ARITA chief executive John Winter.
With compliance assuming an elephantine prominence in the day-to-day existence of the insolvency practitioner, it’s no surprise that the smaller, less-resourced operators have found it difficult to cope without updated precedents. The number of hours in a day is after all, frustratingly inelastic.
Those frustrations have been intensified by the perception – commonly expressed to SiN by the more diminutive practices – that the Australian Restructuring, Insolvency & Turnaround Association (ARITA) has had its focus directed elsewhere by the legal component of its membership. This week ARITA announced an initiative that will go some way to assuaging that discontent.
“We’ve received significant feedback, especially from small practice members, that ARITA should be using our expertise in the Insolvency Law Reform Act (ILRA) to assist firms by developing a suite of precedent documents to help them achieve compliance,” ARITA chief executive John Winter said in a missive to members.
“This is also in line with our soon to be released 2020 strategic plan that will have us focussing on providing more tangible member benefits.”
Winter said work was already well underway and said he expected what he termed as “Phase 1” would be released by early August with 100+ precedent documents.
“Phase 1: CVL, VA and court liquidation statutory precedents (letters and forms) and checklists. Documents would initially be provided as Microsoft Word templates,” he said.
“Phase 2: Receivership, DOCA, provisional liquidation and MVL statutory precedents and checklists, additional commercial and bolt-on precedents and checklists and, hopefully, some level of automation. Estimated to begin development in Q1-2018.
Phase 3: Bankruptcy and PIA statutory precedents and checklists. Estimated to begin mid-2018.
“As the precedents will be offered as a member benefit, their availability will be restricted to firms where at least 75% of the restructuring, insolvency and turnaround partners/principals are ARITA Professional Members. This also ensures alignment of firms using these documents with the ARITA Code of Professional Practice.”
Of course there will be a cost. For pricing and other details and to register your interest see: ARITA precedent documents coming soon – register your interest
What could be looked at as one of the most stormiest years in the insolvency industry at least since the introduction of VA’s in 1993. And it is great to see our peak body pull funds out of reserve to assist its IP members. Particularly, members from smaller firms, who don’t necessary have the resources to fund such a task. A collaborative effort to build an association so it is there to benefit for the greater good.
Too little too late.
I have maintained that ARITA and it’s predecessor the IPAA were focused on the big end of town for many years. Then we had the scourge of the ASIC crack down on compliance and who were the focus of that crack down but the sole practitioners and the small firms. The industry is geared to supporting the big end of town and disregarding the enormous service to the Australian economy that is provided by the sole practitioner and the small firms
The Australian economy is built on small business yet the Australian insolvency industry is focused on big business.