Credit Management APRIL 2019

CREDIT MANAGEMENT
CM
APRIL 2019 £12.50
THE CICM MAGAZINE FOR CONSUMER AND
COMMERCIAL CREDIT PROFESSIONALS
All the fun
of the Fair
FairShare and the
debt advice sector
80
YEARS
Sean Feast speaks
to Phil Andrew at
StepChange. Page 18
How reliable is data
in a credit report?
Page 24

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27
TRADE TALK
LESLEY BATCHELOR
APRIL 2019
www.cicm.com
CONTENTS
18
INTERVIEW
PHIL ANDREW
12 – INSOLVENCY
Michelle Thorp outlines the key benefits
of the regulatory framework.
14 – INTERVIEW
Sean Feast FCICM meets John Pears to
discuss collections, customer focus and
his love of flying.
22 – OPINION
Peter Wallwork and Henry Aitchison
ponder how confusion over debt advice
will impact future funding.
28 – INTERNATIONAL
TRADE
This month’s round-up of the biggest
stories in global trade.
52
LEGAL MATTERS
PETER WALKER
35 – ASK THE EXPERTS
David Kerr gives his view on the newly
published HMRC consultation.
50 – HR MATTERS
A closer look at the legalities of
checking employee criminal records.
54 – CAREERS’ ADVICE
Karen Young looks at the evolution of
recruitment within credit management.
CICM GOVERNANCE
14
INTERVIEW
JOHN PEARS
President Stephen Baister FCICM / Chief Executive Philip King FCICM CdipAF MBA
Executive Board Pete Whitmore FCICM – Chair / Debbie Nolan FCICM(Grad) – Vice Chair
Glen Bullivant FCICM – Treasurer / Larry Coltman FCICM, Victoria Herd FCICM(Grad), Bryony Pettifor FCICM(Grad)
Advisory Council Sarah Aldridge FCICM(Grad) / Laurie Beagle FCICM / Kim Delaney-Bowen MCICM / Glen Bullivant FCICM
Lauren Carter FCICM / Brendan Clarkson FCICM / Larry Coltman FCICM / Victoria Herd FCICM(Grad) / Philip Holbrough MCICM
Laural Jefferies MCICM / Diana Keeling FCICM / Martin Kirby FCICM / Christelle Madie FCICM
Julie-Anne Moody-Webster MCICM / Debbie Nolan FCICM(Grad) / Ute Ogholoh MCICM / Bryony Pettifor FCICM(Grad)
Allan Poole MCICM / Phil Rice FCICM / Chris Sanders FCICM / Paul Taylor MCICM / Pete Whitmore FCICM.
View our digital version online at www.cicm.com. Log on to the Members’
area, and click on the tab labelled ‘Credit Management magazine’
Credit Management is distributed to the entire UK and international CICM
membership, as well as additional subscribers
Reproduction in whole or part is forbidden without specific permission. Opinions expressed in this magazine do
not, unless stated, reflect those of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management. The Editor reserves the right to
abbreviate letters if necessary. The Institute is registered as a charity. The mark ‘Credit Management’ is a registered
trade mark of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management.
Any articles published relating to English law will differ from laws in Scotland and Wales.
Publisher
Chartered Institute of Credit Management
The Water Mill, Station Road, South Luffenham
OAKHAM, LE15 8NB
Telephone: 01780 722900
Email: editorial@cicm.com
Website: www.cicm.com
CMM: www.creditmanagement.org.uk
Managing Editor
Sean Feast FCICM
Deputy Editor
Alex Simmons
Art Editor
Andrew Morris
Telephone: 01780 722910
Email: andrew.morris@cicm.com
Editorial Team
Imogen Hart and Iona Yadallee
Advertising
Grace Ghattas
Telephone: 020 3603 7946
Email: grace@cabbell.co.uk
Printers
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2019 subscriptions
UK: £112 per annum
International: £145 per annum
Single copies: £12.50
ISSN 0265-2099
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 3

EDITOR’S COLUMN
A cacophony of confusion
over debt advice funding
Sean Feast FCICM
Managing Editor
I’M pleased to see that since Credit
Management first dared to raise
its head above the parapet on the
issue of future funding for debt
advice, there are plenty of others
who are now more than happy to
stick their two penneth in and add to the
debate.
Peter Wallwork and his colleague from
the CSA, Henry Aitchison, refer to it in
our lead article (see page 22) as a ‘money
merry go round’, a cacophony of confusion
over funding channels and sources. They
believe firmly that any future funding
contributions need to be fair, equitable and
transparent, and that any future thinking
also remembers that it is not only the
financial services sector that benefits.
John Pears of Lowells (see page 14)
agrees. He is far from precious about the
mechanism, but thinks, simply, that if you
benefit from it, you should pay for it. He says
there is currently a £20 million shortfall in
funding, and believes that if everyone paid
their fair share, this gap could be closed.
He also thinks that Lowell’s clients could
help, perhaps by not selling to those who
take out, without putting in.
Phil Andrew, Chief Executive of
StepChange Debt Charity also takes a
refreshingly honest and open stance on
future funding (see page 18). He recognises
full well the need to demonstrate further
efficiencies in the services StepChange
delivers, and has grand ambitions around
the benefits of early intervention.
He echoes John Pears’ sentiments: “If
everyone paid who should, we would receive
£69 million a year from FS firms, and not
the £48 million we receive currently, and
that would make a significant contribution
to our future growth plans.”
What they can all agree on too is that the
need for debt advice is growing, and that
intelligent and well-informed collaboration
and co-operation is what is required moving
forward. Peter Wallwork says as much
in his piece: “There is general consensus
that ‘something must be done’ and it is
pleasing to report that following many
conversations, debates, and discussion
alike, actionable steps are now being put in
place.”
We look forward to learning more about
these steps in future issues.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 4

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CMNEWS
A round-up of news stories from the
world of consumer and commercial credit
Written by – Sean Feast FCICM and Alex Simmons
Poor awareness impacts
effectiveness of PPC
POOR awareness, and the
reluctance of small businesses
to challenge larger businesses
into the conduct of their payment
behaviour, continue to hamper the
success of the Prompt Payment Code,
and its perception amongst stakeholders
and the media.
This was the view expressed by
Philip King FCICM, Chief Executive
of The Chartered Institute of Credit
Management at a Workshop on Late
Payment hosted by Bill Esterson MP,
Shadow Small Business Minister
involving senior executives from
business organisations and industry.
Philip said that while the Code had
succeeded in collecting £3 million, and
resolved issues involving high-profile
transgressors such as Diageo, there
was still much more that could be done:
“The reluctance of small businesses to
challenge the Code, and the failure of
trade associations and business groups
to challenge on behalf of their members
are impacting how the Code is perceived
and used,” he explained.
He also highlighted the limited
resources available to the CICM to
administer the Code, and the lack of any
historic funding from Government as
having an impact: “The administrative
challenges and costs associated with
running a compliance board cannot be
underestimated,” he added.
But he also said that one solution
was for more effective regulation: “As
suppliers are reluctant to come forward,
effective regulators, with the power
and resources to investigate, publish
findings and impose punitive fines would
inevitably be more effective, but might
have unintended consequences.”
Within the discussions, it was
highlighted that there was no process or
powers for there to be an independent
verification of the accuracy of signatories
to the Prompt Payment Code.
Smirnoff: A Diageo brand.
Bill Esterson said that the spotlight
on Carillion made it clear that the
Prompt Payment Code, despite having
more than 2,000 signatories, was not
working effectively. Carillion had a
reputation as a notorious late payer,
with suppliers waiting up to 126 days to
receive the payments they were owed. In
clarification, Philip King pointed out that
no challenge had been received about
Carillion, and as such, no investigation
had taken place since the Compliance
Board did not have the authority – or the
mandate – to investigate.
It was suggested that the PPC
Compliance Board must have the powers
to refer to itself to investigate. The
duty to report information had led to
transparency in larger companies, but
further reporting and transparency was
needed, and cross-verification with the
Code.
The Cabinet Office and Crown
Commercial Service had undertaken
a consultation on Prompt Payment by
Government Suppliers, and this included
measure from September this year
for contracting authorities to exclude
suppliers from contracts of a value
greater than £5 million if they cannot
demonstrate fair and effective payment
practices with their suppliers. There
was little evidence yet that the new
complaint handling website established
by the Small Business Commissioner
was making it any easier for small
business owners to resolve late payment
disputes.
Bill Esterson suggested that more
pressure needed to be applied on
the Government’s biggest suppliers
to meet the commitment to pay 95
percent of invoices within 60 days,
and move towards adopting 30 day
payment terms as the norm. He also
said that strict criteria on payment
practice needs to be embedded in the
Government’s procurement policies.
promptpaymentcode.org.uk
STOP PRESS
PHILIP Hammond, the Chancellor, has announced a crackdown on late payment by
insisting that big companies should appoint a non-executive director who would be
responsible for reducing late payments to smaller suppliers. They must also publish
payment practices in their annual reports. The Government already obliges larger
companies to publish their payment data twice a year on a website.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 6

Mercedes accelerates out of the block
MERCEDES-Benz is to pilot blockchain
technology with the potential to
‘fundamentally revolutionise its
procurement processes’.
The carmaker has developed a
blockchain prototype containing contract
clauses, including around sustainability
requirements that can be viewed by all
participants in the supply chain. The
system, which makes use of blockchain’s
secure distributed ledger technology, also
offers opportunities to track and trace
components and raw materials.
Sabine Angermann, Head of Purchasing
and Supplier Quality for Raw Materials and
Strategy at Mercedes-Benz Cars, says the
transmission of contracts to each member
of the supply chain is the prerequisite of
cooperation with our suppliers, especially
in terms of sustainability and ethical
conduct: “The blockchain prototype
opens up completely new ways to make
purchasing processes simpler and safer.”
Mercedes and software company
Icertis teamed up to create ‘a consistent
documentation of contracts in the supply
chain’. The carmaker said it ‘requires its
direct suppliers to vigorously pass on
and control standards and contractual
obligations with regard to working
conditions, human rights, environmental
protection, safety, business ethics and
compliance within the supply chain’.
“The prototype allows a transparent
mapping and understanding of this
transmission across the entire supply
chain. Should one of the sub-suppliers
deviate from the contractual obligations,
this becomes visible in the blockchain,
similar to a secure accounting system,”
Mercedes says.
“Acceptance by suppliers and partners
is now being tested in a pilot project and
feedback is being obtained. Consistently
establishing blockchain technology with
all suppliers in the respective supply
chain is a fundamental requirement for the
achievement of the goal: close cooperation
for more sustainability.”
mercedes-benz.co.uk
>NEWS
IN BRIEF
TECHNICAL
COMMITTEE
THE Technical Committee met
recently and discussed a number of
important topics relevant to members,
such as: HMRC consultation entitled
‘Protecting your taxes in insolvency’
and preferential creditors status from
April 2020; vexatious claims and
discussions around the potential size
of the problem; data sharing with
SMEs; Pay.UK’s ‘Confirmation of Payee’
service which aims to reduce the risk
of payments sent to the wrong account,
and benefits/risks associated with
the service; and the CICM responses
to recent consultations including
BEIS ‘Creating a responsible payment
culture’, HM Treasury’s ‘Breathing
Space policy proposal’ and the Ministry
of Justice ‘Review of 2014 enforcement
agent reforms’.
Poor management
THE Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has
found that three asset management firms
– Hargreave Hale, RAMAM, and Newton
– breached competition law – the FCA’s
first formal decision under its competition
enforcement powers. The FCA has fined
Hargreave Hale £306,300 and RAMAM
£108,600. The FCA has not imposed a fine on
Newton because it was given immunity
under the competition leniency programme.
Self-employed growing
DATA from the Office for National Statistics
(ONS) revealed the number of selfemployed
people in the UK rose by 63,000
to 4.84 million in the last quarter of 2018.
The nation’s strong labour market is being
powered significantly by the self-employed
sector, which now equates to almost 15
percent of the UK’s workforce – almost as
much as the entire public sector.
ons.gov.uk
Clever Thinking
SHAWBROOK Bank has provided
data firm DueDil with a £3.5 million
Growth Capital facility to help fund the
company’s expansion plans. DueDil’s
API and web platform use proprietary
matching technology to link billions of
company data points from authoritative
sources, providing insight through its
Business Information Graph. Companies
leverage this information to build
their go to market strategy and create
a seamless customer onboarding
journey. The London-based firm works
with more than 400 companies across
financial services, fintech and technology
sectors, including big brands such as
Transferwise, Santander, Growth Street
and Paymentsense. shawbrook.co.uk
Billhop launches card collaboration with Visa
BILLHOP has launched a collaboration with Visa to enable small
businesses across Europe to pay their suppliers using a card,
regardless of whether or not the supplier accepts card payments, to
help improve working capital for small businesses. The collaboration
with Visa will allow Billhop to expand across Europe, including
markets such as France, Italy and Spain in the first half of 2019.
Billhop, which has already launched in Sweden and the UK, is a
payment service enabling businesses to pay invoices with cards
regardless of whether the end beneficiary accepts card payments or
not. No onboarding of the end beneficiary is required allowing Billhop
to enable 100 percent of supplier payments on card instantaneously.
On the back of card payments made by small and large businesses,
Billhop says it has experienced a significant pace of growth in
Europe generally. Small companies benefit from the grace period on
their existing credit cards, whereas larger corporations use bespoke
credit cards as a working capital financing solution when paying
larger ticket suppliers through Billhop. billhop.com/gb
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 7

NEWS
IN BRIEF
Big banks join forces
LLOYDS Banking Group, Royal Bank of
Scotland and Barclays have opened the
first jointly-run business banking hub
in Birmingham in response to concerns
about branch closures and rising costs. The
scheme will see six business banking hubs
being piloted across the country, and will
allow businesses to pay in large volumes of
coins, notes and cheques and complete cash
exchange transactions. The hubs will also
have extended opening hours from 08:00 to
20:00, seven days a week.
Accounting error
KIER Group has announced that its debt was
higher at the end of last year than previously
indicated, despite efforts to reduce it, with
shares falling as a result by as much as 16
percent. The firm’s net debt position for the
end of 2018 was adjusted from £130 million to
£180.5 million, as a result of hedging activities
and a reclassification of debt associated with
assets held for resale. Liberum analyst Joe
Brent said the company’s situation was the
result of an “accounting error’’, which led to
the "restatement of £40 million of net debt
from assets held-for resale to underlying net
debt.’’ kier.co.uk
Law maker
LAW firm DWF has listed on the main market
of the London Stock Exchange with a market
valuation of £366 million. Sir Nigel Knowles,
DWF Chairman, received shares worth £3.3
million, while its 243 partners will share £232
million of shares equivalent to 63.5 percent of
the business. dwf.law
New government body
THE Financial Reporting Council is to be
scrapped and replaced by a new regulator
for accountancy firms, the UK government
has announced. The Audit, Reporting and
Governance Authority will have enhanced
powers and be able to make direct changes to
accounts, instead of applying to court.
frc.org.uk
Growing nest
STARLING is to open a new office in
Southampton by the summer. The move
comes after the digital bank won a £100
million grant aimed at boosting competition
in the business banking sector.
starlingbank.com
Apology
IN the supplement of the March issue of Credit
Management (page 42), we credited the wrong
company with having sponsored the Legal
Team of the Year Award at the recent CICM
Awards. Our generous sponsor was, in fact,
Court Enforcement Services, and we extend
our unreserved apologies to them for our error.
Smaller customers present
greater risk in payment cycle
LARGE companies continue to
pay late, but do pay their invoices
eventually, whereas smaller buyers
often present a greater risk.
This was one of the principal take-outs
from an excellent presentation from Dun &
Bradstreet’s Markus Kuger, Lead Economist
and Country Risk Analyst, at a recent
meeting of the Thames Valley Branch of the
CICM.
In a highly informative and broadsweeping
discussion, Markus said that
while big businesses are those most in the
firing line for their payment behaviour,
suppliers into larger businesses will get paid
eventually, whereas a smaller customer
that is paying late is more likely not to
pay at all. Of all of the sectors he explored,
the Government is the slowest payer;
agriculture is the best.
Speaking positively about the current
UK economy, Markus revealed that
unemployment is at its lowest level
since the 1970s and wages are growing
robustly. Some three quarters (75 percent)
of companies report difficulties in hiring
new staff, an issue that especially affects
those in manufacturing. The challenges, he
said, are not unique to the UK; many other
countries across Europe are experiencing
similar issues.
On the downside, however, Markus
warned that the UK economy is slowing,
and that 2018 growth was the slowest for
a decade. Again, however, he highlighted
that this was not unique to the UK. He
also stated that the slowdown had begun
before the word Brexit had even entered
our vocabulary. While there was good news
Digital roadmap will lead
to greater productivity
A research report has laid out a digital
roadmap that could catalyse up to a £57
billion productivity payout for UK SMEs over
five years.
It is claimed that Making Tax Digital (MTD),
the digitisation of VAT in April 2019, will
immediately catalyse an annual benefit of
£6.9 billion, or £46 billion over five years in
net gains in turnover and growth for the UK
economy. If all SMEs in Professional Services
were catalysed by MTD, the sector would see
an annual benefit of £1.1 billion.
These are the major findings of The
Productivity Payout: UK Small Businesses
and the Digital Economy – a research report
and first of its kind economic model released
by Volterra Partners association with Intuit
QuickBooks. This new economic model
– built on predicted behaviours of small
business owners as a result of social and
financial drivers – demonstrates that once
businesses integrate technology to become
around consumer spending, companies
had short arms and deep pockets, and were
adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach when it
came to investing.
“All of the indicators regarding economic
health are deteriorating,” he said, “but this
is a pan-European trend. While companies
are still more optimistic than pessimistic
(according to barometers such as the
Purchasers Managers’ Index), the indices
are dangerously close to negative, and the
Macroeconomic picture is deteriorating.”
Philip King FCICM, Chief Executive of the
Chartered Institute of Credit Management,
said that Markus’ comments around
payment behaviour were particularly
interesting: “They bear out something
that we have often said, that certainty
of payment is often just as important as
whether you are paid in 30 or 60 days, as
it allows you to manage your cashflow
accordingly.
“Whereas big companies are often the
ones castigated in the media for hanging on
to their cash for longer – which some might
say is good credit management on their part
– they are still invariably a safer bet than
doing business with a smaller customer.”
dnb.co.uk
All of the indicators
regarding economic
health are deteriorating,
but this is a pan-European
trend.
MTD compliant, a ‘digital snowball’ effect is
likely to occur as they experience so-called
spill-over benefits.
These spill-over benefits will drive
increases in SMEs’ levels of productivity, for
example by better enabling better cashflow
and human resources management, and
freeing time for more productive activities
such as sales, marketing or training. Having
adopted one form of digital technology,
businesses tend to adopt others, in turn
saving more time and reaping the rewards
from cumulative productivity benefits from
digital interoperability.
Despite the huge gains to be made from
the adoption of digitisation of traditional
business practices, one in seven SMEs in
Professional Services are still unaware of
MTD and its associated impact.
gov.uk/government/publications/makingtax-digital/overview-of-making-tax-digital
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 8

Victory for CICM and EFTA
on short-term fraud
THE CICM and The European Freight
Trades Association (EFTA) are
claiming victory after Companies
House added a warning to its
website that the information available on its
site has not been independently verified.
Philip King FCICM, the Chief Executive
of the Chartered Institute of Credit
Management, and James Campbell,
Secretary of EFTA, succeeded in their
representations to Companies House to
challenge the alarming increase in shortfirm
fraud.
Companies House has now taken steps
to display a more prominent warning on its
website regarding the efficacy and accuracy
of the information it holds, confirming that
such information has neither been verified
nor validated. Companies House has also
agreed to create a dedicated email through
which businesses can raise concerns over
bogus accounts leintel@companieshouse.
gov.uk.
Philip King says he is delighted with the
way that Companies House has responded to
their approaches: “We raised the issue, they
listened to us, and they have taken action,
and they should be commended
for it.
“Credit managers use information at
Companies House on which to base risk
decisions, and need to be aware that the
information cannot always be trusted.
Companies House data is useful as one
part of the decision-making process when
it comes to granting credit, but should
never be relied upon as the only source of
information.”
Short-firm fraud happens when criminals
set up an apparently legitimate business
intending to defraud its suppliers and
customers. The business buys goods and
pays suppliers promptly to secure a good
credit record before executing its ‘sting’,
sometimes taking companies for many tens
of thousands of pounds that they cannot
recover. gov.uk/government/organisations/
companies-house
BABY BOOMERS MOST CAUTIOUS
ALMOST one in four (39 percent) of baby boomers have admitted that they have zero risk
appetite when it comes to their investments, while a further 28 percent described their risk
appetite as low, according to research by Aegon. Just three percent of 55 to 73 year-olds said
that they were confident that their investments would deliver strong returns over the next
five to ten years. Brits aged 55-73 hold more than a third of the UK’s wealth, yet the majority
still take a highly risk-averse approach to their investments. Some 44 percent of people of
baby boomers told Aegon that they prefer to avoid risk at all costs. By comparison, just 36
percent of those aged 18-34 said that they were risk-averse. Despite their caution, just one
quarter of baby boomers have sought advice from a financial adviser. aegon.co.uk
Education conference on
learning curve
THE annual CICM Education Conference
is being revamped and refreshed this year,
and given a new name.
Now called the CICM Learning
Conference, it will be a gathering of
CICM members and partners to facilitate
learning in all areas of credit. There
will be three main streams: one for
CICM members of all levels and their
colleagues (and a chance to be updated
on best practice with case studies from
organisations that have a story to tell);
one for CICM Studying Members (with
qualification specific workshops and
support); and a third stream for CICM
tutors, coaches and partners (with update
workshops).
Watch this space for announcements
about our speakers this year, as well as
a new exciting range of mini drop in
sessions on technical learning – back to
basics in credit.
>NEWS
IN BRIEF
BACK TO THE FUTURE
NOMINATIONS for Fellows of the Future
have been received and the application
process now moves to round two.
Nominated members have been asked
to tell the CICM about their career and
their aspirations so that the content of
the scheme can be tailored to fit their
needs. If anyone wants to nominate they
can put themselves forward for round two
which will be later in the year. The final
list of candidates/participants will be
announced in April, as well as an outline
of the programme and aims.
cicm.com/fellows-of-the-future.
Sudden Yolt
YOLT for Business is now opening its
technology stack to businesses across
Europe to enable all open banking
capabilities including payments. Yolt for
Business claims it will offer a single API that
covers account aggregation services (AIS)
and payment initiation services (PIS) along
with an ambitious future roadmap that will
continue to develop dynamic solutions for a
fast-changing market – enabling businesses
to achieve their goals quickly, easily and
affordably. yolt.com
Cashflow squeeze
PROACTIS has secured £20 million in
funding from HSBC UK to bring to market
new technology to tackle the liquidity
squeeze felt by SMEs. The global e-commerce
business says the funding will allow it to roll
out proprietary technology that will deliver
‘frictionless cashflow’ between businesses. It
both accelerates and incentivises payments,
helping SMEs in particular to invest in
growth through improved liquidity. The
technology will also help larger businesses
to manage their supply chains, easing the
impact on working capital and improving
their relationships with suppliers. Proactis
will launch its Accelerated Payment Facility
later this year. proactis.com/uk/
INDUSTRY ROUNDUP
A new area has been launched on the
CICM website called ‘Industry Roundup’.
Available to all members and
non-members it will include a summary
of news, consultations, and regulatory
changes.
https://www.cicm.com/industry-round-up/
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 9

NEWS
IN BRIEF
New collection service
DEBT recovery firm DSL has launched a
specialist service to help local authorities
collect sundry debt after a recent pilot for a
single inner London council delivered a 54
percent success rate. Sundry debt covers
a range of commercial invoices from bin
collections and licensing fees to nursing
home overpayments, service charge arrears
and planning fees.
Mike Brooks, director of DSL, says sundry
debt is notoriously difficult to collect: “With
conservative estimates suggesting these
debts could amount to millions of pounds
across the country, there is a real incentive to
recoup more of these monies.
“Our Local Authority Debt Collection
team focuses exclusively on these more
challenging debts, combining new technology
with traditional investigation techniques
honed over years in the industry to trace
those who are liable and secure missed
payments.” dsluk.net
P2P lending tops £9.5bn
PEER-to-peer cumulative lending jumped
by almost half to £9.5 billion last year
according to data from the Peer-to-Peer
Finance Association (P2PFA).
Loans originated by firms lifted by 44
percent in 2018, split between more than
288,000 business borrowers and individuals.
Loans to businesses totalled £5.5 billion,
with the remainder accounted for by
consumer loans. Firms originated £6.6
billion of loans at the end of 2017.
Platforms arranged loans worth nearly £3
billion during 2018, with them performing
strongly in the final quarter of the year.
More than £800 million of new lending was
originated by these firms in the final three
months of last year. Businesses accounted
for £527 million of these loans, while £282
million of this lending went to consumers.
p2pfa.org.uk
CICM Essentials
Recent briefings includes a trailer for the
new ITN programme – Credit Experts, details
of the next Fellows Lunch, a summary of
local branch AGMs and events including a
distillery tour, and the Credit Academy midcourse
evaluation survey.
Study shows SMEs ‘failing
to innovate’ and invest
RESEARCH reveals a sharp divide
between how important SMEs
think new technology is to the
future of their business and how
much they actually invest in it.
Over three quarters (79 percent) of SMEs
see investing in technological innovation as
important, yet one in ten haven’t invested
in any new technology at all in the past
12 months, according to Collaborate UK,
CitySprint’s sixth annual survey.
In addition, a quarter of SMEs have spent
less than ten percent of their budget on
new technology, compared to over half (56
percent) who have spent between 11-30
percent. This lack of investment could
mean that the small businesses that spend
less are falling behind their peers in terms
of innovation.
The findings, drawn from over 1,000 SME
decision makers, found that over a third
(34 percent) of SMEs would be more likely
to adopt new tech in the future if there was
increased Government support or bursaries
available, while over a quarter (27 percent)
of businesses have said they would like to
see more information available on what
would work for their specific business.
Previous research from the Confederation
of British Industry (CBI) suggests that
by encouraging more businesses to take
advantage of existing technologies,
management practices and business
support – such as cloud computing, mobile
technology and e-purchasing – the UK
economy could receive a £100 billion boost
and see a five percent reduction in income
inequality. While businesses understand
the importance of implementing new
Manufacturing output steadies
THE output for Britain’s manufacturers
remains stable and above the long-term
average, according to a survey by Make
UK, the manufacturers’ organisation,
and business advisory firm BDO LLP. The
gap between orders and output, however,
continues to hint that stockpiling activities
are inflating output production levels.
The Make UK/BDO Q1 Manufacturing
Outlook survey reports that output balances
(+22 percent) were once again higher than
orders (+14 percent) suggesting that at
least part of output production is related
to stockpiling activities rather than actual
demand coming from customers.
Although still in positive territory,
expectations for the next quarter are
weakening. Output and order balances for
the next three months are forecast to fall
to 17 percent and 13 percent respectively,
with uncertainty around Brexit a prominent
factor.
For the first time since 2016, the balance
of domestic orders is stronger than exports.
technology, a clear list of barriers has
emerged which are preventing SMEs from
making the investment needed: a lack of
budget comes out as the most cited reason
(38 percent), followed by concerns about
security (26 percent) and that staff would
have to be trained to use it (24 percent).
Nearly a fifth (18 percent) would be more
likely to adopt new tech, like AI, blockchain,
or automation, if they worked with other
businesses of a similar size and scale to
increase their chances of success.
The top three reasons SMEs use
technology in their business are cited
as being: improving IT infrastructure (40
percent); reducing business costs through
automation (31 percent); and using tech to
protect information through cyber security
(28 percent). Just 17 percent of SMEs –
fewer than one in five – are currently using
AI or machine learning algorithms, and
only 23 percent plan to use such tech in the
future. citysprint.co.uk/collaborate-uk
Over three quarters
(79 percent) of SMEs
see investing in
technological innovation
as important, yet one
in ten haven’t invested in
any new technology
at all in the past 12
months.
Exports have been unable to recover since
the very sharp drop in the previous
quarter, which resulted in a disappointing
end to 2018 for the sector. The UK’s export
balance has been particularly badly
hindered by a slowdown in import appetite
from Asia. Europe continues to be the top
market opportunity for manufacturers
but, also for the first time since 2016, the
balance for demand coming from Europe is
lower than 50 percent. This drop is tied in
part to Brexit uncertainty, with companies
concerned that goods may be stuck at
ports, as well as a more general economic
slowdown happening across Europe.
Compared to last quarter, employment
and investment balances show some signs
of pick-up, however employment balances
are significantly higher than investment,
indicating that manufacturers may be
opting to hire a flexible workforce in the
short-term rather than make long-term
investments in a period of uncertainty.
makeuk.org bdo.co.uk
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 10

Utility Week Conference focuses
on vulnerable customers
PHILIP King FCICM, the Chief Executive
of the Chartered Institute of Credit
Management, successfully chaired The
Utility Week Consumer Debt Conference
in February, which had a strong focus on
managing vulnerable customers.
More than 20 speakers presented at the
conference, including Ross Betts, Head of
Collections, Customer Service at Thames
Water. He gave an overview of how the
utility company has been working with
FICO and Equifax to analyse its customer
databases to further improve its collections
approach and manage its debt risk. He also
explained how Thames Water was using
FICO’s debt manager to build dedicated
collections strategies to manage different
customer segments, especially the
vulnerable.
During the conference, representatives
from Ofgem and Ofwat answered the most
pressing issues facing utilities companies
during an on-stage live interview; Peter
Jackson, Southern Water’s Chief Data
Officer explained how he built a team to
transform the customer journey. Further
discussions were held during a series of
rotating roundtables, notably on how best
to support vulnerable customers.
The conference was held at the
Birmingham Conference and Events
Centre.
Report reveals challenges
of cashless society
THE Access to Cash Review
has published its final
recommendations calling on the
Government, regulators and banks
to act now or risk leaving millions of
customers behind.
The review concludes that digital
payments don’t yet work for everyone and
around eight million adults (17 percent of
the population) would struggle to cope in a
cashless society.
The Review’s action plan to protect
cash access calls for: Government and
regulators to step in urgently to ensure
cash remains viable; a ‘Guarantee to Cash
Access’ for all, including those in remote
and rural areas; those providing essential
services to be required to allow consumers
to pay by cash; and a more efficient,
effective and resilient wholesale cash
infrastructure to ensure that cash remains
viable as its use declines.
Cash is only used for three in every
ten transactions, down from six in ten
a decade ago and is forecast to fall to as
low as one in ten transactions within
the next 15 years. This shift away from
cash towards digital payments is placing
significant strain on the UK’s cash
infrastructure which currently costs
around £5 billion a year to run.
As bank branches and ATMs continue
to close, the economics of handling and
accepting cash will lead an increasing
number of retailers to go cashless. Given
these pressures, the review warns against
leaving access to cash to market forces,
and urges the government and financial
services regulators to take action to ensure
cash remains viable for as long as people
need it.
Natalie Ceeney, Independent Chair
of the Access to Cash Review says if the
UK sleepwalks into a cashless society,
millions will be left behind: “We need to
guarantee people’s right to access cash
and ensure that they can still spend it.
“If we want to protect cash, we need to
innovate, not preserve the past in aspic.
Why can’t we get cash at local shops,
through cashback, as well as at ATMs?
Why can’t we support small businesses
by letting them deposit their cash in
lockers or smart ATMs rather than face the
security risks and costs of a weekly trip
to their bank branch? There is huge scope
for innovation, not just in digital payments
but also in cash.
“We need leadership of this critical
issue from our regulators and government,
but success will rely on banks continuing
to properly support their customers who
rely on cash.”
The review gathered evidence from
more than 120 organisations from across
the leisure, retail, financial, charity and
business sectors. It also travelled the
country, taking evidence from thousands
of people including workshops in places
including Shetland, Porthmadog, and
Bournemouth to understand the current
needs of consumers and groups across the
UK. The review also explored the lessons
learned from Sweden and China.
In its interim report ‘Is Britain ready
to go cashless’ the review identified
approximately eight million people that
would be left behind. The risks to people
include the viability of rural communities:
where broadband and mobile connectivity
is poor, and where the local cash
infrastructure is reducing.
The panel will meet again in September
to discuss the impact of the Review
and to assess whether further action is
necessary. accesstocash.org.uk
“We need leadership of this critical issue from our regulators
and government, but success will rely on banks continuing
to properly support their customers who rely on cash.”
>NEWS
IN BRIEF
Firms turning to
Islamic finance
A growing number of non-regional (GCC)
organisations are turning to Islamic
finance, and in particular to sukuk
instruments, to raise funds for their
infrastructure and development projects,
a UAE-based investment banking expert
has suggested.
Zahid Aslam, Managing Director of
Investment Banking at Dalma Capital
Management, says the firm has seen
an almost one-third jump in enquiries
regarding Sharia-compliant bond
issuances from corporations outside of
the GCC. The news follows S&P Global
Ratings predicting in January the global
issuance of Sharia-compliant foreign and
local currency bonds is expected to reach
as much as $115 billion this year.
dalmacapital.com
BEXA awards
THE GTR-BExA Young Exporter Award,
now in its 15th year, and Young Export
Financier Award, new in 2019, are open
to candidates aged 35 or under and
employed in the export or export finance
department of a manufacturing, trading
or financial services company registered
in the UK.
The successful candidates, selected
from a shortlist of interviewed candidates,
will have typically played a key role
in winning or closing financing of a
significant order or achieving a series
of smaller orders, or in establishing a
new business process which has led to
increased export competitiveness.
Nominations are now open for the
2019 award, and close on 14 June. For the
submissions process visit bexa.co.uk/
export?award.
New Chair for FCA
THE Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
has appointed Wanda Goldwag as the
new Chair of the independent Financial
Services Consumer Panel for an initial
three-year term. The appointment has
been confirmed by HM Treasury.
Wanda will be the public face of the
panel, leading and providing strategic
direction by representing the Panel’s
views to the FCA board and to the
senior staff within the FCA, as well
as representing the Panel outside the
FCA. She will also lead the
development of the Panel’s
work and ensure that
performance goals are
met. Wanda succeeds Sue
Lewis. fca.org.uk
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 11

INSOLVENCY
Standard bearer
The strengths and benefits of the
regulatory framework.
AUTHOR – MICHELLE THORP
Michelle Thorp
SINCE my first column in
January, my main focus has
been to explain the change
programme that the IPA has
initiated to make its regulation
processes more modern,
responsive, transparent, and efficient. As
part of this process, we are refreshing our
committee membership. In March the IPA
is seeking nominations for our Council
and new committees following our review
of governance and regulation.
As part of this work, I have been
speaking to partners about how we can
increase our lay representation. Diversity
of committee membership is important,
from insolvency professionals working in
firms of all shapes and sizes, including
those who work in restructuring, to
lay representation from the creditor
community, to making sure we are
attracting women and people of different
ethnic backgrounds.
There are a multitude of benefits for
those who join our committees, including
a better understanding and appreciation of
the rigours of regulation. And in turn, we
gain from a greater depth of experience,
broader perspectives, and importantly, we
make sure that the creditor voice is at the
heart of regulation. If you are interested
in being a member of an IPA committee,
you can find details here: insolvencypractitioners.org.uk/membership/gettinginvolved-with-the-ipa.
When we took a good look at how we
manage our regulatory processes, we
found there was much to change. But we
also found a lot of strengths. And we didn’t
want to introduce change for change’s sake.
Maintaining these strengths will be vital as
the insolvency market and expectations of
the creditor community evolve.
WORLD CLASS FRAMEWORK
The UK’s insolvency framework is still
ranked one of the best in the world by
the World Bank. The ranking is based on
measures including, cost, outcome, and
recovery rate. This ranking shows that the
UK’s framework works well and can be
trusted.
There are always improvements to be
made – the Government is introducing
new measures when parliamentary time
permits to achieve that goal, but it’s clear
that the fundamentals work well and so
should be something that we should strive
to maintain and protect.
BENEFITS OF COMPETITION
There are five Recognised Professional
Bodies (RPBs) regulating the UK’s
insolvency practitioners (IPs). Although
there are five, just two of the RPBs (the
IPA and ICAEW) regulate 86 percent of
appointment taking IPs. And the IPA is
the only one that focuses solely on the
often complicated business of insolvency.
Having an organisation that cares deeply
about insolvency as its primary concern
is important: insolvency work shouldn’t
always come second best to other
professions.
Having more than one regulatory body
encourages competition and innovation.
An example of this is the IPA’s lead in
devising and introducing new IVA Volume
Provider regulations and new measures
to strengthen its own framework. Here,
the IPA has shown that it can lead positive
regulatory changes, swiftly, that are
responsive to the changes in the insolvency
market, including the expectations of
creditors.
A competitive regulatory structure
also benefits from stable regulatory
fees. If a new regulator increased the costs
of regulation, those costs would be
passed on to IPs, and ultimately creditors.
Increased costs could also lead to a
reduction in the number of IPs in the
market, which would weaken price
competition and choice for creditors.
Other models wouldn’t allow the same
benefits to be realised.
The current system is also value
for money for the taxpayer, with the
Government receiving an income through
levies charged to IPs.
STANDARDISED PROCESSES
Standardised processes are in place
to ensure regulatory consistency; an
important part of making sure that the
regulatory system is simple for creditors
(and one of the accurate criticisms levelled
at the regulatory environment but no
longer relevant now we have the single
gateway for complaints and cohesive,
functioning quality assurance processes).
The ‘Joint Insolvency Committee’
(JIC), a regulatory forum of the RPBs, and
lay members including the Chartered
Institute of Credit Management, develops,
improves and maintains insolvency
standards including regulation, ethics
and best practice. The lay members are
fundamental to the checks and balances
that ensure regulation is working as it
should. Without creditor representation,
insolvency regulation would not be as
strong as it is today.
In 2013, the Government set up a
common ‘Complaints Gateway’ through
which creditors can make a complaint
about an IP. This portal is designed to
ensure that the complaints process is
accessible and easy to use for anyone who
has concerns about the work of an IP.
There are other examples too, but these
two highlight the main strengths of having
standardised processes within a system
that still encourages flexibility and value
for money.
With the Government due to review the
regulatory system later this year as part of
its assessment of the regulatory objectives
introduced in the 2015 Small Business,
Enterprise and Employment Act, it will be
important to ensure that these strengths
and benefits of the regulatory framework
are at the forefront of their work so that
they can be maintained and protected. We
should be careful not to throw the baby out
with the bathwater.
Michelle Thorp is CEO, Insolvency
Practitioners Association.
The The Recognised Standard Standard / www.cicm.com / / March / April 2019 2019 / PAGE / PAGE 12 12

OPINION
As simple as ABC
Assume nothing. Believe nobody.
Challenge everything.
AUTHOR – PHILIP KING FCICM
Philip King FCICM
THE world of credit is rarely
dull, and even leaving
aside the machinations of
Government and The Opposition
regarding Brexit,
there has been enough
news in recent months to fill an entire
issue of this magazine!
One of the biggest announcements was
news that Patisserie Holdings PLC had
finally entered administration. This was
no real surprise given the story that has
unfolded since October of last year, and I
sense that the story still has a little way to
run.
How does a business that had reported
holding cash of almost £30 million earlier
in the year suddenly have to reveal two
undisclosed overdrafts totalling c£10
million and a black hole of £40 million? It
had auditors, it had an audit committee,
the Financial Reporting Council approved
the quality of the audit, and yet nobody
noticed? Nor did anyone apparently
notice the thousands of false entries that
were made to company ledgers.
If you look at the accounts signed off
on 24 November 2017, there is nothing
that would cause alarm. On the contrary,
there are words and charts showing
an expanding business in rude health.
They will even assure you that the Audit
Committee monitors the quality of
internal controls and ensures that the
financial performance of the Group is
properly measured and reported on.
I’ve chaired two audit committees in
my time, as a Trustee of a charity and
as a non-executive director. I’m not a
qualified accountant but we took our
responsibilities very seriously and I like
to think were diligent and thorough in
our oversight of both the organisation’s
finances and its auditors. The question
of culpability will rumble on as serious
questions are asked, and rightly so, but
I’m interested in the lessons for suppliers.
Credit risk decisions need to be made
using the full range of tools available:
company accounts, credit reference
agency information, personal knowledge
and/or investigation, industry reputation,
media and web coverage, directors’
history and record, product strategy and
potential, information gleaned by sales
force and other internal contacts, and so
much more.
We know ‘they’re too big to fail’ and
‘they’ve been around for years’ don’t hold
water, and the business environment
is more challenging with every passing
week. Good credit decisions are vital to
allowing businesses to survive and thrive.
What’s the advice then? I would refer to
two sets of initials: KYC and ABC.
KYC, or know your customer,
means using every available source of
information and data to ensure you
have the fullest possible picture of who
you’re investing money, goods or services
in. This has to be proportionate to the
level of business, of course, but more
is always better. Credit professionals
have to be inherently cynical, suspicious
and discerning, and ABC sums it up
nicely: Assume nothing; Believe nobody;
Challenge everything.
DEVELOPING PROFESSIONALS
Amid the ‘bad’ news from the High Street
there is better news from within our
own Chartered Institute, not least the
launch of the new ‘Fellows of the Future’
initiative. One of the key objectives of the
CICM is to support people throughout
their careers and this is a great example of
us doing exactly that. We were inundated
with nominations, and we will bring you
further news in a future edition.
I was reminded recently of a comment
from Chris Sanders, our Head of
Accreditation for the CICM’s CICMQ. He
spoke about the objectives of the Institute
as defined in our Royal Charter and the
objective of the CICMQ programme. The
first is to advance the education of the
public concerning credit management,
and to encourage the study and practice
thereof. The latter is to improve standards
in credit management. One of the ways in
which these objectives are met is through
our extended credit ‘community’ and
especially via our branch network.
I was privileged to host an event
organised by our South Wales branch,
supported by one of the CICM’s Corporate
Partners, Atradius in Cardiff last month.
The event was titled ‘Are the robots
coming or are they here already? What
will you do?’ It featured two expert
speakers, Gideon Jones and Tanya Giles,
and a far less expert contribution from
me. It was a great breakfast event, with
the opportunity for extensive networking
among those attending.
More recently I attended another
breakfast event in Marlow, organised
this time by our Thames Valley branch
and hosted by another of our Corporate
Partners, Dun & Bradstreet. We heard
some fascinating insights on the state
of the economy and where it might be
heading, focusing on aspects of particular
interest to credit professionals, the current
UK political context and turmoil, and the
impact of Brexit on credit insurance.
Both of these events were organised
by dedicated CICM branch volunteers
for their colleagues in the CICM credit
management community. Afterwards I
felt enriched with more knowledge than
I had when I arrived, and I know other
attendees did similarly. Chris was right
when he said that if you are in credit
management at any level, get involved in
the CICM, and encourage others also to
engage. Become a member, go to branch
meetings, attend conferences and events…
go to cicm.com. It really is the recognised
standard in credit management.
Philip King FCICM, the Chief Executive
of the Chartered Institute of Credit
Management.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 13

INTERVIEW
FLYING
VISIT
Sean Feast FCICM speaks to
John Pears about collections,
customer communications, and
the flying characteristics of the
De Havilland Chipmunk.
JOHN Pears never intended to work
in credit but always wanted to be
a high-flier. His dream was to be a
pilot, and even chose his further
education based on whether there
was a University Air Squadron
(UAS). Sadly, the Government’s controversial
‘Options for Change’ put paid to any real
plans for a career in the Royal Air Force
(RAF) and he was obliged to find a ‘plan B’.
Born in New Brighton on the Wirral,
John comes from a comparatively modest
background. His father worked in Finance
for Stanley Racing (and played in a rock and
roll band) and his mother was a part-time
cleaner. Educated locally at Mosslands, he
did well enough in his exams to secure a
place reading Geography at the University of
Liverpool. The real draw, however, was the
opportunity to fly: “We moved house when
I was about five and I remember that the
previous occupants had left several large
model aircraft behind. From that point on I
was interested in aircraft and wanted to fly.
With the Air Cadets and at University I got to
take the controls of a Chipmunk, a Bulldog
and a Tutor T1. I liked the Chipmunk in
particular; it’s the closest thing you’ll ever get
to flying a Spitfire. She is very responsive on
the controls and tight turns and aerobatics
were never a problem.”
FASCINATING CHARACTERS
Within the UAS he not only got to fly
different types of aircraft, but also meet
some fascinating characters. One of these
was the Harrier Display pilot who perfected
the art of the ‘air show bow’, a nodding
farewell to the crowds after a breath-taking
series of low-speed manoeuvres and highspeed
runs.
A desired career in the RAF came to a
grinding halt with ‘Options for Change’, a
major restructuring of the British Armed
Forces in the early 1990s. Airbases were
closed, aircraft fleets reduced, and some
aircraft types withdrawn: “Training was
being put on hold,” John recalls, “and some
of the RAF trainees went off to become
airline pilots but that, to me, was like being
the driver of a very big, very fancy bus, and
so I had to think about a different path.”
John quickly realised that his BA (Hons)
degree in Geography, although enjoyable,
did not especially equip him well for the
wider world of employment: “I decided to
take a Diploma in Management in the hope
that it gave me some business credentials,”
John laughs.
It worked, after a fashion. On graduating,
he joined the Child Support Agency working
in collections. It was not a good experience:
“It showed me a lot about what bad
management and poor leadership look like.
It was good learning experience, if not an
enjoyable place to work,” he says.
After the CSA, he joined MBNA, the bank
and credit card company, in collections – it
wasn’t his first choice of role but it was to
be his making. It was the start of a happy
nine years with the firm, during which
he rose through the ranks and took on
greater responsibility: “MBNA had a really
interesting, positive culture – everyone
understood it and bought in to it,” he
explains. “They were customer obsessed.
Our European CEO was General ‘Chuck’
Krulak who served in Vietnam, the Gulf War,
and Operation Desert Shield. As a leader
he was exceptional; he was one of the first
leaders I’d ever come across who said ‘thank
you’ when you’d done a good job.”
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 14

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
When MBNA was sold to Bank of America,
John found a new role and a huge
opportunity to develop his career: “I was
exposed to the broader lending piece,” he
continues, “looking after what they called
‘foreign’ risk but what they actually meant
as being ‘Europe’. Bank of America was
hugely professional; everything about the
way they operated, the frameworks, the
processes, the discipline, was incredible.
They were also one of the first to really
push the digital agenda as a platform
to extend and improve the customer
experience.”
During his time at Bank of America,
John was particularly exposed to the
sub-prime market, and when various
portfolios in Spain and Ireland were
sold, he recognised an opportunity to
move, joining Shop Direct, the owners
of Very and Littlewoods: “This was a
retail proposition,” he explains. “What we
decided to do was to digitise the entire
business, moving away from agents and
printed catalogues, and going 100 percent
online. The whole experience there was
very positive and diverse. One minute
you could be having a conversation about
high fashion, and the next around fraud.”
After more than six years with Shop
Direct, latterly as Credit Risk & Operations
Director, he accepted an approach from
James Cornell at Lowell in April 2018 to
become its UK Managing Director. As
a Lowell client at Shop Direct, he had
a clear view of them and had seen the
benefits of a strong partnership. There
was now an opportunity to learn about
the business from the inside out: “I had
always found Lowell to be very customercentric
and ethical in the way that they
dealt with customers and clients alike.
They were also one of the first companies
in debt purchase to really embrace data,
automation and scoring, and to use these
tools to their advantage.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 15 continues on page 16 >

INTERVIEW
AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM
“What was particularly interesting was that with
my risk/lending background, we had been analysing
millions of people and their behaviours to profile our
customers to provide services – all of the ‘happy’ stuff.
What Lowell recognised, however, was that as soon as
you ran into financial difficulties, the customer journey
and the ‘experience’ simply stopped. Even the brand that
the customer dealt with changed. And this was, and still
is, their focus: to provide a fair, personalised service to
each customer, and in doing that they also recognised
the commercial benefit of that.”
CUSTOMER FOCUS
John believes the wider industry has been slow to adopt a
more customer-focused approach, especially in the way
that it communicates: “The old ‘notice of assignment’
letters,” he notes, “are pretty awful. You’re trying to
engage with someone who’s probably vulnerable using
a legalistic letter that’s either going to confuse or scare
them. And people wonder why there are low response
rates! What these letters need to be saying is that we are
here to help you, but if we can’t help you then we will find
you a partner who can, you’ve just got to get in touch:
‘Talk to us, let’s have a conversation’. It needs to suggest
that the customer’s account is being ‘handed over’ to
a specialist that can support their situation, not like
they’re being ‘sold’ as though they were a commodity.”
John says part of the problem, however, is that some
firms’ promises do not match the experience: “It is
important that customers understand that the quicker
they get in touch with the agency then the quicker a
solution can be found. But if the experience does not
match the promise, then you have lost.”
As UK Managing Director, John has a team of around
2,000 colleagues based primarily in Leeds. Having
worked on the other side of the fence, as a client, and
having also earned his spurs on the collections floor of
the Child Support Agency, John feels he can connect
with people better: “Few if any ‘brands’ in credit services
are known to the consumer and no-one expects or wants
to be a customer of a debt collector. They are worried,
scared, embarrassed. So as a company and as an industry
we need to be more transparent.
“In the consumer world, the interactions are open
and easy, and we need to do the same. We need to build
trust and credibility. We need people to understand that
we provide a service: making an affordable payment
arrangement or getting them the advice they need,
or even writing off a debt. The service needs to be
personalised, and you can only do that if you truly
understand your customer.”
The industry, John admits, faces a number of
challenges, not least in the way that debt advice is funded.
He believes that all financial services firms who benefit
from the free debt advice sector should pay towards it:
“I am not actually precious about the mechanism,” he
confides, “but if you benefit from it, you should pay for
it. There is currently a £20 million shortfall in funding,
and I believe that if everyone paid their fair share, this
gap could be closed. Our clients could also help, perhaps
by not selling to those who do not contribute – they each
perform due diligence with prospective purchasers or
collections service provides, in that they ask about CSR
and Governance, they could also ask whether companies
pay towards the Free Debt Advice sector.”
SECTOR CONSOLIDATION
In terms of whether the debt advice sector should
consolidate, John’s view is clear: “There are a lot of
different organisations out there, and while they
each operate differently and some in certain niches,
there is clearly overlap, duplication and some missed
opportunities to leverage economies of scale. How they
address that is important because it has both an impact
of the quality of service available to consumers (shared
data could drive better advice) and their finances. It’s
difficult for them to ask for more funding when there are
those clear opportunities to improve efficiency,” he adds.
“The debt advice sector needs to demonstrate value, and
be better at sharing outcomes.”
As for wider industry consolidation, John thinks that
any major M&A within the UK activity is unlikely: “There
will always need to be an efficient and functioning debt
market,” he says, “and while there may be some further
consolidation among smaller firms in the UK, I think
it’s more likely amongst companies based in mainland
Europe.”
At the forefront of representing the industry is the
Credit Services Association, and John says that there is
an opportunity for the CSA to step up to a new level: “As a
founding member of the CSA, we’ve been very supportive
and have seen how the organisation has developed. I
think there’s now a growing need and desire for them
to really drive a change in perceptions of our industry
amongst consumers and decision-makers. The challenge
of building trust isn’t easy. Our industry will always be
judged by the lowest performer. The activities they have
planned are a step in the right direction, and I hope
that they can also not just drive but accelerate positive
change within the industry, as well as the perceptions
of it.”
While John didn’t get to fulfil his career as an RAF
pilot, he still finds his current role challenging and
exciting: “I’m a firm believer that we have a positive
role to play in people’s lives; making a difference by
doing business the right way.” But what about the thrill
of aerobatics, does he still yearn for that? “You find
your thrills in different ways. I love sea-kayaking and
climbing mountains. Home is nestled about half-way
between Snowdonia and the Lakes, and the Lancashire
coast is half an hour away – I’ve got sea, cliffs, lakes and
mountains – you can get all the thrills, or indeed peace
and quiet, you want.”
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 16

CICMQ
Shell maintains high
standards with fifth CICMQ
DESPITE a further period of
re-organisation to reduce costs
and increase efficiency within the
business caused by continuing low
oil prices, Shell has achieved CICMQ
accreditation for the fifth time.
“We are in a similar position to two years ago
with more jobs moved to shared service centres
or made redundant and again we looked to the
re-accreditation to get an outside view of our
processes and see whether we have gone too far or
missed anything,” says Thomas Thies, Global Credit
Policy and Governance Manager at Royal Dutch Shell.
“CICMQ praised Shell for its flexibility and
ability to permanently adjust the organisation to the
business needs and for our ongoing aim to realise
efficiency gains. We are pleased with the outcome,
passing the accreditation with no issues raised and
also receiving special praise for our results expressed
in DSO, Overdue percentage and loss ratio.”
Chris Sanders, CICMQ Assessor, says Shell’s
results remain at the very highest level: ‘These
are exceptional results by anyone’s standards, but
add the level of change, the migration of work, the
growth of the Credit Operations Centres and the
number of new staff, to populate these centres, which
continue to grow and the complexity and size of the
business, these numbers are even more remarkable.
It is a testament to real and sustained focus on credit
management excellence.
‘Shell remains an extremely structured and
controlled environment for credit management and
there is very little that can be improved upon.’
AB Agri has recently become CICMQ
accredited for the fourth time. Since the
previous accreditation in 2016 there have
been two new team members. This is due
to the growth in the international side
of the business – 40 percent of the team
are bi-lingual. The credit team scored 90
percent in the latest company ‘Great Place
to Work Survey’.
“The company uses CICM training
SPECIALIST recruitment experts Hays
has secured CICMQ re-accreditation
for the third time, with the assessor
highlighting the ‘well trained team that
are aware of their specific responsibilities
especially in relation to the specific
compliance requirement set down by the
company and industry’.
Mark Phillips MCICM, Credit Control
Sowing the seeds
as a specialist tool, i.e. export training –
each of the team are experienced credit
controllers, but with the ever-changing
international economic environment,
there’s always scope for our team to learn
something new, especially in some of
the more exotic international territories
that we now trade in,” says Frank
Anderson FCICM, Group Credit Manager,
at AB Agri.
Just the job
Support Manager, Finance Shared
Service Centre says the team challenge
themselves on a daily basis: “We are
always looking for ways to improve
the way that we work and the service
we offer to the rest of Hays. The reaccreditation
gave us a deadline to meet
some of these challenges and we now
focus on the future and continue to look
CICMQ Assessor, Pam Thomas FCICM
said in her report: ‘The credit management
processes are well controlled, documented
and regularly audited both within the
department and also through internal
and external auditing. It is a stable and
experienced team strengthened by the
addition of two new team members who
bring another level of expertise with their
language skills.’’
to improve further.” CICMQ Assessor
Pam Thomas FCICM said in her report:
‘There is a wealth of experience within
the department which is complemented
by the trainee controllers we have
brought through. The team works very
closely with all other departments in the
Finance Shared Service Centre to support
the business’’.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 17

INTERVIEW
ICE MAGIC
Sean Feast FCICM speaks to Phil Andrew
about debt advice, future funding, and
the dangers of catastrophic glacial
decantation.
PHIL Andrew is a happy man.
He is, in his own words, ‘having
a blast’. After years in senior
financial and managerial roles in
major corporates, he is now the
Chief Executive of StepChange
Debt Charity, fulfilling a long-held desire for a
job with true social purpose: “It’s a chance to
live my personal values at work and get paid for
it. Never have I enjoyed life so much.”
In fairness, it is not actually Phil’s first
venture into the world of doing social good.
Prior to joining StepChange, he was Chief
Executive of Working Links, providing – in
official language – innovative interventions to
disadvantaged and socially-excluded groups
within the UK, Ireland and the Middle East.
It is a long way from his early life in
Middlesbrough, where he grew up, although
it is precisely his childhood experience that
led Phil to where he is today, and the empathy
he has for those who are most socially
disadvantaged: “I grew up with a family that
was constantly dipping in and out of work.
The shipyards and steelworks were closing
down and in some parts of the town there was
70 percent unemployment. My mother and
stepfather held down two jobs each and we
still struggled. It taught me that hardworking
people can find themselves in difficulty despite
their best efforts and at no fault of their own.
It also gave me the emotional drive throughout
my career.”
FAST EARNER
This emotional drive manifested itself in a
desire to earn as much money as quickly
as possible, to support his extended family.
Winning a scholarship to Yarm, he read
Geography and Glaciology at the University
of London. “It sounded fun,” he laughs, “but
perhaps I hadn’t fully thought it through. My
degree included nine weeks in Iceland studying
the impact of catastrophic glacial decantation!”
Thinking hard about a future career, he recounts
his father’s advice to either do something
that no-one else wants to do, or do something
that anyone can do but be exceedingly good
at it. With this advice ringing in his ears he
joined IBM as a graduate trainee, initially as a
Mainframe software pricer. He also worked on
a ‘Person-to-Person’ programme that enabled
video calls via a modem dial-up to facilitate a
face-to-face conversation – a technology that
IBM stopped developing as it felt it would never
take off!
While at IBM he studied and qualified as
a Chartered Management Accountant (“We
all have to make unsavoury decisions in our
lives and mine was to become an accountant,”
he jokes) and moved into Money Markets,
later becoming IBM’s Head of Capital Markets
(Europe). It was another exciting period in his
life, living in Ireland and taking on the Treasury
function.
By now married and with a child on the
way, he moved back with his wife and young
daughter to the UK to take up a job with
British American Tobacco (BAT) as the Head of
Corporate Finance. His first task was to raise
$6 billion in four months: “BAT had a revolving
credit facility of $6 billion with 78 banks, but
was in breach of its covenants. Tobacco was
toxic, there were class actions underway in
the US, and Europe was about to introduce a
common currency.
“We decided to launch the first ever Euro
denominated bond, and it flew out the door.
The first bond raised €1.7 billion and we never
looked back.”
ENJOYABLE YEARS
It was the start of an enjoyable eight years with
the business in a variety of posts that took him
all over the world, from Regional Treasurer
(Asia Pac) in Malaysia to Financial Controller in
Russia, one of BAT’s largest subsidiaries with a
c£900 million turnover.
With two young children, however, the
constant disruption to their schooling and home
lives prompted him to look for a job nearer
to home. Having also dispensed his financial
responsibilities to his family, he felt it was time
for a job that gave something back. A meeting
with an Anglo-Armenian businessman, Herb
Nahapiert, proved a life-changing moment.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 18

Herb ran a business called Kalyx, a
name derived from the part of the flower
than protects the petals as they develop.
In headline terms, the business ran
prisons, but what Kalyx really did was
take people at their lowest point and help
them get their lives back on track: “It was
this,” Herb told Phil, “that gets him out
of bed every morning, and as soon as I
understood that, it changed my life.”
Subsequently rebranded as Sodexo
Justice Services, Phil served as Chief
Operating Officer and then Managing
Director, before being appointed Chief
Financial Officer for the wider Sodexo
group in the UK and Ireland. “This was
at the time of the Olympics, and I well
remember we were given 12 days to get
everything set up on site to provide food
and hospitality at the Olympics, despite
many of the utilities having been buried
under tarmac. It often felt that we were
never more than twenty minutes away
from disaster. I also remember we served
three million portions of fish and chips
during the Games!”
After almost two years as CFO he was
tempted away to join Working Links, until
it was sold five years later to a German
Private Equity business, and in October
2017 took over from Mike O’Connor CBE
as CEO of StepChange Debt Charity. It was
everything he expected and more.
“It sounded fun, but perhaps I hadn’t
fully thought it through. My degree
included nine weeks in Iceland
studying the impact of catastrophic
glacial decantation!”
STAFF ENGAGEMENT
One of his early tasks was to organise a
series of staff roadshows, going around
the country and listening to his teams’
ideas on how to make a good service even
better. This in turn helped further refine
what has now become a four-year strategy,
with the concept of early-intervention
very much at the forefront of future plans.
Current statistics show that
StepChange helped a little over 300,000
individuals a year through full debt
advice to a solution, its preferred measure
of success. Phil acknowledges that this
is a mere fraction of the total number
that need help, and as such the charity is
investing over £20 million in a process and
IT transformation project to update its
systems and infrastructure with a target
of a 35 – 40 percent uplift in operational
efficiency.
“Being a charity as opposed to a
corporate, it is even more important for
us to demonstrate efficiencies,” he says,
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 19
continues on page 20 >

INTERVIEW
AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM
“especially since every pound we save is a
pound we can spend on helping more people.
We currently receive £55 million in funding,
and need around £89 million by the end of
2022 if we are to achieve our target of helping
double the amount of people through full
debt advice to a solution.”
Phil stresses the point that this increase
will be achieved through efficiencies and
better use of technology, rather than a huge
increase in the number of staff, although a
further 200 employees will be required to add
to the 1,500 already employed. The additional
investment, however, is also going towards
widening its services to prevent customers
falling into crisis debt in the first place. “We
want customers to see StepChange as helping
them throughout their journey to becoming
more financially capable, such that we
become ‘business as usual’ rather than crisis
intervention,” Phil continues.
EARLY INTERVENTION
The early intervention strategy is certainly
interesting. The ambition is to have 150,000
customers in the programme by 2022, but
again Phil admits that is barely scratching
the surface. A pilot involving the banks for
customers with persistent credit card debts,
however, and the launch of a dedicated
StepChange helpline is proving the concept.
“If we can reach customers early, we can
identify if they are likely to fall into serious
debt and help them fix the problem before
it becomes a crisis. The challenge is to get
funding, of course. Banks are positive towards
the concept of pre-arrears intervention, but
it needs to be properly resourced.”
Of the funding StepChange currently
receives, £48 million comes from Fair Share,
£3 million from the Money Advice Service
(MAS), and the balance from voluntary
contributions and donations. But is Fair
Share fair? Phil smiles: “Banks, collections
agencies and other financial services firms
are understandably upset if they pay and
others don’t,” he says. “To put the significance
of this into perspective, if everyone paid who
should, we would receive £69 million a year
from FS firms and not £48 million, and that
would make a significant contribution to our
future growth plans.”
Quality is an issue that has also been
raised and for which Phil has a robust
answer: StepChange uses very sophisticated
decision logic and a complex algorithm
that analyses the information taken
by its teams and prioritises a series of
recommendations. Whereas the teams
must have the necessary skills, empathy
and understanding to uncover the right
information, the system significantly guides
the process. “There is very little scope for
‘free-styling’,” Phil explains, “and that enables
us to be consistent in the quality of advice
given. It also satisfies the needs of the FCA.”
CONSOLIDATION ISSUES
And what about the issue of consolidation?
Phil certainly doesn’t rule it out, and
concedes that StepChange is not unique.
But what he does say is that there is already
too much demand and too little capacity,
and with his plans for 2019, any talk of
consolidation would be an unnecessary
distraction. “I know it may look like we are
constantly kicking the can down the road,
but both the issues of future funding and
consolidation are a distraction at this time.
They are, however, worthy of future review,
but not now when we are all struggling to
keep up with demand.”
He does like the idea being floated about
creating a new gateway for debt advice
through the new single financial guidance
body. The proposal is for customers to be
able to access debt advice through a single
hub, where their case would be triaged,
and allocated based on availability of
resource. This would avoid the confusion of
a multiplicity of debt advisors and, hopefully,
improve the customer experience.
That, as Phil admits, is a conversation for
another time, although perhaps not too far
into the future. For the time being he has
more than enough to occupy his day, and
away from work continues to enjoy spending
time with his family and visiting unusual
destinations. A recent tick on his bucket list
was a holiday in the Faroe Islands: “It is how
a Disney cartoonist would draw an idyllic
island,” he says.
Personally, I still prefer Ibiza.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 20

The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 21

SHOW ME
THE MONEY
The money merry-go-round of debt advice is confusing
how future funding should be raised and spent.
AUTHORS – Peter Wallwork MCICM and Henry Aitchison.
FEW, if any of us, working in
the financial services sector,
would deny the need for debt
advice. The argument, if that
is not too strong a word, has
been more around how such
advice should be funded, and by whom.
The debate has not been helped by
a clear lack of transparency and data
regarding the current funding channels
and sources. Little surprise, therefore,
that the Single Financial Guidance Body
(SFGB) and its predecessors also found it
difficult to unravel the ‘money merry-goround’
of debt advice, and why the CSA
is keen to work with them, in finding a
workable solution. And it is important
to note at this point that we are not at
loggerheads over this issue. Far from it.
What all of us can agree on, is that any
future funding contributions should be
fair, equitable and transparent, and that
any future thinking remembers that it is
not only financial services businesses that
‘benefit’ from debt advice and informal
debt repayment plans. There are clearly
firms and organisations that benefit
from debt advice, but who currently
contribute nothing towards it. They may
contribute in other ways, but without
data, the conversation can quickly fall on
deaf ears. Transparency is also an issue;
without transparency on who contributes
currently, the industry ends up blaming
one another and pointing fingers, often in
the wrong direction.
What we hear is that funding needs not
only to be fair, but also clear about where
and to whom it is going. What is also
critical is that any money spent is spent
well in delivering real help to the consumer
and not being lost in inefficiency and
un-necessary overhead. Our members
tell us that a better understanding on
these points is an essential next step in
the funding debate. There may also be
other ways of contributing to help debt
advice agencies more directly, to help
drive efficiencies to enable the funding to
go further.
UNDERSTANDABLE FRUSTRATION
There is, however, a sense of
understandable frustration among many
about the lack of clarity and meaningful
data to support the value that debt advice
ultimately returns. Economic impact
papers from the SFGB suggests a value is
there, but do not perhaps tell the whole
story.
What we do know – and most of that
has to be estimated – is shown in the
infographic. The size of the funding pot
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 22

for 2019 is about £172 million, divided
into three parts: £56.3m in the SFGB debt
advice levy; £55.7m in fair share; and
approximately £60m made up of ‘other
contributions’ being donations, grants
and similar. We also know that in addition
to the above, firms are now being asked
to contribute to the £20 million FSCS debt
management levy – a fund that customers
interacting with our members, can never
benefit from and that would be better
spent on free to use debt advice, than
effectively bailing out debt management
firms that go bust!
To give some idea of where the money
has been spent historically, in 2017/2018
Money Advice Service (MAS) spent
£43.3 million on 487,000 debt advice
sessions. This means that almost half
of all advice sessions in 2017/2018 were
funded by industry payments to the
debt advice levy alone. Unfortunately,
our understanding starts to falter at that
point as we try to understand which
organisations have received some of this
money, and how many sessions each
organisation produced. Analysing annual
reports can help fill some blanks but even
then, we enter the realms of guesswork,
with money moving between advice
providers, partnership arrangements and
so on. Beyond this, however, the picture
becomes even more opaque.
Indeed, this gets to the very heart of
the current problem; the industry has no
clear global idea of what its contributions
pay for, or visibility of their true impact
beyond broad statements we have to take
on trust. We have no clear idea how the
fair share percentages are calculated,
how those percentages could be reduced
(i.e by widening the pool of contributors)
or how many debt management plans are
in existence. Similarly, we do not know
the cost of creating a debt management
plan, or what services need to be funded
(e.g initial consultation, negotiating with
Little surprise, therefore,
that the Single Financial
Guidance Body (SFGB) and
its predecessors also found
it difficult to unravel the
‘money merry-go-round’ of
debt advice, and why the
CSA is keen to work with
them, in finding a workable
solution.
OPINION
AUTHORS – Peter Wallwork and Henry Aitchison
creditors, annual reviews etc) in order to
have one agreed.
What we do know is that it is wholly
wrong for the funding of debt advice to
continue to fall primarily into the lap
of the financial services sector, and the
concept that ‘all who benefit should pay’
is similarly questionable; many creditors
benefit beyond those that appear on a
debt management plan. Thankfully, and
amongst this web of questions, there is
general consensus that ‘something must
be done’ and it is pleasing to report that
following many conversations, debates,
and discussion alike, actionable steps are
now being put in place.
Peter Wallwork is CEO of the Credit
Services Association (CSA) and Henry
Aitchison, Head of Policy.
£56.3m
Debt Advice
Levy
Who else is
contributing
and how?
Is all funding
going on advice
and plans?
£55.7m
Fair Share
How are those funds
entering system?
What do funds
pay for? £172M
How have they
been calculated?
Is funding being
distributed fairly?
Does funding
favour particular
advice models?
Why isn’t there
clearer data?
What all of us can
agree on, is that
any future funding
contributions should
be fair, equitable and
transparent, and that
any future thinking
remembers that it
is not only financial
services businesses
that ‘benefit’.
£60m
Other contributions
Where are
levy funds
going exactly?
How much exactly
in Fair Share
contributions?
How many debt
management
plans?
Who is offering
advice services?
Can efficiency make
money go further?
Is there effective
competition in
advice provision?
What does
each cost?
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 23

OPINION
Data Reliability
Is the data in my automated credit
report up-to-date?
AUTHOR – Christina Massaad
THE reliability and freshness
of the data contained within
is of fundamental importance
when investing in a business
credit report, especially if you
are buying in bulk through
a package or subscription. However, there
are fundamental differences between the
availability of commercial data in the developed
world and that in developing countries, so it is
wise to ensure you are aware of potential pitfalls
when purchasing international reports.
The composition of a robust business credit
reports relies on five overriding factors:
Firstly, the origin of the basic registration
and activity data, for example: whether it
has been extracted from official sources
or collated from other less reliable sources
such as business directories, social media or
the subject’s website. Not every country has
commercial registration data available online
and if it is online it may be in the local language
and may not be free of charge to access.
Secondly, the date the data was last updated is
crucial. Whether it has been updated within 24
months, six months or was a fresh investigation
will make a huge difference. It is advisable for
the data to be as updated as possible, especially
when you’re dealing with extending large
amounts of credit; but registry information
is usually only updated annually or even less
frequently in many countries.
Financial statements add great depth of
knowledge to a credit report but these are not
available in several countries, simply because
filing of accounts is not a legal requirement.
In any case, it should always be noted that
accounts, even if available, are merely an
assessment of the previous year or quarter.
The next important factor is perhaps
surprisingly the original language of the data.
Misinterpretation or incorrect translation
of crucial information can lead to errors in
correct identification of a company, or overlook
important links to other companies, directors
or shareholders because of mistranslation that
may affect the overall risk analysis. Correct
matching of international standards such as
activity codes (UKSIC/NACE) or International
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is essential
for the data to be transferred automatically into
various formats around the globe – especially
important if receiving credit reports via API or
CRM (system to system applications).
Lastly, an informed and accurate credit
opinion is a key factor which relies on all of the
above.
Consequently, due to the variety of factors
that a reliable automated instantly available
credit report should contain, we must recognise
the differences in the developed world with data
availability from developing countries.
MIDDLE EAST
In the Middle East as well as other regions there
are strict limitations on non-publicly available
information that can be lawfully obtained. One
of the more serious barriers to data accessibility
is the practice of offshore registration and freezone
entities. The latter concept is evident in the
Middle East, and, more specifically, the United
Arab Emirates (UAE). When a company registers
with free-zone authorities, they may well be
seeking the higher degree of secrecy that these
zones can offer. Through legal protection of
ownership rights, free-zone jurisdictions uphold
strict limitations increasing the difficulty to
draw data on these companies. Free zones offer
complete confidentiality, where beneficial
owners are offered anonymity and guaranteed
no disclosure of Ultimate Beneficial Owner
(UBO) to local authorities. The UAE contains
over 100 free trade zones, each with their own
laws and jurisdictions. Free-zone companies, in
this respect, parallel with offshore companies,
especially in the sense that they are not subject
to federal commercial law and are considered
outside the country’s jurisdiction.
There are other obstacles too. In Egypt, for
example – home to around 100 million people
and reportedly one of the fastest growing
economies in the Middle East company
registration data is still held on hand written
paper registers or in pdf files; not even digitised
let alone structured, so bringing this data online
is a slow and laborious process. Obtaining
copies of corporate records involves sending
someone in person to find and photograph
the correct page, so knowing the commercial
register number or the date of incorporation in
advance is mandatory.
OVER EXPECTATIONS
Automated data has revolutionised the business
intelligence scene, providing fast, efficient and
reliable data at the click of a button. However,
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 24

OPINION
Data Availability
Developing Countries
Developed Countries
Christina Massaad
Managing Director
of Cedar Rose.
UK vs UAE Japan vs Saudi Arabia Norway vs Algeria Australia vs Qatar
Data from Open Corporates Registry
have we taken for granted the efficiency of
automated data in the developed world? Do
our over-expectations of this automated data
blind side us to the harsh realities in developing
countries?
Automated data throughout the developed
world allows companies to make practical
assessments of companies in a timely manner.
Company registration data may be instantly
updated via data feeds or system applications
(APIs), so if the registered address, company
directors, shareholders, activities, legal status or
financial status change this will automatically
update in your credit report download,
subscription or credit file. There is also a culture
of information sharing through trade references
and filing of financial statements, as well as
easy open access to mortgage charges and
insolvencies.
So how does automated data in the
developing countries compare? The scoring
system below is based from 0-100 and takes into
account all available data from official sources
according to OpenCorporates which is tackling
the excruciatingly difficult task of bringing
company registration data for the whole world
online. Data fields that generate these scores
include: freely searchable, freely available,
director’s information, accounts information,
shareholder information and licensing (open or
not). We can take the first comparison, between
the UK and the UAE, and assess that the UK –
through Companies House – provides much
more access to company data from official or
free sources than the UAE. This is due to many
reasons including the free-zone entities, but also
a regional and historical culture of privacy. We
must remember also, that the UAE in its current
form is not yet 50 years old and while technology
Financial
statements add
great depth of
knowledge to
a credit report
but these are
not available
in several
countries, simply
because filing
of accounts
is not a legal
requirement.
is advanced, bureaucratic processes are still
lagging behind the UK and financial filing is
only required for publicly listed companies.
Commonly throughout the Middle East
commercial registration data is not centralised,
not structured and often only available on
official sites in Arabic or the local language.
THE WAY FORWARD
At present, until more data is made available
to credit reference agencies automatically and
instantly worldwide, a freshly investigated
credit report should always be the best route
way to receive the most up-to-date and reliable
information.
Yet when you conduct business with
developing countries there are some extra
measures that may need to be taken. It is
important to use an experienced credit agency
that understands the region and has the
expertise to acquire and translate data from the
correct sources. If using a local agency, ensure
they divulge the date of the data fields provided.
When relying on automated credit risk scores,
be confident that there is enough information
provided in the report for an assessment to be
accurate or ask your credit reference agency
which quantitative and qualitative factors they
use in their risk analysis to be sure they provide
accurate scoring.
While there are still vast differences in the
way data is collected, there are also innovative
companies that are leaps ahead of the local
governments making the best use of technology
and working extremely hard to close the
information gap to bring the world’s credit data
online.
Christina Massaad fom Cedar Rose.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 25

OPINION
AUDIT ANGST
Is it time for lenders to break the cycle
of ‘Big Four auditor-only’ covenants?
AUTHOR – Kevin Reed
Kevin Reed
WHILE the ‘B word’ has
consumed more column
inches and created more
existential angst than I
would care to consider, ‘the
A word’ has also bitten a fair chunk out of
the business pages in recent months. And by
that, I mean ‘A for audit’ of course.
You would have thought that the rightful
responsibility placed on big audit firms for
their role in failing to understand banking
business models, failing to spot their inability
to continue as going concerns, or report any
misgivings when they had the chance, would
have given the profession a real shakeup.
Well, various select committees dished out
verbal warnings (at auditors, regulators and
stewards), but the audit profession – despite
facing mandatory tendering and swapping –
emerged with little more than a bent ear.
Carillion, it would seem, was one step too
many for ministers. Various reviews were
launched, and as part of that process, a new
regulator will replace the Financial Reporting
Council.
The fact that the Competition and Markets
Authority wants to split the firms between
audit and non-audit is somewhat ironic,
considering competition regulators waved
through the Price Waterhouse/Coopers and
Lybrand merger in 1998.
While ministers and regulators would like
to take more drastic action, they are slightly
hamstrung in that they don’t want to create a
chain of events where they’re responsible for
the collapse of the capital markets (again,
somewhat ironic considering current Brexit
discussions).
What needs to change? Well, the three-way
relationship between stakeholders (including
investors and lenders), auditors and the end
businesses needs to be modified; it needs to
become more transparent and fairer.
One example is in Big Four auditor-only
banking covenants. How and why do these
still exist? In reality, of the UK businesses
requiring an audit, 95 percent could be
handled by a top 20 accounting firm. And of
those clients that are too big, multi-national
and complex, there are still a few firms below
the Big Four that could do the job – Grant
Thornton, BDO, Mazars, please stand up.
While data on Big Four auditor-only
clauses is a bit fuzzy, there are numerous
instances reported that they exist, including
separate research by both Grant Thornton
and academics, the latter on behalf of
the Competition Commission. The firms
themselves admitted they exist, during postbanking
crisis interrogation.
Their existence plays into the familiar
troublesome twins that are the ‘old boys
network’ and ‘you won’t get sacked for
picking a Big Four firm’. These covenants are
unfairly restrictive, and indicative of laziness
to appreciate or understand anything about a
business’ auditing requirements and who can
provide that service. It also drives conflicts
of interest – but you could have guessed that
anyway.
Perhaps we’ll see such covenants made
illegal, or at least require ‘comply or explain’.
It would require the Government, regulators,
auditors and lenders to take action, which,
based on the previous audit existential crises,
may be asking a bit too much.
If the Big Four’s audit stranglehold is to
be broken, then it’s precisely this kind of
situation that requires a new attitude. Perhaps
the cycle can’t be broken by the older players.
Perhaps it’s alternative lenders and startup
borrowers that will take an alternative
approach to gaining assurance.
Kevin Reed is a freelance journalist and
former editor of both Accountancy Age and
Financial Director.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 26

TRADE TALK
SIZE MATTERS
The outcome of Brexit discussions will have different
repercussions for different businesses.
AUTHOR – Lesley Batchelor OBE FCICM
Lesley Batchelor
BREXIT will affect our
exporters in thousands of
ways – because there is
simply no average exporter.
It’s time to stop talking
in terms of averages and
start looking at international trade as the
diverse entity that it is. Let’s be clear there
is no average tariff, there is no average
sector and, although this is sometimes
inconvenient for the media, no one market
solution for all industries. A no-deal
Brexit will have thousands of differing
repercussions for UK businesses.
For example, tariffs for pharmaceuticals
tend to be zero percent rated, whereas
ceramics can vary from five to 25 percent
depending on the component parts and
materials, and agriculture can range from
30 to 45 percent or even more when you
consider constituent parts as well. Some
countries have differing rules of origin
and some operate on different trade
agreements. There is no average.
With UK businesses set to be faced with
significantly altered trading conditions
in the event of a no-deal Brexit, it is
imperative for our businesses to become
more adept at understanding how customs
procedures, tariffs, duties and World
Trade Organization (WTO) rules operate.
According to the Institute for Government,
there are 140,000 businesses who currently
export only into Europe. These businesses
will be new to many of these trade
administrative requirements. After Brexit,
to continue selling into Europe, they will
need to complete customs declarations
and, in the event of a ‘No Deal’, they will
need to understand the duty payable for
importation into and from the continent
under the ‘Most Favoured Nation’ rate set
by the EU to the WTO.
MULTIPLE DESCRIPTIONS
There are approximately 5,300 article/
product descriptions arranged in 97/99*
chapters in the Harmonized Commodity
Description and Coding System (HS),
each given its own HS Code (a six-figure
product classification number). Exporters
and importers need to know what code a
product is given to be able to establish
what duty or taxes are payable. The code
also triggers other factors including antidumping
duty, quotas and licences that
relate specifically to those goods being
moved between the UK and the EU (or
indeed the rest of the world).
In essence, in the event of new
tariffs being introduced for goods
moved between the UK and the EU, UK
businesses will be required to pay duties
set by the EU tariff schedule to the WTO.
They will need to know which of the 5,300
HS Codes relates to their product and
understand the duty that will be payable
for their goods to be paid under that code
as a ‘third party’ country. This impacts on
the cost of importation which is usually
paid by the importer or buyer.
Although this charge is usually paid
by the importer, exporters will need to
accommodate this cost to their European
customer or partner in their overall
pricing to maintain competitiveness.
UK importers of goods from the EU will
need to pay duties according to the UK’s
independent tariff schedule to the WTO,
which has not yet been set.
NO ‘ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL’
In the event of a no deal Brexit,
businesses will need to have determined
their HS Code and identified how they
will be affected when trading under WTO
rules. This will also apply for businesses
trading with markets like South Korea
and Canada, who the UK currently has
preferential tariff rates with through its
membership with the EU.
The UK Government lodged a tariff
schedule mirroring the EU in July 2018
and this was published on the gov.uk
website in December. However, it is still
not published as a UK Integrated Tariff,
or, more specifically, as Volume 2 of the
tariff, which is the official source for
operational use.
Unfortunately, it had hoped to
replicate the EU’s current tariff schedules,
but some WTO members have refused to
ratify this, opening up the need for the
UK to negotiate its schedules with other
WTO members. However, WTO members
do often trade with each other under nonratified
schedules while the proposed
schedules are being negotiated.
Whatever happens with Brexit,
businesses need to be prepared for altered
trading conditions, including trading
under WTO rules with several of our
major partners. The Institute of Export
& International Trade provides online
and offline training courses teaching
the processes of international trade,
including understanding how WTO rules
and Free Trade Agreements work.
* There are 97 chapters in the WCO’s system and 99
chapters in the EU’s.
Lesley Batchelor OBE FCICM is Director
General of The Institute of Export and
International Trade.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 27

INTERNATIONAL
TRADE
Monthly round-up of the latest stories
in global trade by Andrea Kirkby.
CHINESE NEW YEAR
BRINGS NO GIFTS
MAKING BRITAIN
GREAT AGAIN
NO, this isn’t anything to do with
President Trump. Instead, it’s a
pointer to a UK Government website
– opportunities.export.great.gov.uk
– which, at the time of writing, has a
filterable list of 17,710 export sales leads.
Searchable by product and service sold,
or by country, it’s possible to find a
multitude of opportunities.
So, if you’re selling ophthalmic
lenses and like the idea of Hungary, you
manufacture emergency shelters and
fancy a trip to Barbados or have digital
offset printing equipment you want to
hawk to the French (in Martinique), then
you really ought to visit this website.
Unfortunately, MAGA still sounds
better than MBGA.
ACCORDING to data
reported on Reuters,
China’s January exports
and imports are likely
to have fallen again for
the second month in a row, adding to
concerns that the Chinese economy
is at risk of a sharper slowdown.
Now that China is the world’s largest
trading nation these declines will
be closely watched by international
investors and policymakers as
anxiety grows over waning global
demand.
According to the median estimate
of 30 economists in the Reuters
poll, imports are expected to fall
10 percent in January from a year
earlier, the biggest decline since
July 2016. Now compare that figure
to that for December – 7.6 percent –
and there’s cause to worry.
Looking at China’s exports in
January, they are expected to fall
3.2 percent from a year earlier,
compared with the previous month's
4.4 percent decline. A little less
precipitous, but nevertheless a
downward trend.
What will happen in the near
term will depend on how caustic
President Trump wants to be and
how well Sino-US trade talks get on.
In light of positive negotiations, the
cliff edge 1 March deadline when
US tariffs on $200 billion worth of
Chinese imports were scheduled
to increase to 25 percent from ten
percent has been postponed. But, of
course, postponement isn’t the same
as cancellation. So, while it’s been
said that ‘when America sneezes the
rest of the world catches a cold’, we
could actually be looking at China
catching the flu. (Interestingly, the
phrase was first used by aristocratic
Prussian diplomat Klemens Wenzel
Furst von Metternich in Napoleonic
times when referring to France).
The advice? Be careful in the East.
HUNGARY
FOR A BABY?
THOSE involved with maternity, baby
and child-based products should be
paying attention to Hungary. Why? The
government there is planning to boost the
number of babies born by incentivising
women to have four children or more
by exempting them for life from paying
income tax.
Quite simply, the government sees it as a
way of defending Hungary’s future without
depending on immigration. There is some
logic in the move as Hungary’s population
is falling by 32,000 a year, and women there
have fewer children than the EU average.
As part of the measures, young couples
will be offered interest-free loans of ten
million forint (£27,600/$36,000) that will be
cancelled once they have three children.
Other points in the government’s plan
include a pledge to create 21,000 nursery
places over the next three years; an extra
$2.5 billion (£1.95 billion) to be spent on
the country’s healthcare system; housing
subsidies; and state support for those
buying seven-seat vehicles.
The message? Make hay while the
sun shines – the Hungarians will be.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 28

New trade deals on the way
NO matter which side of the Brexit fence
you’re on it’s a safe bet that you’ll be
hoping – like the rest of us – that the UK
Government can put some trade deals in
place before we leave the EU.
The issue is that when the UK leaves
it will cease to be a party to the EU’s free
trade and investment agreements with
some 70 countries, covering some 11
percent of UK trade.
In the event of a no deal Brexit, the UK’s
trade with these countries will default to
WTO terms – including the re-introduction
of customs duties and non-tariff barriers
– unless each country agrees to roll over
its EU deal so that it continues to apply to
the UK.
The problem is that the deals the
Government has promised have been
illusive to say the least because, as it’s
said, the UK is unable to hold full trade
negotiations with other countries for so
long as it remains an EU member state.
So, where are we?
Law firm Dechert, based on information
made public by various sources reckons
that we’ve some way to go. Agreements
signed or expected to be signed shortly
relate only to Comoros, Madagascar,
Mauritius, Seychelles, Zambia and
Zimbabwe; the Faroe Islands; Chile, the
CARIFORUM states; Switzerland; Guernsey
and Jersey; Isle of Man; and the Palestine
Liberation Organisation.
Israel; Canada; Pacific states including
Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa; the
Southern African Customs Union; and
Norway and Iceland are apparently close
behind. But the US, Japan, and the other
behemoths are nowhere to be seen.
Until we leave the EU we’re stuck and so
it’s time to put contingency plans in place
if you’ve not already done so.
Irish eyes are smiling
IRELAND is sitting pretty at present
reckons Chartered Accountants Ireland.
In December it predicted that the Irish
economy would see GDP grow by 4.2
percent as growth will ‘remain robust
and above trend due to the strength of
the domestic economy.’ The body noted
rising levels of employment coupled
with increasing wages and higher levels
of government spending all providing a
solid platform for 2019 growth.
However, Ireland’s economy is
closely tied to that of the UK and
Moody’s, the ratings agency, has
recently gone on record to say that
Ireland’s outlook is presently as ‘good
as it gets’ but that Brexit is a
Good news – UK plc is exporting well
ACCORDING to figures released in
January by the Office for National
Statistics (ONS), exports (both goods
and services) in the year to November
2018 were worth £630 billion – up £13.9
billion on the previous year.
The ONS says that there have now
been 32 consecutive months of export
growth on a 12-month rolling basis.
As the UK looks to future free
trade agreements with the likes of
the USA, Australia, New Zealand and
the Comprehensive and Progressive
considerable risk for the economy.
At a conference organised by Moody’s
in Dublin a few weeks ago, the firm’s
lead analyst for Ireland and the UK,
Sarah Carlson, commented that at best,
a no-deal Brexit will be avoided, but that
a no-deal Brexit would hurt the UK’s
GDP by four percent with the knock-on
impact on the Irish economy. It’s worth
noting that Moody’s once rated Ireland’s
debt as ‘junk’ during the financial crisis,
but currently has it on an A2 grade with
a ‘stable’ outlook – five levels below its
top-notch Aaa rating.
That could all change if the UK cannot
reach agreement with Europe so take
precautions where possible.
Agreement for Trans-Pacific
Partnership (CPTPP), it appears that
exports to these countries have done
well. To the US exports are up 6.9
percent to £54.9 billion; to Australia,
up 2.9 percent to £5.1 billion; New
Zealand, up 3.8 percent to £869 million;
and to CPTPP, exports are up 4.2
percent to £28.4 billion. Other notable
export growth to non-EU markets
includes Nigeria (up 29.2 percent), India
(up 27.3 percent), and Thailand (up 18.5
percent).
AUSTRALIA'S
COOLING DOWN
THE bubble that is Australia seems to be
showing signs of a cooling economy in
anticipation of a general election being called
in May. It looks like a two-year hiring burst
that has cut Australian unemployment by
almost a percentage point to five percent
(four percent in New South Wales and
Victoria) is starting to slow down. Bloomberg
reckons that businesses are hunkering
down on hiring and investment pending the
electorate’s decision.
From comments made by the Reserve
Bank of Australia, its optimism in recent
times has been based on a strong labour
market. However, slower hiring and a jobless
rate drifting higher would make it tougher
to maintain its ‘glass half full’ approach.
Some are waiting to see what sort of tax cuts/
fiscal stimulus will flow from the upcoming
April budget and the outcome of the election
before making a judgment on the Australian
economy. If you’re heavily invested in that
market you may want to be certain of the
stability of the sectors you serve.
REUSABLE COFFEE CUPS
NON-recyclable coffee cups have been in
the headlines over the last year or so, most
certainly since David Attenborough’s Blue
Planet II series rounded on the (mis)use of
plastics – of which coffee cups are but one.
A story on the Huffington Post has drawn
attention to the rise of the reusable coffee
cup in that it tested nine of them on the
market. What’s interesting – apart from
the price range (£7.99 to £24.99) is that the
market for ‘reusables’ seems to be hotting up
(pun intended).
But just as reusables are doing well, so
the UK is, says a BBC report, still managing
to export its plastic waste. China’s banned
the stuff, but 611,000 tonnes of recovered
plastic packaging has nevertheless gone to
Malaysia, Turkey, Poland, Indonesia and the
Netherlands.
Where there’s muck there’s brass.
CURRENCY UK
EXCHANGE RATES VISIT
CURRENCYUK.CO.UK OR
CALL 020 7738 0777
Currency UK is authorised and regulated
by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
HIGH LOW TREND
GBP/EUR 1.1702 1.1331 Down
GBP/USD 1.3317 1.2798 Down
GBP/CHF 1.3325 1.2862 Down
GBP/AUD 1.8745 1.8015 Down
GBP/CAD 1.7720 1.7016 Down
GBP/JPY 148.176
141.522 Down
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 29

OPINION
BACK ON TRACK
There may be differing views on the
financial health of the debt collection/
purchasing sector – but most industry
watchers are positive about the
prospects of its leading firms.
AUTHOR – Lawrie Holmes
WHAT is the real value of the
debt collection/purchase
sector? It’s an intriguing
set of questions as two
very different camps are
making calls about how
much these companies are actually worth.
On the one hand, Arrow Global, the UK’s
only major quoted company in the space after
its rivals Cabot Credit Management and First
Financial were recently acquired, is one of the
most shorted of all UK listed companies, with
at least 12 percent in the hands of short sellers.
Although the value of Arrow Global’s shares
has more than halved since last year to less
than 200p, most equity analysts covering the
company have a target price of at least 400p.
What’s going on?
FACE VALUE
To get a sense of the confusion around the
intrinsic value of Arrow Global and its peers,
Encore Capital Group, the US owner of Cabot,
First Credit-owner Intrum Justitia, listed in
Stockholm and its Scandinavian peer Hoist
Finance, you just have to pore over investor
bulletin boards. Investors note how hedge
funds, responsible for the short selling, have
made good over the last year, but recognise
positive signals coming out of the industry.
The hedgies piled in on sceptical assumptions
about how the sector would fare in a prolonged
consumer slowdown. Their rationale would
have been based on more competition in that
market, lower margins, and increasing leverage,
says Gary Greenwood, a sector analyst at Shore
Capital.
He argues the sector leaders are leveraged
from M&A activity rather than because of a lack
of cash generation, which he says the hedge
funds are trying to pick up on. Intrum Justitia
acquired Lindorff for €4.1 billion in 2016, and
Encore acquired Cabot. Last year Arrow Global
made two purchases in Italy. “There is a lot of
extrapolating stuff and manipulating data, to
justify their arguments,” he says.
In October 2017 Bybrook Capital, the Londonbased
hedge fund, said in a presentation that
both Arrow Global and Intrum Justitia ‘have
no equity value’, arguing that valuation metrics
used in the sector disguise the underlying
economics and that ‘these companies do not
make enough cashflow to grow their book’. The
firm declined to comment for this article.
Shore Capital’s Greenwood, who has
maintained a price target of 400p for Arrow
Global, says; “I think what you’re seeing at
the moment is the industry trying to respond
to those concerns, which is what we see with
those share prices, not just Arrow but some of
the other quoted stocks in the sector, including
the Stockholm-listed Intrum Justitia and Hoist
Finance. “Their share prices have come down,
so they’re starting to respond to that by setting
new targets for reducing financial leverage.
Arrow is not alone, others have been doing that.”
A NEW TONE
Last year Arrow Global Chief Executive
Lee Rochford set the tone by announcing a
programme debt for the next six years, meaning
the group will not need any refinancing in a
downturn and is locked in at low interest rates.
He said the company expected to generate
£1.6 billion of cashflow before any debt needs
refinancing.
“One of the problems the industry had during
the credit crisis, like many financial services
companies, was that they were very short-term
funded. Debt collectors and purchasers tried to
seek as much money as they possibly could out
of the customers, but you had a double squeeze
– a drying up of the cash coming in but at the
same time, an inability to roll over wholesale
funding,” says Greenwood.
“The sector probably has got a little
overleveraged from a financial perspective,
but I think that’s been recognised by most
of the companies in reducing their financial
gearing targets, operating at a level of net debt
to adjusted earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of
around 4x, they’re targeting to get down to
about a 3x as an industry,” he adds.
Greenwood says a combination of the
industry leaders putting in place stronger
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 30

OPINION
AUTHOR – Lawrie Holmes
financial buffers, and regulators putting in
tougher affordability tests resulting in more
regular occurring payments has seen the
sector having more headroom when it comes
to risk. That will be hugely valuable if there’s
another squeeze on disposable income if the
UK economy slows, an important consideration
going into Brexit.
FUTURE PROSPECTS
How are the main players placed? In February
Arrow Global revealed underlying profit after
tax rose 13.3 percent to £64.1 million for full
year 2018 results and that secured net debt
to adjusted EBITDA had fallen slightly from
3.9x to 3.7x. CEO Lee Rochford said the group
was operating at the top of the credit cycle
and added: “As we look to the year ahead, we
are mindful of volatile market conditions and
pockets of high competition.” On the share price
of 180p, the response from analysts was mostly
positive. JP Morgan Cazenove gave a target price
of 460p, Numis called 495p and Jeffries went as
high as 534p, although Goldman Sachs notably
reduced its target from 300p to 220p.
Encore’s revenues, adjusted by net allowances
and allowance reversals, were a record $1.36
billion, up 15 percent compared to $1.19 billion
in 2017. Total operating expenses were $957
million, compared to $862 million in 2017. It’s
not possible to strip out Cabot’s performance
before being acquired last May, but its EBITDA
in the three months to March 2018, was £79.6
million, up 18 percent from the same period the
previous year.
“Encore has similar challenges to Arrow
Global in that valuation is relatively depressed.
PRA, another American business that has a
sizeable European operation, is actually much
less leveraged than the other operators for a not
much higher valuation,” says Greenwood.
Lowell, the Anglo-German debt collector,
said third quarter 2018 cash EBITDA had
increased ten percent to £422 million. Its CEO
James Cornell said last November: “We seek
growth that increases scale and diversification,
while remaining mindful of leverage.”
Intrum Justitia, which has a sizeable UK
presence after acquiring First Credit a year ago,
reported adjusted operating profit (EBIT) up by
23 percent. “Together with the solid results from
the first nine months of the year, this gives us
an impressive platform for 2019, during which
we will increase the pace towards our targets for
2020,” said Mikael Ericson, President and CEO
in January.
“In 2019, we will have a strong focus on
centralisation, standardisation and cost
efficiency in our collection activities. We expect
to normalize our rate of investment during
the year and extract significant value from the
large investments we have made in 2018. At the
same time, we see an active market with stable
returns across Europe where our size and strong
cashflow gives us flexibility to invest, when the
Lawrie Holmes
“As we look to the
year ahead, we
are mindful of
volatile market
conditions and
pockets of high
competition.”
“We seek growth
that increases
scale and
diversification,
while remaining
mindful of
leverage.”
opportunity is right, and continue to grow”,
added Ericson.
Hoist Finance, an unusual beast in the sector
in that it has a banking licence, has come under
pressure recently because banking regulators
have changed capital requirements against nonperforming
loans, says Greenwood. “They have
to hold more capital, so that’s been a problem
for them recently,” he says.
The problem with the calculations and
analysis of the industry is that they are done
with some degree of subjectivity in that these are
highly leveraged businesses, says Greenwood.
“It works both ways. If you’re very bearish you
can spin a story that they generate no cash, it
gives the short sellers some ammunition to
criticise the calculations the companies make
themselves.
“What’s true about these companies is if they
were to turn the taps off on investment, they’d
have a hell of a lot of cash. The basic issue for
them is that they’re consuming the cash buying
new portfolios. I would note that Arrow recently
upped its guidance for portfolio acquisitions, it
bought more than it guided to last year and its
upped its guidance this year.
“If you were concerned about cashflow that’s
not the sort of behaviour I would expect to be
pursuing, especially when they’ve got a target of
reducing financial gearing. I think their (short
sellers) argument around the debt purchases
has always been disproved by Arrow, so they’ve
morphed their argument into different areas.
The hedge funds that have shorted these stocks
have done very well out of it so far, but I think
their case is starting to run out of mileage,” he
adds.
Lawrie Holmes is a freelance journalist who
regularly contributes to the Financial Times,
Sunday Telegraph, Mail on Sunday, CFO Europe
and Accountancy Age.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 31

80 YEARS OF THE CICM
GOVERNANCE AND STRUCTURE
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Chartered Institute of Credit
Management (CICM). In this and subsequent issues, we will take a closer look at the
most important moments in its rich history and those characters that have played a
part in shaping it.
Advisory Council
25 January 1939
A sub-committee draws up Memorandum and
Articles of Association for National Institute of
Creditmen, the forerunner of the modern-day CICM.
First Annual General Meeting
13 November 1946
There was a gap between Council meetings due to
the war from 14 November 1939 to 18 February 1947
– when the Institute was effectively ‘reborn’. The
first ‘new’ AGM took place in the meantime.
Formal elections
2 June 1947
First formal elections to the Council takes place.
First annual dinner
20 October 1950
The first annual dinner is held at Williamson’s
Tavern in the City with 70 guests attending who
paid 25 Shillings each for a ticket. By modern
standards, it’s a great deal!
Jewel in the crown
1968
The President’s Jewel or
Chain of Office is instigated to
commemorate the founder of
the Institute, Cuthbert Greig
CBE.
Significant reforms
January 1973
Paul Mudge FCICM becomes a member of the
ICM and goes on to become Vice Chair, Chair, Vice
President and President. He played a significant
role with branches throughout the country about
reforms being introduced in the civil courts.
CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF CREDIT MANAGEMENT ●80
First Fellows
14 June 1939
Messers Diekman, Greig, Pomfrett, Simpson and
Townend are appointed as the first Fellows of the
Institute. On the same day they were declared to
be ‘Members of the Council’. This was the first
Council proper of the Institute. It was more than
six years later that they would meet again.
Education Committee
March 1947
The first committee dedicated to the education of
members is created. A new name for the Institute
is also proposed, to become ‘The Institute of
Credit Management’.
Credit Management Convention
31 May 1948
The first convention is held that aims to ‘allow
members and friends to discuss mutual problems
and to become better acquainted’. It is the same
ethos that drives future events and awards.
A leading light
25 June 1954
Sir Kenneth Cork, one
of the Lord Mayors
of London and most
important figures in the
history of the Institute, is
elected to Council.
An influential figure
June 1971
Terry Robinson FCICM joins the Institute, going on
to become a significant member of the ICM serving
as Vice Chair, Chair and Vice President.
YEARS
1939 - 2019
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 32

The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 33

ASK THE EXPERTS
Taking the P?
Protecting your taxes – preferential priority plain
and simple, or a principled approach?
AUTHOR – David Kerr MCICM
David Kerr
AS reported in the
December edition, Mr
Hammond’s Budget
announced a proposal
regarding the position
of HM Revenue &
Customs (HMRC) in insolvencies. In
a surprise move, he said: ‘We’ll make
HMRC a preferred creditor in business
insolvencies to ensure that tax which
has been collected on behalf of HMRC is
actually paid to HMRC.’
HMRC has now published a
consultation. HMRC had preferential
rights once before, but the Government
removed the Revenue’s preferential status
as part of the Enterprise Act in 2003 in an
initiative to boost enterprise and allow
more money in insolvency cases to flow
through to other creditors. At the same
time it introduced rules on a Prescribed
Part so that the taxman’s sacrifice wasn’t
entirely eaten up by secured creditors
with floating charges. Some see the
return of HMRC’s preferential status as a
backward step, though it did coincide with
an intention to increase the value of the
Prescribed Part. The Treasury’s argument
is that money paid by customers (VAT)
and employees (PAYE/NIC) should go to
fund public services ‘as intended’.
It is worth a reminder of the normal
‘pecking order’ – the distribution of funds
after paying any secured creditors and
costs: preferential creditors; Prescribed
Part; floating charge holders; and
ordinary unsecured creditors.
Where the Prescribed Part effectively
carves out a sum that would otherwise
go straight to floating charge holders
and instead earmarks that amount (up
to £600,000) for ordinary unsecured
creditors. There are currently few
preferential creditors (post-2003) – mainly
employee claims for unpaid wages etc or
the Government department that stands
in employees’ shoes when it pays out
under the Redundancy Fund.
The taxes at the heart of the new
measure are VAT and PAYE/NIC collected
or deducted by companies and not passed
over to HMRC at the commencement of
insolvency. Other tax payable directly by
the business (such as corporation tax) is
not affected.
The proposed change will come into
force on 6 April 2020, so that in respect
of insolvencies commencing on or after
that date the new preferential status will
apply.
IMPACT ON OTHER CREDITORS
A key element of the new proposal is that
in respect of the affected taxes, HMRC’s
preferential status will be secondary to
existing preferential creditors such as
the Redundancy Payment Service. So, the
creditors impacted will be floating charge
holders and ordinary unsecured creditors.
The Treasury makes the point that
lending to businesses should not be
affected in a ‘material’ way, as fixed
charges holders are unaffected, and
the reduced recovery by floating charge
holders represents only a ‘very small
fraction’ of total lending; some may
disagree. Matthew Davies, a director at
UK Finance, the body representing the
finance and banking industry, observes:
‘The UK’s commercial finance landscape
and business rescue culture has evolved
significantly since 2002. Lending against
floating charge assets – particularly stock
and work-in-progress – is increasingly
important for British businesses,
notably manufacturers, wholesalers
and retailers. The reintroduction of a
degree of crown preference seems to go
against the progress made in diversifying
and increasing access to finance. The
negative impact will be compounded by
the increase in the prescribed part, the
introduction of which was the flip-side of
the abolition of crown preference. Rather
than decreasing or being removed to go
at least some way to mitigate the impact
on lending, the prescribed part is likely
to be increased as well. So, the impact of
this measure on the availability of finance
must not be understated.’
There will of course be a negative impact
on unsecured creditors, but the Treasury
argues that most will not be affected as
they are usually unable to recover their
debts in any event (only four percent of
debts owed on average, it states). Some
will argue with their assessment of the
impact on unsecured creditors; inevitably,
those cases which produce dividends will
in future be likely to produce smaller
dividends (or none at all) for those at the
bottom of the insolvency pecking order,
though government might point to the
Prescribed Part increase as offering some
compensation.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
There is no suggestion of any limit on
the new preferential claims, unlike the
position with preferential claims pre-
2003. Importantly, the consultation
document now makes it clear that HMRC’s
preferential claim, whilst secondary to
those of existing preferential creditors
(primarily, its sister department), will
be unlimited in time, and so will cover
all outstanding PAYE/NIC and VAT
liabilities at the date of commencement
of insolvency (where that occurs after 6
April 2020).
One other significant point has also
been made clear now – businesses referred
to in the original Treasury statement
covers individual insolvent traders and
partnerships as well as corporates.
The HMRC consultation can be
found on its website. Its questions are
focused on any practical impediment
to or unforeseen impact of the planned
change and seems there is little room for
debate on its merits. Those with views
on the change can send comments to
governance@cicm.com as the Institute
will be responding on behalf of members
before the closure date in May.
David Kerr MCICM is an insolvency
practitioner with extensive regulatory
experience and a member of the CICM
Technical Committee.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 34

As the Winners of the Legal Team
of the Year 2019, Debt Recovery
is nothing new to Keebles.
We recovered over £5.7 million of
debt for clients this financial year
Having practised successfully in this area for
many decades, you can be confident in our
experience and ability.
We appreciate the needs of our clients and
understand that each client’s requirements
are different. Whether you are a large
organisation requiring regular management
reports and file reviews, or a small business
growing rapidly, but with little experience
of the debt recovery process, we have the
flexibility to cater for your needs.
We work closely with our clients and will
tailor a service level agreement so that
we both know exactly what needs to be
achieved and at what cost.
No Recovery No Fee
We do not charge for issuing a Letter Before
Action. We will only charge you commission,
at an agreed rate, on any sums recovered.
If we are unable to recover your debt at this
stage it will cost you nothing.
No Hidden Costs
For many cases, where it is necessary
to issue legal proceedings, we can offer
service on a fixed fee basis with no hidden
costs and, where possible, we will make
additional claims on your behalf for interest
and compensation under The Late Payment
of Commercial Debts legislation to further
minimise the recovery cost to you.
Success is the Key
Over the past 5 years we have successfully
recovered over 80% of our Clients’ debts in
full or by way of an agreed settlement.
Call now to talk to a member of
the Debt Recovery Team:
0113 399 3470
charise.marsden@keebles.com
www.keebles.com
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 35

PAYMENT TRENDS
Mainly overcast with
a few bright spots
The latest monthly business to business payment
performance statistics.
AUTHOR – Jason Braidwood FCICM(Grad)
THE last payment performance
statistics did not make for pleasant
reading, with the majority of sectors
and all regions posting increases
in payment terms. This month’s
results are mixed, with yet more
worrying performances. But there are, at least,
some signs of improvement. The average Days
Beyond Terms (DBT) figures across sectors has not
shifted, remaining on 16.2 days, while regions have
increased slightly to 17.9 days.
SECTOR SPOTLIGHT
The sector spotlight does look healthier, with over
half of the 22 sectors reducing their payment terms.
The Financial and Insurance sector has performed
particularly well reducing its DBT by 6.3 days.
Wholesale and retail trade has also improved with
a reduction of 5.2 days. Education is now top of the
table as the best performing sector after a reduction
of 1.7 taking its overall DBT to 9.5 days.
At the opposite end of the scale, it has been a
disastrous month for Mining and Quarrying, with
DBT increasing a huge 9.5 days up to 27.7 days
meaning it is now the worst performing sector.
Hospitality has also had a poor month, with DBT
increasing by 6.4 days.
REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT
The regional standings do not show a dramatic
improvement in performance, but there are, at
least, some regions that have made reductions.
Northern Ireland has responded to being bottom
of the table by being the top performing region this
month, with a reduction in payment terms of 2.8
days. Yorkshire and Humberside (-1.7), East Anglia
(-0.8) and Wales (-0.7) have all reduced their overall
DBT.
All of the other regions have made further
increases to their payment terms, albeit some only
slight – Scotland (+0.7) and London (+0.5 days). It
has, however, been another dreadful month for the
North West, with its DBT increasing by a further
5.7 days, meaning it is now the worst performing
region with an overall DBT of 21.4 days.
Jason Braidwood FCICM(Grad),
Head of Credit and Collections at Creditsafe
Business Solutions.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 36

PAYMENT TRENDS
AUTHOR – Jason Braidwood FCICM(Grad)
Top Five Prompter Payers
Region April 19 Change from March 19
Education 9.5 -1.7
International Bodies 10.2 -1.8
Public Administration 11.8 0.9
Health and Social 12 -0.1
Entertainment 12.2 1
Getting Better
Financial and Insurance -6.3
Wholesale and Retail Trade -5.2
Professional and Scientific -2.1
Other Service -1.
Real Estate -16
Top Five Prompter Payers
Region April 19 Change from March 19
Yorkshire and Humberside 15.3 -1.7
South West 15.8 1.1
East Anglia 16.4 -0.8
Scotland 17.7 0.8
London 18 0.5
Bottom Five Poorest Payers
Region April 19 Change from March 19
Mining and Quarrying 27.7 9.5
Water and Waste 23.6 -0.4
IT and Comms 19.8 1
Manufacturing 19.3 1.5
Business Admin and Support 18.9 -1.2
Getting Worse
Mining and Quarrying 9.5
Hospitality 6.4
Manufacturing 1.5
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 1.4
Entertainment 1.0
Bottom Five Poorest Payers
Region April 19 Change from March 19
North West 21.4 5.7
Northern Ireland 20.2 -2.8
West Midlands 18.7 2.1
South East 18.3 2.3
East Midlands 18 2.5
This month’s results are mixed, with
yet more worrying performances.
But there are, at least, some signs of
improvement.
SCOTLAND
0.8 DBT
NORTHERN
IRELAND
-2.8 DBT
Region
Getting Better – Getting Worse
-2.8
2.7
0.8
-0.7
0.5
0.8
1.1
2.1
2.3
-1.7
Northern Ireland
East Midlands
East Anglia
Wales
London
Scotland
South West
West Midlands
South East
Yorkshire and Humberside
WALES
-0.7 DBT
SOUTH
WEST
1.1 DBT
WEST
MIDLANDS
2.1 DBT
YORKSHIRE &
HUMBERSIDE
-1.7 DBT
EAST
MIDLANDS
2.7 DBT
LONDON
0.5 DBT
EAST
ANGLIA
0.8 DBT
SOUTH
EAST
2.3 DBT
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 37

ADVERTORIAL – HIGH RADIUS
WHAT THE
FUTURE HOLDS
A report from the world’s largest order-to-cash
networking event.
AUTHOR – Tanya Arrowsmith
Tanya Arrowsmith
RADIANCE 2019, the world’s
largest gathering of orderto-cash
professionals
was held in February
in Houston, Texas. The
three-day event witnessed
more than 400 accounts receivables
professionals from across companies
and industries attend more than 100
sessions and discussions on a broad range
of order-to-cash related topics such as
credit, collections, the future of payments,
fintech, general financial management,
leadership as well as digital disruption and
artificial intelligence in order to cash.
ORDER-TO-CASH UNCONFERENCE
Aiming to break free from the monotony
that dominates most professional
conferences, we prefer to call Radiance
as an ‘Order to Cash Unconference’ and
true to its theme the event was held in
the Minute Maid Park, a baseball ground
that is home to the Houston Astros. The
sessions were led by the finance and order
to cash leaders from major organisations
including adidas, Honeywell, Citi, P&G,
Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Uber, Danone and
L'Oréal to name a few. Unlike regular
conferences, the sessions were designed
in the form of mutual dialogue between
the speakers and audience and witnessed
maximum participation from everyone
involved. The day-long sessions and panel
discussions were followed by nights of
networking and partying at some of the
best spots in Houston.
One of the highlights of the conference
included the demo stations that showcased
how automation was disrupting orderto-cash.
The audience had a first-hand
experience of how Artificial Intelligence
(AI) handles traditional accounts
receivable (A/R) tasks such as cash posting
(payment reconciliation), dunning,
customer claim/dispute resolution, credit
scoring and invoicing. But the star of
the conference was undoubtedly the
launch of the revolutionary Autonomous
Receivables technology by Sashi Narahari,
CEO of HighRadius.
Touted as the future of A/R, the
Autonomous Receivables software is a
combination of the world’s first AI-enabled
Integrated receivables platform, Touch/
Voice Interface and a digital assistant
Freeda, and is set to fundamentally alter
the way analysts work by putting order-tocash
on auto-pilot mode.
HUMANS V MACHINES
The Autonomous receivables software
debunks the myth that AI is out to replace
human jobs by showcasing how analyst
skills can be combined with AI to create
teams which have laser-focus on strategic
work with higher corporate impact. While
the digital assistants perform the more
mundane clerical tasks, AI provides deep
analytical insights, which when combined
with the analyst’s context-sensitive
judgement making skills, will result in
better outcomes for an organisation. To
learn more about how the future looks,
visit highradius.com/autonomous/.
Tanya Arrowsmith is Marketing Manager
EMEA at HighRadius.
Touted as the future of A/R, the Autonomous
Receivables software is a combination
of the world’s first AI-enabled Integrated
receivables platform, Touch/Voice Interface
and a digital assistant Freeda
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 38

ADVERTORIAL – HIGH RADIUS
HIGHRADIUS is a Fintech enterprise Software-as-a-Service
(SaaS) company that leverages Autonomous Receivables to
help companies put their order-to-cash on autopilot. The
HighRadius® Integrated Receivables platform reduces cycle
times in order-to-cash processes through the automation
of receivables and payments processes across credit,
electronic billing and payment processing, cash application,
deductions and collections. Powered by the RivanaTM
Artificial Intelligence Engine and FreedaTM Virtual Assistant
for order-to-cash teams, HighRadius enables teams to
leverage machine learning to predict future outcomes and
automate routine labour intensive tasks. The radiusOneTM
B2B payment network allows suppliers to digitally connect
with buyers, closing the loop from supplier receivable
processes to buyer payable processes. HighRadius solutions
have a proven track record of optimising cash flow, reducing
days sales outstanding (DSO) and bad debt, and increasing
operational efficiency so that companies may achieve strong
ROI in just a few months.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 39

The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 40

The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 41

INTRODUCING OUR
CORPORATE PARTNERS
For further information and to discuss the opportunities of entering into a
Corporate Partnership with the CICM, please contact corporatepartners@cicm.com
Hays Credit Management is a national specialist
division dedicated exclusively to the recruitment of
credit management and receivables professionals,
at all levels, in the public and private sectors. As
the CICM’s only Premium Corporate Partner, we
are best placed to help all clients’ and candidates’
recruitment needs as well providing guidance on
CV writing, career advice, salary bench-marking,
marketing of vacancies, advertising and campaign
led recruitment, competency-based interviewing,
career and recruitment trends.
T: 07834 260029
E: karen.young@hays.com
W: www.hays.co.uk/creditcontrol
The Company Watch platform provides risk analysis
and data modelling tools to organisations around
the world that rely on our ability to accurately
predict their exposure to financial risk. Our
H-Score® predicted 92 percent of quoted company
insolvencies and our TextScore® accuracy rate
was 93 percent. Our scores are trusted by credit
professionals within banks, corporates, investment
houses and public sector bodies because, unlike
other credit reference agencies, we are transparent
and flexible in our approach.
T: +44 (0)20 7043 3300
E: info@companywatch.net
W: www.companywatch.net
HighRadius is a Fintech enterprise Software-as-a-Service
(SaaS) company. Its Integrated Receivables platform
reduces cycle times in the Order to Cash process through
automation of receivables and payments across credit,
e-invoicing and payment processing, cash allocation,
dispute resolution and collections. Powered by the
RivanaTM Artificial Intelligence Engine and Freeda
Digital Assistant for Order to Cash teams, HighRadius
enables more than 450 organisations to leverage
machine learning to predict future outcomes and
automate routine labour intensive tasks.
T: +44 7399 406889
E: gwyn.roberts@highradius.com
W: www.highradius.com
Forums International has been running Credit
and Industry Forums since 1991 covering a range
of industry sectors and international trading.
Attendance is for credit professionals of all levels.
Our forums are not just meetings but communities
which aim to prepare our members for the
challenges ahead. Attending for the first time is
free for you to gauge the benefits and meet the
members and we only have pre-approved Partners,
so you will never intentionally be sold to.
Chris Sanders Consulting (Sanders Consulting
Associates) has three areas of activity providing
credit management leadership and performance
improvement, international working capital
improvement consulting assignments and
managing the CICMQ Best Practice Accreditation
programme on behalf of the CICM. Plans for
2019 include international client assignments in
India, China, USA, Middle East and the ongoing
development of the CICMQ Programme.
Key IVR provide a suite of products to assist
companies across Europe with credit management.
The service gives the end-user the means to make
a payment when and how they choose. Key IVR
also provides a state-of-the-art outbound platform
delivering automated messages by voice and
SMS. In a credit management environment, these
services are used to cost-effectively contact debtors
and connect them back into a contact centre or
automated payment line.
T: +44 (0)1246 555055
E: info@forumsinternational.co.uk
W: www.forumsinternational.co.uk
T: +44(0)7747 761641
E: chris@chrissandersconsulting.com
W: www.chrissandersconsulting.com
T: +44 (0) 1302 513 000
E: sales@keyivr
W: www.keyivr.com
American Express® is a globally recognised
provider of business payment solutions, providing
flexible capabilities to help companies drive
growth. These solutions support buyers and
suppliers across the supply chain with working
capital and cashflow.
By creating an additional lever to help support
supplier/client relationships American Express is
proud to be an innovator in the business payments
space.
T: +44 (0)1273 696933
W: www.americanexpress.com
Building on our mature and hugely successful
product and world class support service, we are
re-imagining our risk awareness module in 2019 to
allow for hugely flexible automated worklists and
advanced visibility of areas of risk. Alongside full
integration with all credit scoring agencies (e.g.
Creditsafe), this makes Credica a single port-of-call
for analysis and automation. Impressive results
and ROI are inevitable for our customers that also
have an active input into our product development
and evolution.
T: 01235 856400
E: info@credica.co.uk
W: www.credica.co.uk
Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ: EPAY) helps
businesses pay and get paid. Businesses and banks
rely on Bottomline for domestic and international
payments, effective cash management tools,
automated workflows for payment processing
and bill review and state of the art fraud detection,
behavioural analytics and regulatory compliance.
Every day, we help our customers by making
complex business payments simple, secure and
seamless.
T: 0870 081 8250
E: emea-info@bottomline.com
W: www.bottomline.com/uk
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 42

Each of our Corporate Partners is carefully selected for
their commitment to the profession and best practice in the
Credit Industry and the quality of services they provide.
We are delighted to showcase them here.
THEY'RE WAITING TO TALK TO YOU...
Onguard is a specialist in credit management
software and a market leader in innovative solutions
for Order to Cash. Our integrated platform ensures
an optimal connection of all processes in the Order
to Cash chain and allows sharing of critical data. Our
intelligent tools can seamlessly interconnect and
offer overview and control of the payment process,
as well as contribute to a sustainable customer
relationship. The Onguard platform is successfully
used for successful credit management in more
than 50 countries.
T: +31 (0)88 256 66 66
E: ruurd.bakker@onguard.com
W: www.onguard.com
The Atradius Collections business model is to support
businesses and their recoveries. We are seeing a
deterioration and increase in unpaid invoices placing
pressures on cashflow for those businesses. Brexit is
causing uncertainty and we are seeing a significant
impact on the UK economy with an increase in
insolvencies, now also impacting the continent and
spreading. Our geographical presence is expanding
and with a single IT platform across the globe we can
provide greater efficiencies and effectiveness to our
clients to recover their unpaid invoices.
T: +44 (0)2920 824700
W: www.atradiuscollections.com/uk/
With 130+ years of experience, Graydon is a leading
provider of business information, analytics, insights
and solutions. Graydon helps its customers to
make fast, accurate decisions, enabling them to
minimise risk and identify fraud as well as optimise
opportunities with their commercial relationships.
Graydon uses 130+ international databases and the
information of 90+ million companies. Graydon has
offices in London, Cardiff, Amsterdam and Antwerp.
Since 2016, Graydon has been part of Atradius, one of
the world’s largest credit insurance companies.
T: +44 (0)208 515 1400
E: customerservices@graydon.co.uk
W: www.graydon.co.uk
Rimilia provides intelligent, finance automation
solutions that enable customers to get paid on time
and control their cashflow and cash collection
in real time. Rimilia’s software solutions use
sophisticated analytics and artificial intelligence
to predict customer payment behaviour and easily
match and reconcile payments, removing the
uncertainty of cash collection. Rimilia’s software
automates the complete accounts receivable process
improving cash allocation, bank reconciliation and
credit management operations.
T: +44 (0)1527 872123
E: enquiries@rimilia.com
W: www.rimilia.com
Improve cash flow, cash collection and prevent late
payment with Corrivo from Data Interconnect.
Corrivo, intelligent invoice to cash automation
highlights where accounts receivable teams should
focus their effort for best results. Easy-to-learn,
Invoicing, Collection and Dispute modules get collection
teams up and running fast. Minimal IT input required.
Real-time dashboards, reporting and self-service
customer portals, improve customer communication
and satisfaction scores. Cost-effective, flexible Corrivo,
super-charges your cash collection effort.
T: +44 (0)1367 245777
E: sales@datainterconnect.co.uk
W: www.datainterconnect.com
Dun & Bradstreet Finance Solutions enable
modern finance leaders and credit professionals
to improve business performance through more
effective risk management, identification of growth
opportunities, and better integration of data and
insights across the business. Powered by our Data
Cloud, our solutions provide access to the world’s
most comprehensive commercial data and insights
supplying a continually updated view of business
relationships that help finance and credit teams
stay ahead of market shifts and customer changes.
T: (0800) 001-234
W: www.dnb.co.uk
Shared Services Forum UK Limited
Shared Services Forum UK is a not-for-profit
membership organisation. with one vision, to form
the largest community of people from the business
world and facilitate a platform for them to work
together to mutual benefits.
Benefits include; networking with like-minded
professionals in Shared Services. The criteria is a
willingness to engage in our lively community and
help shape our growth and development.
T: 07864 652518
E: forum.manager@sharedservicesforumuk.com
W: www.sharedservicesforumuk.com
C2FO turns receivables into cashflow and payables
into income, uniquely connecting buyers and
suppliers to allow discounts in exchange for
early payment of approved invoices. Suppliers
access additional liquidity sources by accelerating
payments from buyers when required in just two
clicks, at a rate that works for them. Buyers, often
corporates with global supply chains, benefit from
the C2FO solution by improving gross margin while
strengthening the financial health of supply chains
through ethical business practices.
T: 07799 692193
E: anna.donadelli@c2fo.com
W: www.c2fo.com
Tinubu Square is a trusted source of trade credit
intelligence for credit insurers and for corporate
customers. The company’s B2B Credit Risk
Intelligence solutions include the Tinubu Risk
Management Center, a cloud-based SaaS platform;
the Tinubu Credit Intelligence service and the
Tinubu Risk Analyst advisory service. Over 250
companies rely on Tinubu Square to protect their
greatest assets: customer receivables.
T: +44 (0)207 469 2577 /
E: uksales@tinubu.com
W: www.tinubu.com.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 43

INTRODUCING
OUR
CORPORATE
PARTNERS
For further information and
to discuss the opportunities
of entering into a Corporate
Partnership with the CICM,
please contact
corporatepartners@cicm.com
THE PERFECT VENUE FOR THIS YEAR’S
CICM FELLOWS’
CELEBRATORY LUNCH
THEY'RE
WAITING TO
TALK TO YOU...
DWF is a global legal business transforming legal
services through our people for our clients. With
over 27 locations and 3,000 people delivering
services and solutions that go beyond expectations.
By questioning traditions and thinking beyond
conventions we were recognised by The Financial
Times as one of Europe's most innovative legal
advisers. DWF offers a full range of cost-effective
debt recovery solutions from pre-legal collections
and debt litigation to strategic enforcement,
insolvency proceedings and ancillary services.
T: +44 (0) 113 261 6169
E: David.Scottow@dwf.law
W: www.dwf.law/recover
We invite all Fellows to help us celebrate 80
years of CICM at this year’s special Fellows’
Celebratory Lunch, at the Churchill War Rooms.
Walk the same corridors as Churchill, peer into the room where his
War Cabinet made their momentous decisions, and marvel at the
complexity of the abandoned Map Rooms, frozen in time since 1945.
Join us for great food, company and to welcome our newest Fellows.
We will also be launching our exciting new Fellows of the Future
scheme.
FRIDAY, 7 JUNE 2019
Arrival drinks served at 11:30 Including welcome
reception for new CICM Fellows.
Tickets £110.00+VAT per person
which includes museum access.
Please email fellowslunch@cicm.com to book
CLIVE STEPS,
KING CHARLES STREET,
LONDON, SW1A 2AQ.
CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF CREDIT MANAGEMENT ●80
YEARS
1939 - 2019

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The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 45

EDUCATION
L3 Advanced Enforcement
Build expertise in advanced enforcement areas
Recognition by studying for Advanced CICM Award.
THE CICM has partnered with
The High Court Enforcement
Officers Association (HCEOA) to
create a new CICM Level 3 Award
in Advanced Enforcement, with
a new online course on the
CICM Knowledge Hub which helps candidates
prepare for the Award.
The Award has partly been launched
in response to calls from the Debt Advice
charities for better qualified enforcement
agents, and is one of many steps being taken
by the industry to improve standards. The
course is designed to bring about more
sensitive enforcement and better results
without undue imposition on the customer.
The course is aimed at team leaders
and senior enforcement agents who have
experience of collecting the more complicated
debts from accountants or financial directors
of a business that are required to have a
better knowledge of Taking Control of Goods
legislation, rather than more simple council
tax or parking fine arrears from individuals.
“This course demonstrates our commitment
as an industry to try and raise the standards
of enforcement across the board,” says
Andrew Wilson, Chairman of the High Court
Enforcement Officers Association. “Having
Level 3 will make Agents more employable
as a sub-contractor and also in their future
careers.”
Enforcement Agents who would like to
become authorised High Court Enforcement
Officers can use the Level 3 Award as the
starting point for the Level 4 High Court
Enforcement Diploma, which is part of the
requirement for authorisation.
The Level 3 Course builds on the Level 2
Award in Taking Control of Goods, which
is the basic regulatory requirement for
Enforcement Agents and includes pre-course
activities, ten modules covering all syllabus
areas, assignment writing advice, a resources
section and course completion certificate
for learners who complete key activities
and course evaluation. Learners looking to
gain the regulated award can submit their
assignment to the CICM Awarding Body in
January, June or October for independent
marking.
The new Award has also been endorsed by
the Local Authority Civil Enforcement Forum
(LACEF) and the Certified Enforcement
Agents Association (CEAA).
The valuable, high quality award is
regulated by the qualification regulators
for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Progression routes include the CICM Level 3
Diploma in Credit and Collections, Advanced
Credit Controller/Debt Collection Specialist
Apprenticeship and CICM Level 4 Diploma in
High Court Enforcement.
“This course demonstrates our
commitment as an industry to try and
raise the standards of enforcement
across the board”
Andrew Wilson, Chairman of the High Court Enforcement Officers Association.
Course modules
• Taking Control of Goods
• Powers and obligations of enforcement agents
• Risk management
• Legal, regulatory, and industry frameworks
• Prescribed form completion
• Customer care
• Vulnerable customers
• Conflict management
• Personal effectiveness
• Reflective practice
The course takes approximately 100 hours to complete and
could form part of a face-to-face training programme
Fees apply: £325 for a 12-month licence for elearning course
(£200 for HCEOA members)
£350 for a 12-month licence for elearning and support coach
(£250 for HCEOA members)
The standard CICM registration and assignment
assessment fees for the regulated award.
Email: learningsupport@cicm.com
or call 01780 722909 for further details
purchase course.

CICM
KNOWLEDGE
HUB
Access over 1,000 credit
and collection resources
anytime, anywhere.
CICM Knowledge Hub is a new online platform for credit
professionals, providing one location to easily find the tools
and information you need to help you in your job.
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‣ Best practice guidance.
CICM Members get free access to CICM Knowledge Hub and much
more from just £8* a month. Join now to explore all the benefits of
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EDUCATION - LEARNING ONLINE
KNOWLEDGE
TESTS
NEW
Knowledge Hub
Premium
Content
Check your knowledge of key credit management,
collections and enforcement areas with these knowledge tests.
PREPARE FOR A CICM AWARD
Equally valuable as a baseline test of your team’s knowledge on CICM Knowledge Hub, these multiple
choice questions support preparation towards CICM Level 2 and 3 awards and credit controller/
collections apprenticeships.
Each test includes advice on the art of answering multiple choice questions, the opportunity to
practice multiple choice exam questions for each syllabus area working at your own pace, feedback
on the correct answer, a final timed mock exam accessed anywhere/anytime, and a mock exam
completion certificate for learners who complete course evaluations and pass the mock.
KNOWLEDGE TESTS ARE AVAILABLE IN:
• Credit Management (trade, export and consumer)
• Consumer Collections NEW programme
• Consumer Credit Management
• Taking Control of Goods
• Trade Credit Management
• Export Credit Management
• Business Environment
• Business Law
The knowledge test course takes around three hours to complete,
including the pre-reading, mock exam at the end, a course evaluation
and CPD reflection. The course could form part of a taught programme
leading towards a CICM award or stand-alone knowledge test.
You can complete multiple choice questions for each module all
at once or over several visits to suit you. The one-hour mock exam
must be completed in one go, however it can be repeated on more
than one occasion.
Course fees apply
CICM members £25 for 12 month licence * Non-members - £83
Learners studying through a CICM Credit Academy virtual class,
evening class or Learning Support will have free access to the related
test as part of their programme.
The Taking Control of Goods test is part of an online course
sponsored by the High Court Enforcement Officers Association and is
therefore offered free to CICM members (Non-member fee - £50*).
CPD
3
Email: learningsupport@cicm.com or
call 01780 722909 to purchase course
*Fees are subject to VAT
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 48

Tailored
and bespoke
training for
your credit
team
Your specialism is
our specialism
At the CICM we know that credit and collections is a unique profession, and your business
calls for a training solution that is not ‘off-the-peg’.
We take pride in delivering practical and effective learning to credit and collections teams.
Our training is designed and tailored to your business needs and to deliver results.
Your team will learn from our specialist trainers, who all have vast experience in the
profession and will share their real experiences and successes.
WWW.CICM.COM
Our specialist team will manage everything from
start to finish. To find out more information contact –
T: 01780 722907: E: training@cicm.com: W: www.cicm.com
Tailored and bespoke training in...
Developing Credit Strategy; Building Business; Managing Risk; Complying with Regulations; Improving
Customer Relations; Collecting the Cash; Negotiating and Influencing; Psychology of Collections; Achieving
Targets; Debt Recovery; Insolvency; Management Skills.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 49

HR MATTERS ROUNDUP
Crime and
Punishment
The legalities surrounding future employees
checking criminal records.
AUTHOR – Gareth Edwards
A
recent study, conducted for the
Scottish Centre for Crime and
Justice, found that 11 million people
in the UK have a criminal record and
that 75 percent of employers admit
to rejecting a job applicant once a
criminal conviction is disclosed.
It’s important to note that an employer can obtain
information on a person’s criminal record. They
can do so in one of two ways – either by asking the
candidate or employee directly, or by requesting an
official criminal record check by the Disclosure and
Barring Service (DBS).
The treatment of individuals with criminal
records is set out in the Rehabilitation of Offenders
Act 1974 (ROA 1974). Subject to certain exemptions, a
person whose conviction is spent is entitled to hold
themselves out as a having a clean record – only
‘unspent’ convictions need to be disclosed.
If an individual has a spent conviction and
they choose not to disclose it when questioned,
subject to certain exemptions, they cannot be
penalised – including an employer not hiring
them. Failure to disclose a spent conviction is not a
lawful ground for dismissal or exclusion, and so an
employee dismissed on these grounds may bring a
claim for unfair dismissal.
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
(Exceptions) Order 1975 identifies that in certain
cases spent convictions should be disclosed,
including: professions such as medicine, lawyers,
accountants, vets, chemist and opticians; those
employed to uphold the law, including judges and
prison officers; certain regulated occupations,
including financial services; those who work with
children and vulnerable adults; and those whose
work could pose a risk to national security.
A person can be asked about their spent
convictions under the Exceptions Order as long
as the question is for the purposes of assessing
suitability for a role. At the time of asking it should
be made clear to the applicant that they are obliged
to disclose spent convictions. If an applicant fails to
disclose a spent conviction in these circumstances
an employer will have a valid reason for withholding
or withdrawing an offer of employment or dismissal.
DISCLOSURE AND BARRING
There are two main types of DBS checks, standard
disclosure and enhanced disclosure. Employers
should remember when considering requesting
a DBS check that this can only be requested if the
individual in question is to undertake a role set out
in the Exceptions Order.
That said, there is now the option for an individual
to request a basic certificate from the DBS which
includes details of unspent convictions and cautions.
However, an employer cannot force an employee to
get this information.
Employers should always exercise independent
judgement in considering what weight to attach to
any disclosed conviction or caution.
CRIMINAL RECORD
If a conviction, spent or unspent, is disclosed
an employer’s response should depend on the
individual circumstances. If the conviction is spent
and the position applied for does not fall under the
Exceptions Order the employer may not refuse to
employ the individual on the basis of the conviction.
If the conviction is spent, but the position falls
under the Exceptions Order, then an employer may
refuse to employ the individual. Due regard should
be given to industry and sector specific guidance
here as this will often set out how an employer
should proceed.
If the conviction is not spent the employer
may refuse to employ the individual, but again,
appropriate regard should be given to any sector
specific legislation.
NON-DISCLOSURE
As before, an employee is entitled to withhold a
spent conviction, subject to the exceptions, and it is
likely that if an employee with qualifying service is
dismissed for this reason the dismissal will be unfair.
If a person has deceived their employer about
a criminal record and they were not entitled to
withhold the information, then the employer may
terminate their employment contract for breaching
the implied term of mutual trust and confidence.
Care should be taken where an employee has
sufficient qualifying service to bring an unfair
dismissal claim as an employer will need to show
that dismissal was within the band of reasonable
responses. In considering this an employer will want
to think about the employee’s performance record as
well as whether or not the conviction was relevant or
particularly serious.
Employers can continue to reject applications on
the basis of a criminal record without taking these
steps. However, giving more thought to the situation
may open up a wider range of suitable candidates for
a role.
Gareth Edwards is a partner in the employment team at
VWV.gedwards@vwv.co.uk.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 50

Opportunities at the CICM
Could you work with us to help develop
the future of the credit profession?
Whether you can spare a few hours a week, month, or ad hoc, there is a
role for you. Training and administrative support will be provided. Please
go to the vacancies section of the CICM website or contact Deidre at
deidre.berridge@cicm.com, or call 01780 722909.
Be a CICM Learning Support Coach: all levels
Provide tutorial support and feedback to learners who are studying
towards a CICM qualification at home (home study). The work is flexible
and can be fitted around a full-time role. You can choose how many
learners you support.
Be a CICM Examiner:
This is an interesting opportunity to build assessment experience
with an accredited awarding body. We are currently recruiting in three
examiner roles:
1: Credit Management Assignment-based assessments
2: Money & Debt Advice assessments
3: High Court Enforcement assessments
Be a CICM Volunteer Membership Assessor
This vital role helps us to review CICM professional membership
applications at ACICM, MCICM and FCICM level. If you are an MCICM or
FCICM member, and have a few hours to spare each month (working via
email and online), we would love to hear from you.
Be a CICM Subject expert
We are looking for credit and collections professionals for ad
hoc work supporting resource development working with our
education advisers. There is no ‘up-front’ time commitment
for this role.
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The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 51

LEGAL MATTERS
WHEN
CREDITORS
FALL OUT
Creditors of joint debts owed by
insolvent debtors must try to agree
on the way to proceed, and not be
distracted by personal considerations.
AUTHOR – Peter Walker
DEBT is ‘an ingenious substitution
for the chain and whip
of the slave driver’ wrote
Ambrose Bierce in Devil’s
Dictionary, but debtors can
be driven into bankruptcy by
creditors seeking legal remedies rather than
using painful methods. If creditors petitioning
for bankruptcy differ in their views as to what
should be done, a judge rather than a slave
driver is needed.
There may be a selfish reason behind one
of those views, such as when one petitioning
creditor seeks to gain an advantage to the
disadvantage of the others. This could lead
to an abuse of legal process, and Chancery
Division judge, Mr Justice Snowden, had to
consider this possibility in the case In re Maud
(No 2) [2018] 3 WLR 1497.
It was part of other complicated proceedings
in England and in Spain. A group of Dutch and
Spanish companies, which Snowden J referred
to as ‘the Marme Group’, owned an office and
retail property near Madrid, which was let to
a company within the Santander Group. The
property was worth ‘several billion Euros’,
and the owners had borrowed heavily to
acquire it. Property developers financing their
activities by means of borrowing know that
the balancing of the cash flow arising from
loan repayments and from incoming rent can
be tricky. Whether or not the owners of the
Spanish property found this to be difficult, it
finally entered into insolvency proceedings in
Spain.
The Spanish court approved a liquidation
plan involving the sale of the property to the
highest bidder. This was challenged, and there
was an alternative proposal to sell the property
to satisfy the debts in accordance with Spanish
insolvency legislation. The owning company
would then exit liquidation, but there was
disagreement among two creditors, ‘the
petitioning creditors’.
One of them had demanded repayment
of monies owed by another creditor, and it
had threatened to enforce its security against
the Marme Group and against one of the two
shareholders of the Group’s Dutch ultimate
parent company, referred to as ‘Ramblas’. The
other creditor obtained an injunction in the
Commercial Court to stop this from happening.
DISSENTING CREDITORS
This dissent is not surprising, because the
financing of the purchase of the Spanish
property was complicated. The Royal Bank of
Scotland (RBS) had headed a group of banks
to lend €1,575 million to Ramblas, ‘the senior
loan’, and it made another ‘junior loan’ also to
Ramblas of €200 million. The latter was secured
by a pledge of shares of Ramblas and of its
subsidiary, and by the Ramblas shareholders’
personal guarantees up to €40 million. The
bank then made a personal loan of €75 million
to the two shareholders. Those shareholders
did not pay the interest on time, so the Bank
demanded repayment, but only received €25
million.
The petitioning creditors saw an opportunity
to acquire the Spanish property. They also
purchased from RBS the rights against the
two shareholders in respect of the personal
loan and of the accompanying securities. The
price was a mere €5,000. The price for the
rights in respect of the junior loan was higher,
€195 million, although a total of €200 million
plus interest was outstanding. It was time to
receive some money instead, so the petitioning
creditors obtained consent orders against the
two shareholders for the personal loan, and
against Ramblas for the junior loan.
They reached a settlement with one of the
shareholders, who agreed to sell his shares
in Ramblas. The other shareholder, Glenn
Maud, had financial problems, not all of them
associated with the Spanish property.
In Spain, the companies in Marme
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 52

LEGAL MATTERS
AUTHOR – Peter Walker
Group petitioned for involuntary insolvency
proceedings. Glenn Maud, a director of
Ramblas, assisted in the defence, when the
petitioning creditors commenced proceedings
against that company in England. Resistance
was futile, because the court awarded the
claimants €105 million (Edgeworth Capital
(Luxembourg) v Ramblas Investments BV
[2016] 1 All ER (Comm) 168).
The claimants then presented a bankruptcy
petition against Glenn Maud, and the Registrar
indicated his intention to make a bankruptcy
order, but there was a development, a new
bid for the Marme Group by a London-based
investment firm. The bankruptcy proceedings
were stayed pending an appeal. This was when
the falling-out of the petitioning creditors
became apparent. They sought separate
representation at the subsequent hearings.
Dissenting creditors are not new, because
the Courts have had to deal with them in
the past. Snowden J referred to a statement
in the case In re Leigh Estate (UK) Ltd [1994]
BCC 292. When some creditors supported a
winding up petition, and others opposed it, ‘it
is for the court to decide as a matter of judicial
discretion, what weight to attribute to each
side of the contest’.
And what a contest! There had been several
in the English courts, and the various amounts
added up to more than €200 million. One of
the petitioning creditors wanted an immediate
bankruptcy order. Mr Maud could not reopen
the question of abuse of process, because the
petitioner’s purpose was the repayment of his
personal loan, and its collateral purpose could
not result in any prejudice to his creditors.
There was no possibility that he could not repay
his debts, so there was no point in delaying his
bankruptcy.
ABUSE OF PROCESS
The other petitioning creditor wanted delay,
and it questioned the motive of the other. It
suggested that this first petitioning creditor
was using the procedure to gain control over
the Spanish property, which was possibly
worth more than existing debt of the Marme
Group companies. This could be an abuse of
the collective process.
There was more evidence now from the
petitioning creditors, so Snowden J could
justify the reopening of some of the issues.
The first petitioning creditor confirmed that
it wanted repayment of the personal loan. It
also wanted to acquire the Spanish property,
and additionally the junior loan to assist in
the process. It was agreed as a matter of law
that bankruptcy proceedings in respect of an
undisputed debt should not be used to become
a detailed investigation into any collateral
purpose. The debt itself is undisputed, but
there could still be an abuse of process.
There is, for example, the case A Company
(No 1573 of 1983) [1983] BCLC 492, where the
petitioning creditor intended the landlord
to forfeit the company’s lease. The creditors
represented by the petitioner would have
been deprived of any benefit from the lease.
The petitioning creditor for himself could
then negotiate a new lease with the landlord.
This effectively would reduce the value of the
bankrupt estate, and that would consequently
reduce the value for all the creditors. That was
truly an abuse of process of the Court.
Snowden J also referred to another and
unusual Irish case, McGinn v Beagan [1962]
IR 364. The petitioner and the debtor had a
difficult relationship that had nothing to do
with the debt. The former was the town clerk
of a District Council of which the debtor was
a Councillor. The latter had made various
complaints about the conduct of the former,
but when his business failed, the petitioner
took an assignment of his judgment debt from a
creditor. He then took out a debtor’s summons,
the equivalent of a statutory demand. The
debtor gave testimony that the petitioner
wanted to bankrupt him, so that he would lose
his seat on the Council. Budd J ruled that the
process of the court should not be used for
such an improper purpose. This decision has
been approved in various Irish cases such as
recently in the High Court by Costello J in Bank
of Ireland v Smyth [2017] IEHC 5.
Back in this case, In re Maud, Snowden J
was not convinced that the situation was like
that of the McGinn case. He had to consider
whether the alleged collateral purposes would
result in a detriment to the creditors. During
his review he noted significantly ‘that the
normal rule is that trustees are required to
exercise their powers unanimously’. Only if
one of the joint owners of a debt is not acting
genuinely as to the most appropriate method
of pursuing it, the court cannot act on the
submission advanced by one rather than the
other.
The second petitioner furthermore had
not established that the first petitioner was
acting in breach of its duty in relation to the
jointly owned debt. There was therefore no
creditor before the court entitled to ask for
an immediate bankruptcy order. Snowden J
would neither dismiss the petition nor make
an immediate bankruptcy order. The parties
would later have to appear before him for
appropriate directions from him, and, among
other considerations, developments in the
Spanish insolvency proceedings could be
important.
Such delays caused by disagreement
among the creditors about how to proceed
are undesirable. A credit manager in this
situation would obviously be concerned, and
it is important that personal considerations
amounting to an abuse of process must be
avoided. The prime objective must be to collect
as much of the debt as possible, and not to
waste both time and money.
Peter Walker is a freelance business writer.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 53

CAREERS’ ADVICE
Personnel Development
How recruitment in credit management has
changed and continues to evolve.
AUTHOR – Karen Young
IN celebration of the 80th
anniversary of the Chartered
Institute of Credit Management
I thought it would be interesting
to share my insight into how
recruitment has evolved over
this period of time. Having joined Hays
in 1996, I have experienced huge changes
in the recruitment industry in light of
advancements in technology and data
that have changed some of what we do
as recruitment consultants. However,
ultimately I believe the fundamental
values which form the basis of how good
recruitment consultants do their jobs have
stayed the same.
PRE-INTERNET
Recruitment operated in a very different
way when I began my career 23 years
ago. Job advertisements for professionals
were mostly promoted through local and
national newspapers, with posted CVs
arriving into the office sometimes in
brightly coloured envelopes or printed on
coloured paper to make them stand out
more. When they weren’t posted, I can
remember the time spent stood by the fax
machine waiting for the pages of a CV so
I could begin working on that candidate’s
career choices. Candidates would also
visit the office in person to schedule an
appointment for the following week.
We maintained positive and vital faceto-face
professional relationships with
our candidates and clients, but data was
certainly processed in a very different way.
WAVE 1: ONLINE JOB BOARDS
Up until the advent of online job boards, I
would come across jobs in my local paper
which listed a few details about the role
and its hourly rate or salary. However, the
gradual move to advertising jobs online
over the years replaced the standard
print model of recruitment, enabling
candidates to interact with a higher
volume of job advertisements. Supported
by the more consistent introduction
of email, these early digital advances
established an ‘advertise and apply’ model
whereby consultants would place a job
advertisement and receive applications
from suitable candidates. Volumes of
responses would vary from one job to the
next but could be anything from a small
handful for a niche role, through to several
hundred.
WAVE 2: NETWORKING
By far the most considerable change
for me among those early digital
developments in recruitment was the
introduction of LinkedIn. I joined
the platform in July 2008 and already
sensed a real transformation within the
industry. Now, in 2019, with over 300,000
Hays followers in the UK and Ireland
alone and 2.6 million followers globally,
LinkedIn is Hays’ biggest social channel
and is an integral element of connecting
with our clients and candidates. Along
with other networking sites, these
platforms continue to establish new ways
of reaching and attracting candidates,
as well as maintaining relationships with
clients.
WAVE 3: AGGREGATORS
In addition to the advancement of social
media, more advanced search technology
and job board aggregators have changed
the way people find work as well as how
recruiters do their jobs. By using just a
handful of online resources, jobseekers
can now encounter a huge volume of jobs
and are able to streamline their search
according to their preferences. Our
recruiters at Hays are constantly finding
new ways to source the right candidates
for the right roles, and this kind of
technology has played an important part
in this.
WAVE 4: FIND AND ENGAGE
While traditionally consultants would
place a job advert and wait for applications,
in today’s skills-short candidate market,
waiting for candidate responses is not
proactive enough to seek out the talent
and skills that our clients expect from us.
Our recruitment experts now embrace
what we call a ‘find and engage’ model
of working. This approach recognises the
importance of engaging with candidates
throughout their entire careers, thereby
supporting passive job seekers who may
not be actively jobhunting but who are
open to new opportunities. While there
will always be a crucial element of the
advertise and apply model underpinning
the way we work, utilising technology and
data enables consultants to maximise the
support they can offer to their candidates
over the long-term to work as lifelong
careers partners.
Reflecting on my 23 years at Hays,
it’s clear that both time and technology
have changed the recruitment landscape
significantly throughout that period, let
alone 80 years. Recruitment will always
remain a people-driven business, but it
is also one where embracing technology
and data advancements increasingly
helps us support our candidates and
clients. As with many things, it is a little
of the old and a little of the new that
will deliver successful outcomes for the
people we support – and that is the art of
recruitment.
Karen Young is Director at Hays
Credit Management.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 54

Are you a Leader
or follower?
CICMQ accreditation is a proven model that has consistently delivered
dramatic improvements in cashflow and efficiency
CICMQ is the hallmark of industry leading organisations
The CICM Best Practice Network is where CICMQ accredited organisations
come together to develop, share and celebrate best practice in credit and
collections
Be a leader – Join the CICM Best Practice Network today
To find out more about flexible options to gain CICMQ accreditation
E: cicmq@cicm.com, T: 01780 722900
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 55

NEW AND UPGRADED MEMBERS
Do you know someone who would benefit from CICM membership? Or have
you considered applying to upgrade your membership? See our website
www.cicm.com/membership-types for more detail, or call us on 01780 722903
Studying Members
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Congratulations to our current members who have upgraded their membership
Upgraded members
Nicholas Cherry FCICM
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Director – Corporate Governance High Court Enforcement Group
ALAN SMITH FCICM
“I’ve been involved with the CICM for many years – as former
Chairman of the Yorkshire Branch and helping to put together High
Court Enforcement training. To have this recognised and be made a
Fellow is a real honour.”
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 56

Membership
Benefits
CICM membership gives you access
to all of these benefits
Credit Management
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the country
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resources
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Benefits that keep you informed, help you in your
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For details visit www.cicm.com,
call us on 01780 722900, or email
cicmmembership@cicm.com

ADVERTORIAL
The Role of Debt Sale in
Commercial Credit
Karen Savage talks about her recent move to commercial debt
purchaser, Azzurro Associates.
Karen qualified as alawyer in 1996, specialising in commercial recoveries, litigation and insolvency.
She has held senior leadership roles throughout her career most recently with Shoosmiths where she
was National Head of the Commercial Recoveries Team. Under her leadership the Team won Legal
Team of the Year atthe CICM British Credit Awards in 2018.
Tell us about Azzurro
Azzurro is a commercial debt purchaser
with offices in London, Manchester and the
Netherlands, owned by a large investment
fund. Azzurro was formed by Andrew Birkwood,
formerly the Chief Investment Officer of
FTSE listed debt purchaser, Arrow Global. The
management team has more than combined
100 years experience and our strategic vision is
to make adifference tothe way commercial and
niche consumer debt markets operate.
Why the move to Azzurro?
Imet Andrew in 2013 when Arrow was bidding
on acommercial loan book that mylegal team
were servicing. We have similar values and share
an entrepreneurial spirit and an ambitious vision.
Ihave joined Azzurro astheir Chief Operations
Officer and my principle responsibilities are
overseeing the company’s operations, external
partnerships and leading origination with
Andrew.
When Andrew told me about his vision for
a commercial debt purchaser, I could see the
business opportunity immediately and that debt
sale would be another tool in the credit managers
armoury.When Andrew asked me to join Azzurro,
Iwas excited by the opportunity to help grow
and develop the business. Leaving Shoosmiths
wasincredibly hardthough. It is agreat firm with
really great clients, afantastic leadership team,
people and culture. It will remain byfar the best
law firm Ihave worked for and remains one of
our valued partners.
What makes Azzurro different?
Debt sale in the commercial sector is not
common. We want to be the leading provider
of liquidity solutions to the commercial
debt market, providing fair value, compliant
processes and building strong partnerships with
our clients. Wehave leading analytics, decision
Karen Savage
science and pricing teams based in Manchester
where we utilise cutting edge processes to
price, onboard and service portfolios that we
purchase. We are open and transparent with
clients throughout the process and beyond,
building trust with them, and supporting them
heavily in the process if they haven’t sold
debt before. The strategy is succeeding. We
completed our first full year oftrading in 2018
and we currently have over £300 million assets
under management.
What type of debt doyou buy?
We specialise in purchasing customer accounts
from arange of businesses that include:
•B2B invoice portfolios
•Commercial lending
•Credit insurance portfolios
•Commercial energy, utility and telco
•Mortgage shortfall (commercial and consumer)
•Motor finance (commercial and consumer).
Nominated byher clients, Karen (centre)
winning business leader of the year -at
women in credit awards 2018
While our strategy is the acquisition of
commercial debt and niche consumer portfolios
we have access to awell-established fund and
are fortunate to be able to be opportunistic;
the purchase of our Dutch business last year is
an example of that. While our current areas of
focusinclude the UK,the Netherlands,Franceand
Portugal we intend to add additional markets in
2019.
Do you outsource collections for the debt you
buy?
Yes wedo. But we fully understand that, once
clients have sold their debt tous, they have a
continuing interest in protection of their brand. So
theyneed to be confidentthatwewillcollectthe
debt, effectively but by operating to the highest
ethical standard. We are currently awaiting our
authorisation from the FCA. We work with a
small number of trusted DCAs and Law Firms
who manage the customer relationships on our
behalf.
Whatwould yousay to credit managers who have
concern about debt sale and negative publicity?
Our clients brand protection is of paramount
importance to us. Our clients need to have
complete confidence inthe way werecover the
debts –soweare completely transparent and
share performance data. We share oversight of
our servicing partners and agree the servicing
activity in advanceofany transaction. We provide
clients with regular performance updates,
scheduling periodic workshops for this purpose.
Why should a commercial credit manager
consider debt sale at all?
Debt sale offers businesses away to monetise
unpaid debt quickly, and we have a longerterm
payment horizon. With our access to data
analytics, account segmentation, benchmark
servicing strategies and use of all tools of
collection at our disposal, we can make the
investment work. For example, many accounts
may bedeemed uneconomical to pursue by a
credit manager,because the value is toosmallfor
litigation. We do not have the same budgetary
constraints and where litigation makes sense,
we will make the investment inthe court fees,
regardless ofthe debt amount, within reason.
How long does adebt sale take?
Ihave seen it take aslittle as three weeks toas
long as ayear, but the average time is probably
about three months. Once a (non-disclosure
agreement (NDA) has been signed and data
shared we provide an indicative price. Following
on sitedue diligenceafinal bid is prepared which
clarifies our collection strategy and outlines
the terms of purchase. A sale and purchase
agreement isthen agreed and we complete our
investment committee process. The parties then
complete the transaction.
If you have any questions about
commercial debt sale or other
Azzurro finance products,
contact Karen at
ksavage@azzurroassociates.com.

BRANCH NEWS
FULL NAME:
Syed Nauman
CURRENT JOB TITLE:
Credit Manager EMEA
Theory | Helmut | JBRAND
CURRENT COMPANY NAME:
Theory
80SECONDS
WITH
NUMBER OF YEARS IN CREDIT
MANAGEMENT: 12+
NUMBER OF YEARS IN CURRENT ROLE:
More than five years
HOW DID YOU GET INTO CREDIT
MANAGEMENT?
Not by design! I have an Honours degree in
Human Nutrition, but got into credit control
soon after graduating and decided to push
forward in this field.
AGM, Insolvency and
CICM HQ updates
East of England Branch
THE event at FRP Advisory
in Brentwood opened with
branch member and FRP
Partner Paul Atkinson’s
insolvency update, covering
the increase in insolvencies, and the
sectors affected most (retail, restaurants,
construction, and care homes); the
inability of businesses to plan with the
uncertainty of Brexit; GDPR; and potential
changes to HMRC’s preferential creditors’
status. Paul’s talk stimulated much
discussion.
Branch member Pete Whitmore FCICM
gave an update on his work as Regional
Representative and CICM Chair, covering
CICM’s new senior management team,
work with the Government, changes to the
operation of the Advisory Council and the
new Fellows of the Future initiative. He
congratulated the Branch Committee for
their activities and enthusiasm.
Chairman Richard Brown FCICM
reported on another good year, and on the
first events in Cambridge and Norwich
across the wider geographically expanded
branch.
The branch’s major conference Deal
or No Deal, held in London in November,
had not been as well attended as some,
but members attending from an amazing
eight CICM branches gave the best-ever
feedback on the venue, content and
speakers. Richard thanked Goodman
Masson for hosting and sponsoring,
Advanced Collection Systems for its
charity donation to Great Ormond Street
(GOSH) and Cforia for sponsoring the
business card draw.
Denise Bassingthwaighte’s Treasurer’s
report advised a healthy bank balance
despite additional costs of travelling across
the branch’s seven counties.
An 11-strong committee was elected
– the existing nine plus Ron Bidwell of
JLL and Andrew Martin of Hays. Atul
Vadher FCICM took over as Chairman
from Richard Brown who became Vice
Chairman. Pete Whitmore thanked
Richard for all that he had done as
Chairman over many years.
Carol Baker FCICM gave an update on,
and sought views on, possible events and
locations in 2019. The chairman closed
a stimulating and enjoyable evening by
thanking FRP Advisory for kindly hosting
the evening and for their generous
hospitality.
Author: Carol Baker FCICM
Atul Vadher FCICM and Pete Whitmore FCICM
WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT WHERE
YOU WORK?
The people and the company culture, as
we are forward thinking and constantly
investing and developing in our workforce.
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?
Fixing issues. But credit control/
management is more than just getting
your receivable’s in check, it’s all about
relationships.
HOW HAS THE SKILLSET OF A CREDIT
MANAGER CHANGED THROUGHOUT YOUR
CAREER?
Today the credit function plays a much
more central and commercial role within
most organisations and the credit manager
has had to become more business
orientated.
NAME THREE PEOPLE YOU WOULD INVITE
TO A DINNER PARTY AND WHY.
Rosa Parks, John F Kennedy and Sun Tzu.
Because there was still a lot to be said and
a lot still to be learned. Besides, imagine
getting these three around a table!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PASTIME/
RELAXATION ACTIVITY?
Restoring classic cars and building bicycles
from scratch. I’m not sure why but I find it
therapeutic!
WHAT IS THE BEST QUALITY IN A LEADER?
The best among us are those who are
transparent.
WHAT’S BEEN THE MOST REWARDING
MOMENT IN YOUR CREDIT CAREER?
Helping a struggling client from being
closed down by re-structuring their debt
and helping them approach other suppliers
to do the same.
WHAT HAS CHANGED MOST THROUGHOUT
YOUR CREDIT CAREER?
Credit control has gone from a “function”
of a business to playing a more centric role
within an organisation.
IF YOU WEREN’T WORKING IN CREDIT
MANAGEMENT, WHAT WOULD YOU BE
DOING?
The day I decide I need a change you will
be the first to know.
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR CAREER IN FIVE
YEARS’ TIME?
In the same field, perhaps at directorate
level or higher.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 59

TAKE CONTROL
OF YOUR CREDIT
CAREER
HEAD OF CREDIT
DRIVE EFFICIENCY TO ACHIEVE RESULTS
Manchester, up to £65,000
With large investments in its products and services, this
company has an exciting new opportunity for a head of
credit to lead the teams and nurture the talent to operate
effectively. You will maintain a commercial approach
whilst developing process improvements to ensure
faster receivables and increased customer satisfaction.
In return, you will receive a competitive salary, benefits,
bonus and holiday along with an excellent working
environment with an on-site restaurant, gym and
squash court.
Ref: 2015440
Contact Ashleigh Daniels on 0161 236 7272
or email ashleigh.daniels@hays.com
CREDIT CONTROL TEAM LEADER
SUCCESS THROUGH EXPERTISE
London, £40,000 + bonus
This fast-paced and growing recruitment company is
looking for a team leader to head up its credit control
team. The role will involve the day-to-day management
of three credit controllers, chasing debt via NHS portal
and on the phone and extensive use of excel and other
accountancy systems. You will have strong excel skills,
be a natural problem solver and be able to adapt quickly
to different situations. Credit control experience within
a supervising or senior position is also required.
Ref: 3502116
Contact Holly Parkes on 020 3465 0020
or email holly.parkes@hays.com
CREDIT CONTROL MANAGER
TAKE THE LEAD
Belfast, up to £50,000
An excellent opportunity has arisen within a market
leading, high velocity, FMCG business. It is seeking a
highly skilled credit manager who has vast experience in
managing a large team. You will be responsible for leading
a team of billing, credit risk and credit control professionals.
Supported by a team lead, you will run the strategic and
operational credit control activities for the Group. You will
have the opportunity to work closely with key managers
across the business and play a vital role in the finance
operations of the business. In return, you will receive
a competitive salary and benefits. Ref: 3387410
Contact Nicola McCallum on 028 9044 6911
or email nicola.mccallum@hays.com
DEPUTY CREDIT MANAGER
ACHIEVE SUCCESS
Hull, £30,000-£40,000 DOE + bonus
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a deputy credit
manager in the largest independent business in the UK
within its sector. The business prides itself on its customer
service and believe this sets them apart from their
competition. Working closely with the Credit Manager,
you will initially be responsible for driving systems
improvements and supporting projects. Once established,
you will also assist in the day-to-day management of a
large credit control team. To be successful, you will have a
good understanding of litigation and credit. Ref: 3528337
Contact Nick Keen on 01482 225955
or email nick.keen@hays.com
hays.co.uk/creditcontrol
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 60

CREDIT CONTROLLER
TAKE OWNERSHIP
Bournemouth, up to £35,000 + benefits
This well established and growing residential healthcare
company is looking for an experienced credit controller
to take charge of the debtors ledger for a group of care
homes. Your main duties will be to liaise with members
of the NHS, local authorities and private fee payers,
develop and roll out group credit control processes and
procedures, take ownership of any issues and manage
all legal proceedings with legal advisors in line with
correct protocol. This is a fantastic opportunity to work
autonomously and make a difference in an established and
reputable company. You will need experience as a credit
manager and have worked in a healthcare environment.
Ref: 3539118
Contact James Cuesta on 01202 048611
or email james.cuesta@hays.com
CREDIT CONTROLLER
MAKE AN IMPACT
Northamptonshire, £20,000-£22,000
A recycling business based on the outskirts of
Northampton that specialise in converting food waste into
energy and mainly fuel products, is looking for a credit
controller to join its team on a permanent basis. As part
of the 15 strong credit control department, the role will
include chasing debt through phone calls, letters and
email, collecting outstanding monies owed, dealing
with internal sales queries, customer queries and general
ad-hoc finance duties. In return, you will receive a
competitive salary, training and free parking.
Ref: 3515009
Contact Alex Smith on 01604 621733
or email alex.smith@hays.com
FRENCH SPEAKING CREDIT
CONTROLLER
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Trafford Park, up to £24,000
A worldwide well-established retail organisation has
an exciting opportunity for a credit controller to join
its team. Reporting into the Credit Manager, your
responsibilities will include working on the French ledger,
ensuring the collection of aged debt from customers,
allocating and reconciling cash to debtor accounts,
negotiating payment plans, monitoring and maintaining
accounts and following the accounts through to legal
action as and when required. You will be a forward
thinking, pro-active, organised individual who has strong
knowledge of the risk management function and a
general commercial business awareness. Ref: 3541988
Contact Lisa Jones on 0161 926 8605
or email lisa.jones@hays.com
CREDIT CONTROLLER
POWERING THE WORLD
OF CREDIT MANAGEMENT
New Malden, £13.85 per hour
As a FTSE 250 business and corporate recruiter to the
CICM, Hays Specialist Recruitment has several exciting
opportunities for skilled credit controllers to join the
professional credit team at the shared service centre in
New Malden. The roles are on-going temporary assignments
with a minimum of three months’ work. You will be a
passionate, resilient, forward-thinking credit professional
with sound experience in reducing aged debt and cash
collection. This is a fantastic opportunity where you can
achieve results and be rewarded accordingly. Ref: 3545192
Contact Mark Ordoña on 020 8247 4042
or email mark.ordona@hays.com
This is just a small selection of the many
opportunities we have available for credit
professionals. To find out more email
hayscicm@hays.com or visit us online.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 61

FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Full list of events can be found on our website: www.cicm.com/events
We are inviting all members to bring a colleague to a CICM membership
event, free of charge. For more information, email events@cicm.com
CICM
EVENTS
3 April
CICM Sheffield Branch
SHEFFIELD
Lawful Investigation and Tracing of Debtors,
Surveillance and Profiling – 1CPD
Contact : Myron Fedak, Branch Secretary at
Sheffieldanddistrictbranch@cicm.com
VENUE : Mercure Sheffield Parkway Hotel
Britannia Way, Catcliffe, Sheffield, S60 5BD
4 April
CICM North East Branch
The Return of Brexit Bryan – 2CPD
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
Contact : email northeastbranch@cicm.com
VENUE : Dance City (The Corner) Temple St,
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4BR
4 April
CICM North West Branch
MANCHESTER
Annual General Meeting
Members and non-members welcome at this
FREE event.
Contact : email northwestbranch@cicm.com*
VENUE : Novotel Manchester West Hotel
Worsley Brow, Worsley, Manchester M28 2YA
11 April
CICM East Midlands Branch
LEICESTER
Bankruptcy Update 2CPD
Contact : Brent Cumming, Branch Chairman on
eastmidlandsbranch@cicm.com
VENUE : Nelsons Solicitors, Provincial House,
37 New Walk, Leicester, LE1 6TU
24 April
CICM Thames Valley Branch
DIDCOT
Credit Services in the Publishing Industry – 1CPD
Food and refreshments will be provided at this
FREE event! Members and non-members most
welcome.
UP AND COMING EVENTS
Contact : Email thamesvalleybranch@cicm.com
Deadline for booking is 19 April 2019.
VENUE : Hachette UK Distribution Centre
Milton Road, Didcot, OX11 7HH
OTHER
EVENTS
1 April
Corporate Partner Onguard
BELGIUM
Onguard and Altares Dun & Bradstreet invite you
for a dynamic and practical afternoon on the
subject, ‘Big data regarding order to redeem’.
Contact : Please visit our online events calendar
for booking details.
VENUE : The Ark Antwerp, Belgium.
9 April
Forums International
BRACKNELL
Credit Professionals Forum
Contact : For an in information pack email
cpf@forumsinternational.co.uk
VENUE : Coppid Beech Hotel, John Nike Way,
Bracknell, RG12 8TF
10 April
Forums International
LONDON
SAP User Group
Contact : For an information pack email
sapug@forumsinternational.co.uk
VENUE : Moore Stephens, London
11 April
Forums International
STRATFORD UPON AVON
IT Distributor & Reseller Credit Forum
Contact : For an information pack email
drf@forumsinternational.co.uk
VENUE : TBC, Stratford Upon Avon
More reasons to be a member
12-14 May
ICTF – International Credit Professionals
Symposium
KRAKOW
Global Credit Management Excellence,
Expert Perspectives and Best Practices
Contact : Please visit our online events calendar
for booking details.
VENUE : Sheraton Grand Krakow Hotel
7 Powisle Street, Krakow 31-101, Poland
14 May
Forums International
LONDON
Export / International Credit Forum
Contact : For an information pack email
ecf@forumsinternational.co.uk
VENUE : Moore Stephens, London
15 May
Forums International
NR. TOWCESTER
Annual Golf Tournament
Contact : For more information email
info@forumsinternational.co.uk
VENUE : Whittlebury Park Golf Club
Nr. Towcester, Northamptonshire
22-24 May
R3 Annual Conference
HEXHAM
The 29th R3 Annual Conference is the
opportunity for the insolvency, restructuring
and turnaround community to discuss, debate
and chart a course through current and future
concerns facing the profession and explore the
latest topics and issues of the day. Philip King
FCICM, the Chief Executive of the Chartered
Institute of Credit Management will be one of the
speakers.
Contact : Please visit our online events calendar
for booking details.
VENUE : Slaley Hall, Coal Rd, Hexham, NE47 0BX
Credit Management is distributed to the entire UK and international
CICM membership, as well as additional subscribers
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 62

View our digital version online at www.cicm.com
Log on to the Members’ area, and click on the tab labelled
‘Credit Management magazine’
Just another great reason to be a member
Credit Management is distributed to the entire UK and international
CICM membership, as well as additional subscribers
The Recognised Standard
www.cicm.com | +44 (0)1780 722900 | editorial@cicm.com

Cr£ditWho?
CICM Directory of Services
COLLECTIONS
COLLECTIONS LEGAL
COURT ENFORCEMENT SERVICES
Atradius Collections Ltd
3 Harbour Drive,
Capital Waterside,
Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, CF10 4WZ
United Kingdom
T: +44 (0)2920 824700
W: www.atradiuscollections.com/uk/
Atradius Collections Ltd is an established specialist in business
to business collections. As the collections division of the Atradius
Crédito y Caución, we have a strong position sharing history,
knowledge and reputation.
Annually handling more than 110,000 cases and recovering over
a billion EUROs in collections at any one time, we deliver when
it comes to collecting outstanding debts. With over 90 years’
experience, we have an in-depth understanding of the importance of
maintaining customer relationships whilst efficiently and effectively
collecting monies owed.
The individual nature of our clients’ customer relationships is
reflected in the customer focus we provide, structuring our service
to meet your specific needs. We work closely with clients to provide
them with a collection strategy that echoes their business character,
trading patterns and budget.
For further information contact: Hans Meijer, UK and Ireland Country
Director (hans.meijer@atradius.com).
INTERNATIONAL COLLECTIONS
Premium Collections Limited
3 Caidan House, Canal Road
Timperley, Cheshire. WA14 1TD
T: +44 (0)161 962 4695
E: paul.daine@premiumcollections.co.uk
W: www.premiumcollections.co.uk
For all your credit management requirements Premium Collections
has the solution to suit you. Operating on a national and international
basis we can tailor a package of products and services to meet your
requirements.
Services include B2B collections, B2C collections, international
collections, absconder tracing, asset repossessions, status reporting
and litigation support.
Managed from our offices in Manchester, Harrogate and Dublin our
network of 55 partners cover the World.
Contact Paul Daine FCICM on +44 (0)161 962 4695 or
paul.daine@premiumcollections.co.uk
www.premiumcollections.co.uk
COLLECTIONS LEGAL
Lovetts Solicitors
Lovetts, Bramley House, The Guildway, Old Portsmouth
Road, Guildford, Surrey GU3 1LR
T: +44(0)1483 457500 E: info@lovetts.co.uk
W: www.lovetts.co.uk
Lovetts has been recovering debts for 30 years! When you
want the right expertise to recover overdue debts why not use a
specialist? Lovetts’ only line of business is the recovery of
business debts and any resulting commercial litigation.
We provide:
• Letters Before Action, prompting positive outcomes in more than
80 percent of cases • Overseas Pre-litigation collections with
multi-lingual capabilities • 24/7 access to our online debt
management system ‘CaseManager’
Don’t just take our word for it, here’s recent customer feedback:
“...All our service expectations have been exceeded...”
“...The online system is particularly useful and is extremely easy
to use... “...Lovetts has a recognisable brand that generates
successful results...”
Yuill + Kyle
Capella, 60 York Street, Glasgow, G2 8JX, Scotland, UK
T: 0141 572 4251
E: scowan@yuill-kyle.co.uk
W: www.debtscotland.com
Do You Have Trouble Collecting Debts in
Scotland? We Don’t
Yuill + Kyle is one of Scotland’s leading debt recovery and credit
control law firms. With over 100 years of experience, we are
specialists in resolving disputed and undisputed debts. Our track
record for successful recoveries means you have just moved one step
closer to getting your money back.
How we can help you:
• Specialist advice for all of your legal matters
• A responsive and straightforward approach
• Providing you with solutions-driven advice
• Delivering cost certainty and value for money
Our services
• Pre-sue • Fast track collections • Judgement enforcement
• Insolvency • Bankruptcy • Liquidation
CONSULTANCY
Court Enforcement Services
Wayne Whitford – Director
M: +44 (0)7834 748 183 T : +44 (0)1992 663 399
E : wayne@courtenforcementservices.co.uk
W: www.courtenforcementservices.co.uk
High Court Enforcement that will Empower You!
We help law firms and in-house debt recovery and legal teams to
enforce CCJs by transferring them up to the High Court. Setting us
apart in the industry, our unique and Award Winning Field Agent App
helps to provide information in real time and transparency, empowering
our clients when they work with us.
• Free Transfer up process of CCJ’s to High Court
• Exceptional Recovery Rates
• Individual Client Attention and Tailored Solutions
• Real Time Client Access to Cases
CREDIT INFORMATION
Company Watch
Centurion House, 37 Jewry Street,
LONDON. EC3N 2ER
T: +44 (0)20 7043 3300
E: info@companywatch.net
W: www.companywatch.net
Organisations around the world rely on Company Watch’s industryleading
financial analytics to drive their credit risk processes. Our
financial risk modelling and ability to map medium to long-term risk as
well as short-term credit risk set us apart from other credit reference
agencies.
Quality and rigour run through everything we do, from our unique
method of assessing corporate financial health via our H-Score®, to
developing analytics on our customers’ in-house data.
With the H-Score® predicting almost 90 percent of corporate
insolvencies in advance, it is the risk management tool of choice,
providing actionable intelligence in an uncertain world.
Blaser Mills Law
40 Oxford Road,
High Wycombe,
Buckinghamshire. HP11 2EE
T: 01494 478660/478661
E: Jackie Ray jar@blasermills.co.uk or
Gary Braathen gpb@blasermills.co.uk
W: www.blasermills.co.uk
A full-service firm, Blaser Mills Law’s experienced Commercial
Recoveries team offer pre-legal collections, debt recovery,
litigation, dispute resolution and insolvency. The team includes
CICM qualified staff, recommended in both Legal 500 and
Chambers & Partners legal directories.
Offices in High Wycombe, Amersham, Rickmansworth, London
and Silverstone
Sanders Consulting Associates Ltd
T: +44(0)1525 720226
E: enquiries@chrissandersconsulting.com
W: www.chrissandersconsulting.com
Sanders Consulting is an independent niche consulting firm
specialising in leadership and performance improvement in all aspects
of the order to cash process. Chris Sanders FCICM, the principal, is
well known in the industry with a wealth of experience in operational
credit management, billing, change and business process improvement.
A sought after speaker with cross industry international experience in
the business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets, his
innovative and enthusiastic approach delivers pragmatic people and
process lead solutions and significant working capital improvements to
clients. Sanders Consulting are proud to manage CICMQ on behalf of
and under the supervision of the CICM.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 64
CoCredo
Missenden Abbey, Great Missenden, Bucks, HP16 0BD
T: 01494 790600
E: customerservice@cocredo.com
W: www.cocredo.co.uk
CoCredo’s award winning credit reporting and monitoring systems have
helped to protect over £27 billion of turnover on behalf of our customers.
Our company data is updated continually throughout the day and access
to the online portal is available 365 days a year 24/7.
At CoCredo we aggregate data from a range of leading providers in
the UK and across the globe so that our customers can view the best
available data in an easy to read report. We offer customers XML
Integration and D.N.A Portfolio Management as well as an industry-first
Dual Report, comparing two leading providers opinions in one report.

FOR INFORMATION,
OPTIONS AND PRICING
PLEASE EMAIL:
grace@cabbell.co.uk
CREDIT INFORMATION
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
Experian
The Sir John Peace Building, Experian Way
NG2 Business Park, Nottingham NG80 1ZZ
T: 0844 481 9920
W: www.experian.co.uk/business-information/
For over 30 years Experian have been processing, matching and deriving
insights to provide accurate, up-to-date information that helps B2B
organisations to make more effective, fact based decisions, reduce
risks and meet regulatory standards. We turn complex data into clear
insights that help manage UK and international businesses to maximise
opportunities for growth and identify and minimise the associated risks.
Blending our business and consumer data we can offer a truly blended
score for sole traders and enhanced scoring on SME’s to tell you more
about the business and the people behind the business. Experian can
support with new business, acquisition through to collections while
managing KYC requirements online or via our suite of APIs.
CREDIT INFORMATION
Keyivr
T: +44 (0) 1302 513 000
E: sales@keyivr 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 Europe 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.
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
Proud supporters
of CICMQ
Rimilia
Corbett House, Westonhall Road, Bromsgrove, B60 4AL
T: +44 (0)1527 872123 E: enquiries@rimilia.com
W: www.rimilia.com
Operating globally across any sector, Rimilia provides intelligent,
finance automation solutions that enable customers to get paid on time
and control their cashflow and cash collection in real time. Rimilia’s
software solutions use sophisticated analytics and artificial intelligence
(AI) to predict customer payment behaviour and easily match and
reconcile payments, removing the uncertainty of cash collection. The
Rimilia software automates the complete accounts receivable process
and eliminates unallocated cash, reducing manual activity by an
average 70% and achieving best in class matching rates recognised
by industry specialists such as The Hackett Group.
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
Graydon UK
66 College Road, 2nd Floor, Hygeia Building, Harrow,
Middlesex, HA1 1BE
T: +44 (0)208 515 1400
E: customerservices@graydon.co.uk
W: www.graydon.co.uk
Graydon UK is a specialist in Credit Risk Management and Intelligence,
providing access to business information on over 100 million entities
across more than 190 countries. Its mission is to convert vast amounts
of data from diverse data sources into invaluable information. Based
on this, it generates economic, financial and commercial insights that
help its customers make better business decisions and ultimately
gain competitive advantage. Graydon is owned by Atradius, Coface
and Euler Hermes, Europe's leading credit insurance organisations. It
offers a comprehensive network of offices and partners worldwide to
ensure a seamless service.
THE ONLY AML RESOURCE YOU NEED
SmartSearch
SmartSearch, Harman House,
Station Road,Guiseley, Leeds, LS20 8BX
T: +44 (0)113 238 7660
E: info@smartsearchuk.com W: www.smartsearchuk.com
KYC, AML and CDD all rely on a combination of deep data with broad
coverage, highly automated flexible technology with an innovative
and intuitive customer interface. Key features include automatic
Worldwide Sanction & PEP checking, Daily Monitoring, Automated
Enhanced Due Diligence and pro-active customer management.
Choose SmartSearch as your benchmark.
CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
ONGUARD
T: +31 (0)88 256 66 66
E: ruurd.bakker@onguard.com
W: www.onguard.com
Onguard is specialist in credit management software and market
leader in innovative solutions for order to cash. Our integrated
platform ensures an optimal connection of all processes in the order
to cash chain and allows sharing of critical data.
Intelligent tools that can seamlessly be interconnected and offer
overview and control of the payment process, as well as contribute to
a sustainable customer relationship.
In more than 50 countries the Onguard platform is successfully used
for successful credit management.
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.
HighRadius
T: +44 7399 406889
E: gwyn.roberts@highradius.com
W: www.highradius.com
HighRadius is the leading provider of Integrated Receivables
solutions for automating receivables and payment functions such
as credit, collections, cash allocation, deductions and eBilling.
The Integrated Receivables suite is delivered as a software-as-aservice
(SaaS). HighRadius also offers SAP-certified Accelerators
for SAP S/4HANA Finance Receivables Management, enabling
large enterprises to maximize the value of their SAP investments.
HighRadius Integrated Receivables solutions have a proven track
record of reducing days sales outstanding (DSO), bad-debt and
increasing operation efficiency, enabling companies to achieve an
ROI in less than a year.
DATA AND ANALYTICS
Dun & Bradstreet
Marlow International, Parkway Marlow
Buckinghamshire SL7 1AJ
Telephone: (0800) 001-234 Website: www.dnb.co.uk
Dun & Bradstreet Finance Solutions enable modern finance
leaders and credit professionals to improve business performance
through more effective risk management, identification of growth
opportunities, and better integration of data and insights across the
business. Powered by our Data Cloud, our solutions provide access
to the world’s most comprehensive commercial data and insights
- supplying a continually updated view of business relationships
that helps finance and credit teams stay ahead of market shifts and
customer changes. Learn more here:
www.dnb.co.uk/modernfinance
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Credica Ltd
Building 168, Maxell Avenue, Harwell Oxford, Oxon. OX11 0QT
T: 01235 856400E: info@credica.co.uk W: www.credica.co.uk
Our highly configurable and extremely cost effective Collections and
Query Management System has been designed with 3 goals in mind:
• To improve your cashflow • To reduce your cost to collect
• To provide meaningful analysis of your business
Evolving over 15 years and driven by the input of 1000s of Credit
Professionals across the UK and Europe, our system is successfully
providing significant and measurable benefits for our diverse portfolio
of clients.
We would love to hear from you if you feel you would benefit from our
‘no nonsense’ and human approach to computer software.
Data Interconnect Ltd
Units 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
C2FO
15 Statton Street, Mayfair,
London W1J 8LQ
T: 07799 692193
E: anna.donadelli@c2fo.com W: www.c2fo.com
C2FO turns receivables into cashflow and payables into income,
Data Interconnect provides integrated e-billing and collection uniquely connecting buyers and suppliers to allow discounts in
solutions via its document delivery web portal, WebSend. exchange for early payment of approved invoices. Suppliers access
By providing improved Customer Experience and Customer additional liquidity sources by accelerating payments from buyers
Satisfaction, with enhanced levels of communication between when required in just two clicks, at a rate that works for them.
both parties, we can substantially speed up your collection Buyers, often corporates with global supply chains, benefit from the
processes.
C2FO solution by improving gross margin while strengthening the
financial health of supply chains through ethical business practices.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 65 continues on page 66 >

Cr£ditWho?
CICM Directory of Services
FOR INFORMATION,
OPTIONS AND PRICING
PLEASE EMAIL:
grace@cabbell.co.uk
FINANCIAL PR
Gravity London
Floor 6/7, Gravity London, 69 Wilson St, London, EC21 2BB
T: +44(0)207 330 8888. E: sfeast@gravitylondon.com
W: www.gravitylondon.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 best-known
brands working on often challenging briefs. As the partner agency for
the Credit Services Association (CSA) for the past 13 years, and the
Chartered Institute of Credit Management since 2006, it understands
the key issues affecting the credit industry and what works and what
doesn’t in supporting its clients in the media and beyond.
FORUMS
FORUMS INTERNATIONAL
T: +44 (0)1246 555055
E: info@forumsinternational.co.uk
W: www.forumsinternational.co.uk
Forums International Ltd have been running Credit and Industry
Forums since 1991. We cover a range of industry sectors and
International trading, attendance is for Credit Professionals of all
levels. Our forums are not just meetings but communities which
aim to prepare our members for the challenges ahead. Attending
for the first time is free for you to gauge the benefits and meet the
members and we only have pre-approved Partners, so you will never
intentionally be sold to.
LEGAL MATTERS
DWF LLP
David Scottow Senior Director
D +44 113 261 6169 M +44 7833 092628
E: David.Scottow@dwf.law W: www.dwf.law/recover
DWF is a global legal business, transforming legal services through
our people for our clients. Led by Managing Partner & CEO Andrew
Leaitherland, we have over 26 key locations and 2,800 people
delivering services and solutions that go beyond expectations. We
have received recognition for our work by The Financial Times who
named us as one of Europe's most innovative legal advisers, and we
have a range of stand-alone consultative services, technology and
products in addition to the traditional legal offering.
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.
PAYMENT SOLUTIONS
Bottomline Technologies
115 Chatham Street, Reading
Berks RG1 7JX | UK
T: 0870 081 8250 E: emea-info@bottomline.com
W: www.bottomline.com/uk
Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ: EPAY) helps businesses
pay and get paid. Businesses and banks rely on Bottomline for
domestic and international payments, effective cash management
tools, automated workflows for payment processing and bill
review and state of the art fraud detection, behavioural analytics
and regulatory compliance. Businesses around the world depend
on Bottomline solutions to help them pay and get paid, including
some of the world’s largest systemic banks, private and publicly
traded companies and Insurers. Every day, we help our customers
by making complex business payments simple, secure and seamless.
RECRUITMENT
Hays Credit Management
107 Cheapside, London, EC2V 6DN
T: 07834 260029
E: karen.young@hays.com
W: www.hays.co.uk/creditcontrol
Hays Credit Management is working in partnership with the CICM
and specialise in placing experts into credit control jobs and credit
management jobs. Hays understands the demands of this challenging
environment and the skills required to thrive within it. Whatever
your needs, we have temporary, permanent and contract based
opportunities to find your ideal role. Our candidate registration process
is unrivalled, including face-to-face screening interviews and a credit
control skills test developed exclusively for Hays by the CICM. We offer
CICM members a priority service and can provide advice across a wide
spectrum of job search and recruitment issues.
PORTFOLIO
CREDIT CONTROL
Portfolio Credit Control
1 Finsbury Square, London. EC2A 1AE
T: 0207 650 3199
E: recruitment@portfoliocreditcontrol.com
W: www.portfoliocreditcontrol.com
Portfolio Credit Control, solely specialises in the recruitment of
permanent, temporary and contract Credit Control, Accounts
Receivable and Collections staff. Part of an award winning recruiter
we speak to and meet credit controllers all day everyday understanding
their skills and backgrounds to provide you with tried and tested credit
control professionals. We have achieved enormous growth because we
offer a uniquely specialist approach to our clients, with a commitment
to service delivery that exceeds your expectations every single time.
ATTENTION
PRODUCT AND
SERVICE PROVIDERS
GET YOUR BUSINESS IN
CREDITWHO AND ON THE
ONLINE DIRECTORY.
For only £1,250 + VAT for the year
- your business will be listed in
Credit Management magazine,
which goes out to all our members
and subscribers.
To book your listing
in CreditWho contact:
Grace Ghattas
T: 02036037946
E: grace@cabbell.co.uk
or Russell Bass
E: Russell@cabbells.uk
T: 0203 603 7937
For even greater exposure to
our membership and a closer
association with CICM, why
not enquire about becoming a
Corporate Partner.
To find out more contact
Sue Chapple 07741 884 916.
CICM CORPORATE
PARTNERS NOW GET
CREDITWHO INCLUDED.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 66

FROM THE
ARCHIVE
Credit Management
magazine from 48 years ago.19
71
IN February 1971 Rolls Royce goes bankrupt and is nationalised,
Switzerland gives women voting right in state elections, a new
stock market index – the NASDAQ Composite debuts, South
Vietnamese troops invade Laos with support from American air
and artillery support. Protesting Belgian farmers take three live
cows to an EEC meeting in Brussels, Evil Knievel sets a world
record for jumping over 19 cars in Ontario, Joe Frazier defeats
Muhammad Ali in a 15th round unanimous decision at Madison
Square Garden.
COMPANY LIQUIDATION
IN THE UK
The Director of Credit Insurance
Association, D.A. Lishman, writes about
the company failures of Rolls Razor
and Rolls Royce. He notes that the total
number of business failures in 1970 to
the Underwriters was 3,700 – a seven
percent increase on the previous year.
CREDIT SANCTION AND THE LONG-TERM CONTRACT
T.M. De Jong of the N.V. Philips Telecommunicatie Industrie from Hilversum in Holland
addresses the Spring conference of the Institute of Credit Management in London and
seeks to explain the meaning and purpose of credit sanctions and long-term contracts.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April 2019 / PAGE 67