15 February 2008
Sydney, 15 February 2008: The growing number of cross-border insolvencies and new laws to regulate them will create fresh demand for practitioners with international insolvency expertise, according to Clayton Utz partner and insolvency law specialist David Cowling.
Mr Cowling said recent developments such as the adoption by many countries of international insolvency rules and provisions threatened to expose a skills gap among Australian insolvency practitioners.
"Increasingly, liquidators and insolvency lawyers who deal with multinational businesses will need to be able to understand the international aspects of the legal and financial problems which they are called upon to handle," said Mr Cowling.
Mr Cowling said it was not an issue that was restricted to a few multinational companies, with globalisation having produced complex networks of creditors and debtors.
"The collapse of a company in one country can produce knock-on effects in other countries. This means that a liquidator may be dealing with creditors and debts that are located all around the world. There is also a growing multinational trade in the debts of distressed companies.
"These are issues which the profession itself is very aware of. For example, the international organisation of insolvency practitioners - INSOL - has launched a new Global Insolvency Practice Course to meet demand for advanced skills in international insolvency. This is a significant step towards helping to equip today's practitioners with the necessary skills to undertake global insolvency work."
Mr Cowling's comments come as the new Federal Government this week introduced a Cross-Border Insolvency Bill into Parliament.
Among the Bill's aims are to provide mechanisms for dealing with cases of insolvency where the debtor's assets and creditors are located in multiple jurisdictions, and to encourage greater co-operation between Australian and foreign courts and insolvency practitioners.
For more information about INSOL's Global Insolvency Practice Course, visit the INSOL website.
