In CM’s Business Finance feature, Ant Persse of Optimum Finance adapts a presentation he gave to the CICM Think Tank and outlines why Invoice Finance is the unsung hero of funding for growth.

CICM announces the launch of the Members’ Financial Support Fund – previously the CICM Benevolent Fund – and a new campaign to raise awareness of the Fund which is there to assist members and former members of the Institute who may have fallen on hard times.

Jane Tully, Director of External Affairs and Partnerships at the Money Advice Trust, writes about the scale and impact of the charity’s work to help people and small businesses in financial difficulty, following the publication of Outcomes Report.

On the topic of litigation, Paula Swain of Shoosmiths covers the changes to the fixed recoverable costs regime for debt claims which comes in this month through changes to Practice Direction 45. Giuseppe Parla, Business Recovery Director and Licensed Insolvency Practitioner at Menzies writes about trading in administration, and the need for credit managers to stay open minded.

Annie Birch, Senior Associate at Norton Rose Fulbright, discusses the need for organisations to implement procedures that de-risk the likelihood of legal action being taken against them in relation to fraud, in preparation for a change to the law which will focus on the ‘prevention’ of fraud.

In Business related topics, CM also includes articles on the FCA’s crackdown on ‘finfluencers’; corporate reputation; and how finance professionals and employers feel about AI. This month’s Country Focus is on Belgium and its great depth as a potential export market.