ob体育 today published an annual overview of corporate insolvencies based on statutory reports lodged by external administrators for the 2010鈥�2011 financial year.
Report 263 Insolvency Statistics: External administrators鈥� reports 1 July 2010 鈥� 30 June 2011 (REP 263) includes comprehensive information about the profile of companies placed into external administration, including industry types, employee numbers, the causes of company failure, the estimated number and value of a company鈥檚 unsecured creditor debts and estimated dividends to unsecured creditors.
In addition, the report details the frequency with which external administrators report misconduct by company officers, the types of alleged misconduct most frequently reported (both criminal and civil breaches) and information about the number of cases that might warrant further enquiry by ob体育.
Key findings and data included in the report follow as an attachment to this release.
Mr Adrian Brown, Senior Executive Leader of ob体育鈥檚 Insolvency Practitioners team, said the data in REP 263 had broad relevance for the insolvency profession, creditors, academics, the Australian Government and other interested stakeholders. 鈥楾his is one of ob体育鈥檚 initiatives to address the need for better insolvency statistics identified by the Senate Inquiry in its September 2010 report鈥�, Mr Brown said.
Mr Brown noted that the reports lodged by external administrators also provided an important intelligence and assessment tool for ob体育, acting as a 鈥榝irst alert鈥� about possible misconduct by company officers and focus for further enquiry.
In assessing which matters to pursue further, ob体育 considers, among other things:
- the nature of the possible misconduct reported;
- amount of the liabilities;
- deficiency suffered;
- availability of evidence;
- prior misconduct; and
- the advice of the external administrator that the reported possible misconduct warrants further investigation.
REP 263 notes that, as a result of ob体育鈥檚 risk assessment, we asked external administrators to prepare supplementary reports in 558 (9.8%) of the 5,670 reports for 2010鈥�11 where company officer misconduct was alleged. The remaining reports were assessed and recorded for future intelligence purposes.
Supplementary reports are typically detailed, free-format reports, which set out the results of the external administrator鈥檚 inquiries and the evidence to support the alleged offences. Generally, ob体育 can determine whether to commence a formal investigation on the basis of a supplementary report. In both 2009鈥�10 and 2010鈥�11, after assessment, we referred 33 per cent of these cases for investigation or surveillance.
The risk assessment approach to external administrators鈥� reports and supplementary reports is consistent with ob体育鈥檚 broader approach to assessing which matters to pursue for further regulatory action, which includes consideration of:
- evidence;
- level of harm or loss; and
- cost versus regulatory benefit.
REP 263 is ob体育鈥檚 third report since external administrators鈥� reports could be lodged electronically.
ob体育鈥檚 previous reports are Report 225 Insolvency statistics: External administrators 1 July 2007-30 June 2010 (REP 225), covering external administrator reports lodged in the financial years 2007鈥�08, 2008鈥�09 and 2009鈥�10 and External administrators: Schedule B statistics 1 July 2004鈥�30 June 2007 covering external administrator reports lodged in the financial years 2004鈥�05, 2005鈥�06 and 2006鈥�07.
The report complements data published by ob体育 each month on the number and type of corporate insolvency appointments.
Background
ob体育 compiled REP 263 from the estimates and opinions contained in statutory reports lodged with ob体育 by liquidators, receivers and managers and voluntary administrators (external administrators) in the standard format of Schedule B to Regulatory Guide 16 External administrators: Reporting and lodging (RG 16) (Schedule B report). The Schedule B report is designed to gather basic statistical information about corporate insolvencies.
Under the Corporations Act 2001 (the Act), external administrators must lodge statutory reports for corporate insolvencies as soon as practicable where they identify possible misconduct by company officers, and/or where unsecured creditors are likely to receive less than 50 cents in the dollar on their debts.
The statistics are based on external administrators鈥� estimates and opinions at the time they are lodged and are, therefore, not an actual account of the outcomes of external administrations. Nevertheless, the statistics provide a broad picture of corporate insolvencies in Australia for the 2010鈥�2011. The total number of electronic reports lodged directly by external administrators stands at 97% in 2010鈥�11.
Access to the report鈥檚 statistical data, including industry-specific data for the five largest industry classifications and seven years鈥� of data comparison from 2004 to 2011, is also available from ob体育鈥檚 website.
Attachment to ob体育 Media Release 11-263MR: ob体育 report provides overview of corporate insolvencies
Profile of companies subject to external administration
| 听 |
2010鈥�2011 |
2009鈥�2010 |
2008鈥�2009 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
% of reports involving less than 20 employees |
78% |
77% |
75% |
|
% of reports by industry |
23% - Other (business & personal) services 23% - Construction 11% - Retail trade |
24% - Construction 22% - Other (business & personal) services 10% - Retail trade |
23% - Other (business & personal) services 23% - Construction 12% - Retail trade |
|
% of reports with estimated assets of $100,000 or less |
84% |
85% |
86% |
|
% of reports with estimated liabilities of $250,000 or less |
44% |
46% |
52% |
|
% of reports with an estimated deficiency of $500,000 or less |
65% |
66% |
72% |
Causes of company failure
| 听 |
2010鈥�2011 |
2009鈥�2010 |
2008鈥�2009 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
% of reports by cause of failure |
44% - Poor strategic management of business 41% - Inadequate cashflow or high cash use 33% - Trading losses |
44% - Poor strategic management of business 41% - Inadequate cashflow or high cash use 33% - Poor financial control including lack of records |
43% - Poor strategic management of business 38% - Inadequate cashflow or high cash use 34% - Poor financial control including lack of records |
Estimated dividends
| 听 |
2010鈥�2011 |
2009鈥�2010 |
2008鈥�2009 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
% of reports with estimated dividends to unsecured creditors of less than 11 cents in the dollar |
97% |
97% |
97% |
Possible misconduct
| 听 |
2010鈥�2011 |
2009鈥�2010 |
2008鈥�2009 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Top 3 alleged possible misconduct |
|
|
|
Further enquiry warranted by ob体育
| 听 |
2010鈥�2011 |
2009鈥�2010 |
2008鈥�2009 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
% of reports where external administrators had evidence in their possession and believed that further enquiry warranted |
11% (851 reports) |
11% (885 reports) |
9% (691 reports) |
|
No. of external administrator supplementary reports requested by ob体育 to determine whether to commence an investigation |
558 |
600 |
309 |