The Analysis News & Opinions
‘Public contracts must promote payment’
Public-sector contracts should include clauses to ensure that larger businesses pay their suppliers more quickly, according to a major trade associations. The Association
of Accounting
Technicians (AAT) has released a new white paper which offers guidance on how firms can be more responsible, and which also suggests that organisations need to avoid a ‘race to the bottom’ in procurement. The white paper makes a suggestion that
organisations in the public sector should specify in contracts that any business which wins a contract from them must commit to paying their supply chain quickly. This would be a way to help smaller
businesses which often struggle with being paid late by their suppliers, which is a big problem for the UK’s small businesses. AAT has also previously recommended
that the Prompt Payment Code should be made compulsory for all organisations with more than 250 staff, and its payment terms halved to 30 days, to help end the problem of late payments. Another suggestion is that, while there are
now more attempts in the public sector to try and create social value, more consistency needs to be applied because it varies too much between government bodies, local authorities, and different regions. The white paper cautions organisations
should avoid a ‘race to the bottom’ by always choosing the cheapest bid for procurement, and that a goal should instead be to look at which bids offer the most value socially and as a whole, rather than just financially. Adam Williamson, head of professional
standards at AAT, said: “We have committed to being a more responsible business, and through our actions, such as gaining
accreditation from the Living Wage Foundation, signing up to the Women in Finance Charter and the Prompt Payment Code, and becoming a member of Accounting for Sustainability we hope to lead by example. We aim to inspire others to do the same, and this white paper suggests some ways that this could be done.” Other recommendations outlined in the
white paper are that: l There needs to be an agreed measurement of social value in business, so organisations can understand how projects can contribute to a wider good, rather than just financially. l There needs to be stronger protections for whistle-blowers, so that employees who see their organisations acting irresponsibly are not afraid to come forward. lThere needs to be a recognition that tax in the system is good, and that it helps wider society. l There needs to be investment in people whose job it is to find social value in businesses.
Become Revolutionary at
www.CCRMagazine.com. December 2018
www.CCRMagazine.com Opinion
Major difficulties, but hope, for high-street stores
Last month’s report from PwC confirms the conclusion that can be drawn from the slowly drawn out story about the high street. More stores are closing their doors than opening them. This is an obvious conclusion to anyone who still battles the traffic jams and high parking costs to visit their local high street. The research highlights the plight of retail chains with more than five outlets including restaurants such as Jamie’s Italian. The picture that is painted is bleak. However, the opportunity and the hope
for the high street lies on its fringes, in the spaces where rents are cheaper and the terms are not necessarily as risky for the smaller and independent retail entrepreneur. These independents are offering the entertainment, the distinctiveness and the variety that chains so quickly give up for the sake of efficiency and consistency. The rise of consumer power and the
ability to share this through social networks has also brought a rejection of this very same consistency. This rejection has a double impact for retailers when the fixed and safe spaces of shopping centres that they occupy become regarded as the very symbols of boring shopping experiences. There is hope. Manchester’s Northern
Quarter, Crouch End, Hastings Old Town and others all show that there is a future for an independent, local, and invigorating ‘offline’ high street, even if that experience must exist on the fringes of online and mainstream retail.
Dr Gordon Fletcher Retail expert, University of Salford Business School
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