Nick O'Reilly - R3, the insolvency trade body

ePolitix.com speaks to Nick O'Reilly at R3, the insolvency trade body about their organisation, the role of insolvency practitioners and the economic crisis.

Question: Can you tell me about the Association of Business Recovery Professionals (R3)?

Nick O'Reilly: It is the UK's insolvency practitioners' trade body and we represent 97 per cent of all licensed insolvency practitioners in the United Kingdom.

Question: What is a licensed insolvency practitioner?

Nick O'Reilly: A person, usually an accountant or lawyer, who is licensed to act in formal insolvency proceedings.

Insolvency practitioners have specialist knowledge and they're uniquely qualified to advise both businesses and individuals and support them through financial difficulties. For example, through stepping in and turning a distressed business around or helping an individual with their personal debt issues.

On the business side, insolvency practitioners can act as administrators, receivers, liquidators or supervisors of company voluntary arrangements. In the case of individuals they act as trustees in bankruptcy or supervisors of individual voluntary arrangements.

Question: Is their work regulated by the government?

Nick O'Reilly: Yes, it is.

Question: To what extent have the activities of R3 and its members influenced government policy related to insolvency and business recovery?

Nick O'Reilly: We already liaise quite closely with the Insolvency Service, which is an executive agency of the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

We comment on government policy and we provide replies to government consultation but we really want to educate parliamentarians about how insolvency works. There have been lots of changes made to the insolvency regime since the recession in the 1990s and there's now a much greater focus on rescue. We want to help parliamentarians understand how these changes could affect the outcomes for people and businesses who get into financial trouble.

Question: So why is it important for R3 and its members to have this parliamentary support?

Nick O'Reilly: Our members are actually out there on the ground seeing how businesses and individuals fare when they get in to financial difficulties.

When the government puts through legislation to help more people in financial difficulty we see the effects on a day-to-day basis so we think that we are best placed to provide expert comment, and also hopefully refine areas of legislation that are not properly targeted.

Question: Given the current economic downturn, what advice can your organisation offer to members and individuals, and to MPs and their constituencies?

Nick O'Reilly: The one thing we are desperately trying to get across is the need to take advice early. In the UK people do not necessarily know that the majority of insolvency practitioners offer free initial advice to companies and individuals in distress.

All too often people only come to us for assistance when it is far too late, when the bailiffs are knocking at the door, for example. By that time, a good number of the procedures we could use to help people are already beyond use.

If people took free advice early on in the cycle - when they first realised there was a problem - we would be able to save more jobs and businesses and, in the case of individuals, help more people with personal debt.

Question: So many people are unaware that this advice is free and impartial?

Nick O'Reilly: Yes, absolutely. About 90 per cent of R3 members say they will offer at least the first hour of advice for free though, clearly, it is always best to ask beforehand.

Question: What are the major challenges facing your members for 2009?

Nick O'Reilly: The number of enquiries that our members are receiving is going up quite significantly. We have had 10 or 11 years where our members have had reasonably consistent workloads but in the last six months we have surveyed our members, and there has been a marked increase in the number of enquiries that they are receiving from individuals and small businesses in trouble. That is likely to lead to a greater number of insolvencies throughout 2009.

Question: Finally, do you have any comments for our readers in light of the Queen's speech, which was focused on the global economic downturn?

Nick O'Reilly: I think that the current economic downturn cannot be avoided, but the government have pulled all of the levers early enough in the cycle to try and minimise its impact. I think that all of the government's announcements so far, both in the pre-Budget report and in the Queen's speech, are designed to be helpful and we as insolvency practitioners are an important part of the business cycle and believe that our views should be taken into account.

We are the people that see the misery caused by an economic downturn, our experiences from thi

ePolitix.com speaks to Nick O'Reilly at R3, the insolvency trade body about their organisation, the role of insolvency practitioners and the economic crisis.

Question: Can you tell me about the Association of Business Recovery Professionals (R3)?

Nick O'Reilly: It is the UK's insolvency practitioners' trade body and we represent 97 per cent of all licensed insolvency practitioners in the United Kingdom.

Question: What is a licensed insolvency practitioner?

Nick O'Reilly: A person, usually an accountant or lawyer, who is licensed to act in formal insolvency proceedings.

Insolvency practitioners have specialist knowledge and they're uniquely qualified to advise both businesses and individuals and support them through financial difficulties. For example, through stepping in and turning a distressed business around or helping an individual with their personal debt issues.

On the business side, insolvency practitioners can act as administrators, receivers, liquidators or supervisors of company voluntary arrangements. In the case of individuals they act as trustees in bankruptcy or supervisors of individual voluntary arrangements.

Question: Is their work regulated by the government?

Nick O'Reilly: Yes, it is.

Question: To what extent have the activities of R3 and its members influenced government policy related to insolvency and business recovery?

Nick O'Reilly: We already liaise quite closely with the Insolvency Service, which is an executive agency of the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

We comment on government policy and we provide replies to government consultation but we really want to educate parliamentarians about how insolvency works. There have been lots of changes made to the insolvency regime since the recession in the 1990s and there's now a much greater focus on rescue. We want to help parliamentarians understand how these changes could affect the outcomes for people and businesses who get into financial trouble.

Question: So why is it important for R3 and its members to have this parliamentary support?

Nick O'Reilly: Our members are actually out there on the ground seeing how businesses and individuals fare when they get in to financial difficulties.

When the government puts through legislation to help more people in financial difficulty we see the effects on a day-to-day basis so we think that we are best placed to provide expert comment, and also hopefully refine areas of legislation that are not properly targeted.

Question: Given the current economic downturn, what advice can your organisation offer to members and individuals, and to MPs and their constituencies?

Nick O'Reilly: The one thing we are desperately trying to get across is the need to take advice early. In the UK people do not necessarily know that the majority of insolvency practitioners offer free initial advice to companies and individuals in distress.

All too often people only come to us for assistance when it is far too late, when the bailiffs are knocking at the door, for example. By that time, a good number of the procedures we could use to help people are already beyond use.

If people took free advice early on in the cycle - when they first realised there was a problem - we would be able to save more jobs and businesses and, in the case of individuals, help more people with personal debt.

Question: So many people are unaware that this advice is free and impartial?

Nick O'Reilly: Yes, absolutely. About 90 per cent of R3 members say they will offer at least the first hour of advice for free though, clearly, it is always best to ask beforehand.

Question: What are the major challenges facing your members for 2009?

Nick O'Reilly: The number of enquiries that our members are receiving is going up quite significantly. We have had 10 or 11 years where our members have had reasonably consistent workloads but in the last six months we have surveyed our members, and there has been a marked increase in the number of enquiries that they are receiving from individuals and small businesses in trouble. That is likely to lead to a greater number of insolvencies throughout 2009.

Question: Finally, do you have any comments for our readers in light of the Queen's speech, which was focused on the global economic downturn?

Nick O'Reilly: I think that the current economic downturn cannot be avoided, but the government have pulled all of the levers early enough in the cycle to try and minimise its impact. I think that all of the government's announcements so far, both in the pre-Budget report and in the Queen's speech, are designed to be helpful and we as insolvency practitioners are an important part of the business cycle and believe that our views should be taken into account.

We are the people that see the misery caused by an economic downturn, our experiences from this downturn will contain important lessons for the future.

downturn will contain important lessons for the future.