Message from the President
finalists
Team of the Year
Education enables greater job readiness
graduates
training calendar
Achievements
Dux
of the Year
Back to basics on data security
Ostapenko
the key differences between supply chain
finance and dynamic discounting
The credit manager as a futurist
Radok MICM CCE
Reviewing history is necessary, but looking forward is
most important
Cheesman
Update from across the ditch:
New Zealand’s 2022 credit challenges
Lacey MICM
Managing credit risk – Part 1
Logue MICM CCE
Public examinations – getting to the truth
Davis
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
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
Nick Pilavidis FICM CCE | Email: nick@aicm.com.au
NSW – Gary Poslinsky MICM
Qld – Stacey Woodward MICM
SA – Clare Venema MICM CCE
WA/NT – Jeremy Coote MICM
Vic/Tas – Michelle Carruthers MICM
Claire Kasses, General Manager
Tel Direct: 02 9174 5727 or Mob: 0499 975 303
Email: claire@aicm.com.au
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, 2022.
Are you dispute ready? 46
Setting yourself up for success in litigation
Anna Taylor MICM and Nick Boyce MICM
Can a personal guarantee be set aside due to the 50 mental impairment of the guarantor? Fiona Reynolds MICM
Winding up and bankruptcy – courts require technical 53 compliance – for good reason!
James Neate LICM CCE and Alice Carter MICM CCE
Understanding credit reporting 56
What is a credit reporting agency? David Johnson MICM
The rise of advanced, automated credit decisioning 60 systems in 2022 Lynne Walton MICM
Tips on how to manage risks in your debtor book 64 Barbara Cestaro MICM
The Editor, Level 3, Suite 303, 1-9 Chandos Street, St Leonards NSW 2065 or email: aicm@aicm.com.au
Customer Engagement and Technology Drive strategic change in CFOs office with
autonomous finance Ron Jethani
Welcome to the October edition of the Credit Management magazine which coincides with our premium event of the year, the National Conference. Our most anticipated event of the year has returned as a face-to-face event for the first time since 2019.
This year we are privileged to hold the conference at the Sofitel Hotel, Brisbane which I am sure will be a great experience for us all. During the conference I look forward to speaking to many of you and sharing our credit experiences and stories.
The conference is the single largest education and networking event for professionals in the various sectors within the credit industry. We have an excellent program encompassing both commercial and consumer credit with presentations of the highest quality which will only enhance the Institute’s reputation further amongst credit professionals.
On behalf of my fellow board directors, I thank all delegates who are attending the conference and the service providers who support us with their exhibition booths that help keep us up to date with the latest products and services. I particularly wish to acknowledge Equifax the Premium Sponsor for the 2022 AICM National Conference.
During the conference there will be a number of presentations including the announcements of the winner of the Young Credit Professional Award, which is sponsored jointly by CreditorWatch and ARMA, and the Credit Team of Year sponsored by Equifax. We will present certificates to our new Certified Credit Executives including the Dux award, and an acknowledgment of CCE’s who have recertified. We will also announce the winner of the Student Award of the Year
and the Presidents Trophy for the best performing State Division. Congratulations to our finalists and winners of YCP, Credit Team of the Year, CCE Dux and Student of the Year.
For those members who cannot attend I hope to see you at a conference next year or in years to come.
Much has happened since our last in-person conference on the Gold Coast in 2019 and since the AICM Board implemented a 3-year strategy plan which has further advanced the Institute as the key professional body for credit professionals. In the last 12 months we have seen our membership numbers grow strongly to the highest level since 2004 indicating our members support for the Institute, and our ongoing relevance and importance to education, events, award recognition and legislation advocacy for members.
I am proud to say your Board and National office team have worked tirelessly on many initiatives this past year with just a few of the implementations being:
l A new website and management system
l Introduction of a “Job board” on the AICM website
l Launch of a supplier directory on the AICM website
l Enhancement of the Credit Network forum on the AICM website
l Improved induction program for new Councillors
l Review and amendment of the criteria for Fellow membership category
The last of the 2022 WINC events was held in Tasmania, a State we continue to expand our service and membership base. That function completes a fantastic achievement for the WINC events this
with close to 800 participants attending nationally and over $24,000 raised for the benefit of Endometriosis Australia and Dress for Success.
The Board continues to set strategies for the future to seek out new opportunities and initiatives, and to implement our key priorities to ensure we continue to grow and maintain our position as thought leaders and point of reference for all credit professionals.
The Board and National Office team are well supported by the Councils in each division which consist of hardworking volunteers who continue to provide excellent education and network events for members and their colleagues. If you are interested in working with our local divisions or a sub-committee, please speak with a councillor in your State who will be happy to chat to you about the role you can play.
Congratulations to Division Presidents who have been elected for the 2022-23 financial year, a number who are in their first year and welcome to new division councillors who joined for the first time being officially appointed at the AGMs. I can’t speak more strongly as to how working in a team assists you with your career and personal development and with networking opportunities. In addition, it is extremely rewarding.
Once the National Conference is over Divisional Councils and the National office team with move onto planning the next prestigious event on our national calendar, the Pinnacle Awards, which will be held in all Divisions during November and December 2022. We encourage you to consider nominating for one of the categories in these prestigious awards.
The Institute’s training programs continue to evolve and are providing
excellent education to our many members with a variety of options at every price point, including Registered Training Organisation Certificates and Diploma, Seminars, the National Conference, and our Credit Toolboxes and Workshops.
The Institute will continue to grow into the future to ensure our relevance, position and posterity. But we should not forget our past and I encourage members that may have old AICM photos or items to send them into National office so as we can save them and remember our past.
As usual, I thank all volunteers who are involved in organising our events including the highly successful WINC event, our YCP judges and facilitators, and the presenters at our various education events. Without you we cannot be the successful Institute we are.
In closing I advise the National Conference will be my last official event in the capacity of National President. My maximum 4-year term is completed and after 6 years on the Board and as in terms of the Constitution I will retire. A new National President will be elected to commence in the role after the National Conference. I have enjoyed my time as National President and the changes and progress that has been achieved during those years. I look forward to the new President, board members, Nick and the National Office team continuing to move the Institute forward as a highly credentialled organisation for the credit professions.
Thank you and stay involved in the Institute which is a fabulous professional body and one to be proud of.
– Trevor Goodwin LICM CCE National President
“The Institute’s training programs continue to evolve and are providing excellent education to our many members with a variety of options at every price point, including Registered Training Organisation Certificates and Diploma, Seminars, the National Conference, and our Credit Toolboxes and Workshops.”
Laminex has been Australia’s leading supplier of locally made high-quality laminates and decorative surface materials for over 85 years. Receiving between 200 and 700 payments per day, the Banking Team had heavy workloads. The 100% manual processes made for very long workdays, especially at month-end, when payment allocation was the priority task. EFT bulk payments and complex remittance advice processing with hundreds of lines were the catalyst for Laminex to search for a solution that could automate the daily tasks for the Banking Team, with the objective to auto-allocate 70% of eligible payments at 12-month mark and enable remote work.
In 2021, Laminex Australia implemented Esker’s Cash Application solution, immediately benefiting from the AI technology to automate daily remittance advice processing. The team embraced the new cloud-based solution from day one and transitioned from data entry processing to verification and review very quickly. With Esker’s solution taking over an average of 52% of auto-allocation at only six months post-implementation, the time to allocate payments has reduced from 8-10 hours to only 4-6 hours, boosting the team’s well-being by leaving more time for higher value tasks. A further downstream impact is that statements and reporting are now up-to-the-minute accurate, and year-end liabilities on the balance sheets also reflect the most current information.
§ up to 50% reduction in processing time
§ 95% decrease of unallocated cash at month-end
§ 74% of auto-allocation objective achieved by 6-month mark
We found the solution extremely easy to use, that’s why the team has adapted so quickly to it.”
Operational Team Leader, Laminex
One significant change since implementing Esker’s solution is that the Banking Team is under much less pressure to complete payment allocations each day. They have more time to focus on their other duties and learn new tasks because Esker is saving us hours every day. They enjoy using Esker and the benefits it has provided.”
Operational Team Leader, Laminex
The Young Credit Professional of the Year Award (YCPA) program is the largest and most prestigious Young Credit Award program in Australia and provides a great opportunity for young Credit Professionals to gain recognition both for themselves and their employer.
AICM is proud of our YCP award that started in our Western Australian division 32 years ago and was adopted at a national level in 1997. The award and its recipients are held in the highest regard by all credit professionals and can be found in influential senior positions within the industry.
By entering the YCPA program and discussing their career achievements and ambitions participants gain both valuable insight to the potential for
their future advancement and support from other young Credit Professionals and experienced Credit Practitioners.
Thanks again to our event sponsors Credit Clear and CreditorWatch.
Congratulations to the state winners, who will now participate in the national YCPA judging in November.
Each of the divisional winners receives: $1000 to spend on AICM professional development to use within 12 months.
The national winner will be announced during the National Conference in Brisbane and will receive the above, plus $1000 cash and $2000 in AICM professional development.
Let’s meet our division winners...
The judges had an extremely difficult decision selecting a 2022 winner from such a strong group of candidates. Never has QLD received so many applications and was a challenge selecting these top 6 finalists.
Lachlan was an engaging candidate and an extremely passionate credit professional. His knowledge was evident in his confidence and strong ability to speak to the questions without pause for thought or delay. One of the key points when selecting a winner for the judges was how they will contribute to driving industry change, challenge the norms and impart knowledge through ongoing mentorship.
Lachlan demonstrated his problem-solving abilities and held clear views on how improvements within his business and the industry as a whole can be implemented. He is already working with industry bodies to voice his views.
The judges were impressed with Lachlan’s customer-centric approach, and how he prides himself on such a high quality of work and values his customers. The judges are confident that Lachlan will do well at the Nationals in October and will be a great role model for future young professionals.
1. Lachlan is proud to be the key person implementing a GRC system and PRA Group Australia at 23 years old.
2. Lachlan led a regulatory change project for modern slavery, design and distribution obligations, breach reporting and dispute resolution requirements.
3. Lachlan is a starting player for the Division 1 Bethel City football club.
Clare presented well, showed great confidence in her answers and impressed the judges with her achievements thus far. Not only does she have a broad understanding of issues in her current and past roles but was able to identify a multitude of real-life examples to address the questions by the judges. One of the key points when selecting a winner for the judges was how they will contribute to driving industry change, challenge the norms and impart knowledge through ongoing mentorship. Clare is clearly passionate about the credit industry and her role in it. She demonstrated her ongoing involvement in the industry and has a desire to contribute to the growth of the AICM into the future and engage young people in credit. Clare is a worthy representative of the division for the National YCP.
Clare is proud of gaining the achievement of CCE
Clare is currently serving as Vice President, minute taker and Councilor of Media for the SA Division Council.
In Clare’s spare time she enjoys going to the gym and enjoys indulging in true crime podcasts.
Maddi was enthusiastic and loved the opportunity to be in front of the judges. Her passion for credit and responsible lending to help businesses thrive is clearly evident, and her hunger to learn from credit professionals around her early on in her career has served her well in her various roles and recent promotion after just 12 months of employment.
One of the key points when selecting a winner for the judges was how they will contribute to driving industry change, challenge the norms and impart knowledge through ongoing mentorship. Maddi demonstrated foresight and a healthy curiosity about how the credit industry is changing.
She has first-hand experience of the role of AI, introducing us to ‘Hector’, an AI driven analytical tool that reduced the time it would have traditionally taken to analyze data on a file from 1 hour to 1 minute. Yet acknowledging that such technology wouldn’t ultimately replace humans, just free them from the more mundane tasks so they could make better use of their time.
She demonstrated a clear understanding of credit risk and data science, knowing how to assess and interpret financial data whilst taking into consideration the impact of the external environment and balancing small business hardship. Maddi’s genuine communication style and interest in upskilling her team were demonstrated in her interview and proved she is a great role model for young professionals.
1. Maddi was recently promoted to Credit Team Leader.
2. She won the CEO’s Choice Top Performer Award in August 2020.
3. Maddi is currently studying for a Diploma of Business.
All judges were unanimous in the decision of selecting James as the 2022 NSW winner. James responded to the judge’s questions phenomenally well and came across as very professional and polished.
James was the stand-out candidate and appreciated the opportunity to be in front of the judges. James displayed a passion for credit, AI and automation and acknowledged how these tools can be leveraged to improve business outcomes.
His manager, Joanne Edwards explained that James’ eagerness to learn, develop his skills, and continue his training has encouraged his upwards movement within the company. He is also incredibly dedicated to his personal development and studies.
James holds strengths in stakeholder relationship management and acts as the central point of data, supplying business performance data to the operational functions and business executives, including Wisr’s Chief Commercial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Marketing Officer. He is an integral part of his team and organisation and contributes to Wisr’s continuous growth trajectory.
1. James spent 6 months early in his career becoming a master of Power BI, before the business ended up changing to Tableau (which meant he got to start the learning process all over again)!
2. James is currently participating in the CFA program, patiently awaiting the results of his Level 1 exam.
3. In James’s spare time he plays AFL for Sydney Uni, however he has managed to tear his ACL, so now has taken up the role of assistant coach.
The National Credit Team of the Year Award (CTOY) is an opportunity for credit teams to be distinguished for the great work, results, culture and learning they do daily. Since 2008 the Credit Team of Year Award has recognised the outstanding culture, skills, and achievements of Australia’s leading credit teams.
The 2022 Credit Team of the Year was announced Wednesday 19 October 2022 after the AICM National Conference welcome.
The judges commented on the outstanding performance of the Wyndham Destinations Team.
The Wyndham Destinations team delivered an outstanding application. Their presentation was professional, thorough, polished, and wellrehearsed. They demonstrated a fantastic team culture focussed on rewarding, motivating, and developing staff whilst managing the difficult
balance between achieving targets and providing a supportive environment where staff are working with tough hardship scenarios. They delivered strong individual and group performance and displayed with confidence a strong adherence to their organisation’s value and culture.
Congratulations to our 2022 Credit Team of the Year winner:
Thank you to the 2022 Credit Team of the Year sponsor Equifax and judges:
l Debbie Leo MICM, General Manager Sales Corporate Accounts at Equifax
l Louise Nixon MICM, Commercial Litigation and Regulatory Partner at Turks
l Rhys Buzza MICM CCE, Finance Shared Services Manager Reece Group
The Consumer Finance Team at Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific is a team of 68 finance professionals, working across Australia and Southeast Asia, who manage the accounts of approximately 71,000 timeshare owners/members of Club Wyndham South Pacific, Club Wyndham Asia and Innovative Holiday Club by Club Wyndham.
All owners/members of the three clubs pay annual levies and some Club Wyndham South Pacific owners also pay to be part of a benefits program, Lifestyle by Wyndham, while some owners/members across all three clubs also take out finance with Wyndham Destinations/Finance by Wyndham in order to purchase their timeshare.
The team is multi-disciplined and includes divisions dedicated to Lending, Cash Management, Specialised Services, Operational Support, Training and Quality and a fully staffed Call Centre. The team manages an AU$275 million loan portfolio with approximately 13,000 individual accounts and is estimated to generate one-tenth of the business’ revenue.
l Cherese Aitken MICM – Supervisor, Lending & Cash Management
l David Howard MICM – Manager, Lending & Specialised Services
l Jennifer Paterson MICM – Manager, Operation Support
l Kelly Bull MICM – Manager, Contact Centre
l Lorelle Brauer MICM – Supervisor, Specialised Services
l Paul Taylor MICM – Supervisor, Training & Development
Achievements included:
l Creation of new processes to allow the team to complete most tasks electronically and become a paperless office.
l Creating a WynCares website for owners to visit and seek assistance regarding any questions they may have.
l Cross-skilling of the Contact Centre Team to allow them to make reservations for owners and ensure one call resolution.
l Development of a new role, Customer Liaison Officer, to ensure our owners have a more positive experience when purchasing as they interact with one person from start to finish.
l Development of a program to encourage the career development and upskilling of our team to encourage retention within the department, but also internal promotion.
The latest research from NCVER reveals that VET qualifications enable graduates to be more job ready compared to higher education qualifications.
VET and higher education pathways – do outcomes differ for the same occupation? NCVER examined the employment outcomes of individuals with VET qualifications and those with higher education qualifications to evaluate if they are doing the same tasks and have the same salary and career pathways.
Findings show that due to their technical nature, VET qualifications enable new graduates to ‘hit the ground running’ when entering occupations compared to higher education qualifications.
Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) sector continues to deliver excellent results and outcomes for its students not only within the credit industry but the economy at large.
When compared with employment outcomes for university graduates, VET continues to produce superior results, and has proven itself to be a more
flexible, accessible and adaptable platform for educating and skilling Australians. Importantly, given the rising cost of formal education, VET is also a more cost-effective training option for both businesses and individuals to obtain a formal nationally recognised qualification.
Ensuring individuals and employers get the highest return on investment in education and training. Understanding the return on investment (ROI) in education and training helps individuals, enterprises and governments to determine changes in the employability of workers following training or to provide a measure of productivity improvements within firms.
VET graduates secure employment opportunities and find work Statistics from the report outlined that studying with registered training organisations providers like AICM increase the chances of securing employment after completing their qualification. While only 67% of university students find work after graduating, nearly 80% of VET students secure employment. This is because AICM focus on providing practical skills that are required within the workplace and specialise in credit Industry focused units. ➤
“
Employers and industry are integral to a quality VET system. Registered training organisations (RTOs) are responsible for systematically monitoring, evaluating and continually improving their training products with the help of industry and employers.
Employers and industry are integral to a quality VET system. Registered training organisations (RTOs) are responsible for systematically monitoring, evaluating and continually improving their training products with the help of industry and employers. This enables continuous improvements in the training being offered and benefits employers who have job ready candidates.
The decision is now up to you The good news is that deciding to invest in your career/ future is never a bad decision. If you are ready to study with AICM and obtain a nationally recognised qualification contact us for further information aicm@aicm.com.au we are here to help. AICM offers training courses which change according to the needs of the credit industry and with its high level of flexibility enables it to provide practical programs that will provide you with valuable knowledge and skills no matter at what stage you are with your career.
AICM would like to congratulate its recent graduates:
FNS30420 – Certificate III in Mercantile Agents
Sharlain Larkin New South Wales CCSG Jackson David India Genpact
Steffen Winter New South Wales Swift Collect
Linzi Sorrell WA FNSCRD401 – Assess credit applications Mediterranean Shipping Company
Natasha Morris NSW FNSCRD511 – Respond to personal insolvency situations Snap-on Tools
Stacy Ridge NSW FNSCRD404 – Utilise the legal process to recover outstanding debt Smeg
FNSMCA314 Locate individuals
with
– Diploma
Thursday
Diploma
BSBMGT502 Manage people performance
Understanding corporate insolvency
FNSCRD503
Promote understanding of the role and effective use of consumer credit
Understanding credit risk
How to trade with trusts with trusts
Understanding Financial Hardship
CCE acknowledges experts in the industry and is AICM’s commitment to maintaining professional excellence in the field of credit management. CCE is obtained by completing an assessment and provides credit professionals with confirmation of their knowledge and experience.
The 2022 CCE dux has been awarded to Maureen Greaves from Harrington Bobcat & Excavation for achieving the highest grade for the 2022 year. Her submission gained high marks and her submitted essay showcased exceptional knowledge of credit.
Maureen displayed the following: z Maureen provided a strong analysis on the situation when a small business that has purchased a second entity and the issues which arise when trying to combine separate Terms and Conditions into one concise and easy format to be utilised by both businesses. It provided a sound understanding of knowledge when dealing with a complex issue.
Student of the year 2022: FNS40120 Certificate IV in Credit Management
David MacIntosh was a distance education student and throughout the duration of the qualification, the submitted work displayed good knowledge of each course. It provided a sound understanding of how this knowledge merges into the workplace environment.
David completed the 12 units in 3 and a half months, his submissions displayed clarity with his explanations and the research performed reinforced his commitment to the credit industry. Each assessment task submitted was of the highest standard.
David has met all of the selection criteria and demonstrated throughout the course a commitment to the pursuit of knowledge and professional development.
Credit management is the provision of credit and related services to individuals (consumer credit) and business (commercial credit).
This may include:
` Evaluating applications for a credit facility(s) using tools such as credit scoring, evaluation techniques
` Monitoring and managing these facilities
` Collections and the recovery of monies owed through legal and non legal remedies
` Management of cashflow and financial reporting.
Credit professionals are also involved with bankruptcy and corporate insolvency. Risk management and compliance management underpin the role of a credit professional.
Credit professionals have a wide range of career opportunities ranging from roles related to accounts receivable through to managing billion-dollar ledgers with national and international responsibilities.
of credit card services
across all industry sectors
organisations
companies
As a National registered training organisation AICM is able to offer nationally recognised qualifications through a variety of pathways. Currently, we offer the Certificate III in Mercantile Agents, Certificate IV in Credit Management and the Diploma of Credit Management.
` Our programs are available in trainer led workshops and distance education formats.
` Streamline your qualification training by receiving recognition for your current skills.
` We offer training to suit all levels within the credit profession.
FNS30420
Certificate III in Mercantile Agents
Beneficial to individuals who are working for a mercantile agent and/or collections role in companies and financial institutions.
` Mercantile Agent
` Accounts Receivable
` Clerk/Officer
` Collections Officer
` Customer Service Officer
` Recovery Clerk/Officer
FNS40120
Certificate IV in Credit Management
Ideal for individuals who have experience in credit and need to enhance their skill to contribute more to an organisation. This qualification addresses issues relating to credit applications and securitisation, compliance, managing bad and doubtful debt and customer service.
` Credit Officer
` Credit Controller
` Credit Analyst
` Recoveries Officer
` Reconciliations Officer
` Credit Services Officer
` Credit/Lending Officer
` Credit Team Leader
` Credit Manager
FNS51520
Diploma of Credit Management
Provides the opportunity to deal with key credit issues such as personal and corporate insolvency, developing credit policies and compliance. Learners are then able to select from a range of electives which address consumer credit, factoring and discounting, managing customer service, managing individuals and managing change.
` Senior Credit Officer
` Senior Decision Manager
` Debt Manager
` Credit Executive
` Credit Analyst
` Credit Operations Manager
` Senior Credit/Loans Officer
` Chief Credit Officer
` Group Credit Manager
` Credit Risk Manager
The AICM is the leading provider of financial services training specialising in credit in Australia.
For more information about training or membership, contact: 1300 560 996 or aicm@aicm.com.au
By Eugene Ostapenko*
With a major data breach once again front and centre in the headlines, managing data security has never been more important for credit managers. The loss or inaccuracy of financial data, in particular, can have a devastation effect on an organisation or individual, and so finance departments and IT security departments must have a strong working relationship.
Here are my five important steps to take towards better financial data security.
You must have a plan. Any good IT security plan is built on a solid understanding of the data you manage, your operating environment, your regulatory obligations and your customers’ needs. Once you’ve done your due diligence and have a good handle on these four areas, you can start to develop your plan – and don’t forget to include a realistic budget before seeking the necessary approvals. More on this later.
In my own organisation, the
customer lens is one of the key drivers behind our information security strategy. We are constantly listening to our customers to plan our security program, and helping them to meet their own security objectives.
IT security is complex and difficult in any environment. In addition to improving internal protection, strive to make interactions with your customers as simple and safe as possible.
One of the effective ways to do this is to invest in a selfservice capability to provide transparency to prospective and current customers on your information security posture. This should allow customers to evaluate your security implementation procedures.
To reduce compliance effort for customers, we also invested heavily in obtaining a number of independent attestations and certifications confirming our strong security posture. These
“Any good IT security plan is built on a solid understanding of the data you manage, your operating environment, your regulatory obligations and your customers’ needs.”
include ISO 27001, SOC2 Type 2, PCI DSS and IRAP. They are all independent, industry-recognised certifications that will reduce the need to undertake security audits, and where still required, greatly reduce the time your customers need to spend on their own security assessments.
My team and I are continually monitoring information security threats. One of the prominent threats at the moment is credentials compromise, where malicious actors try to guess or steal passwords.
A typical response to these attacks in the past has been to keep making passwords longer, adding special characters or changing them
frequently. These measures make access to our systems increasingly complex and bring limited protection.
To find the right balance between ease of use and security, we have launched a single sign-on capability. We can give customers the option to use the same username/password/token they use for their internal systems when accessing ours. This access can also be co-controlled by their own
teams, thus easing the compliance burden and making it easier to do business with us.
My strong view is that company culture is critical when it comes to building and maintaining a robust security posture. Make security visible: speak to your teams regularly, present at staff forums, send security awareness
“
...company culture is critical when it comes to building and maintaining a robust security posture. Make security visible: speak to your teams regularly, present at staff forums, send security awareness newsletters and be collaborative around risks.
newsletters and be collaborative around risks.
If data and its security are the focus for your organisation, you may even want to consider building its protection into your company values and behaviours so your team can live it on a daily basis.
Finally, always be prepared for security breaches. It’s a little bit like home safety – by putting locks on doors, your risk goes down, but don’t put all your eggs in one basket! There’s still a chance for bad people to get in – so you have to understand this and be prepared to fight against intruders.
I often tell the story of a neighbour who had his push bike stolen. It was a $5000 bike, protected by $30 chain that someone broke after jumping his fence. After that, he realised the inadequacy of this protection and reassessed the value of his property – realising the deeper investment he needed to make to protect his asset. The bottom line is, if you have multi-million-dollar
data assets, you have to have an in-depth strategy to protect them, and an appropriate budget along with it. Typically, between 10 % and 15% of your IT budget is a common standard.
*Eugene Ostapenko Head of Information Security illion E: eugene.ostapenko@illion.com.au T: 0421 000 155 www.illion.com.au
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).
“...always be prepared for security breaches. It’s a little bit like home safety – by putting locks on doors, your risk goes down, but don’t put all your eggs in one basket!”
Between supply chain woes, inflation pressures and the lingering effects of COVID, it’s taking businesses longer and longer to get paid. Fortunately, dynamic discounting and supply chain finance can help free up funds faster.
Slow payment can have a real and negative effect on businesses. According to a QuickBooks survey, 65% of mid-sized businesses –those with 25 to 200 employees –report spending 14 hours per week collecting payments and chasing late payments.
And that can have an impact on growth: 89% of the businesses surveyed by QuickBooks said late customer payments had set back their long-term goals. Even when payments are made on time, longer payment terms can be challenging – some businesses don’t have the
luxury to wait 60 or 90 days for working capital.
Supply chain finance and dynamic discounting speed up the payment process while delivering sizable benefits to both buyers and suppliers. In this post, we’ll compare the advantages of each approach and how they can affect your cash flow.
What is dynamic discounting? With dynamic discounting, suppliers offer a discount to buyers that agree to use cash on hand to pay their invoices early. The size of the discount will vary. Generally speaking though, the earlier the payment, the bigger the discount.
Dynamic discounting is much more flexible than static discounts.
Under static terms like 2/10 net 30, a buyer can claim a fixed 2% discount only in the first 10 days
“Supply chain finance and dynamic discounting speed up the payment process while delivering sizable benefits to both buyers and suppliers.
after the invoice is issued. With dynamic discounting, discounts could be made available at Day 11, 15 or even 21.
Plus, under static discounting, buyers – especially large enterprise buyers – tend to have more leverage and can often dictate the discounts they want. Dynamic discounting allows suppliers and buyers to seamlessly agree to a rate that works for both parties.
Buyers like dynamic discounting because the discount reduces their cost of goods sold (COGS). That discount usually represents a larger rate of return than other investment opportunities, and it’s risk-free.
And, by paying suppliers early, the buyers are helping to ensure those suppliers are financially healthy and able to fulfill future orders.
The other benefits to dynamic discounting? No outside financing is involved, and thanks to the flexibility and the lack of a middleman, dynamic discounting is expected to be one of the fastest-growing financing solutions in the market.
Supply chain finance (SCF), also known as supplier finance or reverse factoring, can also help buyers pay their suppliers faster.
Under an SCF program, a buyer
will typically finance early payment of its suppliers’ invoices through a bank or other financier. The supplier gives a discount in exchange for early payment, the same way as with static or dynamic discounting. The buyer typically pays the financier back on the invoice’s original due date or later. For buyers trying to hold on to their cash, SCF can be a lifesaver.
Supply chain finance improves liquidity for both parties, allowing suppliers to get quicker access to what they are owed and buyers to have more time to pay their invoices.
There are a couple of important technical differences between dynamic discounting and supply chain finance.
Dynamic discounting is typically used when the buyer has cash
“Supply chain finance improves liquidity for both parties, allowing suppliers to get quicker access to what they are owed and buyers to have more time to pay their invoices.”
on hand. Supply chain finance is utilised when the buyer wants to offer early payment but needs to conserve cash.
With supply chain finance, early payment is financed through funds from a bank or some other third party, and that financing is based on the strength of the buyer’s credit, not the supplier’s. Dynamic discounting doesn’t require the buyer to borrow funds.
Supply chain finance has additional drawbacks for suppliers, though C2FO has addressed these obstacles with specific products and solutions.
Suppliers that are invited into a supply chain finance program usually have to agree to be “all in” – all of their invoices for that particular buyer must be funnelled
through the program. With C2FO, suppliers and buyers can tap into early payment whenever they choose.
With many supply chain finance programs, there is no room for negotiating the discount; however, C2FO allows suppliers to set a discount that they find acceptable through patented Name Your Rate® technology.
Dynamic discounting and supply chain finance are two different solutions for the same problem: How can businesses access the working capital they need, quickly and easily? Depending on the situation, each approach can offer significant value to buyers and suppliers.
With C2FO, companies don’t have to choose. C2FO makes it easy for buyers to switch between these solutions as needed so they can continue to pay invoices ahead of schedule, without interruption.
If you’re currently selling to Woolworths, Chevron, Newcrest or Costco, you can accelerate as many of your receivables as you like. There are no fees, contracts or commitments to participate in these voluntary programs. You simply place an offer on the website and select the $ value or date range of receivables that you’d like to be paid earlier to assist with your cash flow. Simply Google your ‘customer name + C2FO’ for more information and to register. There are many new customers currently being added to the platform so stay tuned.
*Simon Beck C2FO Senior Director, Australia E: simon.beck@c2fo.com T: +61 417 983 653
“With supply chain finance, early payment is financed through funds from a bank or some other third party, and that financing is based on the strength of the buyer’s credit, not the supplier’s.”
Historically, we have come to understand the Credit Manager’s role was one that required the skills and understanding of a credit manager and/or accounts receivable manager, accounting, legal clarification, debt collection, insolvency customer service professionals and so on.
The one vital area that is not often recognised, and causes a lot of grief within a business, is that of projecting the future, in other words, that of being a “futurist.”
A futurist is defined as a person who reviews information and projects its implications for a future outcome, mainly for their business and even their industry. Typically, the information analysed includes
current and previous laws and legislation, local and global trends, marketplace behaviour and media reporting etc. This information is then extrapolated into scenarios relating to market risks and opportunities which, may not be currently evident but possibly projected as being relevant in the future.
On reviewing our work as a credit manager, isn’t that what one of our core responsibilities?
The role of the credit manager, after all, is where they interpret information from the world around them, add projected forecasts to make logically COMMERCIAL decisions; including the likelihood of their customer consistently meeting the terms of their agreed trading agreement.
The assessment is then matched against the information provided by a prospective customer when evaluating their application for credit. This same principle also applies when reviewing the ongoing trading performance of an existing customer whenever their trading relationship raises doubt and may require adjustment.
Herein lies one of the primary problems experienced by credit managers because all too often management, marketing and sales
are focused on the NOW to meet short terms goals of sales and budgets. Meanwhile whilst the credit manager has to focus on the now, he/she has to also look at the FUTURE as part of their decision making, for example the customer’s capacity or willingness to pay their accounts. After all, they know alltoo-well that a profit is not made “until the money is in the bank.”
In Australia, as they all know, that profit is not secure until the money has been in the bank account for six-months-and-one-day from receipt.
Note: this situation may change with the latest legislation proposals, so it would be most prudent to act on the old timeline for some time yet.
To manage both the current and future viability of your business, all managers and their employees will need to review and reconfigure the way your business functions. This will require changes-in-thinking, acting, and accepting new ideas and operational procedures. This is sure to challenge many who have successfully conducted business, using their proven methods for many years.
Furthermore, all levels of
Kim Radok MICM CCE“A futurist is defined as a person who reviews information and projects its implications for a future outcome, mainly for their business and even their industry.”
management and staff must be encouraged to function as “team” to help the business survive and prosper. The reality is that the real enemy for all employees of the business are outside the business, not fellow employees within their business. The enemy include:
1. inefficient suppliers;
2. slow-paying, difficult and/or fraudulent customers;
3. criminals of all types;
4. government regulations created by politicians and bureaucrats;
5. self-appointed do-gooders who have never managed a business, and/or demand businesses, act or support the general demands of society, yet provide no commitment of supporting the businesses which do, etc.
This, may of course, upset traditionalists, or those with vested interests in maintaining a strong departmental “silo” structure. The problem for management will be to get the former advocates of operational “silos” on-board with this aspect; which will require a skilful inhouse commitment to minimise disruption. It is, however, an important issue, that must
overcome to help the business survive into the future.
Due to the numerous negative factors which lie ahead, all businesses, must change to match the new-world-order of business. One of the functions to help manage the new business environment will be the increased importance on gathering knowledge of the current business environment.
In addition, you will need to understand the ramifications of the likely announcements from regulatory bodies, politicians and economists in critical areas of business such as “fair contracts”, insolvency issues and the viability of collecting unpaid invoices, etc.
In order to achieve these objectives, all business managers
and employees will need to be involved in gathering information from the media, their networks and professional organisations; and by talking with and visiting customers. Any information obtained must be shared with all managers within their business to enable all dealings with customers are conducted in a consistent manner and with due respect for everybody’s role and responsibilities.
If required, an information gathering template might be useful for those businesses which have not yet commenced such actions. This template should be ideally designed in consultation between the CEO, CFO, sales, risk and credit manager. The information would then be collated and recorded for use by a responsible person with in the business and available to all managers.
“To manage both the current and future viability of your business, all managers and their employees will need to review and reconfigure the way your business functions.”
The role of the futurist credit manager will be more important than ever in the coming years. There is no doubt with all the factors already highlighted by many business owners, business professionals, accountants, economists and others in the media, the next few years are going to be at best, a real challenge.
The world is going to be far different than pre COVID. The futuristic credit manager, ideally supported by business owners, management, marketing and sales managers, should all work together in a holistic manner to help their business survive and prosper.
As a consequence of all these factors, the credit manager will need to provide a level of comfort
that when a new customer is signed up, or an existing customer’s affairs reviewed, payment of their accounts will be in line with the business’s expectations. To achieve this object, the credit manager will need to be aware:
1. that the customer’s previously positive payment history may not continue into the future;
2. that all business documentation, trading terms, credit applications and customer evaluation processes are up-to-date, completed properly and well maintained;
3. of which previous business tools and processes will be useful, and those that are no longer of value;
4. of the current and future consumer and business environments;
5. of any pending government
and bureaucratic legislation and regulations, trends and announcements;
6. operating in a balanced manner with access to the necessary tools and employee resources available to conduct their work properly and professionally;
7. of marketing and sales communications and how the content affects other functions and operations of the business when dealing with customers;
8. their authorisation to challenge management’s validity toward a doubtful customer during and after the current credit application process has been approved;
9. create an understanding with management, marketing and sales of the value of “NO” when receiving applications for credit from customers with doubtful reputations;
10. creating personalised sales & payment options for customers, etc.
The modern futurist credit manager will require additional resources that are often currently supplied or available. For instance:
1. technological tools designed to help the credit manager conduct their day-to-day work, plus the data to make logical, commercially viable decisions;
2. the authority to challenge and seek additional information when making decisions which are for “… the good of the business”;
3. information and data to prove strategically, dealing with a difficult or slow paying customer is of value to the business;
4. the ability to institute proactive strategic procedures to manage the many likely contacts from insolvency administrators for preferential payments in the coming years;
“The role of the futurist credit manager will be more important than ever in the coming years.”
Historically, we have come to understand the Credit Manager’s role as been one that required the skills and understanding of a credit manager and/or accounts receivable manager, accounting, legal, debt collection, insolvency customer service professionals and so on.
The one area that has not been often recognised, and in turn causes a lot of grief within a business for credit managers, is that of a futurist. In essence, when you review the work of a credit manager, isn’t this essentially one of the core responsibilities of our work?
The role of the credit manager after all is one where we take information from the world around us today, plus projected developments in the future, and try to make sense of it when making a valid COMMERCIAL decision.
The assessment is then matched against the information provided by a prospective customer when evaluating their application for credit. This same principle also applies when reviewing the ongoing trading performance of an existing customer whenever their trading relationship raises doubt and may require adjustment.
Herein lies one of the primary problems experienced by credit managers as management, marketing and sales are focused on the NOW. Meanwhile the credit manager has to focus on the now,
yet has to also look at the FUTURE as part of their decision making, for example, the customer’s capacity or willingness to pay their accounts. They know all-too-well that a profit is not made “until the money is in the bank.”
The future ahead for all businesses will be one that presents many negative consequences if not managed properly. The role of the futuristic credit manager, will gain increasing importance. It would be wise then, that they be recognised and supported by management to minimise negative outcomes, whilst seeking to maximise sales and retain profits.
*Kim Radok MICM CCE Credit MattersE: info@creditmatters.com.au www.creditmatters.com.au
5. to work with sales and marketing to seek more PROFITABLE sales opportunities via appropriate incentives, etc.
With the AICM conference just around the corner, I was reminiscing of past conferences. It got me thinking that it was not so long ago we were relying on trade references and receiving credit information via fax (some of my early days at NCI!). But how times have changed, now, there is an array of technological solutions to help with assessing potential customers, existing customers, and more.
There are many aspects to credit management. Generally, there is not one factor which fixes all concerns and assesses risk.
There is one thing that has remained constant over the 30 years that I’ve been in the credit management industry. From time to time, out of the blue and despite the best credit practices, business insolvencies do occur.
The question is, how can you
use all the technology available to your advantage with the aim of minimising the chance of a bad debt?
Every day we experience varying levels of credit assessment tools, resources and spend being placed into credit management. However, there are a number of elements the best credit managers and businesses get right:
1. Have watertight terms and conditions and make sure they are signed.
2. They set out credit limits and have clear payment terms.
3. They gather information about that business’s credit history. This is retrospective, so keep in mind things do change. Past performance is not always the best indicator of future performance, circumstances and trading environments evolve.
Kirk Cheesman MICM“From time to time, out of the blue and despite the best credit practices, business insolvencies do occur. The question is, how can you use all the technology available to your advantage with the aim of minimising the chance of a bad debt?
4. They put in place measures to safeguard their business from a potential insolvency. Ongoing customer monitoring and alerts for early warning signs have become key elements with increasing data and technology.
5. If payments are late or a dispute arises, they ensure they have a third party on hand to elevate the pressure on getting paid quicker.
6. Register their security interests – if you supply goods, ensure you are protected in the event of an insolvency and have the means to recover your unpaid goods, or to negotiate with an administrator on recoveries for those goods
7. They use trade credit insurance. This will protect cash flow and ensure, in the event of a loss, their hard-earned profits are not lost for ever.
Data collected by NCI in 2022 indicates there is an increased chance of you experiencing a bad debt over the next year. Claims, collections, extended debts, and overdue reports from our clients suggest there are turbulent times ahead for credit managers.
Recently we surveyed NCI clients and of all the concerns they had, the worry of overdue debts and their client’s entering insolvency was number 3, surpassed only by concerns around increasing costs and labour shortages.
Now is the time to review the best practice points above to ensure that when you receive a letter from an Insolvency Practitioner regarding one of your customers, your business is in the best possible position to weather the storm.
National Credit Insurance (Brokers) Pty Ltd E: kirk.cheesman@nci.com.au T: 1300 654 500 www.nci.com.au
*Kirk Cheesman MICM Group Managing Director
“Every day we experience varying levels of credit assessment tools, resources and spend being placed into credit management. However, there are a number of elements the best credit managers and businesses get right.”
It’s evident the Pacific isn’t immune from the challenges facing the global economy caused by inflation, supply chain issues and the rising cost of living.
Here in New Zealand, we saw annual inflation hit a thirty-year high of 7.3% for the June 2022 quarter, stemming from strong demand in direct opposition to constrained supply across a range of sectors and industries.
The softening of consumer credit demand and rising arrears have delivered a sobering effect to our local credit sector.
As consumer confidence fell, credit demand reduced for new products across the board, as households cut back on discretionary spending to help navigate the rising cost of living.
In fact, consumer credit demand was down 10% year-on-year in June 2022. Simultaneously, we’ve seen consumer arrears start to creep up year-on-year across the board.
Against the usual seasonal trends, consumer arrears were up 12% year-on-year in April 2022, 11.7% year-on-year in May 2022 and 14% year-on-year in June 2022.
five years, demonstrating that on the whole New Zealand is managing debt extremely well. But this creep shows the reality of our economic climate.
The climb in arrears levels is focused on unsecured consumer lending. While home loan arrears have fallen as we see New Zealanders putting their mortgage repayments first.
We’re also seeing a change in how younger people are engaging with credit in New Zealand.
Applications for new credit cards have been trending down as younger Kiwis lean towards alternative products such as Buy Now Pay Later. This is due to the perceived cost of having a credit card, and the ‘uber-like’ customer experience the younger generation loves.
In fact, 54% of credit consumers under the age of 30 years old actively use Buy Now Pay Later products, compared to 25% that use credit cards.
Overall, arrears levels have come down consistently during the last
Coming off the back of the hot property markets seen in 2020
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
and 2021, it appears this year things are starting to cool – with a marked downturn in both mortgage applications and lending.
The value of all new household lending was down 36% year-on-year in June 2022, while new residential mortgage lending was down 34% during the same period.
This, in part, is also due to changes to the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) at the end of last year, which introduced stringent new rules
for banks and lenders to protect vulnerable lenders.
What this did, however, was see mortgage and lending approvals fall as applicants were deemed too risky and saw applications declined for extremely strict spending misgivings, like online shopping.
This cooling of the market could spell trouble for buyers who purchased during the hot market of the last few years.
The number of Kiwis servicing
mortgages valued over $1 million has doubled in the three years since 2019 – climbing from 50,792 in Q3 2019 up to 102,954 in Q3 2022.
What about the Kiwi business sector?
It’s not just consumers feeling the pinch, with these economic conditions also impacting New Zealand businesses.
Increases in operating costs and supply chain issues have resulted in profit margins for
Kiwi businesses shrinking, even in sectors where demand has been strong1
Company closures were down 37% in June 2022, compared to the previous quarter, while company liquidations were also down 14% year-on-year in June.
Looking at specific sectors, retail and construction are challenged by defaults and lower activity, while tourism and hospitality are starting to show an upswing in activity and lower defaults as international travel and travellers begin to grace our shores.
Looking ahead to the future So, what’s next for New Zealand? For a large percent of the population, this will be the first time they’ve experienced interest rates and inflation at these highs. Our data shows the fall in consumer confidence has translated into less credit demand for consumers and business.
It’s important to place current economic conditions in the broader context of New Zealand. As at the end of June, the OCR was still well off peak of 8.25% in 2007 and 2008, and most pundits are forecasting
Age Group
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an OCR peak lower than this during this current economic cycle. Making comparisons to the GFC times, we’re seeing better credit data
coupled with responsible lending obligations, which is giving New Zealand more layers of protection. If unemployment stays low and credit
Jan-19 Jul-19 Jan-20
Jan-22
continues to be responsibly lent and borrowed, New Zealand is well positioned to deal with the drag of high inflation and interest rates.
E: monika.lacey@centrix.co.nz www.centrix.co.nz
1 https://www.westpac.co.nz/assets/ Business/tools-rates-fees/documents/ economic-updates/2022/Other/EconomicOverview-Aug-2022-Westpac-NZ.pdf
This is the first in a series of articles discussing the importance of credit risk management to all businesses that provide trade credit. In Part 1 we discuss the cost of bad debts, the correct approach to opening a new account and the role of a collection agency in recovering overdue debts.
A businesses accounts receivable is often one of its largest assets and provides the cash-flow necessary to prosper and grow in these challenging and changing times. Quality credit management is a key element of strong cash flow. If practiced correctly, it will support the company’s cash flow requirements and contribute to growth and profitability by minimising the incidence of overdue accounts and bad debts.
The 4 key elements of quality credit management revolve around:
l Credit documentation
l Account set-up and maintenance
l Credit risk assessment, including verification of customer information
l Overdue account procedures
This series of articles will outline a quality approach to credit risk management, which can be adapted
to suit the specific requirements of almost any business, particularly those in the SME market.
Whenever an organisation provides credit, there is a risk that the account may not be paid on time. In addition, the longer a debt remains outstanding, the likelihood of it never being paid increases. Quality credit management is a combination of good internal procedures, quality documentation and swift, decisive action.
The table opposite identifies the cost to business of writing off bad debts and illustrates the additional sales revenue required to offset a bad debt. As can be seen, if a business generates a profit of 10%, and suffers a bad debt of $10,000.00, it will need to increase sales by $100,000.00 to negate the effect of the bad debt. What is not represented here, are the indirect costs associated with carrying the bad debt. These indirect costs include the cost of replacement capital, the labour and costs associated with chasing the debt and the opportunities lost as a result of diverting labour and capital to chase overdue accounts.
The good news however, is that it is not expensive to
“Whenever an organisation provides credit, there is a risk that the account may not be paid on time. In addition, the longer a debt remains outstanding, the likelihood of it never being paid increases.
An investment of time and a commitment to implementing quality practices, procedures and documentation will pay handsome dividends almost immediately.
improve the management of credit. An investment of time and a commitment to implementing quality practices, procedures and documentation will pay handsome dividends almost immediately.
A key part of a good credit policy involves selecting the right partners to assist you along the way. This includes your choice of collection
agency. Generally, the services of a collection agency will include: l Recommending the best and most cost effective debt recovery strategy for each matter;
$1,000 $50,000 $33,300 $25,000 $20,000 $16,660 $12,500 $10,000
$5,000 $250,000 $166,667 $125,000 $100,000 $83,333 $62,500 $50,000 $10,000 $500,000 $333,333 $250,000 $200,000 $166,667 $125,000 $100,000 $15,000 $750,000 $500,000 $375,000 $300,000 $250,000 $187,500 $150,000
$20,000 $1,000,000 $666,667 $500,000 $400,000 $333,333 $250,000 $200,000 $50,000 $2,500,000 $1,666,667 $1,250,000 $1,000,000 $833,333 $625,000 $500,000
l Making demands for payment using a range of contact chanels;
l Locating debtors and conducting field calls when required;
l Handling inbound debtor queries resulting from the demand process;
l Establishing and managing both formal and informal debtor payment arrangements;
l Commencing legal action, and carrying out enforcement when necessary;
l Identification of debtor assets;
l Reporting on the performance of individual matters as well as the overall portfolio;
l Liaising with field agents, process servers, solicitors and the courts;
l Assisting clients to improve their terms of trade.
One of the most important aspects of credit management occurs right at the beginning of the business relationship. The quality and accuracy of information obtained prior to extending credit often determines how successful an organisation will be at recovering its debt.
The account set-up procedure should include a checklist to ensure each new account is established consistently and that all paperwork and account verification procedures are followed. The purpose of developing a structured approach to opening new accounts is to filter high-risk debtors and reduce that risk, and at the same time, identify quality customers with whom sales opportunities can be optimised.
Some clients use automated application processing tools to ensure a consistent approach to opening new accounts and assessing credit risk.
As a minimum, the following processes should be introduced:
X A credit application must be completed, signed and returned by the prospective client. If information you request is not supplied, the account shouldn’t be opened until all the information is provided. The Accounts Receivable Officer should contact the new customer by telephone in order to obtain any missing information, following which, the verification process can commence. Part 2 of this series discusses credit applications and terms and conditions of trade as well as identifying a number of specific credit risk related clauses, which will improve your prospects of recovery and reduce collection costs.
X The legal structure of each new entity should be verified before the account is opened. Correct identification of an organisations legal name, ACN and/or ABN will save time and money down the track if an account becomes overdue. If information obtained from the client varies from the information in the credit reporting database, this should be clarified with the client before opening the new account.
X Check the company name and ACN with ASIC, to ensure that it is incorporated and that the details supplied are correct. Also do an ABN search on the company name, and if you find the ABN’s last 9 numbers are completely different from the ACN, then you have identified
that the entity is in fact a trustee company and should be set up that way in our system.
X Consider conducting a credit check to identify adverse information such as reportable court actions and payment defaults.
X If trade references are obtained, they should be checked to verify the customer’s capacity and willingness to pay.
X As soon as all the required information is obtained and verified, the new account is ready to opened.
As a supplier, you should never feel pressured into opening a new account until you are satisfied that the prospective customer is worthy of your credit.
Finally, keep credit on the agenda at management meetings. Discuss major accounts regularly, as well as the slow payers. Encourage everyone to be on the lookout for warning signs that a business is struggling, and act swiftly and decisively if problems are identified.
*Mark Logue MICM CCE AMPAC Debt Recovery E: m.logue@4ampac.com.au T: 0409 749 709
Mark is a debt collection specialist and the joint managing director of AMPAC Debt Recovery. He has more than 30 years experience in the debt recovery and credit reporting sector, covering all segments of industry and commerce throughout Australia and overseas.
“
A credit application must be completed, signed and returned by the prospective client. If information you request is not supplied, the account shouldn’t be opened until all the information is provided.”
If you are a business or individual who has registered a security interest on the PPSR it is important that you remember to:
• regularly monitor and review your registrations to ensure that they still need to be on the PPSR; and
• take steps to promptly discharge any registrations which are no longer required – usually within 5 business days of the debt or loan it secures being repaid.
Zahra is looking to purchase a new car from a motor vehicle dealership, and trade in her current car. She has been on a waiting list for months and has finally been notified that the new car is available to be purchased.
Before finalising the transaction, the car dealership performs a search of the PPSR against the serial number of Zahra’s old car, only to notice a registration in favour of Bank ABC. Zahra knows that this registration relates to an old loan, which was paid out in full earlier in the year. She contacts Bank ABC and asks them to discharge the registration. Bank ABC advises Zahra that they will look into it internally.
Zahra follows up Bank ABC over the next few weeks and eventually issues an amendment demand to Bank ABC. Bank ABC then register a financing change statement to discharge the registration from the PPSR. However, by this time, the car dealership has already sold the vehicle to the next person on the waiting list.
Through the dispute resolution process, we regularly see registrations over personal property being left on the PPSR after the loan or obligation which they secure has been repaid.
This can cause serious problems for parties who own that property or purchasers who want to buy it.
For example, if you have registered against a motor vehicle and the owner wants to sell it, a purchaser is likely to refuse to buy it until your registration is removed. It may also stop the owner using that property as security for a loan or other transaction.
In most cases, this is accidental, as the secured party has forgotten to end the registration. However, we do investigate allegations of misuse, such as where secured parties intentionally leave registrations on the PPSR without a valid reason for doing so. This example is not only against the law but it could expose you and your business to a civil penalty under the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth).
Whether accidental or deliberate, failure to discharge the registration in a timely manner means that the affected party needs to spend unnecessary time and money disputing the continued PPSR registration by issuing an amendment demand and then potentially escalating this issue to AFSA or the Courts for a resolution. All this takes up excess time and public resources.
By Damien Davis MICM*
A public examination is a powerful tool which may significantly advance the prospects of recovery in formal insolvency appointments. Parties subject to a formal public examination process are required by a court of law to answer questions under oath, and/or provide much needed information and documentation to assist with investigations and recoveries being undertaken by Insolvency Practitioners and others. Public examinations are inherently inquisitorial in nature and the issues covered can be extremely broad in application. Likewise, the penalties for inadequate compliance with the requirements of being formally examined under oath can be quite severe.
Examinations in corporate winding ups or pursuant to other insolvency events are covered by Section 596A and 596B of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act). Examinations in bankruptcy proceedings are covered in Section 81 of the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth) (Bankruptcy Act). Broadly speaking, public examinations conducted pursuant to each of these acts
mirror each other in application and process. However, the outcomes –successful or otherwise – tend to vary significantly from case to case.
The Corporations Act details that an “eligible applicant” who may apply for an examination includes: l ASIC; or l A liquidator or a provisional liquidator of a corporation; or l An administrator of a corporation or an administrator of a deed of company arrangement; or l A person authorised in writing by ASIC.
In addition, whilst Receivers of companies, company shareholders and trustees of unit trusts are not specifically listed as being eligible applicants under the Corporations Act, depending on the circumstances, they have all previously been held to be eligible applicants through case law.
Similarly, the application of prior case law suggests that creditors of a corporation may seek authorisation from ASIC to
“A public examination is a powerful tool which may significantly advance the prospects of recovery in formal insolvency appointments.”
be considered an eligible applicant for the purposes of applying for a public examination.
From a personal insolvency perspective through the Bankruptcy Act, a creditor with a provable claim in a bankrupt estate is automatically considered to be an eligible applicant.
As part of the application process, the Liquidator or other eligible applicant will file an affidavit with the court outlining the background for the summons, as well as a copy of the draft summons.
The affidavit, including any supporting material is not available for public review unless otherwise ordered by a court.
Where the application relates to a person who is or was an officer of the corporation, during the two (2) years prior to the commencement of the winding up, then the
“Parties subject to a formal public examination process are required by a court of law to answer questions under oath, and/or provide much needed information and documentation...”
summons is mandatory pursuant to Section 596A of the Corporations Act. That is to say, the court must issue the summons if it is satisfied that the necessary pre-requisites have been met.
Where the examinable person is not an officer (or former officer) of the corporation, a summons may be issued pursuant to Section 596B of the Corporations Act where the court is satisfied that the person has;
l taken part or been concerned in examinable affairs of the corporation and has been, or may have been, guilty of misconduct in relation to the corporation; or
l may be able to give information about examinable affairs of the corporation.
The fact that proceedings are on foot against an examinee will not automatically prevent an examination from being issued, even where the examination touches on or explores issues to be covered in the existing proceedings.
The types of individuals ordinarily examined pursuant to Section 596B of the Corporations Act may include: the company’s accountants and auditors, the bank manager of the branch where the company’s bank accounts are kept, and others such as solicitors, insurers, directors’ spouses, and
taxation officers. A person does not need to be a defendant or potential defendant in proceedings brought by or in relation to the corporation, in order to be summoned for examination.
A point to note is that examinations do not have to be directly beneficial to the company in external administration, its creditors or contributories as a whole. A claim which will benefit only some shareholders has been held by the High Court of Australia to be consistent with the public interest to allow an examination to proceed. Similarly, shareholders wanting to examine an officer for the purposes of pursuing a claim against those officers or advisers is a legitimate use of the power contained under Section 596A.
Section 596D of the Corporations Act provides that a summons issued under Section 596A or 596B may require a person to produce specified books that are in their possession and that relate to the corporation or any of its examinable affairs. This may include any account, deed, paper, writing or document, as well as any record of information, however compiled, recorded, or stored. Courts have determined that in the case of records to be provided by a solicitor, the court will adopt a practical approach, but that documents which would otherwise be subject to a claim for legal professional privilege may still be required to be produced for the purposes of an examination.
The “examinable affairs” of a corporation include:
l Details of the promotion, formation, management,
administration or winding up of a corporation; or
l Any other affairs of the corporation; or
l The business affairs of a connected entity to a corporation.
The courts have held that the following matters encompass the examinable affairs of a company:
l Information regarding a company’s rights in legal actions;
l Information with respect to whether litigation initiated or contemplated by a Liquidator is likely to be successful;
l Information with respect to whether a judgement resulting from a Liquidator’s action has any worth; and
l Information regarding the affairs or documents of a third party, including (but not limited to) the company’s former solicitors, former accountants and insurers.
A public examination can also be used to determine whether a party will have sufficient assets to meet any successful claim. This is immensely important as being able to get information about a potential defendant’s personal assets and liabilities can greatly assist with determining recoverability prospects against the defendant.
The broad and powerful approach adopted in Australia to public examinations is not replicated in other international jurisdictions such as New Zealand or the United Kingdom. For instance, the New Zealand courts have declined to allow a public examination to be used to determine the financial capacity of a defendant to pay a judgment.
Examinations have been used
by eligible applicants to achieve the following;
l To go behind efforts to use the Family Law provisions to dispose of assets held by examinees that would otherwise be available to unsecured creditors;
l To determine the quantum of debtors in the liquidation of a construction company, including identifying offsetting claims held by debtors. In one particular case, the Liquidator examined the company’s project managers in relation to construction debtors, ultimately resulting in the recovery of debtors in excess of $1million which would not have otherwise been recovered;
l To investigate the sale of a business prior to the liquidation of a company, including obtaining copies of valuations conducted by the parties to determine whether the sale occurred at or under market value; and
l To access books and records otherwise denied to the Liquidator as part of a disclose agreement or sale of business contract.
An examination will generally be held before either a Registrar of the Federal Court or a Magistrate.
Examinees are required to answer questions presented in examinations while under oath and in open court.
An examinee will not be excused from answering questions on the grounds that the answer may incriminate them or make them liable to penalty.
Credit managers and other
“
A public examination can also be used to determine whether a party will have sufficient assets to meet any successful claim.”
entities who have an interest in the outcome of the examination should feel encouraged to attend. There are no restrictions on who can attend an examination and details of the time and place of the examination will be issued by the Liquidator to all creditors of the corporation.
A typical examination can, in some instances, be a very eyeopening process for attendees, as examinees will frequently reveal information they would not otherwise disclose (without the threat of contempt of court hanging over them), such as thought processes and/or discussions with third parties that have not been documented.
Creditors (and sometimes litigation funders) may fund the Liquidator with respect to the costs and expenses associated with conducting public examinations and other investigations into the affairs of the company. Creditor funding may enable the Liquidator to
determine whether the company has viable, commercial claims to pursue against parties, where information gained from a public examination will enable the Liquidator to formulate causes of action against the parties, such as directors or the corporation’s former auditor.
Where a public examination achieves a clear formulation of causes of action, the Liquidator may then be in a better position to negotiate a favourable litigation funding agreement with an external litigation funder with which to pursue those actions.
Section 564 of the Corporations Act provides that where recoveries have been made as a result of an indemnity provided to the Liquidator by creditors, a court may make orders it deems just with respect to the distribution of property so recovered including giving the indemnifying creditor an advantage in consideration for the risks assumed pursuant to the indemnities.
The approach to be adopted
by the court will vary depending on the circumstances and on the amount advanced by the funder in question. In some instances, where the sums advanced have been modest, the courts have apportioned a percentage of the amount recovered as a priority payment to the funding creditor, with the balance being distributed pari passu (i.e. equally) to creditors in accordance with the provisions of the Corporations Act
However, where funding has been significant and accompanied by complex factual and legal disputes, the courts have distributed significantly more of the amount recovered to funding creditors, in recognition of the risks taken by them in funding the proceedings. In some cases, this has been up to 100% of recoveries made by the Liquidator.
*Damien Davis MICM Associate Director Vincents vincents.com.au
“
Creditors (and sometimes litigation funders) may fund the Liquidator with respect to the costs and expenses associated with conducting public examinations and other investigations into the affairs of the company.”
Nick Boyce MICM
By Anna Taylor MICM and Nick Boyce MICM*
With cash becoming tighter and collection and insolvency action on the rise, there is often a direct correlation to an increase in disputes.
Not all disputes are avoidable, however, during periods where customers may be feeling the pinch, the “disputes” that are raised tend to be more dubious and are quite often a tactic to either buy more time or obtain some other benefit (such as a discount or completely avoiding liability).
It is these types of “disputes” that can either be avoided or swiftly dealt with if you are well prepared.
The stages at which a dispute may be resolved are as follows.
1. Pre-dispute
3. Dispute
The ‘Dispute Ready Checklist’ within this article will assist you to identify whether you are equipped to adequately and swiftly deal with a dispute.
The best way to deal with a dispute is to avoid it altogether. Most disputes are the product of a failure
to employ and enforce sound practices and policies.
Examples of these include failures to:
1. identify the contract or terms the parties are trading on; or 2. adequately evidence the provision of the goods or services supplied. Conducting regular reviews of customer accounts and assessing your position and potential risks are essential to avoiding issues that may arise in the future.
Unfortunately, most issues are only considered in retrospect when a dispute has been raised, the relationship has soured and you are considering what rights you may have, only to find out the contract that you thought you could rely on is unenforceable or you cannot provide sufficient evidence to clearly substantiate your claim.
It is these little things that can put you in the strongest position to either succeed in defeating a claim or negotiate the best possible outcome.
From a litigation perspective, the more you can limit factual disputes and resolve them in your
favour, the more likely you are to be successful and less time and money you will spend on the way through.
The next phase in the dispute cycle is where a dispute is just starting to emerge. An example of this may be the customer mentioning they are having some issues with the quality of particular products, or they have concerns in relation to delays in the supply of services.
The worst thing that you can be doing in that situation is pretending you did not hear the complaint and sticking your head in the sand.
What is paramount in this phase is to ensure that you:
1. keep the dialog open with the customer;
2. discuss the issues with a view to coming to a resolution; and
3. document any resolution, including which party will be liable for any loss or damage.
The third point is the most important. So often a matter progresses to legal proceedings and the client says something like “they told me it was all good, don’t worry about it and we’ll sort it all out later”. Unfortunately taking the “she’ll be right” approach can result in expensive and time consuming litigation that could have been simply resolved by the parties documenting what they ultimately agreed between them.
If you have not managed to either avoid or resolve the issue in the
earlier two phases it is likely that legal proceedings may be imminent.
At this stage, you should be:
1. collecting and collating your evidence to substantiate your claim;
2. obtaining expert advice on your legal position and the strategy that should be employed to resolve the matter; and
3. giving consideration to whether any attempts should be made to resolve the matter on a commercial basis prior to incurring the costs of engaging in contested litigation.
“From a litigation perspective, the more you can limit factual disputes and resolve them in your favour, the more likely you are to be successful and less time and money you will spend on the way through.”
Achieving an outcome in litigation is all about momentum and pressure.
By employing a strategy that places the most pressure on the defendant you can put them in a position where their only option is to capitulate to your demands. What this means from a client perspective is being able to promptly provide instructions to your solicitors and produce the evidence necessary to support your claim.
If the defendant’s strategy is to delay, the court process can be manipulated to accommodate this. This is were the preparation during the earlier stages can be used to your advantage either through:
1. an application for summary judgment; or
2. promptly progressing the matter to mediation, or a trial (if required).
Summary judgment allows a plaintiff to have a matter determined without a full trial. It can only be used in the clearest of cases where there is no evidence that requires testing. For example, if the parties dispute whether a particular conversation or event occurred, the court needs to hear each parties’ version, have that tested by crossexamination and then determine which parties’ version more likely occurred.
We recently acted for a client in a matter where we were able
to employ most of the strategies outlined above. A dispute had arisen between our client and its customer and a statutory demand was issued. The parties agreed on terms to settle the dispute that were recorded in a deed of settlement. The deed contained terms to the effect that it was the ‘entire agreement’ between the parties, thereby excluding any representations made during negotiations, and our client was entitled to judgment in the event of default.
A default subsequently occurred and legal proceedings ensued. To our client’s surprise, a defence was filed alleging that representations were made during negotiations to the effect that terms within the
Summary judgment allows a plaintiff to have a matter determined without a full trial. It can only be used in the clearest of cases where there is no evidence that requires testing.
Do you have a contract with your customer?
If the answer to any of the questions is NO, then…
Negotiate the terms and reduce the agreement to writing.
If you already have a contract, do the rights you have under it adequately protect you and set you up to best deal with a dispute?
Consider having your contractual suite of documents re-drafted to give you the best protection and include clauses like:
1. an entire agreement;
2. no set off;
3. limitations on liability for certain matters;
4. indemnity costs; and
5. a bar on disputes being raised after a certain time period after performance.
Do you document how you perform your obligations under the contact?
Implement processes to ensure that you evidence performance and can promptly produce this to the customer or your solicitors if requiredDo you have the customer contemporaneously acknowledge performance of your obligations?
Resolution Have you recorded the resolution of a dispute in a document that identifies which party may bear any fault or liability?
deed of settlement would not be enforced and further time would be afforded to the defendant to raise sufficient funds through a capital raising process to resolve the matter.
Our client promptly filed an application for summary judgment and was successful in obtaining judgment for the full amount of the claim, interest and costs on the indemnity basis because they took the simple step to oust the prospect of a future dispute by way of an appropriately drafted deed of settlement.
Reduce any agreement to writing.
Disputes are costly and can be a significant distraction from more important matters within a business.
If litigation is required, there are strategies that can be employed to build momentum and put you in the best position to achieve a positive outcome, however, this is never as simple as taking the steps that could avoid a dispute altogether.
Employing sound policies and practices will help you to promptly knock any disputes on the head, keep the money flowing into the
and avoid having to pay your solicitor’s fees (whilst our fees are reasonable, we know that we don’t come cheap).
“Employing sound policies and practices will help you to promptly knock any disputes on the head, keep the money flowing into the business and avoid having to pay your solicitor’s fees...”
A recent NSW Court of Appeal decision of Hardy v Coates Hire Operations Pty Ltd [2022] NSWCA 122 considered whether a director’s guarantee was unenforceable because the director was suffering from physical and mental impairment at the time that he signed it.
The contention is one which suppliers are likely to see raised more frequently as the impact of the devastating bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of individuals translates into more significant and long term mental and physical health issues which have flow on effects for businesses.
l Consider incorporating mental health ’first-aid’ training into professional development of credit managers and ‘front line’ business officers to enable them to identify and manage mental health distress in existing and prospective customers. If your credit manager is qualified to identify signs of mental health illness and distress, appropriate measures can be taken before credit is approved to protect the supplier and customer.
l Encourage staff engaged in negotiating and approving credit to make detailed file notes of the conversations that
Fiona Reynolds MICM
“Encourage staff engaged in negotiating and approving credit to make detailed file notes of the conversations that they have with each customer when assessing applications for credit.”
they have with each customer when assessing applications for credit.
l Always encourage prospective customers and guarantors to obtain independent legal advice before they sign your credit agreement or guarantee.
l Ensure that the clearly legible copies of the credit agreement and guarantee are provided to the customers prior to and after the agreements are signed.
Coates Hire Operations Pty Ltd (Coates Hire) commenced proceedings against a director of a company to enforce his personal guarantee. Recovery was not available against the company because it was in liquidation.
At the time of the hearing, the director was in an advanced stage of Lewy body dementia and so he could not actively participate in the
hearing. He was represented at the hearing by his wife as his tutor.
It was submitted on behalf of the director that at the time that he signed the guarantee, in May 2016, he was suffering from poor physical and mental health due to depression and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease which included poor concentration, poor memory and difficulty in processing information.
The director’s defence sought relief under the Contracts Review Act 1980 (NSW) to declare the guarantee unjust and unenforceable arguing that:
1. there was a material inequality of bargaining power between Coates Hire and the director because the director lacked the mental capacity to understand the terms of the guarantee or to negotiate its terms to protect his interests due to his ill health;
2. the director did not understand the terms of the guarantee because they were not explained to him by anyone; and
3. the terms of the guarantee were complex and the guarantee document was issued to him electronically which impacted on the readability of the terms of the guarantee.
The evidence before the Judge included evidence from lay witnesses concerning the events and circumstances at the time of signing the guarantee and expert medical evidence as to the director’s level of physical and mental impairment from May 2016 onwards.
At first instance, SJ Gibbs DCJ gave judgment in favour of Coates Hire. The Judge focused on the evidence of the director’s level of ➤
impairment at the time that he signed the guarantee. There was evidence that the director was ’alert and rational’ in his dealings with Coates Hire and that the director had continued to manage the day to day business of his company despite his deteriorating health. The Judge was not satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the director suffered from any relevant mental or intellectual impairment at the time that he signed the guarantee.
The Judge was also not satisfied that there was sufficient evidence to establish that there was any material inequality of bargaining power or that the director had not wanted; sought; obtained; understood or did not understand any legal advice. The Judge observed that there was evidence that the company was represented by a lawyer at the time the Coates Hire credit agreement was signed and that when the signed credit agreement was first returned to Coates Hire, the director’s guarantee was struck through and not signed. This plainly indicated that the directors understood the implications of the guarantee and that legal advice was available to the director.
On appeal, it was argued on behalf of the director that the trial judge had erred by failing to assess the difficulties inherent in understanding the guarantee from the position of a person in the director’s circumstances.
Importantly, it was not submitted on behalf of the director that any particular term of the guarantee was unfair, unjust or unexpected.
The judgment of the Court of Appeal was delivered by Basten AJA, with whom White and Krik JJA agreed. The Court held:
1. The Judge did consider the
matter from the perspective of the director and she was correct to take into consideration the director’s commercial experience and his position as managing director of the company in that assessment.
2. Whilst there was a significant level of detail in the terms of the guarantee, the overall intention and effect of the document were reasonably transparent. The fact that the directors had first ruled through the personal guarantee demonstrated that they were aware of its terms.
3. The guarantee was not unjust or unfair merely because its terms were not negotiable.
4. There was no evidence that the director did not have a reasonably legible copy of the guarantee before he signed it. In the absence of any contention that the terms of the guarantee were unfair or unjust, questions of readability are of secondary importance.
5. The trial judge did not err in concluding that the evidence did not establish that the director had such a material mental impairment which affected him to such a degree that he could not carry out his functions as director of the company in May 2016.
It is clear from reading the judgment that the director failed either to lead any, or any satisfactory, evidence to establish the grounds of his defence. Whilst the case was a ‘win’
for Coates Hire, the decision does not beat a clear path to victory for other suppliers facing similar issues.
However, the remarks made by White JA in his judgment, suggest that there may be some sympathy for the difficulties experienced by suppliers facing similar issues:
“It is unnecessary to consider what the position would be if the appellant had established that when he signed the guarantee he suffered from the cognitive deficits for which he contended. It was not suggested that the respondent had notice that he suffered such deficits when he gave the guarantee. As the appellant was the managing director of the company, and the trustee of his family trust was a shareholder of the company, it is far from clear that it would be just for the respondent (Coates Hire), rather than the appellant (the director), to bear the risk of the company’s insolvency, even if he suffered the cognitive deficits asserts”.
Many supplier readers will certainly endorse and support his Honour’s views. No doubt this issue will receive a lot more judicial consideration and treatment in the near future as suppliers start to resume collection and enforcement activity.
Turks T: 02 8257 5751 M: 0417 215 703
E: Fiona.Reynolds@turkslegal.com.au turkslegal.com.au
*Fiona Reynolds MICM Partner
“Always encourage prospective customers and guarantors to obtain independent legal advice before they sign your credit agreement or guarantee.”
There are very few legal processes which completely change the legal status of a person. They are rare and extreme legal circumstances such as imprisonment, insanity or loss of legal capacity and relevantly for creditors, formal insolvency.
Obtaining orders to wind up a company or to bankrupt a person has significant legal consequences. They change an individual’s rights, as well as the rights of third parties, the control of assets, the ability to sue and the enforceability of secured interests.
The Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth) allow sweeping legal changes in the control and status of a debtor, but these fundamental changes are only allowed to arise in very specific circumstances which include formally proving that the debtor is insolvent. There are statutory mechanisms which allow proof of insolvency before these powerful
orders can be made. Technical compliance is a fundamental cornerstone of applications to wind up a company or to bankrupt a person. The Courts require that technicalities are strictly complied with. Drastic consequences give rise to strict obligations as to procedural compliance.
Two recent decisions of Superior Courts (including a decision of a three Judge Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia) demonstrate how critical strict technical compliance is to the corporate and personal insolvency regimes.
Re Three Pillars Lynbrook Pty Ltd [2022] VSC 540 (Three Pillars)
Statutory Demands are the precursor to most creditordriven wind-up applications. The failure to comply with a valid Statutory Demand will give rise to a statutory presumption of
“Technical compliance is a fundamental cornerstone of applications to wind up a company or to bankrupt a person.”Alice Carter MICM CCE James Neate LICM CCE
insolvency and that is often used as the foundation for a Court application. There are strict rules about the format, content and service of Statutory Demands. In Three Pillars, the Court was concerned with the description of the debt contained in the Statutory Demand.
The Creditor, Three Pillars Development Management Pty Ltd, served a Statutory Demand on the Debtor, Three Pillars Lynbrook Pty Ltd. The two companies were previously engaged in housing development project in Victoria. The Statutory Demand described
the debt due as “…manager remuneration payable to the company from the creditor”. The Affidavit which accompanied the Statutory Demand described the debt as an amount “payable to the company from the creditor”. No time periods or other particulars were provided.
The Debtor applied to set aside the Statutory Demand on the basis that the debt descriptions in the Statutory Demand and accompanying Affidavit (even when read together) did not describe the debt in a way that allowed the Debtor to assess whether a genuine
dispute existed. It was argued that even prior to the Statutory Demand being issued, there was confusion about the nature of certain transactions and what amounts (if any) were owed. In particular, the Affidavit highlighted that there were three separate potential legal grounds which may have given rise to the debt. That the Creditor was unclear as to the real legal basis of the claims, was said to be enough to invalidate the Statutory Demand.
The Creditor opposed the set aside Application, saying that the debt was sufficiently described and verified, and even if not,
“
Obtaining orders to wind up a company or to bankrupt a person has significant legal consequences. They change an individual’s rights, as well as the rights of third parties, the control of assets, the ability to sue and the enforceability of secured interests”
the Debtor had not suffered any injustice from the manner in which the debt had been described. The Creditor said that the wording used to describe the debt, together with the amount claimed, was sufficient to enable a “…reasonable person in the shoes of the director of [the Debtor], to identify the general nature of the debt to a sufficient degree…”.
The Court rejected the Creditor’s submissions, deciding that the Statutory Demand was defective and setting it aside pursuant to section 459J(1)(a) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). In reaching this decision, the Court said that the description of the debt did not give any information which would assist a reasonable person to understand (1) the nature of the debt, (2) the source of the legal obligation to pay and (3) the manner in which the debt was calculated. Technical issues as to how the Statutory Demand should be worded were not met.
a Sequestration Order was made against Victor, some 15 months after the Creditor’s Petition was first filed and at a time when it had already lapsed. A single Judge of the Federal Court made orders nunc pro tunc, latin for “now for then”, a retrospective order which extended the life of the expired Petition up to the date of the Sequestration Order.
Victor appealed the Sequestration and extension order arguing that as the Creditor’s Petition had already lapsed, the Bankruptcy was a legal nullity.
a key consideration was policy and public interests – saying that there must be no uncertainty surrounding the timeframes during which a Creditor’s Petition is enforceable given its fundamental consequences.
In this case, the technical compliance issue considered by the Court was about the validity of an extension order made after the 12-month life of the Creditor’s Petition had expired. In short, the Sequestration Order was made on an expired Creditor’s Petition which was later back dated by Court Order.
Against a background of family dispute, George served a Bankruptcy Notice on his son Victor in April 2020. George passed away in June 2020 and so his representative, his other son Nicholas, issued a Creditor’s Petition based on Victor’s failure to comply with the Bankruptcy Notice.
After a lengthy court process,
Section 52 of the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth) makes it clear that any order extending the limitation period of a Creditor’s Petition must be made before its expiry. The Court had to consider whether the order made out of time could be regularised by invoking a Court rule known as the “slip rule”, which is designed to give the Court powers to fix up procedural oversights in any of its processes.
On appeal, the three Judge Federal Court determined that the slip rule did not apply, and that an ineffective Sequestration Order had been made. As such, Victor’s Bankruptcy was set aside.
The strict statutory life of a Creditor’s Petition was a matter of substance and so the Court could not remedy the order by treating it as a procedural slip up.
While the Court gave various reasons for reaching this decision,
These recent decisions are timely reminders for those who work in this space of the nuances and technicalities involved, and how easy it is for those unfamiliar with the regime to come unstuck! Absolute technical compliance is required not because the law and Courts are just fussy. Insolvency law will fundamentally change the legal status and rights of many people and if the insolvency regime is to be used, it must only occur in the clearest of situations. As such, strict compliance is required to satisfy the Courts that the insolvency provisions and so their consequences, are properly invoked.
0418 844
jneate@lynchmeyer.com.au
Hrycenko v Hrycenko (by his legal representative Hrycenko) [2022] FCAFC 152 (Hrycenko)
*James
*
“Absolute technical compliance is required not because the law and Courts are just fussy. Insolvency law will fundamentally change the legal status and rights of many people and if the insolvency regime is to be used, it must only occur in the clearest of situations.”
Credit Reporting Agencies allow lenders to share information about the credit behaviours of consumers and businesses. Traditionally the purpose was to prevent poor borrowers from simply moving between different credit providers and building up large sums of unpaid credit (which ultimately everyone pays for through higher interest rates).
With the recent legislation changes to incorporate comprehensive repayment information, more credit reporting agencies are now showing positive repayment history in their dataset. Though the uptake in comprehensive reporting has been slow, the intention has been to help lift consumer credit scores generally.
The humble credit report Credit reports contain information about how a consumer manages any current and past debts, as well as their repayment history. They
also have the necessary information to identify the consumer. Finally, the report may contain information about any instances in which the consumer failed to meet repayment obligations and other public documents such as court documents/decisions and instances of bankruptcy.
Below is a breakdown of what appears on consumer credit reports:
Identification information including:
Name
Date of Birth
current and past addresses
place of work
credit applications (sometimes called enquiries) including:
the type of credit applied for
the amount
the provider
credit liabilities – current and past including:
the type of credit
the amount
the provider
“With the recent legislation changes to incorporate comprehensive repayment information, more credit reporting agencies are now showing positive repayment history in their dataset.”
l monthly repayments information for each liability including:
{ how up to date (or otherwise) the account is relative to obligations
{ hardship, or variations to contracted terms
l any defaulted debts, including:
{ whether it’s still current
{ the amount of bad debt { the provider responsible for the debt
Unfortunately, only some credit providers include repayment
“
information in the credit report, impacting the information that they see about a consumer when reviewing an application.
Further, a credit report only lists the information that has been shared with the agency that prepared the report, which explains why often details are missing and why different credit providers will respond differently to the same application.
By enriching their data sets with comprehensive reporting,
agencies help credit providers obtain better results faster. As a credit provider, practicing in and promoting comprehensive credit reporting will only boost your customer’s experience, increase your application conversion rates, and improve your business.
Credit reporting is a complex subject for consumers and regulators. Many consumers are unaware of their credit report and uneducated on the impact the report has on their financial wellness. Those tasked with regulating the industry, face constant scrutiny and must make decisions to keep in line with the ➤
By enriching their data sets with comprehensive reporting, agencies help credit providers obtain better results faster. As a credit provider, practicing in and promoting comprehensive credit reporting will only boost your customer’s experience...”
needs of the industry and the consumer.
So far, credit reporting in Australia has been regarded as a repository for predominantly negative credit information. This data set is heavily biased and may result in good customers being denied credit, which is contrary to the a credit providers objective.
Not understanding this limitation has only increased the amount of application rejections, reducing the size of a credit providers addressable customer base. Understand the premise of negative reporting is to find reasons to reject an application. By viewing a negative only report for what it is and applying the metrics of a comprehensive credit report, a credit provider will typically see an increase in their application conversion rate.
The way negative only reporting makes another impact to credit providers, is how the system generates models containing negative behaviours to identify people who are likely to exhibit negative behaviours, look-a-like lists. When a look-a-like consumer then makes an application for credit, they are likely to be rejected due to no fault of their own or the credit provider.
Ultimately credit providers are given a skewed and incomplete information on a consumer, when reviewing their application. This has allowed for the propensity of the status quo; whereby negative
credit reporting remains engraved in the underlying credit reporting system.
Without the benefit of comprehensive credit reporting, credit providers face increased costs of dealing with old credit enquiries, increased number of application rejections and the financial outlay to respond to queries and complaints. All of this outweighs the value negative only reporting provides.
Regardless of the size and volume of your business, comprehensive credit reporting will help you increase your customer base, and help you engage with your customer in a more progressive manner. Proper implementation of comprehensive reporting changes the role of the bureau, to identify information to support an application rather than reject it.
Engaging in comprehensive credit reporting will provide more transparency to the consumer, encouraging them to meet their obligations and enhance their credit worthiness. Communicate in a transparent and open manner with
your consumers both in where their information resides, and how this information is used in a beneficial manner to them.
Consumers will then feel empowered by having fair access to challenge the information reported and request quick corrections that should cost the credit provider nothing (through the right credit reporting agency). An actively engaged consumer is more inclined to meet their financial repayments.
Credit reporting is the tool to enhance the credit worthiness of a consumer, rather than a tool to detract from it. In doing so we will reduce the need for credit repair agencies, reduce the reliance of dispute resolution mechanisms, and generate positive outcomes for consumers and credit providers alike.
Well executed, comprehensive credit reporting will:
1. Improve your overall conversion rate, increasing your customer base.
2. Encourage positive payment behaviour from your customers.
3. Enhance trust in your brand, through increased transparency.
“Engaging in comprehensive credit reporting will provide more transparency to the consumer, encouraging them to meet their obligations and enhance their credit worthiness. Communicate in a transparent and open manner with your consumers both in where their information resides, and how this information is used in a beneficial manner to them.”
“Communicate in a transparent and open manner with your consumers both in where their information resides, and how this information is used in a beneficial manner to them.”
By knowing the basics, most credit providers will do just fine in the industry, the industry won’t change but it will continue. That said knowing the ‘why’ will hopefully start some difficult and well overdue conversations leading to growth.
It is now not enough to accept the system, the current weighting of negative to positive information pits the consumer against the credit providers. The lack of transparency, with negative credit reporting, creates an environment where the
information is often questionable and the focus on negative inputs only creates negative outcomes for everyone. Credit providers are in the business of providing credit, not denying it. Why continue perpetuating a system that is tying one hand behind your back. Comprehensive reporting will show empirical evidence to validate the consumers creditworthiness. By actively engaging in comprehensive credit reporting, credit providers will get better insights faster allowing credit providers to approve more applications.
With the introduction of comprehensive credit reporting into your business procedures, increasing your returns is all but guaranteed. It’s not something to be feared or be hesitant of, instead it should be embraced to produce beneficial results to both credit providers and their customers. It’s time to redefine credit worthiness. Are you ready for change?
*David Johnson MICM CEO Talefin T: 1300 284 193 www.talefin.com“Without the benefit of comprehensive credit reporting, credit providers face increased costs of dealing with old credit enquiries, increased number of application rejections and the financial outlay to respond to queries and complaints.”
Winston Churchill once said “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often”. It seems he may have been talking about credit decisioning models at the time.
Of course, predicting outcomes can never be perfect but, to maintain a high level of accuracy in this unstable, fast moving world, change is really the only constant and incorporating that change into credit decisioning models in real time is the key to optimising business performance and avoiding failing customers and those least likely to pay within terms.
Implementing the right solution – one that delivers the required insight with speed, accuracy and confidence – can dramatically improve business results and lower operating costs but it’s important to remember that even the best models need to be constantly maintained.
This increasingly volatile economic environment is a catalyst to ask the question, when did we last re-visit our models? Are they still relevant today in this post covid world? Do we know how our scores are derived? Are
Lynne Walton MICM“Implementing the right solution – one that delivers the required insight with speed, accuracy and confidence – can dramatically improve business results and lower operating costs but it’s important to remember that even the best models need to be constantly maintained.”
Change is the only constant – are you adapting your credit decisioning models to maximise accuracy?
we rejecting profitable business because our ‘yes’ bar is too high?
A decisioning model takes a specific question and formulates an answer for the decision maker using predefined parameters. The model usually aggregates large amounts of information, applies multiple ‘rules’ and produces a result or set of results.
When it comes to trade credit decisioning the question might be ‘do we wish to approve this customer for a trade credit account?’. The model output may be ‘yes – open the account’, ‘no –do not open the account’ or ‘refer for further investigation’. The model may also be set to recommend a credit limit, approve an increase or set a review date.
Traditional methods of assessing the suitability of a prospective customer, largely based on
distant historical performance, are now considered outdated and unreliable. Modern practices focus efforts on looking ahead at the potential of the prospect and use multiple, disparate data sources to predict the probability of an outcome.
Credit decisioning models have multiple benefits. Practically they are much quicker than traditional methods. They are cost and labour resource efficient and enable a business to standardise decision making and uniformly and objectively apply a risk strategy whilst optimising control over
the new customer approval and onboarding function.
For organisations with a high volume of account openings, processing can be systemised with automated approval and account opening following required criteria being reached. This tends to suit lower value exposures which lend themselves to automation with time and cost savings considerable.
Innovation in the credit management space has meant that a large number of businesses now share customer aging data in return for receiving credit risk scores. Recent payment history is prediction gold. For example,
“For organisations with a high volume of account openings, processing can be systemised with automated approval and account opening following required criteria being reached.”
if no-one is getting paid, or a business is showing a dramatic downward trajectory in payment performance, the writing is on the wall. More often, however, the deterioration indicators are much more subtle and subjective. It’s therefore useful to have a solution which alerts users to a gradual decline over an extended period of time which can often indicate problems that may eventually be terminal.
Provided they consult the most appropriate data and are maintained correctly, even at the lower, more basic end of the sophistication scale, credit decisioning systems save time and money whilst improving performance and control over the entire customer onboarding process. As the higher end, the more advanced decisioning solutions have the potential to completely transform the fortunes of an organisation.
One of the challenges in implementing a decisioning system is maintaining an organisational understanding of the mechanics of the model. There is a tendency to ‘set and forget’ risk parameters assuming that the status quo will remain which is, of course, never the case. It is therefore vital to have visibility and control over the settings. Even better is to use more advanced decisioning systems capable of instantly and automatically reflecting external influences both in terms of what they learn as they go (artificial intelligence) but also in terms of
“Systems that clearly display risk model settings and an investment in educating and enabling authorised users (senior management) to adapt risk strategy variables to meet the ever changing landscapes we navigate will pay dividends in the long term.”
the foundation components – both the structured and unstructured data indicators which give rise to the risk output.
An example of where basic foundation components can cause a model to fail in the accuracy stakes is in reacting to change. We all accept that certain industries are more risky than others and hence industry specifics built into models. We know that covid has adversely affected the food service and construction industries in recent times and that aged care is relatively stable. But what happens if, as is contemplated, the government throws the struggling construction industry a lifeline? What does it mean if health care reforms adversely affect support measures for retirement or assisted living facilities? How quickly is this type of change reflected in our models? Ideally, changes like these would be implemented immediately and automatically. But are they?
Systems that clearly display risk model settings and an investment in educating and enabling authorised users (senior management) to adapt risk strategy variables to meet the ever changing landscapes we navigate will pay dividends in the long term.
We value ‘hard facts’ – the streams of aggregated data based on actuals because we understand them. Things like how long a business has been trading, their industry, their location, the volume and type of court actions they are involved in. These ‘hard facts’ have substance – they make sense to left brain logic and traditional decisioning systems consult this type of structured data to formulate results.
But what of the softer more intuitive indicators? Are these to be ignored? Of course not. Experience and instincts count and that’s why having access to the detail that produces a result can sometimes be more predictive than a score. One highly regarded credit manager we know with 40+ years experience regards businesses with long names a high risk. This, and many other, well-honed instincts of seasoned credit managers to sniff out the favourably scored inconsistencies are vital not only for higher exposures but for all accounts as we know how easily limits creep up over time. Experienced credit managers and those that have a natural tendency to dig deeper will always look beyond a score to understand how the model works behind the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ output. That’s why it’s important that users can gain access to the detail – the multiple components that create the ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘refer’ result.
“One of the challenges in implementing a decisioning system is maintaining an organisational understanding of the mechanics of the model.
There is a tendency to enjoy dealing with a high revenue generating, promptly paying customer without requesting ‘more of the same’ from sales teams. Similarly, businesses tend to record an insolvency and move on to focus on customers that will pay without learning from it across the organisation.
The best credit decisioning models measure themselves and evolve over time. They use artificial intelligence to improve on past performance and increase prediction accuracy.
The best credit teams reflect on outcomes and lessons learned.
Applying outcomes, both positive and negative, will enhance the overall effectiveness of decisioning models and lead to improved profitability across the organisation.
Credit risk decisioning models applied through new customer onboarding and monitoring systems are becoming commonplace among forward thinking businesses in 2022. They have the potential to completely transform the fortunes
of a business provided they are set up carefully with key influencing factors understood by management as well as being maintained well enough to reflect both macro and micro economic changes. Access to decision detail is advantageous both to protect against credit loss and to ensure the businesses is taking full advantage of all sale opportunities.
*Lynne Walton MICM CEO Access Intel www.accessintel.com.au https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynne-walton0241b861/
“The best credit teams reflect on outcomes and lessons learned. Applying outcomes, both positive and negative, will enhance the overall effectiveness of decisioning models and lead to improved profitability across the organisation.”
By Barbara Cestaro MICM*
Ray Kroc was a milkshake machine salesman when he bumped into Richard and Maurice McDonald (you know where this is going now). He was incredibly impressed at how they ran their burger restaurant in California. He took a risk, negotiated a franchise agreement with the brothers, and the rest is fast food history.
Not every business can achieve what McDonald’s has but every business comes with some risk. One of the roles we play in our business is risk management. Formally or informally. Consciously or unconsciously.
Risk management is a complete profession in its own right. When studied it is traditionally split into 3 categories: risk avoidance, risk mitigation and risk transfer.
Risk avoidance is straight forward. But it isn’t particularly rewarding and it’s a questionable way to do business. If you don’t want to risk clients not paying
invoices, make them pay for everything up front. Picture how that would affect most businesses. No defaults. Yey! But also, no clients.
Risk transfer is almost as straightforward. Transferring your risk to an insurance company is centuries old with early insurance houses being established in the late 1600s. Types of insurance however have been uncovered by archaeologists as far back as the First Babylonian Empire (and it was boring then too). We know that insurance comes at a premium and we are willing to pay that rather than risk the much, much larger potential loss. We make a decision, premium versus potential loss.
Risk mitigation however is a bit of a dark art. How do we take intelligent actions to lower the risk to our business?
The trade credit policy has been traditionally seen as ‘whole
“
If you’re not a risk taker you should get the hell out of business.”
– Ray Kroc
“The trade credit policy has been traditionally seen as ‘whole turnover risk transfer’ option only, but there are many more flexible options now, which allows the transfer of only part of the risk and managing the rest.”
turnover risk transfer’ option only, but there are many more flexible options now, which allows the transfer of only part of the risk and managing the rest. Insurers rely on existing Credit Management procedures, basically outsourcing the risk underwriting to the client up to a certain pre-agreed level. Only exposures above that will require the insurer’s assessment and monitoring, therefore minimising the administration of the policy and improving the overall risk acceptance. The higher the risk share you are willing to take, the higher the value of the discretionary limit.
Although a trade credit insurance policy is a vehicle for risk transfer, the average policy also provides guidance on how to manage risks in your debtor book.
“The trade credit policy has been traditionally seen as ‘whole turnover risk transfer’ option only, but there are many more flexible options now, which allows the transfer of only part of the risk and managing the rest.”
1. The credit and sales process should start at the same time. Some trade credit policies don’t allow for retrospective credit limits, so, make sure you’ve done your checks in advance of shipping goods, completing the service, or signing the contract. Simple first checks could be applying for a credit limit and/or ordering a credit report if you use a discretionary limit.
If there are red flags at this
stage, then you could be saving the business money in the long run but also saving time and effort up front. It might not always be a hard no but at least you can agree shorter payment terms, a smaller order, or a larger deposit. Having the information means you can manage the risk with eyes wide open and, if you have a policy, balance uninsured and insured exposures.
“Insurers rely on existing Credit Management procedures, basically outsourcing the risk underwriting to the client up to a certain pre-agreed level. Only exposures above that will require the insurer’s assessment and monitoring, therefore minimising the administration of the policy and improving the overall risk acceptance.”
Trade credit insurers have been tweaking this framework over decades with hundreds of thousands of clients across the world. Nothing is perfect, and there will always be surprises but that is what risk mitigation is all about. Your business can take an acceptable level of risk knowing that it has done as much as it can to manage the downside whist still trading, growing and being profitable.
2. Invoice regularly. Most trade credit insurance policies have a “maximum invoicing period”, the longest time that can elapse after shipment that the invoice can be issued.
This stops credit terms being artificially extended and it also avoids your clients dictating when you send the bill. Even if there is a dispute about delivery condition, quality of work or any other reason. Send the invoice. Start the clock.
3. Don’t blur the boundaries.
Salespeople love to do a deal don’t they!? And sometimes they’ll offer payment terms that push the envelope just to hit their bonus (sorry salespeople but you know I’m right). Trade credit policies have maximum payment terms embedded to stop this happening. Max terms of, for example, 60 days in a policy give the front end of the business flexibility but keep a bit of control at the back end.
When your broker is helping negotiate your policy terms, they will want to understand the typical terms in your business and your market, so the policy is right for you. If you need payment terms outside of the norm then ask
why. Why is this a special case? How will this affect us?
4. Take every late payment seriously. Most trade credit policies require that these are notified even if there is a dispute or an admin error. Why? Because a business could suddenly be having disputes with 5 other policy holders, and if this happens, only the insurers would have the full picture, not the individual suppliers. Following the policy requirements means that you take all the emotion out of the decision on whether to agree an extension or a payment plan. Yes, you can empathise with your client. Yes, you can believe your client. But if you make no exceptions then you reduce your risk. At worst you force an open conversation about the debt.
So, work with your broker and insurer today. Be a risk taker. Be like Ray.
*Barbara Cestaro MICM Client Manager Aon Credit SolutionsE: barbara.cestaro@aon.com www.aon.com
© 2022 Aon Risk Services Australia Limited ABN 17 000 434 720 (Aon). The information provided in this document is current as at the date of publication and subject to any qualifications expressed. Whilst Aon has taken care in the production of this document and the information contained herein has been obtained from sources that Aon believes to be reliable, Aon does not make any representation as to the accuracy of information received from third parties and is unable to accept liability for any loss incurred by anyone who relies on it. The information contained herein is intended to provide general insurance related information only. It is not intended to be comprehensive, nor should it under any circumstances, be construed as constituting legal or professional advice. You should seek independent legal or other professional advice before acting or relying on the content of this information. Aon will not be responsible for any loss, damage, cost or expense you or anyone else incurs in reliance on or use of any information in this publication.
“Nothing is perfect, and there will always be surprises but that is what risk mitigation is all about. Your business can take an acceptable level of risk knowing that it has done as much as it can to manage the downside whist still trading, growing and being profitable.”
The Chief Financial Officer’s (CFO’s) role continues to evolve as the business and the markets remain dynamic and organisations continue to grapple with the aftereffects of the pandemic. This indicates both an opportunity and a challenge for the CFO, for it expands the scope of work and at the same time paves way for new ways of working. At an organisational level, financial leaders are expected to play a crucial role in formulating, evaluating, and implementing strategic policies that impact the performance of the organisation. This has forced leaders to revisit company-wide processes and deploy the latest technology to ensure digitisation and financial transformation.
Technology Use Cases in Finance” organisations need to invest in six digital capabilities: robotic process automation (RPA)-driven finance process automation, routine business decision automation, intelligent (hyper)finance process automation, business decision augmentation, artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled analysis and decision support, and AI-enabled nudges to achieve their ambitious business goals. Leaders across the globe are now seeking the best combination of technological innovation to meet the requirements of their respective enterprises.
With this new evolving role, CFOs need to ensure an equal amount of transition for the front office and back office of finance. Leaders are now looking for ways to mold their teams to be productive and efficient with the help of robust, integrated technological infrastructure. As per a recent Gartner Survey” Digital
As CFOs need to think of out-ofthe-box ideas to manage, analyze and extract insights to yield maximum business growth, new age technological software comprising of RPA, AI & ML technologies AI has been a game-changer to ensure business agility and scalability at a global level. AI- and automationenabled ERPs are acting as catalysts to harness data and processes within the ERP system to reshape financial processes and strategies to reap benefits.
One such new innovation is that of autonomous software –a dynamic data-driven platform whose behavior continuously morphs as the underlying domainspecific data changes. To explain further on, autonomous software is the same technology that has disrupted the B2C space through apps like Amazon and Netflix. Amazon uses autonomous software to provide recommendations to customers while they shop based on their preferences. It is also used by Netflix to provide its viewers with a customised entertainment list as per their viewing patterns.
Similarly, using autonomous software for the finance function ensures processes and activities are partly governed and majority operated by self-learning software agents that optimise front and back-office operations.
An ebook by Gartner “Achieve Autonomous Finance” states that
“As CFOs need to think of out-of-the-box ideas to manage, analyze and extract insights to yield maximum business growth, new age technological software comprising of RPA, AI & ML technologies AI has been a game-changer to ensure business agility and scalability at a global level.”
64% percent of CFOs believe autonomous finance can become a reality within the next six years, but few are making progress toward it. Autonomous finance is an emerging technology, which is now being considered by various CFOs when talking about digital transformation in the office of the CFO. Autonomous finance is driven by technologies such as the cloud, robotic process automation (RPA), advanced analytics, natural language processing (NLP), and AI. Companies that are thinking of incorporating autonomous finance
in their organisations are bound to have a competitive advantage over peers for they will be utilising a combination of RPA and AI to yield greater business insights, improved financial accuracy, predictability, and significant reduction of mundane manual tasks in the finance function. It will also help in increasing efficiency by automating FTE-heavy finance processes such as order-to-cash, accounting, and cash operations. This ensures important financial metrics are constantly monitored and cash flow is in check.
Not only this, autonomous finance enables finance managers to extract actionable insights from complex data for forecasting and planning future initiatives. Moreover, it enhances employee productivity by mimicking human intelligence and providing more time for value-added tasks across the finance department. It also allows financial leaders to get a holistic view of revenue realisation by identifying areas of strengths and weaknesses in the business processes.
With the CFOs office encompassing multiple processes catering to various requirements of the organisation, Autonomous Finance has been able to cover multiple financial processes including order-to-cash, record-to-report, and treasury. Highradius with its AI-enabled autonomous software supports organisations across all three domains by optimising cash flow, improving cash forecasting, and achieving zero-day close.
HighRadius processes 4.7 trillion dollars in financial transactions annually and has 13+ patented use cases that bring real-time intelligence to automate clerical, repetitive work and help users make timely and accurate decisions.
With Highradius’s Autonomous Receivables enterprises get a chance to witness the magic of AI-powered software for accounts receivables which helps the finance team across all aspects of invoiceto-cash starting with credit, billing & invoicing, collections, cash app, and deductions.
It helps enterprises by creating working capital impact, reducing DSO, and checking for revenue leakages. Credit risk management software leverages AI to predict blocked orders based on past order volumes and payment patterns, alerting credit analysts about customers whose credit
“With the CFOs office encompassing multiple processes catering to various requirements of the organisation, Autonomous Finance has been able to cover multiple financial processes including order-to-cash, record-to-report, and treasury.”
balances are close to maxing out. Also, the Global E-Invoicing and Payment Software comes with the functionality of completely automating invoice delivery across multiple platforms and eliminating bottlenecks for receiving payments across the globe.
Moreover, the software uses a template agnostic AI-based data capture leading to an almost 100% success rate in capturing electronic data from multiple sources. This helps in achieving 90% invoice automation rates, reducing manual labor. Autonomous Receivables also supports collections analysts by predicting payment delivery dates with AI and worklist prioritisation to act proactively and ensure faster receivables recovery with AI-Based Collections Software Solution. It also helps in customising dunning strategies with AI-recommended actions and promise to pay analysis in collection. This eliminates time spent on checking payment statuses and sending out past-due notices. The deductions team can also utilise Deduction Management Software which aids in improving the Net Recovery Rate using an AI-Based dispute validity predictor. It predicts potential invalid deductions using past resolution trends and deduction amounts so that analysts can focus on resolving and recovering invalid deductions.
Highradius’s Autonomous Treasury helps cash and treasury professionals across the globe to automate critical processes which are linked to important
business-related decisions such as borrowing, investing, and moving money. It utilises the latest AI and cloud technologies to guide finance professionals in areas of cash forecasting and cash Management. This helps them in doing proper data-driven analysis to take decisions that impact their company’s overall cash situation and strategy.
In the space of account reconciliation, Autonomous Accounting aids accounting professionals in achieving zeroday close with the help of end-toend financial close automation. It also uses AI-based anomaly detection which saves teams from manual work during the monthend, ensuring smooth review and process continuity. It also helps in optimising account reconciliation by identifying and resolving variances ensuring efficiency and accuracy in reconciliation.
Highradius with its autonomous software technology helps organisations in utilising the power of humans and machines to create immense business impact in the organisation. It aids the CFO to strengthen his position as CFO of
the future which utilises the bestin-class technology to extract financial data and use it to influence operational decision-making and strategy.
As CFOs adorn new responsibilities, it is quite clear that Autonomous Finance is poised to handle most of the manual financial tasks and more. AI is going to play an influential role in this new technology used by financial teams and will be an imperative part of an organisation when thinking about financial transformation. This will open a new chapter in the finance department where professionals will not just be proficient in the fundamentals of finance such as number crunching and accounting but also in interpreting data and business analysis. This will ensure that the CFOs office plays a crucial role in risk management, data-based storytelling, and strategic policy making in the times to come.
*Ron Jethani Senior Director, Solution Engineering HighRadius, APAC www.highradius.com
“As CFOs adorn new responsibilities, it is quite clear that Autonomous Finance is poised to handle most of the manual financial tasks and more. AI is going to play an influential role in this new technology used by financial teams and will be an imperative part of an organisation when thinking about financial transformation.”
“Autonomous Receivables also supports collections analysts by predicting payment delivery dates with AI and worklist prioritisation to act proactively and ensure faster receivables recovery with AI-Based Collections Software Solution.”
We recognise those members who achieved membership anniversaries between August and October 2022. Congratulations to these members on achieving such important milestones.
John Barner FICM SA 50 years
Robert Blakiston LICM WA Axitec Australia Pty ltd 45 years
Brian McCann MICM WA 45 years
Gordon Allan FICM VIC 40 years
Robert Jacobs MICM WA Auxilium Partners Pty Ltd 40 years
Alan Daykin MICM NSW 35 years
Francis Vredenbregt LICM CCE WA 35 years
Deborah Clark MICM NSW Wideline Pty Ltd 25 years
Beth Gray FICM CCE NSW BG Collections & Debtor Solutions 25 years
Brian Kerr MICM NSW Jax Tyres & Auto 25 years
Julie McNamara MICM CCE QLD Boom Logistics 25 years
Robyn Erskine MICM VIC Brooke Bird 25 years
Paul Kettle MICM WA United Equipment Pty Ltd 25 years
Anjula Sagar MICM NSW 20 years
Lindsay Welsh MICM NSW Valvoline (Australia) Pty Ltd 20 years
Mary Owens MICM CCE QLD Cement Australia 20 years
Michael Robinson MICM QLD Coral Sea Mercantile 20 years
Kieron Agius MICM VIC Woods Bagot Pty Ltd 20 years
Judy Kannangara MICM VIC Spicers Australia Pty Ltd 20 years
Karen Harrington MICM ACT Brennan IT Pty Ltd 15 years
Brian Curran MICM NSW Workforce International Group Pty Ltd 15 years
Luke Kinnear MICM NSW Canon Australia Pty Ltd 15 years
Beverly Bullivant MICM QLD Gunlake Concrete 15 years
Paul Burgess MICM QLD Propell Holdings Ltd 15 years
Nada Belson MICM SA Grant Thornton 15 years
Thomas Boukogiannis MICM VIC Made 15 years
Sunil Chhugani MICM VIC CWM Network 15 years
Emilia Corrigan MICM VIC Carpet Court Australia Ltd 15 years
Raffaele Di Renzo MICM CCE WA Nova Legal 15 years
Shainaz Ali MICM NSW 10 years
Irina Chemodanova MICM NSW Manassen Foods Australia 10 years
Grace Giusti MICM NSW GWA Group Limited 10 years
William Kearney MICM NSW Goodman Fielder Limited 10 years
Monica Knou MICM NSW Manassen Foods Australia 10 years
Pieter le Roux MICM NSW Coates Hire 10 years
Michelle Lowe MICM NSW LG Electronics Australia Pty Ltd 10 years
Anita Murphy MICM NSW 10 years
Maria Pecikoza MICM NSW LG Electronics Australia Pty Ltd 10 years
Christine Shumack MICM NSW LG Electronics Australia Pty Ltd 10 years
Debra Tallentire MICM NSW Tarkett Australia Pty Ltd 10 years
Wayne Clark MICM QLD Building Industry Credit Bureau 10 years
Graeme Hart MICM QLD Haymans Electrical 10 years
Glenn Outhwaite MICM QLD Findex 10 years
Lisa Roberts MICM QLD Brosnan Golf Pty Ltd 10 years
Deanna Fielden MICM SA NCI (Brokers) Pty Ltd 10 years
Sharon Harrington MICM SA NCI (Brokers) Pty Ltd 10 years
Ericson Malvar MICM SA NCI (Brokers) Pty Ltd 10 years
Samuel Turtle MICM SA NCI (Brokers) Pty Ltd 10 years
Kaye Bensch MICM VIC Visy Industries 10 years
Rhys Buzza MICM CCE VIC Reece Pty Ltd 10 years
Lemona Haitidis MICM VIC Fuchs Lubricants (Australasia) Pty Ltd 10 years
Debra Brown MICM NSW Valmont Australia Pty Ltd 5 years
Asha Chand MICM NSW IPD Group Limited 5 years
Jason Fleming MICM NSW Account Collections 5 years
Neel Gounder MICM NSW Pizza Hut Pty Ltd 5 years
Fiona Mifsud MICM NSW Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd 5 years
Kavita Prasad MICM NSW Kemps Petersons Legal Pty Ltd 5 years
Crishelle Sanchez MICM NSW AHG 5 years
Tarun Sharma MICM NSW TPG Telecom 5 years
Anna Ngoc Kien Truong MICM NSW Omnicom Media Group 5 years
Mohammed Zawed MICM NSW Mitsubishi Electric Australia Pty Ltd 5 years
Alicia Auden MICM QLD Gaden Lawyers 5 years
Aleisha Crone MICM QLD The Stoddart Group 5 years
Kym Graham MICM QLD Valmont Australia Pty Ltd 5 years
Oliver Hayward MICM QLD Reece Group 5 years
Michelle Ann Kirkby MICM QLD Shell Energy Australia 5 years
Heather McFarland MICM QLD Industrial Galvanizers 5 years
Kristen Shill MICM QLD Bulk Fuel Australia Pty Ltd 5 years
Vincenzo Fragomeni MICM SA CCC Financial Solutions Group 5 years
Leah Henson MICM SA Detmold Group 5 years
Dianne Hondow MICM SA Detmold Group 5 years Alecia Leav MICM SA 5 years
Kelly Maree Memmler MICM SA Elders Rural Services Australia Limited 5 years
Ross Treglown MICM SA Detmold Group 5 years
Dana Choy MICM TAS TPG Telecom 5 years
Rachel Belej MICM VIC Visy Credit Services 5 years
Michelle Brewer MICM VIC BMW Financial Services 5 years
Gloria Johnstone MICM VIC Valmont Australia Pty Ltd 5 years
Stergoula Klementou MICM VIC Dynamic Supplies Pty Ltd 5 years
Michael Later MICM VIC BMW Financial Services 5 years
Jason Lim MICM VIC Viva Energy Australia Pty Ltd 5 years
Stephen Stafford MICM VIC Equifax 5 years
Kim Tu MICM VIC Adidas Australia Pty Ltd 5 years
Christopher Meadwell MICM WA Mediterranean Shipping Company 5 years
Prinolla Moodley MICM WA Bunnings Group Limited 5 years
Edwina Reed MICM WA Brickworks Limited 5 years
Wanda Spencer MICM WA CSR Limited 5 years
What a great couple of months we’ve had up here in Queensland.
In July we had our AGM and we welcomed two new councillors, Zandalee Mackenzie and Melissa Kirk and officially welcomed last year’s YCP Madi Ryan as a new council member. We now have the largest Queensland team in a long time.
Following our AGM we had our annual Young Credit Professional Awards, this year held at The Ovolo The Valley. Huge congratulations to this year’s recipient Lachlan Poulus from PRA Group, I know you’ll do a fantastic job at the conference this year and you have the
full support of Queensland behind you. Also on the night, we were delighted to present Life Membership to two very deserving and long-time members, Warwick and Merv.
In August we had our ever-growing WINC event, Women in Credit. I enjoyed hearing from the captivating Tiffany Wan from Outstanding Women Leaders, she was a delight. Shoutout to the WINC committee, our sponsors, national office and Michelle Kirkby for organising such an amazing event. We’ve had some wonderful feedback from the day and we can’t wait to bring Queensland another amazing event in 2023.
National Conference – we see you Brisbane! I know that you will all be reading this issue of the magazine while attending conference, which is our first face to face in three years, to say we’re excited is an understatement! The sessions on offer this year are going to be engaging, relevant and inspiring. We will also find out who this year’s credit team of the year is and who will become the National Young Credit Professional for 2022 (Let’s go Lachlan!!)
After conference, we will then swing into our awards season for the credit industry. Keep an eye out for the event flyer for the last event on our calendar – The Pinnacle Awards. This is a great event to recognise and celebrate your colleagues in the credit industry and it’s also a great way to say thank you to your team, manager, supplier or customer.
What a night! The 2022 Young Credit Professional Award, sponsored by CreditorWatch and ARMA, was hosted in The Grand Hall at Ovolo The Valley. We were so delighted to be able to celebrate this event in person, after two years, with the CEO of the AICM Nick Pilavidis.
Our annual AGM was held prior to the event. Stacey Woodward – Covetrus was elected to serve as the Queensland president for another term. The meeting also saw two new AICM members elected into the council. We wish the QLD council all the best success in the year to come.
We were fortunate enough to be able to present two life memberships to Merv Mahony – Megaport and Warwick Ballantine-Jones – CMA. What a wonderful achievement for you both. We are so grateful to have you in Queensland.
During the evening Maria Schandl from Stramit was interviewed by Nick about her previous experience as a YCP and national winner. We heard of her amazing professional growth and how she has assisted in shaping and growing the AICM through her dedication. It was a wonderful interview which gave wonderful insight to our six finalists on what the future could hold for them.
The judges had an extremely difficult task to select a 2022 winner from such a strong group of candidates. Never has QLD received so many applications and was a challenge selecting these top 6 finalists. A huge congratulations to our six finalists:
Cherese Aitken – Wyndham Destinations,
Diana Endino – Vincents,
Jacob Maiore – Axess Group,
Kara Cherry – Endeavour Group,
Lachlan Poulus – PRA Group
Mitchell Steven – MM Electrical
Josh Mann of CreditorWatch announced announced Lachlan Poulus as our state winner. The room was filled with happiness and erupted into cheers as Lachlan was announced as our winner. Lachlan’s family, friends and colleagues were ecstatic.
We are thrilled to be able to watch Lachlan excel at our first face to face conference in two years. Lachlan, the council and members wish you all the very best. Enjoy this time to celebrate!
– Madison Ryan MICM Qld Council
After 7 years of being the QLD WINC Chair Maria Schandl stepped down and left the event in the hands of the QLD Council to run with. The theme this year was walking together through 2022, so in the spirit of the theme Michelle Kirkby (WINC Chair and VP for the QLD Council) and Stacey Woodward (President QLD Council) rose to the occasion and agreed to MC the event together.
The charity for this years event was Dress for Success, the QLD AICM division were lucky to have Kylie McKinlay from Dress for Success come and speak to the crowd about the amazing work that this charity does across Australia. Kylie shared how they empower women to ready themselves for an interview, not just with clothes but with interview skills too. It was great to see many people donate their lipstick/welcome
packs to the charity, Kylie was blown away with the generosity.
This year’s keynote speaker was Tiffany Wann from Outstanding Women Leaders (OWL). Tiff was engaging from start to finish and really motivated the crowd. Her story telling, knowledge and experience sharing really resonated with the crowd. Tiffs top tips talking about how development starts with connections and the importance of developing ourselves.
The feedback that followed was truly wonderful, here are a few quotes:
“I just wanted to quickly say that Friday was my first AICM event and the luncheon was fantastic. Thankyou.”
“I loved the inclusivity in the room and listening to the stories from some amazing female leaders.”
“Great work today an exceptional event.”
“Tiff is fabulous.”
“Hello, congratulations on a great event for you and the AICM team.”
So much time and effort goes into these events, from head office staff (who were fantastic), to the council and the sponsors without whom these events could not go ahead.
A MASSIVE thanks and a shout out to those who donated such generous raffle prizes, from Chanel products to winery stays and a private chef experience, there was something for everyone. An amazing effort with $6.7k being raised for the charity.
After the main event many people went to the rooftop to continue networking and enjoy some downtime.
Yet another successful WINC event, the QLD council are already thinking about next years event and how to keep it going from strength to strength.
I currently work for Endeavor Group (top 50 ASX listed) as a technical business analyst -website https://www. endeavourgroup.com.au/
I was discouraged from applying the year before by a former manager, Michelle Kirkby reached out to me this year and encouraged me to apply, I’m grateful she took the time to phone me. As a young adult in the corporate world, you can sometimes be mistreated and overlooked, I feel opportunities like these allow us to stand outside of the crowd and acknowledge our achievements.
Being a finalist proves young talent exists, I get to showcase to others my age does not set boundaries, landing your dream job is not impossible, and being young does not stop you from being a good leader, I hope that I can be a reflection on others to pursue their goals and ambitions.
Oddly enough I enjoyed the interview process, it’s unlike a ‘job interview’ and more like a talent showcase, allowing you to audition your knowledge.
Michelle Kirkby almost deserves an acknowledgment herself, she was wonderful to all the finalists, very supporting and encouraging, she did make the journey that extra bit enjoyable.
A little about you as a person outside of work. Outside of work you will find me participating in many hobbies from designing and sewing garments, drawing and painting, to, exercising and restoring modern classic cars, I have many interests to keep me busy and a 14-year-old Dog who insists on coming everywhere with me.
I currently have a number of roles, but my primary role is as CEO of Axess Group, a Debt Collection and Credit Management agency specialising in both contingent and purchased debt.
I started with Axess at the age of 18, taking the position on a whim (quite frankly needing the money at the time), and expecting to stick around for a few months while I sought something better.
11 years later I find myself happily in the CEO position, currently undertaking a full company restructure to re-evaluate how we can develop better ways to help our clients in to the future.
For more info on Axess, you can visit our website. For more info on my progression at Axess, you can visit my LinkedIn
As well as this position, I am also a Director of a small Disability Support company (Supportr), which gives me enormous thrill, to be helping others in the community, as well as a Director of a fledgling solar energy company investigating new ways to bring solar and related technology to consumers (Tactical Energy Group).
I also sit on the Assessment Committee of the National Hardship Register, assisting to assess applications for addition to the register, and am an active Non-Executive board member of the Australian Collectors and Debt Buyers Association, working closely with the rest of the Board and CEO to bring value to members and better shape the collections industry.
I enjoy all of my positions immensely. Whilst they keep me very busy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Being able to talk with so many different people every day, and see so many new situations and problems to be tackled, gives me vast joy.
I had seen the adverts and other material for the YCP for years now, and very keenly watched for the last few years, however never actually considered applying myself. To be honest, I think Joshua Mann from CreditorWatch hit the nail on the head in my interview when he asked a question about if I had come across “Imposter Syndrome”.
I think we all come across something like this when we are the younger ones in the workforce. We are never really quite sure when we stop “guessing” and start “knowing”; It wasn’t until I realised that being 29 this year it would be my last opportunity that I bit the bullet. I really wish I had have done it years ago. It was such a rewarding experience, and I cannot overstate how much more confidence I now have in myself having done it.
I think the above answer probably says this best.
I think what I enjoyed most was the interview process. I confess I was so nervous I think I was shaking, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend to any future applicants to have an espresso right beforehand – that probably didn’t help the shakes either!
But once I got settled and started talking with Michelle, and got in to the room talking with the panel, I think what really struck me was how enjoyable it was
to be able to discuss the industry I love, with a bunch of people who inherently know what I am talking about.
I wasn’t the odd one out in the room anymore, talking about why Credit Management is so important; instead, I was “preaching to the choir”, and came away with some interesting ideas on the basis of some of the questions I was asked, which I wouldn’t have considered beforehand. It really was a great experience meeting and chatting with everyone.
I’m really not that interesting if I am honest. I love to read – oddly enough I read Court Judgments in my free time, I find the logic of the legal system to be incredibly calming – and probably enjoy my red wine a little too much – but don’t we all!
Otherwise, I am just a normal 29-year-old who probably spends a little too much time on the couch playing Breath of the Wild, or watching rubbish animated comedy. If you asked my 10-month-old dachshund (Humphrey) though, I am sure he would say I work too much, and don’t sit on the couch enough for his liking!
I work in the credit office for MM Electrical, a company established in 1916 in Port Kembla to manufacture Copper products in Australia. Today it is Australia’s biggest electrical wholesaler.
I just competed a Diploma in Credit Management with the Australian Institute of Credit Management, and heard about the YCP through the institute’s newsletter. Additionally, my manager has been a member of the institute for many years and put me forward to participate.
As I have only worked in the credit industry for a little over a year, being a finalist for YCP really solidified my passion for the industry and felt amazing to be recognised for what I have done so far.
I most enjoy the networking experiences and
opportunity to meet likeminded people throughout the process.
A little about you as a person outside of work.
I am recently engaged and in the midst of planning for my wedding next year.
Sponsor Interview Steven Staatz VincentsHow long have you been working with Vincents and what is your position in the company?
I have been with Vincents for just over 10 years, and I am the national head of the Insolvency and Reconstruction division.
Vincents is a firm of highly specialised experts on a mission to work with our clients to deliver comprehensive insights into complex situations and enable them to take control of decisions and get the best possible results. Established for over 30 years, our 45 directors and 200+ staff operate nationally from 6 office locations and service our clients Australia-wide – in fact wherever their business interests take them.
We are intentionally and proudly a fully integrated professional services firm, boasting access to expertise that caters for every business need where numbers are involved. From start-up to wind up, our experience and reputation for quality, integrity and timeliness provides services our client can trust.
Why did you choose to be divisional partner in Qld for the AICM?
Our relationship with AICM is one we place a lot of importance on because it gives us a platform to, as experienced insolvency accounting experts, continually aim to help value add and educate members to be in the best position to help their clients navigate difficult times (especially now).
It’s a great way to get involved in the credit community and to learn from and share ideas with likeminded professionals. Now more than ever it’s important that we stick together and use our collective skills to help as
many as we can to manage, mitigate and move forward from these challenging times.
Not sure which is most interesting: I have climbed two active volcanoes in two separate countries, or I have a black belt in tae kwon do.
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.
This is my first report as President of the South Australian Division and I would just like to say that I am incredibly honoured and proud to be leading our Division throughout the next year.
I have been a member of the AICM for a number of years now, and during that time have served on the council and was awarded the South Australian Young Credit Professional of the Year in 2020.
As we approach the end of this year, I look back and reflect on the hard work that the Council has done throughout the year to organise events and bring credit professionals together in what can only be described as uncertain times. It is clear that everyone is facing challenges on how to navigate through the impact of the pandemic on businesses and it is important that we lean on each other for support and guidance during these times.
We recently held an evening seminar on Best Practice Credit Management where we heard from a fantastic panel of credit and insolvency specialists. Lisa Anderson of Coopers Brewery, Ratibor Mirkovic of NCI Commercial Collections and Matthew Ormsby of SV Partners each gave some insight into how they have managed the past 6-12 months, and what they are expecting to happen in the next.
Thank you to our South Australian Council who were recently re-elected at our AGM – James Neate, Alice Carter, Neil Fennel, Gail Crowder, Clare Venema and Cameron Henderson and our National President Trevor Goodwin. We have also recently had two new Council members come on board namely, Rob Jackson and Adrian Stewart. We are very lucky to have your experience and support on the Council.
I would also like to offer a big congratulations to Clare Venema for being awarded this year’s South Australian Young Credit Professional of the Year and we are proud
to have her representing South Australia at nationals. Speaking of nationals, we are all very excited to attend an in person National Conference this year in Brisbane and I know that our National Office has been working tirelessly to put on a fantastic event. I am looking forward to catching up with everyone at the Conference in what will be a great end to 2022.
On Thursday the 11th of August, the South Australian Division of the AICM met up at the Bath Hotel in Norwood for the Young Credit Professional of the Year awards night. Clare Venema from People’s Choice Credit Union took home the prize and will be headed to Nationals. The Division’s runner-up Georgia Gray, Senior Associate at Lynch Meyer Lawyers, was an excellent candidate and has some truly impressive professional accomplishments worth celebrating.
Namely, not only is Georgia diverse in her delivery of dispute resolution, insolvency, and recovery advice to a broad range of clients, but she also is actively involved in her community, and is a 2022 Community Ambassador for Catherine House. Georgia has been a committee member of the Women’s Insolvency Network of South Australia since 2018, and is also a member of the Australian Restructuring, Insolvency and Turnaround Association. In 2021, Georgia was named as a finalist in the Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 Awards for insolvency.
With a focus on providing clients with exceptional service and cost-effective outcomes, the SA Division would like to take this opportunity to recognise Georgia as an excellent young credit professional, and a rising star in her field.
The SA Division is delighted to celebrate the 5 year membership anniversary of Eddie Bastiani, who is a Senior Associate at Oakbridge Lawyers. Eddie provides a client-centric approach to his role and balances both a commercial and pragmatic focus on his clients’ objectives. Eddie has the following perspectives and advice to share in reflection of his career and membership with the AICM.
Biggest professional accomplishment to date: Eddie’s biggest professional accomplishment to date was being successful in resolving a consumer law claim
brought against a client (which included, being successful in starting the proceedings on the basis that they were brought in the wrong jurisdiction and without pre-action meeting protocols taking place).
Eddie’s advice for emerging credit professionals: Eddie advises that working in credit can be tough, and to be persistent, learn from (and embrace) your mistakes and always strive to learn and improve your skills on the daily. Further, to not be afraid to ask others for help, and that you can never ask enough questions.
Eddie’s biggest professional challenge to date has been getting across all the case law in preference claims brought by liquidators and learning what to look for when acting on either end.
What being a member of the AICM has done for Eddie Being a member of the AICM has put Eddie in touch with like-minded individuals and given Eddie the opportunity to meet and strengthen his relationships with people and businesses in the credit industry that he might not have otherwise met.
Eddie enjoys spending time in nature and visiting wildlife parks with his wife and daughter. Eddie notes that making time for family and having a good work/life balance is important to leading a happy and successful life both in and outside of work.
The SA Division Council would like to take this opportunity to welcome Adrian Stewart from Australian Clutch Services as a new member of the Council’s subcommittee. Adrian has been a member of the AICM since 1986, completing his Credit Management Certificate at Sydney Technical College in 1985, and becoming a CCE in 2012.
Adrian’s biggest professional accomplishments to date has been implementing a credit policy at Landmark Operations while he was based in Melbourne, Centralising the Credit Functions and Policies for the South Australian Boral Group Companies, and reducing the overdue debt in his current role from 12.27% to 1.34%.
Adrian’s advice for emerging credit professionals: Adrian advises to join the AICM, keep updated with
legislation that affects their roles, continue their credit education by undertaking various training courses (such as CCE), and building their network of credit colleagues to bounce ideas around with.
Adrian’s biggest professional challenge to date: Adrian’s biggest professional challenge to date has been rolling out the Centralised Boral Regional Credit Team, incorporating various operating systems, and various differing credit policies.
What being a member of the AICM has done for Adrian Adrian says that being a member of the AICM has allowed him to keep up to date with legislation and making friends from all over Australia.
Adrian’s favourite things to do outside of work Adrian enjoys going on holidays in Penang, Malaysia, particularly the street food, along with relaxing at home and reading spy novels.
The SA Council is excited for Adrian to bring his professional expertise and experience and are very happy to have him on board.
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.
Thank you for choosing me to represent Victoria and Tasmania as President. I am so excited and honoured to help drive more member engagement and share credit knowledge across both states.
I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of both new and retiring volunteers because without them we would not be able to deliver the outstanding service we do for our members.
Firstly, I want to recognise the time and dedication that our previous President, Catrina Galanti provided on council. She truly shaped the council that we see today, and I am forever grateful for her guidance during my time on council. Catrina you will be truly missed by all of us.
I’d also like to acknowledge two previous council members Ricky Forster and Amaran Navaratnam. Ricky opened the credit conversation with businesses that had never been a member before and drove the consumer credit focus.
He was the 2021 DUX of CCE and he always put his hand up to help. Amaran was our leader in YCP and he mentored 3 nationals winners – Sunny Sharma, Rebecca Roberts and Daniel Alley. The two of you have left huge shoes to fill.
Today, I am supported by the incredible Mary Petreski, as my Vice President. Mary has a wealth of knowledge in credit and her commitment and passion for educating credit managers has been key to her exceptional work as the CCE portfolio manager. I am also thankful for my steadfast long time council experts, along with Mary you are the backbone to this council – Brian Kay, Robyn Erskine and Lou Caldararo.
We have 6 new council members this year and each of them are already making improvements in their portfolios. Welcome Alex Hawtin, Daniel Alley, Prue Greenfield, Sia Patouras, Rex Cheng and Maddi Basso.
This quarter we held a very eye opening and well received Economic Breakfast at the TurksLegal office in Melbourne. We also held our 2nd WINC luncheon
in Tasmania this month and we raised over $800 for our charity, “Dress for Success”. I’d like to thank our sponsors and our subcommittee, in particular Teena Ryan for helping make this event great!
Finally on behalf of all the councillors, we are all here for our members, so please reach out to anyone on council with your ideas on how to make our division even better. Looking forward to seeing you all at the conference!
– Michelle Carruthers MICM Division President VIC/TASOn Tuesday 16 August 2022, we had our credit update breakfast which was held at Turks Legal office. We had some fantastic panel speakers, Stephen Langhammer, Associate Director at Robert Half Consulting, Mal Pericic, Group Credit Manager at GWA Group Limited, Maddi Basso, Underwriting Team Leader at Moula and Vic/Tas YCP winner and Caleb Delaney, Associate at Turks Legal. Prue Greenfield, Principal Lawyer at Macpherson Kelley, chaired the event.
It was great to hear insights from recruitment, credit management and litigation experts about the challenges and current trends facing the credit industry. With rising interest rates, labour shortages, supply chain issues, insolvencies on the rise and staff retention and recruitment challenges, our panel gave us some insights into how they are dealing with these issues.
Stephen and Maddi gave some wonderful insights into what employees are seeking in their roles and also what employers can do to attract and retain talent. Mal gave some helpful insights into what it’s like on the ground and making the most of what we have and what we can control. Caleb spoke to us about the recent legal updates and in particular the importance of making sure terms and conditions are clear and not too one sided.
It was a great session and all attendees walked away with lots of valuable information to implement in their businesses. Thank you to our sponsors and in particular Turks Legal for hosting the event.
– Prue Greenfield MICM Principal Lawyer, Macpherson KellySam has been in the credit industry for over 26 years. He started in a part time role at Ansett Australia while studying at Swinburne University in the late 90’s. We asked him a few questions to get to know him better:
When I was 26, an email went around titled “Long Hot Summer” and it was a job offer to move abroad to Saudi Arabia as a Credit Manager. Initially, I didn’t have the confidence to go for it and then I thought more about it and put my hand up. It was the best thing I ever did.
The good thing about being overseas is dealing with different cultures, expectations and different ways of doing business. The hardest part was being able to adapt to change management and different ways of thinking to be able to get the most out of people and get the job done. For example, in Australia there is a lot more discipline about policy and procedures whereas overseas, especially in the developing countries I was working in, an agreement is made via a handshake or a relationship. The expat community was fantastic, and they really made me feel
very welcome. Subsequently, I worked across other countries and returned to Australia 7 years later.
In my current role, I look after a large business where I appreciate the time I have spent rolling up my sleeves, learning and understanding the complexities of the business and being astute to the social, political and economic climate. I’ve also grown a greater understanding of both our external and internal customers. I pride myself in taking time to develop staff members to keep them engaged and motivated. Having a strong team being able to transition into a remote working environment at short notice added a lot of value into what we do.
I enjoy the personal development, reading the magazine and spending time with industry veterans.
Say YES to every opportunity, especially if it’s to work abroad, the world is a competitive place. The experience you get from working overseas is invaluable in a global economy.
I enjoy being outdoors going for a ride and spending time with the family, with a couple of young ones there’s always a new activity around the corner.
Written by Michelle Carruthers MICM,
Originally, I started off owning 2 beauty salons, so I wasn’t in a finance related role at all! Through running the salons, I learnt all the back-office functions associated with running a business, which was my first exposure to finance.
I ended up moving out of the business, and then got an opportunity to work as a Business Development Manager at Commercial Credit Services. This was a challenge and a huge learning curve for me, but I learnt plenty on the job in the 6 and a half years I was there. I then briefly worked at NCI for a few months before moving on to a sales role at National Mercantile. I was there for roughly 18 months before starting my current role at Capital Logistics, which I’m really enjoying.
I really enjoy doing sales, my goal is to become a national sales manager.
A highlight would be the relationships I’ve built. I’m most proud of my ability to maintain strong, long lasting relationships with all my clients, as well as to develop a valuable extensive professional network.
I’ve found the networking opportunities at the AICM events to be invaluable, they’ve greatly assisted in developing my professional network. I’ve also found the events and magazines helpful with keeping up to date with all the latest news and legislation and found the educational resources to be helpful and relevant to my roles.
Outside of work I have 2 daughters, who I love to spend lots of time with. I spend a lot of time doing renovations, which kept me very busy during the lockdowns. I’m interested in investing, and I’m also in the process of opening a side business that sells tea with slimming and health benefits! I also love travelling and have a holiday in Thailand booked in for September, which I’m super excited for!
Vic/Tas Young Credit Professional of the Year
Maddi was enthusiastic and loved the opportunity to be in front of the judges.
Her passion for credit and responsible lending to help businesses thrive is clearly evident, and her hunger to learn from credit professionals around her early on in her career has served her well in her various roles and recent promotion after just 12 months of employment.
One of the key points when selecting a winner for the judges was how they will contribute to driving industry change, challenge the norms and impart knowledge through ongoing mentorship.
Maddi demonstrated foresight and a healthy curiosity about how the credit industry is changing. She has firsthand experience of the role of AI, introducing us to ‘Hector’, an AI driven analytical tool that reduced the time it would have traditionally taken to analyze data on a file from 1 hour to 1 minute. Yet acknowledging that such technology wouldn’t ultimately replace humans, just free them from the more mundane tasks so they could make better use of their time.
She demonstrated a clear understanding of credit risk and data science, knowing how to assess and interpret financial data whilst taking into consideration the impact of the external environment and balancing small business hardship. Maddi’s genuine communication style and interest in upskilling her team were demonstrated in her interview and proved she is a great role model for young professionals.
Well done Maddi!
Halle demonstrated she is a dedicated credit professional who is passionate about improving results for both her business and customers.
She had a really engaging manner drawing the judges in immediately to her passion and commitment, not just for credit, but extending into fitness, health, and fundraising.
Her focus and dedication to environmental sustainability is to be applauded and separate to her role of Client Services Manager, Halle is also the National Sustainability Manager. Halle oversees and manages NCI’s sustainability program company wide. Her interest in climate and environmental impacts will serve her well as climate continues to play a bigger part in credit and insurance moving forward. Halle also had interesting questions for the judges, seeking out our thoughts and insight as part of the interview process which was great!
The AICM would like to say a special thank you the outgoing council members Catrina Galanti, Ricky Forster and Amaran Navaratnam for their support and contributions to the Vic/Tas council over the years. We are ever grateful for value you’ve added and wish you all the best for the future!
We would also like to welcome in our new council members Alex Hawtin, Daniel Alley, Prue Greenfield,
Sia Patouras, Rex Cheng and Maddi Basso to the council, and look forward to seeing the exciting new ideas you’ll bring to your portfolios!
Also, congratulations to Catrina on the birth of her son Matteo.
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.
The Australian Institute of Credit Management welcomes our Partners for 2022 National Partners
Hard to believe that we have now rounded the final bend and are now starting to accelerate into the last quarter of the calendar year, with Christmas fast approaching! –is how I started my Presidents report for October 2021. What is even harder to believe that here we are again, 12 months later with the sun beginning to set on another eventful year.
With the divisional AGM now under our belt, your councillors have reaffirmed their commitment to leading your industry into the latter stages of the calendar year or early stages of the financial year, as is normal in our industry. As part of our AGM, and then our normal Council meetings since, the WA Council has discussed in depth our goals and objectives around membership growth and retention in an environment where the pool of credit professionals in the state seems to be in a constant state of decline. What is encouraging, is that our membership base is increasing, with a net growth for the 21/22 FY of 5.3%. With the business world now settling into post-covid ‘normality’, and appetites returning for in person events and activities, it is our strong belief that we will continue to build on this success and continue to increase our membership base as we move forward into the 2nd half of the FY and into 2023.
Together with this focus and goal on increasing membership base, comes the need to recruit and
welcome more members to the WA Council. Becoming a council member has many benefits and gives you the opportunity to contribute further to the industry and help shape the professional development and activities that benefit all our members. As a councillor, you will really be at the forefront of thought leadership and education in the industry – and it is the perfect way to be able to broaden your horizons in terms of professional networks and access to some of the most influential members and professionals in the country. Council meetings are held once a month and I welcome any member who may be interested in becoming a councillor to come along to one of our meetings as a guest. For as little as 2-3 hours per month, you too can help shape the future of our industry by sitting on the WA Council.
As in my previous report, our YCP event was repositioned this year as social and networking event, with an intimate group of members gathering in August at Holey Moley Northbridge for an evening of fun, frivolity and apparently some mini golf! Whilst I could sadly not attend myself, all reports point to a fantastic evening with a lot of fun and laughs had by all – see the article later in this edition for a full recap of the event. Thanks to all members that attended, we really do need to have more of these events in future (and we will). In terms of events for the forthcoming year, the Council
has been hard at work building the calendar – we have some great events and initiatives coming soon so please watch this space and show your support by getting involved.
And finally, on the eve of our first face to face National Conference in a number of years, there is a buzz around the AICM as members anticipate what is sure to be the biggest and best conference yet. It has been a while since we have been able to gather nationally as an institute and having the benefit of seeing the program before its release, I can promise you that it is jam-packed full of great content, speakers, topics and events – something to appeal to everyone. I am looking forward to reconnecting with many colleagues and friends again after all this time, and really do hope to see a big contingent from WA for this very important, and no doubt memorable event.
On Thursday 18th of August the AICM invited members to a social night out at Holey Moley in Northbridge for some Mini-Golf fun. The food was hot, the weather cool, the atmosphere fun and the courses (at times) frustrating.
Upon arrival we were greeted with a ball, a wristband and the always stylish AICM name badge. After some
getting to know one another, the group were led to the first hole. It was set up to look like the old board game: “Operation” where hitting the mouth hole would get a near hole-in-one – the problem being all of the other body-part holes on the way which would leave the ball near its goal but not in it.
And so on went the evening. Angles needed to be carefully considered and strength of each shot was also a major factor. As Credit professionals, careful consideration is a major part of our chosen vocation so it is surprising that the majority of members did not achieve a hole-in-one. Kevin Allen from Equifax was the ultimate champion of the evening and we congratulate him!
After all is said and done, an enjoyable experience was had by all and, as always, we thank those that braved the brisk weather to join us and hope that more members may attend next year’s event.
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.
I am honoured to be writing my first President’s report after recently being elected to the role. It is very important for me to recognise the service of outgoing NSW President Theresa Brown for her contributions to the council and AICM more broadly. For many years Theresa has and continues to be both mentor and friend and I am very thankful for her decision to stay on in the role as Vice President.
My objective as President is to continue the good work of the experienced council that I have the privilege of working alongside. My focus will be to be transparent and, seek input from all members so that we can continue to shape the AICM for the benefit of all. I welcome new ideas on how we can help you advance your career and look forward to speaking with as many members as possible so that I can best represent your interests. Other key changes to the council include the addition of rising star Stefanie Ross who has now formerly joined at our recent AGM. I’d like to thank Stefanie for volunteering and hitting the ground running.
With the announcement of NSW YCP winner James Mason we have confidence that NSW is a strong contender to bring home the national prize. We wish James the best of luck with the next step on the journey and call on all members to reach out to James and provide support and guidance. James brings with him a robust, analytical and contemporary understanding of credit management which I am sure will impress the judges. The YCP programme means a lot to me having inspired me to join the NSW Council and contribute to the Institute where I have met colleagues, mentors, and most importantly lifelong friends.
Thank you to the council and members for your confidence in me, I look forward to continuing to work together and I am very excited by what 2023 will bring.
– James Smith, NSW President
The NSW Young Credit Professional of the Year Awards Night was at Kittyhawk in the Sydney CBD. A classy event with lots of friends, family and colleagues coming out to support their finalists, the atmosphere was great. There were many excited and nervous faces.
After welcomes by the AICM CEO Nick Pilavidis and NSW President Theresa Brown, Rob Willoughby – NSW State Sales Manager at CreditorWatch introduced the finalists and provided the judges feedback on each.
Certificates were presented on their achievement of being a finalist. There was time for networking and were honoured to hear from one of our Life Members, Greg Odlum who was interviewed by Nick Pilavidis.
David Jovanov, National Sales Manager at ARMA –A Credit Clear company, shared his judging experience and commented on the high calibre of participants this year, which made the judging extremely difficult this year! David then had the wonderful pleasure of announcing the 2022 NSW YCPA winner going to: James Mason, Financial analyst from Wisr. James is a worthy winner, and we know he will represent NSW well in the upcoming National YCP round. GOOD LUCK!
The NSW Professional Development Seminar was an evening event at Rydges Parramatta on 11 August. Hosted by Theresa Brown our NSW President and Chaired by Dave Hunt, MICM, CCE.
Dave chaired a panel with three presenters and covered various topics that were top of mind for the audience. The background was the perfect storm the economic situation appears to be laying with issues around labour, the end of COVID financial assistance. Our presenters were Chris Williams, MICM CCE from Holcim, Mark Logue, MICM CCE from AMPAC Debt Recovery and Danny O’Neill from Creditorwatch.
There was a general consensus that the levels of insolvencies are likely to rise and Mark quoted one industry body forecast that predicts we would hit pre-COVID levels in the next 18-24 months. We were provided detail into how the ATOs disclosure of tax debts would interact with Credit Bureaus once businesses start engaging with them as well as many other tips, and advice. It was a fantastic learning opportunity for all.
It was also really good to host an event in the western suburbs, as it had been sometime, this was well received and we he had a great turnout!
We held this year’s AGM on 9 September 2022. It was held online, and well attended by both NSW members and councillor. NSW President, Theresa Brown welcomed everyone, gave a (very detailed) overview of the year, she thanked the ongoing support of the National, Divisional and supporting sponsors, gave an update on NSW membership and event performance and publicly congratulated James Mason on the NSW YCP win.
Another key agenda item was to elect and ratify roles within the 2023 council. Key changes were: l New President – James Smith l New Vice President – Theresa Brown l New Councillor – Stefania Ross
Held for the second consecutive year this event hosted by recently elected NSW AICM Council President James Smith and presented an opportunity for members to provide feedback and help to shape the 2023 calendar.
Members were introduced to our NSW YCP winner James Mason who spoke about his role at Wisr and presented himself as a strong contender for the national prize. Recent changes to the council were also discussed including the new President, Vice President – Theresa Brown and councillor Stefanie Ross. Members are invited to provide any additional feedback to the National Office or Council directly.
– sharing the feedback of our high runners-up The lead up to this years YCP has seen exceptional talent in our young credit professionals with James Mason as
our winner heading into the National round. In this edition we decided to share some of the achievements and judges comments of our other finalists.
Arnela’s role is Credit Analyst at TAFE NSW. She has three degrees including a Movement Science degree, a Master of Developmental Disability and a Diploma in Early Childhood Education. In her interview it was clear that credit has become a significant passion for Arnela and it has opened great opportunities for professional development. Being part of the YCP program has motivated her to encourage and empower more young people, especially women to get involved in this industry. The judges commented that Arnela had a great bubbly and positive personality and presented really well. They were impressed by her customer-centric outlook and her broad knowledge of credit and the collection processes.
Our youngest finalist, James hunt works as a Credit Controller at Holcim. Recent achievements included a downward trend of DSO of 10 days on average, a 25% in overall disputes/credit claims raised as a result of early intervention and a big project to reduce of 120+ days debt that saw an 80% drop over the last 12 months. The judges all agreed that James displayed great energy and industry awareness. He answered the questions from the judges calmly and demonstrated a good understanding of his role. It was clear that James enjoys his job and has a bright future ahead in the industry.
Chris is the lead for the Customer Care Team at IPF Digital. He displayed a passion for technology and automation in his interview. A notable achievement included when working as Fraud and Complaints Specialist, he was the key stakeholder that helped resolve two major AFCA investigation cases in favour of the business. Then he went on to on to save the business potentially tens of thousands of dollars in fraud loss by identifying a procedure gap.
The judges were impressed with Chris’s very confident and knowledgeable responses to questions. He brings
in positive changes to his organisation and the industry. Chris has achieved so much already within a short period of his credit tenure thus far.
Stefanie is an Accounts Receivable Specialist at Assa Abloy Entrance Systems. Since starting she has lowered the overdue debt exposure by an average of 15-20% for the ledgers she manages. She has successfully helped to integrate acquisitions for a smoother transition for the credit functions/AR team and debtor communications.
The judges commented that Stefanie is a great credit manager who displayed a focus on people and getting the basics right. They were pleased with the examples Stefanie provided of how she has helped to achieve great outcomes for her customers and the business.
A passionate, wonderful advocate for the AICM and has a strong understanding of credit process and policies made her a worthy finalist.
Colins role is Accounts Receivable Billing Officer, Rentokil-Initial. Always learning, Colin has become a superuser for in-house programs as he manages over
1,000 customers. Within 10 months of taking over his ledger the aged debt 90+ was reduced by $300k.
It’s clear that Colin is extremely passionate about all things collections. The judges could see that that he knows his business and the products they use very well, he then harnesses his investigation skills to best produce results. He showed an understanding of the importance of dealing with your customers with an empathetic view which the judges highly valued.
Fiona has been an AICM member since 2011 and recently chaired the NSW risk Seminar with other Credit Professionals. Fiona is a Partner in the Commercial Disputes & Litigation Team at Turks, a National Partner of the AICM. In interviewing Fiona, I learnt a lot as she is such a smart and fun Solicitor. This makes for a worthwhile read.
I started at Turks straight out of Uni in the Graduate Program. An opportunity came in the litigation team and the Partners felt I would be a good fit. I trusted the partners and they have been proven right. I have been here ever since. I’m lucky to have a great team around me of mentors, friends and colleagues which is important as it is a challenging role.
One of my highlights was the insolvency of Retail Adventures. There were unfair preferences and what’s called a “Mothership Proceeding”. This is where instead of pursuing multiple unfair preference claims against each unfair preference, one umbrella proceeding is pursued. The economies of scale can mean a greater return for the creditors. It was logistically challenging as we went through a series of mediations, settlements of discreet claims and recoveries. It was very interesting and our legal costs were contained.
The universal advice is to get involved in organisations such as the AICM, ARITA and the Law Societies. At an early-stage network with your peers and others in the industry. Seek out mentors as it makes a big difference to have someone to look up to, who will give you frank guidance on how to achieve your goals.
Some of our key clients such as trade credit insurers and work we did in the debt recovery space got me involved in the credit industry. I joined the AICM over 10 years ago. I have found that the conferences are always great. It is rewarding to contribute to events such as the Risk Seminar, breakfasts and the like. I enjoy meeting people at AICM events and find the membership very worthwhile.
I’m a huge fan of the arts so I enjoy spending time with family and friends at events. As a member of the Sydney Art Gallery, I am backing the industry and often attend the theatre or other shows.
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.
The Institute welcomes the following credit professionals who were recently admitted to membership between July and September.
Imran Akbar Schneider Electric Australia Pty Ltd
Kathryn Aliberti Atradius
John Athanasou Equifax
Amelia Bayliss Turks
Ece Bozkurt Transurban
Geoffrey Carter TurksLegal
Nisha Chadha Hanson Construction Materials Pty Ltd
Catherine Charter Omnicom Media Group
Analee Chua Hanson Construction Materials
Maria Isabel Cuevas Equifax
Nadine Cunningham Essilor Luxottica Pty Ltd
Jenn Doan Atradius
Janet Fenech Atradius
Steve Ferhad Holman Webb Lawyers
Luca Finotti Wisetech Global
Dalton Gismondi Transurban
Luke Graham Atradius
Maria Grigoriadis Hanson Construction Materials Pty Ltd
Samuel Gyimah Hanson Australia
Phebie Haroun Transurban
Bahar Hodges People In Alex Hsieh Atradius
Sweta Iyengar Atradius CYC
Gordon Kidd Atradius Credit Insurance Manish Kumar Holcim Australia
Christalla Lardis Hanson Construction Materials
Jason Lattouf Hanson Construction Materials Pty Ltd
Linda Lee Ovato Limited
David Lloyd Atradius CYC
Anita Lu Hanson Construction Materials Pty Ltd
Lauren Macfarlane Network Ten Pty Ltd
Dane McDonald Atradius
Chris Midlam NCML
Leyla Moone WiseTech Global
Jay Narang Hanson Australia
Julie Ostro Transurban
Georgette Piljek Southern Steel Group
Sherry Qian CreditorWatch Pty Ltd
Akib Qurashi Vinidex Pty Ltd
Alfredo Raimondo Atradius
Sumathi Ramalingam Rentokil Initial
Michael Rose IPF Digital Alana Schuback Hanson Australia
Fe Sison Mitsubishi Electric Australia
Kelvin Szto Atradius CYC
Gabrielle Tahhan Turks Legal
Claudia Tawil Turks
Arman Tecson Rentokil Initial
Thomas Threlkeld Atradius Lucy Tindal Turks Harina To
Lifehealthcare Distribution Pty Ltd
Bruna Trevisan Omnicom Media Group Australia
Elise Wells Schneider Electric Australia Pty Ltd
Erin Willcocks Hanson Construction Materials
Daniel Winiewski Atradius
Brenda Younes Equifax Ali Zoabi CreditorWatch
Queensland Douglas Bartholomew Agility Law Group
Monique Barton Endeavour Foundation Erin Blake Deloitte
Robyn Boniface Lactalis Australia Pty Ltd
Rex Brar PRA Group
Carly Bray Equifax Shanyn Bulger Fletcher Building
Domenic Capaldi Innovateaccess Sean Chung Gimmie Jessica Cunning PRA Australia Hanh Dang Cement Australia
Annette Dixon Nutrien Ag Solutions
Marcus Eustace PRA Group Australia
Micheal Gleeson Gimmie
Ryan Green Deloitte
Mackenzie Gunn Agility Law Group
Jason Hao Atradius Credit Insurance
Yvonne Hindson Schneider Electric Australia Pty Ltd Kimberly Ho Agility Law Group
Megan Jeffs Gimmie Sally Johnson Logix Engineering Pty Ltd Emma Jordan PRA Group
Paola Kruger QBE
Chrissy Lawson PRA Group
Anthony Lowe Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Kathryn Lyons Schneider Electric Australia Pty Ltd
Peta McInnes Volvo Group Australia Pty Ltd Caitlin Moore Equifax
Taleah Moriarty National Collection Services
Greg Nash Innovate Access
Maddison Nicholas PRA Group
Bianca Novelli Agility Law Group
Stephen Papst Dahlsens Group
Annie-May Paties Atradius
Nilanthi Perera Rodney Industries
Joshua Piancatelli PRA Group
Neesha Pierce Fin One Pty Ltd
Eugene Pieters Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA)
Leann Pilcher Queensland Country Bank
Lachlan Poulus PRA Australia
Michael Roworth Gimmie Cheree Sichter Trumps Pty Ltd
Makeba Silva Croce Oakbridge Lawyers
Jeremy Simpson PRA Group Sean Toohey Equifax Peter Tracey PRA Group
Marierose Villon Brisbane City Council
Arizona Watson SLF Lawyers
Gary Wong Australian Liquor Marketers South Australia
Sharon Anderson Schneider Electric Australia Pty Ltd
Meagan Duerden Lynch Meyer Lawyers
Kristen Glowik Philmac Pty Ltd
Georgia Gray Lynch Meyer Lawyers
Neriah Hockings Lynch Meyer Lawyers
Megan Marlow Bridgestone Australia Ltd
Kerry O’Donnell Bridgestone Australia Ltd
Stephanie Piantadosi Lynch Meyer Lawyers
Georgina Walter Schneider Electric (Australia) Pty Ltd
Jacinta Aisbett Haymes Paint Lynda Allen Lander & Rogers
Dheeraj Arora PFD Food Services Thomas Banfield Turks Vicki Caldarella Best Bar Pty Ltd Rex Cheng IAG
Peta Clark
Haymes Paint Shane Cook PFD Food Services Pty Ltd Lisa Cotela PFD Foods Beth Dahan PFD Foods
Alena Dobes Atradius
Kylie Fechner PFD Food Services Dianne Fitzgerald Haymes Paint Jenny Fuentes Moula Nicole Gleeson Woolworths Chandula Gonsalge Minor Hotels
Anna Hatzidakis PFD Food Services Pty Ltd Brenda Hobson Best Bar Pty Ltd Hannah Hogan Haymes Paint Pty Ltd Jacqui Holman Ball and Doggett
Rupa Jagannathan Atradius Credit Insurance Elle Jovanovic Dulux Group Australia Carly Kishere Melbourne Market Authority
Sonya Latham Clennett’s Mitre 10 Anna Lesueur Haymes Paint Chantelle Lisiecki Soulfresh APAC
Lynden McIsaac Dulux Group
Yiting Pan BlueScope Steel Ltd
Yuchen Peng Atradius Luljeta Rasimi Best Bar Pty Ltd Leanne Raymond IMCD
Thwe Mon Razak Atradius Credit Insurance Manuela Sanfilippo Surdex Steel Sunil Sathyanarayana Adidas Australia
Dhavala Sharma PFD Food Services Pty Ltd Roshni Sharma Acushnet Australia Pty Ltd Matthew Skeggs PFD Foods Cheryl Speedie Dahlsens
Susann Sutton PFD Food Services Pty Ltd
Zbigniew Szambelanczyk Kenworth DAF
Anneke Thompson CreditorWatch Adele Torr Lander & Rogers
Baph Tripp
GWA Group Limited
Abhijeet Waghmode recoveriescorp
Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd Qingxue Zhao Southern Steel Group
Graeme York
Andrew Brown Boomer Home Loans
Dario Brozovic Bestbar Reinforcements
Lea Cameron Capricorn Society Ltd
Czarina Coquilla FinTech Services Australia
Toby Devenish Wesfarmers Kleenheat Gas
Carl Earls Atradius
Leonard Fong Capricorn Society Ltd
Kim Greygoose FinTech Services Australia
Marie Harrison Fair Go Finance
Lucas Henley FinTech Services Australia
Madisson McCrystal FinTech Services Australia
Yvonne McTegart FinTech Services Australia
Cameron Miller Equifax
Angelene Neville Capricorn Society Ltd
Catherine Osborne Best Bar Pty Ltd
Shvetaben Parekh Jacana Energy Northern Territory Government
Wendy Proudfoot Fair Go Finance
Paula Risk
Tarlia Spadaccini Capricorn Society Limited
Kelvin Teh Capricorn Society Ltd
Grace Welch QBE Overseas
Ross Borrill Centrix
Dale Chetty Schneider Electric NZ Ltd
Daniel de Vries Centrix Group Ltd
Jonna Harkin Atradius Australia
Sally Hu Adidas
Brodie Hutton Centrix
Elsa Liu Adidas
Miriana Lowrie 1Centre Limited
Gillian Rountree IMCD New Zealand Limited
Sylvia Xue Adidas
Yannie Yang Adidas Lindsay Yu Adidas
Members continue to be informed of the latest news in credit, regulatory changes and receive insights to best practice from leaders in the industry.
Members receive complimentary registration to our webinar series valued at over $300! The value from this member benefit alone covers the majority of your membership fee.
Receive a member discount for all AICM events and training courses. The more engaged you are with us, the more you’ll save and have your membership to thank for it.
Being a member will provide access to resources that will assist in navigating the ever-changing business economic and regulatory environment. This includes articles, reports, webinars and our quarterly magazine.
Last but not least, join our growing professional credit community which has reached over 2800 members for the first time in the last 17 years! Interact with fellow credit professionals to build relationships and tap into credit management insights.
Do you manage or work within a team? AICM offer a group membership for organisations to enrol multiple employees as members at discounted rate.
Level 5, 35 Clarence Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: 1300 426 722
Email: info@4ampac.com.au Web: www.4ampac.com.au
AMPAC Debt Recovery is a specialist debt collection practice supporting organisations around Australia and in over 180 countries worldwide. With decades of experience and global reach, AMPAC is a trusted partner to some of Australia’s highest profile private and public sector organisations. Call or email us to next time you are reviewing your debt recovery needs.
Tel:
Email: wbj@cmacollect.com
Web: www.cmacollect.com
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.
2059 Moggill Road, Kenmore, QLD 4069
Tel: 1300 831 331
Email: team@accessintel.com.au
Web: www.accessintel.com.au
Access Intel provides instantly consumable risk insights to businesses that extend credit. Our advanced technology platforms offer professional digital trade applications, powerful multi bureau decisioning, easy one click PPSR and transparent creditworthiness monitoring for all customers.
End to end credit management. Single sign on. Clear competitive monthly subscription. No establishment fee.
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.
GPO Box 276
Sydney NSW 2001 Tel: 1300 501 312 Web: www.creditorwatch.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 DEMO of any of products.
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 tools they deserve!
Esker’s AR solutions help companies reduce cost for invoice delivery, accelerate 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.
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.
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.
Tel: 13 23 33
Web: www.illion.com.au
Renowned for our expertise in credit risk management, we pride ourselves in providing market leading products and services which securely store and analyse the unique data of millions of individuals and commercial entities.
While we specialise in credit risk assessment and decisioning software solutions, we also provide a full suite of products that span the entire credit lifecycle. This includes lead generation and sales prospecting tools and receivables optimisation solutions.
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.
TaleFin Tel: 1300 284 193 Email: info@talefin.com Web: www.talefin.com www.linkedin.com/company/talefin
TaleFin is Australia’s fully comprehensive credit reporting agency.
We can help you to identify the reasons to say ‘yes’ to your customers, increasing your conversion rate, while helping you to reduce your arrears rate. TaleFin – Fit for the 21st century, we’re the home of fair credit reporting.
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.
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.
BRI Ferrier
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
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.
Level 34 Santos Place, 32 Turbot Street
Brisbane QLD 4000
Tel: 1300 766 563
Web: www.vincents.com.au
Vincents is a firm of highly specialised experts delivering comprehensive insights into complex situations, enabling our clients to take control of decisions and get the best possible results.
Established for over 30 years, we operate nationally from 6 office locations and service clients Australiawide. We are intentionally and proudly a fully integrated professional services firm, boasting access to expertise that caters for every business need where numbers are involved. From start-up to wind up, our experience and reputation for quality, integrity and timeliness provides services that you can trust.
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.
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: Claire Kasses
Direct: +61 2 9174 5727
Email: claire@aicm.com.au
Tel: 1300 560 996
2 9174 5727
Level 4, 183 North Quay Brisbane QLD 4000
Tel: 1300 757 534 Web: www.resultslegal.com.au
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.
Tel: 02 8257 5700
Web: www.turkslegal.com.au
Contact: Daniel Turk
Turks 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.
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.
