The regional chairman of the Institute of Credit Management has welcomed the grant of a Royal Charter to the 75-year-old organisation.

As the Chartered Institute of Credit Management (CICM), it will continue to promote the role of credit management and collection, and to champion prefessional credit managers in their career development.

Richard Brown of Buttsbury Consulting in Billericay, chairman of the CICM branch covering Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, said: “Recognition affirms the quality and integrity of our institute, our qualifications,and our members, and the critical role they play in supporting local businesses.”

Mr Brown and branch vice-chairman Carol Baker of House of Words, based at Hutton, near Brentwood,representing the branch at an event at the House of Lords to mark the granting of the Royal Charter.

To attain the charter, the ICM had to demonstrate the tangible support that its members deliver, and

the high level of qualification they are expected to achieve.

It also had to demonstrate a track record of achievement, and was helped by such initiatives as the Managing Cashflow Guides, the Prompt Payment Code (PPC), and the Start up Loans Company in which the Institute has been closely involved. The issue of “public interest” also had to be addressed.

The CICM is Europe’s largest association for the credit management profession and its elevation to

chartered status was supported by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) with which it

works closely on supporting business growth and for whom it manages the PPC.

Other supporters included

the Insolvency Service, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), and the

Credit Services Association (CSA).

CICM members across the UK manage an estimated £4trillion of trade debt each year (based on the last

filed report and accounts of 3,000 or so firms employing CICM members). This figure excludes the total of

consumer debts being managed, estimated to be in excess of £60billion.