In Focus Consumer Credit


Manager or magician?


What is the role of the ‘manager’ in today’s modern ‘credit management’?


Diana Keeling Head of credit, Ian Williams diana.keeling@ianwilliams.co.uk


As October approaches, I always look forward to speaking at CCRInteractive and this year was no exception. I was asked to speak about the role of the manager in credit… easy, or so I thought! As I spent time developing the theme, the


more I realised the role of a manager, in this industry, has changed dramatically. Remember the good old days? Or were


they the bad old days? Credit control: piles of statements, letters, negative credit controllers, and hard collections. I know this still exists: do you ever cringe when someone advertises for a ‘credit control manager’?


The world changed Credit management came into being a few decades ago as the world changed and we entered the global economy and the start of regulatory framework. In the twenty-first century, our roles vary


from business to business: l Standalone, small teams, or large teams? l UK, EMEA, or global? l Order-to-cash or back end of the business? l B2B, B2C, international, or maybe a combination of them all? l The ‘sales prevention team’ or ‘business growth team’? l Soft customer-centric or hard collections? l Offshore, outsourced, multisite, or shared service centre? l Regulated or unregulated? To survive in this new arena, it is no


longer enough to be able to be good at maths, talk to people, and muddle along with the management of staff by setting a few objectives to monitor. Our industry has changed dramatically


and the Institute of Credit Management achieved Chartered status – this is a profession, and one that is critical to modern business.


20


It is no longer enough to be able to be good at maths, talk to people, and muddle along with the management of staff by setting a few objectives to monitor


‘Cash is king’, or whatever euphemism is


used, our profession fuels business growth whilst minimising risk and ensures a good return on investment for any shareholders.


Abracadabra! The onset of the technological era has also changed our world: no longer chained to our desk in the office, the work environment is now totally flexible. Working from home and mobile working are now the norm, well-known coffee shops


www.CCRMagazine.co.uk


The magic Now the magic comes into play: welcome to the twenty-first century! l Order-to-cash manager – our roles interact with, or manage, the order-to-cash process. From onboarding, decisioning, invoicing, accounting, collections and dunning cycles, and credit monitoring, through to legal and bad-debt collections. These processes may be in-house or outsourced to a business partner which specialises in that part of the cycle.


January 2018


and hotels included. So what skills do we need? A fascinating question! One of the best presentations I have ever


seen, at a credit event many years ago, talked about the qualities of a top-class credit manager. It was simple: 20% technical skills and 80% personality! Correct! Core skills are still needed: accountant,


lawyer, customer-service manager, diplomat, peace maker, insolvency practitioner; the professional exams and training courses cover these core skills.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52