Credit Management in Australia - May 2014

Volume 21, No 4 May 2014

The Publication for Credit and Financial Professionals

IN AUSTRALIA

> CREDIT MANAGEMENT > PPSA > PRIVACY LAW REFORM > FRAUD Check our website ... www.aicm.com.au

DIRECTORS Australian President – G.L. Morris MICM CCE Australian VP, Law & Regulation – J.A. Neate MICM

27 NSW Division: Delegates at the March Network meeting at the office of KPMG.

Professional Development – S.D. Mitchinson LICM YCPA & CCE – G.C. Young MICM Member Services – J.G. Hurst FICM CCE Finance – N. Pilavidis MICM CCE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER T.J. Collins Level 1, 619 Pacific Highway, St Leonards NSW 2065 Tel: (02) 9906 4563, Fax: (02) 9906 5686 Email: terry@aicm.com.au EXECUTIVE SUPPORT SA Division – Kerry Hammill PO Box 2131, Felixstow SA 5070 Tel: (08) 8365 9021, Fax: (08) 8365 9021, Email: sa@aicm.com.au

28 QLD Division: Lisa Clements, Nick Combis, Julie McNamara.

EDITOR/PUBLISHER Terry Collins | Email: terry@aicm.com.au CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Gregg Odlum NSW Murray Ashford QLD Kerry Hammill SA Warren Meyers WA Donna Smith VIC/TAS

30 SA Division: Lindsay Chuck and James Neate.

ADVERTISING MANAGER Tony Paul | Association Media Tel: 0401 917 799, Email: tony@associationmedia.com.au EDITING & PRODUCTION Anthea Vandertouw | Ferncliff Productions Tel: 0408 290 440, Email: ferncliff1@bigpond.com PRINTING Pegasus Print Group, Building B, 1A Bessemer Street, Blacktown NSW 2148, Ph: 8822 0600 THE EDITOR reserves the right to alter or omit any article or advertisement submitted and requires idemnity from the advertisers and contributors against damages or liabilities that may arise from material published. CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA is published by the Australian Institute of Credit Management, Level 1, 619 Pacific Highway, St Leonards NSW 2065. The views expressed in CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA are not necessarily those of Australian Institute of Credit Management, which does not expect or invite any person to act or rely on any statement, opinion or advice contained herein (whether in the form of an advertisement or editorial) and neither the Institute or any of its employees, agents or contributors shall be liable for any opinion contained herein. © The Australian Institute of Credit Management, 2014.

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS SHOULD BE SENT TO: The Editor, Level 1, 619 Pacific Highway, St Leonards NSW 2065 or Email: terry@aicm.com.au CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • May 2014

32 WA Divisioin: Members networking.

34 VIC/TAS Division: Golf Day – Brooke Bird Straightest Drive Sponsors.

CONTENTS

Volume 21, Number 4 – May 2014

2

Message From the President

Credit Management Analytics: why they’re critical for a sustainable business model

3

Agile, Resiliant, Confident (ARC) in the road to success

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By Nicholas Harrack Murali Neelamegam

PPSA – Red tape alert: Federal Government to do away with 90 day lease requirement under PPSA

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3 Nicholas Harrack

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By Brian Kirkup, David Carter and Jeff Baker

Privacy Law Reform

10

Tougher tax default laws would help creditors

12

Taking the worry out of exporting

14

By Karl Hill

By Colin Porter

By Kirk Cheesman

Issues expected to influence operations – June Quarter 2014 Understanding the fraudster’s modus operandi

16 18

DIFA – AICM Student of the Year Awards

26

YCPA Promotion

26

Brian Kirkup

6 Murali Neelamegam

8 David Carter

8 Jeff Baker

Around the States

27 28 30 32 34 37

New South Wales Queensland South Australia Western Australia/Northern Territory Victoria/Tasmania New Members

2014 AICM National Conference Golf Day information Conference Registration forms

38 39 40

10 Karl Hill

14 12

Kirk Cheesman

Colin Porter

ASSOCIATION MEDIA For Advertising Opportunities in Credit Management In Australia

CALL Tony Paul Phone: 0401 917 799 | Email: tony@associationmedia.com.au May 2014 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

aicm from the president

I Grant Morris CCE Australian President

n the last issue I reported that your AICM and it’s members had been successful in lobbying the Attorney-General’s Department to gain a deferral of the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012 requirement for a credit provider to be a member of an External Dispute Resolution (EDR) scheme when the Act changes kicked in on 12th March 2014. This lobbying was made on your behalf because there is literally only a handful of schemes operating and those schemes had indicated they were not taking on members from the trade credit arena.

It is very important to note that this requirement has only been deferred for 12 months and you should keep this front of mind. In this regard we maintained our approaches to various schemes and can advise that the Credit Ombudsman Service (COSL) have since confirmed that they are accepting trade credit providers as members. COSL’s Mark Wesker, Head of Operations and Corporate Affairs advises: The Credit Ombudsman Service (COSL) is now accepting membership applications from those credit providers who are required to join an external dispute resolution (EDR) scheme recognised by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). The requirement applies to credit providers who wish to participate in the credit reporting system.

EDR membership is required when credit providers disclose credit information to a credit reporting body (including identity information about an individual to obtain a consumer credit report about the individual), or access such information.

Under the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012, which commenced on 12 March 2014, the definition of ‘credit provider’ is very broad and includes an organisation or small business (a supplier) that carries on a business in the course of which the supplier defers payment for goods or services for at least 7 days.

Under a recent Regulation, the obligation to be a member of an EDR Scheme does not apply “in relation to the disclosure of credit information by the credit provider if the disclosure is made in connection with the provision of commercial credit”.

The Regulation is effective on an interim basis for 12 months (to 11 March 2015).

COSL’s Mr Raj Venga CEO and Ombudsman, Ms Allison Dam – Head of Policy and Compliance and Mr Mark Wesker, Head of Operations and Corporate Affairs have accepted an invitation to address AICM members at both a NSW breakfast meeting in May and also at our National Conference on the Gold Coast in October.

I urge you to take up this opportunity.

Whilst on the legislative front, the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 which came into force on January 30, 2012 is being reviewed by the Attorney-General’s Office who are considering the operation and effect of the Act and whether the Act is meeting it’s objectives of providing certainty to credit providers and helping business to access finance and credit. We have circulated all members directly for input and I again extend that invitation to all AICM members and other interested parties to provide comment to us for inclusion in our submission. Your comments for technical (changes to the laws), educational (eg how it could be better informed to SME’s), operational (eg what the website should include or do differently) or for other changes would be much appreciated. Please send them to our CEO Terry Collins (terry@aicm.com.au) or Peter Mills (pmills@tglaw.com.au) by May 26, 2014.

So far this year we have had 10 members attain their Certified Credit Executive (CCE) award.

Congratulations to these outstanding credit professionals – Sev Indrele, Mel Joiner, Denise Kritikakis, Kathy Neale, Anthony Tran, David Haysom, Christopher Wheatley, Ralf Ziccarello, Amit Jaiswal and Jo Ellice.

Our search for the 2014 Young Credit Professional of the Year is underway. It is not too late to enter and I would encourage you if you are an under 30 credit professional to enter or if you are more advanced in years then I would suggest you encourage a colleague or peer to enter by May 31. It is a great opportunity to recognise the skills and abilities of our younger colleagues and help them continue their career growth. Did you know many former winners and entrants are now National Credit Managers at major Australian companies.

Thanks to Dun & Bradstreet for their continued sponsorship of this award.

In June we will commence our search for the national Credit Team of the Year. Have you had a good year and kicked a few goals? Would you like to raise your profile within your company or industry and reinforce to your workmates and management (and heaven forbid, to your Sales Department) what a switched on and professional operation you are? If you are serious about your team then I am sure the answer is yes. Start thinking about your achievements now and check out the entry details in this magazine and on the AICM website www.aicm.com.au. Thanks to Veda for their continued sponsorship of this award.

Registrations for the annual October conference are already rolling in and I urge you to take action now, whether this be by sending in your registration or including the development event in your budgets for FY15 or having your Manager include it as an incentive and recognition of you or some of your team members. For help with this please see page 25 of the March 2014 issue of the AICM magazine and the feature “AICM - Can We Help”.

I look forward to seeing you soon at an AICM event.

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CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • May 2014

Credit Management

Analytics: why they’re critical for a sustainable business model – act now!

While credit providers have used consumer profile analytics for many years, the debt recovery sector has been slower to adopt these highly sophisticated techniques. However reliable analytics modelling can have a significant impact on your bottom line, through enhanced collection workflows, improved effectiveness of collections strategies and increased overall productivity.

By Nicholas Harrak*

Nicholas Harrak

Workflow automation, productivity and effectiveness in debt recovery are critical issues facing our sector today. But, unlike credit providers who have long used consumer profile analytics to determine credit worthiness, the debt recovery sector has been slower to implement sophisticated analytics modelling that can predict both propensity to pay and the most effective recovery strategies.

Admittedly this is not a quick or easy process to implement. It took Recoveriescorp two years to develop a strategy and build our internal capability to analyse the predictive characteristics of debtor profiles and create propensity to pay scoring models.

We now regard analytics as absolutely essential to our business sustainability.

Internally, this has improved our workflow strategies, automation, productivity and effectiveness in debt recovery. Externally, this has added significant value to our relationships with credit providers who already run their own leading-edge analytics programs. Analytics have also enhanced our relationships with debtors, as we engage more effectively with them to achieve better payment outcomes.

These are the steps taken to establish our program and, importantly, to maintain its relevancy.

1. Identify predictive characteristics within debt segments There are many elements that can predict propensity to pay, including traditional ones such as the total amount due and postcodes demographics. If you’re dealing with thousands of accounts each month, there’s a vast amount of intelligence about the outcomes of your collections processes that you can harness and analyse.

The key is develop your organisations internal capability to analyse and create modelling that will give you answers to questions such as: what is the most effective strategy for collect these debts? How do we segment the portfolio? Where do we invest resources? At which point should we make a telephone call, send a letter, or commence legal action?

Without accurate and effective modelling, it would be inefficient and uneconomical to perform this type of analysis on every account. But with an effective modelling strategy, you can accurately and efficiently segment and effectively treat large volumes of accounts. ➤

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2. Challenge your ‘business as usual’ processes

3. Align collections strategies with accounts

4. Align skill sets with accounts

Analyse your data and challenge the outcomes. If your modelling tells you that Profile A are better payers than Profile B, ask yourself; how can you improve your outcomes on Profile B? What type of skill set should you allocate to Profile A and B? A revealing case study for us involved a review of a business as usual letter that we were sending to debtors at a particular point within a process. The return generated by this letter had led us to believe that the letter was very effective.

When we challenged this process, our modelling showed that two debtor profiles responded positively to the letter, and two did not. The result was not what we had expected. This type of analysis allowed us to segment the profiles, continue sending the letter where it was effective, and develop other strategies for the two non-responsive groups.

The above case study shows the importance of using data to challenge your business as usual outcomes to segment your accounts and align them with the right collection strategies.

Today it’s about connecting with the customer in the way that they want to be engaged. For example, some of our customers will respond positively to a collections strategy that utilises our self-service portal where they can enter their own payment arrangements Others will respond to a strongly worded letter, but it’s the type of letter that, if sent to a different customer profile, will result in very negative feedback that’s time consuming to deal with and may impact negatively both on the collection agency and the client. An effective analytics strategy will show you how each profile type responds.

The benefits of analytics led us to revisit our purpose. Our goal is to ‘Connect.

Engage. Succeed.(c) with our own people, our clients and debtors.

Modelling shows us how best to do this with debtors, by aligning skill sets with different profile types.

Once you understand how you should approach each category, you can tailor your strategies only where necessary without disturbing those areas where the modelling shows that your strategy is effective.

This works equally well for the credit provider who may be very effective at collecting debts from certain profiles, however find other profiles challenging.

An effective analytics and modelling strategy will assist the credit provider to determine the profile of accounts that they should retain, outsource or send to legal action. It also provides valuable information which can be incorporated in the outsourced agency’s strategies.

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CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • May 2014

Credit Management

5. Maintenance and calibration Once the modelling is working, it is essential that you adopt a regular framework to maintain and calibrate the data to ensure that the model remains accurate. At recoveriescorp we have resources allocated to perform this task on a monthly basis, other organisations have different intervals.

For example, payments by a particular profile might begin to degrade.

You will need to identify this trend quickly, and look at your processes to determine why it is occurring, what sort of impact it will have and what you may need to change.

This will enable you to stay ahead of the game, rather than discovering in six months that a trend has changed and your collections have reduced as a consequence.

Maintaining the data also means you can challenge your own processes and prove new strategies on a percentage of a debtor profile. The remaining percentage becomes your control group, ensuring that you can test a number of strategies and compare outcomes before making long-term changes to your workflow treatment strategies.

The global financial crisis and the Queensland floods are key examples of economic and environmental factors that can influence your existing modelling.

6. Monitor changes in the economy and environment

7. Monitor trends across different industries

The global financial crisis and the Queensland floods are key examples of economic and environmental factors that can influence your existing modelling.

For example, during the GFC, our modelling showed that households with high disposable income were impacted differently to those with low disposable incomes. Accordingly, different collection treatments were required to tailor our customer engagement strategy and reduce the potential adverse impact for our client partners.

Likewise, the Queensland floods very quickly changed the profile of existing debtors in Queensland and also affected the profiles of new debtors in that state.

Once again the modelling required enhancement to accurately reflect this change.

Most clients are involved in one industry only, such as banking, communications or insurance. We are quite privileged to manage a number of accounts across a diverse range of industry segments. This is where analytics can add significant value. While the demographics, predictive elements and trends vary across industries, we are sometimes able to identify trends in one industry that will impact on another.

For example, our experience shows that the usual order of default begins with credit cards first and mortgages last. So if credit card delinquency increases and those customers are not rehabilitated, that’s a red light for looming mortgage defaults!

8. Act! There’s a vast amount of commentary out there about big data and analytics, much of it very theoretical, so there’s a tendency for some people to become overwhelmed.

But once you’ve gathered your data, it’s essential to start determining how it can be applied to improve your business.

You’ve got to act, otherwise all this information may be wasted. This comes back to challenging your processes.

We have found that improvements of 10% to 20% are achievable, either in recovery rates or in terms of productivity or direct cost savings.

That’s a very significant gain in an era when business sustainability is demanding increased workflow automation, greater efficiencies and more effective collections strategies. n

*Nicholas Harrak is Head of Government and Commercial at Recoveriescorp.

Ph: 03 8627 0601. www.recoveriescorp.com.au

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Credit Management

ARC in the road to success

By Murali Neelamegam*

Most people strive to be successful, and the failure to do so can be overwhelming and disruptive to everyday functioning. This article explores what it means to be successful, what drives us to act, and how we can be resilient in the face of challenges to our accomplishments.

The idea of success can be a powerful motivator for action, but from time to time, our purpose and goals may change. What we believe to be important now may not necessarily be as so in 20 years, so how do we define what we’re working towards in a manner that stays stable and true? At the Young Credit Managers presentation night, I talked about what it means to be successful, and how we can perceive threats and challenges to our goals in a manner that is structured and actionable.

What is Success?

Murali Neelamegam

6

The accomplishment of our endeavours, or success, can be defined in a number of ways and contexts. One can look to be successfully financially, by ways of work or health, in our interpersonal relationships, or from an emotional standpoint of being happy and peaceful.

In this regard, we can look at classifying success across the following life domains; Work, Relationships, Community, and Personal.

Success is determined by our goals, so at different stages of life, the aforementioned domains will vary by priorities and the emphasis we place on them. For example, success in our early 20s can be defined by securing attractive employment, while in our 50s we may begin to look to strengthening our ties in the community and our contributions to society.

In most cases, people believe that success will bring them happiness – and why not? It’s intuitive! Though in

CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • May 2014

my experience, ‘success’ has also been known to bring feelings of pain and torment, because our appetite for happiness can push us to do things which may contradict deeply embedded positive values that are compromised in the pursuit of accomplishment.

So how can we avoid this mistake?

How do we learn to make the right decisions in the face of a smorgasbord of opportunities for success?

Building Our Goals Success is determined by the goals we put in place. The construction of these goals will be driven by our needs, and these needs can either be perceived based on where we are in life, or imposed according to our desire for the future. In other words, these needs can be created, required, or inspired. What we need to be aware of is what underpins the success; that is, what gives us meaning, what are our values and belief systems, and what influences our experiences, the people around us, and the environment we are in may have.

After thinking through those points and building clear goals, we can then begin to look into how to achieve them and become ‘successful’.

It is my belief that it is only in the present moment that one can plan and shape the actions that are required to achieve one’s goals, so while there is room for a fluid, changing course to accommodate for any curve balls life may throw our way, we also need to have a “presence of mind”, that is a constant state that allows us to be more adaptive yet staying consistent and true to the underpinnings of our goal. This presence of mind requires a person to design their thinking to be more Agile, Confident, and Resilient in support of their goals and the idea of success. From time to time, challenges will arise that will be outside

Credit Management

of your control, but there will always be something you can do in the present.

define what these are, then progress to understanding areas that will need refining or further action.

The Four Phases Shaping a continuous thought process that is Agile, Resilient, and Confident can be constructed in four very simple actions. It does not require attending motivational seminars or reading voluminous self-help books. i. Discovery Take some time to gather your thoughts.

Now is the time for introspection, enquiry, and reflection into what gives you meaning, what you hold important, and other factors that may influence your interpretation of success. Come to understand your priorities as your foundation. ii. Defining When you have an idea of your values, you can then begin to construct your goals. What is important to you, and what would you like to achieve? Clearly

iii. Developing If you don’t get it ‘right’ on the first try, fret not. Look at your goals and digest them. Then look at them again. What appears to be missing, and what components start to look unnecessary? Take your time and make your adjustments, and be able to clearly articulate why these are important to you. As with anything else in life, prepare. iv. Do With a clear idea and connectedness to the future, you can begin to implement the actions you’ve planned out to achieve your goals and become successful. While you’ll have a structure and flow to your plans, your preparedness will help remain flexible and quickly identify any indicators to bring in Plan B.

Acting to Be Successful Moving into the future and acting on life goals can evoke feelings of excitement and anxiety. These can be positive and leave you feeling elated, and ready to take on the world. But life will take you through its ups and downs, and on some days, there may be moods of resignation and hopelessness, leaving us to struggle with the idea of achieving our goals and we’re left wondering why we’re here to begin with.

What is success without pain?

How else are we to know why we are struggling and surviving? We can draw on our experiences and bring on the baggage that has helped us learn and grow, and as many personal trainers in the gym may attest to, we’ll ‘work through the pain’. After all, it is only in the face of pain that we can plan and act with Agility, Resilience, and Confidence. n *Murali Neelamegam is Principal Director for Dynamic Wisdom, Mobile + 61(0)407 307 073 Website: dynamicwisdom.com.au

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Credit Management

Red tape reduction: Federal Government plans to do away with 90 day lease requirement under PPSA

By Brian Kirkup, Lawyer; David Carter, Partner; and Jeff Baker, Partner at DibbsBarker*

Brian Kirkup

The first of the Federal Government’s two red tape repeal days for 2014 was on 26 March.

As part of Tony Abbott’s race to cut $1 billion in red tape annually, the Coalition introduced a number of deregulation bills into parliament in March in a move to repeal more than 10,000 counter-productive or redundant regulations and laws, to ease the administrative and financial burden on individuals and organisations.

One of the many pieces of legislation affected by this initiative is the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) (PPSA), with the proposed changes outlined in the Personal Property Securities Amendment (Deregulatory Measures) Bill 2014 (Bill).

What are the proposed changes to the PPSA? 90 day lease requirement

David Carter

Jeff Baker

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The Bill proposes to amend the PPSA so that leases for a term of 90 days or more for serial numbered goods will no longer be deemed to be PPS leases for the purposes of the PPSA. As it stands, the PPSA deems leases of more mobile items of personal property (such as motor vehicles, boats and aircrafts – known in the PPSA as ‘serial numbered goods’) to be PPS leases where the leases are for 90 days or more. These can include renewals, options or lessees holding over with the lessor’s consent.

These ‘deemed security interests’ provide lessors with a key protection against the loss of leased property in the event of a customer’s insolvency; should a lessor fail to register its security interest prior to a customer’s insolvency, the lessor’s status is reduced to that of an unsecured creditor.

CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • May 2014

This change means equipment hire companies would not need to register leases with a term of less than 12 months, and aligns the PPSA with personal property securities regimes in other common law countries, such as New Zealand and Canada.

Motor vehicles The Explanatory Memorandum to the Bill also considered proposed amendments to the definition of a ‘motor vehicle’.

While the Bill is still before the House of Representatives, the proposed changes to the definition of ‘motor vehicle’ have been addressed by virtue of the Personal Property Securities Amendment (Motor Vehicles) Regulation 2014 (the Regulation).

The Regulation, which will come into effect on 1 July 2014, narrows the definition of a motor vehicle, such that property will only be considered a motor vehicle for the purposes of the PPSA and PPSR if it is: zz capable of a speed of at least 10km/h, and zz has one or more motors that have a total power greater than 200 watts.

By combining the two parts of the definition (ie speed and power output), rather than them being alternatives, fewer items would come within its scope.

Currently under the PPSA, the definition of ‘motor vehicle’ covers a wide variety of items beyond a car (eg scissor lifts, boom lifts, truck mounted travel towers, excavating vehicles or even stationary cement mixers), and such a broad scope was presumably never the intention of the legislation.

The practical effect of narrowing this definition will see reduced compliance costs for businesses by allowing them to

Credit Management rely on a single, general registration made against the name of the party granting the security interest, without the need, in most cases, for individual registrations against each serial numbered item.

What do the anticipated changes mean?

The changes proposed in the Bill are expected to ease the administrative burden on equipment hire companies.

Given, the potentially high cost of failing to register a security interest, coupled with the complexity involved in determining when a lease should be registered, equipment hire companies have previously been forced to take a cautious approach and make a significant number of registrations. As an average equipment-hire company can enter 400 leases a week, this has imposed an onerous compliance burden on these businesses.

Repealing the ‘90 day lease requirement’ (section 13(1)(e) of the PPSA) would simplify the PPSA as there

will only be one deeming provision. This provision would capture leases of a term of more than 12 months or an indefinite term, regardless of the type of goods leased. Accordingly, the need to make a registration against a customer would only need to be considered where the lease is for more than 12 months or an indefinite term.

Practically, equipment hire businesses would then rely on proof of ownership of the goods (ie a lease agreement) rather than registration, to avoid loss of the goods in the event of a customer’s insolvency or in cases where the customer tries to sell the goods to a third party. This is currently the position that applies to leases of a term of less than 90 days.

To allow affected stakeholders time to make any small adjustments necessary to take advantage of the change to the PPSA, it is proposed that the commencement of the Bill, if passed, would be delayed for a short period determined in consultation with key

stakeholders. The amendments would also be expressed to apply to goods leased on or after commencement of the changes. This would preserve the operation of the law for any interests created under pre-existing leases.

At the time of writing, the Bill remains before the House of Representatives. n For more information, please contact: David Carter, Partner, Ph: (02) 8233 9550, Fax: (02) 8233 9555, Email: david.carter@dibbsbarker.com Jeff Baker, Partner, Ph: (07) 3100 5167, Fax: (07) 3100 5001, Email: jeff.baker@dibbsbarker.com The information in this document, broadcast or communication is provided for general guidance only. It is not legal advice, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional legal or other advisors. No warranty is given to the correctness of the information contained in this document, broadcast or communication or its suitability for use by you. To the fullest extent permitted by law, no liability is accepted by DibbsBarker for any statement or opinion, or for an error or omission or for any loss or damage suffered as a result of reliance on or use by any person of any material in the document, broadcast or communication. This publication is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, it may only be reproduced for internal business purposes, and may not otherwise be copied, adapted, amended, published, communicated or otherwise made available to third parties, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of DibbsBarker.

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Credit Management

Privacy Law Reforms Is your business exposed?

By Karl Hill* Introduction The Privacy Law Reforms which went live on 12 March 2014 apply to almost all trade credit businesses who are now required to achieve compliance or risk exposure to significant penalties of up to $1.7 million.

Trade credit businesses caught by the reforms are required to implement practices and procedures to achieve compliance with both the Australian Privacy Principles and the Credit Reporting provisions. The following are five key points to note in respect of the impact of Privacy Law reform on trade credit businesses.

1. The Privacy Law reforms will apply to almost all businesses operating in trade credit.

The reforms comprise two broad categories. a. The Australian Privacy Principles (APP’s). b. The Credit Reporting Provisions (including the Credit Reporting Privacy Code).

The APP’s apply to a business if it is an “APP entity”. In a nutshell, an APP entity is a business who turns over in excess of $3 million per annum.

Karl Hill

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The credit reporting provisions apply to a business if it is a “credit provider”.

A business is a credit provider if: a. the provision of credit is a substantial part of the business or undertaking of that organisation; or b. the organisation provides credit in connection with the sale of goods or supply of services in respect of which credit is deferred for at lease 7 days.

If an organisation meets the definition of “credit provider”, it will be caught by the credit reporting provisions, even it’s turnover does not exceed $3 million.

2. Privacy Law reform is about the protection of personal information of individuals.

Privacy Law reform only relates to the information of individuals. It does not relate to the information of companies.

From a trade credit perspective, this means that the reforms are concerned with information in respect of the individuals your business deals with (e.g. sole traders, personal guarantors and directors of companies), not the information of other legal entities your business deals with (e.g. companies).

Similarly, the reforms in a general sense are not primarily focused on either consumer credit or commercial credit.

The reforms are focused on the personal information of individuals. In the case of the credit reporting provisions (as distinct from the APP’s), the reforms are focused on a particular type of personal information, namely “credit information”.

3. There are 13 Australian Privacy Principles.

The APP’s set out the rights, standards and obligations in respect to the handling, holding, accessing and correcting of personal information. The APP’s are concerned primarily with personal information and a particular sub-category of personal information “sensitive information”.

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The definition of “personal information” is very broad in its application. It means any information or opinion about an identifiable individual, whether or not it is true and whether or not it is recorded in material form.

The APP’s cover areas including: a. the open and transparent management of personal information; b. anonymity and pseudonymity; c. the collection of solicited and unsolicited personal information; d. notification of the collection of personal information; e. use or disclosure of personal information; f. using personal information for direct marketing; g. cross border disclosure of personal information; h. the quality (accuracy) of personal information and requirements to correct inaccurate personal information; i. maintaining security of personal information; and j. the entitlement of individuals to access their personal information.

4. The credit reporting provisions deal with a specific category of personal information known as “credit information”.

Businesses who seek to obtain, use or disclose “credit information” about individuals must also comply with the Credit Reporting Provisions, in addition to the APP’s.

Credit information includes: a. identification information; b. consumer credit liability information; c. repayment history information; d. default information; e. payment information; f. court proceedings information; g. personal insolvency information; and h. the opinion of a credit provider that the individual has committed a serious credit infringement A significant portion of “credit information” is consumer style information usually

Credit Management maintained by a credit reporting body in respect of an individual.

The credit reporting provisions are most likely to have a significant impact on trade credit businesses who seek to access, use or disclose credit information about sole traders, personal guarantors and/or directors of company clients.

5. The Privacy Commissioner has significant powers to discipline breaches.

Previously, the Privacy Commissioner has been subjected to criticism of being a toothless tiger. The Privacy Law Reforms substantially change this position, giving the Privacy Commissioner a wide range of powers including the right to seek to impose civil penalties (of up to $1.7million) and obtain enforceable undertakings.

In circumstances where civil penalties are imposed, the individual affected by the breach is also entitled to seek an order for compensation. Relevantly the compensation may be awarded for injury to the person’s feelings or humiliation suffered.

Summary The Privacy Law Reforms are broad in their application across the business community. Trade creditors will be required to achieve compliance with the APP’s if they turnover more than $3 million. Trade Creditors will also be required to comply with the credit reporting provisions if they supply credit on terms of 7 days or greater and seek to access, use or disclose “credit information” about individuals.

Trade creditors who are required to comply with the reforms are best placed to proactively implement practices and procedures to achieve compliance as soon as possible Failure to do so may expose businesses to the risk of significant consequences, including particularly penalties and risk of compensation (including for hurt feelings).

These risks can be squarely addressed by implementing an effective Privacy Law Reform compliance program. n *Karl Hill is Managing Director of Results Legal. www.resultslegal.com.au

Recommended steps to achieve compliance 1. It is recommended that an effective Privacy Law Reform compliance program should include the following elements.

2. An updated privacy statement (including all specific consents, notifications and authorisations required under the amended Act and the Code).

3. An updated privacy policy.

4. A credit reporting policy.

5. The implementation of practices and procedures to achieve compliance with the APP’s and the credit reporting provisions.

6. Checklists to ensure all relevant items for compliance have been implemented.

7. An education component so that staff understand the extent of the businesses’ obligations and perform their duties in a way which achieves compliance.

8. Available resources and reference material to assist in understanding what is required in order to achieve compliance.

Does your business

turn over more than $3m provide credit on terms of 7 days or more

If so, non-compliance with the Privacy Law Reforms can leave you exposed to significant penalties (up to $1.7m).

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privacy@resultslegal.com.au

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1300 757 534

May 2014 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

11

Credit Management

Tougher tax default laws would help creditors As those working in credit are well aware, when a business experiences a cash flow problem, the ATO is usually the first on the list of creditors not to be paid.

By Colin Porter*

It makes sense that a business in distress would choose to default on their tax debt first. As it stands the tax office do not have the authority to register defaults against businesses that fail to pay their tax obligations.

Yet, in February of this year, ATO second commissioner Geoff Leeper made some interesting comments at the Standing Committee on Tax and Revenue that show the ATO is closely considering ways to rectify this billion dollar matter.

In its latest annual report, the ATO recorded that no less than $17.7bn is currently outstanding in unrecovered tax, and 60 per cent ($10.6 billion) of that is owed by small business – an overall tax debt increase of 6.5 per cent in the last financial year.

In its latest annual report, the ATO recorded that no less than $17.7bn is currently outstanding in unrecovered tax...

Colin Porter

12

While the ATO also announced it is piloting a new debt recovery program, and is in talks to outsource elements of its debt recovery process to third parties – the comments made by Mr Leeper indicate more change could be afoot than just debt recovery.

On the public record, Mr Leeper is quoted as saying he and the commissioner [Commissioner of Taxation and Registrar of the Australian Business Register, Chris Jordan AO] have had several conversations about the fact there

CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • May 2014

are currently no credit reference consequences from being in debt to the tax office.

“One of the things we think might be at play here is that, because the fact of a debt to the tax office cannot be disclosed to the markets because of secrecy provisions, there are no credit reference consequences from being in debt to the tax office. You certainly would get failure to lodge or general interest charge consequences, but being in debt to us does not affect your credit rating. This is a matter for government to consider at some point,” Mr Leeper said.

He continued: “The only way around it that we can think of is to propose that the Commonwealth as an entity have the ability to advise a credit market, ‘Geoff owes $41,000,’ without disclosing the nature of that debt,” Mr Leeper was also emphatic that the ATO must not simply ‘elbow its way to the front of the queue’, and that advising credit markets of tax defaults is no simple issue. That said, he noted that while in the aftermath of the GFC the ATO took a more accommodating stance on debt, he would have expected ‘on-time debt performance’ to now be improving, yet it’s not.

The news that the ATO is at least considering the mechanism of registering defaults is something to celebrate in itself, but it must go further than this.

Changes to taxation policy are a matter for the Treasury, and as telephone calls to both departments revealed, there is not yet a formal proposal under consideration.

As we know, the wheels of bureaucracy tend to turn slowly. For this reason I will be lobbying hard to get this issue heard formally.

Credit Management

As a practitioner of commercial law for over 30 years, and specialising in both corporate and personal insolvency, Michael O’Neill of O’Neill Partners has regularly come across the ATO as a creditor. He says he cannot understand why a telco or bank debt is easily reportable, yet monies owed to the tax office are shrouded in secrecy.

“Why shouldn’t an ATO debt be available for recording with credit agencies? Why shouldn’t the ATO have the same tool as other creditors?

Transparency is a good thing, and if this became publicly available information, in the same way other debts are available, then the tax office is going to do better at recovering its debt,” Mr O’Neill commented to me recently.

“There are people who use the tax office as a private bank, and I’m sure they’re not going to be happy, but what I can say is this: there is a very big component of business who would

“There are people who use the tax office as a private bank, and I’m sure they’re not going to be happy...” not be unhappy. The bottom line is that companies shouldn’t be providing credit to businesses that have a huge tax debt,” he added.

Ultimately, provided the right processes are followed, I fully support Mr Leeper’s suggestion to extend the ability of the ATO to register defaults with credit bureaus.

Being able to identify businesses that are trading while insolvent is a significant game-changer, and would be good for all creditors. This issue is not about the ATO slamming the door on businesses when they are late with payments – they are fair and reasonable and do work with businesses when there are short-term

cash flow issues. But there have been too many businesses that have misused the ATO’s repayment system as an easy finance tool.

I believe this is a positive suggestion that would benefit not just the ATO, but help more businesses get paid on time.

Defaulting on tax debt can be one of the earliest warning signs that a business is in trouble, and there is no reason this suggestion shouldn’t have the full support of the business community. n *Colin Porter is Managing Director, Creditor Watch. www.creditorwatch.com.au

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May 2014 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

13

Credit Management

Taking the worry out of exporting Export credit insurance can take the worry out of overseas trade. Kirk Cheesman advises on what sort of cover is available and the best place to get it.

By Kirk Cheesman*

Selling goods or services overseas can be tricky and often daunting. Exporters not only have to locate their market and understand their buyer’s local customs, on many occasions, they also need to involve their bank to gain support in business ventures.

Above all, exporters need to get paid for their overseas sales.

Letters of credit are an old fashioned way of competing in the international marketplace, especially with expanding markets such as China, India and South East Asia. Creditworthy companies overseas are accustomed to buying on “open account terms” from their suppliers.

They would expect the same from new suppliers wanting to trade with them.

Buyers in emerging markets, on the other hand, may face problems such as insufficient capital and no supportive

An increasingly popular option for growing export sales safely ... is through export credit insurance.

Kirk Cheesman

14

credit rating systems to assist in assessing whether trading with these companies is a good risk.

An increasingly popular option for growing export sales safely and extending competitive terms to overseas buyers is through export credit insurance.

This is a viable and secure alternative for any exporter in lieu of dealing with cumbersome documents and letters of credit.

The ability of exporters to identify, reduce and protect against potential losses is vital to their business. Overseas buyers could file for bankruptcy, run into cash flow problems, suffer from currency fluctuations or fail to pay for a number of reasons.

CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • May 2014

Export credit insurance enables a business to protect its overseas receivables (or debtor’s ledger) against non-payment risks. Additionally, it helps to significantly minimise risks before they occur through enhanced credit management and trade credit information – both of which support an exporters decision making process by way of third party evaluations of buyers, prospective buyers, industries and countries.

Cover available Cover for both commercial and/or political risks can be provided with credit insurance. There are several ways a policy can be structured to suit the needs of an exporter, taking the industry into consideration. Both commercial and political risks can be extremely difficult to predict and could have a devastating effect on an exporter’s profits, so it is advisable that exporters seriously consider protecting their bottom line.

The most popular option is to cover all receivables under one multiple buyer policy but in some cases, top buyer or single risk coverage may be more effective. The kind of cover often depends on the size of the business, sales turnover and diversity and spread of customers.

Premium rates vary and depend on factors such as the type of policy chosen, the level of turnover insured, the level of deductibles, the credit terms extended, the spread of customer and country risks, the quality of debtors, export experience and loss history.

It is a common misconception that export credit insurance is too expensive.

The cost is low, usually much lower than ½ a percent of a company’s insurable turnover. Moreover, it assists exporters win more overseas sales through credit terms and by being more competitive.

Financiers and banks are also aware of the benefits of an export credit insurance

Credit Management policy to support exporting ventures.

The majority of banks around the globe recognise credit insurance policies as security when they provide finance for clients’ overseas sales. Exporters can assign their policy proceeds to their lender for additional comfort.

Benefits There are five main benefits to export credit insurance: 1. Preserves profit and strengthens the balance sheet 2. Protects liquidity and cash flow 3. Strengthens credit management with access to unique information 4. Increases export profits 5. Adds security and enhances your borrowing capacity

Types of risks Commercial risks zz Buyer insolvency zz Protracted default on payment by a solvent buyer Political risks zz Contract frustration due to war, civil war, riots or commotions, other than war between Australia or New Zealand and the buyer’s country zz Inconvertibility of currency, i.e. an inability to pay in the invoiced currency zz Contract repudiation, i.e. the buyer’s

failure to accept goods despatched (excluding quality disputes) zz Contract cancellation as a result of action by the Government of the buyer’s country.

Export Underwriters There are various export credit insurance underwriters in the marketplace.

Specialist credit insurance brokers like National Credit Insurance (Brokers) assist clients to explore the various options in how to obtain the best, most suitable and flexible cover. The main credit insurance underwriters in our zone are: zz QBE Trade Credit zz Atradius zz Euler Hermes zz Coface zz AIG All insurers have specific policy wordings designed to structure cover around commercial and political risks. In a growing global environment, insurers have focused on the ability to support businesses who are looking to expand their sales beyond local borders and into the export arena.

obtain the appropriate cover.

You can benefit from extended covers, competitive terms and premiums.

Above all, you can rest assured that when it comes to claims, we will negotiate the best outcome from your policy and achieve fast and efficient claims settlements.

Using a trade credit insurance broker for your export credit insurance delivers informed advice and services, not commonly available from general insurance brokers.

NCI have built a significant global database over many years to assist finding the “right” customer for you to deal with. With our specialist advice and unique depth of resources, we can provide an analysis of your credit risks and exposures whilst assessing the most appropriate credit management and debt collection procedures in association with a credit insurance policy.

It is our aim to protect your bottom line, releasing you from the worry about your potential trading risks, so you can focus on winning more business and export sales. n

Choosing the Right Underwriter National Credit Insurance (Brokers) have well established relationships with all insurers, which means a unique understanding of their offerings and how we can best work with each insurer to

*Kirk Cheesman is Managing Director, NCI (Brokers) Pty Ltd. NCI have offices in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Auckland, Wellington and Singapore. For more information please visit www.nci.com.au or call 1800 882 820.

Connect with the right people for trade credit solutions.

When it comes to credit risk management, navigating the different options requires specialist expertise.

And that’s what you get with NCI: • 28 years experience • National coverage • Innovative solutions

• Superior service • Long-term partnerships • NCINet online access

To find out how you can protect your profitability whilst growing your business, visit www.nci.com.au, email info@nci.com.au or telephone 1300 654 500

National Credit Insurance (Brokers) Pty Ltd ABN 68 008 090 702 AFS Licence No 233817

Adelaide | Melbourne | Sydney | Brisbane | Perth Auckland | Wellington | Singapore

May 2014 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

15

Credit Management

JUNE QUARTER 2014 JUNE QUARTER 2014 JUNE QUARTER 2014

Issues expected to influence businesses Issues Issues expected expected to to influence influence businesses businesses Cash flow was identified as the issue most

Business optimism Business optimism businesses were more Business % ofoptimism

64 % 64 64%

Cash flow was identified as the operations issue most likely to influence business Cash flow was identified as the operations issue most likely to influence business in Q2 2014. likely to influence business operations in Q2 2014.

of businesses were more optimistic about growth of businesses were more optimistic about growth in 2014 compared to 2013. optimistic about growth in 2014 compared to 2013.

in Q2 2014.

in 2014 compared to 2013.

Cash flow

8% undecided 8% undecided 8% undecided 28% less optimistic 28% less optimistic 28% less optimistic

Cash flow 16% Cash flow Level of Australian dollar 16%

16 Level of Australian dollar % 12dollar Level of Australian Wages and salary12%

%

Wages and salary12 11% Wages and salary Interest rates 11%

%

Customers not paying Customers not paying 39% of businesses customers Customers nothadpaying

39 39 39

% % %

If unable towould pay all their billschoose on time businesses most likely to If unable towould pay all their billschoose on time businesses most likely to miss payments to suppliers. businesses would most likely choose to miss payments to suppliers. miss payments to suppliers.

Suppliers 17% Suppliers Business credit card 17%

17% Business credit card Business credit15 card Business loan/overdraft 15% %

15 Business loan/overdraft 8% Business loan/overdraft Phone 8% %

%

48% 48% 48%

%

32% of to businesses seeahead. any major barrier growth indidn’t the year 32% of businesses didn’t see any major barrier to growth in the year ahead. barrier to growth in the year ahead.

Don’t see any major barrier Don’t see any major barrier 23% Don’t see any major barrier Slow growth in demand for products 23%

23 Slow growth in demand for products % Slow growth in11 demand for products % Online selling by competitors 11 %

9 of skilled labour Access/shortage 7% of skilled labour Access/shortage Utilities and 7%operating costs %

%

Unpaid5 % 4invoices Unpaid invoices Access/shortage of funding 4% %

%

Undecided Undecided

16

32% 32% 32%

18 18 18

% % %

of businesses intended to seek of businesses finance or intended new credittoinseek of businesses intended toinseek or new Q2finance 2014 ahead tocredit help their finance or new credit in Q2 2014 ahead to help their business grow.

Q2 2014 ahead to help their business grow. business grow.

%

4 Access/shortage of funding 9% Access/shortage of funding Undecided 9%

%

16% 16% 16%

11 Online selling by competitors 9% Online selling by competitors % Access/shortage 9 of skilled labour

2 Internet Internet

%

%

32% of businesses didn’t see any major

7 operating costs Utilities and 5% Utilities and operating costs % Unpaid5 invoices

5 Rent/mortgage 2% Rent/mortgage Internet 2%

Access to6credit Access to credit Undecided Undecided Undecided

5% Utilities 5 Utilities Rent/mortgage 5% %

11%

Fuel prices7 6% Fuel prices % Access to6credit

or suppliers that became

insolvent, or were otherwise unable to pay them, during 2013.

If unable to pay all their bills on time

Phone %8 Phone5 Utilities 5%

Interest rates 7% Interest rates Fuel prices7%

39% of businesses had customers that2013. became insolvent, or were otherwise unable to or paysuppliers them, during 39% of businesses had customers that2013. became insolvent, or were otherwise unable to or paysuppliers them, during

Suppliers

32% 32% 32%

9

%

CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • May 2014

49 49 49

% % %

of businesses expected of businesses no impactexpected from of businesses expected nocurrent impactlevel fromof the nocurrent impactlevel from the the dollar. of the current level the dollar. of the dollar.

Credit Management DECEMBER QUARTER 2013 DECEMBER QUARTER 2013 DECEMBER QUARTER 2013

Trade payments Trade Trade payments payments

Australia wide Australia wide Australia wide

ACT ACT ACT

New South Wales New South

Northern Territory Northern

Wales New South Wales

Territory Northern Territory

South Australia South Australia South Australia

Queensland Queensland Queensland

51 52 51 52 51 52

51 50 51 50 51 50

2013 20132013

2012 20122012

2013 20132013

2012 20122012

52 52 52 52

51 52 51 52 51 52

2013 20132013

52 52

2012 20122012

52 53 52 53 52 53

50 50 Days 50 Days Days

Tasmania

Victoria

Tasmania Tasmania

Victoria Victoria

2013 20132013

relative strength of the local economy.

2013 20132013

53 53 53 53

2012 20122012

53 53

54 54 54 54

2013 20132013

54 54

2012 20122012

2013 20132013

2012 20122012

2013 20132013

2012 20122012

52 53 52 53 52 53

56 55 56 55 56 55

2013 20132013

53 days during Q4 2013.

Despitebusinesses, relatively slow payment times mining invoices were paid the among fastest Despitebusinesses, relatively slow payment times among mining invoices were paid the fastest in Western Australia, at 50 days, highlighting the mining businesses, invoices were paid the fastest in Western Australia, at local 50 days, highlighting the relative strength of the economy. in Western Australia, at local 50 days, highlighting the relative strength of the economy.

2012 20122012

Business invoices 53 days during Q4were 2013.settled in an average of Business invoices 53 days during Q4were 2013.settled in an average of

Despite relatively slow payment times among

2012 20122012

53 53 Days 53 Days Days

Average payment time Average payment time Business invoices were settled in an average of Average payment time

Western Australia Western Australia Western Australia

Business risks Business Business risks risks Risk of financial distress: next 12 months Risk of financial distress: next 12 months Distribution of risk categories for Australian businesses.

Risk of financial distress: next 12 months Distribution of risk categories for Australian businesses.

Risk of late payment: next 12 months Risk of late next 12 months Distribution of riskpayment: categories for Australian businesses.

Risk of late next 12 months Distribution of riskpayment: categories for Australian businesses.

Distribution of risk categories for Australian businesses.

Severe

Distribution of risk categories for Australian businesses.

Severe

0.7 Severe

Minimal 0.8% Minimal

% 0.7 Severe Very 0.7% high % 2.5 Very high

1% Severe

Minimal 2% Minimal

0.8% Minimal Very0.8 low% % 4.7 Very low

% 1 Severe Very high % 1 % 1 Very high

2% Minimal Very low 2% 5% Very low

2.5% high Very High % 2.5 % 6.8 High

Very4.7 low% Low% 4.7 % 29.6 Low

6.8% High Moderate 6.8% % 11.5 Moderate 11.5% Moderate 11.5%

29.6 Low% Average 29.6% 43.3% Average

1% high Very High 1% % 2 High 2% High Moderate 2% % 7 Moderate 7% Moderate 7%

%

43.3% Average 43.3%

Industries whose failure risk changed Industries failure Increased risk whose Decreased risk risk changed Industries whose failure Increased risk Decreased risk risk changed Increased risk 2

%

2

%

2% 2% Agriculture 2% 2% Agriculture Agriculture

Decreased risk13% 1

%

1

%

1% 1% Mining 1% 1% Mining Mining

12 13% 12% 13% 12%

24%

%

% 12 13 % 12% 13 % % 13 12 %

9% 9%

Construction

3% 3% 3% 3% Manufacturing Transportation

% 7% 8 % 7% 8 % % 8 7 Wholesale

Construction Construction

Manufacturing Transportation Manufacturing Transportation

Wholesale Wholesale

9% 9% 9% 9%

3% 3%

Retail Retail Retail

% 24% 19 % 24 19% 19%

Finance, insurance, and real estate Finance, insurance, and real estate Finance, insurance, and real estate

5% Very low Low 5% 17% Low 17% Low Average 17% 65% Average 65% Average 65% 33% 29% 33% 29% 33% 29%

Services Services Services

May 2014 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

17

Credit Management

Understanding the fraudster’s modus operandi The following is a 2 part report from Experian. Here we cover Identity theft and maniuplation and in the July edition we deal with Perpetration, Delivery and Distribution.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Understanding the behaviour of fraudsters is essential in order for us to enable our clients to manage and optimise risk prevention and to detect and reduce fraud throughout the customer life cycle.

Through interviews with both convicted and unconvicted fraudsters we’ve built first­hand insight into ‘Understanding the fraudster’s modus operandi’.

This research has been conducted through face-toface and telephone interviews with both convicted and unconvicted fraudsters and fraud industry stakeholders, such as law enforcement officials, ecommerce professionals and fraud managers. The research was carried out over a four year period involving over one hundred participants.

The perpetrator research was conducted within the framework of the ethical guidelines of the British Society of Criminology. Care was taken to ensure that the data generated was anonymised to protect the confidentiality and integrity of research participants or the company for which they are employed. All fraudster names are therefore fictitious.

Fraudsters were identified and contacted via a ‘snowballing method’ with research participants encouraged to contact other potential subjects from within their fraud networks. As a result, findings were based on a non-random sample of convenience. Therefore they give a snapshot of fraudulent behaviour - but without any geographical context or regional variances in trends.

The research behind this document has been distilled into four stages which break down the fraudster’s modus operandi (MO). This is partly as a result of the wealth of insight that fraudsters were happy to divulge about how they initially stole the victim’s identity. Also as identity theft is often only the first stage in the fraud life cycle there is the prospect for more of the fraudster’s behaviour to be understood and acted on, thus providing further opportunities to detect fraudsters as they ply their trade.

The four stages of the fraud life cycle we focus on in this document are categorised as identity theft, perpetration, delivery and distribution.

18

CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • May 2014

FOUR STAGES OF UNDERSTANDING THE FRAUDSTER’S MODUS OPERANDI The four stages of this white paper and the resulting insight into understanding the fraudster’s modus operandi can be recognised as follows: 1. Identity theft and manipulation How do fraudsters get hold of identities with which they commit fraud? zz Who aids fraudsters in obtaining identity information? zz Where can credit card numbers and Card Verification Value (CVV) codes be acquired? zz How do fraudsters consolidate stolen identities? zz How is circular identity theft achieved?

2. Perpetration Once the fraudster has stolen the requisite identity information, how do they commit fraud? zz What types of fraud are perpetrated? zz Do fraudsters target particular kinds of companies? zz How can you tell the fraudster from the real customer?

3. Delivery How do fraudsters take delivery of the goods, services or money that they have fraudulently obtained? zz Where are the goods sent to? zz Do fraudsters have accomplices or colleagues in the delivery process?

4. Distribution How do fraudsters profit from goods that they obtain through fraud? zz What happens to the spoils of fraud? zz Are goods obtained by deception still sold in the back of pubs? zz Has technology opened up new markets to the fraudsters?

There are inevitably aspects to the fraudster’s MO that we have not covered in this research exercise. Instead we have only included content where we have a direct insight into how and when the fraud was perpetrated and who was involved. This way we can ensure an undiluted first hand account of the fraudster’s modus operandi.

Credit Management

Identity theft and manipulation In this section we examine how the fraudster obtains the personal characteristics needed to perpetrate fraud. Namely how does the identity theft take place so the fraudster can then use that stolen identity in a fraudulent transaction?

We’re not going to focus on some of the more publicised methods of identity theft such as bindiving. Instead let’s look at some of the less well known aspects of how fraudsters go about their daily business.

Fraudsters go to a fraud shop!

It will come as no surprise that if Fraud Managers have their own online fraud forum to share information and fraud alerts and to work together to beat the fraudster, then fraudsters have their own forums too. Multiple fraudster chat rooms exist on the web, of which this screen grab from a common “carding” site is just one. We have chosen not to reveal the site’s URL as we feel that this would only serve as a signpost for trainee and aspiring fraudsters A quick visit to these kinds of sites reveals the language and the habits and practices that go on in “the carding scene”. In essence, fraudsters log in and buy sets of card numbers, names, addresses and other information which any web-literate person can then purchase and start running CNP (Card Not Present) frauds. Lists of stolen identities are transferred via hard to track and detect web data transfer tools such as IRC (Internet Relay Chat) and ICQ, an acronym for “I Seek You”.

Screen showing a post from an illegal forum specialising in sharing stolen So when fraudsters sell these databases of card details. names and credit card numbers online, where are they coming from?

The answers to this question could form a whole separate report.

“The going rate for a freshly There have been plenty of high profile examples of organisations stolen credit card was about losing data which leaves their customer details exposed, many £250 with the price rising beyond of these cases have been attributed to human error or in some £500 if it was accompanied by a instances poor security processes. In reality though, the majority PIN number or if the victim was of the identity data that is available online is provided by hackers at work for the day or, better still, that have illegally gained access to databases, usually from on holiday ” attacks on the servers of poorly defended companies, and then Ian, Fraudster #E17, unconvicted sold on to the fraud market via sites such as this.

“It makes burglary easier and more worthwhile ‘cos before it was a gamble that people had anything worth having, you had to get it out without looking suspicious and then you had to find somewhere to flog it. Its easy now cos everyone’s got cards and it fits in my pocket and I get a good price for it.”

Fraudsters have people on the inside “They work in bars where the pay’s crap and they get treated like crap by the boss and the customers so it’s like Christmas for them when I come along and offer them a way to make shed loads without any risk. “ George, Fraudster #B14, unconvicted

Julie, Fraudster #E19, convicted

May 2014 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

19

Credit Management

Fraudsters play dead “The workers at our call centres are stopped every day on their way out of work by the fraudsters bribing them to buy customer identities from inbound calls. They just brazenly hang around outside the office complex gates” Security & Risk Manager at leading online computer retailer

The fraudster is direct in their approach to identity theft and is not afraid to approach those working in jobs where there is easy access to customers’ personal and/or financial details.

These jobs are often poorly paid so the financial incentive that the fraudster offers is generally very attractive and frequently overcomes any concerns that the employee has about collusion with the fraudster. Fraudsters who use this approach report a high level of cooperation and note that more employees have qualms about getting into trouble with their employer than they do about the legality or morality of their conduct.

Fraud begins at work!

“I decided to enter the world of work and got a job at a call centre. In a grimy, freezing room, a few dozen miserable people sat in front of computers with headsets on, muttering into mouthpieces with their eyes stuck on their screens. Every day dozens of people were using their cards through me to pay. There had to be a way for me to take this information and make use of the cards myself.”

Elliot Castro, prolific fraudster & author of “Other People’s Money”

“I have their address and credit card details from the booking so all I need is the number from the back.

When they turn up, I say I’ve got to check their card against the list in the office so I go and get the list and look at it so the card isn’t ever away from them. I take the form straight back into the office so that I can write the number down before I forget it and they’re none the wiser.”

Chris, Fraudster #E6, convicted

20

CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • May 2014

“I might sound a bit cruel but I read the obits in the local paper. If it says ‘sadly missed by her husband’ or ‘survived by his wife’ then its odds on that the house won’t be empty. But if it is all children and grandkids, you’ve got a good chance that they lived on their own so you see if you can find the address to scoot round and have a look… Lots of these oldies, they’ve got great credit ratings because they’ve spent a lifetime saving and paying their bills on the dot… Credit is easy to get and you’ve got long-standing residency on the electoral register too …

The bonus is that you know that nobody is going to have to foot the bill because grandma’s dead so it’s not like anyone’s getting hurt.”

Douglas, Fraudster #C5

Fraudsters get up close: Mail interception “So I pose as a small-time property developer and ask for lists of executor sales. Some estate agents will let you take keys and go and look yourself but most take you round. If I’ve got the keys, I take a copy but if I’m just looking round I can slip a window latch open sometimes or just work out whether or not there’s an easy way to break in looking at whether the back garden is accessible and not overlooked, that sort of thing. Once I’m sure I can get in, I can get the applications in for credit cards… [and] wait for them to come rolling in.”

Ben, Fraudster #C16, unconvicted

“Outside letter boxes are great too. You’d be surprised how many people have them …

You have to watch a bit to see if they leave for work before postie arrives. All that sitting around is a bit tedious but worth it when it pays off.”

Catherine, Fraudster #D11, convicted

Fraudsters have a variety of strategies for accessing post once it is delivered, whether this is by targeting properties that have mail that is easier to access, such as external letter boxes or flats with multiple mail boxes in a secure area, or by gaining access to the house itself. More sophisticated fraudsters will

Credit Management

have a range of safe addresses to use and will arrange for particular items of mail to be redirected, e.g. by advising the bank of a change of address and then ordering a duplicate card.

“Provided you sound official, people will tell you anything.”

Michael, Fraudster #E5, unconvicted

“A little bit of knowledge goes a long way. Knowing who [the victim] works for or banks with is all that it takes. You’d be surprised but ‘I’m calling from Lloyds, there’s a problem with your account’ still works despite the publicity telling people not to believe it. But the thing is that banks, insurance companies, Sky all still do it anyway. They phone up and ask customers to identify themselves so there’s no point in telling people not to fall for it until the companies stop doing it.”

Rob, Fraudster #E2, unconvicted

“I use dating chat rooms as people are keener to talk about personal stuff. I never ask anything outright.

After a bit, I say ‘you know, I can’t believe how easy you are to talk to I bet you’re a Cancer’ and that always gets a response, like, ‘oh no, I’m Pisces’. So then I say ‘oh wow, what a coincidence so am I. I’m the 10th, what are you? They give you the date of their birthday and you can work out the month from the star sign. I’ve got all sorts of things that I can do.”

Michael, Fraudster #E5, unconvicted

“[Chat rooms] give me a way to spot potential victims. It takes a while to build up trust but that’s ok, its worth the effort in the end.

As time goes on, people give out more and more stuff …I mean, to start with, I can be a man or woman online. I use sex-free user-names like ‘Filmlover34’ so I can be whatever sex I need to be.“ Michael, Fraudster #E5, unconvicted

“Email’s the best way. Quick.

Can’t be traced. Once it’s mocked up to look like eBay or whatever, it can go out to hundreds of people a day.”

Sam, Fraudster #A8, convicted

“It isn’t hard to copy look at the real Amazon and copy it. If it looks like Amazon, people accept that it is Amazon. They log in as a returning customer so we’ve got their password too and plenty of people use the same password for everything so that can be handy. Then they get a screen that says they need to put their details in again for security purposes, they press ‘click’ and that’s their name, address, bank details and everything else that we needed sent straight to us.”

Sam, Fraudster #A8, convicted

In a widely publicised scam a group of fraudsters set up a bogus website claiming to sell a variety of electrical goods at reasonable prices and which stated that it had stock of the ‘must have’ Christmas gift: a Sony PSP. Over two thousand orders were placed, all providing personal identity information and bank details. Once the details were obtained, prospective purchasers were sent an email advising them that their order could not be processed due to lack of stock. As no money was lost, there seemed to be nothing amiss to alert the victims to the theft of their identity details particularly as the fraudsters waited several months to undertake fraudulent transactions in order to minimise the risk that the victims would make the link with the website.

Site cloning involves the replication of the look and style of a genuine and trusted website that leads victims to input their personal or financial details in the belief that this is part of a genuine transaction. Sham sales websites are a similar way of harvesting information from the unwary consumer as they purport to offer items for sale, often ‘must have’ items at a very competitive price, in order to obtain personal and bank details of the victim.

Fraudsters are hi-tech and run card cloning scams Identity theft often takes place by cloning a credit card rather than stealing or intercepting one. This is most often done by fraudsters installing a false front to cash point machines that contains some clever kit that can clone all the relevant card details necessary to then go and use that card as if it were the original.

May 2014 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

21

Credit Management

Their typical cashpoint cloning kit consists of: zz A scanner which reads the magnetic strip on the reverse of the card to capture the card data. This equates to the 16 digit card number, the card start and expiration dates, the cardholder’s name and the three digit CVV code on the rear of the card. zz A small digital camera which is configured to capture the card owner entering the PIN number as an mpeg file zz And a memory stick which records all this information for fraudsters to recover and use at their leisure Of course, this method of capture means that fraudsters have to return to the cashpoint to recover their data to complete the identity theft. As a result they are often caught red-handed thanks to the good work undertaken by the economic crime departments of local police forces, in particular the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police Forces. Specialist organisations such as the Dedicated Card & Plastic Crime Unit (www.dcpcu.org.uk) sponsored by the UK banking industry are also at the heart of fighting this hi-tech means of Identity Theft.

Worryingly, the latest trick that the fraudsters employ is to add the latest generation mobile phones to their box of tricks. The result? The cloned card data is packaged up and messaged to the fraudster’s HQ leaving less opportunity for law enforcement to run intervention operations.

One of the most effective methods used by the fraudster to obtain personal information from victims is by conversation.

This may be in person, by telephone or even online. Fraudsters are often adept at creating an appropriate persona to induce disclosure whether this is impersonating a bank employee to obtain account details or creating an aura of easy intimacy in an internet chat room and eliciting personal details from the victim.

Fraudsters work with counterfeiters

“We’ve got all the gadgets and can do most documents to a passable standard.”

Brian, Fraudster #B16, unconvicted

Technological advances make the replication of genuine documents a relatively straightforward matter. The quality of these varies but many would stand up to close scrutiny although not, of course, referencing with official records. For example, a counterfeit driving licence could be used to authenticate identity and address for the purposes of store credit but would not be supported by details on the DVLA computer if it were produced to the police following a traffic offence. However, whilst the DVLA database would be a great verification tool, it’s not available to fraud prevention professionals as a verification resource. Sites such as the one in the example shown are commonplace on the internet where counterfeiters serve ID thieves as a preparatory stage to fraud or other crime.

Again, we’ve chosen not to publicise the precise URL of this site, but if you want to find out more about this site and others, please contact us.

Screen showing numerous fake identity documents that are available online.

“Once I’ve got someone’s details, I want some sort of photo ID to support it.

A driving licence is great. I used to take a driving test to get one but it takes too long to do and I used to fail sometimes too which was a real nuisance so now I used one of these websites where you upload a photo and they make it into a driving licence for £25 … I’ve compared it with mine and I can’t see the difference.”

John, Fraudster #D8, convicted

Fraudsters work the circle of identity theft “So I get bank info from purchasers and sort out duplicate cards, either me or the wife goes out and uses the cards to buy anything we want or that we’ve got orders for and then we just buy stuff that sells well on [auction websites]. You learn what goes well by trial and error. My missus does the selling. Then she’ll tell the buyer that she needs payment by cheque because of bank problems and offer them a discount for the inconvenience of not using PayPal. The cheque comes and gives us bank details and the name and address of the buyer so its easy to use that to get duplicate cards and so it starts again… It was a bit of a sideline at first but its so lucrative that we do it fulltime now.”

Peter, Fraudster #B2, unconvicted

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Credit Management

It is often the case that goods are actually supplied to avoid drawing attention to the transaction. Some fraudsters sell items on genuine auction websites in a cyclic enterprise to dispose of property obtained by fraud and to obtain identity information of fresh victims in a single transaction.

Fraudsters play the substitute card “We’ve got it down to a fine art over the years. Stolen cards get picked up by banks looking for unusual account activity or by people checking their statements online which they can do now so its far more risky than it used to be so we get fresh cards that the account holder doesn’t know about … How? Well, like I say, I don’t want to give all our secrets away … [the] best way is to apply for an additional card for a husband or boyfriend or whatever … Yeah, you’ve got to sort the change of address first but its no problem if you know what you’re doing.”

Ian, Fraudster #E17, unconvicted

Many fraudsters shy away from the actual theft of cards and they prefer to obtain cards themselves but without stealing them.

One means of achieving this is known as account takeover.

Here, the fraudster obtains sufficient information about the victim to impersonate them in dealings with the bank, either personal, by telephone or in written form. The fraudster changes the address associated with the account so that all mail is delivered to an address of his choosing and then obtains a fresh card on the account; this may be done by reporting the existing card lost or stolen or simply by requesting an additional card on the account as if for a partner.

Once the card arrives, the fraudster is able to use it without fear of detection as its loss is not detected by the victim, nor can transactions be noted on a statement as these are delivered to

Screens showing members exchanging information in an illegal card sharing forum.

the fraudster (although there is some prospect of detection if the victim uses internet banking). A further advantage of this strategy for the fraudster is that any PIN number associated with the card will also be delivered to him thus giving him all that he needs to make purchases on the substitute card. n www.experian.com.au

Technological advances make the replication of genuine documents a relatively straightforward matter. The quality of these varies but many would stand up to close scrutiny although not, of course, referencing with official records. *In the next issue of Credit Management in Australia, we bring you part 2 of this report.

May 2014 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

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Become the National Credit Team of the Year

Enter your team by 31 July 2014 for your chance to be awarded for credit excellence.

There will be four finalists, two of whom will be selected as nominees for national winner.

At the 2014 AICM National Conference on the Gold Coast, each nominee for national winner will receive: • Two conference registrations • Airfares and accommodation at the Marriott Resort • On-stage introduction prior to the announcement of the National Credit Team of the Year winner All three runners up will receive $500 each in AICM services including professional development seminars, network meetings, qualification based training and dinners!

Applications and information is available at aicm.com.au Proudly sponsored by Veda.

The national winner will receive: • Professional development services worth $2000, provided

by AICM • Recognition in the AICM magazine, plus the AICM, Veda and Credit Network websites • The 2014 National Credit Team winner’s trophy

Australian Institute of Credit Management 2014 National Credit Team of the Year

Recognising Credit Excellence in 2014 AICM and Veda are delighted to announce nominations for the 2014 National Credit Team of the Year are now open!

Nominating your credit team has many personal and professional benefits including the chance to: • Demonstrate best practice in credit management • Gain team and individual recognition within the credit industry and internally within your company • Develop personal presentation skills • Build team spirit.

By nominating your credit team, you will be in the running to win the following prizes: • Recognition as one of 4 national finalists in the AICM magazine, AICM, Veda and Credit Network websites • 3 non-winning national finalists teams will receive $500 each in AICM services including professional development seminars, network meetings, qualification based training and dinners.

Each nominee (2 teams) for national winner will receive: • Two conference registrations • Airfares and accommodation at the Marriott Resort • On-stage introduction prior to the announcement of the National Credit Team of the Year winner.

The national winner will receive: • Professional development services worth $2000, provided by AICM • Recognition in the AICM magazine, plus the AICM, Veda and Credit Network websites • The 2014 National Credit Team winner’s trophy.

Who is eligible?

• A team of employees in a credit function (a maximum of 6, minimum of 2 to be involved in formal presentation, regardless of the credit team size) • Membership of AICM is not a prerequisite • Previous national winning team is NOT eligible to apply in the following year.

Application and Judging Process 1. Applications are to be made on the attached form and submitted to AICM by 31 July 2014.

2. Four national finalists will be selected for interview – national finalists will be advised by Friday, 29 August 2014.

3. The judging panel will interview national finalist teams at a mutually convenient time, by Friday, 19 September 2014. All interviews will be conducted in a standard format. As national finalists may be from different states, interviews may be conducted by video conferencing or other form of external communication.

4. Two national finalists will be selected as nominees for national winner and notified by Monday, 22 September 2014. Two members of each team of the nominees for national winner will be invited to attend the AICM National Conference for the announcement of the National Credit Team of the Year winner.

5. The 2014 AICM National Conference will be held at the Marriott Resort on the Gold Coast and will be held on Wednesday 15 October 2014 to Friday 17 October 2014.

Scope of the presentation • Each application form is to be approved in writing by the team’s Credit Manager and/or Finance Controller/ Director. This must be submitted at the same time the team’s application is submitted.

• Finalists must give a 30 minute presentation to the judging panel. This will be followed by a 45 minute question and answer session with the judging panel.

Judging panel The judging panel will comprise three Senior Credit Representatives, from AICM, Veda and an invited representative from industry.

aicm.com.au | veda.com.au

2014 Credit Team of the Year | 1

Awards

The Debtor and Invoice Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand (DIFA) AICM 2014 Student of the Year Awards

Peter Langham, DIFA Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Scottish Pacific Debtor Finance, Toni Sawyer AICM trainer, Chris Dufton DIFA Student of the Year, Kerri Pottharst OAM, Sydney Olympic Gold Medalist and Guest Speaker, Lana Montoro DIFA Outstanding Achievement award, Terry Collins AICM CEO and Lee Clarke Chairman DIFA and National Head, Debtor Finance, GE Capital, Corporate Finance Australia & New Zealand.

The Australian Institute of Credit Management has been running the ‘Manage Factoring and Invoice Discounting Arrangements’ training course for DIFA, formerly the Australian Institute for Factors and Discounters, since 2005.This was in response to the growing demand for skilled personnel in the debtor finance industry. This course can be undertaken as a discreet unit or form part of the accreditation for the Diploma of Financial Services.

Each year DIFA selects the DIFA Student of the Year, based on course work and written assignments.

The DIFA Student of the Year in 2014 is Chris Dufton, Account Executive Scottish Pacific Debtor Finance, Auckland, New Zealand.

With the high quality of student assessments in 2014, DIFA also recognised an ‘Outstanding Achievement’ award, which was presented to Lana Montoro, Client Manager Debtor Finance Bank of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld. The awards were presented at the annual DIFA Annual Luncheon, held in Sydney on 25 March 2014.

You have what it takes to be the 2014 Young Credit Professional.

Nominations for the 2014 Young Credit Professional Award, sponsored by D&B, are now open. If you are under 30 years of age as at 30 June 2014 and work in any of the many roles that embrace credit such as collections, customer service, factoring and invoice discounting, credit analysis, credit control, credit scoring, leasing and equipment hire, risk and/or loans, then you have what it takes to be this years Young Credit Professional.

The National Winner receives $1000 cash prize and Educational Scholarship from AICM (valued at $2,000). The Division Winner wins their airfares, accommodation and registration costs to attend the AICM National Conference to be held at the Marriott Resort, Surfers Paradise on 15 - 17 October 2014.

To register your interest and have an AICM representative contact you with further information and assistance go to www.aicm.com.au

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aicm

new south wales

around the states

Stephen Vaughan, Partner at KPMG and host of the Network meeting.

Presenter Sam Pearlman, Partner at Curwood Lawyers.

Events Calendar

Tuesday 20 May 2014

Network Night

Subject: PPS and Legal Procedural Review Venue: City Location TBA

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Network Night

Speaker: Sam Pearlman – Partner Curwoods Lawyers Delegates at the March Network meeting at the office of KPMG.

Venue: Rydges Hotel, Parramatta

Tuesday 15 July 2014

Annual Golf Day

March Network Meeting We had a great turn out for the first network meeting hosted in the Boardrooms of KPMG on 18 March 2014. After appreciating the view of Darling Harbour and some refreshments the 30+ attendees heard Sam Pearlman, NSW Councillor and Partner at Curwood Lawyers commence his presentation titled “Can I please have my money first?

The inside word on Preference Payments” Sam provided a practical review of 3 recent cases involving Preferential Payment Claims in which the Creditor lost not just the preference payment but in some cases much more in legal fees. The message was clear to credit managers, be aware of the warning signs, take advice from an experienced legal advisor and look to achieve a reasonable settlement to avoid a much worse result at court.

Thank you to Sam Pearlman for the presentation and Stephen Vaughan, Partner at KPMG for hosting the network night.

Membership Milestones In this issue we celebrate the following membership milestones; 40 Years – Bill Hardman MICM, joined in 1974 35 Years – Jeanette Burton LICM, joined in 1979 20 Years – Gaynor Lawler MICM, CCE joined in 1994 20 Years – Nora Whitaker MICM, joined in 1994 20 Years – Sharon French MICM, joined in 1994 20 Years – Paul Leroy MICM, joined in 1994 20 Years – Lina Najjar MICM, joined in 1994

Venue: Parramatta – watch this space

Tuesday 15 July 2014

YCPA – Awards Dinner – AGM Venue: Rydges Hotel, Parramatta

The Australian Institute of Credit Management New South Wales welcomes the following organisations as our sponsors for 2014 The Australian Institute of Credit Management and our Sponsors benefit from a cooperative and supportive relationship that provides high profile branding opportunities to sponsoring organisations and gives the credit industry greater recognition and the opportunity to work together to promote best practice in the credit industry and in so doing provide professional development opportunities for credit practitioners in Australia.

Congratulations to each of you.

New Sponsor in NSW

The NSW Division welcomes OnGuard as a sponsor in 2014.

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queensland

aicm around the states

Lisa Clements, Nick Combis, Julie McNamara.

Brian Kay, Marianne Savas, John Playfair.

Privacy Forum Panel.

Dianne Stewart, Nathan Williams, Glenn Woods.

President’s Report I have had positive feedback about the contribution of the Institute and in particular the National President and State Presidents in lobbying to get the stay in relation to having to belong to an external dispute resolution (EDR) body. The practical implementation of processes and compliance checks in regards to the Privacy Amendment Act remains a current concern for many in the commercial and credit space. Queensland branch recognizes the importance for credit professionals to come up with practical ways of implementing these changes and to engage in the inevitable conversation about how EDR’s will work and we will be delivering a number of sessions that will assist at a grass roots level. A synopsis of the sessions appears below.

Session 1. Summarizing what the new legislation means, penalties, compliance requirements to have Privacy policy, ensuring the correct consents are obtained; impacts on T&C’s Credit application etc.

Session 2. A workshop taking participants through points such as how to engage stakeholders both internal and external, who needs to be involved, what questions do I need to ask of third party providers including giving directions to solicitors Session 3. A session on record keeping; preparing for an audit; what do I need if a complaint is raised; what is involved in the EDR membership and process?

The AICM has been active in this arena for some time and given the different levels of preparedness and desire of members to share information this topic will be hot for most of 2014.

– Brian Kay FICM CCE Queensland President

Privacy Panel Presentation Randstad and Thomson Geer, in conjunction with the AICM conducted a breakfast privacy panel presentation on 8 April. The 40 plus attendees represented functional areas including consumer and commercial credit; human resource professionals; marketing and sales. The panel consisting of Peter Mills and Kathie Sadler of Thomson Geer; Marina Cameron of C&K Childcare and Brian Kay of AkzoNobel was moderated by Michael Roddy of Randstad. The panel broadly covered the issues that have arisen as a result of companies implementing the new privacy policy regime which came into effect 12th March 2014. The session identified that a 28

CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • May 2014

conversation between all those involved both within companies, with third party providers and in the wider communities of credit, finance and human resources is beneficial to implementing the best practice. The Queensland branch of the AICM will be running a session relating to the practical considerations and applications required to not only meet, but maintain, compliance with this legislation.

Membership Milestones In this issue we celebrate the following membership milestones; 35 Years – Warwick Ballantine-Jones MICM, joined in 1979 30 Years – Paul Tranent MICM, joined in 1984 20 Years – Roslyn Buckley MICM, joined in 1994 20 Years – Alison Beythien MICM CCE, joined in 1994 Congratulations to each of you.

We asked Elizabeth Inglis, a member for 25 years, for a few words on her time since joining the AICM

Elizabeth Inglis What were you doing when you first joined the AICM? Around this time, I was appointed Credit Controller for Coats Patons Ltd for whom I enjoyed 14 fantastic years after leaving school. I was introduced to AICM by Don Fenwick, when I undertook a course at Kangaroo Point TAFE. Where has your career taken you and what roles have you had?

I initially studied Accounting, however, was quite bored with restrictions, hence the reason I later undertook the course at TAFE looking for something more creative. This path lead me into various roles in different industries including Government, Manufacturing, Advertising, Public Relations for a Fleet Management company, various roles and secondments within Collection House including Receivables Management, Portfolio Management, Administration and Audit Desk Manager, Purchased Debt, Client Liaison Manager and Compliance.

During this time, I have met many interesting people colleagues, clients and industry advocates in the Credit Management and debt collection environment, many of whom have contributed to the betterment of the

aicm

Events Calendar

around the states

Wednesday 11 June 2014

Workshop

Subject: A Credit Hypothetical – Engaging Workshop Presenter: Eric Milne CCE Afternoon Event Venue: Randstad

Wednesday 9 July 2014

Credit Network Night

Subject: Skills Report – Manage People Evening Event Venue: Tattersalls Club

Friday 25 July 2014

YCPA - Awards Dinner – AGM Venue: Tattersalls Club

Jonathan Gaskell ( Veda).

Wednesday 20 August 2014

Half Day Seminars Back to Basics: Risk & Account Management Subject: ½ day Telephone Techniques Subject: ½ day Manage Account Over dues Presenter: Toni Sawyer Venue: Randstad

Wednesday 10 September 2014

Credit Network Night Subject: Impact of Unseen Effects of Business Failure Tuesday 14 October 2014

Wincollect/AICM National Golf Day Malcolm Jones, John Gregg.

Venue: The Links Hope Island

15th – 17th October

2014 AICM National Conference Venue: Marriott Hotel – Gold Coast

November

2014 in Review – End of Year Celebrations

The Australian Institute of Credit Management Queensland welcomes the following organisations as our sponsors for 2014

Peter Mills, Tarnya Lowe and Brian Kay.

industry as it is today. I later went on to work for Collection Advantage where I worked in-house for major Waste Management and Transport companies and Childcare. After leaving Collection House, I worked as a Volunteer for Court Network giving service to a non-profit cause providing court users with support, information and referral services, from which I gained satisfaction in the knowledge I was giving back to the community.

The Australian Institute of Credit Management and our Sponsors benefit from a cooperative and supportive relationship that provides high profile branding opportunities to sponsoring organisations and gives the credit industry greater recognition and the opportunity to work together to promote best practice in the credit industry and in so doing provide professional development opportunities for credit practitioners in Australia.

What are you doing know?

I recently joined a progressive company Advance Group Holdings in Compliance and am looking forward to the new challenges. I also now enjoy other community work in the important role as a Marriage Celebrant, through which I see much joy and happiness. I also Volunteer in the Deaf Community which helps me to keep up and improve my Auslan signing. Everyone should contribute to the community through Volunteer work, it is a humbling experience.

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aicm

south australia

Lindsay Chuck and James Neate.

around the states

Trevor Goodwin presents The Basics of Credit.

Credit Focus Review – February & March Trevor Goodwin FICM, CCE – Manager, Credit Services, NCI (Brokers) P/L gave a motivating presentation in February on “Where would you be without the basics of Credit?” He covered, implementing a credit policy, contents of an account application, the 5c’s of credit and know who you are dealing with. Trevor’s knowledge and experience in this area provided attendees with an in depth understanding of what the basics of credit are, what action is required to minimise bad debts and the subsequent consequences of ignoring the basics.

James Neate, Partner, Lynch Meyer, AICM SA Director and National Vice-President, was our speaker at the March Credit Focus session.

The topic, “How trusting are you? A look at Trading Trusts” was both entertaining and informative, inclusive of the history of trusts, the PPSR impact and case studies illustrating how trusts operate. While questions both during, and at the conclusion of the presentation highlighted the complexities of trusts, I’m sure attendees returned to work knowing what to investigate when dealing with a trust.

Thank you to our speakers and their employers.

Our April presentation was “Managing conflict and Aggressive behaviour” by Paul Warren, Snr Sgt SAPOL, and consultant for Mercantile Collection Services Pty Ltd. – Lindsay Chuck LICM (Credit Focus and Professional Development)

Quiz Night – Members and guests enjoying the night.

‘Barefoot Bowls’ tournament and social event It has never been a greatly kept secret that South Australians are fiercely competitive and we were reminded of this when our members got together for the first AICM social event of 2014, the Annual Lawn Bowls tournament. There was friendly banter as members reconnected and caught up on holiday tales and industry talk followed by an enjoyable gourmet barbecue dinner to fuel up for the evening ahead, one that would offer many laughs. As teams were formed the next task was to decide on formidable team names before heading out to the greens to do battle.

Before the battle could be hard fought and sorely won however our courageous teams had a few minor hiccups to contend with- such as having to actually learn the rules again, or in some instances for the first time. Apologies needed to be made for accidentally taking all of the spare bowling balls leaving none for other players in venue and of course there were the calculated, strategically developed plans of ‘attack’ that had such fool proof potential- if only coordination and technique hadn’t caused so many problems!

And so it came to pass, of the teams who would enter the battle field on that cool February night there could indeed be only the one winner.

Team Justice, the MCS Marauders, Crackerjacks, The Credibles and The 30

CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • May 2014

Winning team left to right; Lisa Anderson- Penrice Soda Products, Aaron Smith- Sinclair Recruitment, Torri Smith- Sinclair Recruitment, Phylicia Veitch- Penrice Soda Products.

Tingleberrries bowed gracefully to the winning team of 2014, ‘Lisa and the Avenging Angels’...

To those who attended, thank you for making the night so very wonderful. We hope to see you on the ‘field’ next time, may the odds be ever in your favour!

Membership Milestones In this issue we celebrate the following membership milestone; 20 Years – Steve Harding MICM, CCE joined in 1994 Congratulations Steve.

aicm around the states

Events Calendar

Thursday 22 May 2014

YCPA Networking Night

2014 Quiz Night

Venue: TBA

After a break of a couple of years, the SA Division re-introduced its Quiz Night to a full-house at the Goodwood Community Centre on Friday 11th April. Eleven teams of ‘funsters’ packed the venue and, thanks to the venue being a BYO facility, they quickly became ‘FUNSTERS’!

Functions Chairperson, Daniel Jensen, engaged a professional group, Quiz Meisters, to run the event and what a fun night it became with Quiz Meister Will at the helm – general knowledge, music, film and television, a few games thrown in just to keep things rolling along, and all topped off with a Silent Auction – never a dull moment.

Of course there can only ever be one winner and the 2014 Champion is Team Hunt from Hunt & Hunt Lawyers and their guests - Melanie Bird, Josh Richards, Kieren Moore, Tim Duval, Chris Bruce, Lauren Bruce , Jacqui Munn, Nadia Stanev and Renae Grant.

Congratulations and we look forward to seeing you back to defend your position next year.

An event like this doesn’t just happen and the Council wishes to express its thanks to the many businesses that donated the tables full of goodies that we were able to offer as prizes for the quiz and the raffle and as spot-prizes throughout the night.

Event Supporters are: Bickfords & VOK Beverages Toro Australia Coopers Brewery McLaren Beverage Company Options Wine Merchants Chace Agencies Lynch Meyer Lawyers

Thursday 12 June 2014

Credit Focus

Subject: Collecting Debt – A Credit manager’s Perspective Venue: Education Development Centre – Hindmarsh

Thursday 10 July 2014

Credit Focus

Subject: Privacy – Are all your i’s dotted and t’s crossed?

Venue: Education Development Centre – Hindmarsh

Wednesday 23 July 2014

Women in Credit – Subject: Social Networking Venue: TBA

Thursday 14 August 2014

Credit Focus

NCI (Brokers) Pty Ltd MCS Mercantile Keep Safe Training Essential Beauty D’renberg Wines Samuel Smith & Sons Stratco Pernod-Ricard Pacific

Venue - Education Development Centre – Hindmarsh

Wednesday 20 August 2014

YCPA – Awards Dinner Venue: TBA

If you get a chance, please support them as they have supported your institute. Thanks again to all who chipped to make the night the wonderful success that it was; your support, as well as all of the positive feedback that we’ve had since, pretty much ensures a return in 2015.

– Kerry Hammill, EO – SA Division

Thursday 11 September 2014

Credit Focus Venue: Education Development Centre – Hindmarsh

September 2014

Men in Credit The Australian Institute of Credit Management South Australia welcomes the following organisations as our sponsors for 2014

Venue: TBA

The Australian Institute of Credit Management and our Sponsors benefit from a cooperative and supportive relationship that provides high profile branding opportunities to sponsoring organisations and gives the credit industry greater recognition and the opportunity to work together to promote best practice in the credit industry and in so doing provide professional development opportunities for credit practitioners in Australia.

Venue: Education Development Centre – Hindmarsh

Thursday 9 October 2014

Credit Focus 15 – 17 October 2014

AICM 2014 National Conference Venue: Marriott Hotel Gold Coast

Thursday 13 November 2014

Credit Focus Venue: Education Development Centre – Hindmarsh

Thursday 20 November 2014

Christmas Function Venue: TBA

May 2014 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

31

western australia/nt

aicm around the states

Kevin Allen thanking guest speakers Olga Ganopolsky General Counsel, Moses Samaha General Manager Commercial Risk Products, Debbie Leo General Manager Major Accounts, all from Veda.

Members networking.

Very Happy Sponsors and Councillors.

Leading WA Credit Managers Bernadette Doyle and Denise Riley

Presidents report “Food for thought” When thinking about the rollout of our Credit Toolbox training sessions/ modules and our breakfast information series planned for 2014 and the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead for the AICM, I started wondering about what the organisation is currently achieving and whether we are heading in the direction that the membership needs or wants us to go. There is no doubt that the National office do an extraordinarily good job with the resources they have to work with and I also believe that the current Board works diligently, cooperatively and strategically in setting the policy and framework that the National office and the respective State based Councils operate in.

It may be now is the right time for us to review our existing core functions and activities and determine how best we can deliver member services in the future.

In the early sixties, marketing visionary the late Theodore Levitt published an article called “Marketing Myopia” in The Harvard Business Review. He criticised business executives for too narrowly defining what their companies did. He argued, for instance, that the railroad industry had lost customers the airlines, trucking and automobile industries, in part; because its top executives thought they were in the business of running trains instead of providing transportation.

Perhaps the time has come for the AICM to accept that it is not just in the business of Credit Management. Maybe we can take the notion further and accept that our reason for existence as an organisation does not revolve around organising and managing conferences, or commenting on legislative changes that may affect our industry sector.

Sure, we need to be able to put across our point of view when major changes are proposed. And yes we may still need to convene an annual conference and look after our member’s best interests in changing times but I believe that we should focus a bit more on what our ‘business’ really is.

If Mr Levitt were alive today I reckon he might say that the AICM is in the business of professional development. Development of our Members leadership skills, their technical skills, strategy skills, management skills and maybe even more importantly their life skills. More than ever before, I believe the delivery of these skills to all our membership both locally 32

CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • May 2014

in WA and Australia-wide is critical and fundamental to the overall wellbeing of the Institute now and into the future.

In conclusion, I ask that the next time a flyer lands in your email inviting you to attend one of breakfast information sessions or to attend the next ‘Toolbox’ training session you think a little longer before hitting the delete button. These sessions are designed to assist you and your teams with skills based development and as I stated above, they are the core of the Institutes existence.

Colin Phillis MICM – WA President

Young Credit Professional It is amazing how the year has passed for Rosanna Maugeri since she was crowned 2013 YCP WA State Champion but here it is coming up again and there will be new candidates and maybe some who have tried before all jockeying for the crown this year.

It is an excellent way for young credit people to gain valuable experience in their chosen career and I don’t mean the normal skills to do their daily jobs but the leadership skills that could take them to the top of the Credit Industry mixed with persistence and determination. But there will be more on how it all unfolded in the next edition from Rosanna.

Seminars and Events Over the preceding few months the WA branch ran two excellent functions that were an out- standing success with a large member turn out and quality quest speakers not to mention the well-attended Sponsors function and we thank our Councillor Kristy Shrigley for her efforts to run the functions.

Key Changes and Challenges on the Privacy Act: This was on Friday 21st February 2014 and one of our breakfast series events which was held at the South of Perth Yacht Club. Like all Yacht clubs, they tend to have views to die for, we enjoyed a fantastic view over the Swan River with a clear image of the CBD skyline which shows up in a number of our photos.

Photos were taken by Mike Murphy photographer extraordinaire and

aicm

Events Calendar

around the states

Friday 13 June 2014

Breakfast – WA Police (WAPOL) Overview on Fraud Venue – Matilda Bay

Thursday 17 July 2014

YCPA – Awards Dinner and AGM Venue – Ibis Hotel Perth

Friday 8 August 2014

Breakfast – How to Work Better with the Bailiff Venue – Matilda Bay

Tuesday 9 September 2014

Credit Toolbox Training

Members at the Breakfast.

Venue – CASM Office Perth

Thursday 18 September 2014

Social Networking – Games Night Venue – Peter Taliangis Bar Perth

Friday 3 October 2014

Breakfast – Mock Creditors Meeting Venue – Matilda Bay

Wednesday 12 November 2014

Credit Toolbox Training Venue – CASM Office Perth

Members enjoying the event.

Thursday 4 December 2014

XMAS Sundowner – Relax and Network doubles as a high flying Credit Manager, past State and National President etc etc say no more.

The speakers for this breakfast flew over from the Eastern States to visit the Veda Office but found time to engage us with what we could expect from the proposed changes to the Privacy Act and the Speakers were Olga Ganopolsky – General Counsel, Moses Samaha General Manager Commercial Risk Products and Debbie Leo General Manager Major Accounts, all from Veda who we thanked with the traditional re-sounding round of applause and a bottle of delicious Western Australian wine from the Famous Margaret River Region.

Sponsors Function I have been to a few Sponsor functions over the years and this one was excellent, partly due to the awesome venue which was the Old Swan Brewery on the Swan River and I mean it was right next to the river and we were spectators to the pleasant and tranquil atmosphere a river generates. But also the good company and networking of the Sponsors and Councillors that found time to attend. We enjoyed a two course meal and desert with a few delicious glasses of that Western Australian wine which is known around the world and finished up with our President Colin Phillis saying a few words about the Institute and thanking the Sponsors individually as he went around the tables.

– Warren Myers MICM, Media and Publications

Venue – TBA

The Australian Institute of Credit Management Western Australia/NT welcomes the following organisations as our sponsors for 2014 The Australian Institute of Credit Management and our Sponsors benefit from a cooperative and supportive relationship that provides high profile branding opportunities to sponsoring organisations and gives the credit industry greater recognition and the opportunity to work together to promote best practice in the credit industry and in so doing provide professional development opportunities for credit practitioners in Australia.

Membership Milestones In this issue we celebrate the following membership milestones; 35 Years – Carlo Franzone MICM, joined in 1979 25 Years – Mike Murphy LICM, CCE joined in 1989 25 Years – William Vegvari MICM, joined in 1989 20 Years – Chris Meadwell MICM, CCE joined in 1994 20 Years – Kylie Gaunt MICM, joined in 1994 20 Years – Dean Hely MICM, joined in 1994 Congratulations to each of you.

May 2014 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

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victoria/tasmania

aicm around the states

Network Night - 20th February – Members and Guests

Golf Day – Brooke Bird – Straightest Drive Sponsors.

Golf Day – Team from Aust Recoveries & Collections – 2nd Straightest Drive Sponsors.

Golf Day – Tony Tesoriero (One Steel), Simon Olsen (Toll), Chris Sertic (Veda) and Charles Tims (Tuft Master).

Full Day Seminar Privacy Legislation Changes & PPSR Post Transitional Period - 12th February On 12 February Frank Gambera of McMahon Fearnley Lawyers presented an all-day seminar on two topics which are currently of interest to credit professionals. The first topic covered, amongst other things, updating privacy statements in credit account application forms, Privacy policies and preparing a Privacy Manual. The second topic concerned a review of the Transitional and post Transitional period under the Personal Property Securities Act and covered some of the issues credit professionals have confronted when making claims against Receivers and Liquidators for unpaid tax invoices and return of stock or the sale proceeds of the stock.

Two of the latest cases in this area were also discussed.

February Network Night – Understanding the Legal Process 20th February Robert White B.A. LL.B (Hons) of White Cleland Lawyers, Consultants and Notaries, delivered a comprehensive but exceptionally user 34

CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • May 2014

friendly presentation on the Legal Process in Victoria. Rob, an expert in civil debt recovery in Victoria, has written many papers and delivered many seminars in these areas of practice and is an active member of the Law Institute of Victoria and the Leo Cussens Institute. Rob covered the various legal processes and options available and the factors he advises his client’s to take into consideration when making decisions about debt recovery litigation. The presentation was very well received by members and guests. If you would like a copy of the paper that Rob presented on the night please email him at rbw@whitecleland.com.au.

AICM VIC/TAS Annual Golf Day 21st February Another exceptionally successful AICM VIC/TAS Annual Golf Day was conducted at Southern Golf Club, Lower Dandenong Road, Braeside on Friday 21st February 2014. The questionable weather just prior to commencement of play sent players scurrying for cover when the sky opened up and bucketed rain over the course, however the downpour was only short lived, and after the sun came out, it turned into a glorious day for golf. Winning Team for the day on a count back

aicm

victoria/tasmania

around the states

Golf Day – Winning Team Jeff Hurst, Sponsor Dannny O’Neil (Veda), Alex Glass, Tim Noonan (absent from photo: Michale Caporale).

Golf Day – Enjoying the Prawn BBQ Sponsored by Creditor Watch.

Golf Day – Penfold Holden Sponsor Car for Hole in One with President Lou Caldararo and VP Charles Tims.

Golf Day – Members and Guests.

score of 57 consisted of Michael Caporale, Alex Glass, Tim Noonan and Jeff Hurst. Runners up Team consisted of Jason Coonery, Simon Olsen, Tony Tesoriero, Chris Sertic, Third placed Team was Terry Crevis, James English, Shane Ashton, and Andrew Smith. The NAGA award went to Luke Yates, Dinesh Singh, Scott Frewer and Hugh Milne. Nearest the pin 6th Hole winner was Simon Olsen 140cm, Nearest the pin 16th hole winner was Danielle McCredden 150cm, Longest Drive 4th hole (Ladies) Donna Smith, Longest Drive 7th Hole (Men) Shane Logan, Longest Drive 17th Hole Andrew Smith, Straightest Drive 1st Hole Chris Sertic 10cm from rope. We would like to give special thanks to our sponsors, without whom our day would not be possible, and in no particular order, Veda Advantage, Trade Bureau Australia, Brooke Bird Insolvency Specialists, Australian Recoveries & Collections, Peerless Foods, Watermans Receivables, Hall & Willcox Lawyers, Melbourne Parkview Hotel, Kemps Peterson, Carlins Motor Auctions, Rothwell Lawyers, Mills Oakley Lawyers, Trade Credit Risk, Penfold Holden, QBE/ Austral, Romanis Cant, IP Payments, ARL, and Ampac Debt Recovery.

We would also like to thank the Golf Committee for their tireless work in bringing the day together and making it the success that it always is: Lou Caldararo, Charles Tims, Jeff Hurst, Cherrie McKenzie, and Marcus McKenzie.

Youth Networking and Social Night – Barefoot Bowls, 20th March

Melbourne turned on some magnificent weather for our Youth Networking and Social Night on Thursday 20th March 2014, at the Fitzroy Bowls Club, 578 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, proudly supported

by Veda Advantage. Thank you to our sponsors Veda, without whom the night would not have been possible. Overall the event was a roaring success, with 3 rinks hired, each rink containing 2 teams of 4-5 people. Roughly 8 people per rink made up the 2 teams at each rink. The evening opened with an explanation of the rules, and they were away. Everyone played against the team they were chosen in for about an hour and a half whilst enjoying a drink or two (or 3 or 4 or 5 or more for some). While everyone was having fun having a roll on the green our fearless President Lou Caldararo cooked a mean BBQ consisting of continental sausages and scotch fillet. Members and guests enjoyed a feed, and were the recipients of some lucky dip prizes (bottles of wine). After the bowls, everyone mingled and continued enjoying a few drinks and the night closed at about 10:30pm. As no one was keeping score fun was the intended and ultimate outcome for the evening.

May 2014 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

35

aicm

victoria/tasmania

around the states

Youth Bowls Night.

Youth Bowls Night.

April Networking Night - Members and Guests

April Network Night - Jason McCutcheon of Biscom Training.

The Australian Institute of Credit Management Victoria/Tasmania welcomes the following organisations as our sponsors for 2014 The Australian Institute of Credit Management and our Sponsors benefit from a cooperative and supportive relationship that provides high profile branding opportunities to sponsoring organisations and gives the credit industry greater recognition and the opportunity to work together to promote best practice in the credit industry and in so doing provide professional development opportunities for credit practitioners in Australia.

April Networking Night – The Art of Negotiation, 8th April Members and Guests enjoyed an interesting and informative presentation on the Art of Negotiation delivered by Jason McCutcheon of Biscom Training. Jason has a wide range of employment experiences, working as a research and production chemist, as an account manager, branch manager, and in senior management. Jason presented on the purpose and motivations of negotiations, the different styles and philosophies of successful negotiation practices. Participants received some hands on experience in the art of negotiation with a role play game designed to engage minds in maximizing the earnings for their mock company. An enjoyable night and well received presentation.

Membership Milestones In this issue we celebrate the following membership milestones; 25 Years – Sharon Harrigan MICM, joined in 1989 20 Years – John Garthe MICM, joined in 1994 20 Years – Andrew Dracoulis MICM, joined in 1994 Congratulations to each of you.

36

CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • May 2014

aicm

Events Calendar

around the states

VICTORIA

new members

NEW MEMBERS

Wednesday 21 May 2014

CCE Breakfast (7.15am - 9.00am)

The Institute welcomes the following credit professionals who were recently admitted to membership in February and March 2014.

The first CCE event for 2014.

Tuesday 10 June 2014

Social Network Night

QUEENSLAND

Thursday 19 June 2014

Breakfast Session, Speaker: Glenn Spooner – Cor Cordis

Angela Healy

CBP Lawyers

Wednesday 9 July 2014

Warwick Jones

JHK Legal Australia Pty Ltd

YCPA – Awards Dinner – AGM

Brendan Long

MSB Lawyers

Alison Maujean

Transpacific Industries Group Ltd

Alyson Tregear

Iplex Pipelines Australia Pty Ltd

Thursday 17 July 2014

Network – Debt Collectors - Keep them honest Speaker: Dale Hannan – National Collection Services Thursday 14 August 2014

NEW SOUTH WALES

Half Day Seminar - (12.30pm to 5.00pm) Subject: See you in Court!

Speaker: Tracey Rothwell – Rothwell Lawyers

Helen Alexis

Brennan IT Pty Ltd

Nicholas Evers

Grain Corp Limited

Thursday 21 August 2014

Justin Inglezos

NCI (Brokers) Pty Ltd t/a AMA Collection Services

Network - Bad Debts and ways to avoid them

Maria Juric

Hilti (Aust) Pty Ltd

Speaker: Mark Wenn – Mills Oakley Lawyers

Jason Kinkead

ATF Services Pty Ltd

Aumea Peneha

Austral Mercantile Collections Pty Ltd

Peter Ridge

Grain Corp Limited

Alyce Shand

Zoetis Pty Ltd

Ashleigh Young

Brickworks Building Products

Thursday 18 September 2014

Breakfast Session – Leadership And Career Development For Women Speaker: Jason McCutcheon – Biscom Training

VICTORIA/TASMANIA

Events Calendar

Rebecca Allanson-Hellings Carpet Court Australia Ltd

TASMANIA

Adrian Coughlan

Rinnai Australia Pty Ltd

Sujit Nair

Mitsubishi Australia Ltd

Michael Rigby

Rinnai Australia Pty Ltd

Su Shi

ProAction Australia

Daryl Walker

ProAction Australia

Tuesday 10 June 2014

Social/Youth Network Night

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Tuesday 22 July 2014

Irene Flores

Motor Trade Association

Hobart Network Event – The Art of Negotiation

Tammy Nas

NCI (Brokers) Pty Ltd

Tuesday 19 August 2014

Launceston Network Event – The Art of Negotiation

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Tuesday 28 October 2014

Half Day Seminar (12.00pm to 5.00pm) Subject: Liquidation Case Study

Fiona Aaron

Austral Mercantile Collections Pty Ltd

Stephanie Barlow

Austral Mercantile Collections Pty Ltd

Glenn Morton

Freo Group Pty Ltd

Tuesday 11 November 2014

Hobart Network Event – Presentation skills Friday 12 December 2014

Christmas Cocktail Party

May 2014 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

37

See you at

AICM’s

2014 National ConferenCe

Marriott Gold Coast 15-17 October 2014

2014 National Conference Visit aicm.com.au for details and earlybird registrations

2014 National Conference

AICM National Conference Golf Day

Sponsored by

at Links Hope Island, Tuesday 14 October 2014 AICM is pleased to announce that Wincollect Debtor Software is, for the eighth consecutive year, the AICM National Conference Golf Day in Queensland.

But wait, there’s more!

Wincollect are giving 4 lucky guests the chance to play for free!

So if you would like to be in the running to enjoy the Golf courtesy of Wincollect at Links Hope Island on 14 October 2014 for free then register your interest at www.aicm.com.au. Lucky winners will be announced in the July 2014 edition of the AICM Magazine.

Venue The award winning Links Hope Island is the venue for this year’s Golf Day. It is located only a short distance from the National Conference venue (Marriott Surfers Paradise). Complimentary transport will operate to and from the venue to the Links. Since opening in 1993, Links Hope Island has consistently ranked in Australia’s top ten resort courses. Further information is available at www. linkshopeisland.com.au

• acknowledgement at presentation of prizes; • acknowledgement on information sheet/score card for each team.

A gift pack may consist of:• bag (style optional); • your promotional material; • a pack of teas, ball markers, pitch mark repair tool, balls etc.

Sponsors and Supporter Drinks Cart Sponsor – $1,500 inclusive GST zz 4 players with all the usual benefits of being in the field; zz up to 2 people to ride in drinks cart dispensing drinks all over the course and thereby marketing individually to every group; zz On course banner; zz promotional material on table at presentation area; zz public acknowledgement of all supporters at presentation.

Hole Supporters – $700 inclusive GST. zz Hole Supporters are entitled to 1 complimentary team of 4 and advertising rights to a nominated hole; zz Hole Supporters are entitled to a theming opportunity on their allocated hole – limited only by your imagination (and our approval), plus the opportunity to display promotional material on supporters table, plus acknowledgement at presentation of prizes, plus acknowledgement on information sheet/score card.

Note: A team registration of 4 costs (4 x 110.00) $440.00. A Hole Supporters Package which includes 4 players and 2 carts costs $700.00. This makes the Hole Supporters Package excellent value (several packages have already been reserved), and we anticipate these packages will sell out quickly, so I urge you to act quickly.

Donation of Prizes – Opportunities and Benefits zz Opportunity to display promotional material on supporters table; zz Acknowledgement at presentation of prizes (optional presentation of prize by your representative); zz Acknowledgement on information sheet/score card for each team.

Anticipated prizes are:• Winning team; • Runner up team; • Four x NTP’s;

• One x mens long drive; • One x ladies long drive; • NAGA team award.

Golf Format The format will be a team’s four ball best ball Ambrose with a shotgun start to allow players of all standards to mix and play together regardless of playing ability. In addition to a 18 holes of golf, there will be a lunch pack, use of practice facilities, post-game drinks and canapés, motorised carts and ample car parking and the all-important trophies and prize presentations.

This 2014 AICM National event promises to be an event not to be missed.

Program 10:00am Transport from Marriott (complimentary*) 11:00am Registration 12:15pm Announcements 12:30pm Shotgun start – 4 ball Ambrose 5:30pm Complete round and hand in score cards to registration desk. Complimentary drinks and canapés in the dinning room.

6:30pm Presentations 7:00pm Transport to Marriott (complimentary*) *Please advise if transport is required with your registration.

For more details including hire equipment, rule, regulations and weather policy please visit www.linkshopeisland.com.au Costs Team (group of 4) Individual (you will be placed in a team)

$440 inclusive GST $110 inclusive GST

Prizes can consist of your company logoed promotional material, for example, polos, umbrellas, golf balls, golf equipment - almost anything really.

Rules and Regulations

Donation of Welcome Gift Pack – Opportunities and Benefits • to provide promotional material to every player; • opportunity to display promotional material on supporters table;

The dress standard for the men consists of a collared shirt with tailored shorts or pants. Short socks permitted. Ladies are permitted to wear neat casual golf attire. No denim or metal spikes to be worn.

2014 NatioNal CoNfereNCe

Registration

2014 Conference Delegate Registration form ABN: 79 008 455 758

15th – 17th October 2014

Tax InvOIce

Personal Details (please print clearly) Title: ____________

Given name: ___________________________________ Family name: ____________________________________

Preferred name for badge: _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Job title: _________________________________________

Company name: __________________________________________________

Billing address: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Work Telephone: ____________________________________________

Work fax: _____________________________________________

Email: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dietary requirements: __________________________________________________________________________________________________

Registration and fees (All prices include GST) – Conference Registration includes dinner combined

Member

(Conference & Workshop)

conference Only

Non Member

Early bird to 30/8/14 $1290

Early bird to 30/8/14 $1630

from 31/8/14

from 31/8/14

$1340

Member

$1690

Non Member

Early bird to 30/8/14 $1090

Early bird to 30/8/14 $1410

from 31/8/14

from 31/8/14

$1170

$1460

Please indicate if you are attending the President’s Dinner: (included in conference registration fee) President’s Dinner Workshop only

Yes

No

Member

Non Member

Early bird to 30/8/14 $295

Early bird to 30/8/14 $400

from 31/8/14

from 31/8/14

$315

$425

Golf Day Tuesday 14 October 2014

$110 Per Person

$440 Team of 4

Please find enclosed cheque of $.................................. or I authorise $.................................. to be deducted from my credit card Cheque

Mastercard

Visa

Amex

Card No: Card Holder’s Name: ......................................................................................................................... Signature:

Security No.: .................... Exp. Date:

............/..............

................................................................................................................

Commonwealth Bank, Artarmon BSB 062 104 Account no 1003 9560 this full page to AICM 02 9906 5686 to confirm your conference attendance.

Australian Institute of Credit Management – Level 1, 619 Pacific Highway, ST LEONARDS NSW 2065

2014 NatioNal CoNfereNCe

Registration

2014 Partners and Guests Registration form ABN: 79 008 455 758

15th – 17th October 2014

Tax InvOIce

Please complete one form per person Partner or guest details (please print clearly) Title: ____________

Given name: ___________________________________ Family name: ____________________________________

Preferred name for badge: _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Dietary requirements: __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Bill to (name): ___________________________________________________ Signature: __________________________________________ Billing address: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Registration and fees (All prices include GST) Golf Day Tuesday 14 October 2014

$110 Per Person

$440 Team of 4

President’s Dinner Thursday 16th October 2014

$165 Per Person

Please find enclosed cheque of $.................................. or I authorise $.................................. to be deducted from my credit card Cheque

Mastercard

Visa

Amex

Card No: Card Holder’s Name: .................................................................................................................... Signature:

Security No.: ....................... Exp: ............../................

....................................................................................................................

EFT Bank details: Commonwealth Bank, Artarmon BSB 062 104 Account no 1003 9560 Fax this full page to AICM 02 9906 5686 to confirm your conference attendance.

OR post to: Australian Institute of Credit Management – Level 1, 619 Pacific Highway, ST LEONARDS NSW 2065

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