Catching up with Credit Controller, Tara Mooney

Credit control is a vitally important function within any business, ensuring accounts are settled, overdue payments collected and cash flow is assured. Here, we catch up with TMD’s Credit Controller, Tara Mooney, to find out more about this essential behind-the-scenes role and what it entails.

“Overall, it’s my job to maintain smooth cash flow within the company and minimise bad debts,” explains Tara. “My duties are very much dependent on the time of year, which means there’s no such thing as a typical day."

Upholding TMD’s tradition of encouraging professional development, Tara is studying for her Diploma in Credit Management & Debt Collection. “I’m currently revising for my Business Environment exams,” she explains, “and am working hard to achieve my overall objective of passing all my exams and eventually achieving ACICM status.”

ACICM refers to Associate Membership of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management, recognised as an advanced operational level qualification, with CICM acknowledged as the benchmark for credit and debt management professionals.

Talking to Tara, you get a sense she is thriving on the opportunity to gain her professional qualification and very much enjoys her work. Credit Control is very much a role that calls for good organisational skills and numerical ability, along with an eye for detail and a calm, collected approach, all of which Tara possesses.

So what three words would Tara use to sum up her job? “It’s challenging, enjoyable and varied,” she says. “The thing I enjoy most is the relationship between me and my department. We work well as a team and respect each other’s abilities, which ensures the smooth running of our day-to-day work and the wellbeing of the department.”

Tara describes herself as outgoing and friendly, and it’s easy to see why her department works so well: as well as fulfilling an essential and serious role within the company, the team also has fun and enjoys each other’s company. Bearing this out, when Tara is asked about one thing she’s bad at, she replies: “Driving, especially parallel parking”. And when asked about one thing she’s good at, she says: “Eating all the biscuits in the office.”

Tara comes across as a person who is very happy in their job, more than able to balance capability with humour, not only helping to promote the wellbeing of the team, but also ensuring optimum delivery of an essential function within the business.