Weekly Blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - 'Making the headlines'

Notwithstanding the Chancellor’s Autumn statement, and the undoubted noise that will follow, I’d instead like to reflect on a couple of reports I've read recently.

 

The first is the SME Finance Monitor (Q3 – 2012) produced for BIS that was published last week. I was struck by a couple of things. Only 46% of SMEs were aware of any of the Business Finance Taskforce initiatives with 22% aware of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme, 18% aware of the National Loan Guarantee Scheme, and 21% aware of the network of business mentors. Given the amount of publicity and airtime generated during their launch in 2010, these statistics are disappointing.  Even more interesting was the lack of confidence SMEs have in availability of finance.  Overall, only 33% were confident that their bank would agree to their request for finance (the lowest level seen in the six surveys to date), and yet the outcomes are markedly better.  The success rates for renewal applications are c90%, compared to 53% who were confident ahead of the application and, for new applications, the success rates are c56% against a confidence level of 21%.  Both of these aspects show how much more needs to be done in raising awareness.

 

The second is a report written by Duncan Cheatle, who I've met through my involvement on the Board of the Start-Up Loans Company.  Duncan is CEO of Prelude Group and has authored; 'The Unsung Heroes of Business'.  This report tells the story of seven entrepreneurial businesses and analyses their tax accounts.  It shares the views of their owners about taxation, their attitude to it, and their recognition of the value they add to the economy and society through the contributions of their businesses.  The foreword talks about ‘the perpetuated myth that successful business owners are the sole and selfish beneficiaries of the fruits of their business's output’ and delivers the message ‘that we need to do all that we can to encourage and support the relatively small cohort of business innovators who drive value into our economy and make such a significant and mostly overlooked contribution to public finances in the UK.

 

It's a refreshing read at a time when Starbucks, Amazon, Google and others are in the headlines for all the wrong tax reasons.

Weekly Blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - Giving credit to the beautiful game'

As I write these words, the Chancellor has yet to start his budget statement and - in any event - I wanted to write about something unrelated to credit or business this week. It's rare that I do so and I therefore ask you to indulge me.

I was at White Hart Lane on Saturday evening when Fabrice Muamba suffered a heart attack on the pitch during Tottenham's FA Cup quarter final against Bolton. Those of you who attend football matches will know that emotion and vitriol can run high and sympathy for opposition players when they need treatment on the pitch can be in short supply. These though were not normal circumstances.

It took almost no time for the crowd to appreciate the significance and seriousness of what was happening before their eyes, and 36,000 people were united in willing what were obviously frantic attempts to save the player's life to succeed. The almost spontaneous chanting of Fabrice's name, accompanied by sustained applause, were begging him to respond to the expert attention he was receiving on the pitch, and football was now the last thing on anyone's mind. When the announcement was made that the game had been abandoned, I heard no complaints or dissenting voices and - as has been widely reported - the decision was met with further applause acknowledging that this was the right thing to do.

As the stadium emptied, people talked in hushed tones. At the local station, the staff and network were surprised by the passenger surge arriving almost an hour earlier than expected but nobody moaned at the long wait for the first train, nor at the fact that it was only made up of four rather than the usual post-match eight carriages meaning the majority couldn't get on, and nor that they would have to wait another 15 minutes for the next train to arrive.

The shock of the events they had witnessed minutes earlier had created a surreal reverential atmosphere among people who couldn't believe what they had experienced and were desperately hoping against hope that they wouldn't hear even worse news before they got home.

Of course, we've all been delighted by the ever more encouraging news as this week has unfolded and hope and pray that Muamba's recovery continues and his condition improves. I never want to go through another experience like this but I do feel privileged and proud to have borne witness to such an outpouring of sympathy, respect and unity. Because there is such an appetite for bad news and the reporting of awful behaviour by minorities, it is sometimes refreshing and consoling to get a reminder of the intrinsic goodness of the majority of the population.

Weekly Blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - 'Keep calm and carry on'

Not much good news from George Osborne yesterday then: six more years of austerity, even more public sector jobs to go, falling household disposable incomes, earnings growing slower than inflation until 2014, only 0.7 percent growth in the economy for the whole of next year, and potentially even worse if the Eurozone can't sort itself out. And I'm writing this in a London coffee bar with hoards of police outside in anticipation of a planned march and the biggest strike action for years.

Yet despite there being plenty of reasons to be depressed there was a moment that tickled me during the Chancellor's statement in the House yesterday when the Speaker stopped him mid-stream and said: "The House needs to calm down; one Honourable Member has probably already shouted enough for one day"! The antics of our politicians never cease to amaze me with behaviour that you'd see nowhere else, except perhaps a playground!

So what can we do about it and is bemoaning our lot going to improve things? I think not. I was struck by a tweet by Richard Tyler, Enterprise Editor at the Telegraph. Richard and I don't always agree but I couldn't argue with the sentiment he expressed when he suggested - in response to the expected grim statements in the House and the OECD saying Britain may have another recession - that we should all decide 'not to say it and it won't become true'.

We're surrounded by economists forecasting gloom; most of our businesses are probably struggling, and yet if we keep reminding ourselves how bad things are, we're in danger of talking ourselves into a depressing vortex.

As credit professionals we make a valuable contribution to our businesses in maximising cash-flow and mitigating risk. It's time for us to raise our professionalism further by actively looking for opportunities that the sales team can exploit, by finding ways of doing business that we might otherwise have to reject, and by being seen as the bright corner of the organisation where people can think - and act - in a more positive light.