Practising Accountants Update 2021
Course Details
Session 1: How Personal Insolvency Can Save Your Clients in Financial Distress
Accountants are the trusted advisor for their clients, they know sometimes before the clients accept, that a business is in difficulty. By becoming aware of the potential benefits of the solutions available under Personal Insolvency for their clients, accountants can help their clients through the journey and their relationship is strengthened for the future when their clients financially recover.
This session will cover:
- The different insolvency solutions available for clients
- Key insolvency indicators
- Calculation of debt repayment affordability
- Examples of how personal insolvency works for clients
Session Facilitator: Claire Kelly – My Debt Solution
Session 2: Latest Developments in Company Law for Accountants in Practice
In this session Barrister Brian Walker from The Bar of Ireland will talk us through the most recent changes and updates in Company Law.
- The Companies Act 2014 Updates
- The Ten Big Issues in the New 2020 Company Law
- Key Predictions for 2021
Session Facilitator: Brian Walker – The Bar of Ireland
Session 3: Corporate Insolvency: What the Advisor Needs to Know
Covid has presented different threats to clients than those threats from previous recessions. Combined with the impact of Brexit the Advisor needs to be in a position to provide pragmatic advice to clients who are facing insolvency.
The session will cover:
- How to advise clients facing insolvency. The pitfalls to be avoided. Pre-Packs: How to advise your client to “buy back” the business from a liquidator.
- Overview of Turnaround strategies that do not involve formal insolvency.
- Brief overview of the various formal insolvency processes
- How to advise Tenants and Landlords.
- Overview of recent case law and proposed legislation on “Low Cost” Schemes of Arrangement
Session Facilitator: Jim Stafford – Friel Stafford
Session 4: HR and Employment Law – Key Considerations for Businesses
Accountants, Business Owners, Managers and HR Professionals are all too aware of the on-going challenges in the complex area of Employment Law and the challenges of its application within the workplace. This has been further complicated with the ongoing pandemic, the impact on the economy and the impact on businesses.
This session will provide practical guidance and insight into key HR and Employment Law areas facing businesses today including re-organisation, redundancy, lay-off and short time and managing the associated employment risks.
- Reorganisation – effectively planning the business case
- Redundancy – understanding and managing the redundancy process
- Key Considerations – alternatives to redundancy, paycuts, layoff, short time
- Risks – managing and mitigating the employment risks
- The Employment Claim – the process for an Employer
Session Facilitator: Leah Smith – Adare Human Resource Management
Online CPD Course Facilitators:
Claire Kelly – My Debt Solution
Claire Kelly, Auditor & Personal Insolvency Practitioner based in Newbridge, benefits from both experience in accounting & auditing, and expanded her practice into providing solutions to clients in the area of Personal Insolvency since the legislation was introduced 6 years ago.
She currently holds the position of Chair of APIP, the professional representative body of PIPs and has been active at committee level for the last 3 years including representing the profession for media activities working with the Insolvency Service of Ireland and their communications team for the ABHAILE scheme which provides funding for debtors at risk of losing their home.
Her team operate a balance of professionalism and empathy for insolvency clients providing expert advise and a realistic assessment of how their debt problems can be restructured working between the Debtors and the banks.
Brian Walker – The Bar of Ireland
Brian Walker is practicing barrister. He has nearly 45 years experience of company law and company secretarial practice, having previously worked with the accountancy firms of KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has been CPD lecturer in company law to the main accountancy bodies for the past thirty years. His approach to company law is straightforward, direct and easily understood. He will focus on changes in company and commercial law and the most important issues that arise daily for accountants, auditors and company directors.
Jim Stafford – Friel Stafford
Jim qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1987. He is one of Ireland’s leading Corporate Recovery and Insolvency specialists.
Whilst training, he obtained Insolvency experience on a number of assignments. Upon qualifying, he moved to New York and joined Spicer & Oppenheim. During his 2 years with Spicer & Oppenheim, he had experience with Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcy procedures. In 1989 he joined Cork Gully, the insolvency practice of Coopers & Lybrand (now PWC) in London. He spent five years in London specialising in Corporate Recovery and Insolvency. He returned to Ireland in 1994 and established Friel Stafford.
He has had extensive practical experience of all types of industries, ranging from aerospace and mining to hotels, construction and IT.
He also has extensive experience of resolving shareholder disputes where he uses his expert knowledge of the Companies Acts, tax legislation and case law and his extensive negotiating expertise to formulate solutions.
He is an expert on corporate governance and regularly advises Boards on corporate governance issues. He has assisted a number of directors to successfully defend Restriction applications.
He drafted the complete syllabus for the Diploma in Insolvency course run by Chartered Accountants Ireland. He wrote and presents two of the six modules on the course. Jim was selected by the CAI to present the Module on Corporate Turnaround Strategies given his expertise in the area.
He is also engaged by Chartered Accountants Ireland as a lecturer for their CPD (Continuous Professional Development) in the areas of Corporate Recovery, Insolvency, Personal Bankruptcy and Credit Management. He is frequently asked to speak about specialist Corporate Recovery and Insolvency topics by other institutes and organisations such as the Irish Institute of Credit Management, EBS, Goodbody Stockbrokers, IBRC, Bank of Ireland, Investec and KBC Bank. Jim has contributed numerous technical articles on Corporate Recovery and Insolvency for the magazines of the three leading accountancy bodies in Ireland, and for the Sunday Business Post. He has also done a number of radio and television interviews on Corporate Recovery and Insolvency.
He has extensive experience of all areas of Litigation Support and Expert witness. He has worked with private clients, SMEs, national companies, multi-nationals, county councils and various Government and Regulatory agencies in defending and bringing proceedings.
He is a member of the Council of The Irish Society of Insolvency Practitioners, a group which was established in 2004 as a forum for the development of expertise and experience of those practicing in the insolvency profession in Ireland. He is chairman of the Representation Committee of ISIP. He is member of the Fellows committee of the Irish Institute of Credit Management.
He is authorised to act as a Personal Insolvency Practitioner by the Insolvency Service of Ireland.
Leáh Smith – HR and Employment Law Consultant – Adare Human Resource Management
Leáh Smith has practical Human Resource experience combined with substantial employment law knowledge and workplace investigation know how. Leáh has a broad range of employment law experience specialising in workplace investigations, grievance and disciplinary matters, as well as representing Organisations in the Workplace Relations Commission.
Prior to joining Adare Human Resource Management, Leáh worked in-house in HR as well as within HR consulting on a diverse range of private, not-for-profit and public sector Organisations.
Leáh’s role is to support Adare Human Resource Management clients in the provision of timely and practical employment law advice and guidance.