Simplified insolvency process for SMEs a top priority: Podcast

14/03/2023

ARITA CEO John Winter joined the Accountants Daily podcast this week to outline ARITA’s position on a number of issues being looked at by the parliamentary inquiry into insolvency, including the need for a simplified winding-up process for small businesses.

He says many small business owners are unaware of their options and often keep trading until there are no assets left, leading to a situation where business owners are simply ‘handing back the keys’ and walking away in part due the unnecessary complexity of the current insolvency regime.

Calling the current Small Business Restructuring Scheme an “extraordinary failure”, Winter said fixing this problem is the “low hanging fruit” that can be addressed before moving on to the more comprehensive changes set out in ARITA’s submissions to the inquiry.

“We want to see that radical simplification before we even get to a root-and-branch review,” he said.

Other issues covered in the conversation include the need to change the way trusts are treated in insolvency to account for the interplay between personal and business assets, and the need for a single regulator to oversee the sector.

Click here to listen to the full podcast.