Would you let an unqualified doctor operate on you? Would you be happy for an unlicensed builder to be building your house? Then why would you risk using an unqualified insolvency expert or liquidator?
There are faceless operators out there who will try to sell you a liquidation offer by charging you a fee for their unqualified and usually poor advice and then paying a liquidator a lower fee to do the actual work. The fact this middleman isn't regulated, insured or part of a professional group makes it hard to complain about them, sue them, or have them investigated.
Before you engage an insolvency expert, make sure they are qualified by following these three steps.
Step 1 - ASIC
Make sure they are registered with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). An insolvency practitioner is an independent and suitably qualified person, not a company. ASIC Regulates licenced insolvency practitioners and liquidator by checking:
- their qualifications
- winding-up experience
- their capability
- whether they are fit an proper
- if they have been disqualified from practising
- if they have professional indemnity insurance and fidelity insurance
You can quickly check whether a liquidator is registered by visiting ASIC's website.
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Step 2 - ARITA
Make sure they are a member of the Australian Restructuring and Turnaround Association (ARITA). Arita is the professional body for Australian insolvency practitioners as well as those working in the business reconstruction and personal & corporate insolvency fields.
All ARITA Members are bound by the ARITA code of professional practice and must complete 40 hours of professional development each year to maintain their professional expertise. One of ARITAs core objectives is to maintain and improve professional standards and they'll investigate any complaint about a members professional conduct as a practitioner.
You can search for ARITA members online at their website.
Step 3 - Accounting Body
Make sure they are a member of an accounting profession. There are 2 main accounting professional bodies in Australia - CPA Australia and Chartered Accountants Australia + New Zealand (CANZ). Every liquidator at Revive Financial is a member of CANZ which means they:
- comply with the code of conduct
- are regulated by the Australian Accounting Standards Board
- hold acceptable levels of professional indemnity and fidelity insurance
Liquidation is never an easy thing to do financially or emotionally. But choosing the right liquidator will make the whole process go a lot more smoothly. See how we can help with our Instant Online Assessment.
For more information on director advice, check out our director advice page here.
