Western Australia/Northern Territory

President’s Report

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.

State Activity report

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.

The Australian Institute of Credit Management welcomes our Partners for 2022

National Partners

Divisional Partners

Official Division Supporting Sponsors

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