Are HMRC Withdrawing Support for Time To Pay Arrangements?

I have heard through the grapevine that HMRC are looking closely at withdrawing support for the Time To Pay arrangements from this April and these arrangements have been so popular in the past with SMEs in clearing company debt; too popular, perhaps. Some may be surprised to hear me say, but I believe generally that HMRC do a good job in very difficult circumstances.

IT System Changes and Staffing Losses

HMRC have had to endure IT system changes which have not always been as successful as they should have been. Cut-backs in staffing numbers reduction in pension benefits as have all civil servants along with chopping and changing of what jobs are completed where. The communication systems were antiquated though they are trying to catch up and some at the higher levels finally have access to external email. There is an awful lot of confusion inside and outside regarding the new phone systems which frankly leave a lot to be desired as there is only so many times you can hear Vivaldi or Green Sleeves before you start banging your head on the desk in tune with the beat.

Attempted humour aside, any cut-back on the SMEs ability to agree a time to pay arrangement would be a severe set-back to those companies who genuinely need help when coming out of recession. We deal with company debt and HMRC negotiations as part of our work and the time to pay arrangement has been a valuable tool and saved some companies - no question.

The longest recession in recorded history

Coming out of a recession is bad enough but coming out of the longest recession in recorded history is another. I am hoping that Carney keeps the interest rates down as businesses need as much help as is possible. Okay, I know there will be some out there saying “Well I pay my taxes on time so why shouldn’t they?” I accept the point, but I do come across a large percentage of smaller businesses who have cut to the bone to survive. Once a company does this they are very vulnerable and it is easy to get into difficulty for no other reason than a larger business debtor has decided to pay later than agreed. You can argue these companies should not have placed all their eggs in one basket, but the reality is these smaller businesses represent a significant part of the British economy.

I appreciate these HMRC time to pay arrangements are time consuming and so I assume they are costly to manage and monitor, but what is the alternative to a time to pay arrangement? 

A View on UK Economic Recovery; Bank Lending & SMEs:

Some interesting statistics flying around over the weekend what with the economy doing far better than expected it looks like the Bank of England governor may need to make a decision on interest rates in a matter of a few months. I am not sure Carney will be forced into making the decision that soon. He doesn’t strike me as a man who will be forced into any situation. The economy badly needs a long spell of stability and low interest rates, not a step into the unknown that a hike in rates would bring about. We have a fledgling housing market that is seeing a well-earned recovery and with wages still suppressed there is unlikely to be a return of a much feared ‘bubble’. Carney is more likely to link wages to inflation as a ‘get out of jail free card’ to get himself off the hook.

I may be proved wrong but I am hoping we don’t see any rates rising until well into Q4 2014 or early 2015.

Barclays decision to ‘transfer’ 800,000 of its small businesses away from free banking towards a charge based structure will do no favours for the already hammered reputation. Barclays insist the move will only affect about 250,000 businesses currently banking with Barclays – so that’s all right then. Business lending has never been a priority with the banks barring a few exceptions and is rarely more than 10% of any the major banks total lending. Major banks do not like lending to small businesses and never have to be fair to them and the Basel II rules make it more difficult for lending to take place.

Okay, so I understand business lending had risen slightly over the first half of 2013, but if you are already starting from a very low starting point then it’s not really great news. In any event, I now understand the percentage of lending to small businesses has fallen back by about a third to around 7% of total bank lending that may contribute towards businesses having cash-flow problems and seeking debt advice sooner, without the support they need from the banks. The bottom line is small to medium sized businesses are just not a core demographic for any of the major banks and the sooner businesses realise that banks are no friend to business the better.

Written by: Mike Smith

Do insolvency practitioners do turnaround?

I read a very interesting article recently highlighting this question and it may seem an odd question to ask, but do insolvency practitioners actually rescue companies, or simply put them into liquidation? Put plainly, do insolvency practitioners rescue companies? The question was posed by a well-respected rescue CEO and consultant with over twenty years in rescuing businesses. My experience is, I have to say, not good when answering this question. I have been advising large medium and small companies for over thirty four years now and rescuing a failing business is not for the faint hearted, that’s for sure. So why is the question even being asked? Well I suspect this well respected gentleman has had similar experiences to me over the last five years or so, through the heat of a recession.

Unfortunately, I do believe insolvency practitioners generally have lost the appetite and more importantly lost valuable experience in rescuing companies and have put more focus on more expedient liquidations. In the last year alone we have been contacted by around 2-3,000 company directors seeking business debt advice. The majority of directors that we have advised who had also spoken previously to competing insolvency practitioners were genuinely surprised and greatly relieved when we discussed how we may be able to rescue the company and not simply put it into company liquidation. Now, it is not possible to rescue all companies and I accept there are a lot of so called zombie companies out there, but shouldn’t we at least work from the premise of ‘how do we save this company’ rather than how quickly can we close it?   

Certainly the majority of insolvency practitioners appear driven more by regulatory and compliance matters than saving the company. I guess this is understandable when they are subject to spot checks and can lose their licence if not completing procedures thoroughly enough, but is this the real reason or a symptom of something else?

    

Over the last five years or so, since the recession, we have seen and heard of serious investment in compliance policies and procedures which has turned into an entrenched dogma creating a completely different type of insolvency practitioner to that which existed 7-10 years ago I suspect. There is something else though when you look at the increased numbers of staff. The new kids on the block don’t know anything else other than compliance, regulations and following the necessary processes and many have no first-hand experience of rescuing a company, or negotiating with creditors over business debts.

With the economy improving and the Insolvency Service cutting down in size, it may be that a downturn in insolvent liquidation cases may well be followed by a number of insolvency practitioners starting to struggle and being taken over. It may seem improbable, but there is already evidence in the market place that insolvency practitioners are trying to change their approach as they begin to struggle. The insolvency practitioners that cannot adapt to the changes will struggle to survive in a market where desperate practitioners are already pushing liquidation fees down in an attempt to reel in more business whilst their profit margins get squeezed. A note of caution here; far too many directors do not think to check the website of insolvency practitioners for genuine testimonials, or ask to speak with the insolvency practitioners' past clients. This should always be the first action that any company director should take who is thinking of engaging, or referring an insolvency practitioner.

The 'big boys' appear to have swallowed up a significant portion of the ‘company rescue’ talent, but not every SME can afford their fees and in any event, these bigger firms of insolvency practitioners will continue to ‘cherry pick’ their clients based on certain prerequisites. The average SME traditionally turns to his/her accountant for help and that is as it should be as the first port of call. Perhaps the SME accountants should check who they refer their clients through to in future more than they previously have when they want a company to be rescued?   

Back to the question: Do I think insolvency practitioners do turnaround? Well, the larger clients will probably be able to afford the big names, but the smaller companies are left to a roll of the dice as to whether someone will genuinely try and turn the business around, or simply put it into company liquidation.

 

There is a simple solution though – check the websites and how about asking to speak to past clients? 

Coming Out of Recession – Good News for business?

We are coming out of the longest recession in recorded history so this has to be good news doesn't it? The UK economy, we are told, has the strongest forecast in Western Europe. So, if the signs of consumers finally opening up their wallets are there then struggling companies across the UK should be pleased, and they can pat themselves on the back as having ‘made it through the storm’, right? Well not really. I don’t want to be a dampener on a struggling director’s hopes as there are indicators we can be cautiously optimistic about. The problem is based on past experience having been through three recessions that the most dangerous time for a cash-strapped company is when coming out of recession. The reasoning behind this is simple. If the ‘struggling’ company has cut back to the bone and cannot raise personal finance; ploughed in personal/family cash; reduced staff; sold off assets/stock; maxed out the company credit card and the banks being as helpful as ever and refusing to lend – the ‘straw that breaks the camel’s back’ is usually an influx of new orders.

You may think this is nonsense and that any bank with an ounce of commercial common sense would see a full order book as an indicator of something positive. Not so. We have had many cases where the order books have been full to the brim and the banks have refused to even provide an overdraft. They (The bank) did by the way allow an unauthorised overdraft of as much as the company wanted but at 27.9% APR. Factoring may help but my experience is this usually creates more problems than it solves for smaller companies.

So when orders start to increase and the bank account is empty what can directors do? There are few points to remember. Take a common sense approach and remember that when a patient has been very ill and is still very weak then start with a little of the right food often rather than gorge on too much of anything all at once.

My meaning here is that is important to gear up slowly if the company is cash-strapped and do not over trade and take too much on board. It is easy for a director to convince themselves that the more work you do the better things will get. Not necessarily – it could make matters worse. The fastest way to lose a good name is to let customers down. So, it’s important not to take work on that cannot be fulfilled competently and effectively and getting paid.

A director should set reasonable achievable goals and make sure the accounts/finance department talks to sales and is able to fund the growth. Ensure regular and frequent meetings are taking place and this is the time the director must have his/her finger on the pulse and work even harder and smarter.

If directors are a ‘one man band’ then they should be talking to someone other than a life partner/spouse that will provide an objective, informed unemotional view of the situation. This is an ideal time for the accountants to step in and provide support I would suggest. Whoever the director talks to they must keep the dialogue on-going until the company is back on its feet to make sure there is no disconnect between the service you have provided and what is paid in – not owed in. A business can grow on promises of payment – they need cash.

The nature of the business the directors are involved in will also matter. For example if they are in a building related trade then it may easier to get clients to fund at least part of the project with up-front cash. This can make a big difference to the chances of survival and not. This course of action may be more difficult with other businesses and directors will need to work smarter when providing the services to the client. For example is it worth having a word with your key supplier and showing them the full order book and offer to make them the sole supplier so they can see the benefit of increased sales.

Whatever the director does they must take care and whilst it is good to be cautiously optimistic it is foolhardy to believe simply obtaining lots and lots of extra work in itself will solve the problem – it may just make matters worse. Take care out there. 

Written by: Mike Smith