Written by Sadia Alam in April, 2012

A very informative ITSA presentation organised by Condon Associates grasped the audience’s attention to question the suitability of Regulations & Enforcement and the effectiveness of the procedures in place to manage various matters relating to Bankruptcy.

We all know how important money is in today’s unpredictable world, so the first rational question to intrigue the audience was in regards to remuneration. “If the minimum set fee that can be pocketed is $5,420.00 without Creditors approval, then how much exertion should take place in order to earn that amount?”

Cases such as Young, In the matter of Macryannis [2011] dealt with how, or what is considered a reasonable amount of Trustee payments. It was stated that Trustee’s waste too much time completing tasks that do not require so much effort.

The regulatory system does not specify exactly how much time is to be spent on a certain task, leaving the duration entirely to the Trustee’s judgement.  What this system lacks is a set of method(s) which can formulate a consistent approach in determining how remuneration is to originate and how it is to be calculated.

One must understand that at the time when a Trustee is appointed, they are uneducated in regards to the level of work that will come to their attention when dealing with any Bankruptcy case. Every Bankrupt has a substantially different situation. Costs will differ, just as the level of work. The Trustee has the duty in determining what work is to be performed.

Audiences also debated that without seeking Creditors approval for remuneration for the minimum fee, mixed messages were being delivered.

It is vital that some sort of mechanism be put into place to deal with remuneration matters otherwise Insolvency firms will be going Bankrupt instead!