As a senior member of a busy specialist insolvency firm, I am a regular user of the insolvency legislation. Last year new legislation was implemented in the guise of insolvency law reform. Apparently it represented 10% of all Federal legislation passed that year. There is a lot of it. Last week I had to hunt down the meaning…
Two recent significant credit management developments offer the prospect of help and relief for business, especially small business, in the New Year: The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) reporting to registered Credit Reporting Bureaus (CRBs). Speedier payments from Federal Government agencies. Transparency of tax debt measure In its mid 2016-2017 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the…
Seems like we’ll do anything to avoid being bored. We view it as an annoying feeling to be avoided at all costs. Plus some of us feel pressure to always be engaged with something for fear of appearing lazy. And with our ever-growing to-do lists and so much technology at our finger tips to amuse…
Finally on 19 October 2017 the Government introduced into Federal Parliament the long promised Bill to reduce the default period of bankruptcy from three years to one year. Back in December 2015 the Federal Government announced its National Innovation Statement (“NIS”), which outlined proposed reforms to insolvency laws that are designed, amongst other things, to…
On 12 September 2017 the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer MP (Minister for Revenue and Financial Services) announced that “The Turnbull Government is taking action to crack down on illegal phoenixing activity that costs the economy up to $3.2 billion per year to ensure those involved face tougher penalties.” Illegal phoenixing is the stripping and transfer of…
(Blondie) (When a liquidator’s seemingly small omission can have serious consequences) In the 2016 case of Asden Developments Pty Ltd (in liq) v Dinoris (No 3) [2016] FCA 788 (a six day trial) the Federal Court found that a liquidator had in effect breached his duty as an officer under Section 180 of the Corporations…
(Morris Albert/Louis Gasté) I’m an accountant. An insolvency and forensic accountant. Through my training and work experience I’ve been told and taught to critically analyse, measure, consider, compare etc. To more objectively assess a position, consider options and develop strategies. To make a “proper” assessment in order to correctly advise and make good decisions. However,…
What defines our times? One significant factor is the drive for speed or immediacy. For most of us life is a careful balancing act, a finely timetabled life, in which everything works so long as no-one is ill. Weekends often offer little spare time but instead are occupied with shopping, family, household chores and getting…
Debt agreements are at an all time high. Figures released by AFSA for the March quarter 2017 show that debt agreements are the highest on record at 3,584 for the quarter. Debt agreements reached record highs in Western Australia, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. At the same time, we have seen the burgeoning of…
Catch Me If You Can is a 2002 American biographical film based on the life of Frank Abagnale, who before his 19th birthday pocketed millions of dollars posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor and a Louisiana parish prosecutor. Played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film, Abagnale’s primary scam was cheque…
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