Irish business judgments decline

30th April 2019 Commercial Credit Management |

Latest figures released by the Registry Trust shows that the number of business debt judgements declined in Ireland during Q1 2019. The number, total value and average value of judgments registered against businesses in Ireland in Q1 2019 were the lowest on record for a first quarter-year, with 112 judgments registered, eight fewer than the…

Read more

Seventeen businesses removed from prompt payment code

29th April 2019 Commercial Credit Management |

Action on companies who fail to meet the standard of the Prompt Payment Code (PPC) has seen 17 companies removed or suspended from the Code during the past quarter, the Chartered Institute of Credit Management (CICM) has announced. Thousands of companies who sign up to the Code, administered by CICM on behalf of the Government,…

Read more

HMRC applied to shut down over 4,000 businesses last year

25th April 2019 Commercial Credit Management |

The HMRC applied to shut down 4,160 businesses in 2018, due to these UK businesses having “fallen behind” on their tax payments last year. according to new statistics by Funding Options. The report cited that HMRC has been too aggressive in their approach when shutting down businesses. Conrad Ford, CEO of Funding Options. said “The…

Read more

Number of Insolvency director disqualifications for misconduct remains stable

23rd April 2019 Commercial Credit Management |

The Insolvency Service has published its latest enforcement outcomes. The statistics show that the total number of directors disqualified for misconduct remained around the same as in 2017/18. The average period of disqualification obtained fell slightly compared to 2017/18. The number of bankruptcy and debt relief restrictions was broadly flat compared to 2017/18. The average…

Read more

CMA recommends changes to the UK audit market

18th April 2019 Commercial Credit Management |

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published its final report with recommendations to address serious competition problems in the UK audit industry. Legislation is needed to address both the vulnerability of the industry to the loss of one of the Big 4, and the current inadequate choice and competition. The CMA is recommending the…

Read more

Holland & Barrett poor payment practices highlighted in government report

9th April 2019 Commercial Credit Management |

The Small Business Commissioner, Paul Uppal, has highlighted poor supplier payment practices at Holland & Barrett, following the publication of his report into a late payment complaint made by a small business. The official complaint was logged with the Small Business Commissioner by the London-based technology consultancy after Holland & Barrett failed to pay a…

Read more

Dun & Bradstreet confirmed as a HM Treasury designated CRA

25th March 2019 Commercial Credit Management |

Dun & Bradstreet has been confirmed as a designated Credit Reference Agency (CRA) by HM Treasury and is one of four CRAs able to receive credit data from the designated banks. The commercial credit data sharing scheme was launched as part of the UK Government’s commitment to support SME growth and requires nine leading banks…

Read more

NAO: Regulators could be failing consumers

20th March 2019 Consumer Collections |

A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found that the four main regulators – Ofwat, Ofgem, Ofcom and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – understand the significant difficulties facing consumers across utilities, communications and financial services markets, but cannot prove if they are effectively responding to consumer concerns or offering enough protection for…

Read more

One in four SMEs see political uncertainty as growth barrier

15th March 2019 Commercial Credit Management |

Almost one in four SMEs see political uncertainty as one of the biggest obstacles facing their business, according to a major survey of over 4,500 small firms. The latest BVA BDRC SME Finance Monitor has found that 24 percent of SMEs now see political uncertainty as a major barrier to their business going forward, up…

Read more

SPRING STATEMENT: Small firms welcome late payment action

14th March 2019 Commercial Credit Management |

Large companies will have to report on their payment practices every year in the first step of a crackdown to end small businesses being paid late, the Chancellor has announced as part of the Government’s spring statement. Philip Hammond said the Government will require companies to review their payment practices through their audit committees, with…

Read more

Compliance and procurement professionals confidence declines

13th March 2019 Commercial Credit Management |

Dun & Bradstreet’s 2019 Compliance and Procurement Sentiment report finds that confidence around the effectiveness to prevent fraud, manage regulation & Brexit-related change and identify environmental, social and governance concerns (ESG) has dropped. The findings show that confidence in the current effectiveness of compliance and procurement decision makers is down 7% since June 2018, with…

Read more

SPRING STATEMENT: Small firms want the Government to act on late payment

13th March 2019 Commercial Credit Management |

Small businesses want the Government to use today’s Spring Statement to show that the Government is serious about tackling poor payment practices in the UK. At last year’s Spring Statement, a Call to Evidence on late payments was announced with the Chancellor pledging that the Government would eliminate the scourge of late payments. This pledge…

Read more

FCA announces increase in FOS award limit

8th March 2019 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) will soon be able to require financial services firms to pay significantly more compensation to consumers and businesses. From 1 April, the current £150,000 limit will increase to £350,000 for complaints about actions by firms on or after that date. For complaints about…

Read more