IPs meet with The Accountant

Accountant in Bankruptcy recently hosted an event giving Insolvency Practitioners the opportunity to gain insight into the Scottish Government (SG) and AiB's measures to support the Scottish economy and people, while tackling growing concerns over the rise in bankruptcies.

Glasgow played host to the recent 'Meet the Accountant' event delivered by AiB, looking at what the Agency is doing as part of the Scottish Government's response to the current economic situation and to tackle concerns over how legislation is affecting the insolvency sector as a whole.

Delegates attended from the breadth of the country's insolvency practices and included welcome representation from some of the leading professional bodies for the sector. In recognition of the importance of insolvency practitioners as key stakeholders, AiB held the event in keeping with its bid in building strong working relationships as well as keeping service providers informed of changes to legislative and operational aspects of agency processes.

The Accountant in Bankruptcy, Gillian Thompson, took the opportunity to focus on reinforcing AiB's role in supporting the delivery of Government objectives and as the industry body responsible for overseeing the delivery of insolvency in Scotland. Detailed updates were given on AiB's collaborative work such as the Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) and the Debt Action Forum (DAF), and on policy delivery such as the LILA (Low Income Low Asset) route to bankruptcy and the review of Protected Trust Deeds (PTDs) - both important measures in addressing concerns surrounding the changing economic landscape and approaches to debt relief. The Scottish Government's programme for the coming year was also outlined, including the Debt and Family Homes Bill and Debtor Protection Bill.

The Agency's 'Meet The Accountant' event not only provided members of the insolvency sector with the opportunity to meet in person with the incumbent Accountant in Bankruptcy, Gillian Thompson, but also provided an introduction to the Chief Executive Designate, Rosemary Winter-Scott (currently Head of Learning Connections within the Scottish Government) who will take over the role of Accountable Officer on 1 October 2009.

The event helped highlight the fact that, the rise in number of bankruptcies is coupled with growing concern that more must be done to meet the needs and expectations of the Scottish public and Ministers; to find simple and effective solutions that deal with the debt problem head-on. The Accountant was keen to emphasise that an integral part of achieving realistic solutions depends upon the successful working partnership between AiB and insolvency practitioners.

AiB speakers (John Cook, Head of Case Operations and Sharon Bell, Head of Policy Development) shared recent insolvency statistics and future plans with delegates, opening up the forum for a Q&A session. Details of the questions raised and answers given can be found via our website, with full minutes of the Q&A available as well as further details of the event itself.