Dear Members,
A lot has happened since our last newsletter.
Alan Tilley, who has been part of the EACTP’s leadership group since it was founded, stepped down from his role as EACTP’s President. During his tenure, Alan worked tirelessly to steer the association to the position it is in today. He was instrumental in laying the foundations for the EACTP’s success, establishing the CTA Online Learning Programme, and leaving an impeccable legacy. It is with enormous appreciation that we send Alan our sincerest and heartfelt thanks for everything he has done for the EACTP over the years. His drive, determination and dedication is why EACTP has become a go-to certification programme of choice for European turnaround and restructuring professionals.
And while Alan has stepped down, we are very pleased to announce that Alberto Cerini has joined the EACTP’s Board of Directors. As a founding partner of Cerini & Partners, Alberto is a practicing CTP with over 20 years’ experience in audit, corporate finance and interim management firms in Italy and internationally. Alberto is passionate about education and since becoming a member, he has been a strong supporter of the EACTP’s education programme and wider mission, and we know he will be a valuable addition to the Board. However we are still looking for more board members and committee members so if you’re interested please email us at eactp@turnaround.org.
Coming up next month, we are all looking forward to this year’s TMA Europe Annual European Conference in Madrid. At this year’s conference the EACTP will be there to participate in discussions, share expertise and facilitate networking opportunities for our members. Alberto Cerini, Vlad Nastase, Volker Beissenhirtz and Boudewijn Wellink will host EACTP’s panel session on Friday 10th June, sharing real-life empowering CTP stories about business recoveries in critical operating environments. Later in the day we will also be hosting one of the TMA Connect roundtables where we will discuss ‘leading with innovation and connectivity for sustainable workouts’.
EACTP Members and CTA students benefit from a generously discounted conference ticket price. See below for more details.
And finally, for this month’s newsletter we have had several article submissions. We thank Alberto Cerini for a piece on how Italy is fairing with supply chain shocks, Maria Pombo for a piece on practice updates in the UK, Tyrone Courtman for a piece on the importance of change for survival and Lydia Tsioli for a piece on viability assessments in corporate debt restructuring. And Volker Beissenhirtz on why Germany is seeing less magic! You can see a summary of all articles below and read the full pieces by following the links to our website.
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Join EACTP members in Madrid for the 2022 Annual European |
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Be sure to register soon for the 2022 Annual European next month!
EACTP will have a strong presence at this industry-leading. A great opportunity to meet fellow members and the wider TMA community.
Discounted EACTP registration rate available for members and CTA students.
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Viability Assessment in Corporate Debt Restructuring: Optimizing the Filtration Effect of the European Directive on Restructuring and Insolvency |
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By Lydia Tsioli (King’s College London)
Despite being pivotal in corporate debt restructuring, viability, an intricate notion with double meaning and double role, has not been systematically examined in Europe. Against this background, and especially given that the new European directive on restructuring and insolvency (the “Directive”) is currently under transposition and restructuring law is making its first steps as a harmonized field across Europe, my recent paper, published in Norton Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, undertakes a doctrinal, comparative [USA, UK] and economic analysis of law examination of viability with the aim of putting forward suggestions that will make viability the linchpin of the Directive, thus optimizing its filtration effect as defined below.
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A quick practice update from the UK |
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By Maria Pombo, BeRescued Director -
Business Development and Client Services
Early this year I have seen two important legislative changes in the UK that aim to tackle economic crime and investigate Directors of dissolved companies. I believe these changes are important from a Turnaround and Restructuring practice point of view.
Firstly, the Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Act 2021 makes, with effect from 15 February 2022, important changes to the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. As presently drafted, the 1986 Act provides that the court will, in the circumstances set out in that Act, make a disqualification order against directors of companies “which has at any time become insolvent”: current section 6(1)(a). That power is, by the 2021 Act, extended such that the court has an identical power in relation to persons who have been directors of “a company which has at any time been dissolved without becoming insolvent”: new section 6(1)(a)(ii). Consequential amendments are made to the rest of the 1986 Act. Importantly, by s 2(14) of the 2021 Act the changes apply to the conduct of directors even if that conduct occurred before the enactment of the 2021 Act, and even if the company was dissolved before that enactment. (Source: The Three Stone Triannual Review Issue 5)
The attached article “Court in the act” by barrister Professor Mark Watson-Gandy provides a good summary of newly legislated powers to investigate directors of dissolved companies.
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“You don’t have to change but then don’t expect your bottom line to either” |
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By Tyrone Courtman, RSM Restructuring Advisory LLP
‘You don’t have to change but then don’t expect your bottom line to either’ is often cited by business schools to inspire management to bring about change to improve a business’s prospects and performance. But following the events of the last two years ‘Change’ for businesses in the UK is not going to be a discretionary option. For many it will be critical for their very survival.
Words cannot adequately describe the events of the last two years and the impact of the Covid pandemic on the global economy. The UK government's response has been unprecedented, both medically and financially, and as many of the covid imposed restrictions are lifted, hopefully for the last time, and many sectors of the economy surge back into life, the resurgence is uncovering some critical bottlenecks in the supply chain and labour markets. Not unsurprisingly inflation is beginning to take route and the skill shortages are resulting in upward pay reviews not seen for a generation.
More fundamental however is the impact of successive lockdown and social distancing measures on society and business in the broadest sense. The way business models have had to change and adapt following the changes imposed upon them, that pre-pandemic would have been thought of as impossible, are likely to be far reaching.
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By Volker Beissenhirtz, Lawyer & Partner, CIC Consulting Partner GmbH, Berlin
...there is (normally) magic. But not this time around.
Already before today, the ground was laid for an "interesting" year: Not only is Germany currently "experiencing" its new government already hard at work (of course, one does not want to call the current goings-on "magic"; see here for a commentary on the coalition agreement, in German). But it also has to be, since already before the escalation in Ukraine (see on the current situation here, in German) Germany's economic "engine" was probably sputtering not only due to the pandemic, but also for the increasing inflation (see for December 2021 here and for January 2022 below). The war in Ukraine will render most forecasts for this year utterly useless. And this will most probably be the least of our coming problems not only this year.
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By Alberto Cerini, Expert in Corporate Turnaround & Financial Restructuring
In Italy the current European crisis is having disruptive consequences on companies that, as in many other EU Countries, are now revising their supply chain, incurring many difficulties to reach some markets, and are dealing with unexpected increases in raw materials and utilities. These shocks are further affecting companies already negatively impacted by two years of pandemic from which, among other things, they have emerged, in most cases, not only with much lower levels of turnover and margins, but also with increased levels of debt, caused by the large injection of liquidity that Europe has allowed its Member States to bring to companies, that now, with the end of the moratoriums, they must restart repaying.
In this context, in March 2022, the Council of Ministers approved, at first reading, the Draft Legislative Decree on amendments to the Code of Business Crisis and Insolvency (so-called CCII) referred to in Legislative Decree No. 14 of 12 January 2019, implementing EU Directive 2019/1023 (so-called Insolvency Directive). The Italian legislator is introducing preventive restructuring frameworks as measures and procedures aimed at the reorganisation of the firm by changing the composition of its status or the structure of its assets and liabilities or capital, which allow debtors an early recovery that can prevent insolvency by avoiding the liquidation of healthy firms. The measures should at the same time prevent the loss of jobs as well as knowledge and skills and maximise the total value for creditors, compared to what they would have received in the event of liquidation of the company's assets or in the case of the best possible alternative scenario in the absence of a plan.
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Join a community of highly regarded, highly knowledgeable turnaround professionals. Open to aspiring and experienced turnaround professionals, the EACTP’s Certified Turnaround Analyst (CTA) and Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP) accreditations provide an industry-standard ‘kitemark’ of quality in the practice of turnaround and restructuring.
Take the first step by undertaking the Certified Turnaround Analyst Online Learning Programme:
✓ 100% online
✓ Flexible, self-paced learning
✓ Complete in 1-2 years
✓ Schedule online exams at your convenience
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Member only LinkedIn Group
We now have a private, closed LinkedIn group exclusively for members of the European Association of Certified Turnaround Professionals.
We have established this group to function as a place that members can network, learn and connect with like-minded turnaround professionals across Europe.
Members can use the group to seek advice (without mentioning client names), ask for referrals to others, and share successes or case studies that others might find useful.
To join the group, follow this link and one of our team will approve your join request and admit you to the group.
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Copyright © 2022 European Association of Certified Turnaround Professionals, All rights reserved. You are receiving this because you are a member of EACTP, TMA Europe or have asked to be added to our mailing list. |
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