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Restructuring and turnarounds

Resources to help steer businesses through transformation, covering insolvency, restructuring and change management, as well as support on leading through difficult times.
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What you need to know

Restructuring and insolvency
  • Helpsheets and support
This guidance explains how to recognise issues when they arise, what advice to seek and who to approach for guidance.
Insolvency at a glance
  • Helpsheets and support
As part of its guidance to businesses on the different stages of recovery, ICAEW provides an overview of what the term insolvency means in reality for companies, the roles of the Official Receiver and Insolvency Practitioners and the different types of creditors.
Six signs that a business is in distress
  • Helpsheets and support
Business can avoid insolvency by taking action before its too late, here ICAEW outlines the six warning signs that a firm is in financial distress and needs to implement recovery measures.
Seven stages of business recovery
  • Helpsheets and support
The first step for any organisation in avoiding succumbing to finance difficulties is awareness. Here ICAEW outlines the seven stages of business recovery, which follow the decline and recovery curve.
What is an insolvency practitioner?
  • Helpsheets and support
An insolvency practitioner is someone who is licensed and authorised to act in relation to an insolvent individual, partnership or company.
Corporate insolvency measures
  • Helpsheets and support
Definitions of four examples of measures that are frequently implemented in cases of corporate insolvency, from ICAEW's guidance on business recovery.
Avoiding insolvency: advice for directors
  • Article
There are several warning signs that a business may be in distress. Fortunately seeking help early from insolvency experts and understanding insolvency law and recent changes to it can help to avoid business failure.
Accessing finance in challenging times
  • Helpsheets and support
An overview of finance options for established business under stress, considering restructuring or facing challenging times. See the potential options for organisations wanting to improve their cash position or reduce the cost of their borrowing.

Case studies

How to rescue a heritage business
  • Article
When a historic building crumbles, statutory conservation bodies rush to the rescue. When a heritage business – operated within an historic building – declines, who steps into the void? Stephen Clarke FCA does.
The painful reality of a CVA
  • Article
Managing director of Perfection Alloys, Fraser Dick, speaks about how hard decisions and empathy from his insolvency practitioner helped his business successfully weather insolvency.
Timeliness is everything
  • Article
When restructuring a company in distress, early specialist engagement is vital says Ryan Grant, Partner in BDO and an Insolvency Practitioner.
Restructuring success story
  • Webinar
Watch the real-life success story of how a UK manufacturing business was turned around after recruiting the support of an ICAEW Insolvency Practitioner.

Leadership in difficult times

Kotter’s theory of change management
  • Article
The essential blueprint for change managers
How to create business order out of chaos
  • Article
Own the unknowns and create order out of chaos
How to survive a hostile takeover
  • Article
Christian Doherty details some of the ways to ensure survival during every finance director’s nightmare: a hostile takeover.
PESTEL - what is it and how to apply it to your business strategy
  • Article
Ensure your strategy takes into account the political, economic, societal, technological, environmental and legal context.
The art of post merger leadership
  • Article
Mergers that appear to be successful in the short term often destroy value later on. By concentrating on five issues, chief executives and top teams can increase the odds of a genuinely happy ending, argue David G Fubini, Colin Price, and Maurizio Zollo.
The secret life of a CFO during restructuring
  • Article
What really happens behind the scenes when a company enters administration and restructures? A senior CFO describes the good, bad and ugly of trying to turn around a failing company.

Transformation and change management

Your transformation programme needs action (planning)
  • Article
  • 26 Feb 2024
In the latest in our series on implementing a transformation programme, Neil Cutting looks at the steps required to create a concrete action plan.
Exclusive Change management foundations
  • Webinar
  • 19 Jun 2024
Learn about the change management foundations that apply to any transformation programme. Available on demand.
Exclusive Sequential steps to design and deliver your transformation programme
  • Webinar
  • 16 Apr 2024
Discover the four key steps to consider when developing your transformation programme. Available on demand.
I know why transformation projects fail
  • Article
  • 02 Aug 2023
The vast majority of business transformations do not get off the ground. Neil Cutting has the answer.
More

Webinars and recordings

How to bring a business back from the brink
  • Podcast
  • 31 Aug 2022
In this Insights In Focus episode, we explore the multifaceted role of the insolvency professional by hearing from both practitioner and client.
Tax year end, Bounce Back Loans and cryptocurrency
  • Podcast
  • 23 Jun 2021
ICAEW’s Philippa Kelly and Lindsey Wicks and PwC’s Mike Jervis join host Tom Herbert to discuss the potential moving of tax year end, Bounce Back Loan repayment options, business restructuring and cryptocurrency.
Exclusive Demystifying restructuring processes in retail and hospitality
  • Webinar
  • 20 Jun 2020
This webinar looked at restructuring and administration processes commonly seen in the retail and hospitality sectors, and consider what businesses can do if they have concerns about their long-term viability or that of their key customers and suppliers.
More webinars

Further ICAEW resources

See the following ICAEW Business topic pages for a selection of online books, articles, guides and useful links:
Woman working in flower shop
Costing
Driving down costs without damaging the business. Find out more about cost management and cost control.
Wind turbines
Steering your business through a recession
Resources to help you steer your business through difficult economic times.
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Leadership
Learn how to become an effective leader.
Construction worker
Risk management
Resources to help you manage risk and carry out business continuity planning for your organisation.

eBooks

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides full text access to a selection of key business and reference eBooks from leading publishers. eBooks are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users. If you are unable to access an eBook, please see our Help and support advice or contact library@icaew.com.

Exclusive Triage: the art of business turnarounds
  • eBook
  • 24 Jan 2024
  • Stephen Barnes
A guide to turning around a failing business.
Exclusive Insolvency and restructuring manual
  • eBook
  • 31 Jan 2023
  • Simon Beale, Paul Keddie, Tim Bromley-White
A practical guide to the main formal processes involved in corporate insolvency and restructuring, complete with extensive references to relevant legislation and cases. Topics covered include liquidation, administration, receivership, company voluntary arrangements and schemes of arrangement.
Exclusive Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 - Bloomsbury Professional Law Insight
  • eBook
  • 20 Dec 2020
  • Simon Beale, Paul Keddie, Tim Bromley-White
The act introduces the most significant changes in corporate insolvency law for nearly 20 years and has been introduced in response to COVID-19. Its main aim is to assist companies and directors by providing businesses with the flexibility and breathing space they need to continue trading during the difficult time caused by COVID-19.
Exclusive Corporate insolvency
  • eBook
  • 01 Jan 2013
  • Sophie Taylor, Claire Mowbray
Looks at the law of corporate insolvency in England and Wales.
Terms of use

You are permitted to access, download, copy, or print out content from eBooks for your own research or study only, subject to the terms of use set by our suppliers and any restrictions imposed by individual publishers. Please see individual supplier pages for full terms of use.

Articles and books in the ICAEW Library collection

The collection of the ICAEW Library & Information Service includes a range of articles, books and reports on corporate recovery and insolvency. Use the links below to see what we have available to request in our Library catalogue (Libcat).
Insolvency law: corporate and personal, 6th ed.
  • Library book
  • 2024
  • P. Walton, A. Keay
  • LexisNexis
Covers legislation and case law relating to all aspects of corporate and personal insolvency. This latest edition discusses key elements of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020, and considers cross-border insolvency rules post-Brexit.
Insolvency law handbook, 26th ed.
  • Library book
  • 2024
  • G. Davis, M. Haywood (eds.)
  • LexisNexis
Handbook bringing together in a single consolidated volume the most comprehensive available collection of insolvency law source materials applicable in England, Wales and Scotland.
Annotated guide to the insolvency legislation
  • Library book
  • 2024
  • L.Sealy
  • Sweet & Maxwell
Annual reference work, providing annotated commentary and clarification on the legal and practical implications of the latest insolvency legislation. The Library has the latest edition and back copies.
Loose and Griffiths on liquidators: the role of a liquidator in a winding up, 9th ed.
  • Library book
  • 2019
  • P. Loose, M. Griffiths
  • LexisNexis
A single-volume guide to the law of company liquidations, and the role of the liquidator in a winding up. It details the liquidator's powers and duties, as well as their relationship to creditors, members, receivers, and the court.

To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to borrowing books.

You can obtain copies of articles or extracts of books and reports through our document supply service.

Can't find what you're looking for?

The ICAEW Library can give you the right information from trustworthy, professional sources that aren't freely available online. Contact us for expert help with your enquiries and research.

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Resources
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Information

Some of the content on this web page was provided by the Chartered Accountants’ Trust for Education and Research, a registered charity, which owns the library and operates it for ICAEW.