Your Client Is in Trouble. You Don’t Have to Handle It Alone

Free practical guide for accountants dealing with clients in financial difficulty – from an insolvency practitioner who works with firms like yours every week.

Download the Free Guide

You Know Something Is Wrong – But What Do You Do Next?

You’ve seen the signs. The client who always paid on time is now chasing extended terms. The balance sheet that used to add up doesn’t any more. The director who was confident last year is now avoiding your calls.

As their accountant, you’re often the first person to spot the warning signs. But insolvency isn’t your specialism – and it shouldn’t have to be. The question is what to do with what you’re seeing, and when.

Get it right, and you help your client find a way through. Get it wrong – or leave it too late – and the options narrow fast.

Warning Signs You Might Already Be Seeing

If any of these sound familiar, your client may need more help than management accounts alone can provide.

Cash is always tight

Creditors are being stretched. VAT or PAYE payments are late or being negotiated. The overdraft is permanently at its limit.

HMRC is circling

Time-to-pay arrangements that aren’t being kept. Penalties stacking up. Threat of enforcement action or a winding-up petition

The director is in denial

They’re telling you “it’ll be fine next month” but the numbers say otherwise. You’re worried but unsure how to raise it.

The balance sheet has turned

Net liabilities. An overdrawn director’s loan account. Declining net assets year on year – even if turnover looks stable.

A petition has been filed

A winding-up petition from HMRC or a creditor. This is the sharp end – the company could be wound up in as little as 8 weeks.

You’re being asked difficult questions

“Can I still pay myself?” “What happens if I just close the company?” “Am I personally liable?” – and you’re not sure of the answers.

How We Help Accountants

We’re not here to take your client away from you. We’re here to give you the specialist support you need when things go beyond normal accounting advice.

Most accountants we work with come to us at one of two points: either they’ve spotted early warning signs and want to talk through the options before it gets worse, or a crisis has already hit and they need to act fast.

Either way, here’s what working with us looks like:

1 A confidential conversation. You call or email. We talk through what you’re seeing — no charge, no obligation. If it’s something you can handle yourself, we’ll tell you that.

2 A clear picture of the options. We explain what’s available — restructuring, CVA, administration, creditors’ voluntary liquidation — in plain English. No jargon. No pressure.

3 A meeting with your client, if appropriate. We meet the director — usually with you present — and explain their position honestly. We lay out the realistic options and what each one means for them, their staff, and their creditors.

4 You stay involved. We don’t shut you out. You know the client, you know the numbers. We work alongside you — and when it’s over, the client comes back to you.

The Bit Nobody Talks About

Here’s the truth most accountants won’t say out loud: when a client is heading for insolvency, it puts you in a difficult position. You want to help, but you’re not an insolvency specialist. You don’t want to say the wrong thing. You don’t want to panic the director. And you definitely don’t want to lose the client.

We understand that. We’ve worked alongside hundreds of accountancy firms over the years, and the conversation is almost always the same: “I knew something was wrong six months ago, but I didn’t know what to do.”

“The best time to call is when you first feel uncomfortable about a client’s position. Not when it’s too late. A ten-minute conversation now can save months of difficulty later.”

That’s not a sales pitch. It’s what we’ve seen, repeatedly, over 25 years of doing this work.

Why Accountants Work With Us

We speak plain English

Insolvency is full of jargon and legalese. We don’t do that. When we explain options to you or your client, we use language that everyone in the room can understand.

We’re Midlands-based and hands-on

We’re not a London firm sending a junior. Paul Brindley is a licensed insolvency practitioner based in the West Midlands who handles cases personally. When you refer a client, you know who’s looking after them.

We protect your relationship

Your client needs you before, during, and after any insolvency process. We don’t poach clients, we don’t bypass you, and we actively encourage the director to keep you involved throughout. When the formal process ends, you’re still their accountant.

We use technology others don’t

We’ve built our own early warning system that monitors thousands of companies across the Midlands for signs of financial distress — petitions, CCJs, deteriorating accounts, credit risk. That’s often how we identify which firms have clients under pressure before it becomes public knowledge. It’s part of how we stay ahead.

Free Guide: What Every Accountant Should Know About Insolvency

Practical guide for accountants dealing with clients in financial difficulty – from an insolvency practitioner who works with firms like yours every week.

Download the Guide (PDF)

What’s in the Guide

1 The 8 warning signs that matter most. Not textbook theory – the real-world indicators we see in practice, explained from an accountant’s perspective.

2 Your options, explained simply. CVA, administration, CVL, striking off – what each one actually means, when it applies, and what it means for the director.

3 The mistakes that make things worse. The things well-meaning directors (and sometimes their advisors) do that narrow the options or create personal liability.

4 How to raise the conversation with your client. Practical language for a difficult discussion. How to say “we need to talk about this” without causing panic.

5 When and how to bring in an insolvency practitioner. What the process looks like, what it costs, and what happens to your client relationship when you do.

About Paul Brindley

Paul is a licensed insolvency practitioner and the owner of Midlands Business Recovery. He’s been advising directors, accountants, and creditors across the Midlands for over 40 years.

His number is 07813 102014, his email is paul@midlandsbusinessrecovery.co.uk