Just as important as acting swiftly at the first warning signs of financial trouble is the need to seek advice from the right person.

A case for the experts

In the UK, Insolvency Practitioners (IPs) are the only people authorised (licensed) under the Insolvency Act 1986 to act in a formal insolvency proceeding for a business or an individual.

Insolvency Practitioner status is granted by the Secretary of State for Trade & Industry or by one of the recognised professional organisations such as the IPA. Anyone acting as an insolvency office holder without being authorised as an IP is committing an offence.

Beware the ‘ambulance chasers’

It’s quite possible that during your search you’ll come across ‘so called’ insolvency specialists, insolvency consultants, insolvency experts or insolvency auditors. And it may be tempting to turn to them for help.

However, although these unqualified and unregulated advisors might appear to know what they’re talking about, in reality they are little more than brokers acting on commission; to them you are simply a commodity to be passed on to a third party for a fee. Which you’ll have to pay!

Cut out the middleman

It’s therefore best to save time and money by going direct to an Licensed Insolvency Practitioner, as they are the only ones qualified to actually handle your insolvency – legally and effectively.

Your final choice of IP will probably boil down to whom you feel most comfortable working with. Or it might be a question of location or fees. But the most important thing is that you get professional help from the right quarters in the first place. And without delay!

FA Simms & Partners

Here at FA Simms & Partners we have been trading as an insolvency and business rescue firm for 35 years. We have three fully licensed Insolvency Practitioners who can all be appointed on any corporate or personal insolvency procedures. We are a firm you can trust as we have helped 1000’s of businesses in our time deal with their insolvency struggles.

We hope that you found this blog post useful? Please let us know in the comments below.