In Focus Risk


Making a stand


How can the credit industry play its part in the fight against modern slavery?


Caroline Asquith- Turnbull Credit manager, Blur Group carolinea@blurgroup.com


Lithuanian men who had been sent to work in a poultry factory. Wales and Scotland have had similar results. In these early stages, the headlines are


shocking, but only stand to escalate as the momentum increases. The government did announce, in


September 2017, that it has pledged £20m to say ‘enough is enough’. The money is to go towards a global fund and, in October, it pledged £3m to assist in the prevention of trafficking of girls for brothels. My questions when I first became aware


of the issue were: what is the relevance, apart from the Slavery Statement, to our companies? What can we do, how can we incorporate the awareness into our daily routines and into our credit control and credit management?


In businesses There are several ways we can be a part of this crackdown. A place to start could be awareness within company employment, with HR and management looking out for these symptoms. Professionally, we can step up criteria for our business dealings both within the UK and abroad. Thorough credit checking is a barrier to


some groups and may filter out a marginal amount of potential suppliers. Industries incorporating high percentages


of modern slaves, in the UK, are food processing, fishing, agriculture, construction, domestic and care workers, as well as car washes. This increases the reason for procurement


to check suppliers, which is an area that many companies overlook as a part of their credit policy.


January 2018 www.CCRMagazine.co.uk


Credit policy A credit report alone has not been adequate recently. It is now easy to set up limited companies and keep accounting up to date, establishing ‘professional’ and ‘reputable’ firms; so deep investigation is recommended. When a new customer, or supplier,


makes an application, the credit reference agency is the first stop. The second is the director’s report, then why not follow up with the best free and fast tool available, Google Maps and Google Earth? A quick address check on Google could


help. You would expect to see business premises well kept and in a business or commercial area, this may not always be the case. For the purpose of this article, I popped an address of an already rejected application


for a potential supplier into Google. I found a run-down property, a house in extreme disrepair, torn curtains in the windows, and very expensive cars on the drive. Once the other research was complete and the date stamped on the picture was checked, I supported the rejection. The Google picture was two months


old, and the supporting address from the accountant was a similar story. The other research into the company left me with an uneasy feeling. Looking at the property is not enough


on its own. There could be mitigating circumstances, such as a new property purchased and cars belonging to new owners checking a work assessment. This could easily be the case, but if it were, the other evidence could have shown a more reputable company and a quick conversation with the applicant can confirm, along with a visit from the sales rep. A point worth remembering is that a


A credit report alone has not been adequate recently. It is now easy to set up limited companies and keep accounting up to date, establishing ‘professional’ and ‘reputable’ firms; so deep investigation is recommended


business which is ‘up to no good’ will be supported by contacts which are also ‘up to no good’. The accountant used will also be of the same calibre, therefore, why not Google the accountant’s address as well? References will also need closer scrutiny. This will only take a few moments. When in doubt, send the rep out! This is a small example, but vigilance by


the credit team can help the company stand by the Anti Slavery Act and their company statement. Much needs to be done in order to bring


this under control, which will require a considerably larger investment globally, and a determined approach from a united global society in general. CCR


41


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