Supporting members and the profession in 2022
Welcome to R3's Impact Statement for 2022, which demonstrates the vital role that R3 plays in offering clear insights in a complicated and fast-changing world - both for members and everyone involved in working in, and shaping, the insolvency and restructuring professions.
We do this through promoting and protecting the interests of the profession to all key stakeholder communities; providing members with an extensive range of practical tools, support and training; and creating opportunities to connect with peers from across the profession, and wider business community, through our conferences and events.
R3 has been proud to serve and support our members through this past year as we have emerged from the pandemic, and then faced new and unexpected challenges for businesses and our whole society, from the war in Ukraine and higher inflation, through to the cost-of-living pressures and wider economic and political turbulence.
We look forward to working with, and on behalf of, members as we navigate the challenges of the coming year together.
Promoting and protecting the profession
Throughout the year we have promoted and protected the profession and its work and highlighted the support restructuring and insolvency professionals provide to businesses, individuals and the economy across the UK every day.
Consultations
R3's representation of members' views and interests in responding to consultations by government, regulators and others on key issues for the profession is critical in ensuring an effective legislative and regulatory framework for the restructuring and insolvency profession.
We carried out UK-wide member engagement programmes during 2022 to ensure our members' views were reflected in our response to the Future of insolvency practitioner regulation consultation (March 2022).
Over 250 members responded to our survey seeking their views on specific questions within the consultation, and we hosted meetings or webinars across all of the regions and nations of the UK to ensure we heard directly from members far and wide.
Members' views from the survey and meetings, alongside input from members of R3's committees, were incorporated into our comprehensive response to this critical consultation for the profession.
R3 members' views were also represented in consultations on a wide range of other issues including:
- The Personal Insolvency Landscape: Call for Evidence (October 2022)
- Implementation of two UNCITRAL Model Laws on Insolvency (October 2022)
- Statutory Debt Repayment Plan: Consultation (August 2022)
- Managing the failure of systemic Digital Settlement Asset (including stablecoin) firms (July 2022)
- FCA Consultation - FCA'S approach to compromises for Regulated Firms (February 2022)
- Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Bill (August 2022)
- Scottish Law Commission Eleventh Programme of Law: Consultation (July 2022)
Agenda setting reports
A key part of R3's proactive work to promote the profession during 2022 has been the publication of two policy reports to explain important issues for the profession to parliamentarians, stakeholders and the media.
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What our members say: "Good to see R3 produce a report which shines a light on these misconceptions and explains that insolvency is one of the most regulated areas and that it is the very regulations themselves that creates a lot of the work and accompanying costs that are required." |
Insolvency and the fight against fraud, contains a series of recommendations to Government to significantly strengthen the UK's corporate governance framework and details the important role that members of the profession play in tackling fraud.
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What our members say: R3’s ‘Insolvency and the fight against fraud’ report is a great initiative as we enter a period of uncertainty. It has some excellent suggestions to reform the current guidance, in particular in relation to dissolution. ” “Excellent report, as a lawyer I have seen a significant increase of insider fraud, simple practical measures and education to spread the message to combat fraud is always welcome.” |
The voice of insolvency and restructuring in the media
R3 has acted as the voice of the profession with over 1500 mentions in regional, national and specialist media including being featured in: the Times; Financial Times; Evening Standard; Radio 4 - Money Box; Channel 4 News and more.
Shaping the agenda
R3 has engaged with a range of key parliamentarians and stakeholders involved in shaping the operating environment for restructuring and insolvency professionals across the UK to help improve their understanding of the profession, its work and the circumstances in which it works.
We wrote to over 500 parliamentarians to help improve their understanding of the profession's work and policy areas of importance to the profession, and held meetings and engaged with influential groups including:
- Shadow Treasury and Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Ministers
- Government Ministers in the devolved nations, including the Scottish Insolvency Minister
- Select Committees, including the Business Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, and All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs), including the Fair Business Banking APPG to discuss topics such as energy insolvencies and Companies House reform
- MPs across the various R3 regions and nations to discuss regional and national insolvency issues and trends.
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R3’s parliamentary engagement led to peers calling for a right of reply for the profession against unfounded accusations, shown in this video. “I thank R3 for its perennial helpful guidance and advice…I think there should be some opportunity, at the very least for a right of reply for the insolvency profession.” - Lord Leigh of Hurley, Conservative Peer, Rating and Director Disqualification Bill, Committee Stage, 10 November 2021 |
Providing practical support and solutions
Technical updates and guidance
Practical advice and guidance have remained a key area of support for members this year.
We've issued 32 Technical Alerts covering a range of specific topics including; HMRC updates, Insolvency Service updates, legislation and sanctions.
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What our members say: "Good to see R3 produce a report which shines a light on these misconceptions and explains that insolvency is one of the most regulated areas and that it is the very regulations themselves that creates a lot of the work and accompanying costs that are required." |
New and updated guides and resources for members during 2022 include:
- Director guidance webpage
- New creditor guides for Moratorium and CVAs
- Updated creditor guides
- Updated creditor guides Scotland
- Guidance - Dealing with money worries - A Guide to your options (Scotland)
Working together with stakeholders
HMRC
We continue to act as an intermediary between members and HMRC, to help improve the working relationship between HMRC and the profession. Established working groups include:
- HMRC VAT working group
- HMRC Business Tax working group
A designated mailbox for insolvency queries was created as a result of the work of R3.
Employment tribunals
- The Employee working group in collaboration with employment tribunals is attempting to
mitigate the conflicts between insolvency law and employment law.
Pensions
- Nest pension working group - resulted in guidance being published by Nest to aid the
profession.
GDPR
Training
R3's Training Academy, has extended its support for members during 2022, offering a wide range of content and formats both online and face to face to meet the needs of members at every stage of their career.
The Insolvency Boot Camp and Restructuring Boot Camp online series have proved popular with members, whilst we have offered our Introduction to Insolvency course for members at the earlier stages of their career in both online and face to face formats.
We introduced the "In conversation with..." series of webinars to provide members with focused insights on topical issues including: Restructuring tools for SMEs and Disclaimers - who picks up the pieces? among others.
The Contentious Insolvency and Creditors Forum was well received by members and we intend to extend the one day conference format, focused on a specific issue, to other technical areas in the coming year.
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What our members say: "I really enjoyed the whole course and thought it was a great summary of all the main points that a junior needs to refresh their knowledge of" Introduction to Insolvency Virtual Classroom Delegate. "The R3 Insolvency Bootcamp course is a brilliant introduction to the key concepts for both insolvency practitioners and restructuring and insolvency lawyers. The networking opportunities are fantastic and the case studies help you to see how your peers approach problems set". Insolvency Boot Camp Delegate. "Each session has been really helpful and given me an in depth overview of the day-to-day problems faced. I most enjoyed hearing from a range of other professionals and sharing each other's experiences" Restructuring Boot Camp delegate. |
Making connections – bringing the profession together
Over 5,000 delegates have attended our events and training during the past 12 months, as R3 demonstrated its vital role in bringing the restructuring and insolvency profession together.
As we returned to face-to-face events, in some cases for the first time in three years since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, members showed a real appetite and appreciation for the opportunity to get reacquainted with colleagues and make new connections.
Highlights included:
- Our Annual Conference in May with a record number of over 300 delegates attending to discuss the key issues facing the profession
- Our fora in the nations and regions including the Scotland, Northern and Eastern Forums with high quality sessions and speakers
- Our programme of regional meetings free to attend for members offering members the opportunity to connect with fellow insolvency and restructuring professionals in their area
- Our SPG Forum in November bringing the smaller practice community together face to face for the first time in three years
- Our social and networking programme from lunches and dinners in the North West, Midlands, Yorkshire, Southern and Northern Ireland through to quizzes in London and the North East, alongside a number of golf, cycling and a range of other activities offering opportunities for members from across the profession to connect in a variety of different ways
- Towards the end of the year our Annual business lunch which attracted 550 people.
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What our members say: "Everything covered in one day and I found the time was constructively used. This forum had a good range of types of topics covered (personal and corporate)."
"Thought all sessions were very useful and informative" Networking opportunities also fantastic." Delegates from R3's Scotland Forum |
As we have re-established our event programme during 2022 we’re looking forward to a strong programme of regional and national events during 2023.
Looking forward to 2023
R3's role as the voice for the profession will be more important than ever during 2023 as the Insolvency Service respond to the many submissions made to the consultation on the Future of insolvency practitioner regulation; and in representing members' interests in a changing regulatory and economic environment.
R3's technical guidance will continue to keep members briefed on the important technical and regulatory issues which impact on members and their firms.
R3's Training Academy will develop more courses and opportunities for gaining knowledge and expertise for members at every stage of their careers - from new professionals to experienced practitioners - in a range of formats that meet members' changing needs for training content - when and how they want to access this.
R3's member faculties and committees will focus and shape our work on key issues facing the profession including - restructuring, special situations M and A, solvent liquidations, fraud and much more.
R3's programme of regional and national events for 2023 will continue to create opportunities for members to meet to debate the key issues facing the profession and for networking with colleagues old and new, including: the Annual Conference in Venice; New Professionals Forum; Fraud Conference; Contentious Insolvency and Creditors Forum; and the SPG Forum.
R3's support for members in the regions will continue to expand, and our regional committees are planning a comprehensive programme of activities across the country to enable members to engage in discussions on the technical issues that are important to them and social events to bring the profession together.
We look forward to working with you and all our members, as we navigate the challenges of the coming year together, offering clear insights and support in a complicated and fast-changing world.
