What you need to know
If your business takes a downturn and can’t pay its debts then it is insolvent.
This can be a daunting and worrying time for any business owner as you’ve worked so hard and put so much effort in and now need professional support and advice to help formulate a way forward.
It can be difficult to know who to turn to, who will put your interests first and get the best outcome for you and your creditors. Deciding who to trust now could literally be the difference between saving your business or having it fail.
We want to take some time to explain how BusinessRescueExpert and other insolvency practitioners are regulated and checked by various authorities to ensure that we are fully qualified and fit to act in you and your companies best interests.
Watching out for you
The insolvency practitioners industry is regulated and overseen by various Recognised Professional Bodies (RPBs), that are organisations approved by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
These bodies are able to authorise their members to act as insolvency practitioners. They include the Insolvency Practitioners Association, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and The Law Society.
The Insolvency Service regulates the various RPBs that ensure that the authorised insolvency practitioners they oversee are fit for purpose. Effectively they regulate the RPB regulators.
RPBs act entirely independently and each sets their own rules and regulations for members but all have set minimum standards that have to be met. The various insolvency practitioners they oversee have to meet their requirements in terms of formal education, training and ongoing performance.
In order to become a fully qualified and approved insolvency practitioner and RPB member, prospective candidates have to sit and successfully complete the rigorous Joint Insolvency Examination.
Following the completion of this exam, the insolvency practitioner is then required by law to have a financial bond in place before they can practice. The bond is an insurance policy that protects the client in the rare event that the insolvency practitioner acts fraudulently or dishonestly while handling your case.
Insolvency practitioners are also subject to frequent visits and inspections from their RPB. They act on behalf of the Secretary of State to monitor the practices and ensure the practitioner is adhering to all required laws and accepted standards set out in the Insolvency Code of Ethics.
The RPBs themselves are also subject to regular visits and inspections themselves from the Insolvency Service to ensure they are fulfilling their duties according to current legislation. If an RPB fails to meet requirements then they can be liable to have their status revoked immediately.
Fundamental principles
The Insolvency Code of Ethics is a comprehensive document that all insolvency practitioners have to follow and be familiar with. The code sets out several fundamental principles for the profession that have to be applied at all times.
Integrity
As an insolvency practitioner, we must be honest, clear and to the point throughout the length of our service to you.
Objectivity
We are there to support you throughout every stage of the insolvency process but we will always remain objective. We will steer clear of conflicts of interest, bias and any undue influence from other parties. If we have to deliver bad news, we don’t enjoy it but we do it all the same.
Professional competence and due care
We have a continuing duty of care to always ensure that our education, training, skills and knowledge base is always up to date. This means a commitment to lifelong learning and staying informed of all relevant changes in the profession including practice developments, new legislation and new technology and techniques to consistently provide the highest level of service to our clients.
Confidentiality
We have a duty to treat all client information as strictly confidential. We will never disclose any information to any third party without the appropriate authority or prior permission to do so unless there is a compelling legal reason.
Professional behaviour
We hold ourselves to the highest personal and professional business standards and comply with all relevant laws and regulations and won’t engage in any behaviour that would discredit our organisation or conduct.
Who regulates BusinessRescueExpert?
This is a brief summary of the regulatory framework that insolvency practitioners operate in but we’d like to let you know more about the additional professional duties and responsibilities the BusinessRescueExpert team meet to maintain our high professional standards.
We are regulated by the Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA), an RPB that works with over 2000 professional members as well as firms and students too.
The IPA is the second largest of the five RPBs approved by the Secretary of State to oversee the sector under the Insolvency Act 1986. The IPA is unique in that it’s focus is purely on the insolvency industry.
They are one of the entry bodies for the Joint Insolvency Examination and also offer a wide range of education courses and events. Our insolvency practitioners have all passed this examination and continue to enhance their professional skills portfolio.
The IPA also sits on the Joint Insolvency Committee, along with the four other RPBs and the Insolvency Service. They help to write, develop and agree the profession-wide Statements of Insolvency Practice (SIPs), Code of Ethics and other forms of professional guidance.
Why do we do it?
You can see all the regulation and oversight that exists throughout the industry and the various RPBs and you might reasonably ask why the team at BusinessRescueExpert sign up for such a rigorous regime?
It’s because we are proud of our professional work and the standards we stand by. We not only meet and adhere to the performance and conduct levels expected by our oversight bodies, but frequently surpass them.
We have a dedicated, inquisitive and insightful team that constantly gains new skills, knowledge and qualifications as they are introduced as they only enhance our service to clients.
We also take the opportunity to meet and speak with fellow professionals in the industry on a regular basis to better understand the ways insolvency affects individuals and businesses to help deal with the process more successfully.
There’s a wide choice of insolvency practitioners available but why wouldn’t you choose the one that will support, guide and advise you at every stage?
Contact us now to get some free initial advice and to arrange a longer chat to find out more about you, your business and how we can do our best for both.