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UK small businesses are owed £112 billion in unpaid invoices.


Nearly half of invoices are paid late.

Around 38 SMEs close every day where late payment is a factor.


The proposed solution? More transparency.


But transparency does not change incentives.


Late payment persists because it is financially advantageous.


In our latest blog, CPA proposes structural reform:


Require companies to recognise statutory late payment interest and compensation as a provision on their balance sheet — reducing reported profit and making the liability visible.


If behaviour is going to change, the calculation must change.


Read the full proposal and watch the video here:

cpa.co.uk/why-late-payment-persists/


#LatePayment #SMEs #Cashflow #UKBusiness #CreditControl #StatutoryInterest #BusinessReform #InsolvencyRisk #CorporateGovernance

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UK consumer confidence has fallen to a two-year low.

Unemployment has climbed to 5.2% – the highest since the pandemic.

Sterling has weakened and markets are pricing in two Bank of England rate cuts this year.

For SMEs selling on credit, this combination signals rising payment risk.

Now is the time to tighten credit control, not relax it.

cpa.co.uk/business-news-17-february-2026/

#Cashflow #SMEs #UKBusiness #CreditControl #Insolvencies #InterestRates #Unemployment #LatePayment

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Inflation has fallen to 3% — but unemployment is now at a five-year high.

Markets are celebrating potential rate cuts, yet the reason for those cuts is a weakening labour market and slowing wage growth.

Add falling SME innovation, renewed trade friction, and a steady stream of insolvencies — and the risk environment for businesses supplying on credit is clearly tightening.

Early credit control action matters more in cooling economies.

cpa.co.uk/business-news-18-february-2026/

#Cashflow #SMEs #UKBusiness #Insolvency #InterestRates #CreditControl #Unemployment #Inflation