In this webinar Philip King (Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management) and Colin Sanders (Head of UK Operations at Graydon UK Ltd) explain how to avoid bad debts and maximize potential for sales.

1. ‘How to prevent bad debt and
maximise profit’
Colin Sanders
Welcome to the webinar
We will start at 02:00 p.m.
Philip King

2. Introduction
• About CICM
& Graydon
• Presentation
• Discussion
• Q&A
Philip King & Colin Sanders

3. About CICM
www.cicm.com
• Europe’s largest professional association for the credit community.
• Expertise for all credit and collections matters, it represents the
profession across trade, consumer and international credit, and all
credit-related services.
• We help organisations manage credit and maximise cash collection
efficiently.
• Highest standards in range of training and regulated qualifications
that have become the recognised standard in the credit
profession.

4. About Graydon
www.graydon.co.uk
• Graydon believes that transparency boosts trust between businesses.
• Convert data from diverse data sources into information. Based on this
information, we generate invaluable economic, financial and
commercial insights that help our customers make better business
decisions and ultimately gain competitive advantage.
• Leading provider of credit information to the business community, a
trusted supplier and recognised as one of the leading CRA’s in the UK
by our clients and the credit insurance sector for providing information.

5. Before we move on….
What is bad debt prevention and
what do we mean by profit?

6. What does it take to be a Savvy Credit
Manager? The agenda:
Understanding Credit Risk
1. How to analyse your (potential) customer throughout the life cycle
2. How to use (credit) information that will grow your business
3. How to handle sales pressure and stick to the facts
4. How to spot and prevent fraud
5. How to think outside of the box

7. 1. Analyse the (potential) customer
throughout the life cycle

8. “It’s not just about the maths
and assessment never ends.”

9. Check the customer during the life cycle
Credit
Marketing
Acquisition
Account
management
Collections
• Pre checks with reliable data sources to
acquire profitable customers
• Continually assess your customer through
analytics
• Keep the dialogue alive with your customer
and sales
• Stick to simple guidelines to always Know
Your Customer (KYC)

10. “The key is to really know
your customer.”

11. 1. Be aware, that you can never know enough
2. Take emotion out of the system by following simple guidelines
3. Analyse new and existing customers
4. There is no such thing as a brand new business
5. Ask questions about the history
6. Use both internal and external data sources to investigate
Key pointers to KYC

12. 1. Check the company when you want to do business
2. Set up a policy for monitoring your customers
3. Use different internal and external sources
4. Align and combine different sources to get a 360 degree view
5. Communicate your credit policy internally
Checklist KYC Guide Lines

13. “There is no such thing as a
brand new business.”

14. 2. How to use (credit) information
to grow your business?

15. Poll
I share credit information across different departments, like
marketing and sales:
Always
Sometimes
Never

16. “Knowing all about your
customer and market is
not a one stop shop.”

17. Use internal data sources
CRM
Marketing database
ERP
Sales dialogue

18. Use external data sources
Credit information
Credit insurers
Credit insurance brokers
Competitors
Market trends
Social and web sources

19. What's your risk appetite?
Credit insurers
Credit insurance brokers
Competitors
Social and web sources
Credit
Risk
Policy
Company Vision
Long term goals
Executive input
Risk appetite
Growth targets
ROI targets
Credit Underwriting standards
Regulatory requirements
Collateral requirements
Operational standards
Process description
Accountability

20. 3. How to handle sales pressure
and stick to the facts?

21. Poll
How would you describe your alignment with sales to
improve your insights on markets and customers?
Very good
Good
Average
Bad
Very bad

22. “Sales are the life blood of any
organisation. You don't sell,
you don't make profit, it’s as
simple as that.”

23. 1. Sales and credit professional need to understand each other’s
role within your organisation
2. Don’t just say no to a deal, but look for solutions (like pro
forma/cash basis deals)
3. Make sure they understand why a no is a no
4. Communicate your credit policy with sales
5. Make sure sales uses financial insights to know what the
profitable markets and customers are
How to handle sales pressure and improve
business?

24. 4. How to spot and prevent fraud?

25. Poll
How often do you check your procedures to ensure you
avoid fraud?
Quarterly
Half yearly
Yearly
Biyearly
Hardly ever

26. “The job of credit
managers and
controllers has changed
due to the risk of fraud.”

27. Situation:
• Application received by our timber client requesting 40K and XXXXX company for 100K. Also, XXXXX company for 15K.
Signature on 31 May 15 accounts is not the same as signature on all apps.
• Trading allegedly changed from meat transporters to building houses. They also have an outstanding debt with a major
sugar supplier who are owed £150K. They have approached several timber customers.
Prevention:
• Research by Graydon on facts.
• Could not find old website, date of establishment does not correspondent with Graydon database.
Result:
• Prevented a fraud deal of 155K.
Case study (1): James H. Yates

28. Case study (1): James H. Yates
• And these were the supposed
trading premises.
• Note the “To Let” sign

29. Yes, this really was a company that
was set up.
Note the trading address. Isn’t this
near to where “Del Boy” and “Rodney”
lived?
Case study (2): Deltacap

30. There are many tips to avoid fraud, many more in the book but here are just a few:
A. Scrutinise the application form. Has it been completed in full? Do take up
references. Fraudsters expect you not to.
B. Check signatures from the application form against Companies House
documentation.
C. Validate VAT numbers.
D. Check supposed trading premises via “Google Earth”. You can spot virtual offices
quite easily from this as well as spotting empty premises which are allegedly being
used.
E. What type of telephone number is being used? A mobile number? Non-geographical,
i.e., 0345, 0845 etc.
How to prevent fraud?

31. Now here is a very suspect credit application

32. 5. How to think outside of the box?

33. “The key is to have your
policy and sources in
place, but never forget to
use your common
sense.”

34. • Research, research and research some
more
• Know both your customer and their
industry sector
• It’s not always about the maths
• If it looks too good to be true, it probably
is
• Get the “now” situation on your customer
/prospect
Key pointers
• Work with sales, not against them but....
• If that sales application is not 100% complete,
reject it!
• Take up trade refs but remember, an independent
one is pure Gold
• Training is available, use it to stay up to date on
procedures
• Complacency is the mother of bad debts

35. Any questions? Please contact us
or download the guide:
www.graydon.co.uk/downloads
colin.sanders@graydon.co.uk
ceo@cicm.com www.graydon.co.uk
www.cicm.com