It's no longer just good to talk, but critical for survival

The continuing economic environment, coupled with some high-profile companies being put into administration has thrown the concept of business turnaround into the spotlight.  Clearly some "good" companies were in face far from that and insolvency was absolutely the right thing.

This comes at a time when the Government is talking about entrepreneurship and growth.  It is argued however that, in many situations, insolvency is happening because stakeholders are not finding ways to work together quickly enough to save a business before a Winding Up petition lands on the mat.

Therein lies the problem of directors trying to firefight the ongoing problems whilst finding the time to talk to suppliers, banks, customers and other key stakeholders.

Statistics show that since 2006 almost 100,000 businesses have found themselves in insolvency in England and Wales.  How many more will become insolvent in the next five years?

Commonly, there is a real lack of skill and understanding of communication between stakeholders.  Essentially it is not just restructuring the balance sheet, but a change of working practices.  Therein perhaps lies the issue?  Before problems escalate, it is necessary to communicate with as many possible parties.  Without communication early on, businesses will quickly fall by the wayside.

At Walker Thompson, we aim to work with clients to find solutions in a more innovative way than simply recommending Insolvency.