So, its all true what people say! I know most companies complain in the UK about slow trade payments, but evidence has emerged in recent days, as published in the Austrian newspaper DER STANDARD, that the UK is the second worst payer in Europe. It's Austria and Switzerland that have the best payment behaviour. Apparently in this research conducted by insurer Atradius, they pay in 38 days on average, compared to Britain's pretty pathetic 64 days! There's little comfort in knowing that the Italians came out bottom of the league table below the UK at 72 days. Even the Spanish came in better than us Brits at 63 days.

My father in law, who is Scottish, once told me that money was made flat so you could pile it up.It looks like most finance departments in the UK think the same, and to some, it doesn't really matter whose money it is that's in the stack.Is anyone embarassed out there by these findings, or has late payment culture become so much part of the British way of life that it is just accepted practice ?