Weekly Blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - 'Stand and be recognised'

I wrote last week about the importance of aspiration and referred particularly to the contribution of ICM members in helping to formulate our aspirations as an Institute. One of those aspirations is to achieve recognition of credit management as a profession in its own right. We want to be able to hold our heads up as equals alongside accountants, lawyers, architects and other professions. In some organisations we do but there is some way to go in others.

 

Two events this week have reminded me of this and of its importance. The ICM was strongly represented at a ‘Dods’ conference on Monday: Tackling Debt Owed to Government. We presented to two breakout sessions, had a stand in the exhibition area, and I was pleased to be able to present to an audience of over 200, mostly public sector employees and management, in the afternoon. My message was simple and clear: if Government wants debt to be taken seriously within the public sector and wants collection to be effective, then Debt Management must be seen as a profession and not simply 'doing a job in the Civil Service'. To achieve that culture shift, the value of the contribution of the role must be recognised, the impact of it being done well must be recognised, and professionalism in the Debt Management teams must be promoted and recognised.

 

Yesterday, I hosted an ICM Regional Roadshow in Exeter that was combined with a Quality in Credit Management Best Practice event. What did I see and hear about there? Professionalism in practice; examples of organisations that are best in breed and demonstrating the very professionalism I'd been talking about on Monday, and an audience of credit professionals who were eager to develop their knowledge and skills so that their contribution could increase and become even greater.

 

If you look up 'professionalism' in a thesaurus, you'll see words like competence, knowledge, and expertise but you don't need to find alternative words. Professionalism means exactly what it says and it's what we're all about.

Weekly Blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - 'Supporting the Business in You'

A campaign was launched by David Cameron in Leeds on Monday. 'Business in You' is a partnership between private enterprise and Government to highlight support for start-ups and growing businesses and encourage entrepreneurial spirit in 2012. It will run throughout the year and I'm delighted to say the ICM is actively engaged as one of the initial supporting organisations.

The campaign aims to highlight the fact that many people are sitting on an idea that could become a business, and many businesses have the potential to grow whether that's by launching new products, entering new markets, exporting for the first time or more widely, or by accepting the challenge and going for growth despite the negative malaise that surrounds us. The campaign website can be viewed at: http://businessinyou.bis.gov.uk/

I was at a meeting at BIS with many other of the supporting organisations on Tuesday and there are some really inspiring case studies being shared, and some innovative support solutions being offered by organisations as diverse as the Forum of Private Business, CBI, Institute of Directors, British Bankers' Association, ACCA, ICAEW, Intuit, Microsoft, Paypal, and Mitie to name but a few. Interestingly this is less about a government campaign with private sector support, and more about a collaboration that brings together the best from both the public and private sectors. And encouragingly, this isn't a government short-term soundbite-style gimmick but a long-term activity lasting for the whole year with links into many events and propositions. So how does the Institute of Credit management fit into this?

One of the challenges for all businesses, and particularly for start-ups and growing organisations, is making sure they have enough cash to sustain the business and its requirements. Managing cash-flow is vital, and the over 275,000 downloads of the ICM's Managing Cashflow Guides are testament to how relevant the subject is, and what an appetite there is to gain the necessary skills to manage it better. I hope the 'Business in You' campaign succeeds in encouraging more entrepreneurs to create a start-up, and more businesses to successfully expand but if it also helps businesses to manage their finances better and therefore survive longer, then it will have delivered something really worthwhile. I am proud that the ICM is among its supporters.

Weekly Blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - 'Stating the obvious'

The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 contained provisions for the regulation of bailiffs and followed a White Paper published in 2003. Since then, I have been to numerous meetings to discuss the issue and the Ministry of Justice has been repeatedly promising a consultation on detailed proposals for a new regulatory regime. When Justice Minister Jonathan Djanogly announced this week the release of updated 'National Standards for Enforcement Agents', he also promised that the Standards are 'the first step towards tackling this issue (unscrupulous bailiffs), which will be followed shortly by proposals for a new regulatory regime.' I'm heartened that at last something seems to be happening but, although I understand the consultation is expected in Spring, I'm always nervous when I see the use of words like 'shortly'. I remember the importance of SMART objectives being used in business and I sometimes wish the public sector would apply the principles by putting a specific and measurable date on actions rather than using vague descriptors like 'soon' and 'shortly'.

Anyway, back to the updated Standards. They can be found here but don't expect to be overwhelmed by their content. Creditors' responsibilities include, among other things, that they should be aware of their own responsibilities, must not seek payment in order to secure a contract, must notify the enforcement agent if the debtor pays or contacts them, and must forewarn the debtor of impending enforcement action. The section 'Professionalism and conduct of the enforcement agent' says they must act within the law at all times, must not be deceitful by misrepresentation, must not act in a threatening manner, should always produce relevant identification, must not discriminate, and a few other similar instructions.

In short, there is little in the Standards that any credit professional or enforcement agent couldn't have written on the back of an envelope if asked to suggest what they should be. As the document says, they are not legally binding, but offered as a 'helpful tool for the industry and for creditors.' As Colin Naylor, Co-Chairman of CIVEA (the Civil Enforcement Association) points out: "these are the Industry's own standards......all the signatories are already committed to the practices and standards contained in the document........and most CIVEA members already publish similar creeds of professional behaviour."

So will they have any effect on 'unscrupulous' bailiffs? I think not, and I wish the time and effort in producing them had been spent on drafting the long-promised proposals for a new regulatory regime so that the consultation can get under way and we can see some real progress.

Weekly Blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - 'More mixed messages'

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) released its latest Quarterly Economic Survey this week and at best the messages were mixed.

Business confidence, for example, remains high, with most expecting an upturn in their fortunes - and turnover - in the coming year. The manufacturing sector, specifically, is looking stronger but the performance of the service sector has weakened and there are concerns about the sustainability of the recovery. There are concerns also about the problems in the Eurozone, and the potential impact on UK exporters.

My take on this is that there is little consensus on where the economy is, or where it's heading, and the prospects for the year ahead are almost impossible to predict. Nevertheless, every piece of good news serves to build positive expectations and that can only be a good thing.

The BCC survey, of course, only focuses on the private sector. So what about the public sector?

I had a really interesting hour on Monday discussing public sector issues with an ICM Member who holds a senior position in one of the Inner London Boroughs. He confirmed much of what I already knew in terms of pressure on costs, more effective use of resources, and the need to drive efficiency savings. But he also raised some issues that I'd not previously considered in so much detail.

How each local borough decides to cut costs over the next four years, for example, will vary significantly depending on the colour of the party calling the shots. Then there is the impact of specific plans, such as the proposed caps on housing benefit. Some tenants will face a shortfall between their rent and the capped benefit levels, which means they will have to move to a property or borough where rent costs are within - or closer to - the cap. As a result, Private landlords who provide social housing will lose tenants and there will be an increase in empty housing stock and pressure on buy-to-let mortgage repayments, particularly at the small scale landlord sector. If this isn't bad enough, the effect will be exacerbated by the changes to calculation of the Local Housing Allowance (used to determine housing benefit payments) which in the future will be calculated on the basis of cheaper rents.

The inter-relationships between public and private sector are deep and complex; perhaps that explains exactly why it's so difficult to predict the short - and longer - term future. We're going to need our wits about us as reality unfolds throughout coming months!