Professional guidance from licensed insolvency practitioners is invaluable at any stage of your business and not just when you’re in financial difficulty. However, finding one you can trust can be difficult. It’s also worth noting that it’s important to find a practitioner who operates locally, as this can help to speed up the process and ensure they have local knowledge of issues you might face as a company.
When looking for an find insolvency practitioner, the first thing to consider is their reputation. This can be a good indicator of the quality of their work and how well they interact with clients. You can check online reviews, ratings, and professional associations to see if their past clients have been pleased with the service they received. In addition, it’s a good idea to ask friends and colleagues for recommendations.
You can also search the government’s Insolvency Service directory to find insolvency practitioners in your area. This will allow you to view a list of IPs along with their contact details and the name of their authorising body. You can then use this information to verify that the insolvency practitioner is fully licenced and qualified to carry out insolvency proceedings.
Insolvency practitioners are licensed to advise on, and make appointments in, all formal insolvency procedures including liquidations, administrations, receiverships, individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) and bankruptcy. They are also qualified to deal with a wide range of associated problems such as obtaining credit reports, analysing cash flows, and calculating the value of assets.
When working with an insolvent company or an insolvent individual, the insolvency practitioner’s decisions about what to do will be based on what is in the best interests of creditors. They may decide to continue trading the business in the hope of finding a buyer, or they might sell off the company’s assets to realise funds and pay back its creditors. They may also help the insolvent individual come to an agreement with their creditors and restructure their debts.
Those who choose to become licensed insolvency practitioners can obtain employment with firms that offer insolvency services or set up their own practice. Some insolvency practitioners specialise in specific types of cases, such as personal bankruptcy. Others have a more general role, taking on insolvency proceedings for companies, individuals or trusts.
Depending on your experience and qualifications, you can earn between £23,000 and £60,000 a year as an insolvency practitioner. If you are a newcomer to the profession, you can expect to start on the lower end of this scale and then rise as your skills and expertise develop. Those who are employed by larger firms can earn a lot more, and there is the possibility that you could even be promoted to partner. There are also a number of self-employed insolvency practitioners, who work on a freelance basis and charge for their services. Some of these are licensed, but many are not. They have enormous statutory powers, and can decide whether a business should be supported or broken up and its assets sold off piecemeal.