Insolvency practitioners (IPs) work in a fast-paced and demanding environment that offers diverse opportunities but requires a range of skills. An IP’s cases might include business rescue and restructuring, closing down insolvent companies, and supporting individuals in serious debt.

Essentially, their role involves dealing with people and businesses facing significant financial challenges so soft skills are in constant use alongside the vital technical know-how this profession demands.

So what skills are essential to the role of an insolvency practitioner?

Good communication

Good communication skills are vital for an insolvency practitioner to fulfil their duties effectively. IPs have to deal with a number of stakeholders, including company directors, employees, suppliers, and customers, all of whom have different interests and needs, some of which conflict.

Strong communication is essential, therefore, in addressing the diverse concerns of all the parties involved in insolvency cases. Bringing a conclusion to a period of significant financial disruption requires great skill in formal and informal communications, particularly in the case of complex business insolvencies.

Strong business acumen

Corporate insolvency is complicated and understanding why a business has declined to the extent of liquidation demands considerable business acumen. An insolvency practitioner might move from construction cases, for instance, to struggling retail businesses and then on to compromised education institutions.

Understanding how all industries operate, dealing with the inherent conflicts of interest that arise, and acting in the best interests of the relevant stakeholders underpins a successful outcome – whether that means turning the business around or closing it down in an orderly manner.

Analytical expertise

Analytical skills are essential for insolvency practitioners to establish why a company has failed and to determine the root causes. The business’s failure might be due to director negligence or wrongdoing, for example, or simply a decline in the market.

If a company is liquidated the directors are investigated by the IP for instances of misconduct so being able to analyse the situation leading up to insolvency is a key part of the officeholder’s work.

Digital skills

Technology can help to streamline a complex process and provide insolvency practitioners with easier and faster ways to communicate with creditors and other stakeholders during corporate liquidations.

Advancing technologies, such as artificial intelligence and data analytics, have the power to transform how insolvency services are delivered. Onerous processes can be automated – classifying a substantial volume of business documentation, for example, assisting the IP in their investigations and the provision of the final report.

Pragmatism

An insolvency practitioner needs to be a skilled negotiator, problem-solver, and decision-maker, so a pragmatic approach enables them to work logically through the day-to-day challenges of insolvency cases whilst addressing the relevant stakeholder interests.

Acting with common sense and practicality whilst understanding the best outcomes for stakeholders helps to smooth what can be a fraught situation and conduct an insolvency procedure effectively.

A diverse skill set is essential for insolvency practitioners

Combining these essential skills offers the best possible outcome for those affected by corporate insolvency, but also for individuals experiencing severe debt and businesses that can be rescued – through either informal advice or an official appointment.

It might be assumed that insolvency practitioners are either accountancy or law professionals, but in reality, a multi-disciplinary skill set is required to complete each appointment to the required professional standards.

The practical and interpersonal skills needed to fulfil their role help to save jobs, enable clients and stakeholders to bring uncertainty to an end, or overcome their financial difficulties and benefit from a fresh start.

About the author – Jon Munnery is an insolvency and company restructuring expert at UK Liquidators, a leading provider of company liquidation services to both solvent and insolvent limited companies.

Jon supports businesses at risk of insolvency and already insolvent as a result of creditor pressure and the build-up of business debts.

In the digital age, your online presence can be just as crucial as your physical one, especially when it comes to professional networking and job hunting. LinkedIn, with over 700 million users globally, stands at the forefront of professional networking, acting as a digital CV and a platform for career development. For job seekers, a well-crafted LinkedIn profile can be the key to unlocking new career opportunities. Here’s how to optimise your LinkedIn profile to make a lasting impression on potential employers.

The Power of the First Impression: Profile Photo and Headline

Your profile photo and headline are the first things a viewer notices. A professional headshot where you look approachable yet professional sets the right tone. It’s not about glamour; it’s about projecting a reliable, trustworthy professional image.

Your headline doesn’t just need to be your job title. Use this space to showcase your speciality or your career aspirations. For example, “Insolvency Manager overseeing a team of 6 | Committed to developing insolvency experience and knowledge” immediately tells viewers who you are and what you’re looking for.

Career History: Transparency and Clarity

List all relevant positions you’ve held, ensuring your career trajectory is easy to follow. For each role, include a brief but informative description of your responsibilities and achievements. If there are gaps in your employment, a short explanation can provide context. This transparency reduces guesswork and assumptions for potential employers and shows your integrity.

Recommendations: Endorsements that Build Credibility

Recommendations from former employers, colleagues, or clients can significantly boost your profile’s credibility. They act as references before a potential employer even contacts you. Aim to gather recommendations that speak to your key skills and accomplishments.

Skills and Endorsements: Showcase Your Expertise

Be strategic about the skills you list. Prioritise those most relevant to your career goals and most in demand in your field. Regularly updating your skills section also demonstrates your commitment to professional growth.

Engaging and Professional Content

The content you share and engage with on LinkedIn says a lot about your professional interests and knowledge. Share industry news, articles, and insights that align with your career goals. Thoughtful comments on posts can also showcase your expertise and engagement with your industry.

Remember, LinkedIn is not like some other social media platforms that are mainly linked to you friends and family. The tone is more professional, and what you share should add value to your professional persona.

Leveraging LinkedIn for Job Searches

Use LinkedIn’s job search functionality. Tailor your profile to align with the roles you’re applying for. Keywords are crucial. Recruiters often search for specific skills and job titles, so include relevant keywords in your profile.

Networking: The Heart of LinkedIn

Actively connect with industry professionals and participate in relevant groups. Networking on LinkedIn isn’t just about expanding your list of connections; it’s about building meaningful relationships that can lead to career opportunities.

Keeping Your Profile Up-to-Date

Regular updates to your profile are essential. They keep your network informed about your latest skills, experiences, and career objectives.

Conclusion

In a competitive job market, a strong LinkedIn profile is more than just a digital CV; it’s a personal brand, a networking tool, and a platform for career development. By carefully curating your profile, actively engaging with relevant content, and utilising the platform’s networking capabilities, you can significantly enhance your visibility to potential employers and open doors to new job opportunities.

At Levitate Recruitment, we understand the importance of a strong LinkedIn presence in the job search process. We’re always here to discuss opportunities and offer guidance, whether you’re actively looking for a new role or planning for future career moves. Remember, your LinkedIn profile is a reflection of your professional self – make it count.

If you’re contemplating a career move and are open to discussing your options or want to get a feel of the market, I’m here for a straightforward, commitment-free chat. Send me an email at slowes@levitaterecruitment.com to arrange a call.

My views are based on my 15 years+ of recruiting for Accountancy Practice and Insolvency professionals.

For advice about your career options, speak to Scott Lowes at Levitate Recruitment, specialists in placing practice-trained accountants and insolvency professionals across the UK, and find the right role to suit your ambitions.

Insolvency offers a rewarding and varied career where professionals use a range of skills to help companies and individuals deal with serious financial issues. The challenges of retaining skilled talent in the insolvency sector are ever-present, however.

As in any industry, high-pressure work and responsibilities may lead to employee burnout followed by a desire to move on, but with the right support system in place insolvency firms can respond positively and retain their staff.

High employee turnover can ultimately affect a company’s bottom line. If staff aren’t retained and employees regularly leave, it can also damage a firm’s reputation within the sector.

So what are some of the challenges that insolvency companies face in terms of talent retention, and how can they be addressed to develop a loyal workforce and more stable and resilient business?

Strong competition for skilled talent within the sector

Insolvency is a relatively small sector and strong competition within it can present a challenge for employers. The draw to move to another company may be strong for employees if their skills are in high demand and rival companies offer significantly better compensation and benefits.

Firms can be intentional with their talent retention efforts by providing a working environment where dedication and hard work are recognised, and where beneficial working terms and conditions become the catalyst for long-term staff engagement and loyalty.

Attraction of working in other financial and legal areas

Those working in the insolvency sector may be drawn to other financial or law-related professions. Insolvency as a whole offers diverse opportunities, however, where staff can combine their expertise and interest in financial and legal work.

Newly graduated or established finance and law professionals may adopt a broad range of insolvency roles that utilise their skills whilst providing a varied working life that consistently draws on different facets of their knowledge.

Better promoting insolvency as an attractive and diverse career option is a first step in improving recruitment rates, but can be followed up with clear progression opportunities to retain skilled talent for the long term.

Challenges for smaller firms within the sector

The insolvency sector can experience cycles of increased and decreased activity that mirror the nation’s economic health. When the economy slumps insolvency firms may experience periods of intense demand as individuals and businesses look to them for professional guidance and support.

The emergence of smaller ‘boutique’ insolvency companies and the subsequently reduced dominance of the corporates have changed the landscape slightly within the industry. This can create an issue for smaller insolvency companies in retaining staff, however – given the increased workloads and pressures at busy times, smaller insolvency businesses may not have the additional workforce to call upon.

Targeted recruitment and retention

Developing a cohesive strategy addresses the challenges of staff retention in the insolvency sector and builds resilient businesses. This could include using specialist recruitment agencies that understand the sector, for example, networking effectively, and providing the supportive working environment that staff are looking for.

Having a system in place where discord or dissatisfaction with work is identified and discussed with a view to improving the situation can also head off staff resignations. If a member of the team does leave, however, a diligent exit interview can also reveal issues in the workplace that managers may not have known about.

Retaining skilled talent can present one of the biggest challenges for the insolvency industry but if addressed effectively it will improve business stability and resilience, and provide the foundation for building and maintaining a stronger presence within the sector.

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About the author – Shaun Barton is a partner at Company Closure and boasts a wealth of experience in helping directors of distressed companies understand their options. A director-facing adviser, Shaun is often the first point of contact for business owners in financial distress, consistently delivering expert advice when it is needed the most.

For our latest blog, we have a guest post from Chris Bristow at Real Business Rescue.

Insolvency represents an exciting and rewarding career which sits as much within the finance arena as it does within law. Insolvency professionals will either work for an independent insolvency firm, or as part of a firm of lawyers or accountants.

In a nutshell, a career in insolvency involves working with financially distressed businesses or individuals who require professional intervention to deal with their financial woes. Many insolvency firms will offer both personal and corporate insolvency advice, although many insolvency professionals will choose to specialise in one or the other.

• Corporate Insolvency – Corporate insolvency involves dealing with distressed limited companies and their shareholders/directors. Depending on the financial position of the company coupled with its long-term viability, options may include a restructuring of the company’s operations through a process of administration, or entering into formal negotiations with creditors by way of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA). If the company’s problems have taken it beyond the point of rescue, there may no alternative other than to close the company down by placing it into liquidation.
• Personal Insolvency – When working in personal insolvency, you will be helping individuals understand their options for dealing with unmanageable debt which may include Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) and Bankruptcy. Other options are available to individuals in Scotland.

Roles within insolvency

A career in insolvency offers a huge amount of growth and further career opportunities if an individual is prepared to work hard. While each firm will structure their insolvency department in their own way, typical roles on offer will include:

• Insolvency Administrator – This is how many insolvency professionals careers start. While some individuals will enter the industry with a background in accountancy or law, there are no specific entry requirements or qualifications needed, instead you will learn ‘on the job’. A typical days’ work will involve filing statutory notices at Companies House and liaising with creditors including HMRC.
• Insolvency Manager – With several years’ experience under your belt as an Insolvency Administrator, you can move up the career ladder to a management position. As an insolvency manager you will be expected to manage your own caseload and work closely with the appointed insolvency practitioner; you are likely to have a team of insolvency administrators working underneath you who you will line manage. You may also find yourself taking the initial phone call from a distressed director, providing help and advice and talking through the available options. At this stage in your insolvency career you may wish to solidify your knowledge by sitting the Certificate of Proficiency in Insolvency (CPI) exam, an industry recognised qualification that demonstrates your technical and practical knowledge of the sector.
• Licensed Insolvency Practitioner – In order to become a licensed insolvency practitioner you will need to successfully pass a series of gruelling exams known as the JIEB (Joint Insolvency Examination Board). There is one exam for personal insolvency and another one for corporate insolvency. Insolvency practitioners can hold a full license (upon passing both exams) or alternatively a partial license in either personal insolvency or corporate insolvency if just one of the exams has been passed.

In addition to the JIEB, aspiring insolvency practitioners must also record a minimum of 600 hours of higher experience in insolvency administration within the preceding 5 years as well as registering with one of the five recognised RPBs in order to obtain their licence. Once licensed, an insolvency practitioner will then be legally allowed to take insolvency appointments according to their license, from company liquidations and personal bankruptcies, through to administrations and Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs).

Skills you will need

In addition to the formal qualifications required to become a licensed insolvency practitioner, highly developed soft skills in areas such as empathy and the ability to explain complex legal procedures in simple, understandable terms, are also coveted within the industry.

You will be required to liaise with a number of parties as part of any insolvency case, including directors/shareholders, outstanding creditors, HMRC, and any employees of the business. In many cases you will be delivering news which is unwelcome, such as notifying employees of redundancy, or explaining to creditors that they will not receive the money back they are owed. You must therefore have the communication skills required to deal with these potentially uncomfortable conversations and ensure each party understands how they will be affected by the insolvency.

In addition, insolvency legislation is ever-changing, therefore a commitment to ongoing training and development to ensure skills and knowledge are kept up to date is a must.

Considering a career in insolvency? Here’s why you should!

• Variety – As insolvency sits between the law and finance, you will find that your workload remains interesting and varied. One day you could be completing accountancy based tasks such as preparing a Statement of Affairs, while the next you are building up evidence to support a case against a director for wrongful or fraudulent trading.
• Rewarding – While there may be some negative connotations towards the insolvency industry from those who do not fully understand how it works, the reality is that formal insolvency solutions offer companies or individuals a way out of a situation which has become simply unmanageable. Helping a distressed individual understand their options and working alongside them to put a plan in place can be an extremely rewarding part of the job.
• Security – Insolvency is a counter-cyclical industry which means demand for the service is likely to increase the worse the economy gets. This is in contrast to many other occupations where a thriving economy comes with increased demand. This can provide a reassuring element of job security in otherwise challenging times.

About the author – Chris Bristow is a business debt expert at Real Business Rescue, company rescue, restructuring and liquidation specialists with a wealth of experience in supporting company directors in financial difficulty.

In the wake of the pandemic, the traditional job hiring landscape underwent a major shift. The time-honoured practice of in-person interviews was increasingly replaced by video interviews, a trend that continues to shape recruitment processes. While face-to-face interviews are making a comeback, the role of video interviews in accelerating the recruitment process cannot be understated, particularly in the context of international hiring.

This blog delves into the benefits and challenges of video interviews for employers and job seekers, offering practical tips to ace this new normal in recruitment.

Advantages and Pitfalls for Employers

Benefits

• Cost-Effectiveness: Video interviews eliminate travel, slashing significant recruitment expenditure.
• Scheduling Flexibility: The absence of travel eases interview timing coordination.
• Time Conservation: With commute out of the equation, the focus can be solely on the interview.
• Access to Global Talent: The virtual format enables tapping into international talent, raising the bar for recruitment.

Challenges

• Technical Hitches: Connectivity issues and poor audio-video quality could potentially disrupt the interview.
• Missed Non-verbal Cues: The nuances of body language and facial expressions, crucial to interviews, can be hard to read.
• Potential Distractions: Candidates may find themselves in environments not conducive to focused conversation.
• Lack of Personal Connection: The virtual format can create barriers to establishing rapport with the candidate.

Pros and Cons for Candidates

Benefits

• Comfort and Convenience: The familiarity of home reduces stress and enhances comfort during interviews.
• Broadened Access: Virtual interviews unlock job opportunities beyond geographical constraints.
• Streamlined Preparation: With resources at their fingertips during the interview, candidates can better equip themselves.
• Improved Communication: Viewing the interviewer’s reactions in real-time can help candidates tailor their responses.

Challenges

• Technical Difficulties: Internet issues can cause interruptions, leading to stress and performance impacts.
• Impersonal Experience: Building a connection with the interviewer can be more challenging in a virtual setting.
• Potential Distractions: Domestic settings might pose unexpected interruptions.
• Increased Anxiety: The unfamiliar format may exacerbate nerves for some candidates.

Tips for Excelling in Video Interviews

Preparation is key. Double-check your technology, dress professionally, pick a quiet, distraction-free spot for your interview, and rehearse answers to common questions. Keep the interaction natural, not robotic.

Maintain eye contact, articulate clearly, use natural body language, and actively listen to the interviewer before responding. Use reliable video conferencing platforms like Zoom or Skype, and always have a backup plan in case of technical disruptions. Appropriate lighting and a neutral background keep the focus on you.

Be ready to go at least five minutes early. Even though it is a virtual meeting, remember to dress appropriately. Conclude the interaction by thanking the interviewer for their time.

In conclusion, the advent of video interviews, though catalysed by the pandemic, is a trend that has reshaped the job market. As we navigate this change, recognising its unique challenges and leveraging the advantages, we can turn potential roadblocks into opportunities for growth and connection.

My views are based on my 15 years+ of recruiting for Accountancy Practice and Insolvency professionals.

For advice about your career options, speak to Scott Lowes at Levitate Recruitment, specialists in placing practice-trained accountants and insolvency professionals across the UK, and find the right role to suit your ambitions.