The profession of an insolvency administrator appeared in Russia in 1992. This specialist supervises the bankruptcy procedure, and must have the proper skills in the field of law and economics.
The arbitration manager is, in fact, an anti-crisis director. The outcome of the bankruptcy procedure depends on him. He can connect to the process at any stage. Until 2002, any lawyer or economist could become such a manager. But since 2002, strict requirements have been imposed on specialists in the field of bankruptcy and crisis management, for example, the presence of certain experience in managing enterprises or companies, the absence of administrative or criminal punishment in his biography.
Who is this bankruptcy commissioner
Both a young specialist and an experienced one who have completed an internship and have confirmed their qualifications can become an arbitration manager. Its main task is to find a way for a civilized solution of controversial issues between the bankrupt enterprise and its creditors.
The arbitration manager holds the post of head of the organization temporarily. His qualifications should allow him to find a way out of a difficult financial situation, restore the company's solvency, find ways to pay off creditors, save as many jobs as possible, and sometimes even avoid staff cuts.
The choice of a candidate for this vacancy is regulated by the law of the Russian Federation, and occurs in several stages:
- the nomination of a specialist by the plaintiff or the court,
- consideration of the candidacy by representatives of the bankrupt enterprise,
- approval of the manager for office by the court.
The arbitration manager can be temporary, administrative, external or competitive. The interim must identify and confirm the fictitiousness or validity of the bankruptcy, make efforts to stabilize the situation. The administrative department is engaged in the financial recovery of the enterprise. The external bankruptcy manager is the direct manager of the bankrupt company in crisis conditions, and the bankruptcy administrator completes the bankruptcy procedure.
Job Applicant Requirements
Requirements for those who want to become an insolvency administrator are spelled out in Article 20 of the Federal Bankruptcy Law of the Russian Federation, and they are divided into conditionally restrictive and general ones. The job seeker must be a member of an SRO (Self-Regulatory Organization of Trustees in Arbitration). To join it, you need:
- be a citizen of Russia,
- have an academic education and work experience as a manager from 1 year or more,
- provide documentary evidence of the internship,
- pass theory tests in law and economics,
- have a certificate of admission to managerial positions,
- confirm the absence of administrative and criminal penalties,
- obtain a certificate of liability insurance of an arbitration manager,
- confirm the regularity of contributions to the SRO compensation fund.
Before being appointed to the position of an insolvency administrator, an applicant for a vacancy must be checked for lack of personal interest in the bankruptcy of a particular enterprise, determine its solvency, clarify its disqualification status, and sometimes they can also check access to possession of state secrets if the alleged bankrupt is a regime enterprise.
If the bankruptcy administrator is proposed by the creditor of the bankrupt enterprise, then he will also have to confirm that he meets the requirements of the article of the law. The arbitral tribunal rarely approves such candidates, since the manager in this case may be interested in the bankruptcy of the debtor company, which is contrary to the rules on choosing a candidate.
Where and how do arbitration managers undergo an internship
The training time depends on whether the candidate has managerial experience. If there is no such experience, then before proposing his candidacy, the future arbitration manager will have to acquire it - to work as a director or his deputy for at least 1 year.
Candidates must study in educational institutions that have entered into an agreement on the provision of such services with the Federal Registration Service. There are such management schools in several regions of the Russian Federation - Moscow and Voronezh regions, Bashkortostan, Omsk and Krasnodar, Perm, Orel, Tambov, Vladivostok and other subjects of the Federation.
The course usually lasts from 2 to 3 months. For admission, you must prepare a package of documents:
- a certificate of absence of disqualification, which is issued by the tax office at the candidate's place of residence,
- a certificate from the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the absence of a criminal record, which can be obtained from the nearest MFC,
- passport of a citizen of Russia,
- a document confirming the presence of experience in the field of management, for example, a work book or an extract from it.
The documents are checked by the admissions office of the educational institution. After the candidacy is approved, the prospective student is obliged to pay for the tuition and provide the institution's management with a document confirming this. An agreement must be concluded with the student of the course, and at the end of the training he receives an appropriate diploma. And only after that the candidate can become a member of the SRO and propose his candidacy for one of the vacancies of a crisis manager.
The degree of responsibility of the insolvency practitioner
The position of an arbitration manager is not only an opportunity to earn money, but also a chance to prove yourself in this area, to get a permanent job in a large company in the future. The bankruptcy administrator works under the constant supervision of the judicial authority, representatives of the bankrupt enterprise and its creditors. If one of them is dissatisfied with his work, the manager can be removed from office and brought to administrative responsibility.
By performing their duties in an inappropriate manner, a third-party manager can cause serious financial damage not only to the bankrupt, but also to its creditors. Therefore, joining an SRO, the candidate is obliged to insure liability to the client, to constantly pay contributions to the organization's compensation fund. The amount of such a payment is set by the SRO, and depends on what scale enterprises it works with, how long it has been providing services on the Russian market, how many specialists it has on its staff, and how often they are disqualified.
The reason for the disqualification of the bankruptcy commissioner and his bringing to administrative responsibility may be the losses to which his activities have led. The fact of damage is documented, evidence is submitted to the arbitration court and the SRO, which includes the hired manager. Losses incurred by the company are compensated from the SRO fund. This condition must be met within the time period stipulated by the law of the Russian Federation - no later than 60 days after the receipt of the claim.
Job responsibilities
The arbitration manager has all the rights of the head of the organization or enterprise entrusted to him. His job responsibilities are described in the Federal Bankruptcy Law (Article 20.3, paragraphs 1 and 2):
- protection of tangible and financial assets,
- adequate distribution of the property of the enterprise among its creditors,
- analysis of the financial situation and finding ways to optimize the situation,
- maintaining a register of claims for bankruptcy from third parties,
- participation in general meetings of creditors or shareholders of the enterprise,
- informing the regulatory authorities about the detection of violations in the operation of the enterprise, which led to its bankruptcy,
- providing creditors with information about the state of the enterprise at their first request,
- identification of violations of the law in the bankruptcy procedure and notification of them,
- management of the enterprise until its recovery or complete closure, transfer to third parties or the state.
An arbitration manager does not have the right to disclose information about the state of the enterprise entrusted to him to third parties - for this he may incur administrative punishment and receive life-long disqualification, that is, lose the opportunity to work as a manager in any area. In addition, he cannot shift his responsibilities to other employees of the bankrupt enterprise, representatives of the creditor or the court.
If the candidacy is rejected and the bankruptcy manager is replaced by another specialist, he is obliged to transfer the most complete information on the enterprise, including the state of accounts, the amount of debt at the moment to creditors and employees, the plan for the restoration of the company or its final bankruptcy drawn up by him.
