How We Can Help

Do I need professional help with financial matters?

Sometimes business owners get so caught up with “running the business” and “doing what they do best” that financial matters are neglected because there just isn’t enough time. If this situation is familiar to you, rest assured it is also really common to many business owners and operators. BUT if it is left unchecked it can have dire consequences. We can assist you by providing independent specialist financial assistance to help you assess your current financial position, your recent financial performance and assist you in developing forecasts and cash-flow requirements. Contact us for a no obligation and free consultation as to how we can help.

Suffered a financial loss and have a claim?

You or your company might have had the misfortune of having a customer default on payment, or you have had an investment go bad or you might have incurred a loss due to causes beyond your control, especially with COVID 19 impacting all of us. Contact us for assistance in calculating your actual financial loss to form the basis of a claim to recover your losses.

Facing financial pressure and need to know your options?

You or your company might have suffered a downturn in business and be facing severe pressure from creditors and perhaps even from your bank or other financiers. By actively seeking independent professional advice you can avoid the loss of your business and your livelihood. We can assist you to work out the state of your own or your company’s finances and provide you with realistic options for the future of your business. We can assist you to prepare cash-flow and profit forecasts and help you work through various “what-if” situations (often referred to as sensitivity analysis). And even if an insolvency appointment is unavoidable, did you know that a Personal Insolvency Agreement for individuals, and the Voluntary Administration and Small Business Restructuring procedure for companies allows creditors to give you and your business a second chance? This can mean you continue your business and may preserve jobs for your employees, where the underlying business is potentially sound. A financial crisis does not need to end in bankruptcy (individuals) or liquidation (companies). Contact us for assistance to accurately and realistically work out the options.

Could I be managing my company when it is ‘trading while insolvent’?

If you are managing a company, or seen to be managing a company, whether or not you have been appointed a director, you might be putting your personal assets at risk if the company goes into liquidation and the company’s creditors or the liquidator makes a claim against you personally and the company is found to have been “trading whilst insolvent”. The Corporations Act 2001 provides for insolvent trading claims to be made against “directors” (whether validly appointed or not) who allow their company to obtain goods and services on credit from suppliers when the company is insolvent, that is, when the company can no longer pay its debts when they fall due. There are also criminal offence provisions.

When is a company found to be insolvent?

Although the Courts will determine whether or not a company was insolvent at the time credit was incurred, directors need to be aware of the tests that are applied by the Courts. For example, does your company have a history of making losses? Does your company’s liabilities exceed its assets? Is the company paying Statutory creditors on time (e.g. the ATO for BAS payments for GST and PAYG, superannuation to employee funds)? Is the company paying its suppliers (trade creditors) on time or is there a very long list of unpaid creditors, with collection agencies and solicitors demanding payment? Contact us to address your concerns and obtain assistance to determine the financial position of your company and provide you with options to minimize risk.

Will my employees receive payment if my business closes?

If your company is insolvent, is placed in liquidation and does not have sufficient funds available to pay all employee entitlements it may be that the FEG, the Fair Entitlements Guarantee scheme will assist. On 5 December 2012, the Fair Entitlements Guarantee Act 2012 commenced, establishing the Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) as a legislative scheme to replace the General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS). The FEG is a scheme of last resort, to assist employees who have lost their job because their employer entered liquidation or bankruptcy. The FEG will operate in relation to claims by employees for assistance to receive unpaid employee entitlements caused by employer liquidations and bankruptcies that occur on or after 5 December 2012. FEG can make payment of employee entitlements (limited to type and amount) direct to employees after proper review of payroll records by FEG appointed Insolvency Practitioners for employer liquidations and bankruptcies.  More information about the FEG is available at www.ag.gov.au/industrial-relations/fair-entitlements-guarantee-feg

Contact us to discuss this further.