Introduction
This section of our website contains a library of the last 6 to 10 blogs for each of the following topics – just pick the topic on which you are looking for information.
1. Advice to Directors, their Duties and Warnings Signs
2. CVL and Insolvent Liquidation
3. MVL and Solvent Closure
4. Administration and Rescue Options including CVA
5. Director Loan Accounts, Dividends and Technical Issues Including Antecedent Transactions, Wrongful Trading, Preferences etc
6. Creditor, Supplier and Employee Issues
7. VAi, our insolvency Copilot
8. The 6 Lens Review
9. Ethics, Regulation and the Profession
10. Credit Unions
11. Everything Else
Alternatively, you can use:
- The search button located in the top menu to find our older blogs referring to a specific insolvency topic, eg director loan accounts, wrongful trading, CVL; or
- VAi, our insolvency copilot, located bottom right, to ask it detailed questions on your situation.
1. Advice to Directors, their Duties and Warnings Signs
Blogs of interest to directors when contemplating their options for dealing with a company’s financial problems, and the warning signs and duties they need to be aware of at that time…
Dividends, Drawings and Director Pay When Cash Is Tight
In many owner-managed...
Is It Time to Stop Trading? The Question Every Director Eventually Faces
There comes a point in...
Personal Guarantees and Insolvency … What Directors Need to Understand
Personal guarantees often...
Employees and Insolvency … What Directors Should Say and Do When Trouble Hits
One of the hardest parts of...
When Does Trading Become ‘Wrongful? A Straight-Talking Guide for Directors
How to avopid trading wrongfully
The 13‑Week Cashflow Forecast Every Director Should Understand
The importance of cash flow statements if your business is struggling
Directors’ Duties: The First 7 Days After You Realise Insolvency Is Likely
A practical action plan for...
HMRC Winding-Up Petitions: The Timeline, the “Information Gap”, and What Happens to Your Bank Account
HMRC winding up petitions explained clearly. Understand the timeline, the information gap between petition and advertisement, and why your company’s bank account can be frozen before the court hearing.
Directors’ Duties When a Company Is Insolvent
What changes, what doesn’t…...
If your company has no assets, why would you go into a CVL?
I’m going to start with...
2. CVL and Insolvent Liquidation
Blogs of interest to directors, shareholders, employees, creditors and others interested in Insolvent Liqudations, including Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidations
Closing a Company Properly: A Plain‑English Guide to Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation (CVL)
A plain-English guide to Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation, explaining what directors can expect, how to prepare, and how to close an insolvent company properly and responsibly.
Insolvent Liquidation: What Directors Can Expect (and How to Prepare)
When directors hear the...
Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation (CVL): A Director’s Guide to Starting Over
When your company is under...
DS01 vs CVL: Misunderstood, Misused – and Sometimes Misadvised
A DS01 strike-off...
When Is Insolvency Advice Truly Independent?
A message to accountants and...
Using a Prohibited Name After Insolvency – Key Considerations Under Section 216 IA 1986
Legal Restriction on Using a...
3. MVL and Solvent Closure
Blogs likely to be of interest to directors and shareholders of companies looking to exit their solvent company
BADR, MVLs and the Government’s Published Plan … What Directors Need to See Clearly
With Business Asset Disposal Releife rates rising from 14% to 18% in April 2026, directors considering an MVL should review their timing carefully before further changes increase the tax cost of exit.
Members’ Voluntary Liquidation (MVL): A Clean Exit for Solvent Companies
If you’re a company director...
Planning for the Future: How to Prepare a Solvent Company for MVL After the April 2025 Tax Changes
The landscape for solvent...
Speeding Up the Liquidation Process: HMRC’s Bold Move
This is a short overview of...
Want to pay to liquidate your company using your personal Bitcoin, Ethereum or other crypto holding?
If you want to pay to...
Launch of The Insolvency Wizard
[huge_it_slider id="3"] In...
4. Administration and Rescue Options including CVA
Blogs of interest to the directors, shareholders and others interested in saving the business, either within the same legal entity or not.
Company Voluntary Arrangements Explained
What do you need to know about Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs)?
Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs): A Practical Rescue Option for Viable Businesses
In previous articles in this...
Company Administration Explained: A Rescue Tool, Not a Failure
When directors first hear...
So What Do I Have to Do and Consider in a Pre-Pack Administration?
What does an insolvency practitioner have to do on a pre-pack administration?
Administration: Keeping Your Business Afloat When Time Is Running Out
Facing creditor pressure?...
Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs) Explained: A Lifeline for Viable Businesses
Not every struggling...
5. Director Loan Accounts, Dividends and Technical Issues Including Antecedent Transactions, Wrongful Trading, Preferences etc
The ‘watch out fors’ all directors need to be mindful of.
Misfeasance Claims in Insolvency: What Directors Need to Know
When directors hear the word...
Preferences and Transactions at Undervalue… What Directors Need to Watch Before Insolvency
An exploration of preferences and transactions at an undervalue in insolvency
BBL Enforcement Is Dominating Director Bans. Here’s What That Tells Us About Priorities, Proof, and What Might Be Getting Missed
If you read the Insolvency...
When a ‘Win’ under Section 423 Still Leaves You with Nothing: Credit Suisse v SoftBank
Every so often a case comes...
Navigating Director Misconduct Risks — What You Should Understand Before It’s Too Late
In my years as a licensed...
Phoenix from the Flames? The Criminal Risks of Re-Using Company Names After Insolvency (and the Narrow Exceptions)
Many honest directors are...
6. Creditor, Supplier and Employee Issues
Blogs of likely interest to ‘3rd parties’, companies and individuals outside of the company, such as creditors and employees
Fixed and Floating Charges… Why the Difference Matters When a Company Fails
When a director looks at the...
HMRC Is Doing the Winding Up – And It’s Only Getting Started
For forty years I've watched...
Reservation of Title Claims… What Directors Must Do When Suppliers Want Their Goods Back
Your company is short of...
Who Gets Paid First in an Insolvency? The Creditor Priority Explained
When directors first see a...
Customer Deposits When a Company Is in Trouble… Can You Keep Taking Them?
Your company is running...
HMRC Time to Pay… Rescue Tool or Just Delaying the Inevitable?
For many struggling...
7. VAi, our insolvency Copilot
Everything you need to know about our insolvency copilot, VAi, including how to use it
Who’s VAi modelled on, why and how does that affect me?
Back in the 1980s and 1990s,...
Stop Using VAi Like Google: The Simple “CIT” Habit That Changes Everything
One of the most interesting...
Did you miss me?
I shut my insolvency...
Vertical vs Horizontal AI: Why Insolvency Needs a Specialist
The Problem ...
VAi at Two: What We’ve Learned About AI, Insolvency, and Human Safeguards
On 26 August 2023, VAi went...
Interview by the ICAEW
I'm reminded, coming days...
Ethics, Commissions, and Insolvency: A Call for Integrity and Professionalism
In the intricate world of...
Accountant looking to use my bot for the first time?
If you are an accountant who is looking to use our insolvency bot, VAi, for the first time, read this
Insolvency practitioner looking to use my bot for the first time? Read this, then watch this short video
Thanks for trying out VAi,...
Director looking for advice? Want to know how to use our bot?
Welcome to our website. You...
8. The 6 Lens Review
Blogs regarding our new service provision, the 6 Lens Review
The 7 Stage Process in a 6 Lens Review
The full 6-Lens Review...
A Test 6-Lens Review of JLR Through a Supplier’s Eyes
A test 6-Lens Review using public information on JLR, through the eyes of a fictional plastics supplier with 30% customer concentration, highlighting risks, early warning signs, and practical steps to manage exposure.
Why do some retailers fail again, and again?
Why do some retailers fail repeatedly even after insolvency “rescues”, while others return to profit? A plain-English look at business model change, funding incentives, and what society should expect from the insolvency profession.
Introducing the 6-Lens Review™ – Because Directors Deserve Better
Introducing the 6-Lens...
9. Ethics, Regulation and the Profession
My blogs about the state of the insolvency profession
Mazur may have saved delegation … but it still ducks the real question for insolvency
The Mazur appeal preserved delegation in principle, but left the real question hanging: what does genuine supervision look like in practice, how much does junior competence matter, and are insolvency regulators looking closely enough at BDM-led pre-appointment work?
What kind of person should an IP be?
So what Kind of Person...
When ‘Non-Authorised Staff Shouldn’t Lead’ Applies to Insolvency Too … and Why I’m Raising It
The Mazur High Court decision drew a hard line on non-authorised staff leading reserved legal work. Insolvency has a parallel risk: BDM-led pre-appointment “advice” steering directors into paid routes when cheaper lawful options may fit better
PCRT, Referral Fees and Insolvency Advice
Are We Applying the Same...
DS01, creditors, and the awkward truth nobody wants to say out loud
DRO thresholds have risen sharply and the fee has been removed … showing active management of low-cost personal insolvency. Corporate insolvency still lacks an equivalent micro-company wind-down. It’s time for reform.
The New ICAEW Ethics Guidelines for Insolvency Practitioners: A Step Forward or a Missed Opportunity?
The ICAEW has recently run a...
10. Credit Unions
My blogs about the issues that impact credit unions.
Credit unions in difficulty: what’s really going wrong, and what directors can do next
A plain-English guide for credit union directors on why credit unions struggle, warning signs, insolvency triggers, regulator expectations, and how administration, liquidation, and FSCS payout work.
Credit Union Insolvency: Why It’s Different – And Why It Matters Who You Appoint
When people think about...
11. Everything else
Blogs that don’t fit the other categories
Mazur may have saved delegation … but it still ducks the real question for insolvency
The Mazur appeal preserved delegation in principle, but left the real question hanging: what does genuine supervision look like in practice, how much does junior competence matter, and are insolvency regulators looking closely enough at BDM-led pre-appointment work?
What kind of person should an IP be?
So what Kind of Person...
When ‘Non-Authorised Staff Shouldn’t Lead’ Applies to Insolvency Too … and Why I’m Raising It
The Mazur High Court decision drew a hard line on non-authorised staff leading reserved legal work. Insolvency has a parallel risk: BDM-led pre-appointment “advice” steering directors into paid routes when cheaper lawful options may fit better
PCRT, Referral Fees and Insolvency Advice
Are We Applying the Same...
DS01, creditors, and the awkward truth nobody wants to say out loud
DRO thresholds have risen sharply and the fee has been removed … showing active management of low-cost personal insolvency. Corporate insolvency still lacks an equivalent micro-company wind-down. It’s time for reform.
The New ICAEW Ethics Guidelines for Insolvency Practitioners: A Step Forward or a Missed Opportunity?
The ICAEW has recently run a...