Glen Bullivant on why Credit Management is the 'heart' of a business

Speaking to CBN ahead of the upcoming 3rd Credit Risk Forum by Infocredit Group in Nicosia, expert Glen Bullivant FCICM, CCM (Germany) explained why risk management is fundamental to profitable success in any business.

Among other things, the Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management, UK and Vice President and Executive Board Member, CICM, also talks about how important it is to recognise that Credit Management is the “heart” of the business.

The 3rd Credit Risk Management Forum will be taking place in Nicosia on Tuesday, 21 November. Although Bullivant’s keynote speech and some of the other addresses will be in English, the event will mostly be in Greek. More details can be found at the end of this interview.

You will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming 3rd Credit Risk Management Forum. What do you consider some of the reasons risk management is so crucial for today’s businesses?

Risk management is fundamental to profitable success in any business which grants credit to customers to encourage and support growth. Today is no less important than yesterday – indeed difficult trading conditions expose weaknesses which should be targeted as a priority to ensure profitable success. Satisfied customers are much more likely to pay, and pay on time, and businesses should ensure that staff are fully supported in every aspect to achieve that aim.

Can you, briefly, outline some of the themes you will be exploring in your keynote speech at the Forum, “IF THINGS DON’T ALTER – They will stop as they are!”?

The theme is quite simply knowledge – know your own company. How is our product made and supplied, our service undertaken and maintained? Who are the key employees and systems and where are the bottlenecks? Know your customer, their market place, their importance to you and you to them. Overall, the emphasis will be on everyone working together with the sole aim of customer satisfaction and eliminating any reasons for a customer not paying.

Within your role at the Chartered Institute of Credit Management (CICM), how do you, briefly, view the current state of the credit and collections sector? For example, has it been impacted by inflation and the rise in interest rates?

High interest rates and inflation impact every aspect of a business operation, but in reality the role of the credit and collections function is as vital as it has always been. Cash flow is critical and just as the heart pumps blood through the veins to keep the body alive and well, so the movement of funds through the corporate body does the same. In the UK we are seeing the highest level of business failures since the financial crisis of 2008/9 and the double whammy of Covid-19 followed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created conditions, worldwide, not experienced for many years. It is even more important to recognise that Credit Management is the “heart” of the business, and as said above, difficult trading conditions highlight and reveal weaknesses in processes, operations and people – all of which can be rectified by training and support.

What are your predictions for the sector’s development over the coming years?

Digitalisation, technological advances and the continued development of Artificial Intelligence will enhance the way in which the sector will progress in the future. Change in practices will undoubtedly follow, but the fundamentals of credit management will remain people focussed. In order to successfully embrace the advances, we need to have people equipped to both understand and utilise. At the very basic level, all innovations over the last decades have been more than useful tools to add to the credit manager’s tool kit and the collection manager’s workbench. It will be even more important to remember, however, that such developments will help influence the decision making process – they do not dictate that decision.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

In my many years in this wonderful profession, I have seen credit management, credit control and collections move from a perceived “back office” function, not admired and not understood, to the forefront of successful integration into the company business culture – vital, recognised and rewarded. The Chartered Institute of Credit Management has been and remains the engine room of that development. CICM is proud to be a founding member of the Federation of European Credit Management Associations (FECMA) and be part of that business culture transformation throughout Europe.

More information on the 3rd Credit Risk Forum by Infocredit Group:

Date: Tuesday 21 November 2023

Venue: Filoxenia Conference Center

Organiser: Infocredit Group

Platinum Sponsor: Allianz Trade

Gold Sponsor: Coface

Silver Sponsors: Intertrust, Stylianos Christoforou & Co Law Firm

Bronze Sponsor: Hellenic Bank

Software Sponsor: Powersoft

Supporters: Nicosia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI), Cyprus Integrity Forum, Malta Association of Credit Management (MACM), Cyprus Employers & Industrialists Federation (OEB), The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC), FEBIS, Presse Café

Communication Sponsors: INBusiness, CBN

Coordinator: IMH

Click here for more information on the event and to register to attend.