Your development

You may be starting out in your career or looking for a change of direction, and insolvency may not seem like an obvious choice. However, with company insolvency rates increasing steadily before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and national lock downs, business rescue and insolvency is at the forefront of many minds.

Well, what exactly is it?

Insolvency is a state at which a company or person are unable to pay their debts, making them insolvent. It is split between personal and corporate, and can be anything from businesses entering a time of financial difficulty, to an individual declaring bankruptcy.

Working within Insolvency involves undertaking case work of those in financial difficulty, drawing on skills from the accountancy and legal fields, as well as problem solving to find the best solutions for all stakeholders.

Here are some reasons that you should consider it for your future career.

Variety

A career in Insolvency will see you working with businesses and clients from all walks of life. From assisting a business through a restructure, to preparing one for sale, to investigating how they’ve got into their situation, variety will come from the cases you work.

Insolvency also sidesteps the tendency within accounting to be bound to either a backward or forward looking role, offering you the chance to be with a business through some of the most challenging stages of their lifecycle.

Your Progression

Career progression is one of the most important things to consider when beginning any career, and insolvency is no different. With such variety in cases, from business rescue to closing down businesses, the possibilities for your future are wide ranging.

Like traditional accounting positions, the options for professional development and qualification are numerous. Whether you choose to undertake the CPI (Certificate of Proficiency in Insolvency) in your early career, moving on to the JIEB (Joint Insolvency Examination Board), becoming a licensed appointment taker, the AAT or ACCA/ ACA, Quantuma are keen to support you on the path that is most appropriate to meet your future goals.

Having a real tangible impact

Skills that overlap with traditional accountancy practises come with the role, however given the wider reaching impacts of Insolvency and business rescue, you will also develop a broader range of skills.

People skills are essential, and a career in insolvency will see you develop your empathy, rapport and client relations ability. Your day to day will see you in contact with clients as well as creditors whilst often dealing with people’s livelihoods and futures.

Insolvency gives you the opportunity to put people skills at the heart of what you do, working with all stakeholders to secure the best possible outcome for all involved.

Being part of current change.

A career in Insolvency will invariably see you working with what is current, with massive shifts in commercial behaviour all around us, such as the closing of Thomas Cook, Arcadia Group and BHS, you could be working with massive highstreet brands, finding the best path for them and their employees in an ever changing environment.

A combination of Finance and Law

As mentioned, Insolvency isn’t just all about the numbers, and suits those who are interested in the legal side of things as well. You’ll be carrying out investigations, giving specialist advice, requiring a blend of finance and legal skills, ideal for those with an interest in both areas. It will engage your natural ability to problem solve, working via legal frameworks to find the best outcome for clients and external stakeholders alike.

As mentioned above, Quantuma are keen to support you through professional qualification, assisting you to reach your full potential - but what does that mean for you?

Starting with us? Well...

Starting any new career can feel overwhelming, here at Quantuma we have worked with a market leading trainer to put together an introductory course to Insolvency for all of those starting out. A series of webinars will guide you through your foundation knowledge, starting your career with all the tools you need.

ITIQ

The ITIQ (Introduction to Insolvency Qualification) is a professional qualification run by Neil Taylor that Quantuma offer to all its newest insolvency staff. Aimed at establishing your understanding of your new industry, it offers you a recognised qualification in the early stages of your career!

AAT

The AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) is a qualification that prepares for entry level accounting roles

Here at Quantuma, we believe that having a supportive environment is key to success. This is why we have set up Hubs where we offer the AAT. Ringwood and Nottingham have become homes to our AAT Assistant Administrators. Working within the Liquidations Support Team (LST), the Hub environment ensures that those undertaking their first qualification at the beginning of the career have others around them who are doing the same.

Funded through Apprenticeships, it offers the opportunity to gain valuable experience at the beginning of your career, whilst assuring time in the classroom to learn the essentials.

CPI

CPI (Certificate of Proficiency in Insolvency) is a professional qualification that many consider to be a ‘must have’ in the insolvency world. Like any professional qualification, the right time to take it varies from person to person, and can be any point in the first 3-6+ years of your career. That’s why Quantuma take the time to support each person, making sure it’s at the time which best suits you and your career.

It pulls together the knowledge you would have developed whilst working on cases and is made up of multiple choice and written exam questions, covering both personal and corporate insolvency - Considered by many to be the stepping stone to JIEB.

In the last 2 years we’ve put 17 members of our team through their CPI. In order to assist your success we provide a full training package which covers the costs of exam entry, study package and all materials. In addition to this, our full support plan comes with 10 classroom or online lessons and days off to attend them, plus 3 additional days leave before the exam to make sure you’re completely ready.

Supporting our teams like this demonstrates our commitment to developing their future with a market-leading training plan.

JIEB

JIEB (Joint Insolvency Exam Board) is the exam taken to become a licensed Insolvency Practitioner.

Becoming licensed means that you are able to sign off various types of Insolvency cases. Widely referred to as ‘an Appointment taker’, it is individuals not companies that are licensed. IP’s are at the heart of Insolvency business development, responsible for bringing in new business. Hence why you see our IP’s constantly networking!

The JIEB is usually on the minds of those who are established in their careers, generally with 10+ years’ experience. A notoriously difficult exam, in the last 2 years Quantuma have supported 12 individuals through both papers, again providing complete study support and covering the cost of entry.

ACA/ACCA

ACA / ACCA (Association of Chartered Accountants/ Association of Chartered Certified Accountant) are the qualifications taken to become a charted accountant.

While the ACA/ ACCA are common qualifications to take in more traditional accountancy practises, the chartered qualification is currently taken by individuals across various Quantuma departments (service lines). Similar to the support offered on the CPI, Quantuma gives their people all the tools they need, including study support, days off to study and materials.

For more information about what your insolvency career could look like with Quantuma, take a look at our career path. However, being one of the UK leading business advisory firms there are so many more possibilities!