Our specialist advisory, consulting and accounting support will help your business and your team overcome financial challenges no matter the stage or size of the business.
We understand the pressures that impact businesses and see first-hand the myriad reasons why businesses go into insolvency. Too often company owners and directors become overwhelmed and seek help when it’s already too late. It’s crucial to get advice early; it can be the difference between salvaging a financial situation or the business going into insolvency.
Jirsch Sutherland’s business advisory services are headed up by qualified, experienced liquidators. It means we are experienced, understand the law and the solutions available, hold professional indemnity insurance and are bound by the relevant professional bodies.
We can identify where the issues are and provide clear and objective insights into your business – and that can enable you to consider your options. Whether it’s restructuring or refinancing your business, liquidating assets, restructuring loans, collecting debts or negotiating better credit terms, the aim is to give your company a greater chance to weather the storm.
At Jirsch Sutherland we work to understand the situation and take into consideration a business’s current circumstances in order to look for the best outcomes to minimise the financial impact on the company, creditors and, where relevant, the directors personally. We also help directors understand their responsibilities during the process.
We can provide advice on the wide range of solutions available to deal with a company’s debts.
These include:
Operating and owning a business of any size can be challenging, especially if you are a start-up or struggling to keep up with the laws and regulations related to your sector. The Australian Bureau of Statistics shows approximately 60 per cent of businesses don’t make it past the first three years, it is important for directors to act early should there be any signs of financial stress.
Maintaining a healthy cash flow, formulating a robust business model and implementing strong financial reporting processes are some of the sure-fire ways Jirsch Sutherland can help your business grow and prosper. Our highly skilled and experienced team of nationwide accountants and business consultants offer everything SMEs and large corporations need to implement operational adjustments, reduce expenses, boost profits, minimise tax implications and maintain ideal cash flow levels.
Put simply, wherever you are in your business lifecycle, Jirsch Sutherland’s specialist financial advice and accounting support will help you and your team get to the next level.
Our services include:
Landmark legislation passed by Parliament in September 2017 called ‘Safe Harbour’ includes provisions that empower directors to remain at the helm instead of ceding control – in many cases prematurely – to external Administrators or Liquidators.
These laws also mean that directors of companies in financial distress will have Safe Harbour protection from civil liability under Section 588G(2) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) for incurring debts when they start developing an action plan that is “reasonably likely” to lead to a better outcome for the company than becoming insolvent.
Safe Harbour does not apply where Australian Tax Office (ATO) penalties arise from recklessness or intentional disregard of the tax law by negligent directors, nor does it affect other administrative penalties, including when tax avoidance schemes are involved.
Company directors seeking Safe Harbour protection need to engage an Appropriately Qualified Entity (AQE) such as Jirsch Sutherland to take on the role.
Our nationwide team of experts offer professional advice and assistance throughout the entire Safe Harbour procedure, from initial consideration through to developing a Restructuring Plan, including:
To learn more about safe harbour protection for company directors, simply follow the button below.
As a company director, a restructure can potentially turn around a company that is underperforming and in financial stress and steer it clear of becoming insolvent.
You may also know that restructuring is a complicated, complex and highly regulated process with the responsibility of complying with the Corporations Act 2001 and managing multiple stakeholders, such as creditors and shareholders, and the stress of avoiding personal liability.
With a Jirsch Sutherland Partner by your side during a restructure, you have peace of mind knowing you are receiving advice from experienced professionals who have the best interests of you and your company in mind and understand the stresses often experienced during this period of change and uncertainty.
Without professional advice, however, some directors resort to quick-fix solutions to their growing debt, many of which are detrimental their company’s recovery, such as insolvent trading, selling assets at undervalue and breaching employment laws.
Our highly experienced practitioners identify the causes of your company’s underperformance and financial stress and develop effective strategies to address them. They expertly guide you through every stage of a restructure which can include the following:
All our company restructure recommendations comply with the Corporations Act 2001 and, when applicable, we apply the Act’s 588GA Safe Harbour provisions to help directors avoid personal liability for debts incurred by the company during insolvency.
As every company is different, every restructure is actioned differently and the amount of time a turnaround can take differs too, from a few months to a couple of years. Our strategies always endeavour to enable your company to continue to operate during the restructure with minimal impact and to complete a restructure in as short a time as possible. Following a restructure, our Partners assess your company’s progress and can provide ongoing advice.
The role of a financial strategy is critical to the success of a business as it helps to establish goals and objectives that galvanise and motivate the team. It’s typically part of the overall business plan and ideally should be discussed and shared with shareholders, executives and employees, so everyone is on the same page financially and working to the same end result.
Establishing a clear, concise strategy not only helps businesses to understand and communicate operating costs but also provides clear pathways to profit tailored to the size of the business. For example, while a start-up’s goal might be to break even, established companies might want to raise revenue by a certain percentage each year.
Whatever your financial goals are, Jirsch Sutherland’s team of business strategists take your ideas, formulate sustainable plans, and execute them tactically so they can ultimately become reality.
Our specialist services include:
It’s never too late to start.
A Debt Agreement is a legally binding arrangement between a debtor and a creditor in which the debtor repays a percentage of the combined total amount owed over a set time period. With this agreement in place, the debtor avoids creditor-driven bankruptcy.
The repayment percentage is determined by the debtor’s financial situation; in other words, it’s an amount they can reasonably afford to repay over a period of time, usually three to five years. After all payments have been made, creditors cannot recover the remainder of the money debtors owe.
Debt Agreements offer benefits to both debtors and creditors. As a debtor, with your debts and interest frozen and a feasible repayment plan in place, you are able to budget and plan your finances and have peace of mind knowing you will become debt free. And if you have been rigorously pursued by creditors and their collection agencies, this will cease, which can reduce your level of stress during this challenging time. As a creditor, a Debt Agreement gives you the security of knowing you will be paid a percentage of the amount owed, which can be more than if the debtor were made bankrupt.
Before a Debt Agreement can become a legally binding agreement between you and your creditors, you must be insolvent, and your creditors must agree to the payment plan set out in your Debt Agreement proposal.
An important consideration for debtors before proposing a Debt Agreement to your creditors
If your Debt Agreement proposal is not accepted by your creditors, you may face bankruptcy. This is because Debt Agreements fall under Part IX of the Bankruptcy Act 1966 and by submitting a proposal you are committing ‘an act of bankruptcy’. Your creditors who reject your Debt Agreement proposal may use it to apply to the court to make you bankrupt.
In light of this potential consequence and the specific requirements, considerations and long-term impacts of Debt Agreements, the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA) recommends seeking professional financial advice and assistance before you enter this type of agreement.
Jirsch Sutherland offers professional advice and assistance throughout the entire Debt Agreement procedure, from initial consideration through to proposal lodgement, including:
Serious fraud and risk issues can be tackled more effectively when people have complete confidence in the facts and the analysis of those facts. Jirsch Sutherland clients can have that confidence.
Behind our services stands a team of specialists – among the very few in Australia who are trained and qualified in the financial, legal, investigative and analytical aspects of Forensic Accounting.
They know what information to look for, how to find and extract it, how to conduct an investigation so that the chain of evidence is supportable in a court of law, how to assist clients to recover lost or stolen assets and how to prevent future problems.
Our services encompass:
Rather than continue to struggle with financial and business pressures, we urge you to seek guidance before it’s too late.
As qualified, experienced insolvency and business recovery specialists, we can help you understand the impact of your decisions and put in place solutions to deal with your company’s debts. We provide an initial consultation free of charge and provide practical solutions and effective outcomes.
Get in touch today, use the contact form directly below to arrange a free initial consultation with one of our experts.
Note: The information provided is for general purposes only. It is not financial or legal advice. Please get in touch with a qualified expert from our team.
