Message From the President

Trevor Goodwin LICM CCE National President

Welcome to the second edition of our

Credit Management magazine for 2021. The year is flying by and we are into the last quarter of the financial year.

The major news so far this year has been the introduction of the vaccine and the agreement reached with the New Zealand government to re-open borders for travel. Also, economic growth is exceeding expectations, buoyed by cashed up households and residential construction which is encouraging, although there will still be many challenges and uncertainty ahead.

The end to JobKeeper comes at a time when the economy is still undergoing adjustments from the pandemic and will likely see a number of businesses that were viable in 2020 close due to significant shifts in our spending habits. Anticipated rising unemployment rates and possible further government intervention such as the border closures and permanent changes to our behaviour such as travel and working from home will have a bearing.

The number of business insolvencies that are expected to increase this year and requests for repayment plans and extension of payment terms will keep credit professionals busy, notwithstanding there are industry sectors that are in a better position than others.

This year so far has seen a small increase in credit insurance claims received by insurers. It is expected the increase in claim numbers will increase in the second quarter of 2021 and beyond following the wind back of government support measures, and financiers and the ATO re-aligning their priorities on unpaid dues. After the expected “wave” the anticipation is for claim numbers to normalise back to what credit insurers saw in 2019.

With so much occurring in the past 12 months, mental health as well as customer financial hardship, are issues for businesses in the uncertainly of 2021 caused by high demands of the job, work pressure, financial and employment concerns and issues such as workplace bullying. Work-related mental health conditions have become a major concern in Australian workplaces and employers and employees need to safeguard their mental health and the welfare of their colleagues.

These conditions highlight the importance of what we do as a profession and the role of the AICM. Continuing on from our focus to support you virtually in 2020 in 2021 we will build on this by delivering even more access to the updates and resources you need. 2021 has kicked off with the insolvency seminars in NSW, SA, Qld and Vic with WA to come in April. These seminars have been indepth discussions of what we have learnt and what we can expect with attendees left armed with what they need to succeed.

To compliment the Insolvency Seminar series we’ve released our second review of the risks credit professionals face in our 2021 Risk Report which is designed as a go to document where all metrics impacting our sector are encapsulated, explained and with a summary of actions to manage these ongoing risks.

Our divisions have already been busy with a calendar of events set for the year and we have seen a variety of events held in each division with strong numbers attending these functions.

The Institute is into its second year of a three-year strategy plan developed by the Board with the assistance of external consultants. Your Board and national office team will continue to implement the plan throughout 2021 and 2022 ensuring the relevance and importance of the Institute in future years, while strengthening and engaging our membership base, providing quality education programs and advocacy submissions to relevant bodies. Having a current strategic plan is

crucial for us in getting things done and providing great outcomes for the Institute and members.

Professional development is a major focus and it is important to assist our members to be appropriately skilled and trained to perform their jobs and advance their careers. New training dates and courses have been released for your consideration. Please enrol yourself and or your team members in these excellent courses. Affirming the importance of your professional development, we are looking to move the education component of the national magazine to the front of future editions to focus on our learning component.

Additionally, we are in the process of launching the Education Foundation, and for the next two years the Foundation will offer 8 Toolbox sets and 5 Workshop sets after which it will be in a position to fund scholarships for all courses offered by the AICM. Further details will be advised shortly on how to submit an application and the judging process.

A further initiative this year to support our members and businesses will be the implementation of an AICM Job board for firms to lodge job advertisements and for AICM members to leverage.

Communication and member engagement is important for all professional associations including the AICM. We recently conducted a members’ survey with excellent feedback being received from those members who responded to the survey.

We continue to develop tools for members such as the previously mentioned Risk Report and our recently released Annual Report which are the beginnings of our intention to provide timely condensed information for members, in addition to our magazines, newsletters and webinars.

The 2021 CCE program commenced in March with another sitting to be held in September. All eligible members are encouraged to consider gaining their CCE qualifications. So please check in with the National office or your division CCE councillor to find out what you need to do to sit for the CCE.

In 2021 we will hold the Young Credit Professional Awards which have been successfully held for many years attracting the best of our young credit professionals to undertake the challenge. Other major awards in 2021 will be Credit Team of the Year and Student of the Year.

A prestigious event on the AICM calendar is Women in Credit which continues to go from strength to strength in numbers and quality of venues and speakers. This event is a “not to be missed for all members” in each of our divisions and has been programmed over the next two months.

Many of our members, including myself, are looking forward to a return of the National Conference. The Board is working towards holding a “face to face” conference in October. Details will be advised shortly once we are confident the conference will proceed.

As we run up to 30 June, I encourage members to “get your house in order”. This is an important period to undertake your major account reviews, build sound relationships and networks with your major customers, your sales team and other credit professionals. Ensure you are familiar with new reforms that have been introduced and undertake training to enhance your credit skills.

In conclusion the Institute continues to go from strength to strength supported by our loyal and supportive members. Into the future there are challenges ahead for the economy and for business which will keep credit professionals on their toes; but I am sure many of you will agree with me that we wouldn’t want to live in any other country than Australia as we continue to navigate through 2021.

Trevor Goodwin LICM CCE National President