Established in September 2018, the Panel is chaired by leading expert, Anthony Sharp, who is joined by four experts from the world of debt and money advice, credit management and regulatory compliance.

In addition to its wide-ranging mandate to scrutinise and advise on Bristow & Sutor’s operations, the Panel also serves as final stage adjudicator and independent review body for the company’s complaints process.

Early impacts from the Independent Advisory Panel’s work include enhancements to staff training, changes to some internal processes, changes to some of the ways of working of the company’s Enforcement Agents and greater professionalism in the telephone collection operation. Additional improvements around data enrichment, along with a data protection protocol with the advice sector have been identified.

Bristow & Sutor CEO, Andy Rose, said: “The input of the Panel has been invaluable. I like to think ethics and compliance has always been front and centre for us but there are always things we can do better. The Panel’s independent advice and challenge keeps us up to the mark.”

“I am proud that Anthony accepted our invitation to head the Panel and grateful for the input of the experts he identified to join him. Their continued challenge and recommendations will help us learn, evolve and adapt to the needs of the rapidly-changing enforcement environment. We take our responsibilities very seriously and are committed to the panel’s access and autonomy.”

Panel Chair, Anthony Sharp, said: “I commend Bristow & Sutor for opening themselves up to independent scrutiny and advice in this way. It’s quite rare for the enforcement industry. Our early engagement has been constructive and we look forward to bringing an outside perspective to bear.”

In its early months, in addition to regular meetings, members of the Panel have also observed Bristow & Sutor teams in action, accompanying enforcement agents on visits and listening in on call centre conversations.