Kevin Hellard, President

IPA Insolvency Practitioner newsletter, September 2021

Contents:

• Paul Smith, CEO
• Insolvency news and alerts
• Training from the IPA and our partners
• IPA events update: Roadshows, Personal Insolvency Conference and a special celebration…
• Covid safety at IPA events
• Renewals
• Registration for the Joint Insolvency Examination
• New government Debt Management Vulnerability Toolkit
• Money Advice Service rebrand
• Case law update
• HMRC updates

Hi everyone. I was so pleased to speak to a large number of our student members last month at the latest IPA Young Professionals Network event, in which I discussed how my career developed and how my learnings can help the newest cohort of insolvency professionals as they set out to build their own careers.

I hope that all who attended found the session to be useful. There were certainly many questions that came through – so much so that there wasn’t the opportunity to answer them all! However, I would like to answer the remaining three questions – excellent questions at that – in this article.

I was asked “If they aren’t already, what should student IPs be doing now to help them get ahead?”. Focusing on learning and gaining diverse experience is important, including driving towards passing the CPI and the JIE.

I was also asked “Why should young IPs be engaging with their regulator, and how do we do it?”. The regulator, as well as overseeing the profession and ensuring excellent insolvency standards, offers appropriate support to members. Engaging with the regulator for young IPs, for example by joining a Committee or the Board, is a fantastic way to benefit your career through being involved with the profession and having the opportunity to influence its future direction, as well as better understanding of the unique position of the regulator and how each IP plays their part to contribute to a first-class profession.

In the case of student members, engaging with the regulator means dedicated training, development and networking to nurture careers and support progression to successfully completing the CPI and JIE exams. Students also have the opportunity to meet senior figures in the profession and complement their career through membership of the Young Professionals Networking Committee.

Finally, the remaining question was “If you met a young Kevin, what one nugget of advice would you give?”. I would tell a young Kevin to think strategically about what they want to achieve and devise goals to get there – whether that’s for general career aspirations or specific goals within your job or personal life – then take time out to assess where you are on the goals you have set. This is a skill I’ve learnt more latterly in my career, and it’s something I’d wished I’d done earlier.

For any student member who missed the session, a recording is available – please email events@ipa.uk.com.

You may be aware of the published All-Party Parliamentary Group report on insolvency. We are considering its content and intend to respond in a detailed manner as required, as are other insolvency bodies whom we have consulted. I and the IPA join others in the profession who question whether the report presents a truly representative picture of the UK’s multifaceted insolvency landscape. Professional insolvency standards in the country are among the world’s best and are supported by robust regulation. We recognise the value in the current, tried-and-tested system of regulating such a complex and diverse line of work. Amongst other areas of the report, we question the recommendation of a new one-size-fits-all approach to regulation as an effective solution. We will keep you updated on any engagement that the IPA undertakes on behalf of our members. 

It is not long until the next in our 2021 Roadshow Series, the in-person Manchester event. As with all the Roadshows, we have an exciting group of speakers delivering everything today’s IP needs to know, with regional trends and what these mean for insolvency. The event provides 3 hours’ CPD. Find out more about the content of all Roadshows and book here.

The Personal Insolvency Conference, returning to a live format this year, will also soon be upon us. Set for Thursday 25 November, I am pleased say that confirmed speakers this year are Dean Beale, Insolvency Service CEO; James Jones, Head of Consumer Affairs at Experian; and Raminta Diliso, Financial Harm Manager at GamCare, as well as our Chief Inspector David Holland, giving his usually well-received inspection update. Ahead of bookings going live, you can register your interest early and read more about the event here.

And finally, details of our 60^th Anniversary Celebration have been announced. This will certainly be a night to remember, as we mark how far the insolvency profession has come since the IPA was established 60 years ago, at a beautiful venue on the Thames in central London. Read more here.

Kevin