Weekly Blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - 'You tell us'

The ICM UK Credit Managers' Index for the second quarter of 2011 is now well underway and responses are coming in. If you haven't responded yet, there is still time and you can do so at http://svy.mk/j6zyU6.

When we launched the Index last year, we wanted to create something that would provide regular insight into the thoughts, attitudes, and levels of confidence of UK credit professionals.

Nobody is closer to customers - their behaviours, their financial strength and their financial weakness - than a good credit professional. When we know our customers as we should, we are often able to see the signs of trouble looming well before our peers from other parts of the business. In the same way, we are aware of, and more sensitive to, changes in general activity and across the wider economy.

It is unusual for me to make much mention of the ICM in my weekly blog but our members are vital players in delivering value for their businesses. Their opinions are relevant and perceptive, and combining their insight into a serious Index provides a really good barometer of where the country's economy is heading.

The ICM is a community of credit professionals; we speak for that community and the importance and relevance of credit management is being recognised more and more by government, business organisations, and businesses themselves. The Index is an output from the credit community and, if you haven't already done so, please take 3 minutes to have your say now.

Weekly Blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - 'Do skills make a difference?'

I shared an interesting discussion with several business organisations and accountancy bodies at BIS this week, focused on the 'skills agenda' for SMEs. Of course it set me thinking: How does a small business identify what skills it needs to help it get established and grow? How does it know which are essential as opposed to merely 'nice to have' and which will make a real tangible difference? When issues are identified, how does it differentiate between those that are caused by a skills gap and those caused by external factors over which it has no control?

And it made me think of other questions: How does it deliver the necessary skills it identifies to the owners and/or staff? Can the skills be taught or would they be better learned on the job through a hands-on approach? How can it ensure the skills learned feed through to the benefit of the business? And how does it calculate payback, establish whether the investment was worthwhile, and validate that it's really making a difference?

Small businesses don't have Training or HR departments, they certainly don't have big training budgets, and often won't have a mechanism to encourage staff development. The consequence may be that the employees fail to grow and the business misses the benefits that would result from the investment. I've started a related discussion on the ICM Credit Community LinkedIn Group http://linkd.in/jCFJGi and would be interested in views from credit professionals.

I'm writing these words in the grounds of Leeds Castle after another successful ICM Regional Breakfast Roadshow - there were over 500 years of credit management experience in the room and that's where the real value of the ICM credit community shows its worth.

Guest Blog by Sean Feast - Managing Editor of Credit Management - 'Does everyone really love a wedding?'

Generally speaking, I love holidays. Can't get enough of them. Or at least I thought I did, until I suddenly realised just how many Bank Holidays we are trying to cram in to the next few weeks. Of course the situation has been compounded by the 'extra' holiday, courtesy of The Royal Wedding, and I would not want to seem churlish by appearing in any way scrooge-like or miserable at the prospect of such a happy occasion. But it is playing merry havoc with work.

Several staff at my own company have of course put in for 'annual leave' (or as we used to call it, 'holiday') over the coming weeks to maximise their time off. And who can blame them? Then of course we will always have the one or two who burn the candle at both ends and throw a sickie at the first hint of sunshine peeping through the clouds.

The Lawyer magazine last week reported that the bank holiday bonanza was reducing the amount of time available to bill clients at the most vital time of the year. One departmental head at a top 20 firm was reported to have said: "I wish the royal couple well, but to be honest it's been a massive pain the a**e." I sort of agree, although would perhaps not be so inclined towards the vernacular.

But there is a serious point to all this. Human nature often leans towards procrastination - putting off until tomorrow what should be done today. And with shorter weeks, this could have a genuine impact on cashflow. Whether it's making sure the monthly billing is executed on time, or chasing payments that are now due, this latest round of Spring-time jollity will no doubt test the mettle and the patience of credit managers for some time after the final crumbs of that ridiculously large chocolate egg have been consumed. Happy Easter!

Weekly Blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - 'It's not a black art'

I don't wish particularly to add to the clamour of voices commenting on the budget statement but news of the creation of more than the expected number of Enterprise Zones and action on fuel prices must be worthy of mention, and will surely be welcomed by the small business community who are so desperate for support.

Even more welcome, perhaps, is the news that the Export Credit Guarantees Department (ECGD) is to sell export credit insurance to small businesses for the first time in 20 years to tackle business concerns that private sector provision is failing, rather than simply provide cover for capital goods exports http://bit.ly/gt8lev. Whether the private sector is failing or not is a moot point, and the ECGD is quick to point out that it will only act in circumstances where insurance has already been refused. But whatever the rationale or the mechanic, exporting by small businesses is a vital part of the road to recovery and anything that helps increase export activity must be applauded.

Let's hope the initiative is better supported than previous Government initiatives in this space. Let us hope too that it is sufficiently well publicised and that the process is simple enough for SMEs to understand and use. We need to remove some of the mystique around exporting and dispel the perception that it's a black art!

Weekly Blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - 'Debate is good, and so is information!'

My blog last week was about Vince Cable's announcement that he was going to remove the need for small businesses to produce audited accounts. At the same time we heard of the plan to increase the threshold for filing full accounts. Those who know me will know how passionate I get about things like this which - in my view - are hugely potentially damaging to business and the economic recovery. The ICM also issued a press release http://bit.ly/fMjfjP on the same subject and I shared my frustrations in a letter to all the broadsheet newspapers and it was published by the Sunday Times, Independent and Guardian.

I've had a surprisingly large number of responses. Many have supported my arguments and agreed with my position; a few have disagreed, primarily on the grounds that audits aren't worth the money they cost, add little value, and are - to all intents and purposes - meaningless. There may be an element of truth in this but it doesn't detract from the argument that looking at - and monitoring the performance of - their own business more carefully can only be a good thing for business owners, and sharing information in a more transparent way has to contribute to the assessment of risk more accurately and effectively. Wherever you sit, I'm glad to have added to, and fuelled, an important debate.

The ICM's new database and website went live last Thursday and we've suffered from the inevitable infrastructure and technical teething issues. It's been a challenging few days, and there are no doubt further challenging days ahead, but watching events unfold in Japan has put into perspective just how unimportant such matters are when compared to disasters on this scale. Our thoughts are with all those affected both directly and indirectly.