Often yesterday, a successful company suddenly disappears from the market, and creditors from all sides demand from it to pay off debts to them. Delayed wages, the presence of debt on loans - the first signs of bankruptcy. But declare a bankrupt company as such can only arbitration court.
Money bill love
The process of declaring a company bankrupt is long and complicated. A whole system of measures has been developed, which must be followed by interested parties - creditors, founders, partners, in order to get out of the situation with the least losses for themselves. Having discovered the first signs of a bankruptcy of the debtor, not everyone is in a hurry to flee the claims to the arbitration court, since this can only be temporary difficulties for the partner company. However, with a protracted crisis, the likelihood of its immediate ruin increases significantly. The grounds for concern should be considered:
- the inability to pay urgent current payments;
- debts to employees for wages for several months;
- decrease in production, sales or services;
- loss of regular customers, etc.
Among the main signs of a bankruptcy of an individual is a debt on debt obligations of more than five hundred thousand rubles, which is held for three months. For a legal entity, this amount is more than three hundred thousand rubles. Monopoly enterprises fall under bankruptcy proceedings with a debt of one million rubles. The signs of bankruptcy of an individual entrepreneur are the same as that of an individual - five hundred thousand rubles, which he is not able to pay for more than three months. Finding similar problems with your partner or debtor is an occasion to think about saving your own funds. No matter how close the partnerships between the companies are, in business everyone has his own interests, and if the financial difficulties of one can sink the other, the business union comes to an end. To apply to the arbitration court with a request to recognize an organization that owes a rather significant amount of money, its creditor can either alone or by cooperating with other similar victims. If the debtor is not a political or religious organization, it may be declared bankrupt.
To each - a separate approach
A separate bankruptcy scheme is prescribed for each category of legal entity. The concept and signs of the procedure are basically similar, however, they differ in the amount of the debt and the timing of their default. So, for insurance, credit and clearing organizations, trading floors, it is enough not to pay the bills for two weeks so that its partners suspect something is amiss and get a reason to go to court. For strategic organizations (chemical plants, defense enterprises, etc.), this period is six months. But the most stringent requirements for declaring them bankrupt are regarding developers. Formally liquidating a construction organization through an arbitration court can be quite difficult, since its assets in the form of partially erected buildings can be quite substantial, although insufficient to fulfill all financial obligations. In this case, you will have to try hard to squeeze out the maximum necessary for the interests of all victims from the remaining minimum.
Rules for filing applications with the court, a package of documents and procedural measures for each individual category of companies are also spelled out depending on their status. Interested parties should be wary of the debts of a partner or debtor not only to banks and business partners, but also to utilities, as well as to tax and pension departments. The inability to make mandatory contributions on time, for the violation of which serious penalties may follow - is perhaps the main sign of being wary that something is wrong with the company.
Wound up
Both external and internal factors can lead to bankruptcy. The first include a sharp depreciation of the dollar, a drop in sales due to the appearance of a better and cheaper product from competitors, inflation and much more. These factors are difficult to calculate and influence. In contrast to the internal ones, which are entirely dependent on the company's management and the management strategy adopted by it. Lack of own funds from an organization or company due to improper investment policy can be considered a significant sign of bankruptcy of a legal entity. Especially if this trend persists for a long period of time. However, the problems leading to the collapse do not have to accumulate gradually, they can collapse suddenly. For example, with a sharp drop in the ruble in the presence of foreign currency loans.
If we talk about the internal miscalculations of managers who failed to build an effective management strategy, then the most failed projects can be considered:
- untimely expansion of production with a sharp drop in sales;
- acquisition of raw materials or equipment at high interest rates;
- misallocation of production assets;
- unjustified expenses for the maintenance of staff and non-confirmed salary and bonuses, etc.
The list of signs of bankruptcy due to improper management system of its directorate can be continued. In the event of small problems, they may be intensified by disagreements among founders or investors, and difficulties in developing a unified strategy for balancing shaky affairs. Conflicts among workers can affect the decline in the quality of products or the provision of services. And, as a result, the loss of consumers. The snowball effect can lead to the collapse of the company in a fairly short time and without much external problems. But their combination of the irreversible process of ruin is developing at a faster pace.
"Help" from the outside
An obvious sign of bankruptcy of a legal entity or individual can be considered a sharp decrease in their solvency due to the intervention of unforeseen factors that are not dependent on the company's internal business policy. Not every company strengthens the staff with services or departments working on the miscalculation of possible changes on the stock exchanges in order to protect themselves from untimely risky operations. Therefore, not having data on forecasts of currency fluctuations, even in the absence of dollar loans, its sharp jump can lead to noticeable drops in the income of production companies. Not only due to the fact that most of the contractual obligations for the purchase / sale of raw materials and equipment in the domestic market are tied to the exchange rate. Even if the calculation is in ruble terms, the intervention of concomitant factors in the form of a sharp rise in the price of fuel, which is tied to the dollar, will inevitably lead to an increase in the cost of production due to an increase in logistics costs. And so in everything - one unforeseen problem catches another.
In a period of large-scale financial crisis, transient or protracted, signs of bankruptcy of many successful companies are more often observed. In addition to a jump in currencies, the following can lead to unforeseen financial losses:
- reduction of subsidies from the federal or regional budgets;
- inflation;
- changes in legislative acts;
- increased competition;
- fines;
- emergency payments, etc.
In addition, the taken amount of obligations that exceed the estimated value of the property disposed of it may lead to the ruin of an individual. Having found such a sign, business partners have the right to declare the beginning of bankruptcy proceedings against the company. The further procedure for its conduct will depend on the specifics of the industry in which the company or organization operates.
Trust that burst
Often, even with all the obvious signs of bankruptcy, companies are in no hurry to follow the requirements of the law and notify investors and creditors of their difficult financial situation. Taking risky steps, often involving high-interest loans, to save the situation, the problems become only more serious. In order to avoid such situations, the American economist Edward Altman developed in the second half of the last century several evaluative methods for predicting the probability of bankruptcy based on an analysis of company indicators. Two-factor with the miscalculation of avoiding ruin without attracting borrowed funds is considered the most simple and affordable. Five-factor is more accurate, but stock exchanges, credit organizations, large joint stock companies, as a rule, resort to it. For smaller companies, a two-factor model is sufficient.
In addition to Altman, the concept and signs of bankruptcy were thoroughly studied by the British scientist Richard Tuffler, who developed his own four-factor forecasting system for the probable ruin. Other well-known techniques either do not give an accurate assessment, like a Beaver system of indicators, or were created on the basis of existing ones, like the Springate model - a kind of Altman scheme. For a more accurate assessment of the state of the company, most often they analyze the probability of bankruptcy by several methods at once. In any case, for such a complex event, it is better to use the services of experienced professionals who deal with this issue professionally. An in-house analysis may not give an accurate forecast, and sometimes lead to a completely opposite result. And from here to collapse - a stone's throw.
Problems, but not those
However, not everyone believes that a sinking ship should be saved. Often, its sinking to the bottom is enhanced, increasing the number of holes in the bottom. So with troubled companies. Sometimes they are busted intentionally, squeezing the maximum benefit for its owners and leaving them without the funds necessary to pay off payments. Signs of deliberate bankruptcy are not easy to identify, but a simple technique has been developed here based on a study of the company's production activities and current assets at different times.
Deliberate bringing the organization to ruin or even a fictitious declaration of itself as such in order to avoid payment of debts is punishable by law. In the first case, the company actually becomes insolvent, in the second - it has the means to fulfill obligations to creditors, but is trying to avoid this in a legitimate way. In any case, the interests of partners will be infringed and they will have the right to seek the return of their money through the courts.
Having identified the signs of fictitious bankruptcy and having proved the criminal intentions of the initiators of the illegal scheme of personal enrichment, the punishment will be imposed on them depending on the amount of damage caused to interested parties. In addition to the imposition of fines, which can reach 800 minimum wages, a real imprisonment of fraudsters for up to six years is also provided.
Duty!
The sooner the lender, having found signs of bankruptcy at his business partner or partner, goes to court, the more chances he has to get his money back. Though not in full, but at least partially. As already noted, the main indicators for the unrest are the debt of more than five hundred thousand rubles for an individual and three hundred for a legal entity. Payment insolvency period is from three months and above. And the amount and terms can not be less. Otherwise, the court will not even accept the application for consideration. If the debtor himself has not made any attempt to take the first step, although he is required by law, creditors are entitled to do so. One statement, group or individual, is enough - it does not matter. Even if it is impossible to fulfill obligations to one lender, while paying debts to several dozens of creditors, an arbitration court cannot be avoided.
Companies are in no hurry to declare their insolvency themselves also because if they are declared bankrupt, the director and accountant may be prohibited from engaging in such activities for several years. Owners of these restrictive measures do not apply. But an ordinary citizen who decides to declare bankruptcy as an individual should remember that for the next five years he was ordered to go to credit institutions. In addition, for three years he will not get the opportunity to occupy leadership positions while working in an enterprise or organization of any profile. An essential sign of the bankruptcy of an individual entrepreneur is a debt of five hundred thousand rubles and three months of delay in payments, and among the consequences - a five-year term of the ban on the implementation of similar activities.
No arbitration
A trial is possible only if there is an application for the debtor. First of all, the reasons that led to losses are clarified. The emphasis is on identifying signs of fictitious or intentional bankruptcy, since in this case the procedure will go according to a different scenario than the debtor could have expected. What measures will be taken if a forgery is discovered are described in more detail above. The presence of signs of real bankruptcy starts the process of restoring the solvency of the company, since a multi-stage set of measures has been developed to save firms from ruin.
At the first stage, the introduction of observation is possible. This is followed by financial recovery and external management. This is only if the observation shows that the company can still be saved. If the impossibility of its revival is established, the complete liquidation of the company as a legal entity will follow. Moreover, in aggregate, the court will take into account all signs of insolvency. Bankruptcy will be established only if all the data indicates a complete collapse of the enterprise or organization. For each stage of the procedure, the corresponding actions and powers of the specialists participating in the process are prescribed. The best result of the second and third events is the return of the solvency of an individual. But this is not always possible.
Interim management
The first three to four months the observation phase is carried out. A temporary arbitration manager appointed by the court examines the situation directly in the process of monitoring the core business of the company on the spot. Having identified and confirmed the signs of bankruptcy of an individual, he is studying the possibility of expanding cooperation with creditors, calculates the probability of paying off debt by increasing production volumes or other effective measures. At the same time, the responsibility for the safety of the property of the debtor also passes to the interim manager. It is impossible to sell or buy anything without his knowledge.
At the enterprise or organization, the main production process during the monitoring period takes place as usual. The entire management team remains in place, fulfilling personal duties in full. During this period, only the presence of an arbitration manager indicates signs of bankruptcy. He works in close contact with both the directorate and investors of the debtor, and lenders. For a time, all payments on debts, transfers of dividends and similar funds as intended are suspended.
The crumbs for salvation
If there is available funds at the enterprise that can be used to stabilize liquidity, the court has the right to proceed to the second stage of the bankruptcy procedure - reorganization or financial recovery of the company. This opportunity can be used if the analysis of the company showed that with a certain optimization of the current financial situation it can be deduced from the crisis. All factors related to the concept and signs of insolvency are taken into account. Bankruptcy and the subsequent liquidation of the company is an extreme version of the whole process. They resort to it, using all other possible methods. In addition, the court cannot make such a decision on its own. It must be supported by the founders and creditors.
For the period of recovery, which lasts from a year to two years, the management of the company completely passes to the protege of the arbitration court. By his decision, some heads of the company may be involved in the implementation of certain activities. – , . , , – . , , . , , . , .
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The provisional management also lays down the entire safety of the assets of the enterprise, where external management has been introduced. But property is also entitled, at its discretion, to be insured by the head appointed by the Arbitration Court. It should be remembered that observation, financial recovery, and external management are all separate signs of bankruptcy of a legal entity. Restoring the solvency of a recent debtor leads to the closure of the case and the return of the company to its owners. And in the case of ineffective application of measures to save the company, the next stage is its liquidation.
Assets - hands on
The sale of the debtor’s assets to repay the debt is the last sign of bankruptcy of an individual and legal entity, as well as an individual entrepreneur. It is carried out on the basis of competitive selection. The debtor's liquidity is put up for auction, the proceeds from the sold property are transferred to creditors in the order established by order after the repayment of court costs, payment of bills accumulated during financial recovery and external management. In addition, after making the above payments, the following claimants for compensation are the employees of the debtor who have received disability or other harm to health in the process of working at a liquidated enterprise. Then wage arrears are paid off, and only then the rest of the proceeds are transferred to creditors.
As you can judge, the bankruptcy procedure is a rather lengthy and complex process, if you decide to save the company. Quickly and less costly, it goes through a simplified scheme, when its only goal is the official liquidation of the company. In this case, at the initial stage, the concept and signs of bankruptcy are similar, as in the three-step procedure. However, neither supervision, nor reorganization and arbitration are introduced, since they are not necessary.