Insolvency Bankruptcy Professionals LLP Overview
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a scary proposition. The word "bankruptcy" itself sounds so ominous. The media bombards us with nightmare tales of seemingly solid business giants going from bedrock to bankrupt. The list of the bankrupt runs the spectrum from personal to corporate bringing together the likes of Donald Trump with Enron.
And gossip columns never tire of dishing on the latest celebrity inches from bankruptcy whether it's Gary Coleman or Mike Tyson having to part with his pet tigers. You might even fear that you're a few steps from going under. After all, we live in an economy in which credit card offers clutter our mailboxes. And living in debt is an accepted norm. But, just how can you tell when it's time to throw in the towel and declare bankruptcy?
Here are a few questions to help you assess your financial danger zone:
Do you only make minimum payments on your credit cards?
Are bill collectors calling you?
Does the thought of sorting out your finances make you feel scared or out of control?
Do you use credit cards to pay for necessities?
Are you considering debt consolidation?
Are you unsure how much you actually owe?
Assess Your Situation
If you answered yes to two or more of the questions above, you at least want to give your financial situation a little more thought. Simply put, bankruptcy is when you owe more than you can afford to pay.
- To determine where you are financially, inventory all of your liquid assets. Don't forget to include retirement funds, stocks, bonds, real estate, vehicles, college savings accounts, and other non-bank account funds. Add up a rough estimate for each item.
- Then, collect and add up your bills and credit statements. If the value of your assets is less than the amount of debt you owe, declaring bankruptcy may be one way out of a sticky financial situation. However, bankruptcy shouldn't be approached casually. After all, it's not a simple, easy cure-all for out-of-control debt.
How do I Declare Bankruptcy?
- You can go bankrupt in one of two main ways. The more common route is to voluntarily file for bankruptcy. The second way is for creditors to ask the court to order a person bankrupt.
- There are several ways to file bankruptcy, each with pros and cons. You may want to consult a lawyer before proceeding so you can figure out the best fit for your circumstances.
Structuring, Restructuring & Turnaround
Solvent Restructuring
The first test here is; is the company solvent? Is the company balance sheet solvent and is the company able to pay its creditors when they are due?
If the company has passed the first test then please carry on reading, otherwise take a look at the “Options for Insolvent Companies” section.
Members’ Voluntary Liquidation MVL
A Members’ Voluntary Liquidation MVL is a shareholder-led process, which is a tax efficient method for distributing or restructuring the assets and/or trade of a company.
A Members’ Voluntary Liquidation MVL can be used to distribute liquidated assets (cash), assets in specie (non-cash assets) or of shares in newly formed companies, which then hold the assets of the liquidated company.
A Members’ Voluntary Liquidation MVL is an Insolvency Act procedure which will need a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner to act on the case.
Tax advice should always be taken when considering a Members’ Voluntary Liquidation. We are able to provide such advice through our partner network or are always delighted to work with you existing advisors to provide the regulated part of any such restructuring.
Members Voluntary Winding Up
Members Voluntary Winding Up is a term used to refer to a Members Voluntary Liquidation.
Members Voluntary Winding Up is a form of company liquidation used to close down a solvent company and distribute its assets to the shareholders (also known as members) of the company.
Section 110 Insolvency Act Reconstruction
S.110 refers to S.110 of the Insolvency Act.
Section 110 is used to as part of a Members Voluntary Liquidation MVL process.
Broadly speaking the use of S.110 within a Members Voluntary Liquidation MVL allows for shares in a subsidiary company to be distributed to the original shareholders of the holding company.
For example, a company which holds property of assets and a trading business could be split into two companies one holding the trade and one holding the property assets.
Tax advice should always be taken when considering S.110 within a Members’ Voluntary Liquidation. We are able to provide such advice through our partner network or are always delighted to work with you existing advisors to provide the regulated part of any such restructuring.
Extra-Statutory Concession C16
In general terms this applies when a company is being dissolved under S.652 of the Companies Act.
Extra-Statutory Concession C16 is a HMRC concession that with their approval will allow for a distribution to shareholders though classed as an income distribution to be treated for tax as a capital distribution for tax purposes.
Company dissolution -Beware Bona Vacantia
The term “Bona Vacantia” literally means vacant goods and is the legal name for ownerless property, which by law passes to the crown.
Bona Vacantia will usually apply to any assets left in a company once it has been dissolved.
If dissolution is being considered as an end of life solution for a company, care must be taken is in relation to the level of share capital left in a company. Take a look at the website of the Treasury Solicitor and this will explain the £4,000 cut-off level.
A Members’ Voluntary Liquidation MVL can be used to distribute liquidated assets (cash), assets in specie (non-cash assets) or of shares in newly formed companies, which then hold the assets of the liquidated company.
A Members’ Voluntary Liquidation MVL is an Insolvency Act procedure which will need a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner to act on the case.
Tax advice should always be taken when considering a Members’ Voluntary Liquidation. We are able to provide such advice through our partner network or are always delighted to work with you existing advisors to provide the regulated part of any such restructuring.
Members Voluntary Winding Up
Members Voluntary Winding Up is a term used to refer to a Members Voluntary Liquidation.
Members Voluntary Winding Up is a form of company liquidation used to close down a solvent company and distribute its assets to the shareholders (also known as members) of the company.
Section 110 Insolvency Act Reconstruction
S.110 refers to S.110 of the Insolvency Act.
Section 110 is used to as part of a Members Voluntary Liquidation MVL process.
Broadly speaking the use of S.110 within a Members Voluntary Liquidation MVL allows for shares in a subsidiary company to be distributed to the original shareholders of the holding company.
For example, a company which holds property of assets and a trading business could be split into two companies one holding the trade and one holding the property assets.
Tax advice should always be taken when considering S.110 within a Members’ Voluntary Liquidation. We are able to provide such advice through our partner network or are always delighted to work with you existing advisors to provide the regulated part of any such restructuring.
Extra-Statutory Concession C16
In general terms this applies when a company is being dissolved under S.652 of the Companies Act.
Extra-Statutory Concession C16 is a HMRC concession that with their approval will allow for a distribution to shareholders though classed as an income distribution to be treated for tax as a capital distribution for tax purposes.
Company dissolution -Beware Bona Vacantia
The term “Bona Vacantia” literally means vacant goods and is the legal name for ownerless property, which by law passes to the crown.
Bona Vacantia will usually apply to any assets left in a company once it has been dissolved.
If dissolution is being considered as an end of life solution for a company, care must be taken is in relation to the level of share capital left in a company. Take a look at the website of the Treasury Solicitor and this will explain the £4,000 cut-off level.
Business Intelligence & Forensic
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
Business Intelligence (BI) is the analysis of disparate sets of information within an organisation in order to gain insights to meet tactical and strategic objectives.
BI aims to make the right information available to the right people at the right time, allowing them to make insightful and actionable decisions.
Successful BI implementations involve:
- The clear identification of analytical & business objectives
- Analysis of business processes supporting the objectives
- Establishing a comprehensive data model to underpin the integrity of the analytics
- Defining & agreeing on the metrics & dimensions that will be used in the analytics
- The development of analytical routines & visualisations
- The ability to remain pragmatic & agile as BI is a collaborative & iterative process.
We can assist you on your BI journey through the application of our data modelling and visualisation expertise, delivered either on premises or in the cloud.
Our dynamic and interactive dashboards, using technologies such as Qlik and Microsoft Power BI, allows you to explore the data, ask the right questions and discover previously hidden patterns, trends and relationships.
Our integrated approach will allow you to fully explore both structured and unstructured data sets in order to fully leverage your information assets to achieve the business objectives.
DATA FORENSICS
Forensic analytics is the application of specialised analytical knowledge and techniques to these sources in order to identify patterns of potential fraud, misappropriation, corruption or any other nefarious activity.
Examples of this could include the double payment of invoices, inventory theft, the manipulation of bank statements or inflated bonuses in payroll.
Get a forensic cloud dashboard
Delivered on premises or as a cloud service, we can provide interactive visual analytical models and dashboards that ‘sit on top’ of your transaction systems and data sources to provide a proactive monitoring capability for your internal audit team or external forensic professionals.
Using these interfaces, you will be able to perform a combination of rules-based, statistical and visualisation techniques to quickly identify anomalous activity, prevent and respond to potentially fraudulent transactions.
Forensic analytics can also be performed on a proactive and ongoing basis to assist in the design and implementation of control activities to prevent future fraud risks.
Delegate roles & responsibilities
Procurement, accounts payable and payroll are internal processes that have a high fraud risk as they are areas the majority of payments of made by an organisation.
The highly sensitive nature of such investigations requires strong delegation of authority, segregation of duties and other controls to prevent collusion and possible fraudulent transactions.