Paul Davis, President

IPA Insolvency Practitioner newsletter, August 2023

Contents

• Paul Smith, CEO
• Director Loan Accounts written-off as part of corporate insolvencies
• Financial sanctions guidance
• Supreme Court ruling means many Litigation Funding Agreements are unenforceable
• The importance of consumer protection in insolvency: Understanding Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act
• Safeguarding your insolvency practice against cyberattack and ransomware threats: Lessons from the Wannacry attack
• HMRC updates
• Just a week to go to the Scotland Roadshow! (CPD: 4h)
• Spotlight on Anti-Money Laundering and Fraud (CPD: 5h)
• IPA Learning | Pension Claims in Insolvency – Are You Getting it Right? (CPD: 2h)
• New speakers announced for the 15th Personal Insolvency Conference (CPD: 6h)
• Do you know someone in the profession who deserves recognition this year?
• Discounted meeting facilities from Office Space in Town (member login required to view)
• Save money on your airport parking with APH! (Member login required to view)
• Need new IT products? Claim exclusive IPA membership offers from Dell
• CPI training with BPP – special offer for IPA members (member login required to view)
• Make savings on essential CPD with exclusive discounts on training from the IPA and our partners
• An opportunity for Registered Property Receivers!
• Committee Chair vacancy
• Case law update
• Clearway: Protecting people, property and assets
• IPA exclusive industry update from Insolvency Insider

Dear Members,

I hope this message finds you well this summer.

Whilst the summer is quiet for some, business and personal insolvencies continue to increase, with the latest Insolvency Service statistics showing a near 4-fold increase in Company Voluntary Arrangements, an 81% increase in compulsory liquidations, a 53% increase in administrations and a 45% increase in Debt Relief Orders from July last year. We are also acutely aware of cyber security and fraud issues prominent in financial services and insolvency. With increased activity in the profession and IPs the guardians of sensitive data, it is essential to be vigilant and take steps to protect your practice from cyber attacks and ransomware threats. We have therefore produced guidance on these issues, which I strongly recommend that you familiarise yourself with – read this here.

Similarly, you may wish to attend our upcoming ‘Spotlight on AML and Fraud’ event in Birmingham next month to understand the latest AML and fraud developments and how to safeguard from threats. I look forward to hosting the event and hearing from speakers from organisations including the City of London Police, the Insolvency Service, HMRC, Companies House, the National Crime Agency (NCA) and UK Finance. Read more and book places here.

Looking to other matters, our regulatory team have seen instances where there are issues dealing with pension scheme claims in formal insolvency. To help with this, our next IPA Learning module in September will cover the rules around dealing with pension claims and how they should be dealt with in practice. We hope that this will be a useful refresher. More information can be found here.

As the nominations deadline for the 2023 IPA Awards draws nearer, don’t miss the valuable opportunity to recognise this year’s achievements in the sector – myself and the judging panel are all very excited for when the winners will be revealed in December, as well as considering nominations for this year’s new category, Insolvency Lawyer of the Year. If you wish to nominate, you can do this here.

Best wishes,

Paul Davis