Weekly Blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - 'A week of contrasts'

It's been a mixed week with some very contrasting news and eperiences.

Being invited to speak to a Policy Specialist at No 10 and walking through 'that' famous front door was exciting and, I believe, a real watershed moment for our Institute. I felt proud that we are recognised as true experts in our field whose voice and opinion is valued. The ways of government are never easy to understand but I'm hopeful that the discussions will lead to more engagement and real activity that will raise awareness of the impact on business of late payment, and raise the profile of credit management and the critical importance of cashflow. Time will tell but if future activity levels are determined by volume of emails exchanged since the meeting, then we can expect plenty to happen!

A few days earlier we'd received good coverage in the Financial Times (third Saturday in a row!) about the Prompt Payment Code (http://www.promptpaymentcode.org.uk/) that we host and administer for BIS. The debate had been started in the FT a couple of weeks earlier in a piece that extensively quoted Martin Williams from Graydon. I'm sure most reading this will have heard of the tragic and untimely death of Martin last week. He was one of the best known and most likeable people in the credit industry - a thoroughly good guy - and, since I came to my current role five years ago, has been one of my strongest supporters (though often with useful and constructive criticism attached), always a staunch supporter of the ICM and a real expert in anything and everything 'credit'.

I came out of Downing Street last Friday and reflected that, if it had happened a week earlier, I would have shared it with Martin and thanked him for his contribution to the debate that led to the meeting being set up. The petition we have just launched - urging government to rethink its plans to exempt micro-businesses from filing accounts - came about as a result of a conversation between Martin and I after the last ICM Think Tank meeting. He was passionate about credit and business and, when we created the Think Tank a couple of years ago, he was one of the first names on my invitee list.

RIP Martin Williams, we thank you for everything you've done for the credit industry and profession, and we commit to continuing the work to which you so effectively contributed. Please go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8KGN5BH to sign the petition refereed to above.