Australia is the harshest country when businesses go under. Some simple and low cost ways to protect your business if your customers do – Insolvency, Administration & Receivership. Improved laws in Australia 1 Jan 2021 (Episode 62 - Jennifer O’Farrell)

In this episode, I interview Jennifer O’Farrell, a Senior Associate at Dobson Mitchell Allport. Jennifer is a commercial litigation and dispute resolution lawyer. She has a particular interest in insolvency, personal property securities, administrative and local government law. She began her legal career as a judge’s associate in the Federal Court of Australia.

In that role, she gained experience in a wide range of areas, including constitutional and administrative law, insolvency, tax, and general commercial disputes. She added to that experience by then working for a national law firm in Melbourne for 7 years.

Jennifer is a Professional Member of the Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association. She has a first-class honors degree in Law from UTAS and is the recipient of both the Tasmanian National Undergraduate Scholarship and the Tasmanian Honours Scholarship. She joins us in this episode to demystify the topic of insolvency and restructuring in relation to small businesses. Enjoy!

Other Resources:

Are you based in Tasmania? We have a regular small business meet-up in Hobart and Launceston, leave your email here to get the invite.

This Cast Covers:

From a judge’s associate to a solicitor at a national law firm, and how she was attracted to the world of insolvency.
Doing general litigation and also acting for insolvency practitioners like liquidators, administrators, and receivers.
Australia having some of the harshest director penalties in the world for insolvent trading.
The current low number of insolvencies due to the federal government’s initiatives aimed at discouraging businesses from entering into insolvency.
Identifying the critical problems earlier on to ensure one has the resources to fund a restructuring plan when their business is in financial distress.
Why proper cash flow management is critical to ensuring the sustainable success of a business.
The wisdom in making sure you pay your tax debts on time.
Voluntary administration to maximize the prospects of a business continuing in existence.
Preventing your debtors from getting away from you so you can ensure you have enough cash to meet your overhead needs.

Additional Resources:

Quotes:

“It’s really important to always know where you are on the insolvency continuum” – Jennifer O’Farrell

‘It’s important to monitor your business’ financial position at all times and understand when there are pressure points and act early” – Jennifer O’Farrell