Credit Management in Australia - January 2022 by AICM

Volume 29, No 4 January 2022

The Publication for Credit and Financial Professionals

IN AUSTRALIA

Celebrate the depth of Australia’s credit talent

Esker Australia Announces 2021 ESKER IMPACT AWARD WINNERS Recognising companies and people that have excelled in transforming their business and finding innovative ways to achieve great value from Esker’s Order-to-Cash and Procure-to-Pay solutions, the Esker Impact Awards highlight customers and users who have achieved outstanding digital transformation in their business with automation. The Esker Impact Awards is an annual event that recognises companies and people in Australia and New Zealand who have delivered amazing results with Esker solutions in transforming their businesses and found innovative ways to achieve great value from Esker’s orderto-cash (O2C) and procure-to-pay (P2P) solutions. The three categories for these Awards are Best Results, Biggest Champion and Advocate of the Year and the following winners have stood out by attaining significant impacts with automating and optimising a variety of accounts receivable (AR) processes for their businesses. The Best Results Award celebrating a company’s demonstrated ROI and efficiency, went to Fletcher Building, which implemented Esker’s Cash Application solution for its four business units Winstone Aggregates, Fletcher Steel, Firth Industries and Laminex Australia. Employing over 14,500 people in New Zealand, Australia and the South Pacific, Fletcher Building operates through six divisions: Building Products, Distribution, Concrete, Residential and Development, Construction and Australia. Running such a huge enterprise requires unified processes and platforms that are easy to use and bring visibility to all O2C transactions. By implementing Esker’s Cash Application solution, the processing of remittance advices and the allocation of payments to the correct open invoices in the ERP system has become a breeze. Saziya Shah from the AR team at Winstone Aggregates, stated that “the solution has provided us with very accurate and automated receipting and has also been a huge time-saver for us, especially during lock-in times, so we are very happy”. Mozima Mohammed from the Fletcher Steel Credit Team stated that Esker’s solution has “changed their lives in Team Cash Allocation by providing a “simple tool to provide automation for a previously manual process”. The team no longer needs to get up at 5am at month’s end to process the large number of payments that usually come in on that day by the 11am cut-off time. This change significantly improved the employees’ well-being, contributing further to Esker’s commitment to positive-sum growth. David Baker from Freo Group received the Biggest Champion Award for going above and beyond in leveraging Esker’s Collections Management solution. The Perth-based crane service and logistics solutions provider operates Australia-wide with a fleet of 450 cranes and over

1,300 employees. Esker’s solution enabled the AR team, which works closely with the branches on the collections process, to transition from manual processes using the ERP and Excel to managing the 8,900 customers efficiently and giving the staff some time back in their day. The facilitated communications not just with customers, but also between staff in the 23 Freo branches across the country, particularly stood out. After a fast and simple rollout of Esker’s solution, staff are now able to assign tasks and reminders to each other as well as benefit from automated payment reminders and credit limit alerts. “Esker’s solution has been an absolute game changer for our business,” said Mr. Baker. “Being able to interact with our customers on a daily basis has helped us to build stronger relationships with them.” Whale Logistics’ Elaine Huang was presented with Esker’s Advocate of the Year Award, by providing outstanding feedback - and praise - for Esker’s Collections Management solution. The international freight forwarding company based in Sydney provides supply chain services for exporters worldwide. Determined to take a leadership position in the digitalisation of the logistics industry, Mrs. Huang, Financial Controller at Whale Logistics, guided the implementation of Esker’s Collections Management solution as well as the customer portal. “We wanted to provide an end-to-end stress-free solution to all our customers and a user-friendly customer portal was definitely part of that plan,” said Mrs. Huang. “Esker ticks all the boxes here. Not only does it work, but it is also always evolving with new features.” Providing visibility into AR as well as creating a contented and more efficient team with its user-friendly solution interface, Esker accompanies businesses on their path to automating processes and workflows and establishing an agile organisation that is ready for the challenges of the 21st century. The Esker Impact Awards showcase not only the benefits a business can obtain from implementing Esker AI-based automation solutions, but also Esker’s commitment to positive-sum growth. More than just cutting costs, positive-sum growth is about long-term value creation and relationship building. These achievements are not attainable without a healthy business ecosystem, and each of Esker’s Impact Awards winners has displayed their commitment to this mission.

www.esker.com.au

Our 2022 supporters National partners

Trusted Insights. Responsible Decisions.

Divisional partners

CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

Divisional supporting sponsors

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 3

55 SA: Mira Abu Shama, Monique Milic and Eddie Bastiani (all Oakbridge Lawyers).

60 Qld: Alyson Tregear (Iplex), Hannah George (Results Legal), Lynne

Walton, Ashlee Le Roux (both Accessii Group) and Karen Clarkson (Iplex).

64 WA/NT: Cheryl Donaldson (Vinidex), Adam Doyle (NCI) and Julie Boyce (Summit Fertz).

67 Vic/Tas: Spiro Pikoulas (ARMA) with Alex Hawtin (Middy’s Electrical) and Sia Patrouras (CollectAU).

Contents Volume 29, Number 1 – January 2022 From the President

Pathways Leverage government funding to get the team trained

Looking to undertake a nationally recognised qualification in 2022? AICM recent graduates and Virtual classroom training calendar

Patrick Coghlan

By Patrick Coghlan

16 18

Ethics – how does your organisation rate?

How artificial intelligence and automation is solving Credit Management headaches – B2B Identity Fraud being one of them

By Jody Wright

By Miriana Lowrie

4 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

20 Jody Wright

Black Swans and Dominos – the bad debts we couldn’t predict By Dafydd Owen MICM ACIB

18 Dafydd Owen

10 12 14

Credit Management Is your credit risk data up to scratch?

30 Anna Taylor

24 Miriana Lowrie

32 By Melissa Lau

ISSN 2207-6549

74 NSW: The NSW Council was able to have a Christmas catch up in a covid-safe fashion at the stunning “Bar at the end of the wharf”.

Legal The changing landscape of unfair preferences By Anna Taylor

Insolvency

Cybercrime on the rise…and so is the demand for forensic accountants

Pinnacle Awards

35 36 38 41 42

By Melissa Lau

New South Wales Queensland

South Australia

Victoria & Tasmania

AICM 2021 Virtual Awards night Young Credit Professional of the Year Credit Team of the Year President’s Trophy CCE Dux

High Achievers

Student of the year

45 46 46 47 47 48 48

Event highlights

49 50

Member anniversaries

2021 Virtual National Conference

DIRECTORS Trevor Goodwin LICM CCE – Australian President Lou Caldararo LICM CCE – Victoria/Tasmania & Australian VP Rowan McClarty MICM CCE – Western Australia/Northern Territory Gail Crowder MICM – South Australia Peter Morgan MICM CCE – New South Wales Debbie Leo MICM – Consumer Julie McNamara MICM CCE – Queensland CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Nick Pilavidis FICM CCE Level 3, Suite 303, 1-9 Chandos Street, St Leonards NSW 2065 PO Box 64, St Leonards NSW 1590 Tel: (02) 8317 5085, Fax: (02) 9906 5686 Email: nick@aicm.com.au PUBLISHER Nick Pilavidis FICM CCE | Email: nick@aicm.com.au CONTRIBUTING EDITORS NSW – Gary Poslinsky MICM Qld – Stacey Woodward MICM SA – Clare Venema MICM CCE WA/NT – Jeremy Coote MICM Vic/Tas – Michelle Carruthers MICM EDITOR/ADVERTISING Andrew Le Marchant LICM CCE Phone Direct 02 8317 5052 or Mob 0418 250 504 Email: andrew@aicm.com.au EDITING and PRODUCTION Anthea Vandertouw | Ferncliff Productions Tel: 0408 290 440 | Email: ferncliff1@bigpond.com 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 3, Suite 303, 1-9 Chandos Street, 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, 2021.

JOIN US ON LINKEDIN Division Reports South Australia Queensland

Western Australia/Northern Territory Victoria/Tasmania New South Wales New members

55 60 64 67 74 82

Click Here EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS SHOULD BE SENT TO: The Editor, Level 3, Suite 303, 1-9 Chandos Street, St Leonards NSW 2065 or email: aicm@aicm.com.au

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January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 5

Credit Management In Australia Contact: Andrew Le Marchant Ph: 1300 560 996 E: andrew@aicm.com.au

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From the President

Trevor Goodwin LICM CCE National President

elcome to the first edition of AICM’s Credit Management magazine for 2022. I thank members and their colleagues and our partners for your support in 2021. I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas and a happy New Year, and a relaxing holiday period for those who were able to take advantage of some well-earned annual leave. As we enter 2022 it appears we face another year of uncertainly. The ongoing concerns with Covid has impacted on the Australian economy which is struggling to recover as strongly as anticipated. Consequently, we are starting to see an increase in payment arrears and defaults, collection activity and court actions with the expectation insolvencies will increase in 2022. In addition, the COVID pandemic disruptions have posed significant challenges for supply chains globally. Multiple national lockdowns continue to slow or even temporarily stop the flow of raw materials and finished goods, disrupting manufacturing as a result. In particular a shortage of building materials worldwide resulting from COVID-19 disruptions, coupled with natural disasters from freak storms to bushfires, have heaped pressure on builders. On top of that, a labour shortage is making it difficult to find tradespeople, giving workers the power to command huge wages. The labour market will still be constricted with a recent report by Morgan Stanley predicting the unemployment rate will decline to 4.2% by the end of 2022 and contracting even further in 2023 to near record lows and with worker shortages continuing to cause issues for business. 2021 was a year of accomplishment for the AICM despite the inability to

hold as many face to face events as we had planned. The Institute was still able however to offer a number of important in person professional events in 2021, including seminars, the WINC and Awards functions as well as social events in most Divisions. The final event for our members in 2021 were the prestigious Pinnacle Awards where we recognised a number of our credit professionals and business consultants for their outstanding work performance in 2021. Congratulations to all award winners and I look forward to seeing a strong field of nominations again in 2022. With a gradual recovery in the economy and growth in business activity we are seeing a rise in credit enquiries and in 2022 sound credit management principles will be important for our AICM credit professionals. Now is an important time for credit personnel to be technically upskilled and qualified through the AICM learning and development courses and the Certified Credit Executive program. AICM provide a range of qualifications and short courses for those who are just beginning their careers in credit or for those who are seeking the next step and to move into management roles. The 2022 calendar offers an exciting program of events including professional seminars, workshops, and economic updates, as well as a number of webinars which have worked well for the Institute under Covid restrictions. Our website is a ready reference for you to not only stay aware of our policy submissions made on your behalf but a source to check your CCE qualification points as well as the calendar of our events and back issues of the Credit Management magazine. In addition, members have access to ➤

6 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

Insurance

• Commercial • Banking

Turks is delighted to continue our national partnership with the AICM in 2022! Turks is a leading commercial law firm with teams in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Newcastle. Our specialist Trade Credit team delivers an unrivalled value proposition to large corporates and SMEs selling goods on credit terms. We work closely with our clients to achieve realistic commercial outcomes paying due regard to the fact that the implementation of legal processes must always be viewed in the context of a much wider business strategy. Our services in the area of trade credit, include: • Debt recovery and dispute litigation • Retention of title (PPSA) recovery • Defending liquidators’ preference claims • Document drafting Click here to contact us with any questions. Click here to request a copy of our latest PPSA webinar presentation. For further information contact Daniel Turk

Partner and Practice Group Head Commercial T 02 8257 5727 E Daniel.Turk@turkslegal.com.au www.turkslegal.com.au

Sydney Level 44, 2 Park Street, Sydney NSW 2000 | T 02 8257 5700 | F 02 9264 5600 Melbourne Level 8, The Rialto Towers (South Tower), 525 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000 | T 03 8600 5000 | F 03 8600 5099 Brisbane Level 14, 10 Eagle Street, Brisbane QLD 4000 | T 07 3212 6700 | F 07 3212 6799 Newcastle Level 5, Suite 5, 400 Hunter Street, Newcastle NSW 2300 | T 02 8257 5700 | F 02 9264 5600

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From the President

the Credit Network Forum which enables them to connect to discuss issues impacting their profession and to seek advice from their peers. 2022 will be a year where it is likely a number of legislation policies will be introduced. Stay connected to the AICM and make full value out of your membership utilising our service to stay informed of the updates we will provide throughout the year. Check out AICM’s submissions page for the submissions we currently are involved with. Representing our members is an important part of the Institutes work and we’re always keen to hear your feedback. Government policy will be an important driver of economic activity next year. In addition to our advocacy work with government departments we will continue to release our Insolvency and Risk reports during the year to update our members. These reports are written by an esteemed panel of experts in their respective fields. Now is a good opportunity to update you on the progress of The Payment Times Reporting Scheme which commenced 1 January 2021 aiming to improve payment times for Australian small businesses. The Payment Times Reports Register (the register) was released on 30 November 2021. Under the scheme, large businesses and certain government enterprises must report their payment terms and times twice a year for small business. The Payment Times Reporting Regulator (the Regulator) publishes these reports on the Payment Times Reports Register. The register will be available as a downloadable data table of all reports screened by the Regulator from the first reporting period, 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021. In 2022 the Board will continue to progress its 2021-2023 strategic plan with the assistance of the National Office team. The strategic plan covers our priorities and initiatives to grow membership, enhance learning and development, lift professional standards, strengthen our voice and recognition and to improve operations. The strategic plan explains who the AICM is and outlined our purpose, vision and promise to members through eight pillars including education, professional standards, advocacy,

promotion of credit professionals, events, communication, governance and stakeholders. Maintaining the financial stability of the Institute and providing good governance will also continue to be an important role of the board. I am excited to inform our members of the current work being done to develop and implement a new membership and integrated website which we are expecting to go live by 31 March 2022. This investment which will bring significant improvements and efficiencies will greatly benefit our members, National Office team and Divisional Councillors and will be at the forefront of our operations for years to come. The Institute is holding a record number of events in 2022 highlighting the growth and strength of the Institute supported by an enthusiastic Board, a dedicated and hardworking National Office team and a diverse and passionate group of volunteers on our Divisional Councils. Our Councillors continue to be ambassadors for our social and educational events which we expect to be able to hold as face to face attendances in 2022. I thank them all for their contribution. As we start 2022 we have some changes to the team in the National Office. Firstly Andrew Le Marchant, who is known to many of you, is transitioning to a 3 day a week project role initially focused on our website and systems update. I also welcome Claire Kasses who joins the AICM team as General Manager. Claire has a wealth of experience in aligned associations including the Institute of Professional Accountants, the Tax Institute and CPA Australia. The AICM continues to be dynamic and at the forefront for our members, providing education, awards recognition and networking events, ensuring 2022 will be a successful year for the Institute. We look forward to working and engaging with you and our partners and hope to see many of you in attendance at the faceto-face conference in October at the Brisbane Sofitel Hotel. As always, stay safe, and stay in touch. Here’s hoping for a brighter 2022. – Trevor Goodwin LICM CCE National President

8 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

CASE STUDY:

Changing the face of credit risk management at BlueScope When you are running a multinational company, an efficient credit risk management process can help focus activity in the right place, potentially saving millions of dollars every year. BlueScope is a provider of innovative steel materials, products, systems and technologies, headquartered in Australia and with operations spread across North America, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands and throughout Asia. illion has been working with BlueScope since 2003.

The challenge BlueScope identified a need for greater visibility of what was happening in their ledger to ensure this was included in their decisioning process. The company partnered with illion to develop a solution that would: z Reduce onboarding risks and make faster decisions. z Help manage risk during the entire customer lifecycle. z Define collection strategies.

Solution Using a solution called Portfolio Insights, illion put 12 months of BlueScope credit limit applications under the microscope. The analysis confirmed that while the vast amount of credit limit applications represented low to average risk, several applications were sitting in the high to severe risk category, requiring immediate attention from BlueScope. illion provided: 1. Improved auto-decisioning utilising illion Decisioning Solutions and illion market leading commercial bureau scores for both incorporated and unincorporated entities. 2. Portfolio Insight and monitoring to manage current customer risk and improve cashflow by focusing on the right areas and improving data quality. 3. Workshops and reviews to consider current processes and propose changes that would be broken down into manageable chunks to drive results quickly.

BlueScope is using its enhanced view of risk now as an opportunity to update a number of processes. They have completed a data wash, built a policy and actively manage collection activities. While it is still early days, BlueScope is well on the way to achieving: z A better understanding of the types of customer risks they have. z A 24-hour turnaround of 75% of new credit requests. z Reduced costs. z A refreshed vision of collections, including allocating credit controllers to the appropriate customers. z An understanding of the root cause of why collections issues are occurring – and a means of identifying them early and dealing with them. “Working with illion has identified areas where we can improve our customer offering, starting with our new customer on-boarding process through to building bespoke collection solutions,” said Janice Thomason from BlueScope. “We have a partnership with illion that challenges the status quo and continually reaches for the next level,” she said. To learn more about how you too can partner with illion, please contact Craig Brooks, Corporate Director on 0458 578 768 or Craig.Brooks@illion.com.au.

Janice Thomason

Craig Brooks

Trusted Insights. Responsible Decisions.

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Pathways

Leverage government funding to get the team trained Overview A number of collection and field agency firms have been reviewing their teams’ qualifications to ensure they’re appropriately equipped for the expected uptick in activity especially following the interruptions of the pandemic and after the anticipated federal election. An opportunity identified by the industry is to leverage the various state government training packages that are available to upskill teams. For example, the Boosting Apprenticeship

Commencements wage subsidy supports businesses and Group Training Organisations to take on new apprentices and trainees, to build a pipeline of skilled workers to support sustained economic recovery. Through the subsidy, any business that engages an Australian Apprentice between 5 October 2020 and 31 March 2022 may be eligible for a subsidy of 50 per cent of wages paid to a new or recommencing apprentice or trainee for a 12-month period from the date of commencement, to a maximum of $7,000 per quarter.

Voice from the industry Alan Harries of the Institute of Mercantile Agents reports such funding on offer by government provides the ideal opportunity for the collections and field agency industry to invest in their team members through training to improve the understanding of their roles and the experiences of debtors, explaining: “Our industry is highly skilled and effective in assisting clients to engage respectfully and constructively with their customers in financial difficulties. Firms can leverage this opportunity to ensure team members remain up to date with compliance and regulatory requirements as well as the expectations of those with whom and for whom they act. Cert III training as the minimum standard of training equips our industry to undertake its work professionally with confidence and discretion. Just as importantly, clients and other stakeholders are assured such training is part of how the high standards of the industry are both achieved and maintained.”

Alan Harries

Voice from user of training subsidy Daniel Taylor of CCSG Group gives his insights into this current trend. “More clients are looking to ensure they contract with organisations that have a minimum standard of education which gives them comfort on the customer’s experience. It’s been our experience that an increasing percentage of tenders require that we demonstrate a minimum skill set in the end-to-end handling of the proposed debt placement. Our team has taken to this fantastic opportunity to upskill with excitement and enthusiasm, and we thank the education team at AICM for their support in guiding the team through their modules.

10 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

Daniel Taylor

Pathways Your business may potentially be eligible for the following standard incentives:

Commencement incentive z $1,500 – Claimable after 6 months of employment (recommencement incentive $750)

Rural and Regional z $1,000 – Claimable after 6 months of employment (must be based in a rural and regional area).

SAAA incentive z $4,000 – Claimable after 12 months (apprentice must be paid equal or above national minimum wage) apprentice must be over 25 if they commenced prior 01/07/2019, but 21 years of age after that date.

Completion incentive z $2,500 – Claimable when apprenticeship or traineeship has been completed successfully. *a further assessment will be conducted at sign up for the incentive eligibility* If deemed eligible for the above scheme, the government will pay 50% of the apprentices gross wage, the maximum an employer can claim for each quarter is $7k. New BAC rules only apply for any commencement date from 28/10/2020 onwards: z There is no cap/limit for an employer to convert Existing Workers doing a trade-based Australian Apprenticeship. z There will be a cap of 30 for every employer (defined by ABN) placed on Existing Worker Traineeships with a commencement date on or after 28/10/2020. In addition, for an employer to attract the Boosting Apprenticeship payment the existing worker must: — Be transferring from casual employment arrangement to a part-time or full-time Australian Apprenticeship; or — Transferring from part-time employment arrangement to a full-time Australian Apprenticeship.

To learn more please use this link to a fact sheet for the recent changes in the BAC Scheme For further information on how to apply for the subsidy, including information on eligibility, contact an Australian Apprenticeship Support Network provider. Additional information regarding the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidy and Completing Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidy – including maximum payment amounts – is provided in the Questions and Answers factsheet.

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 11

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How can you get started

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Pathways

Looking to undertake a nationally recognised qualification in 2022? What is nationally recognised training? Nationally recognised training is any programme of training leading to vocational qualifications and credentials that are recognised across Australia. Nationally recognised training courses are listed on training.gov.au. The term accredited training is used to differentiate a course within the Vocational Education and Training (VET) framework. It is also referred to as Nationally Recognised Training. In this context accredited training generally leads to a nationally recognised qualification or unit of competency which can only be issued by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) like AICM. Your education and training are so important when it comes to establishing your career. Thanks to registered training organisations (RTOs), TAFEs, and universities, we’re spoiled with options when it comes to education. But how do you tell which ones are the best for you? Just because an organisation has a great reputation, it doesn’t mean the course is always up to scratch. A great way to check the quality of the training or course you choose is to see if it’s part of the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF). The AQF is responsible for the national system of qualifications in Australia. This system covers higher education, vocational education, training, and schools. The AQF is managed by the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills, and Employment. The AQF regularly convenes with ministers of education in each state to advise them on any AQF policy matters that need review.

“Your education and training are so important when it comes to establishing your career.” 12 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

If you’re looking for a nationally recognised qualification, make sure it’s AQF certified. This seal of approval by the AQF means that your course meets all the strict criteria laid out by the Government for RTOs and educational institutions across the country.

Decisions, decisions, decisions…. When deciding which study option is best for you, it can be easy to get overwhelmed. Should you go to University, TAFE or a provider like AICM? Everyone seems to have a different opinion on what the RIGHT answer is, but let’s look at some of the benefits for you and your career by studying within the vocational education training framework.

Benefits for individuals 1. Expand your skillset You can acquire new skills, as well as refreshing and updating your knowledge. Although you may already feel confident in your current abilities, completing a qualification or part of a qualification allows you to expand your current knowledge on the latest industry changes. 2. Open doors to other courses and qualifications After completing a qualification, you then have access to more courses and qualifications that have prerequisites. For example, you may undertake the Certificate IV in Credit Management qualification and then decide to complete further studies at the Diploma level. 3. Broaden your career opportunities Completing further studies equals more career opportunities, giving you variety in your career choices. Being qualified for a variety of different positions gives you more chances of finding a position that you are most suited. It not only benefits your career growth, but also shows employers you are eager to learn and grow.

Pathways

5. Give yourself a leading edge Today’s corporate world is fast paced and competitive, there’s ever increasing pressure for organisations to stay up-to-date but as you know an organisation is really only as good as its people. Ensuring your teams have the best possible knowledge is key to the success of your organisation. Employees will never see the further development of their skills as something negative. Even if it might mean they have to put in extra hours to participate in courses that are designed to enhance their work life. Sometimes it is necessary

for a manager or team leader to get in experts to ensure the optimum growth and development of its company. This is something that every business, no matter what size, should be considering.

Benefits for the business Enhance employee capability Have more employees deploying more skills in the pursuit of more positive outcomes for your business. Improve retention rates Successful managers already know what the research confirms: staff who acquire new skill sets and expand their range of core responsibilities enjoy better job satisfaction and higher rates of productivity. They also stay in their role for longer and tend to progress within the organisation as opposed to looking elsewhere. Achieve overall competitive advantage in the market Provide your employees with the skills to take your business to the next level by giving them the skills and knowledge needed in a competitive industry. ➤

EDUCATION

FOUNDATION ABOUT THE FOUNDATION In late 2018, the Board of Directors of the Australian Institute of Credit Management (AICM) proudly approved the establishment of the AICM Education Foundation. The AICM Education Foundation has been established to provide financial assistance to credit professionals and students striving to continue their education. Funds are gathered from generous donations from the AICM and Credit Community, as well as fundraising activities and events of the AICM and it’s supporters throughout the year including but not limited to the annual AICM Conference. The Education Foundation will also bolster the vision of the AICM to be the primary learning, knowledge and information source for credit professionals and support the AICM’s objective of providing opportunities for growth throughout their careers. For more information on the foundation, make contributions or interest in supporting the Management Committee contact the AICM National office (aicm@aicm.com.au, 1300 560 996 or click here).

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 13

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4. Feel empowered Aside from all these career and financial benefits, completing a qualification gives you sense of selffulfilment and accomplishment. Benefits of getting a qualification will leave you more motivated in life as well as your career! With perks ranging from personal and interpersonal, to financial and educational advancements, it would be hard to deny that it’s worthwhile investing your time into getting more qualified. You should try to take advantage of any opportunities to learn.

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Pathways AICM recent graduates AICM would like to congratulate its recent graduates:

FNS51520 – Diploma in Credit Management Robert Faulkner

Canberra

ACTEWAGL

FNS40120– Certificate IV in Credit Management David Mackintosh

Queensland

Shortcuts

FNS30415– Certificate III in Mercantile Agents Rishi Gumber

South Australia

AusHealth

Amy Douglas

New South Wales

Associated Investigation Services

Statement of Attainments Stacy Ridge

NSW

• FNSCRD402 – Establish and maintain appropriate security

Smeg Australia

Krystal Jones

• FNSCRD501 – Respond to personal insolvency situations

Homestart Finance

Jessica Burns

QLD

• BSBCUS501 – Manage quality customer service • BSBMGT502 – Manage people performance • FNSINC411 – Conduct work according to professional practices in the financial services industry

Acrow Formwork and Scaffolding

Clara Good

VIC

• FNSMCA402 – Initiate legal recovery of debts • FNSMCA303 – Serve legal process • FNSMCA302 – Repossess property

Probe Group

Natasha Morris

NSW

• BSBMGT502 – Manage people performance

Snap-on Tools

Sarah Hogan

VIC

• BSBCNV506 – Establish and manage a trust account

Carew Counsel

Virtual classroom training calendar Date

Event Type

Tuesday, 8 February 2022 and Wednesday, 9 February 2022

RTO – Core unit of Certificate Collect Debts III

Thursday, 10 February 2022

Toolbox

Tuesday, 15 February 2022 and Wednesday, 16 February 2022

RTO – Core unit of Certificate Manage overdue customer accounts IV

Thursday, 17 February 2022

Workshop

Understanding personal bankruptcy

Tuesday, 22 February 2022 and Wednesday, 23 February 2022

RTO – Core unit of Diploma

Develop, implement and monitor policy and procedures

Thursday, 24 February 2022

Toolbox

Collect with confidence

Tuesday, 8 March 2022 and Wednesday, 9 March 2022

RTO – Core unit of Certificate Identify and manage individuals III experiencing hardship

Thursday, 10 March 2022

Workshop

Understanding corporate insolvency

Tuesday, 15 March 2022 and Wednesday, 16 March 2022

RTO – Elective of Certificate III + core of Certificate IV

Undertake legal action for the recovery of debts

Thursday, 17 March 2022

Toolbox

Understanding credit risk

Tuesday, 22 March 2022 and Wednesday, 23 March 2022

RTO – Core unit of Diploma

Manage risk

Thursday, 24 March 2022

Workshop

Understanding financial hardship

14 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

Event Name

Fundamentals of credit

Young Credit

Professional of the Year 2022

Applications for the Young Credit Professional of the Year ARE NOW OPEN!

APPLIC ATION S

Do you know a talented young credit professional who deserves recognition? The YCPA is open to both members and non-members of AICM who are working in the Credit Industry and who are under 30 years of age as at 30 June in the year of application. Whether you work within the credit function of a business or in any of the many related Credit Professional roles in the Credit Industry you are eligible to enter. HOW TO APPLY Applications close 31 May 2022 and can be submitted by email (aicm@aicm.com.au) or by post (PO Box 64 St Leonards NSW 2065).

CLOSE 31 MAY

YCP State Awards VIC NSW QLD SA WA

Friday, 8 July 2022 Thursday, 21 July 2022 Friday, 29 July 2022 Thursday, 11 August 2022 Thursday, 18 August 2022

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

For more information and entry requirements CLICK HERE or phone 1300 560 996

Credit Management

Is your credit risk data up to scratch? By Patrick Coghlan MICM* The continuing uncertainty in trading conditions and health of businesses due to the spread of the Omicron variant means business risk intelligence is arguably more important than ever before. But are your data sources cutting it?

In the digital age, data has become a key driver of growth, with detailed insights guiding businesses to success. The financial services sector is heavily reliant on data, with banks, insurance companies and any organisations who deal in risk seeking to bolster their modelling and reduce defaults. Channelling rich, new data into these models can provide the clarity needed for enhanced decision making – both in identifying credit risk from the outset at the application stage, and on an ongoing basis and credit risk management over time – alerting financial organisations to timely indicators that are statistically likely to impact their bottom line.

More data, richer models

Patrick Coghlan MICM

Organisations that manage credit have always relied on traditional risk indicators like bankruptcies, insolvencies and court judgments from ASIC, ABR, AFSA, the Australian courts and Insolvencynotices.gov.au. While these are still a vital part of the picture, granular detail is often lacking.

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The value of this financial risk data lies in its predictive abilities. It reveals how businesses are faring right now, in terms of making payments they owe to other businesses and enables organisations who manage credit to see signs of distress early. Are they paying their invoices quickly? Within 30 days? Or are payments taking two or three months? What’s their overdue invoices status? Late trade payments are a clear predictor of future defaults and credit risk, so these insights are extremely valuable, particularly when they can be easily compared to industry standards for greater context. But why stick to purely traditional risk indicators? For example, CreditorWatch is also able to generate digital insights from more than 11 million tradelines and 15 million monthly invoices. This brightens and sharpens the picture dramatically. More big data enriches models and enhances your ability to predict future default and credit risk; a boon for businesses seeking to avoid poor credit approval decisions and reduce exposure to costly defaults.

Credit Management

z High-trade-activity businesses are less than half the default risk of the average business. z Businesses with recent B2B trade payment defaults are approximately seven times the default risk of businesses with no trade payment defaults.

Algorithm transparency is essential

“More big data enriches models and enhances your ability to predict future default and credit risk; a boon for businesses seeking to avoid poor credit approval decisions and reduce exposure to costly defaults.” Access to additional unique insights CreditorWatch’s unique accounting software data, a massive bank of commercial data – that contains more than 40 vital financial factors – can be used retrospectively to provide insight into your customers’ behaviour over the past five years, giving a fuller account of each business’s health. These insights into past and present behaviour can be seamlessly integrated into your existing workflows, such as your CRM system, ERP or any other thirdparty software, rounding out each profile to help predict the future.

The power of early warning sign alerts Access to the latest default data can also assist with annual reviews of risk grades, complementing

your current data sources to track businesses throughout the customer lifecycle and better identify credit quality deterioration early so timely action can be taken. The importance of this cannot be understated given that we know: z Small businesses in arrears are more of a default risk compared to those who pay on time. { 60+ days arrears are more than five times the average default risk { 30-60 days arrears are approximately three times the average default risk z Large businesses with 60+ days arrears are more than double the default risk of large businesses that pay within 30 days. z Businesses that pay most invoices on time are less than half the default risk of the average business.

Algorithms are notoriously secretive, but it is crucial for those who make informed decisions based on insights to know how the information is generated. The aggregate data that contributes to a credit score from CreditorWatch is completely transparent and easily shared. In the field of finance – a world where numbers are of great importance – there shouldn’t be any secrets.

Experienced data scientists James O’Donnell, the Open Analytics Managing Director, who was a Westpac senior credit decisioning specialist for 15 years, has transformed CreditorWatch’s data into user-friendly insights of the greatest value to the banking and financial services sector. “In such uncertain times as we are in now thanks Omicron, having access to important, accurate, timely data is essential,” James says. “Critical insights give banks, insurance companies and any organisations that work in the risk space a holistic, comprehensive picture of how sound and safe a business is – right now and over time. As we navigate through great economic uncertainty, that information is more important than ever.” *Patrick Coghlan MICM CEO CreditorWatch Ph: 1300 50 13 12 www.creditorwatch.com.au

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Credit Management

Black Swans and Dominos

– the bad debts we couldn’t predict By Dafydd Owen MICM ACIB*

Dafydd Owen MICM ACIB

Imagine your dream customer for a moment. Maybe it is a large, stock exchange listed, multi-national company with significant government contracts. Possibly a global energy company. It might even be one of the world’s largest investment banks with over 25,000 staff. Who wouldn’t want to sell to businesses like these? What could possibly go wrong? Well let’s put Carillion, Enron and Lehman Brothers to one side for a moment. When Nassim Taleb popularised the term “Black Swan” in his 2007 book he outlined three key ingredients; it is so rare that no one could have even anticipated it, its effects are catastrophic, and it is regarded as predictable in hindsight. We’ve lived through more than our fair share of Black Swans in recent years and the lessons have been out there for all of us to learn. After the big event comes all the small ripple effects. The failure of

Lehman Bros has been estimated to have directly caused at least 75 distinct bankruptcies. Each of those businesses left a trail of unpaid debts in its wake. The bush fires of 2019-20 saw government and state cash diverted from bus refurbishment projects to rebuilding schools and communities. Our old friend Covid saw flocks of Black Swans impacting fruit harvests, travel businesses and so much more. Credit control is often an under appreciated art in the commercial world. AICM members take pride in their ability to assess a customer and onboard them efficiently and safely to protect the cashflow of their businesses. We use credit reports to look backwards at payment history, we draw on longstanding reputations to gauge their willingness to pay, on time, every time. We make a reasonable stab at their ability to pay based on their record of settling past invoices and other suppliers.

“The failure of Lehman Bros has been estimated to have directly caused at least 75 distinct bankruptcies.”

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“When Nassim Taleb popularised the term “Black Swan” in his 2007 book he outlined three key ingredients; it is so rare that no one could have even anticipated it, its effects are catastrophic, and it is regarded as predictable in hindsight.”

As a young banker in the early 90’s the first things I assessed were – PAR; Person, Amount, Repayment. This had been drilled into me before any facility was considered. What Midland Bank (yes, I’m that old) didn’t teach me is how to assess the downstream impacts of supply chain disruption. Or the likelihood that a builder can’t trade due to timber and labour shortages. I spent my time looking backwards but thinking I was looking forward. I was certain I’d made the right decision. Moving into trade credit insurance in 2010 I learned a new definition of risk (thanks ANZIIF); z The chance of loss or hazard

z Uncertainty as to whether an economic loss will occur z The effect of uncertainty on organisational objectives. That was a lot of uncertainty and chance for a guy that was rooted in certainty and confidence. Working with trade credit insurance my job was to predict the likelihood of payment default. Using financial data, economic predictions, and understanding the nature of the enterprise helped me enable businesses to trade with confidence when they were heavily exposed to potential bad debt losses. I was pretty good at it.

Although occasionally I got it wrong. I missed something so rare that no one could have anticipated it (or so I thought), its effects would have been catastrophic to the client if they hadn’t been insured, and it could have been regarded as predictable in hindsight. But luckily for them, and all the domino businesses downstream, they were covered and lived to tell the tale. What is your Black Swan plan? I’d love to hear it. *Dafydd Owen MICM ACIB Client Manager – Credit Solutions Aon T: 0466 851 198 E: dafydd.owen@aon.com

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Ethics – how does your organisation rate? By Jody Wright*

Jody Wright

The Governance Institute of Australia (GIA) recently released the Ethics Index 2021 and the results generally still do not fare well for the financial sector. It does seem that the industry still has work to do in order to improve the public’s perception, however there has been some movement in the right direction. In saying this, it is not just the financial sector that is bearing the brunt of societal pressure with the results revealing that most industries, occupations and sectors have been detrimentally affected. “This year has been a tumultuous and anxious locked down year for many with a greater lack of certainty. It seems this is reflected in a dip in the latest Ethics Index which has dropped to 45.”, CEO of the GIA, Megan Motto. The GIA has been measuring the adult population’s perception of ethical behaviour within Australian society for 6 years with the index released each year.

Key 2021 results In relation to ethical behaviour, the key findings are as follows: z Each year has seen a decline and the current index sits at 45 which is down from 52 in 2020; z Education and health are still considered to be the most ethical sectors with current index scores of 72 and 71; z Media declined significantly and is sitting at 2 (down from 22 in 2000) which is below banking and finance; z Generally, member associations have seen an increase in their index, however the Australian Banking Association has the lowest score being 19; z Federal parliament is considered to be the least ethical organisation achieving a rating of -11 (down from 14 in 2020); z In terms of the corporate sector generally, society has viewed corporations as neither ethical or unethical and this sector achieved an ethics score of 14 (down from 19 in 2020);

“This year has been a tumultuous and anxious locked down year for many with a greater lack of certainty. It seems this is reflected in a dip in the latest Ethics Index which has dropped to 45.”

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Credit Management

z Banking, finance and insurance sector is also seen as neither ethical or unethical. This sector achieved a net score of 11 (down from 18 in 2020), However it is better than the 2019 score which was -11. It seems that the Australian Federal Parliament has almost switched roles with this sector. Interestingly, pay day lenders are considered to be the organisations that have the least ethical behaviour sitting on -31 which is lower than social media apps (Tik Tok, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram); z Currently, balancing of freedom of movement and individual liberties with ongoing efforts to contain COVID-19 spread is seen as the biggest ethical challenge that Australians will face in 2022. The findings in relation to issues and influences on ethical behaviour are as follows (and were similar to 2020 results): z Accountability, transparency and whistleblower protection achieved the highest scores in

“Currently, balancing of freedom of movement and individual liberties with ongoing efforts to contain COVID-19 spread is seen as the biggest ethical challenge that Australians will face in 2022.” terms of what society considers are the elements to ensuring ethical behaviour; z The top business ethical issues are still corruption, company tax avoidance and misleading and deceptive advertising; z Australians still consider that high levels of CEO remuneration are unethical irrespective of the size of the company.

What does ethics mean? There are several ways to define ethics and the Index found that the most popular definitions were the following:

“Well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribes what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues” (Markkula Centre for Applied Ethics)

What is also clear from the results is that climate change continues to be an important issue for Australians and the majority of Australians feel that there is an ethical obligation for organisations to take action on climate change even if this means a reduction in job profits, job losses or less jobs for the future.

“Moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or the conducting of an activity” (Oxford Dictionary) Despite what we as individuals believe ethics means, it is clear that the way we conduct ➤

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“In times of fundamental change, which we have seen eventuate during the COVID-19 crisis and the ongoing consequences and issues, ethics becomes even more critical and we are seeing that through the Ethics Index results. ” ourselves in our roles and the way that organisations behave is being scrutinised in line with the above definitions. Generally when making decisions whether as an individual or an employee we are guided by our own morals and what we believe is right or wrong. In a corporate sense though, when making decisions it is important to act in a manner which is beneficial to shareholders, employees, customers, other stakeholders and the public generally. In times of fundamental change, which we have seen eventuate during the COVID19 crisis and the ongoing consequences and issues, ethics becomes even more critical and we are seeing that through the Ethics Index results. When businesses are experiencing positive financial

times and continual growth results they can become complacent and often values and morals become lost in the hype. However, in times of crisis, uncertainty or financial stress, morals seem to find a higher ground and can also move closer towards the social responsibility scale. Some even say that social responsibility is a key component of business ethics and therefore the two terms can be intertwined.

How do Organisations Ensure Good Business Ethics and Social Responsibility 1. If you don’t already have a documented values statement then develop one. Everything that your organisation does and the decisions that are made should be in line with

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your organisation’s core values. Transparency and accountability are particularly important core values. Not only are they high on the ethics score but they are also elements of good corporate governance; 2. Implement a Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics or ascribe to an industry accepted Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics. These need to be followed by all employees not just boards and senior management; 3. Have in place an effective Whistleblower Policy and ensure that it provides for adequate protections; 4. Have a Vendor/Supplier Management Policy in place which emphasises your organisation’s expectations in

Credit Management

relation to suppliers sharing your commitment to good governance and ethical practices; 5. A Conflicts of Interest Policy both at board level and employee level is important for ensuring that objective and proper business decisions are made at arm’s length and any potential, perceived or actual conflicts are managed appropriately and in a transparent manner; 6. Create an organisation that is dedicated to acting responsibly and minimising any adverse environmental impacts that may arise from your organisation’s business activities. Protection of the environment is at the forefront of societal expectations and we have seen some companies suffer detrimentally due to errors of judgement in relation to environmental sustainability; 7. Comply with applicable anticorruption and anti-laws and

“when making decisions it is important to act in a manner which is beneficial to shareholders, employees, customers, other stakeholders and the public generally.” only accept instructions/service lines that are lawful; 8. Take privacy, confidentiality and cyber and IT security seriously. Have in place the best IT security frameworks possible in order to protect your customer’s and employee’s data; 9. Comply with Modern Slavery laws and monitor your vendors/ service providers to ensure that they are also complying and promote a workplace that is, inclusive, safe and free from bullying, harassment and discrimination; and 10. Proactively manage and mitigate risks and have a robust risk management framework in place so that any potential risks can

be identified as soon as possible and dealt with accordingly and notified to stakeholders where required.

*Jody Wright Head of Risk & Governance and Company Secretary Risk & Security Management Pty Ltd M: 0477 778 176 E: jody.wright@risksec.com.au Jody was admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2001 and has a current Queensland Practising Certificate. She has an extensive background in corporate governance, compliance, risk management, board advisory and commercial and general law matters. Jody has been Company Secretary for a number of publicly listed and private companies and has sat on a number of company boards. Jody is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, has an Advanced Diploma in Management (Human Resources) and is a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia.

NCI, more than just trade credit insurance Leverage our information on more than 1 million businesses around Australia, and educate yours.

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Credit Management

How artificial intelligence and automation is solving Credit Management headaches - B2B Identity Fraud being one of them By Miriana Lowrie*

The pace of technology development has a profound impact on most industries and our everyday lives. The world of trade credit management is no exception. From fraud assessment checks to business process automation, building scale through the cloud, to leading the charge on data-led decision making, the power of digital technologies should not be underestimated as your best-practice enabler.

Let’s helicopter up to the macro view first ...

Miriana Lowrie

You may be aware of discussion points around Web 3.0. Personally, I find the simplest way of describing what Web 3.0 is (otherwise referred to as Web3), is through the evolution of the world wide web (www): z Web 1: Read only (~1980’s-2004)

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z Web 2: Read and Write (~20042020), think: content creation, social networking, blogs, etc. z Web 3: Read/Write/Ownership (~2020-now) Ownership. With Ownership we are talking about a fairer internet where everyone owns and can control who profits from their information. Here we will see blockchain becoming more prolific because it is the key enabler for individuals to own and be compensated for their data, through “Non-Fungible Tokens” (NFTs). We will hear a lot more about NFTs, which are cryptographic assets on blockchain with unique identification codes and metadata that distinguish them from one another. NFTs are used to represent not only real-world items like event tickets, artwork, or real-estate but also to represent people’s

Credit Management

“Technology exists today that enables you to solve and improve end-to-end customer problems. Self-serve, at the click of a button.” identities. This is where the authenticity or proof of ownership comes in. For now, we all have access to world class technology such as AI and identity technology, very easily accessible and cost-effective ways of helping us reduce risk. While your business may not be an early adopter, being a fast follower will ensure that you derive benefits quickly and early. Technology is here today, right now, increasing revenues, decreasing costs, mitigating risk, solving manual repetitive tasks, and helping businesses compete more efficiently and effectively.

Three Big Conundrums for Today’s Credit Managers Problem 1. Onboarding customers faster, with more visibility while simplifying the complex. Streamlining existing customer onboarding processes requires an understanding of the full end to end process, from ‘I want to trade with you, how do I sign up?’ through to ‘My account is open, now what?’. You’re looking at around a dozen primary and secondary data sources to help you validate and make decisions about whether to extend credit or not. You may even be

responsible for different business lines who all require variations of their own. As finance experts you have to consider the channel your customer is coming through (web/rep/ store) and the degree of checking you’d like to do based on the sales channel they’re coming through. This needs to be done without impacting customer experience. Then you also need different levels of checks based on the degree of risk you’re exposing yourself to, this helps you to manage costs. It is such a big topic and requires a strategic lens for your individual businesses however mostly all answers lie in just three words: technology-enabled automation. Technology exists today that enables you to solve and improve end-to-end customer problems. Self-serve, at the click of a button. ➤

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We are not talking about expensive ERP-like installations here. We are talking, same day, ready to go SaaS solutions. No custom builds needed, little disruption and minimal cost. SaaS (Software as a Service) applications are typically accessed by users using a web browser. Key benefits of SaaS products include: A. Accelerated delivery – you get multiple new improvements and features in quick succession, typically daily/weekly, generally with little to no disruption. B. Multi tenanted use of the product by multiple users, which drives cost efficiencies for all users. C. API (Application programming integration), affordable integration, managed and maintained for you. D. Maintenance, Training, Support – typically all of these costs are covered in your licensing fees. E. Latest technology – New and better ways of delivering superior experiences are rolling out daily. SaaS companies typically stay abreast of these and upgrade, most of the time without you even knowing.

Streamlining a business using technology can significantly simplify the process, achieve digital transformation, increase service quality, improve data, improve service delivery, increase revenue and reduce costs. Problem 2. As competition rises, improving customer XP for increased revenues We all know that superior Customer Experience equates to increased sales, revenue and loyalty. According to Forbes, it brings in 5.7 times more revenue than competitors who lag in this space. What does ‘superior’ mean, and how do you measure it in your business? Ask your customers what they think using NPS (Net promoter score) software which is cost effective and enables you to use data to make business decisions instead of hearsay or best guess. Net Promoter Score (NPS) is used to measure customer loyalty and how likely they are to refer your products and services to others. NPS helps identify who among

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your customers are promoters, passives, and detractors. The feedback enables you to understand where and what in your workflow needs improving, all of which is achievable via technology. Next is having the ability to create experiences tailored to your own business, from sales to finance to marketing, including streamlining your approval processes – a baseline requirement. So how can you achieve this without it costing the earth? With the advent of AI,ML, OCR, and especially customisable interfaces and the many other technologies available, streamlining the user experience is not only achievable but it’s also expected. All of these technologies typically feature and continue to evolve in most SaaS products ensuring you are always ahead of technological advancements. Problem 3. Your need to identify your customer collides with data privacy As Finance professionals, I don’t need to tell you what is required here. But what comes quickly to

Credit Management

“Staying on top of governance and legislation as regulation evolves especially around data, is going to be critical in order to remain relevant.”

especially SaaS will stay on top of this with you (I use the term ‘with you’ because creating technology is about the customer and SaaS provider working together in a valued partnership).

mind is – identification for fraud prevention and of course to bind agreements, legally binding contracts, data collection, data storage, data security, data ownership, credit risk profiles, identity risk profiles ...and the list goes on. Staying on top of governance and legislation as regulation evolves especially around data, is going to be critical in order to remain relevant. I’m not a lawyer (so please seek legal advice for clarity), but like you I know a thing or two about contracting. Let’s start with identifying your applicant and those key stakeholders involved in the contract. Here’s why this is important – a contract to be legally valid, as you probably know, requires an offer, acceptance, consideration, intent, together with certainty of terms and parties need to be legally capable of signing. But how do you know the person signing the agreement is actually that person, and they are connected with the applicant entity? Now add into the mix the rules around collecting, storage and usage of data. Data protection and privacy legislation is changing worldwide as more and more social and economic activities move online. Of most concern is sharing of personal information to third parties without notice or consent. A good example of these changes are the GDPR regulations, which nearly all of us would have come across by now. In Australia, privacy principles are laid out

The use case of SaaS automation applied to identity fraud in trade credit

clearly on the OAIC website (I encourage you to read them) and of note: A breach of an Australian Privacy Principle is an ‘interference with the privacy of an individual’ and can lead to regulatory action and penalties.

For us in Credit Management, there are many questions to ask and answer What happens when your customer says: “Yes, you can view my drivers licence but you cannot store a copy of it” or “Yes, you can use this data supplied to approve my trade credit application, but it must not be shared” (for example, with credit bureaux). The future state may be that customers gain visibility of where data is being requested (via NFTs) and have full control of that to approve and push it, or not as may be the case. No doubt, customers will become more aware and vocal of their rights to data ownership, and we will need to stay ahead of that curve. A good example of this is having the option to not store applicants and key signatories’ identifications, by wiping these from any database to protect your customers privacy and their individual right to do so. With regard to data privacy and protection – technology again,

Let’s look at trade credit fraud incited by SMEs. There are over 2 million businesses in Australia, the majority being Small & Medium Enterprise (SME), the ratio of small to large is about 9:1, which is around the same ratio regardless of country around the world. Whether you are a large or small business, chances are you are doing business with a SME. The challenge is knowing which are disguised as fraudsters amongst them. This becomes even more of a challenge when credit applications are made online or through a channel that is more removed than face to face. Think about it. Any person can register with ASIC, get an ABN and buy a legitimate looking website and logo for just a few hundred dollars. In many instances, that’s all they need to be eligible for trade credit. It could be anyone applying. The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) report of 2020 shows that a 33% increase in identity theft has been reported in one year. Complete 100-point identity packages of stolen or fabricated identities are for sale on all darknet markets for as little as a few hundred dollars (IDCARE 2020). AIC valued the financial impact of identity theft in Australia ➤

“No doubt, customers will become more aware and vocal of their rights to data ownership, and we will need to stay ahead of that curve.” January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 27

Credit Management

between $1.4bn and $2bn annually (Research report 15, 2018).

“There’s no doubt that identity fraud is hurting business. As fraudsters become more sophisticated, business is turning to AI/ML and automation for the answers”. Enter AI powered SaaS as your fraud investigator, credit checker and scam mitigator Detecting and preventing fraud with artificial intelligence (AI) makes sense. It’s immensely scalable and increases in accuracy over time when used in conjunction with machine learning (ML) capability. For context you can differentiate

both AI and ML as: AI creates intelligent machines that can simulate human capability and behavior especially beneficial for those repeatable tasks, whereas ML is an application or subset of AI that allows machines to learn from data without being programmed explicitly. AI can help prevent and detect suspicious activity especially where it comes to identifying the person you are doing business with. It will come as no surprise that this technology is not going anywhere anytime soon, infact will only evolve as its capability grows. Let’s take an example. Mark is a small business owner,

and he applies for trade credit. On paper, Mark checks out. However, as a Credit Manager, you don’t necessarily have access to all the information you need about Mark. You may do a 100 point identity check with an ASIC check and possibly a credit bureau check. On the other hand, Robotic Process Automation will ingest Mark’s application – that could be online or using a QR code in-store. If needed, it will use optical character recognition (OCR) to read the application, recognise the text and complete Mark’s data set. Then Machine Learning algorithms run checks across

“Think about it. Any person can register with ASIC, get an ABN and buy a legitimate looking website and logo for just a few hundred dollars. In many instances, that’s all they need to be eligible for trade credit. It could be anyone applying.”

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large datasets automatically. From ASIC and Bank transactions to Government Licensing. It will automate facial recognition using biometrics and, in under 10 minutes, will predict whether Mark is a suitable applicant for trade credit. Not only is the process far quicker, but the magnitude of feedback signals makes it a far more robust process. For other user stories download the 16 page eBook here, on this topic.

Machine learning models monitor, evaluate and detect red-flag anomalies predicting and prescribing the ‘next best action’ This means practically that when a borrower is deemed high risk, the algorithm you have determined may not automatically decline the application. Rather, it will convey the information to the Credit Manager to make a more informed decision. Where credit amounts are small (under a set threshold), autodecisioning can be used. Here AI/ ML will predict the likelihood of fraud and, if it’s found to be low risk, can make the approval on your behalf. Artificial intelligence as the Credit Manager’s co-pilot: Automation and AI/ML will help you with these critical functions: z Predictive Analytics – Analytics on large integrated datasets which can detect suspicious behaviour correlated with past instances of fraud. z Anomaly Detection – Detecting deviations from normal activity

“Adopting automation solves this issue. You get the stringent checks, but the burden is on the machine, not your Credit Department nor the customer.” compared to historical data over a period that can be scaled differently for separate investigations. z Recommendations – Recommending a “next best action” immediately following detection. Inaccurate data increases the risk of identity theft. Hello tokenization. The quality of customer identity data within your business is critical in reducing fraud and efficiently onboarding customers. Quality issues in identity data are plentiful. It could stem from insufficient or incorrect information collected during onboarding or because customer information (like addresses and phone numbers) changes over time. Then, try getting all your application channels – from sales reps to online applications – to be standardised, accurate and rationalised into one master data system. This fragmentation makes quality a more complex issue to solve. Unfortunately, identity fraud increases with poor data, technology, and accessibility. This is where OCR technology, AI technology and even different types of facial recognition technology are available today for you to reduce this risk significantly. These technologies are a more scalable

“It’s better to be the fence at the top of the hill, making views (and dreams) possible rather than the ambulance at the bottom of it.”

and more cost-efficient solution for problems created by poor quality in data. Goes without saying my money is on digital identity via NFT’s as referenced earlier.

Reducing the burden for your credit team and your customers An undesirable consequence of mitigating identity fraud is a bad customer experience. This is manifested in either lengthy procedures while you manually work through your due diligence; or in setting the risk threshold so high that it results in low pass rates. Furthermore, with risk mitigation as the aim, many strategies tighten authentication and make it more burdensome for customers. The outcome of which is a significant drop in revenues from approved customers. Adopting automation solves this issue. You get the stringent checks, but the burden is on the machine, not your Credit Department nor the customer. It’s better to be the fence at the top of the hill, making views (and dreams) possible rather than the ambulance at the bottom of it. Typically, businesses that adopt automation for trade credit see a 30% rise in safe revenue within the first month. That’s the business case for automation, right there. Evolution or revolution, the benefits of advanced technologies are immense for finance leaders. *Miriana Lowrie CEO 1Centre E: miriana@1centre.com T: 64 021 705 060

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Legal

The changing landscape of unfair preferences: What should creditors be aware of in 2022? The Full Court of the Federal Court has determined that the set off defence under s 553C of the Corporations Act will not be available to creditors with respect to unfair preference claims. By Anna Taylor MICM*

Anna Taylor MICM

Introduction In the recent decision of Morton as Liquidator of MJ Woodman Electrical Contractors Pty Ltd v Metal Manufacturers Pty Limited [2021] FCAFC 228 (MJ Woodman), the Full Court of the Federal Court reviewed a conflicting line of case authority to confirm that the set off provision under s 553 of the Corporations Act 2000 (Cth) (the Act) is not available to creditors as a defence to an unfair preference claim. This decision removes a major strategy from the defensive arsenal of creditors subject to unfair preference claims and should prompt creditors to review their current understanding of their rights and obligations in relation to unfair preference claims moving into 2022.

creditor and an insolvent company will be set off, in order to simplify the liquidation process. Prior to the recent decision in MJ Woodman, creditors facing unfair preference claims would raise the set off provision contained in s 553C of the Act as a defence, effectively allowing the creditor to set off the amount claimed as an unfair preference payment with any debts still owed to it by the company in liquidation. While this defence was extremely controversial, unpopular with insolvency practitioners, and widely considered to be bad law, the case law was sufficiently unsettled to allow a creditor to use this strategy, and often succeed in negotiating a better outcome (without a trial on the issue).

Section 553C set off

MJ Woodman

Section 553C of the Act generally operates as an automatic set off provision whereby any mutual credits, debts or dealings between a

In MJ Woodman, the Federal Court was tasked with determining whether a creditor could rely on s 553C of the Act to set off against a

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Legal

liquidator’s claim for the recovery of an unfair preference payment under s 588FA of the Act. The facts of the MJ Woodman were as follows: 1. The company obtained goods from the creditor on credit on two separate occasions, resulting in two separate debts of $190,000 and $194,000. 2. Before the company’s liquidation, but after it became insolvent, it paid $190,000 to the creditor, with $194,000 remaining outstanding. 3. The liquidator of the company sought to recover the $190,000 paid to the creditor as an unfair preference payment. 4. The creditor argued that as it was still owed $194,000 by the company, it should be allowed to rely on s 553C of the Act to set off the debts. In a unanimous decision, the Court held that the s 553 set off was not available to the creditor as the requirement of ‘mutuality’ was not met. ’Mutuality’ requires that the claims which are sought to be setoff against one another must be

between the same parties, and those parties must hold those claims for their own benefit and interest. The Court held that in the case of an unfair preference claim, the right of action pursued by the liquidator is not a right exercised for the benefit of the insolvent company but rather the unsecured creditors and the administration of the estate. While in contrast, the right of action available to the creditor in relation to the debt was solely against insolvent company. Therefore, the requirement of ‘mutuality’ was not met, and s 553C could not be activated. The Court also held that there was a lack of mutuality as there is an absence of any obligation on the creditor to repay an unfair preference until the liquidator succeeds in obtaining an order to void the unfair preference payments.

landscape, there are still a number of extremely effective strategies and defences available to creditors subject to unfair preference claims, including: 1. Good faith defence; 2. Running account; 3. Security; and 4. Proactive credit management practices. Whilst the insolvency landscape is still unpredictable and the foreshadowed tsunami of insolvency not yet apparent, it is likely that as we enter into the third year of the pandemic we will see an increase in business failure which will result in an increase in preference activity. Until we see significant changes to legislation, unfair preference activity is a constant reality faced by creditors and insolvency practitioners. Moving into 2022, creditors need to consider what actions they can take to mitigate their risk and over all exposure.

Conclusion While the decision in MJ Woodman has reduced the number of strategies available to creditors hoping to navigate the insolvency

*Anna Taylor MICM Principal Results Legal T: 07 3234 3205 E: ataylor@resultslegal.com.au

“The Court held that in the case of an unfair preference claim, the right of action pursued by the liquidator is not a right exercised for the benefit of the insolvent company but rather the unsecured creditors and the administration of the estate.” January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 31

Insolvency

Cybercrime on the rise

…and so is the demand for forensic accountants By Melissa Lau* In 2020-21 Australian businesses and individuals lost more than $33 billion to cybercrime – and it’s on the rise. Which is why credit professionals need to be on their guard, more than ever, for the sake of their own businesses and those of customers. And with the increase in cybercrime, there’s now an even greater need to implement good cybersecurity strategies to protect against businesses being compromised.

Melissa Lau

In late 2020 I wrote an article about the rising demand for forensic accountants – particularly in light of increasing fraud around the globe. I noted that since the pandemic had begun, more unusual fraud cases had been appearing and occurring more quickly. Fast forward 14 months and cyber crime is flourishing. In 202021, Australian businesses and individuals lost a massive $33 billion as a result of cyber-attacks, with a cyber-attack occurring every eight minutes, according to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC). And no sector of the Australian economy was spared. In its Annual Cyber Threat Report 2020-21, the ACSC revealed there were 67,500 cybercrime reports over the year, a 13 per cent increase compared with the previous year. What’s behind this rise? The increase in Australians working remotely, not to mention depending on the internet to access services and information and to communicate. “This dependence has increased the

32 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

attack surface and generated more opportunities for malicious cyber actors to exploit vulnerable targets in Australia,” the report stated. Harking back to my article in late 2020 and my observation that more unusual fraud cases had been occurring, it’s a viewpoint echoed by the ACSC, which said that “the increasing frequency of cybercriminal activity is compounded by the increased complexity and sophistication of their services. The accessibility of cybercrime services – such as ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) – via the dark web increasingly opens the market to a growing number of malicious actors without significant technical expertise and without significant financial investment”.

Be aware At a business level, being aware of the dangers and staying on your guard is crucial. For credit professionals, the reason for this is two-fold: credit managers are an intrinsic part of the cash-flow

Insolvency

cycle of a client’s business, so any disruption to that cycle could be detrimental to their own business; and credit management firms are a key target for cyber-crime, as they liaise with customers around payments owed to their business. Dealing with the ramifications of COVID-19 may have caused some businesses to take their eye off the ball when it comes to fraud monitoring. It is impossible to know exactly how much fraud goes undetected or unreported, although a global fraud study believed a median estimate was that fraud costs organisations five per cent of revenues each year. A 2018 study on occupational fraud and abuse cited fraud training for employees can reduce the median loss of fraud by 23 per cent, and its detection is 33 per cent faster. Lack of internal controls was the primary weakness that contributed to occupational fraud in 25 per cent of cases. Wayne Williamson, chief information security officer (CISO) with Equifax Australia & New Zealand, sums it up well: “Cyber

“A 2018 study on occupational fraud and abuse cited fraud training for employees can reduce the median loss of fraud by 23 per cent, and its detection is 33 per cent faster.” crime is a $33 billion people issue, and there is an increased sophistication of attacks exploiting the human link, including advanced ransomware crimes, internal staff being manipulated by threat actors, and cyber criminals exploiting gaps in critical systems. It’s important that organisations are looking closely at the human elements of the threat and human elements of the corporate response.” At an Equifax-hosted panel discussion to assess cyber trends in the corporate world, Williamson commented that: “Cyber security preparedness is ever-evolving, and the responsibility lies with the entire organisation, not just CISOs, to address cyber risks head-on. Common themes emerged from our conversations with security leaders at the top of their field: namely,

involving a business’ security culture driven from the top and conducting threat assessments on people and technology remain core principles to managing these risks.” Credit professionals are uniquely placed to be able to identify any irregularities in their own business operations. And being aware of the nature and ‘recipe’ for fraud can help identify those customers that perhaps don’t understand or don’t respect the risks they’re facing, which may then help with assisting credit worthiness.

The problems of over-trusting Fraud can occur in businesses where there is an over-trusting environment, which small businesses are often guilty of having. While it may help with the smooth running of the business ➤

The main types of fraud SMEs should look out for include: z Cyber fraud – when a criminal uses malicious software to send phishing emails that contain false, inflated or duplicate invoices with the intent to defraud. This type of fraud also includes hackers who send fraudulent emails pretending to be the CEO to a member of staff requesting a bank transfer. SMEs are just as much at risk of cyberattacks as larger businesses. z Mandate fraud – when fraudsters pose as legitimate suppliers and advise changes to existing payment arrangements. The fraudster tricks staff into changing a direct debit, standing order or bank transfer payment from an organisation or person the company makes regular payments to. Another common type of small business fraud is when an employee forges company cheques or makes electronic payments that haven’t been authorised. z Fake invoicing and fake suppliers – business owners must have basic oversight over every vendor in their business because false invoicing is an increasingly popular fraud method. It is often committed by an employee, contractor, supplier or external fraudster. According to a recent Xero survey of 1,000 small businesses, 18 per cent of respondents had fallen victim to invoice fraud, falsely paying out a huge $15,500 on average. z Cash theft – stealing cash through skimming (cash that hasn’t been reported into the accounting system but taken by employees), cashing customer cheques, larceny (cash that has been reported which has been taken) or fraudulent disbursement/ reimbursements (releases of funds which have not been authorised by the owner). z Payroll fraud – payroll fraud occurs twice as often in small businesses (fewer than 100 employees) than larger ones. A classic example is “ghost employees” when a fake or ex-employee is kept on the payroll and is still receiving a wage.

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 33

Insolvency

when staff trust each other enough to, for example, share log-in details for the accounting system, this is likely to be damaging in the long run. This makes it difficult to restrict permissions as appropriate and prevents documentation of whom has made changes. Unfortunately, fraud detection in small businesses often only happens when it is too late. However, there are a few warning signs to watch out for which may indicate a business is at risk. If a business has that one member of staff who ‘never takes a holiday’, it is worth understanding the reason for this. Is this really because they don’t want a break? Or is it because nobody else can do what they do? If it is the latter, and nobody else understands how to make the month-end supplier payments or process payroll, then there is a risk that too much responsibility is concentrated in this employee’s role. Another red flag is where businesses have one employee doing all the accounting and bookkeeping. This makes it easy for cases of fraud to go unnoticed. Small businesses often feel immune to fraud, and we should encourage clients to maintain robust internal controls and processes. For businesses that rely largely on their information technology systems to detect and prevent fraud, that can also be a concern. Information technology is a significant part of the day-to-day operations for most organisations these days. However, with this increased dependence on IT, the incidence of technology fraud is increasing and is expected to continue.

The role of forensics In its simplest form, forensic accounting means the application of accounting techniques and concepts in issues concerning legal matters. The requirement for

“The importance of forensic accounting is growing year on year. We can support and protect business owners from anybody looking to defraud them...” forensic accounting is due to the high rate of white-collar crimes like fraudulent financials, embezzlement and various other financial wrongdoings. We are called on to investigate various financial frauds by employees, clients or customers. We also help government in the enforcement of regulatory requirements. Put simply, forensic accountants assess whether the numbers add up with reality. As a forensic investigator, I’ve seen the huge and rapid changes in fraud over the past two years. Prior to COVID, typical forensic investigation cases involved employees, bookkeeping, account takeovers, credit and securities. However, COVID saw a seismic shift, with the dramatic rise in cybercrime threats. And while forensic accounting is always an ever-evolving practice, the arrival of COVID has meant we’ve had to be more agile than ever. Despite the recent changes, the nature of forensic investigations remains broadly the same. Our role is to answer the ‘who, what, when and how much’ in situations where perception and reality aren’t aligned. The main roles of forensic accounting specialists are to analyse and prepare financial information for a court of law. Forensic accounting is a field that requires a combination of accounting, auditing and investigative skills. In addition to fraud matters, accountants in this field of work will typically be engaged to review financial records and information in a post-acquisition dispute, economic damages and calculations bankruptcy. Business

34 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

valuations and insolvency issues also typically require the skills of a forensic accountant. We meticulously search through documents and often have to follow long and winding paths through financial records, and we regularly find that pools of money travel through various departments, companies and entities. That involves interviewing many types of people, ranging from other accountants to managers to CEOs, in order to get individual stories about any irregularities. A big challenge is identifying who we need to interview and how to conduct an interview that helps accountants solve the case, reveal fraud or recover money. A vital skill is having the ability to observe; to pick up subtle hints or suspicious clues that may lead us to the ‘perpetrator’. The importance of forensic accounting is growing year on year. We can support and protect business owners from anybody looking to defraud them – regardless of whether they’re a start-up or have been in business for many years. With the rapid shift to using the internet for business activities – from financials to communication – and the increase in the level of fraudulent activity, the modern forensic accountant becomes even more important than ever. Businesses can protect themselves and the future of their business. *Melissa Lau Partner, Jirsch Sutherland T: 1300 547 724 M: 0472 703 365 E: MelissaL@jirschsutherland.com.au

PUT A SPOTLIGHT ON A GREAT PERFORMER

he Pinnacle Awards were launched in NSW in 2013, Victoria in 2015, Queensland in 2016, and South Australia in 2018. The Pinnacle Awards

align with the AICM’s purpose to connect and recognise Credit Professionals as well as expanding the relevance and understanding of the Credit Function.

South Australia

The awards recognise Credit Professionals at all levels and sectors of the industry through a process of nomination, selection of finalists and popular votes. Given our inability to meet for much of the past year, the events at the close of 2021 meant that more than ever the Pinnacles events gave the credit profession an opportunity to meet, catch up and celebrate their

Queensland

achievements. As our front cover demonstrates we had a fantastic number of entrants across the country with 57 finalists and 385 attendees across the country celebrating bringing 2021 to a close and their fellow credit professionals successes. On the following pages we bring you the winners New South Wal es

across the events.

NSW and VIC 2021 Premium Sponsor

Trusted Insights. Responsible Decisions.

QLD 2021 Premium Sponsor

Victoria

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 35

2021 PINNACLE AWARDS

New South Wales Consultant of the Year Sponsored by Jirsch Sutherland

Malcolm Poslinsky micm cce EDX Australia

Malcolm is a formidable force of customer success and his well-written responses to the criteria captured his personality and passion for the industry. Malcolm spends his time building up his colleagues and customers and is passionate about educating on PPSR and credit to provide the best outcomes. He explained how he takes time and effort to get to know a business before making recommendations. PPSR is not a one size fits all, and client preferences are important and should not be ignored. Malcolm’s attitude of ‘you get back what you put in’ and the feedback and validation received regularly from his clients is what makes the role so meaningful to him. Service to his clients is always at the forefront of his mind.

Andrew Spring of Jirsch Sutherland presents Malcolm Poslinksy MICM CCE with his award.

External Collections Agent of the Year Sponsored by CreditorWatch

Cynthia Tomas micm Auscare Collect

One of the judges proclaimed that Cynthia is a clear winner who holds a real emphasis on the team. Cynthia’s has created an ethos of humanising the face of debt recovery and is focused on engagement with clients to meet their expectations in performance and excellence in service. She prides herself on communication and reporting back to clients and ensures that they have the information they need for their credit department. Over the last 12+ months, Cynthia re-designed the businesses communication and strategy and explained how she needed to be versatile and adaptable to find solutions and assist customers. The judges were impressed by how much Cynthia the organisation has achieved in their first three years of service and during a pandemic. 36 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

Cynthia Tomas MICM

To see more photos from the NSW Pinnacle Awards please CLICK HERE

New South Wales Credit Supervisor/Officer of the Year Sponsored by Colin Biggers & Paisley

Alex Simmons micm Alex’s approach to his role should be commended as he continues to empower and acknowledge his team. He works extensively across many areas of the business and has also undertaken a high level of personal development. Alex just gets stuff done! Alex is passionate about innovation and has led multiple company-wide projects to improve processes and introduce new technology. With each project, he has to take the time to train, follow up and ensure his team understands to guarantee seamless integration. He prides building on building a reputation of ownership of an issue and follows up until full resolution. Alex Simmons MICM Alex invests time into supporting both direct and indirect reports so that they feel empowered to make informed and accurate decisions. Alex loves his role, has great satisfaction and is motivated to continuously grow and evolve both professionally and personally.

Credit Manager of the Year Sponsored by Esker

Tony Pilimon micm cce Rexel Australia

All finalists were worthy candidates with a wealth of experience and great achievements. Tony is a consistent and innovative high achiever in the credit industry. He recognises the importance of the customer and is very involved in credit and staying informed outside of work. Tony is a dedicated leader who takes the time to understand the changes each team member faces in their role and works with them to set goals and be accountable. He also works closely with sales and engages extensively across the broader business to stay informed on issues and best manage customers. To achieve major improvements during difficult times Tony Pilimon MICM CCE in a difficult industry is a testament to Tony’s work ethic and commitment to his role. The recent outcomes his team achieved in minimising bad debts is truly outstanding.

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 37

2021 PINNACLE AWARDS

Optus

2021 PINNACLE AWARDS

Queensland Consultant of the Year – Sponsored by Optimum Recoveries

Alexandra Monks Carroll Consulting

The judges explained that it was a really difficult process, as these three are all well-educated, highly motivated and enthusiastic about credit and the outcomes. Alex is very focused on the results of the organisation to ensure team performance as a priority in the development of the workplace. She highlighted how continued learning overall helps her in her career, in addition to helping her clients and candidates. Alexandra provided succinct and considered answers and explained that she takes the time to find the right person for what could be a complex hiring process, creating the best outcomes for all. Alexandra Monks

External Collections Agent of the Year

Helen Dickson micm Optimum Recoveries

Helen is an exceptional collection manager. She provided in-depth responses and the judges appreciate how passionate Helen was in her answers. Helen showed a strong understanding of the recovery process and is committed to learning and development through her participation in AICM training. Helen’s experience has prepared her for hardship conversations driven by COVID-19 and has used a strategy that takes into account genuine communication, patience and recent legislative changes to offer resolutions. Helen Dickson MICM

38 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

To see more photos from the QLD Pinnacle Awards please CLICK HERE

Queensland Legal Representative of the Year – Sponsored by Jirsch Sutherland

Hannah George micm Hannah provided solid examples to support her answers. Hannah has a great deal of knowledge and complete focus on the customer, the legislation and the reasons behind her actions. Hannah holds herself to an extremely high standard to achieve prompt turnaround times for clients. She prides herself on her personable approach with clients and takes the time to understand the purpose behind their business and what they seek to achieve by engaging our office on each particular occasion. She is an active participant in networking in the credit industry and is enthusiastic about meeting new clients, understanding the challenges they may face in their industry and providing assistance.

Melissa Lau of Jirsch Sutherland presents Hannah George MICM with her award.

Senior Credit Officer of the Year Sponsored by CreditorWatch

Sandra Hart Alpha Finance

What a challenging task it was for the judges to select a winner from these six passionate and hard-working women. I very much enjoyed reading Sandra’s responses. She loves her work, colleagues and customers and gets a buzz from walking into work every day. The ability to nurture difficult relationships whilst retaining both a positive and vibrant attitude are obvious. A drive to self educate was a clear theme and Sandra proactively engages in training to better improve her performance and work with her team and customers. She is a clear leader who shares her knowledge to support peers. She has shifted the culture within the business and educates customers to own and manage their accounts and to utilise the tools available.

George Wolf of CreditorWatch with Sandra Hart.

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 39

2021 PINNACLE AWARDS

Results Legal

2021 PINNACLE AWARDS

Queensland Credit Supervisor of the Year Sponsored by Esker

Kirsty Gray micm cce Stoddart Group

Kirsty provided in-depth and knowledgeable responses and it is clear she is an integral part of the business at Stoddart’s. Her promotion to assistant Credit Manager in 2021 is a proud achievement and she displayed tremendous skills in leadership, business strategy and communication with stakeholders and customers alike. She takes pride and responsibility in her role and continually strives to improve the business through the implementation of new strategies, processes and systems. Kirsty is dedicated to furthering her education and professional growth and has completed both a Diploma of Credit Management and obtained her CCE. She values leadership is committed to the growth, training and morale of her team.

Andrew Knight of Esker with Kirsty Gray MICM CCE

Credit Manager of the Year Sponsored by Results Legal

Ben Blake micm Cleanaway

Ben has achieved a lot of success in 2021, which is evidenced by strong cash collection results, minimal age debt and a significate reduction in doubtful debt provision. Across his organisation, Ben is recognised as an effective and respected business leader. He is relied on to set the standard for business, contributes to enterprisewide projects and initiatives and underpins the progress his department has seen. Ben is not only a skilled credit manager but an exceptional leader who is focused on recognising the diversity of his team to build relationships, encourage teamwork and share information.

40 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

Hannah George MICM of Results Legal with Ben Blake MICM.

South Australia Consultant of the Year

Maria Scacchitti micm

The judges said that Maria shone with her experience, motivation and understanding of the credit industry needs. Maria continually strives for professionalism and is always aiming for improvement. She has the ability to challenge herself and is willing to operate outside of her comfort zone. Maria’s application demonstrates she obtains clients trust, she is result orientated and always seeks the best outcome for her client.

Maria Scacchitti MICM

Senior Credit Officer of the Year

Angela Turnock

Newtons Building & Landscape Supplies Angela demonstrated she is an exceptional credit officer. She has achieved outstanding results in dramatically lowering the month-end arrears (60-120 days) to a max of 5% (often lower) of the total ledger value, significantly improving daily cash flow to enable the business to meet their financial commitments more efficiently & dramatically reduced the number of bad debt write-offs to a minimum. She has a strong work ethic and is passionate about growing her credit knowledge and improving her role for the benefit of the company and client. The judges commented that it is clear Angela is motivated with her career and an asset to her organisation. Angela is a strong performer and very deserving of this award.

To see more photos from the SA Pinnacle Awards please CLICK HERE

Angela Turnock

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 41

2021 PINNACLE AWARDS

NCI Commercial Collections

2021 PINNACLE AWARDS

South Australia Credit Manager of the Year

Andrew Butterworth micm Elders Rural Services

The judges explained that all finalists were excellent contenders for the Credit Manager of the year award and all demonstrating their strong ability to lead teams and achieve business goals. Andrew was very clear in showing his experience, knowledge and passion. He gave his heart and soul to the application and demonstrated: z Great staff engagement and fosters a positive working environment to produce high performing staff. z Operated in a difficult covid environment and continued to grow and train his team. z Implemented new financial and IT projects remotely during COVID. z Strong knowledge and is actively educating his board on credit matters.

Andrew Butterworth MICM

Victoria & Tasmania Consultant of the Year Sponsored by Jirsch Sutherland

Spiro Pikoulas micm ARMA

It is clear Spiro is a highly motivated professional and is obsessed with credit. The results he has obtained for ARMA are impressive and include expanding the businesses presence in new market sectors of local government, the water sector and essential services. Spiro outlines a philosophy of support for stakeholders in both thought and action through learning together for mutual benefits. Through a pragmatic approach to problem-solving Spiro is able to attain tangible results. He is a collaborative member of his team and is passionate about professional development. He has been instrumental in training and Andrew Mattinson of Jirsch Sutherland presents upskilling his team on how to work with new industry Spiro Pikoulas MICM with his award. clients and understanding the key difference between these and traditional commercial businesses. His giving back to the credit community and the heavy mention of AICM related material was also appreciated. 42 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022 To see more photos from the Vic/Tas Pinnacle Awards please CLICK HERE

Victoria & Tasmania Credit Supervisor/Officer of the Year Sponsored by CreditorWatch

Debbie Ryan micm Oji Fibre Solutions

Credit Manager of the Year Sponsored by Esker

Ricky Forster micm cce Study Loans Australia

The judges explained that the judging of this award was again a very difficult process, as these three finalists are all well-educated, highly motivated and enthusiastic about credit and the best outcomes for their business. Ricky is not only articulate but knowledgeable and passionate about credit. His application responses were detailed and insightful across a broad range of matters impacting the credit team. Ricky demonstrates his ability to work with people be it staff, customers or company executives alike. Ricky is the credit managers’ credit manager. The judges were also impressed by Ricky’s automation within the teams, in addition to the Ricky Forster MICM CCE receives his award from reduction in delinquent debts in such a short time frame. Paul Butler of Esker. It is impressive to set up offshore teams in a pandemic and create new processes and implementations. Ricky displayed an impressive resume of achievements within the business in such a short time.

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 43

2021 PINNACLE AWARDS

One of the judges explained that this was the most challenging judging they have ever completed, after being involved in the judging of many AICM awards. Both candidates were exceptional finalists with the winner decided based on a one-point margin. Debbie is the epitome of a leader, she prides herself in being approachable, encouraging and inspiring to her team. Her passion for the industry is evident in her application responses and the attestation of her peers and colleagues. Debbie’s responses have a recurring theme of continuous improvement and more importantly an Debbie Ryan MICM receives her award from Danny emphasis on reviewing the outcomes through a O’Neill of CreditorWatch. feedback loop. In her time at Oji Fibre Debbie has led many projects and strives to think outside of the box to improve processes, increase profit and reduce workloads. She leads by example and is obviously planning for a long future in credit.

2022

SAVE THE DATE NSW VIC SA WA QLD TAS

Friday, 25 February 2022 Friday, 6 May 2022 Friday, 13 May 2022 Wednesday, 15 June 2022 Friday, 19 August 2022 Friday, 9 September 2022 PREMIUM SPONSOR

SUPPORTING SPONSORS

2021 Virtual Awards Night

Awards

AICM 2021 Virtual Awards night

We’re so proud of the class of 2021. The calibre of recipients continues to be of an exceptional standard and reflective of the excellence found in our industry. Central to the continued support and recognition of credit professionals across Australia we continued our award presentation to worthy recipients throughout 2021 and despite our desire to meet face to face to present the awards government and travel restrictions meant we needed to present the awards online with follow up in person presentations. In the following pages we celebrate these inspirational individuals and elaborate on their journey to receiving their award.

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

2021 Virtual Awards Night

Young Credit Professional of the Year Daniel Alley MICM

Senior Credit Risk Analyst at Reece Group Daniel presented a thought-provoking presentation to the judges titled “Technology in credit”. He demonstrated his knowledge of automation and predicted what the credit industry might look like in 2050. It was clear that Daniel is passionate about the credit profession and has a bright future ahead. He is enthusiastic about helping his customers and solving problems. Daniel continuously strives to implement new ideas, improve business processes and support his colleagues.

Daniel Alley MICM

The judges explained that it was an extremely difficult task to select this year’s winner and all finalists were remarkable candidates.

z Vaibhav Gupta MICM – Accountant at Metroll z Olivia Berger – Credit Strategy Manager, CBA

Congratulations again to our division winners: z Madison Ryan MICM – Credit Controller at Dynamic Supplies z Cameron Henderson MICM – Associate at Oakbridge Lawyers

Thanks again to our award sponsors CreditorWatch and Australian Recoveries & Mercantile Agents Pty Ltd (ARMA) and our 2021 judges Andrew Smith MICM CCE, Patrick Coghlan MICM, Julie McNamara MICM CCE and Richard Gannon MICM.

Credit Team of the Year

Synergy

The judges explained that all four finalists (CBA Supplier Relationships Team, REA Group, Recoveriescorp and Synergy) have provided exceptional support for their customers over the last year and it was clear that our industry is trying very hard to care for both customers and employees through these challenging times. The Synergy team receive their award in person from the WA Division – Kevin Allen

The judges commented it was (WA Councillor) and Troy Mulder (WA Division President) both on right of photo. evident that Synergy had put a lot of time and effort into their CTOY application and presentation. They were professional, thorough and all of the team contributed to demonstrate a culture of rewarding, motivating and developing their staff. The announcement was made during the 2021 Virtual Conference, watch the recording now.

CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

2021 Virtual Awards Night

President’s Trophy Queensland The President’s Trophy is an important award that recognises the work of our volunteer division councils, who are vital to how we meet our promise to members. The division councils take a lot of pride in what they do for members and there is a friendly competitive tension between them to win this trophy each year. The 2021 President’s Trophy was awarded to the Queensland Division.

Queensland Council with their trophy – Back row: Stacey Woodward (Division President), Steven Statz, Maria Schandl, Carly Rae-Orth, Michelle Kirkby, Fiona Doherty and Julie McNamara (Division Director) Front row: Toni Sawyer, Ashleigh Mason, Maddison Graham. Missing Melissa Jarvin and Merv Mahony and Roger Masamvu.

The award was accepted by QLD President Stacey Woodward MICM at the closing session of the Conference. This is a back to back win for Queensland who also took out the 2020 President’s Trophy.

Congratulations and thank you to the QLD council for their continued hard work.

CCE Dux Ricky Forster MICM CCE General Manager of Financial Services Study Loans

The CCE Dux is selected from the members that achieved the highest results in the 2021 CCE assessments. The judging panel then considers the depth and breadth of knowledge and experience demonstrated via their assessment. This year’s CCE Dux was awarded to Ricky Forster MICM CCE – VIC/TAS – General Manager of Financial Services at Study Loans.

Ricky Forster MICM CCE

Congratulations to Ricky, who receives $1,000 to be used towards professional development and events.

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

2021 Virtual Awards Night

Student of the year Azim Muhammud of NSW

Azim was an online student and throughout the qualification, his submitted work displayed a strong knowledge of each unit and understanding of how this knowledge merges into the workplace environment. Azim completed 12 units in 9 months and displayed clarity in his explanations, the research performed reinforced his commitment to the credit industry. Azim met all of the selection criteria and demonstrated throughout the course and was extremely committed to the pursuit of knowledge and professional development. We do not doubt that Azim is an asset to his employer. Azim receives $2,000 credit for AICM services for use in the next 12 months and a Virtual conference registration

Azim Muhammud

High Achievers The 3 high achievers selected from the 3 qualifications offered by the AICM are:

Michael Lougland NSW

– Certificate III Mercantile Agents

Azim Muhammud NSW

– Certificate IV in Credit Management

Christine Nelson QLD

– Diploma of Credit Management

These High achievers have all received: z $175 in AICM Professional Development z Virtual conference registration

CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

In 2021 we pivioted again to deliver our Virtual

a buzz and sense of connection as the industry gathered to share and learn.

Conference Evolved. Live Conference sessions were held across three afternoons from Wednesday 13 October to Friday 15 October 2021 with session recordings available to members for 90 days post-event. Leveraging the success of our past Virtual Conference, we offered a new streamlined and focused format that updated attendees with the latest information and evolving trends in risk and credit management. The Conference produced

2021 Virtual National Conference

2021 Virtual National Conference The Conference consisted of 36 speakers, 16 sessions, 4 awards, 8 sponsors, 260+ attendees, 114 questions asked, 389 chat comments and 59 CCE’s, 8 LICM’s & 7 FICM’s. Some of the highestrated sessions included where is the risk?, Rituals for resilience and the Economic Update. Thank you to attendees, speakers and sponsors of our 2021 Virtual Conference Evolved who made the experience informative and engaging.

WE THANK OUR EXHIBITORS BELOW AND PLEASE SEE OVER FOR SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EVENT PREMIUM SPONSOR

SUPPORTING SPONSORS

Trusted Insights. Responsible Decisions.

SESSION SPONSORS & EVENT SUPPORTERS

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

2021 Virtual National Conference

Event highlights

CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

2021 Virtual National Conference

Event highlights

Unlock the potential in your credit career credit staff

Consider an AICM Qualification course If you aspire to achieve greater heights in your credit career or want to get the best from your credit staff, then a qualification course can help you achieve your targets. Offered nation wide, you can study in your own time (24/7), with support available. If you have industry experience or prior education, you may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) credits to fast-track your qualification. If you’re an employer, you may qualify for a training grant. Talk to AICM today to discover your course options.

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Member anniversaries Name

Designation

State

Company

Years of Service

Niteshni

Swami

MICM

New Zealand

Fletcher Building Limited

5 years

Joanne

Froio

MICM

NSW

Forestry Corporation

5 years

Thomas

Hatzis

MICM

NSW

Optus

5 years

Praveen

Lal

MICM CCE

NSW

Optus

5 years

Benjamin

Mendonca

MICM

NSW

Network Ten Pty Ltd

5 years

Andrew

Nazur

MICM

NSW

Halifax Vogel Group Pty Limited

5 years

Ana

Taufa

MICM

NSW

Shield Mercantile Pty Ltd

5 years

Gail

Willcocks

MICM

NSW

Network Ten Pty Ltd

5 years

Catherine Williams

MICM

NSW

Alliance Distribution Services

5 years

Cherese

MICM

QLD

Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific

5 years

Catherine Clapton

MICM

QLD

Infrabuild

5 years

Liam

Crawley

MICM

QLD

Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific

5 years

Renee

Dobson

MICM

QLD

NCI

5 years

Rhaon

Rodrigues

MICM

QLD

Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific

5 years

Karina

Silcock

MICM

QLD

National Transport Insurance

5 years

Samantha Vale

MICM

QLD

Reward Supply Co Pty Ltd

5 years

Joanne

Amber

MICM

NCI (Brokers) Pty Ltd

5 years

Sandy

Christpoulos

MICM

Motion Asia Pacific

5 years

Leigh

Garth

MICM CCE

Vic/Tas

Bennetts Petroleum Supplies Pty Ltd

5 years

Eddie

Baskan

MICM

Vic/Tas

Optus

5 years

Craig

Brooks

MICM

Vic/Tas

illion

5 years

Rohit

Dhingra

MICM

Vic/Tas

Optus

5 years

Tanya

Rodrigues

MICM

Vic/Tas

Realestate.com.au Pty Ltd

5 years

Shontai

Wood

MICM

Vic/Tas

Optus

5 years

David

Gould

MICM

WA/NT

CEA

5 years

Greg

Quin

MICM

WA/NT

HLB Mann Judd (Insolvency WA)

5 years

Brenda

Woodger

MICM

WA/NT

Credit Solutions (WA) Pty Ltd

5 years

Jennifer

Carew-Reid

MICM

QLD

Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific

10 years

Avalon

Walker

MICM

QLD

Findex

10 years

Adrian

Hunter

MICM

VIC

Brooke Bird

10 years

Luke

McCoy

MICM

New Zealand

Talent International

15 years

Graeme

Annable

MICM

QLD

Euler Hermes

15 years

Vanessa

Hartwell

MICM

QLD

KBH Solutions

15 years

Gerrad

Harper

MICM CCE

Vic/Tas

CGU Insurance

15 years

Stewart

Wells

MICM

Vic/Tas

Glencore Grain Pty Ltd

15 years

Simon

Holloway

MICM CCE

NSW

Sydney Wide Building Supplies

20 years

Donna

Stephenson

MICM

NSW

Rondo Building Services Pty Ltd

20 years

Aitken

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 53

DIVISION REPORT

We recognise those members who achieved membership anniversaries between October and December 2021. Congratulations to these members on achieving such important milestones.

DIVISION REPORT

Member anniversaries Name

Designation

State

Company

Years of Service

Lorraine

Smith

MICM

VIC

Retired

20 years

Nikola

Razmovski

MICM CCE

NSW

Credit Manager at Call Pty Ltd

25 years

Mark

Shepherd

MICM

NSW

Wayne

Bryant

MICM

QLD

Queensland University of Techonology

25 years

Michael

Nisbet

MICM

QLD

Haymans Electrical

25 years

Ruthven

Underhill

MICM CCE

QLD

MM Electrical

25 years

Nigel

Bugg

MICM

Vic/Tas

Retired

25 years

Suzanne

Lucas

FICM CCE

Vic/Tas

Coogans Group Pty Ltd

25 years

Bruce

Bills

MICM CCE

NSW

Metcash Trading Pty Ltd

30 years

Antony

Pilimon

MICM CCE

NSW

Rexel Holdings Australia Pty Ltd

30 years

Simon

Olsen

MICM

Vic/Tas

Adaptalift Group

30 years

Mal

Pericic

MICM CCE

Vic/Tas

GWA

30 years

Frank

Poci

MICM

Vic/Tas

ForestOne

30 years

Robert

Semmens

MICM

Vic/Tas

Mills Oakley Lawyers

30 years

Andrew

Gerace

MICM

Premix Concrete SA Pty Ltd

35 years

Brian

Fulmer

LICM CCE

NSW

Retired

45 years

Christine

MacPhee

MICM

QLD

Christine M MacPhee

45 years

See you at AICM’s

25 years

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19 - 21 October 2022 | Sofitel Brisbane Central

go to www.aicm.com.au for more details 54 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

South Australia

Eddie Bastiani (Oakbridge Lawyers) with Clare Venema (SA Division Vice President).

Merna Spain (Brice Metals) with Alice Carter (Lynch Meyer).

Trevor Goodwin (National President), Karen Goodwin and Daryl McKenzie (NCI).

President’s Report

I take this opportunity to congratulate our welldeserving winners and look forward to seeing the achievements that our wonderful credit professionals will produce in this coming year. I thank Cameron Henderson from Oakbridge Lawyers for putting forward his nomination for the ultimate prize: 2021 National Young Credit Professional of the Year. He was the nomination for the SA division but was unsuccessful. However, congratulations on putting forward such a strong application and a great interview – well done Cameron! The SA Division Council is excited to see some new faces stepping into Councillor roles and I look forward to the energy and enthusiasm that they are sure to bring to their new responsibilities. In addition, I welcome Oakbridge Lawyers as our new division partner. Their participation in the AICM is very much appreciated. Our current team is certainly up to the task of supporting our SA members but we welcome any members who are willing to assist – either on Council

2021 marked another difficult year under the pandemic in SA, your strong committee are planning for increased events and face to face activities. We will be hosting a number of exciting events in 2022 and are looking forward to a bigger and better year! Last year’s Pinnacle Awards, held on 25 November at the Havelock Hotel, was well attended with many familiar faces and some new faces in the credit industry. The Pinnacle Awards presented a great opportunity to recognise the achievements of leaders in credit and was a nice time to catch up with colleagues before the Christmas break. The winners of the SA Division of the Pinnacle Awards were as follows: z Credit Manager of the Year: Andrew Butterworth MICM – Elders Rural Services; z Senior Credit Officer of the Year: Angela Turnock, Newtons Building & Landscape Supplies; and z Consultant of the Year: Maria Scacchitti MICM – NCI Commercial Collections.

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 55

DIVISION REPORT

Gemma McGrice (Councillor) with Quentin Yip (NCI).

DIVISION REPORT

South Australia

Members and guests await the announcement of the awards. or working in a sub-committee. Please feel free to contact either myself or any SA Division Council member. I look forward to seeing you at one of the marketing events in 2022 which will start shortly at the Adelaide Fringe Festival. I wish you all a better and more optimistic year ahead. – Neil Fennell MICM SA Division President

SA Breakfast Session Tips for customers when they go into liquidation

James Neate (Councillor), Andrew Butterworth (Elders Rural Services), Alice Carter (Lynch Meyer) and Rob Maslin (Elders Rural Services).

On 6 October 2021, the SA Division held a breakfast session at the Lion Hotel in North Adelaide, to hear a timely discussion from excellent speakers about tips for customers when they go into liquidation. President Neil Fennell, and Vice President Clare Venema were the MCs for the event and were also in the company of AICM fellows and life members from the Division who were in attendance, namely James Devonish from Oakbridge Lawyers, James Neate from Lynch Meyer Neil Fennell (SA Division President), Lisa Anderson and Lee Freundt (both Coopers Brewery). Lawyers, and Trevor Goodwin from NCI. Chris Pittman, Chief Financial Officer of Leader Lawyers, who gave attendees a run-down on Tools for Computers kicked off the presentations, speaking Insolvency. Finally, Travis Olsen, Associate Director at about Tools to Help with Bankruptcy. This was followed SV Partners provided his perspective as an insolvency by James Devonish, Managing Director at Oakbridge practitioner.

56 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

South Australia

Claire Venema (SA Division Vice President) with Gemma McGrice (Councillor).

James Neate (Councillor) listens intently to Adrian Stewart (Australian Clutch Services).

The speeches were followed by a panel discussion by the 3 speakers, who gave their perspectives on questions such as “what sort of questions should I be asking at a creditors meeting?” and “does having a security interest help in an unfair preference scenario?”. The perspectives given from the speakers were extremely valuable and incited conversation, and the SA Division is extremely grateful for their time and continued dedication towards the professional development of its members.

and Credit Manager of the Year. The finalists for Consultant of the Year were Eddie Bastiani, Senior Consultant from Oakbridge Lawyers, and Maria Scacchitti, Credit Services Consultant from NCI Commercial Collectors. The judges commented that Eddie showed a real client-centric focus and passion for responding to clients’ needs in a timely and efficient manner, and that Maria shone with her experience, motivation and understanding of credit industry needs. Maria ultimately took home the prize, having shown a continuous strive for professionalism and improvement, and that she was result-orientated and always seeks the best final outcome for her clients. Both contestants are true stars, and a huge congratulations for Maria for winning this year’s award. The winner of Senior Credit Officer of the Year went to Angela Turnock, who is a Credit Controller at Newtons Building and Landscape Supplies. Angela had demonstrated that she is an exceptional credit officer,

SA Pinnacle Awards On 25 November 2021, the SA Division celebrated the credit profession’s shining stars at the 2021 Pinnacle Awards, held at the Havelock Hotel. President Neil Fennell and Vice President Clare Venema were the MCs for the event, and handed out awards for Consultant of the Year, Senior Credit Officer of the Year,

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 57

DIVISION REPORT

Our 2021 award recipients – Clare Venema (SA Division Vice President), Angela Turnock (Newtons Building & Landscaping Supplies), Maria Scacchitti (NC), Andrew Butterworth (Elders Rural Services) and Neil Fennell (SA Division President).

DIVISION REPORT

South Australia

Clare Venema (SA Division Vice President) announces the award with Gemma McGrice and Maria Schacchitti (both NCI).

Quentin Yip (NCI) with Eddie Bastiani (Oakbridge Lawyers).

Mira Abu Shama, Monique Milic and Eddie Bastiani (all Oakbridge Lawyers).

Gemma McGrice (Councillor) with Brianna Harris (Oakbridge Lawyers).

having achieved outstanding results with a strong work ethic and is passionate about her growing credit knowledge and improving her role for the benefit of the company and clients, with the judges commenting that it is clear that Angela is motivated with her career and is an asset to her organisation. The SA Division had amazing finalists for the Credit Manager of the Year award, all having submitted outstanding applications. The first finalist was Andrew Butterworth, Regional Credit Manager at Elders Rural Services. Andrew showed a great deal of experience, knowledge and passion, with great staff engagement and that he fosters a positive working environment. The second finalist was Lisa Anderson, Credit and Customer Service Manager at Coopers Brewery, who showed a great value for her team, and passion for leading by example to allow others to grow and perform at their best.

The third finalist was Rob Jackson, National Credit Manager at Beaumont Tiles, who showed leadership in navigating his team through the COVID-19 pandemic, leading a motivated and successful team as they came out on the other side. The fourth finalist was Rachel Coomblas, National Credit Manager at Aspire 42. Rachel showed her leadership by having an “open door policy” and encouraging new ideas and drawing on the knowledge of her staff before implementing changes that could affect their day-to-day lives. The winner of this award went to Andrew, having operated his business in a difficult COVID environment, and continued to grow and train his staff, whilst also actively educating his Board on credit matters. Congratulations to all the winners and finalists – the event was a great success and gave the SA Division an opportunity to celebrate all of their achievements and continued dedication to the credit profession.

58 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

South Australia Robert Jackson Beaumont Tiles The SA Division is proud to have a number of outstanding credit managers, who continue to inspire and lead its members. One of these outstanding professionals is Robert Jackson, National Credit Manager at Beaumont Tiles, and one of the finalists of this Robert Jackson year’s Pinnacle Awards for Credit Manager of the Year. Robert has been involved with the AICM for about 20 years and is able to provide some valuable insights into what it takes to be a credit manager at the top of their game, and how being a member of the AICM has shaped their professional successes. I had a chance to speak with Rob about his time with the AICM, and he provided some great insights, namely:

What is your biggest professional accomplishment to date? It’s hard to pinpoint one accomplishment. It’s good to look back at my time at Schneider Electric and Hills, knowing I made a positive impact. I’m hoping to make a similar mark at Beaumont Tiles – so far so good!

grateful for the education, the access to industry sponsors, and the networking opportunities provided by the AICM. The AICM has continued to lead the way for Credit Managers, helping us navigate new legislation and understand rulings on all credit-related matters. And I miss the National Conferences so much!

What are your favorite things to do outside of your profession? I’ve picked 2022 to build a house for the first time. Probably terrible timing, but at least it will have a wine cellar (hello to my friends at Pernod Ricard). I’m also a dog person – Esther and Buddy keep me busy! And I’ve been known to yell at a footy game or two – Go Crom! It is clear, that Robert is an asset to the SA Division, and truly deserving for the professional recognition of being a finalist at this year’s Pinnacle awards.

The Australian Institute of Credit Management welcomes our Partners for 2022 National Partners Trusted Insights. Responsible Decisions.

What advice can you give to emerging credit professionals? Never trust salespeople! No, I’m kidding (sort of). Seriously though, it’s important to develop good working relationships with the sales team. Develop a spirit of cooperation, not adversity. Every company has a different risk appetite. Do your research on applicants and customers, then present the facts to enable your employer to make an informed decision on risk. Check and double-check your security. Have a sound security agreement and guarantee. Use the PPSR. Keep your ear to the ground and act quickly when things start to sour (or sooner).

What has been your biggest professional challenge to date? There’s been many challenges over the last 20 years but dealing with a redundancy in 2016 was the toughest. The number of National Credit Manager roles located in Adelaide have been in decline, so it’s great to back with a respected national brand like Beaumont Tiles.

What has being a member of the AICM done for you?

Divisional Partners

Official Division Supporting Sponsors

Our National, Divisional and Professional Partners support and work with the AICM to promote the Institute’s activities, represent the Credit Industry and develop the careers of all Credit Professionals. As these organisations support your Institute and your Industry please consider them when you require assistance.

As an inexperienced Credit Manager in 2002, I was

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 59

DIVISION REPORT

Spotlight on a Member

DIVISION REPORT

Queensland

Alyson Tregear (Iplex), Hannah George (Results Legal), Lynne Walton, Ashlee Le Roux (both Accessii Group) and Karen Clarkson (Iplex).

Great to see Shell represented at the Pinnacles: Ryan Archer, Michelle Kirkby, Melissa Bartley, Talitha Bere, Ashleigh Mason, Vanessa Hendy and Susan Withers.

President’s report What a wild ride 2021 was! We entered thinking this was it, this is the year it all starts looking better and we can start to put COVID, lockdowns and restrictions behind us. Well, that took an interesting turn! So, here we are, hoping for the same thing for 2022, fingers crossed. Queensland was in a better position than most around the country, we were extremely lucky to be able to hold multiple events throughout the year including YCP, WINC and our Pinnacles Awards most recently in December. We also had record attendance at our trivia night held earlier this year and at WINC. In October, the AICM held the National Conference virtually and again it was engaging and insightful. During the conference, QLD were honoured to receive the AICM President’s trophy for the second year in a row, which is an amazing feat given the uncertainty we faced this year. For this I want to thank our members, who came along to these events, reconnected with us and also our

60 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

Dale Hannan of our Premium event sponsor National Collection Services welcomes everyone to our amazing night. partners who continue to provide support even during these uncertain times. To recap QLD’s year, our membership base grew from July – June up 5.7% and we gained 6 Certified Credit Executives (CCE’s) this past year. I want to

Queensland

The team at Cleanaway celebrate Nicolle Hewat, Ben Blake, Mark Moorhouse, Shenoa Boah, Patrick Magnan and Sharyn Elphinstone.

welcome all our new members and congratulations to those new CCE’s. We look forward to seeing you in 2022. QLD is going from strength to strength and this is only possible with amazing work that our council does year on year. I want to personally thank you for all that you do, the time you put aside and the effort that you put in for each event. Thank you for the continued support from Nick and the National Paige Lawton, Rumali Rusch, Boyd Radel and Max Drummond (all SLF Lawyers). office team, we know this has been a challenging year for all however you’ve always been there for us and given 110%. Pinnacle Awards 2021 I look forward to seeing our members and The Warehouse, Fortitude Valley supporters at the first QLD AICM event for 2022, our After not being able to hold the Pinnacles last year and Economic Breakfast being held in February. on the back of yet another challenging year for the – Stacey Woodward MICM credit industry it was fantastic to be able to get together, Qld Division President recognise the amazing people in our industry and kick back.

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 61

DIVISION REPORT

Results Legal team: Andries Breytenbach, Phoebe Evans, Sam Whitelaw, Cameron Clough, Fiona Trime and Hannah George.

DIVISION REPORT

Queensland

Ian Hamilton (Carroll Consulting), Angela McDonald, Colin Perry (both Optimum Recoveries), Forbes Cannon (Bayset), Helen Dickson (Optimum Recoveries), Natalie Marshall and Sandra Hart (Alpha Finance).

Joanne Hill-Willis, Kellie Whibley (National Collections Services), Lauren Franery, Melissa Einam (National Collections Services) and Paris Einam. The Queensland Pinnacle Awards were held in the loft at The Warehouse in Fortitude Valley, beautiful high ceilings, long tables, great food and hosted by our President Stacey Woodward, who engaged the crowd with her terrific MC skills on the night. The finalists and the winners were a true representation of what it takes to succeed in this industry not only in normal times but also in the extraordinary times we find ourselves in. In attendance were long standing members, current members and many new faces and guests, there was a real buzz in the air. It goes without saying that these events could not go ahead or be the success that they are without our Partners, Qld council, event organisers and judges. Many of which are volunteers who dedicate their personal time and knowledge to these events, your dedication is truly appreciated and on behalf of the QLD Council we are very grateful to you all. An absolute well done to all those nominated, the judges gave feedback that they had a tough job and the nominees were of a very high standard. To be recognised by the industry and your peers is a great achievement. We are so looking forward to spending time with you in 2022 at the amazing line up of events that are coming.

62 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

A massive shout out the extraordinary winners who clearly demonstrated what it takes to stand out. The Winners were:

Consultant of the Year Sponsored by Optimum Recoveries Finalists: z Alexandra Monks – Consultant, Carroll Consulting – WINNER z Harry Head – Customer Success Manager, RBC z Stewart Wilkinson MICM – Partner, National Collection Services.

Senior Credit Officer of the Year Sponsored by CreditorWatch Finalists: z Ina Arama MICM – Credit Officer, Boom Logistics Limited z Karen Clarkson MICM CCE – Credit Officer, Iplex Pipelines z Madison Ryan MICM – Credit Controller, Dynamic Supplies z Maria Teodosio MICM – Credit Officer, Stoddart Group z Sandra Hart – Collections Specialist, Alpha Finance – WINNER z Talitha Bere MICM – Credit Controller, Shell Energy.

Queensland

External Collections Agent of the Year Finalists: z Dale Hannan MICM CCE – Managing Partner, National Collection Services z Helen Dickson MICM – National Manager Collections, Optimum Recoveries – WINNER z Melissa Kirk MICM – Commercial Collections Partner, National Collection Services.

Legal Representative of the Year Sponsored by Jirsch Sutherland Finalists: z Hannah George MICM – Solicitor, Results Legal – WINNER z Mark Smith MICM – Senior Partner, SLF Lawyers z Zandalee McKenzie MICM – Associate, Oakbridge Lawyers.

Matthew Span (NCI), Zandaelle MacKenzie (Oakbridge Lawyers) with Stacey Woodward (Qld Division President).

The Australian Institute of Credit Management welcomes our Partners for 2022 National Partners

Trusted Insights. Responsible Decisions.

Divisional Partners

Credit Supervisor of the Year – Sponsored by Esker Finalists: z Belinda Hill MICM – Credit Supervisor, Stoddart Group z Kirsty Gray MICM CCE – Assistant Credit Manager, Stoddart Group – WINNER z Mark Moorhouse MICM – Collections Coordinator, Cleanaway z Samantha Lawrie MICM – Credit Supervisor, BDO z Vanessa Hendey MICM – Credit Team Leader, Shell Energy.

Official Division Supporting Sponsors

Credit Manager of the Year Sponsored by Results Legal Finalists: z Alyson Tregear MICM CCE – National Credit & Claims Manager, Iplex Australia and Rocla Pipelines z Ben Blake MICM – Shared Services Receivables Manager, Cleanaway – WINNER z Elisha Dosser MICM – Credit Manager, Dynamic Supplies.

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 63

DIVISION REPORT

Jerry Zhao (Leader Accountancy), Michael Sing (Rostron Caryle Rojas Lawyers) and Melissa Lau (Jirsch Sutherland).

DIVISION REPORT

Western Australia/Northern Territory

Chris Meadwell (Mediterranean Shipping Company), Jason Louis (BGC), Rowan McClarty (WA Division Director), Kevin Allen (Equifax) and Brenda McGee (Credit Solutions).

Mariana Pereira, Elny Martin (both SV Partners) and Warren Myers (CMP Recruitment).

Cheryl Donaldson (Vinidex), Adam Doyle (NCI) and Julie Boyce (Summit Fertz).

Presidents Report

more and more organisations centralise credit operations to the East Coast or outsource the function altogether to a third party. This has impacts not only on our overall membership but makes identifying and recognising our Young Credit professionals all more challenging. We did find this year however, two very deserving finalists in Scarlett D’Agnone from Westrac and Vaibhav Gupta from Metroll who both excelled in their interview, which ultimately saw Vaibhav take out the State title – congratulations again to both candidates. WA was this year able to realise an ambition this year in what it has not been able to achieve in the past, our very own Synergy taking out the Credit team of the year award! Having come very close in preceding years, the win was well deserved by the Synergy team, and I can say that working in the same industry, I know how passionate and committed this team is to what they do and making

As the curtain closes on another calendar year, there has been plenty of opportunity for us to review and reflect on the previous year, and how fortunate we have been to live in the West, where COVID has been wholly controlled and we have been able to go about our business as close to normal as you can get it in these unprecedented times. Following a successful first half of the year where we were able to hold our usual events under somewhat normal circumstances (some restrictions were in place however) we turned the straight into the run home to Christmas, rounding out our year with our EOY Sundowner event held upstairs at the Aviary Bar, overlooking the magnificent skyline of the Perth CBD. In what has been an extremely positive year for the WA Division, we have achieved membership growth of 16% YoY, in what is a challenging environment given that our stocks of credit professionals continue to decrease as

64 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

Western Australia/Northern Territory

WA Division President Troy Mulder welcomes members and guests to the event.

Mark Gibson (Cor Cordis) with Justin Smiley (Cloud Payment Group).

Brenda Mcgee (Crecdit Solutions) with Craig Butler (Synergy) and Steve McGee.

late in the year after 12 years of committed service. In that time, Byron was instrumental in a number of changes throughout the WA Division and strongly committed to progression and improvement within the institute. Byron’s impact and insight will be missed, and we wish him all the very best in his future endeavours. We also farewelled Councillor Martin Bigg and thank him for his contributions and have welcomed new councillors, Cheri Bowater of Summit Fertiliser and Vaibhav Gupta of Metroll. Finally, I extend my gracious thanks to Jeremy Coote (Councillor), Malcolm Field (SV Partners), Jason Louis (BGC) our WA Council for their dedication and and Trevor Greenhill (Cloud Payment Group). hard work in progressing our industry and supporting its members: a difference in consumer credit in Western Australia. Raffaele Di Renzo, Rowan McClarty, Kevin Allen, The WA Council and members are extremely proud of Jeremy Coote, Cheri Bowater and Vaibhaz Gupta. this achievement. Here’s to 2022! And on a more sombre note, long standing Council – Troy Mulder MICM CCE Member Byron Savage stepped down from Council WA Division President

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 65

DIVISION REPORT

Jason Louis (BGC) received his 25 year membership certificate and Colin Wagstaff (QBE) receives his 5 year membership certificate.

DIVISION REPORT

Western Australia/Northern Territory

Malcolm Field (SV Partners) with Adam Doyle (NCI).

Jeremy Coote (Councillor) and Jack Smith (Cor Cordis). Thank you to these organisations for their ongoing commitment and support of the AICM, its members and our industry.

The Australian Institute of Credit Management welcomes our Partners for 2022 James Watson (Cor Cordis), Chris Meadwell (Mediterranean Shipping Company) and Eric Seignol (AON).

End of year celebration As the sun began to set on another eventful year in the credit industry, It was great to welcome our WA Australian Institute of Credit Management supporters to our EOY Sundowner in late December, this year doing it in style at the Aviary, with the stunning backdrop of the Perth city skyline. A very pleasant evening was had by all, with good conversation, good food and wine, and above all, good ideas for the year coming from our members. We were also able to join in and celebrate with Colin Wagstaff and Jason Louis on their membership anniversaries, with Jason notching up 25 years as an AICM member – an awesome achievement! Thanks to all members and guests for a great evening, to the Aviary and staff for the great venue and food, and a huge shout out to our WA Partners and supporters without whom we wouldn’t be in a position to run such fantastic events: Partners z BRI Ferrier z Nova Legal z SV Partners Supporting Sponsors z NCI z Oakbridge z Spenda

66 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

National Partners

Trusted Insights. Responsible Decisions.

Divisional Partners

Official Division Supporting Sponsors

Victoria/Tasmania

Danny O’Neill (CreditorWatch) and Shavantha Mallawa (Credit Source).

John Li, Andrei Gubin, Zarah Butcher, Mark Mansilla and Chen Mi (all mecwacare).

President’s report And we finish the year with applause! It’s been a huge relief for all of our Vic/Tas members to be out of lockdown and out and about once again. Since we last spoke, we have had the opportunity to run one more event, our Pinnacle Awards. With a wealth of knowledge, experience and passion, this year’s awards were a tight competition. A huge congratulations to all nominees and to our winners; z Ricky Forster MICM CCE – Credit Manager z Debbie Ryan MICM CCE – Credit Supervisor Tim Vann, Pauline Mak and Fei Wei (all Jirsch Sutherland). z Spiro Pikoulas MICM – Consultant I had the honour of playing taxi for one of our longest time on council, it has been wonderful to be a part of serving life members; Ian Bartholomew. Ian joined the an institute that recognises how valuable diversity and institute back when it was still known as “The Institute of inclusion is in the workplace. Credit Men”. We are almost at 50/50 women to men on council at Looking around the room, he was pleased to see so present and have a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds many women. I know from my own perspective with my and ages. This mix of people ensures we have a

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 67

DIVISION REPORT

Life Member and past national magazine editor Ian Bartholomew was interviewed by AICM CEO Nick Pilavidis and celebrated at our dinner.

DIVISION REPORT

Victoria/Tasmania

Our Premium sponsors illion out in force: Bree Shankar, Paul Sharp, Jessica Taylor, John Torounoglou, Johnny Ireland, Craig Brooks, Jason Valdez, Farhan Ansari and Shiang Wong. representative for the majority of our membership base. Having said that, we are recruiting for sub committees! If you have a brilliant idea you think the AICM should run with, or want to get some experience running events, come chat to us on council. We always welcome fresh faces and fresh ideas. The 2022 calendar is out now and we are planning a lot more face to face events this year. Thank you to all of our Sponsors, who have stuck with us through a tough year and our members who continue to support each other and give back to the world of credit. We couldn’t have done this without you. Have a wonderful festive season, spend time with loved ones, eat too much and we look forward to seeing your smiling faces in 2022!

Tony Mackwell (Victorian Managed Insurance Authority), Ricky Forster (Councillor), Angela De Fede (Esker), Stephen Moloney (AMPAC), Leigh Garth (Bennetts Petroleum Supplies) and Melanie Donnison (AMPAC),

– Catrina Galanti MICM CCE, President

Spiro Pikoulas (ARMA) with Alex Hawtin (Middy’s Electrical) and Sia Patrouras (CollectAU).

Pinnacles Awards Thursday 9th December, Crowne Plaza Melbourne A BIG thank you to our Premium Sponsor illion for making this night spectacular and a great way to end

68 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

the year. Also, a special mention to Leigh Garth who travelled from Tasmania despite the restrictions placed upon her to go home.

Victoria/Tasmania

Esker sponsored the Credit Manager of the Year award and Paul Butler – Business Development Manager presented the certificates to our finalists. The finalists were: z Ricky Forster MICM CCE – GM Financial Services, Study Loans Australia. WINNER! z Amaran Navaratnam MICM CCE – Team Leader Accounts Receivable, Mecwacare z Leigh Garth MICM CCE – Credit Manager, Bennett’s Petroleum Supplies

Grace Kulbe (CreditorWatch), Adrian Coughlan (Rinnai), Richard Jear (ATA Distributors) and Alex Nicol (Aitken Partners).

CredtiorWatch sponsored the Credit Supervisor of the Year award and Danny O’Neill – Head of Corporate Sales presented the certificates to our finalists. The finalists were: z Debbie Ryan MICM CCE – Credit Manager, Oji Fibre Solutions. WINNER! z Katrina Bromley MICM CCE – Credit Supervisor, Spicers Paper. Jirsch Sutherland sponsored the Consultant of the Year award and Andrew Mattinson – Principal presented the certificates to our finalists. The finalists were: z Spiro Pikoulas MICM – Business Glen Cockerell (Frameless Glass Systems), Blair Ryan, Sebastian Lobczuk, Elliot Morey, Nish Patel (all Access Mercantile) Development Consultant, ARMA WINNER! z Grace Kulbe – Enterprise Account Director, z Johnny Ireland – National Account Director, CreditorWatch illion z Jeanne McArthur MICM – Managing Director, z Sebastian Lobczuk – Head of Sales & Business McArthur Commercial Recoveries Development, Access Mercantile Services.

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DIVISION REPORT

Deborah Ryan (Oji Fibre), Katrina Bromley, John Ngu, Karen Brazier (all Spicers), Julie Watterson (Oji Fibre), Kim Visser (Spicers) and Michelle Dunking (Oji Fibre).

DIVISION REPORT

Victoria/Tasmania

Young Credit Professional of the Year WINNER: Daniel Alley MICM Senior Credit Analyst at Reece Group Thanks to Daniel we have kept the YCP trophy in Vic/Tas for the 3rd year in a row. Also, a huge thank you to the event’s sponsors, CreditorWatch and ARMA, whose dedication to supporting young people is greatly appreciated. We asked Daniel a few questions about YCP and here is what he had to say:

Why did you choose to apply for the YCP? I didn’t even really know about the YCP award until my manager Malani, heard me mention that I am 28 years old – she thought I was at least 30! She explained what it was and suggested I apply; both herself and her manager Rhys have been involved for many years and have been judges in the past. Some other Reece staff have previously applied for the award as well. I saw it as a fantastic opportunity and went for it!

What did you learn during the process? I learned that maybe I can achieve more than I thought possible, and that perhaps even though I have much more to learn, my skills and experience so far are still valuable and I can have an impact on the credit industry, even in a small way.

How did your company receive the information about your win?

I would say “what have you got to lose?” Regardless of the outcome, it’s a fantastic way to improve your confidence & personal development, grow your network and gain industry recognition. Give it your best shot!

My team at Reece were incredibly supportive! Leading up to the big day they were all so encouraging and even nervous for me. They sat with me in a meeting room while we waited for the results with others watching online from home. They gave a huge cheer when I won and popped some champagne afterwards. Malani and Rhys had given me feedback on my presentation and supported me throughout the entire thing and I want to thank them both in particular for everything!

What was your final topic and how did you choose it?

Anything else you would like to add?

Play to your strengths, and to what you’re passionate about. Credit has so many facets and each one of us has some unique insights to offer. My topic was on Technology in Credit, which I chose because I initially started my career in IT and have seen how innovation can positively impact credit. I hoped to inspire my audience to think about the ways they can utilise technology in their own businesses for the benefit of customers and staff.

I’m not naturally a person who loves the limelight and it took a lot of willpower and courage to step out of my comfort zone and really engage in the process for the YCP award. To me, that is one of the most valuable parts of the whole experience, win or not. Anyone considering giving this a go should definitely do so; the AICM is a fantastic organisation and with the support of the sponsors they run a brilliant event, so do your best and you won’t regret it!

What would you say to other young professionals thinking of applying for YCP?

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Victoria/Tasmania

Ricky Forster Study Loans MICM CCE

Why did you choose to do your CCE? Completing my CCE was really the next step in gaining acknowledgement of the experience and knowledge I have in the credit industry. It provided me with validation of the knowledge, skills and experience I have gained over my career to date and allowed me to demonstrate the strengths across a number of different credit related focus points. It has been an amazing opportunity to really validate what I have accomplished so far and resonated with my commitment to integrity and high standards of my performance and commitment to the industry.

Ricky Forster. to validate your experience, skills and expertise in the industry. The journey is not scary, the support of the CCE Chair Members is amazing and it’s something once you have achieved it – you will wish you had of done it sooner.

What did you enjoy about the process? The part I enjoyed most about the process was being able to demonstrate my broad skills and capabilities across multiple credit industry areas. The ability to collaborate those learnings across a number of different testing methodologies allowed me to provide the level of detail on areas of credit that I am most passionate about. The support and encouragement was second to none from other credit professionals, which made the experience so much easier.

Retirement congratulations!

What was your topic and how did you choose it? The topic I chose was an essay on the ‘Absence of Financial Hardship Frameworks’. I wrote about this topic as I am passionate about customers in credit and very aware of customer hardship and vulnerability, especially during the global pandemic. The reason I focused on this issue was to demonstrate the importance of having solid financial hardship and customer vulnerability frameworks and the importance of working closely with customers to ensure you support them based on their unique situation, rather than applying a one size support option. I chose the topic because it is important to raise awareness.

What advice would you give someone who was thinking about doing their cce? This is the most rewarding experience and I encourage everyone to take this journey. It’s a wonderful process

Michael Mann from the Department of State Growth, Tasmania has been a member of the AICM since 1991 (30 years) and we would like to honour his career and share some of his parting wisdom.

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DIVISION REPORT

CCE DUX of the Year

DIVISION REPORT

Victoria/Tasmania How did you get into finance/credit? It basically arose after a couple of years as a junior clerk at BP Australia in Hobart and I was given the opportunity to undertake credit control in late 1973. I was at BP for 8 years and then accepted a position in finance at the Agricultural Bank of Tasmania, where I have been ever since (43 years), albeit there has been several name changes.

Tell us about your career in the credit industry. Well, I can honestly say, there was never a dull moment and I never regretted moving from the private sector to state government. I enjoyed the variety of work, from dealing with a distressed housing client in the morning, to financing an irrigator for a farmer at midday and finally chasing a fisherman for a loan repayment in the afternoon. One interesting loan type created in the last 8 years, was a scheme to assist the Arts sector. Loans were provided at no interest to approved Australians in any state, to purchase Art produced by a local Tasmanian artist. The purpose was threefold – increase the awareness of Tasmanian art within the Australian community, stimulate throughput in art galleries etc and provide the public with the opportunity to own some Fine Art. The loans were offered over 12 months, repayable by a monthly Direct Debit on an approved financial institution bank account only. Usual credit checks were undertaken and whilst there were the inevitable monthly dishonours, overall the default on final repayment of a loan in full was extremely minimal. My role only basically changed over the years, as I progressed through management and at the time of my retirement, I was responsible for a significant, but extremely varied, loan portfolio. Credit fundamentals have not changed too much, but increased available information has assisted our decision making.

What was your career highlight? I have always believed that all possible avenues for recovery should be pursued. I recall having success in chasing down a parent company in Canada, who had provided a guarantee. The company sold 3 times, when I commenced action. In each case, the contingent liability had not been declared at the time of each sale. Repayment of the debt was actively pursued. A court date had been determined, and as usual, at the 11th hour, a mutually acceptable compromise was agreed, seeing just over 50% of the debt being offered. The disappointing aspect was that the final return would have been a bit higher, except

72 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

for a significant variation in the exchange rate on the settlement date.

What advice would you give the younger generation of finance managers coming through? If you are in a situation whereby administrators and liquidators are involved, be part of the conversation and go to the creditors meetings and depending on the value of your debt compared to the overall debt, consider being part of a Committee of Creditors, as this allows you to understand the overall situation of the affected entity and potential outcomes. Get involved with the AICM – read the relevant magazine articles, consider getting actively involved with your local council, as well as encouraging your fellow peers to consider applying for membership, particularly any younger employees should strive to participate in the Young Credit Professional Awards. Be connected with other credit managers, particularly those in your specific industry or similar

What did you enjoy about the AICM? Basically, the interaction with fellow members, both within Tasmania when we were a separate branch, but also the availability of talking with others from other states, and benefits from attending seminars, webinars and in particular, the conferences. I also had the opportunity to serve as a Director on the Board, whilst I was elected as the President of the Tasmanian branch. This provided a further sound understanding of the ‘bigger picture’ of issues facing the credit industry in Australia and enabled me to provide input into potential changes in legislation as well as providing a perspective on way to improve membership experiences and values.

What are you most looking forward to about your retirement? I have been an active member of the Australian Navy Cadets (ANC) since joining at 13 in 1965 and on being rejected by the RAN in 1970, for entry as a Midshipman with the view of becoming a Navigation Officer, on the grounds of a medical condition, I subsequently was appointed as a Staff Member of the ANC in 1973. Some 48 years later, I am still actively involved. Knowing of my intention to retire in 2021, I sought appointment as the Financial Compliance Officer for the whole of Australia. This involves the desktop audits of the financials of some 85 Units, 9 Flotilla HQ’s where applicable, some 50 associated Unit Support Committees. I would also like to get reinvolved in fly fishing for trout in our well known lakes and streams.

Victoria/Tasmania

Council discussion – food for thought On the second Thursday of every month the Vic/Tas council team meet to not only discuss upcoming events, but also industry updates where we have a collaborative discussion from all different perspectives – credit managers, lawyers, insolvency, insurance, Risk, fraud and credit bureau. This month Brian Kay asked whether or not we should start collecting Director Identification Numbers (Director ID) in our credit applications? Robyn Erskine also mentioned that there is a review on insolvency laws around trusts.

The Australian Institute of Credit Management welcomes our Partners for 2022 National Partners Trusted Insights. Responsible Decisions.

Divisional Partners

Membership milestone recipients 5 year anniversary

z Paul Sharp MICM – illion z Craig Brooks MICM – illion

CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

Official Division Supporting Sponsors

10 year anniversary z Katrina Bromley MICM CCE – Spicers Australia z Deborah Ryan – Oji Fibre Solutions Pty Ltd

20 year anniversary z Vaios Kortikis MICM CCE – Middy’s Data & Electrical

25 year anniversary z Nunzio Settinelli MICM – MM Electrical Merchandising.

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 73

DIVISION REPORT

Your Vic/Tas Councillors at the end of year Pinnacles: Amaran Navaratnam, Brian Kay, Michelle Carruthers, Catrina Galanti, Mary Petreski. Missing Lou Caldararo, Robyn Erskine, Farhan Hossain and Alan Izra.

DIVISION REPORT

New South Wales

Your council was able to have a Christmas catch up in a covid-safe fashion at the stunning “Bar at the end of the wharf”. L to R: James Smith, Grant Morris, Theresa Brown, Rachael Hurrell, Dave Hunt, Treacy Sheehan, Sam Pearlman and Gary Poslinsky. Missing: Peter Morgan, Balveen Saini, Arthur Tchetchenian and Kimberly Watts.

Presidents Report Despite 2021 being ‘another’ year of COVID lockdowns the NSW council continued to work tirelessly throughout the year to deliver several Face to Face and virtual events this year: z The economic/CCE Breakfast – was a great kickstart to the year (if you were an early bird!) z The YCP social night at Archie Brothers – a fantastic night of both networking and socialising – I personally hope this one returns! z “Technology in credit” seminar was held at the stunning ARMA office, where we heard from 4 great speakers sharing their knowledge and insights into various topics such as: digital onboarding using Facial biometrics, Bureau and non-traditional data and how having the right AR systems can assist with the E2E Credit management. z We had virtual coffee catchups with the Council members and sponsors over zoom. z We adapted to lock downs by moving both the YCP celebrations for both state and nationals to virtual awards nights. Again, my congratulations goes out to Oliver Berger from CBA for being the NSW Finalist. z Unfortunately we did have to postpone the 2021 WINC which was a massive shame given we were looking to have our largest number of registrations on record – but we are very much excited to see this event return in Feb 2022 (Fingers crossed!) z But we did end the year strong, with over 120+ members, CCE’s and sponsors attending the NSW Pinnacles awards night. It was so great to see so many new and familiar faces, all enjoying everyone’s company after such a long time. Congratulations to all of the amazing finalists and winners you are all so deserving!

74 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

I would also like to thank everyone who attended for their overwhelming generosity, collectively we raised over $3,500 dollars for the AICM Education Foundation Scholarship program – these much-needed funds will go towards providing scholarships to the next generation of credit professionals. THANK-YOU! In addition to these great events, we saw strong membership growth throughout the calendar year and had 7 new CCEs pass their exams – I am looking forward to celebrating this tremendous accolade with you at the economic CCE breakfast in the new year. From a council perspective we are saddened to say farewell to Rachael Hurrell who has stepped down from council, we thank you for all your contributions over the past 3 years, we will surely miss the “bling” you brought to each event! This does leave an opening on council, if you are interested in joining, please do not hesitate to reach out to myself or one of our council members to find out more. Finally, I would like to thank each and every one of the NSW council members, it is you who brings the energy, professionalism and high calibre (and content!) to each and every event. I am really looking forward to working with you all in the new year and I am especially excited for all of the events we have planned for next year... Bring on 2022!

Upcoming events Add a placeholder or register now: z WINC, 25 February z Economic/CCE Breakfast, 11 March z Social networking event, 24 March z Risk Seminar, 12 April – Theresa Brown MICM CCE NSW Division President

New South Wales

Andrew Nazur (HVG), John Fairgray (BBW Lawyers), Miral Sarvaiya (AMPAC), Natalie Ledlin (Ledlin Lawyers) and Christopher Williams (Holcim).

Kathrina Doran of illion welcomes attendees to the 2021 Pinnacles.

Maya Dekanovic, Will Ryan, John Myers (all OCR Labs) and Theresa Brown (NSW Division President).

Proud 10 year anniversary certificate recipients: Cynthia Thomas (Auscare Collect) Sam Pearlman (Colin Biggers & Paisley) Pty Ltd, Georgia Barbera (Bingo Industries) and Sev Indrele (Southern Steel Group).

NSW Pinnacle Awards

The Winners were:

The NSW Pinnacle Awards was a fantastic event with a full room at the Fullerton Hotel in Sydney. The event location matched the glamour of the attendee’s all dressed to match the occasion. We had over 120 Guests and the night was hosted by new NSW President Theresa Brown and our MC was NSW Councillor Sam Pearlman. NSW Pinnacles Award Premium Sponsor illion was represented by Kathrina Doran, Co-Chief Operating Officer addressed the audience who were full of anticipation. Following a lovely dinner and social break the awards were presented to recognise the best credit professionals our industry has to offer.

Consultant of the year Sponsored by Jirsch Sutherland z Eddie Smith MICM, Head of Sales, ARMA z Leila Vanner MICM CCE Director, NSW Corporate Credit Services z Maya Dekanovic, Head of Customer Success, OCR Labs z Renee Steedman, Managing Consultant for Finance, Robert Walters z Congratulations to Malcolm Poslinsky MICM CCE, EDX Australia

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 75

DIVISION REPORT

Arnela Adanalic (NSW TAFE), Arthur Tchetchenian (NSW Councillor), James Galpin, Renee Steedman (both Robert Walters), Tony Pilimon, Damien Kelly (both Rexel) and Trent Eather (Equifax).

DIVISION REPORT

New South Wales

Equifax well represented by Back row Jonathan Wightwick, Debbie Leo (AICM Director), Trent Eather, Jennifer Noonan and Maja Dunimaglovska. Front row Lucas Wong, Michael Zou, Brianna Numa and Thibault Aymonier-Newman.

Jocelyn Nazur, Andrew Nazur (HVG), Terrence Eames (Surepayd), Renee Steedman James Galpin (both Robert Walters).

Back row: Treacy Sheehan (Trace Personnel), Tyson Leybourne (Westpac), Odette Lafourcade, Peter Morgan (both Byron Thomas Recruitment), Faizal Mohammed (AICM). Front row: Andrew Le Marchant, Claire Kasses (both AICM), Ellen Singleton (Cosyn) and David Hunt (Fujifilm).

External Collections Agent of the Year

Credit Supervisor/Senior Credit Officer of the Year

Sponsored by Creditorwatch z Anthony Stevanja MICM CCE, Relationship Manager, AMPAC Debt Recovery z Joseph Safi MICM, Key Account Manager, ARMA z Congratulations to Cynthia Thomas MICM, Auscare Collect

Sponsored by Colin Biggers & Paisley Lawyers z Arnela Adanalic, Credit Analyst, Financial Control & Treasury, TAFE NSW z Maya Obeid, Customer Relationship Manager, ARMA z Congratulations Alex Simmons MICM, Optus

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New South Wales

Grant Morris (NSW Councillor), Malcolm Poslinsky (EDX), Sabina Piljek, Theoni Barla, Sev Indrele (all Southern Steel) and Gary Poslinsky (EDX).

Jay Narang, Leila Vanner (NSW Corporate Credit Services), Karen Harrington, Melissa Cole (both Brennan) and Greg Odlum (Hypotheque).

Credit Manager of the Year Sponsored by Esker z Andrew Nazur MICM, National Credit Manager, Halifax Vogel Group z Karen Harrington MICM, Credit Manager, Brennan IT z Congratulations Tony Pilimon MICM CCE, Rexel Australia. Following the awards, we held a charity auction with prizes including a private Equifax corporate box to a Sydney Kings Basketball game and a cricket bat signed by Australia’s new Test Captain Pat Cummins. These benefit the AICM Education Foundation which will provide

A huge thank you!!! NSW Councillors Grant Morris and Theresa Brown with John Fairgray (BBW Lawyers) with the bat he generously purchased at our auction.

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 77

DIVISION REPORT

Josh Mizzi, Yasmin Sarkis, Nicholas O’Connor (all BBW Lawyers), Adam Dayien (DSBA), Balveen Saini and John Fairgray (both BBW Lawyers).

DIVISION REPORT

New South Wales

Michael Chatfield, Adam Howard, Joseph Revoltar, Gaurav Gupta, Shoban Thavachelvam (all illion).

Back row: Christopher Hadley (Holman Webb), Peter Moore (Jirsch Sutherland), Michael Finch (Rostron Carlyle) Andrew Tanna (Holman Webb). Front row Natalie Ledlin (Ledlin Lawyers), Carolyn Docherty (Jirsch Sutherlan), Terry Ledlin (Ledlin Lawyers) and Andrew Spring (Jirsch Sutherland).

Back row: Daniel O’Connell (Solved Group), Paul Hutchison (Gartree Thompson Lawyers), Christopher Williams and Sami Goundar (both Holcim). Front row: James Hunt, Niranga De Silva (both Holcim), Pradha Gurumahan, Daniel Ivers (both Gartree Thomson Lawyers) and Sally Kumar (Holcim). aspiring credit professionals with the opportunity to further develop their careers. After a few tense minutes of bidding, the winning bids went to John Fairgray from BBW

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Lawyers (Cricket Bat) and Bryon Thomas Recruitment (Corporate Box). Thanks to the AICM Council event organisers and sponsors for a wonderful night.

New South Wales Milestones

Our first event hosted by President Theresa and Vice President James Smith was a great success. We had a virtual breakfast with two speakers, Chris Hadley from Holman Webb Lawyers and Brad Prout from Finstro. Chris shared industry highlights around what he has seen changing over the last year. Of particular interest in the conversation was that he described an increase in what he described as ‘unmeritous claims’ from Insolvency Practitioners. This he Chris Hadley explained was an aftereffect of the reduction in insolvencies. An example may be that an insolvency practitioner may have more time to try their luck in seeking preference claims since they have less workload. Our CEO Nick Pilavidis asked that if any AICM Members come across such situations please report them to the AICM. We are the ideal organisation to collate and report such activity to government bodies and we can make a difference. Brad Prout from Finstro, which provides finance to Australian Businesses was our second speaker. We enjoyed his discussion presented online from Denver where it was freezing cold. Brad discussed a number of technology evolutions taking place in the industry. Brad Prout We covered AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Machine Learning to identify and reconcile remittances; increases in use of a payfactor model where intermediaries are used to making payments easier for customers; increasing usage of OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to speed-up data entry as well as digital cheques, blockchain, and BNPL (Buy Now Lay Later) like Afterpay. The only guarantee in life (and business) is change and we got a real sense of that listening to Brad. A great morning.

Recently we’ve had the opportunity to interview and celebrate a few of our NSW members who have achieved major tenure milestones. We spoke about their careers, some challenges along the way and how being an AICM member has benefited them.

Nick Razmovski Credit Manager at Call

25 years Nick Razmovski from Credit Manager at Call, recently celebrated 25 years as a member of the AICM. Nick’s advice to a successful career is to have the courage to ask the right questions.

How did you get involved in the Credit industry and the AICM?

Nick Razmovski

My very first job got me involved in both. It was a dual role of Assistant Accountant and Northern NSW Credit Controller at Monier Roof tiles, now CSR. My state manager got me to attend the AICM. I worked in Credit at Brambles Industrial Services for a number of years as well as Boom Logistics before starting my own business which is also in Credit – it’s called Credit Manager at Call.

What has AICM done for you? Over time I became the AICM Newcastle Branch president. We eventually merged with the Sydney AICM. I travelled back and forth many times to further my qualifications. I became a CCE and completed the Diploma of Credit Management. I wanted to show that I knew Credit Management was about more than just getting the cash. Its about understanding the legal aspects of what you do. Its about knowing the whole process from opening account to recovery. It has given me a lot of credibility over the years.

What has been the most rewarding role and why? It would be the last 20 years where I have been a Self-Employed Credit Manager Contractor. I have had the opportunity to work across so many different businesses and Industries from Construction, Engineering, Food & Beverage, Accounting, Security and Schools. The consistent theme is providing Credit Management Support whilst sharing the Love of Credit.

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DIVISION REPORT

NSW Coffee Catchup

DIVISION REPORT

New South Wales You seem so passionate about where you live. What’s the secret of Newcastle? It’s a very comfortable city, people get to know each other. For example, in the engineering, building, food, beverage and construction industries I have developed a trusted brand, my name is well respected. When I make a client visit, I know who to lean on to get results. Plus, Newcastle isn’t a small town – it’s the biggest regional city in Australia. I have plenty of hobbies here. I’m Treasurer for the Broadmeadow Magic Football Club, the same Football (soccer) team which I used to play in my earlier days. I have been involved with this club for over 30 years.

What advice can you give to emerging credit professionals? You have to love the job you are in to succeed. Have the courage to ask people questions they may not be comfortable with. Keep learning. Build your credentials by doing things like joining the AICM. Be honest. There is always a way to improve.

Bruce Bills Credit Manager Risk & Security, Metcash

30 years Bruce Bills who recently celebrated 30 years as a member of the AICM. Bruce’s advice to a successful career is to keep reinventing yourself.

How did you get involved in the Credit industry?

whilst being involved in AICM conferences and the local AICM Newcastle branch. I moved to Sydney in 1999 and continued my involvement at the various meetings, training courses and conferences. I remember the sessions were great. I love to learn and enjoyed networking with other likeminded Credit Managers. It’s still good to go to AICM events and catch-up with colleagues and friends across the industry.

What is your biggest professional accomplishment to date? After 28 years at CCA I moved across to Metcash to prepare for the biggest change in Credit for decades. This was in 2011 and the PPSR was about to launch in January 2012. This was a different ball game to anything I had ever done. Implementing the changes across the group was a big task. We had 17 different credit applications across the company. We had to work with the legal team to revamp these, include the correct clauses needed going forward and build a new single credit application for the entire Metcash group. Then we had to bulk register huge volumes of customers. This was hard work but we did it using Veda (now Equifax). The best thing we did was decide to utilise this big change to its fullest extent. We don’t just take security over the stock we sell but we also register over all the business assets. This effectively replaced the old fixed and floating charges. It has proven to be immensely valuable as we are the primary supplier to so many of our customers.

What has changed in your role or the industry as a result of COVID? Bruce Bills

In my second job I went to work for Midwest Bottling. This was 1983. I had previously worked as an accountant but I was brought onboard to sort out their debtors. This was my first role in credit so it was a big learning curve. Work took me from Dubbo to Newcastle in 1987 where I worked as the Regional Administration Manager for 11 years. Midwest was acquired by Tooheys (when Alan Bond owned it) who then sold the business to Coca-Cola Amatil in 1987. They were supportive of the AICM and as I progressed, they wanted me to be a member. I joined and it offered good support for my role. I got more and more involved with credit in my Regional Administration Manager role. At CCA I worked in a number of credit related roles

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Working from home has been the biggest change and it has proven to be successful for us. With our involvement in the grocery industry, we have needed to be cautious and we have been working at home since the last outbreak. The business benefits as we work from home rather than getting sick. It’s been working well and many people have had productivity increases. The challenge is that I miss interacting with people. We have daily online catchups which is social and good, but it’s still challenging. We have managed to migrate our ERP system from SAP to MS D365 while working from home. I find that amazing. Things that previously would take months have been done much faster with COVID. This is a great achievement.

What are your favourite things to do outside of your profession? Thanks to my 11 years in Newcastle I have always

New South Wales The Australian Institute of Credit Management welcomes our Partners for 2022

Simon Holloway

National Partners

Sydney Wide Building Supplies

20 years It’s clear that credit is a perfect pathway to the CEO. Listening to Simon its important to always develop your financial acumen and take the opportunities that are presented.

Trusted Insights. Responsible Decisions.

Simon Holloway

Divisional Partners

How did you get involved in the AICM? I was invited by a colleague 20 years ago whilst I was working for Carlton United Breweries. I attended the meeting and loved what I saw. It wasn’t long after when I put my hat in the ring for the YCP and was the NSW finalist. It was great networking at a young age and I continue to maintain those lifelong relationships.

What has been the most rewarding professional experience role?

CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

Official Division Supporting Sponsors

Working at Carlton United Breweries (CUB) was the most rewarding time in my career. I went from NSW Credit Manager to National Credit Manager to Head of Order to Cash, to managing and running a large offshore team in Delhi, India. I felt that my professional credit expertise was recognised and rewarded with promotions throughout my tenure at CUB.

What has changed in your role or the industry as a result of COVID? After 18 years at one company, I have moved twice in the last 2 years. I have moved from CUB to Holcim Australia, the largest concrete manufacturer globally, now to CEO of Sydney Wide Building Supplies and Reo steel. We have grown over the last 6 months which has been assisted by large Government spending in the construction industry as well as the change in personal spend of individuals. It has been great to be CEO of company that is growing so quickly through mergers, acquisitions and an exciting new start up business.

What are your favourite things to do outside of your profession? I like to keep fit and spend time with the family. I love soccer and Man U is my team.

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DIVISION REPORT

supported the Newcastle Knights. I love watching them play. I also keep busy spending time with the family, concerts, musicals and I dabble in photography. It’s good to keep busy.

DIVISION REPORT

New members The Institute welcomes the following credit professionals who were recently admitted to membership between October to December.

New South Wales

Jagruti Vishwash

Electus Distribution Pty Ltd

Thibault Aymonier-Newman

Equifax

Lucas Wong

Equifax

Theoni Barla

Southern Steel Group

Michael Zou

Equifax

Stacey Bowman

Gilbarco Australia Pty Ltd

Matthew Bryant

Holcim

Mike Chatfield

illion

Queensland

Niranga De Silva

Holcim Australia Pty Ltd

Nicholas Baker

Results Legal

Patrick Dwyer

Network TEN

Lani Chapman

National Collection Services

Terence Eames

Surepayd Services Pty Ltd

Amna Cheriyan

JBS Australia

Trent Eather

Equifax

Chris Cummings

Shell Energy Australia Pty Ltd

Kim Heras

Evenly

Charlotte Evans

Results Legal

Adam Howard

illion

Kassie Greaves

Harrington Bobcat & Excavation

Melanie Li

Lindt & Sprungli (Australia) Pty Ltd

Nick Kapitsalas

Optimum Recoveries

Katherine Lin

ASSA ABLOY Australia Pty Limited

Azra Kerle

Recoveries Corporation Pty Ltd

Kellie Whibley

National Collection Services

Anthony Marino

Elantis Premium Funding

Henry McKenna

Vincents Chartered Accountants

Marcelle Morgan

Elantis Premium Funding Limited

South Australlia

Brianna Numa

Equifax

Alison Caldwell

Invevo

Mary Olegario

Americold Logistics

Edward Meredith

National Credit Insurance

Tuifao Pi

Transurban

Jodie Nicol

Northline

Zareen Prasad

QBE Trade Credit

Adam Rogers

Northline

Anna Reyes

Electus Distribution Pty Ltd

Emma Taylor

City of Playford

Anjula Sagar Michael Seneviratne

Network Ten Pty Limited

John Sheppard

Equifax

Victoria

Tapas Shyam

illion

Dina Bendicio

BIC Australia Pty Ltd

Neha Singh

Coates Hire Operations Pty Ltd

Jayden Bennett

Reece Pty Ltd

Jennifer Sorenson

Transurban

Chengyi Bian

Ball and Doggett

Elisabeth Souter

Sydney Catholic Schools

Monica Bird

Dulux

Sandy Spyrakis

Advanced Insolvency Pty Ltd

Harry Buttle

Dulux Group

Eric Tam

Coates Hire

Andrea Carter

GWA Group Limited

Jophine Teagle

Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd

Sandy Chesnais

Dulux Group

Hannah Cook

Recoveriescorp

Christine Hyde

Reece Pty Ltd

Undraa Turbat Katrina Venticinque

Aline Group Aust

82 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

New members

Madeline Kasimis

Dulux Group

Majed Khreis

Angle Asset Finance

Michael Kirkilis

HFW Australia

Theodora Lemana

Study Loans

Kelly Liu

Bluescope Steel Limited

David Lyons

Angle Finance

AICM is focused on improving the credit industry by providing useful, practical information and guidance to members, which helps them to meet the high professional standards that the AICM sets and upholds. Members have access to a range of training and CPD events and resources that have been developed specifically for the credit industry, including the annual National Conference and a forum for networking with peers and sharing their expertise.

Kapil Malik

Transurban

Individual Membership

Kaylene Mustard

Elantis Premium Funding

Alex Myers

Mills Oakley Lawyers

Tony Nguyen

Recoveriescorp

Bree Parrish

Angle Finance Pty Ltd

AICM members are entitled to use the post-nominals MICM and, after one year of membership, able to work towards the Certified Credit Executive qualification through CPD activities and assessment. Members are also eligible to be elected to their relevant Division Councils.

Sarah Prentice

Nutrien Ag Solutions

Peter Sepsakos

Dulux Group

Bahulya Sharma

illion

John Spooner

Angle Finance

Kim Visser

Spicers Australia Pty Ltd

Leona Vo

Dulux Group

Western Australia

Employer-sponsored membership For the full benefits of membership at discounted rates, employers can sign up any number of their staff. Additional benefits for the employer include: z Significant savings on costs of membership z Improvement of the credit management maturity of the company z Incentives for staff retention z Simplified access to expert knowledge through AICM resources z Improved education of employees through discounted attendance of AICM meetings, seminar and formal training

Aaron Dominish

Hall Chadwick

Retired membership

Vannessa Lombard

Access Group Australia

Lisa Rose

Alspec

Retired membership allows AICM members who are no longer working full time to keep in touch with industry developments and continue to have access to AICM resources, events and training.

Student membership Student membership is available to full time students who are not employed. We encourage students who are interested in credit to become involved and understand the credit profession.

Employer Sponsored (Group) Membership The program offers employers the opportunity to enrol multiple employees as members of the AICM at a discounted rate. The more members, the greater the discount from the standard cost of $415.00 for a new member.

To find out more about AICM Membership go to www.aicm.com.au

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 83

DIVISION REPORT

AICM Membership

AICM Marketplace

Directory of services

For information, options and pricing please contact Andrew Le Marchant on +61 2 8317 5052 or E: andrew@aicm.com.au COLLECTIONS AICM Divisional Partner

AMPAC Debt Recovery Level 5, 35 Clarence Street Sydney NSW 2000 Tel: 1300 426 722 Email: info@4ampac.com.au Web: www.4ampac.com.au Trust AMPAC, we guarantee to give you the right advice…… AMPAC provides a complete range of debt recovery and receivables management services to big business, government and thousands of SME’s nationally, so next time you are deciding how to deal with that difficult customer, pick up the phone and call us. We are ready to help you too.

AICM Divisional Partner

COLLECTION SYSTEMS

CONSULTANCY

AICM Divisional Partner

Credit Solutions

Esker Australia Pty Ltd Suite 1502, Level 15, 227 Elizabeth Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Tel: 02 8596 5126 Email: info@esker.com.au Web: www.esker.com.au Cash is the heartbeat of your business, so give your AR department the tool they deserve! Esker’s AR solution help companies reduce costs for invoice delivery, accelerate their cash collection process and automate the reconciliation of payments. Contact us to easily achieve your cash collection goals, tackle root causes of payment delays and reduce collection disputes while improving customer relationships.

AICM Divisional Partner

CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

CMA Collect Tel: 07 3108 2840 Email: wbj@cmacollect.com Web: www.cmacollect.com Collections: l Online commission free Mercantile demands l Easy online referral option l Full integrated l Access to QCAT claims up to $25,000.00 (Fully funded T&C’s apply) Credit Documents: l Digital Credit Application via the CMA webpage l Approval confirmation and DocSign authorisation l Personal deed of guarantee from l Data stored in the CMA webpage in a historical format

AICM Divisional Partner

OnGuard Tel: 1800 123 613 Web: www.onguard.com OnGuard’s Credit management solution will help you hit your collection targets – each and every month. By working smarter and providing better visibility, OnGuard will help you reduce your DSOs. Why not give your staff a friendly solution that will make their life so much easier. Contact us to show you how OnGuard has made life a whole lot easier for our customers.

AICM Divisional Partner

Unit 1/245 Fullarton Road, Eastwood SA 5063 Tel: 08 8418 1450 Email: gcrowder@creditsolutions.net.au Web: www.creditsolutions.net.au Credit Solutions, a division of the Credit Clear Group. A debt collection partner you can trust. Working with some of the country’s leading providers of information management and data intelligence solutions. Since 1965 Credit Solutions has set the benchmark for providing quality collection and recovery services to South Australian businesses and government.

DISTRIBUTION & PRINTING AICM Divisional Partner

Lane Communications Tel: 08 8179 9900 Web: www.laneprint.com.au Lane are widely regarded as one of the largest and most technologically advanced print production and distribution companies in Australia. We are an industry leader in digital and offset print, point of sale signs, complex embellishments and print finishing, storage, kitting and mailing. With innovation at our core, our services extend beyond transactional mail and promotional print production to include SMS, bulk email communications, and electronic billing solutions. Lane are your partner in print and multi-channel communications.

INFORMATION AICM Divisional Partner

AICM Marketplace We’re proud of the AICM and we want to let all credit professionals know those businesses that support the AICM. Thank you to these companies for their continued support and please consider them first when you’re looking for assistance in your business. We’ll also include these sponsors on our website so you can be sure to find them easily. For more information contact:

Andrew Le Marchant

Direct: +61 2 8317 5052 Email: andrew@aicm.com.au Tel: 1300 560 996

Accessii Group

Paycepaid Tel: 1300 438 729 Email: hello@paycepaid.com.au Web: www.paycepaid.com.au Paycepaid is an automated accounts receivable and invoicing solution. We automate your payment reminders to your customers via customisable Emails, SMS and IVR calls, saving you hours of manual work and getting you paid faster. l Create and manage invoices l Automate payment reminders l Customer self-serve portal: download invoices, make payments, see payment history l Can be white labelled and fully customisable

84 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

PO Box 1551, Kenmore, QLD 4069 Tel: 1300 831 331 Email: team@accessii.com.au Web: www.accessii.com.au Accessii provides information and technology to businesses that extend credit terms to customers. Our platforms enable users to: l digitally receive and approve applications l assess capacity of customers to pay – multi-bureau decisioning l monitor ongoing creditworthiness l process and manage PPSR We offer end to end credit management in one place.

AICM MARKETPLACE

AICM Marketplace

Directory of services

For information, options and pricing please contact Andrew Le Marchant on +61 2 8317 5052 or E: andrew@aicm.com.au INFORMATION AICM Divisional Partner

INSOLVENCY

AICM Divisional Partner

CreditorWatch

BRI Ferrier

GPO Box 276 Sydney NSW 2001 Tel: 1300 501 312 Web: www.creditorwatch.com.au

Unit 3, 99-101 Francis Street Northbridge WA 6003 Tel: 08 6316 2600 Fax: 08 9227 8008 Email: info@brifwa.com.au Web: www.briferrier.com.au

CreditorWatch is a leading commercial credit reporting bureau used by over 50,000 businesses across Australia. CreditorWatch offers a variety of products including customer monitoring/alerts, credit reporting, an indepth trade program and online credit applications to assist with customer onboarding and decisioning. Contact us today for more information or to organise a FREE TRIAL of any of products.

AICM National Partner

BRI Ferrier is a national affiliation of insolvency accounting firms with offices across Australia as well as the United Kingdom and New Zealand. BRI Ferrier prides itself on being experts in business recovery, insolvency, forensic accounting, and advisory. All BRI Ferrier offices offer extensive experience across several industries, laying the foundation of our outside the box reputation. At BRI Ferrier, we focus on providing transparent solutions to financial challenges to help financially distressed businesses and individuals recover, change, and renew.

AICM Divisional Partner

SV Partners Level 8, 68 St George’s Terrace, Perth WA 6000 GPO Box 2527, Perth WA 6001 Tel: 08 6277 0026 Fax: 07 3229 7285 Email: perth@svp.com.au SV Partners is a specialist accounting and advisory firm with 17 offices across Australia. Our expert accountants have the skills and experience to provide tailored insolvency, turnaround and advisory services. We partner with professionals and their clients, providing expert advice with a human touch.

AICM Divisional Partner

Equifax Tel: 13 83 32 Web: www.equifax.com.au Equifax is a global information solutions company, providing data and insights that help organisations and individuals make more informed decisions. As a leading provider of credit information and analysis in Australia and New Zealand, Equifax serves key markets in risk management, marketing services and HR solutions. Drawing from trusted sources to compile and process data, Equifax helps its customers see things and make connections that others can’t.

AICM National Partner

Insolvency Intelligence for Credit Managers Tel: 1300 265 753 Web: www.jirschsutherland.com.au/ insolvencyintelligence/ Email: intelligence@jirschsutherland.com.au Insolvency Intelligence: a specialist provider of insolvency and turnaround advice and services for credit managers. Backed by national firm Jirsch Sutherland, our friendly team is just a phone call or email away, providing members with practical, strategic advice about corporate and personal insolvency. Free initial consultation; networking opportunities; training and presentations; knowledge database access. Contact us now to find out how we could assist you.

AICM Divisional Partner Trusted Insights. Responsible Decisions.

Tel: 13 23 33 Web: www.illion.com.au

SV Partners Level 4, 12 Pirie Street Adelaide SA 5000 Tel: 08 7077 2444 Email: adelaide@svp.com.au SV Partners is a specialist accounting and advisory firm with 17 offices across Australia. Our expert accountants have the skills and experience to provide tailored insolvency, turnaround and advisory services. We partner with professionals and their clients, providing expert advice with a human touch.

AICM MARKETPLACE

Level 34 Santos Place, 32 Turbot Street Brisbane QLD 4000 Tel: 1300 VINCENTS (07) 3228 4000 Web: www.vincents.com.au We live in a world of increasing complexities; the need for true expert advice is now more evident than ever. Established for more than 25 years Vincents is an Australian firm of accounting experts and business advisers specialising in assurance and risk advisory, business advisory, corporate advisory, financial advisory, forensic services, and insolvency and reconstruction. Gain insight and take control with Vincents.

illion

Dun & Bradstreet has changed. We are now illion. Bringing data, analytics and insights to life is at the heart of what we do, and we will continue to break new ground in the product development and innovation space. Our commercial and consumer databases enable Australian businesses and consumers to make informed decisions, based on real time data drawn from an extensive range of sources. We remain a reliable and trusted partner to a wide range of global organisations, who use our solutions for credit reporting, risk management, sales and marketing and receivables management.

Vincents

For more information contact:

Andrew Le Marchant

Direct: +61 2 8317 5052 Email: andrew@aicm.com.au Tel: 1300 560 996

January 2022 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 85

AICM Marketplace

Directory of services

For information, options and pricing please contact Andrew Le Marchant on +61 2 8317 5052 or E: andrew@aicm.com.au LEGAL

LEGAL

AICM Divisional Partner

TRADE CREDIT INSURANCE

AICM Divisional Partner

National Supporting Sponsor

Results Legal Level 4, 183 North Quay Brisbane QLD 4000 Tel: 1300 757 534 Web: www.resultslegal.com.au

Nova Legal Level 2, 50 Kings Park Road West Perth 6005 Tel: 08 9466 3177 Web: www.novalegal.com.au Nova Legal can assist with the recovery of problem debtors (large and small). Founding director Raffaele Di Renzo acts for creditors, debtors, directors, credit managers and insolvency practitioners in relation to solvency issues and dispute resolution.

National Supporting Sponsor

National Credit Insurance Brokers

Results Legal is a national firm with a focus on promoting and protecting the rights of trade creditors. Our clients are some of Australia’s largest trade credit companies who rely on our assistance for legal recovery, dispute resolution, preference claim defence and PPSA rights. Results Legal are the obvious first choice for companies seeking a national solution to resolve commercial disputes and pursue swift, successful and cost effective legal recovery action.

AICM National Partner

Tel: 1800 882 820 (freecall) Email: info@nci.com.au Web: www.nci.com.au National Credit Insurance Brokers (NCI) has established itself as the premier trade credit insurance broker in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia. Trade credit insurance is a highly specialised area of insurance and with its 35 years of experience, NCI has developed an unmatched depth of expertise in arranging the right protection at the best price for your particular trading needs.

AICM Marketplace TurksLegal Oakbridge Lawyers Pty Ltd Tel: 1300 154 597 Email: contact@oakbridgelawyers.com.au Contact: Nikita Klar Web: www.oakbridgelawyers.com.au Oakbridge Lawyers is a national specialist credit litigation firm. Our friendly and experienced team understands that recovery action must be prompt, cost-effective and strategic, and we consistently achieve exceptional outcomes for our clients. Oakbridge acts for a broad range of creditors (from ASX listed entities to SMEs and everyone in between) in all major industries. Oakbridge Lawyers are also experts in the PPSA, privacy law and insolvency law.

Tel: 02 8257 5700 Web: www.turkslegal.com.au Contact: Daniel Turk TurksLegal is a specialist commercial law firm with 33 Partners and over 160 staff across our Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane offices. We are proud to look after the interests of trade creditor suppliers and financial institutions in: l Portfolio debt recovery using our market-leading, real-time client interface, ‘TurksFocus’ l Resolution of complex debt disputes l PPSA recovery l Defence of unfair preference claims l Supply documentation and guarantees.

See you at AICM’s

We’re proud of the AICM and we want to let all credit professionals know those businesses that support the AICM. Thank you to these companies for their continued support and please consider them first when you’re looking for assistance in your business. We’ll also include these sponsors on our website so you can be sure to find them easily. For more information contact:

Andrew Le Marchant

Direct: +61 2 8317 5052 Email: andrew@aicm.com.au Tel: 1300 560 996

PREMIUM SPONSOR

2022 NATIONAL

CONFERENCE B R I S B A N E

19 - 21 October 2022 | Sofitel Brisbane Central

go to www.aicm.com.au for more details 86 CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA • January 2022

AICM MARKETPLACE

The Publication for Credit and Financial Professionals

IN AUSTRALIA

Level 3, Suite 303 1-9 Chandos Street St Leonards NSW 2065 PO Box 64 St Leonards NSW 1590 Tel: 1300 560 996 Fax: (02) 9906 5686 www.aicm.com.au

Credit Management in Australia - January 2022

Articles inside

Victoria/Tasmania

New South Wales

Queensland

Western Australia/Northern Territory

2021 Virtual National Conference

South Australia

AICM 2021 Virtual Awards night

Pinnacle Awards

The changing landscape of unfair preferences

How artificial intelligence and automation is solving Credit Management headaches – B2B Identity Fraud being one of them

Cybercrime on the rise…and so is the demand for forensic accountants

From the President

Looking to undertake a nationally recognised qualification in 2022?

Leverage government funding to get the team trained

Is your credit risk data up to scratch?

Black Swans and Dominos – the bad debts we couldn’t predict