Daniel Chow and I had the honor of being invited to engage in and deliver a presentation at a dynamic seminar hosted by the Taxation Institute of Hong Kong. The seminar attendees primarily consisted of skilled tax practitioners and accountants in Hong Kong. During the discussion, we provided the participants with an overview of restructuring and insolvency, along with the most recent market advancements.
Here are a few key topics we addressed during the seminar:
In my December 2022 article, I predicted that when insolvencies started to surge in the Australian economy, the worst casualties would likely be in construction.1 It’s taken a while for my predicted post-COVID day of reckoning to arrive in Australia. But it is here.
I was asked to consider doing a post on Artificial Intelligence (AI). There’s so much already out there, so I decided to ask ChatGPT to “write me an interesting post targeted at a professional audience about the impact of AI to the insolvency and restructuring sector.”
This is what it came back with:
Title: "Harnessing the Power of AI in the Insolvency and Restructuring Sector"
My colleague Alex Chan and I had the privilege of participating in an interactive webinar hosted by the The Hon Edmund Wong, a member of the Legislative Council and the representative of the accountancy functional constituency. The webinar provided a valuable platform for professionals in the industry to delve into the significance of corporate restructuring and insolvency within the realm of accounting.
Against the backdrop of Hong Kong's emergence from the pandemic and the government's efforts to entice tourists and investors back, there arises a question as to whether the government might consider reviving the corporate rescue bill. Implementing a framework for debt restructuring and negotiations with creditors would help prevent liquidations, which often result in additional job losses and contribute to further economic decline.
No one expected these immortal words by Split Enz to be so relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, that is exactly how some directors may be left feeling regarding the requirements to qualify for protection from trading while insolvent under the COVID-19 Safe Harbour provisions.
NAVIGATING COVID-19
When COVID-19 hit Australia, it created a crisis requiring urgent and extraordinary action by Federal and State Governments to protect the health of the Australian people and economy.