Welcome

Welcome to the eighth edition of our Newsletter. Please take time to read the Newsletter and to bring it to the attention of relevant individuals within your organisation.

We would appreciate your feedback so that we may gauge the Newsletter's effectiveness and incorporate improvements in future editions. If there are specific subjects that you would like us to cover, then please let us know.

We hope that the guidance provided will prove to be a valuable reference tool.

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AiB has recently updated its telephone system to help direct calls to the most appropriate area. We have informed all our main stakeholders of our new phone numbers and asked them to update their files.

Please ensure that you use our new contact details:

Phone number: 0300 200 2600
Fax number: 0300 200 2601

The new phone system will automatically place your call in a call routing system to help ensure that your call gets to the correct person best placed to answer your query. If you do not want to listen to the full range of options given to the public, you can gain quicker access to the team(s) who deal with your enquiries by pressing 5 during the greeting message. You will then be given the option to direct your enquiry to the specific person/ team responsible for that area of business within AiB. You can press the star (*) key on your telephone at any time to hear the full message again.

Alternatively you may wish to use the direct dial facility. The team numbers are:

0300 200 2750 - Accounts

0300 200 2720 - Agent & Trustee Supervision

0300 200 2730 - Correspondence

0300 200 2740 - Bankruptcy Restrictions

0300 200 2780 - Protected Trust Deeds

0300 200 2710 - Trust Deed Supervision

0300 200 2850 - Debtor Applications

0300 200 2670 - Finance

Please be aware that all previous 0845 numbers are only in operation for a limitied period of time and will soon be withdrawn from use - please update your records with the new numbers provided.

Our website has also been changed to reflect the new numbers. Current publications are being updated and existing stock will be accompanied by inserts advising of our new numbers. Online publications are currently being identified and will be updated in due course.

If you have any queries about our new phone system, please contact us or phone the Change Team on 0300 200 2674.

Accountant in Bankruptcy is seeking additional highly motivated individuals to bring, as Board members, their specialist knowledge and experience of the personal insolvency sector to the Agency. We are also seeking a replacement, specialising in strategic communications, for one of our existing Non-Executive Board members whose term of appointment ends later this year.

The successful candidates will have:

• Experience in the area of personal insolvency in Scotland or the debt advice or credit recovery sector or strategic communications;
• Knowledge of business and strategic planning; and
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.

The closing date for applications is 02 August 2010.

Full details and an application pack can be found via AiB's website.

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As reported in the previous edition of our Newsletter, an electronic workbook has been developed to simplify the process for submitting Agency accounts. The workbook automatically calculates fees due to Agents and AiB and replaces the paper forms, Annexes G and K1.

The development of the workbook is the first step towards the introduction of a web portal, which will allow Agents to submit accounts by means of an interface with AiB's electronic case management system.

Members of our Accounts team have commenced visits to Agents to introduce the workbook and give training. The feedback to date has been positive with Agents' staff keen to adopt this method for the submission of accounts. Where we have been unable to arrange a visit, an introduction has been given successfully via telephone and email.

Contact will be made with all Agents over the next few months to arrange an overview of the workbook but if you require further information in the meantime please contact the Accounts team or call on 0300 200 2750.

There have been instances of Agents requesting funds for reversion to debtor, prior to the final account being submitted, in cases where dividends of 100 pence in the pound, plus full statutory interest have been paid to creditors and where the debtor is already discharged. In such cases Agents should be accelerating the final accounting period and submitting the final account to AiB for audit, thereby facilitating the proper order of distribution of funds without causing delay.

If you have any queries regarding the above please contact us.

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When submitting accounts, please be aware that if fees requested are between £5,000 and £7,500 for a six month period, we will require a Detailed Work Record along with the SIP9. If we do not receive this with your account, a request will be sent for this information which may delay completion of the audit.

In a detailed SIP9/Work Record we require the following information which is, in effect, the information from staff timesheets and should be readily available. It should include:

• Date the work was carried out;
• Length of time taken to carry out said work;
• Description of all work carried out in each record;
• Member of staff who completed work including grade; and
• Ensure the hours shown on the detailed work record corresponds with SIP9.

For example:

Date	Time	Description of Work	Carried Out By
01/01/2010	1 Hour	Property Searches	Claire Smith Manager
02/01/2010	30 mins	Telephone conversation with solicitors regarding sale of property	David Smith Admin Assistant

Please also note, if your claim exceeds £7,500 for a six month period, we will require the case files. They will be requested when we are in a position to commence the audit.

If you require further information on this, please contact the Accounts team or call on 0300 200 2750

In cases where a Commissioner has been elected, who then fails to determine the Trustee's account or respond to correspondence, Accountant in Bankruptcy cannot determine the accounts until creditors have been informed. Creditors should be advised of the current position and a meeting arranged to elect a new Commissioner. If no Commissioner is elected, AiB will then determine the Trustee's accounts. A copy of the minutes of such a meeting should be forwarded to AiB, together with copies of any previous accounts and minutes signed by the Commissioner.

If you have any queries regarding the above, please contact the Accounts team or call on 0300 200 2750.

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Supervision and Monitoring Team

If you are using the services of either a Sheriff Officer or a Chartered Surveyor, since April 2009 we no longer require a Service Request Number or can accept an Annex I for payment. Instead, you should advise the Sheriff Officer or Chartered Surveyor that the work has to be carried out under the AiB contract and they will then, in turn, invoice AiB directly.

When contacting a Sheriff Officer or Chartered Surveyor regarding joint cases, i.e. a husband and wife, please submit as one request rather than two separate requests.

If you have any queries regarding the above please contact us.

Correspondence Team

In recent months we have received a number of enquiries about the ranking of fees in a susequent sequestration. A number of Trustees have argued that the fees of a Trustee in a Trust Deed should have a preferential ranking in the sequestration and have cited historic case law in support of this view.

A recent judgment issued by Sheriff Holligan (SQ110/05) indicates that fees and outlays in a Trust Deed should not be regarded as a preferential claim in a subsequent sequestration.

For the avoidance of doubt, The Accountant in Bankruptcy's position on this issue will follow the terms of Sheriff Holligan's judgement. For more more information, visit Scottish Courts website.

If you have any queries regarding the above please contact us.

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I hope our newsletter has been both informative and useful to you.

Remember, if you would like anyone else from your organisation to be included in our mailing list please let us know. We would also greatly welcome feedback and ideas for future topics. Please email us with your feedback or suggestions for future newsletters.

Look out for our newsletter next quarter!

Best Wishes

AiB Accounts Team

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The Accountant's Information Bulletin is produced by the Accounts and Supervision Teams, Case Operation Branch, AiB, for the benefit of Agents and Trustees working with the Agency. All information presented here was true and accurate at the time of publication.