new south wales

AICM Members in spotlight

Adam Clarke MICM

National Credit Manager at Boral

Adam Clarke is well known to many at the AICM, having been awarded back-to-back NSW Credit Manager of The Year in 2013 & 2014. Since then, he has continued to strengthen his business acumen by working closely with CFOs and other senior finance colleagues. His career has been in the credit industry from day 1. Starting as a Claims Investigator whilst studying accounting, he stepped up to be a Credit Controller and has held a number of roles with increasing responsibility and complexity since. Adam joined Boral in 2017 and was promoted to National Credit Manager.

What do you like about your current role?

I enjoy the increased responsibility of managing the entire credit function for Boral. My role covers all aspects of credit from assessing credit applications, onboarding customers, banking, allocations and the collections process up until legal recovery. Being a single point of contact for so many people is great because I have full accountability and can deliver a consistent service and approach to dealing with customers.

What is your biggest challenge in the workplace?

Automation of the collections process has been a big focus for me. The key to process improvement is identifying the critical enablers to be able to deliver good outcomes and benefits. Getting the DSO into good shape is hard work and keeping it there is even harder. It’s a constant challenge, especially when you have to deal with the impacts of COVID, inflation, floods, fires, interest rate rises and other curveballs.

How do you celebrate good results?

You’re only as good as yesterday! We like to take time to appreciate the hard work and good results we achieve, but it’s important not to get complacent. We are fortunate to have a culturally diverse team so international food day was a great hit, everyone loved it. If you understand what different team members need to be happy and work with them on being able to achieve this, you will get good productivity in return.

What advice can you give to emerging credit professionals?

Things don’t happen overnight. You need to be patient in the process, including yourself. If you want to move your career forward, continue to learn and develop yourself in every way that you can. Don’t wait for a mentor to do it for you. Take control and be self-motivated to grow. Keep up to date with the latest in technologies and expand your networks.

What has the AICM membership done for you?

The AICM is more than just something to put on your CV. It’s real-world networking that enables you to share ideas with like-minded (or different) people. It gives you access to important information, job opportunities and more. I was a member of the NSW Council for a few years and it was good to contribute my ideas to the organisation. Winning NSW Credit Manager of The Year was a fantastic accolade as well.

What are your interests outside of work?

Early on in my career, I took a break and spent 4 months travelling in the US. There is something about US sports, like basketball that I just love. I stay active by going to the gym and playing basketball and tennis (and hopefully avoid injury) and enjoy hiking as well. I also love to travel when I can and enjoy theme parks!

Stefanie Ross MICM CCE Accounts Receivable at ASSA ABLOY

Stefanie was unanimously voted in to join the NSW AICM council at our 9 August AGM. She has been actively involved with AICM for several years including YCP and other events so it was time to get to properly know Stef and share her story. She is an incredibly bubbly and enthusiastic Credit Professional so it was a pleasure to interview her.

What has been your career journey so far?

I didn’t start out in credit…like so many of us. I wanted to work with food after school and began as an apprentice chef in an Italian restaurant. I soon realised the hospitality industry wasn’t right for me so left and started working in an admin role followed by a Credit Officer role. Later, I joined Jaybro and then it clicked and I really focussed on credit. I had a fantastic mentor, did some business courses and took on a ledger. I’ve had a few other roles between Jaybro and my current role at ASSA ABLOY which has given me great experiences across different sectors in the industry. My current role has allowed me to grow and take on increased responsibilities, so I hope to be here for quite some time to make a difference.

What advice do you have for other young credit starters?

Firstly, as a general rule, “don’t be scared, you don’t know if you don’t try it”. Secondly, find a mentor. I was really lucky to come across John at Jaybro – I also believe you pick your manager, not the job – the role, that will come easy if you get along. He is the one that got me excited about credit and working with him I started to love it. He also got me involved in the AICM which has been great and he encouraged me to complete the Credit Management course at AICM and later on complete my CCE. You can get lucky or unlucky on ledgers with different requirements to fix and clean – which is a great learning curve to develop your skills. Difficult customers and roles come with the job, we sometimes get caught up but need to remember we are trying to first help the business and help the customer through the overdue. The debtors can get angry but we need to remember we are the messenger and they aren’t angry with us but with the situation – Plus if you’re lucky like me a thick skin helps. Last but more importantly, is working with people you like as you are there most of your day – You are replaceable at work, not at home – so enjoy where you are.

What involvement have you had with the AICM since you joined?

In 2018 I joined on the advice of my mentor, so that was initially just to learn more about credit. I worked at it, completed my Credit Management certificate and became a CCE after passing the intense 3-hour exam and written paper. I’m proud of my achievement to get the recognition it brings. The AICM has given me a lot of confidence to give things a go. It’s a good forum to learn, I regularly review the magazines and use the available resources and attend events. Now joining the NSW Council is a way for me to pay it forward. It’s nice to be part of something bigger.

What do you do outside of work?

I believe in experiences over objects. Weekends are busy going on adventures. Whether it’s a mystery tour, picnic, cocktail classes or any other way to get out. My hubby and I recently did the bridge climb just to do something different.

Trent Eather MICM

Client Manager – Equifax

Trent Eather, all round good guy

– is a familiar face to many of us. Never short of words, I managed to sit down and chat about his journey in credit.

What has been your career journey?

I started out early in my career selling TVs and electronics on the floor at Harvey Norman. This was straight after school as I knew I enjoyed sales and people. Working hard to sharpen my skills in a customer-facing sales environment led to more senior roles in field sales and account management within Pioneer Electronics. Then at Panasonic, I worked in business-to-business sales. This allowed me to broaden my skill set across sales, service and product.

My first introduction to the world of credit was when I joined American Express whilst I was completing my Diploma in Business Management. Working with CFOs as our clients, I learnt the impact that credit had on their businesses. For example, the value they placed on extra days afforded in payment terms was significant, and the impact of upfront cash payments when AMEX took on the risk of payment and default was huge. It was of real value to them to eliminate risk and reduce DSO›s. Plus, customers loved being rewarded with the American Express rewards points for early settlement.

Four years ago, a previous leader thought my credit knowledge would be a great addition to the Equifax team. He got me to apply and the rest is history. It’s been a busy, innovative and fast-paced world since then.