It is not worth waiting before taking action

The law gives the entrepreneur a choice of different restructuring paths. The selection is best guided by the phase of crisis the company is in.

Powodzenie w biznesie działa usypiająco — firmy rozbudowują wewnętrzne struktury i tracą zdolność do szybkiego reagowania na zmiany rynkowe. Utrata kluczowych kontrahentów czy niespodziewane odwrócenie koniunktury powodują, że firma nie potrafi skutecznie odpowiedzieć na wyzwania, z którymi się zderza. Tego rodzaju bezwład może w dłuższym okresie stać się zagrożeniem dla dalszej obecności firmy na rynku. Jak w takiej sytuacji uzdrowić przedsiębiorstwo? Ratunkiem jest restrukturyzacja. Obowiązująca od początku 2016 r. ustawa Prawo restrukturyzacyjne wprowadziła wyraźne rozdzielenie postępowań restrukturyzacyjnych od upadłościowych.

- It is important to note that any of these proceedings may be initiated by both an entrepreneur who is insolvent and one whose insolvency is only threatened. The legislator allows the entrepreneur to take advantage of various restructuring options, depending on the phase of the crisis in which it finds itself, points out Małgorzata Anisimowicz, President of the Management Board of PMR Restrukturyzacje.

A real rescue

If the company has not yet lost its liquidity and ability to settle its obligations, which could be a premise for declaring bankruptcy, then the best option for it is to start the restructuring process. Its generally defined objective is to heal the company, i.e. to restore business efficiency, competitiveness and regain the quality of the services it offers or the products it sells. The initiation of restructuring by a company also protects the interests of its creditors.
- It prevents the uncontrolled sale of assets, their disposal or transfer. It allows equal opportunities for creditors and eliminates aggressive debt collection. An application for the commencement of restructuring proceedings may also be submitted by a creditor, explains Małgorzata Anisimowicz.
By announcing a restructuring, a company in crisis gets the protection of the law, which safeguards its key interests. Which ones? The restructuring law mentions facilitation of the company's access to state aid, new financing opportunities, protection of key contracts for the company, protection against aggressive debt collection, the possibility to suspend enforcement proceedings, protection of board members against personal liability, employment restructuring and support of the company by restructuring advisors, also experts in finance, accounting and taxation.

Don't waste time

When a company is experiencing a crisis and there are no easy ways to avert further progression, it is not worth waiting. The restructuring announced as early as possible gives a real chance of overcoming the difficulties. Timing and the choice of an optimal corrective procedure appropriate to the problems at hand are crucial to the effectiveness of the measures taken.

- Time is a resource that cannot be replaced by anything. The correct design of the architecture of the measures taken, which depends on the moment at which they are implemented, has a fundamental impact on the effectiveness of corrective actions, advises Małgorzata Anisimowicz.

The material appeared in the daily newspaper Puls Biznesu:9 October 2019:" It is not worth waiting to take action