good. So, we changed things around.
Staff engagement
The key was in engaging our staff from the
beginning. We actively sought individuals
and teams that better mirrored our diverse
customer base. We engaged designers
with broader national and cultural
understanding. We conducted various
initiatives that connected our brand
to society at large, including providing
temporary employment to refugees,
many of whom were later engaged on
a permanent basis, and put particular
emphasis on training for both Swiss and
non-Swiss employees on how to work
alongside different cultures.
A part of a much wider plan, we also
became EDGE Certified at Move level in
2013 and within two years had reached the
Lead level – tangible proof of the steps we
had taken and the progress we had made
on our journey towards a better, more
diverse organisation. Building on the
insights we gained from going through the
certification process and implementing
the suggested actions, we managed to
increase both internal and external
awareness. Of particular importance
was communication and cascading our
progress to all of our stakeholders and the
media, recognising the positive impact
this would have on our co-workers, the
company and the business.
Simona Scarpaleggia
Freelance business writer.
The strength of
a brand can be
measured in terms
of how many times
its customers are
prepared to forgive
it, should something
go wrong.
The perception of the business changed
remarkably in the eyes of its publics and
placed us in the top three organisations
within the IKEA group in the scoring of
the quality, low price and sustainability
Index by which we were measured. What
we witnessed, and what other businesses
will similarly experience if focused on
the right things, is that reputation not
only has a direct impact on attracting the
right talent, but it also makes you a more
desirable organisation for people to want
to work with and buy from. And this has a
direct correlation with improving market
share.
Proactive and consistent
Being proactive and consistent in your
DE&I strategy ultimately creates a fairer
organisation in which people are proud to
be associated and belong. It encourages
other stakeholders to get closer to your
brand. Having the right policies also
brings about its own rewards: a 50:50
shortlist for any new hires or promotions,
for example, will ultimately lead to a 50:50
pipeline of talent!
The media in Switzerland, as I am sure
they are in other parts of the world, are
very thorough. They do not want to get
caught out or look foolish for reporting
on an organisation’s DE&I performance
without checking the real story behind the
statements. In our case, they contacted
our employees, to see whether what we
said in public, was consistent with how
we performed in private. It’s certainly a
lesson from which many others could
learn and organisations should never be
blindsided by their own PR. As Professor
Robert Eccles, founding chairman of
the Sustainability Accounting Standards
Board wrote in the Harvard Business
Review some year ago: ‘Looking at the
world and one’s organisation through
rose-tinted spectacles is an abdication of
responsibility.’
The strength of a brand can be
measured in terms of how many times
its customers are prepared to forgive it,
should something go wrong. Recognising
that reputational risk is a category of risk
in its own right is therefore essential.
An individual or an organisation with a
strong reputation and proven track record
may be given a second chance if accused
of some misdemeanour about which they
had no prior knowledge; an organisation
or individual with a poor reputation may
find themselves hung out to dry.
Caring about your reputation is
important, and so too communicating
and evidencing your actions. Over-claim,
and you will surely be exposed, as recent
stories of greenwashing and pinkwashing
have shown. Ensuring your DE&I policies
are consistent and fair, however, will reap
significant rewards, financial and social.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 52

‘Looking at the world and one’s organisation through
rose-tinted spectacles is an abdication of responsibility.’
– Professor Robert Eccles
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 53

THE summer kicked off for
the Thames Valley Branch
with a golf social. Two
teams (one from Bristol
& West branch) set off for
a pleasant late afternoon
round of golf at Wokefield Park. While
most agreed that the quality of golf played
tested the saying of ‘a bad day at golf is
better than a good day in the office’ the
19th hole chat and drinks made up for it!
Next was a visit to the Vyne near
Basingstoke – Trevor from the National
Trust took the Branch on a private tour
of the stately home. It was interesting
to hear about the history of the House,
its custodians and their guests which
included King Henry VIII and Anne
Boleyn. The highlight of the tour was the
Chute’s private chapel with its stainedglass
windows and a door leading to a safe
with no key!
Verizon hosted the Branch’s ‘Are
You a Volunteer?’ event which was led
by Verizon’s volunteering champion,
Lewis Baldock. Lewis explained why
volunteering is important for employees
and why businesses are so keen to get
involved. One of the charities supported by
BRANCH NEWS
Summer Series
Thames Valley branch
Verizon is the Royal Air Forces Association
(RAFA) where they offer bespoke training
to employees so they can speak to and
support veterans and their families. A
member of this programme spoke about
how much he has valued his connections
to the veterans and the support that he
has received in return.
The Branch is already hard at work
with Sussex & Surrey, Kent and London
Branches in planning the 2023 Annual
Southern Branches Credit Day which is
being held at The Stoop, Twickenham on
12th October. We would love to see you
there.
Ruth S Howard MCICM -
Thames Valley Branch
CM
CREDIT MANAGEMENT
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Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 54

Cr£ditWho?
CICM Directory of Services
COLLECTIONS
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
Guildways
T: +44 3333 409000
E: info@guildways.com
W: www.guildways.com
Guildways is a UK & International debt collection specialist with over
25 years experience. Guildways prides itself on operating to the
highest ethical standards and professional service levels. We are
experienced in collecting B2B and B2C debts. Our service includes:
• A complete No collection, No Fee commission based service
• 10% plus VAT commission for UK debts
• Commission from 22% plus VAT for International debts
• 24/7 online access to your cases through our CaseManager portal
• Direct online account-to-account payments, to speed up
collections and minimise costs
If you are unable to locate your customer, we also offer a no trace, no
fee, trace and collect service.
For more information, visit: www.guildways.com
COLLECTIONS LEGAL
Blackline
33 Charlotte St, London W1T 1RR
T: +44 (0) 203 318 5941
E: sales@blackline.com
W:www.blackline.com/solutions/accounts-receivableautomation/
Transform and modernize your accounts receivable processes.
Release cash from customers using next-generation intelligent
AR automation. Optimize working capital by driving world-class
order-to-cash processes and leverage 'decision intelligence' to
drive better business outcomes.
Reduce or eliminate manual tasks, and enable AR teams to
focus on actions that drive results. Strengthen decision intelligence
to deliver significant value to the organization by harnessing
BlackLine’s ground-breaking AR Intelligence module
- unlock hidden data in Accounts Receivable processes and
understand customer behaviours in real time.
For more information and a free instant ROI calculation for AR
visit https://www.blackline.com/solutions/accounts-receivable-automation/
ContactEngine
A NICE Company
Email: info@contactengine.com
Website: www.contactengine.com
ContactEngine is a proactive customer engagement platform,
which connects organizations to its customers through AI
powered digital conversations, ​enabling fully automated
customer journeys. The game changer for collections?
Companies can now talk directly with tens of thousands of
people simultaneously. This enables collections treatment
automation using intelligent, natural language conversations,
dynamic engagement strategies, and easy-to-trigger payment
transactions that move the needle and help organisations collect
outstanding debt faster. ContactEngine anticipates the need
to interact with customers and fully automates personalized,
multichannel conversations that engage customers over days,
weeks, months and years to achieve specific milestones or
trigger next steps based on customer responses.
For more information, visit www.contactengine.com/solutions/
collections or email info@contactengine.com
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.”
CREDIT DATA AND ANALYTICS
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%.
HighRadius
T: +44 (0) 203 997 9400
E: infoemea@highradius.com
W: www.highradius.com
HighRadius provides a cloud-based Integrated Receivable
Platform, powered by machine learning and AI. Our Technology
empowers enterprise organisations to reduce cycle time in the
order-to-cash process and increase working capital availability by
automating receivables and payments processes across credit,
electronic billing and payment processing, cash application,
deductions, and collections.
Tinubu Square UK
Holland House, 4 Bury Street,
London EC3A 5AW
T: +44 (0)207 469 2577 /
E: uksales@tinubu.com
W: www.tinubu.com
Founded in 2000, Tinubu Square is a software vendor, enabler
of the Credit Insurance, Surety and Trade Finance digital
transformation.
Tinubu Square enables organizations across the world to
significantly reduce their exposure to risk and their financial,
operational and technical costs with best-in-class technology
solutions and services. Tinubu Square provides SaaS solutions
and services to different businesses including credit insurers,
receivables financing organizations and multinational corporations.
Tinubu Square has built an ecosystem of customers in over 20
countries worldwide and has a global presence with offices in
Paris, London, New York, Montreal and Singapore.
Credica Ltd
Building 168, Maxell Avenue, Harwell Oxford, Oxon. OX11 0QT
T: 01235 856400E: info@credica.co.uk W: www.credica.co.uk
Our highly configurable and extremely cost effective Collections
and Query Management System has been designed with 3 goals
in mind:
•To improve your cashflow • To reduce your cost to collect
• To provide meaningful analysis of your business
Evolving over 15 years and driven by the input of 1000s of
Credit Professionals across the UK and Europe, our system is
successfully providing significant and measurable benefits for our
diverse portfolio of clients.
We would love to hear from you if you feel you would benefit from
our ‘no nonsense’ and human approach to computer software.
Cedar Rose Int. Services Ltd
Tel: (+357) 25 346630 (Cyprus Office)
(+971) 4 374 5758 (UAE Office)
E: info@cedar-rose.com W: www.cedar-rose.com
Follow us on LinkedIn
Cedar Rose stands at the forefront of global leadership in the
provision of premium compliance, due diligence investigations,
and identity verification services for both individuals and
companies. As a distinguished recipient of numerous awards, its
reputation is founded on unparalleled excellence and precision.
Originally specializing in the Middle East and North Africa,
Cedar Rose has now expanded its horizons, offering insights
on entities and persons across the globe. With its innovative
CRiS Intelligence Platform, clients gain immediate access to an
expansive database of over 384 million companies.
Cedar Rose offers a holistic range of data-driven solutions tailored
to meet diverse needs. Its offerings range from automation
solutions that streamline onboarding and monitoring processes,
to in-depth compliance investigations, and advanced electronic
identity verification for KYC and KYB requirements.
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.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 56

FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION OPTIONS
AND PRICING CONTACT
paul@centuryone.uk 01727 739 196
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
ENFORCEMENT
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.
Cedar Rose Int. Services Ltd
Top Service Ltd, 2&3 Regents Court, Far Moor Lane
Redditch, Worcestershire. B98 0SD
T: +44 (0)1527 518800
E: enquiries@top-service.co.uk
W: www.top-service.co.uk
Top Service Ltd: Trusted partner in construction credit information
and debt recovery. For over 30 years, Top Service has been a
cornerstone in the construction industry, providing expertise in
credit information and effective debt recovery services. Described
as a 'national grapevine of information' for the construction
industry, members are able to stay one step ahead with access
to upto the minute payment experiences shared from thousands
of members allowing them to make the best, most informed
credit decisions and have the ability to take swift action where
necessary. Trust in experience. Trust in excellence. Trust in Top
Service Ltd.
CLOUD-BASED SOFTWARE
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
My DSO Manager
22, Chemin du Vieux Chêne,
Bâtiment D, Meylan, FRANCE
T: +33 (0)458003676
E: contact@mydsomanager.com
W: www.mydsomanager.com
My DSO Manager is an all-in-one intelligent SaaS accounts
receivable and credit management system that provides realtime
insight and scalability from SMEs to international multientity
companies. It helps AR analysts, accounting or finance
managers, and any client-facing employee, manage risk and
maximize cash collection.
It can swiftly integrate any kind of data from any ERP and
implement any customization due to its creative, competent IT
teams that are headquartered inside the firm and collaborate
closely with support employees, many of whom were formerly
credit managers at big corporations.
The feature-rich functions, automated reminders, alerts, and
numerous services connected to the solution, such as EDM/
CRMs/insurance/e-payment/BI platforms etc., along with a
reasonable pricing system, have simplified the credit-to-cash
cycle by monitoring daily KPIs like DSO, aging balance, overdues/
past-dues, customer behavior, and cash forecast.
My DSO Manager's worldwide clientele are its real ambassadors,
who assist the company in expanding on an ongoing basis.
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.
TCN
T: +44 (0) 800-088-5089
E : spencer.taylor@tcn.com
W: www.tcn.com
TCN is a leading provider of cloud-based call centre technology
for enterprises, contact centres, BPOs, and collection
agencies worldwide. Founded in 1999, TCN combines a deep
understanding of the needs of call centre users with a highly
affordable delivery model, ensuring immediate access to robust
call centre technology, such as SMS, email, predictive dialler,
IVR, call recording, and business analytics required to optimise
operations while adhering to callers’ requests.
Its “always-on” cloud-based delivery model provides customers
with immediate access to the latest version of the TCN solution, as
well as the ability to quickly and easily scale and adjust to evolving
business needs. TCN serves various Fortune 500 companies and
enterprises in multiple industries, including newspaper, collection,
education, healthcare, automotive, political, customer service, and
marketing. For more information, visit www.tcn.com or follow on
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.
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)1260 275716
E: info@forumsinternational.co.uk
W: www.forumsinternational.co.uk
Forums International Ltd have been running Credit and Industry
Forums since 1991. We cover a range of industry sectors and
International trading, attendance is for Credit Professionals of all
levels. Our forums are not just meetings but communities which
aim to prepare our members for the challenges ahead. Attending
for the first time is free for you to gauge the benefits and meet the
members and we only have pre-approved Partners, so you will
never intentionally be sold to.
INSOLVENCY
Menzies
T: +44 (0)2073 875 868 - London
T: +44 (0)2920 495 444 - Cardiff
W: menzies.co.uk/creditor-services
Our Creditor Services team can advise on the best way for you
to protect your position when one of your debtors enters, or
is approaching, insolvency proceedings. Our services include
assisting with retention of title claims, providing representation
at creditor meetings, forensic investigations, raising finance,
financial restructuring and removing the administrative burden
– this includes completing and lodging claim forms, monitoring
dividend prospects and analysing all Insolvency Reports and
correspondence.
For more information on how the Menzies Creditor Services
team can assist, please contact Bethan Evans, Licensed
Insolvency Practitioner, at bevans@menzies.co.uk or call
+44 (0)2920 447 512.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / 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
Red Flag Alert Technology Group Limited
49 Peter Street, Manchester, M2 3NG
T: 0330 460 9877
E: sales@redflagalert.com
W: www.redflagalert.com
The UK’s No1 Insolvency Score is available as platform
designed to help businesses manage risk and achieve growth
using real-time data. The only independently owned UK credit
referencing agency for businesses. We have modernised the
way companies consume data, via Graph QL API and apps for
many CRM / ERP systems to power businesses decisions with
the most important data taken in real-time feeds, ensuring our
customers are always the first to know.
Red Flag Alert has a powerful portfolio management tool
enabling you to monitor all your customers and suppliers so
you and your teams can receive email alerts on data events
i.e. CCJ, Petitions, Accounts, Directors, amongst 84 alerts
produced and tailored to your business.
Red Flag Alert works towards growing and protecting
businesses using advanced machine learning and AI technology
data to provide businesses with information to deliver best in
class sales, credit risk management and compliance.
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 •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.
PAYMENT SOLUTIONS
American Express
76 Buckingham Palace Road,
London. SW1W 9TQ
T: +44 (0)1273 696933
W: www.americanexpress.com
American Express is working in partnership with the CICM and is a
globally recognised provider of payment solutions to businesses.
Specialising in providing flexible collection capabilities to drive a
number of company objectives including:
• Accelerate cashflow • Improved DSO • Reduce risk
• Offer extended terms to customers
• Provide an additional line of bank independent credit to drive
growth • Create competitive advantage with your customers
As experts in the field of payments and with a global reach,
American Express is working with credit managers to drive
growth within businesses of all sectors. By creating an additional
lever to help support supplier/client relationships American
Express is proud to be an innovator in the business payments
space.
Key IVR
T: +44 (0) 1302 513 000 E: sales@keyivr.com
W: www.keyivr.com
Key IVR are proud to have joined the Chartered Institute of
Credit Management’s Corporate partnership scheme. The
CICM is a recognised and trusted professional entity within
credit management and a perfect partner for Key IVR. We are
delighted to be providing our services to the CICM to assist with
their membership collection activities. Key IVR provides a suite
of products to assist companies across the globe with credit
management. Our service is based around giving the end-user
the means to make a payment when and how they choose. Using
automated collection methods, such as a secure telephone
payment line (IVR), web and SMS allows companies to free up
valuable staff time away from typical debt collection.
Quadient AR by YayPay
T: +44 20 8502 8476
E: r.harash@quadient.com
W: www.quadient.com/en-gb/ar-automation
Quadient AR by YayPay 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.
PAYMENT SOLUTIONS
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.
Hays Credit Management
107 Cheapside, London, EC2V 6DN
T: 07834 260029
E: karen.young@hays.com
W: www.hays.co.uk/creditcontrol
Hays Credit Management is working in partnership with the CICM
and specialise in placing experts into credit control jobs and
credit management jobs. Hays understands the demands of this
challenging environment and the skills required to thrive within
it. Whatever your needs, we have temporary, permanent and
contract based opportunities to find your ideal role. Our candidate
registration process is unrivalled, including face-to-face screening
interviews and a credit control skills test developed exclusively for
Hays by the CICM. We offer CICM members a priority service and
can provide advice across a wide spectrum of job search and
recruitment issues.
PORTFOLIO
CREDIT CONTROL
Portfolio Credit Control
1 Finsbury Square, London. EC2A 1AE
T: 0207 650 3199
E: recruitment@portfoliocreditcontrol.com
W: www.portfoliocreditcontrol.com
Portfolio Credit Control, a 5* Trustpilot rated agency, solely
specialises in the recruitment of Permanent, Temporary & Contract
Credit Control, Accounts Receivable and Collections staff
including remote workers. Part of The Portfolio Group, an awardwinning
Recruiter, we speak to Credit Controllers every day and
understand their skills meaning we are perfectly placed to provide
your business with talented Credit Control professionals. Offering
a highly tailored approach to recruitment, we use a hybrid of faceto-face
and remote briefings, interviews and feedback options.
We provide both candidates & clients with a commitment to deliver
that will exceed your expectations every single time.
Cr£ditWho?
CICM Directory of Services
FOR ADVERTISING
INFORMATION
OPTIONS AND
PRICING CONTACT
paul@centuryone.uk
01727 739 196
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 58

Ethical and efficient debt recovery solutions to
help organisations improve cash-flow, increase
productivity and reduce overheads
Debt
Recovery
Customer
Care
Receivables
Management
Business Support
Services
IT and Application
Services
Software
Solutions
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / October 2023 / PAGE 59
01527 386 610
controlaccount.com

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Probably thebest debt collection network worldwide
Razvan-Costin
Ionescu
Semnat digital de Razvan-
Costin Ionescu
Data: 2022.08.08 18:47:58
+03'00'
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