“A failure to respond to a statutory demand can have very serious consequences for a company. In particular, it may result in the company being placed in liquidation and control of the company passing to the liquidator of the company.”

What would you do if you saw the notice above in a box prominently displayed at the top of a document addressed to your company claiming that money is due and owing and specifying that you take urgent action within 21 days?

General corporate

ASIC reports on corporate insolvencies 2012–2013

Facts

The Product People Pty Ltd (TPP) was the manufacturer of various products. The Product People (International) Pty Ltd (TPPI) was a separate company that was licensed to market and sell those products throughout Australia and New Zealand. Box Seat Company Pty Ltd (Box Seat) generated business and managed clients in relation to those products for that region.

The Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors' Report) Regulations 2013 (Regulations) to amend the structure of UK annual reports have been published and laid before Parliament.

The recent Australian Federal Court case of Neeat Holdings (in liq) [2013] FCA 61 considered the issue of whether the liquidator of a trustee company should be permitted to sell trust assets notwithstanding the appointment of a new trustee in substitution for the insolvent trustee company.

There is a plethora of Australian legislation which sheets home personal liability to directors and officers.

Below are some reminders of traps for directors and officers for transactions that might be undertaken in the usual course of a director or officer’s normal arrangements.

Trap 1: Super re-contribution

Some advisors propose, as a strategy for limiting superannuation death benefits tax, withdrawing superannuation balances and re-contributing that amount into super as a non-concessional tax-free contribution.

Introduction

In the hire industry, it is common for hirers to incur significant exposure on customer accounts where credit is extended in circumstances where security is not provided.  In a difficult economic climate, ensuring your customers promptly pay for hired goods, or pay at all, can be challenging. 

A recent analysis^[1] has found that:

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and institutional bodies have published the following guidance in relation to corporate governance and directors' remuneration in the last few months.

The PPSA (Personal Property Securities Act) will celebrate its first birthday on 30 January 2013.

The PPSA introduced fundamental changes for business structuring arrangements. Assets that are subject to non-arms’ length lease or hire arrangements can be at risk if the entity that has possession of the property under the lease or hire agreement is placed in liquidation or receivership.

What is a PPS lease?

A ‘PPS lease’ is the lease or hire of property for a period (including options):

Merger control rules are still fully applicable in times of crisis. Any transactions that (i) lead to a change of control over a business or a part of a business on a lasting basis; and (ii) trigger the jurisdictional thresholds in the EU or a Member State’s merger control regulations, are still considered “reportable transactions” that require prior clearance.