The Sounds of the Baskerville

Welcome to the Fiftieth Episode of Sounds of the Baskerville! This week, we'll be looking over some of the stories we've told about business restructures and insolvency, as well as discussing how to get the right advice you need for the business path you choose - and why getting that advice earlier is always key. Join us for this milestone episode with Chris Baskerville, a business restructuring a...

To be prepared is to be forearmed, or so they say. Lots of people don't know that in Australia bankruptcy and insolvency are two different things. In Australia, bankruptcy applies to individuals while insolvency applies to companies. This can be a bit confusing for those who are unfamiliar with the Australian system, so this week Chris Bakerville takes a closer look at what each of these terms mea...

So you're stuck in a situation where none of the options seems any good, and they don't make sense. Yes, it can be tough to know what to do! When he's asked to step into a failing or insolvent business, Chris Baskervilles says it's important to remember that sometimes the best option is still a "bad" option. How does that work? In this episode, we think back to the movie "Argo" to explore what it...

We've all heard stories about people who have tried one against the tax office, and it's usually because they've been doing something wrong. But what about the people who convince themselves that they're not doing anything wrong nd it's everyone else, or we should just let them get on with it? In this episode, we talk about the paper shuffler. He pays money from one company to the other and is cla...

Or the decisions they need to make, having asked the right questions! How often does Chris Baskerville hear, 'I don't know, that's something the accountant set up'. What do I need to know about my business structure, what risk I am managing, and what is the appropriate way to pay myself, bills and private expenses? Why should I pay myself a wage, not just take money when I need it, or there seems...

Small Business Reconconrsction. Safe Harbour. Things are hotting up. So what's going on right now with these relatively new tools for qualified advisors and Directors looking for sensible advice. What with interest rates on the rise and the ATO reminding Directors that it wants its money, Ginette Muller shares with us what she sees in a fast-moving business landscape. For this episode, Chris Baske...

The developers were insolvent and investors were looking to recoup their losses. The supporters of the project were hoping against hope that something could be salvaged. And the family of the late developer was left to pick up the pieces. Into this maelstrom came Chris, his then boss and the team. What they found was a potential environmental disaster as well as a financial muddle. Maybe this is a...

Things got a bit loose in Queensland in the seventies and righties. Some of the big projects developers were able to get approved would likely not stand a chance now. Some developments, like the 'Big Things' that popped up in Queensland around the same era, have become famous and prosper still. Others, not so much... In this episode, we look at a failed venture in North Queensland. One of the last...

Is this a bit fishy? A trustee of trust uses money held for others, to invest in or give a loan to the business of another trustee. What could possibly go wrong? Here is the sad tale (tail?) of the trustee we'll call Barramundi, They should have known better. There is a cautionary tale here, told well by Chris Baskerville.

Inspired by a clue in the crossword, asking for a name given to a military disaster. As a follow-up to “Episode 39’s Tts merely a flesh wound”, we bring you the Omnishambles revisited in ‘Charlie Fox’. This week Chris Baskerville shares what further investigation uncovers. So the business runs vehicles, but whose assets are they anyway, and (remembering Episode 35 and the tale of the missing Race...

What's that old expression? An irresistible force meets an immovable object? This week we talk through the early days of helping small businesses that, but for an unmanageable debt, could survive, or at least avoid the worst outcomes for all in a formal liquidation. Chris Baskerville talks about Small Business Reconstruction, and, what might seem a high bar to jump over to be eligible. Seems like...

With Chris Baskerville, this week's #podcast delves into a recent example where Directors kept running a business and incurring more debt. Heard that all before? Maybe not like this one... Nobody seemed to understand their trouble, and they didn't have the business records or processes to tell themselves anyway. This business reminded us of the Monty Python knight who fights on and on, losing limb...

This week, Chris Baskerville looks over some of the 'investments' people have made into the schemes he is called in to save - or liquidate. We look at the spectrum between the fool and his money soon parted.. through to the professional investor who understands risk. And then to this somewhat unknown group ... the 'sophisticated investor', who may or may not be that sophisticated at all. Tune in t...

What’s an Illegal Phoenix? It is the phoenix that is not legal. For so long unhelpful definitions like this, gaps in regulation and oversight have allowed Directors to be given (or to seek) advice that might help them avoid paying debts and taxes. Enter the Creditor Defeating Disposition! As we often say on the Sounds of the Baskerville, there are legitimate circumstances where, through a Voluntar...

When business is s tight, we are all used to managers and owners asking the team to dig deep, give a bit, and try and pull through…. Often, staff are only happy to help to act as a team, to work to not only help keep their jobs but because they are often loyal to the company and the owners themselves. And some business owners treat their staff like family. What it if is so bad the doors may need t...

Some things, and some people, you need to be able to Trust. And there are often in legal and other matters, 'Trust Accounts'. What happens when someone breaches that trust? It shakes the confidence in the system and has dire consequences. Listen in, Chris Baskerville relates a tale where a pillar of the community made a poor decision so much worse by breaching trust.

You may not want to live a 'high life'. Lots of us may want to live a 'less ordinary life'. You can work hard and achieve something, or, like the subject of this episode, try and take shortcuts. Crime doesn't pay. Might seem like it does for a while, but not in the end. Especially if Chris Baskerville and his team are on the case. Positions of trust are a real issue here. Listen in to this week's...

If you are going leave the country with debts unpaid, you may as well go somewhere interesting. Just don't expect Chris Baskerville and his team to stop at the water's edge in the pursuit of a dividend to creditors. Back in episode 24 we talked about the sort of behaviour that might make people think you are a bit of a Jackas**. Well, there is bit more to this case study, where an attempt to go ov...

We've talks about selling a business as a 'going concern'. This week special guest Terry Kirkham comes back on how to secure and value a business and sell the parts of the broken whole, in parts not as one big lump. As an industry specialist and valuer, Terry chats with Chris Baskerville about the steps he steps to secure assets, and the site, especially when emotions are running hot. Tune in!

Last episode Chris Baskerville told us how he and his team unpicked the work of slick advisers and Directors aiming to hide assets. This week, we look at a ridiculous attempt to do the same, but just not slick. "Not Very Good" advice again. This boat business sunk in big way. Pointless. Untrustworthy advisers strike again, maybe preying on greed and fear? What if they'd actually spent some time an...

Make it really difficult and people will just give up? Imagine if these guys had spent as much time and money getting #goodadvice to restructure their business up front? No, instead they got their guidance from an bunch of advisors who helped them spend time and money moving stuff about to try and hide it from creditors. There seemed to be a hug effort to move assets and obscure transactions. Ente...

O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive! Sir Walter Scott. Why do people, often quite trusted, stick their hands in the company till? and how do they get away with it? This week Chris Baskerville channels Sir Walter Scott's great line, on the schemes and methods people use to cheat others. Often people who trust or rely on them. And how does Chris unpick the mess? In this...

So the phone rings, the call comes in, the Judge makes their determination. Who is the liquidator's go to? We welcome in this time Terry Kirkham, Managing Director of Global Business Auctioneers and Valuers. He shares his insights with Chris Baskerville, Brisbane Managing Partner of Jirsch Sutherland (and the expert behind "The Sounds of The Baskerville). A broken business that is the work of ecce...

The Hound. the creature that pursues its quarry until it is found. And what about a dog with a bone? Watch it chewing and growling at any that might look like they might take its meal. So, how is this relevant? Well, being in insolvency is a tough game, and the way a liquidation works is that it must be funded by what the liquidator recovers from the ruins. So why on earth would a Liquidator ask t...

Has he seen a scoundrel. a scammer, a rat bag? When has Chris Baskerville seen a scenario where someone has set up a business, or run it, to just try and hide or take money. What about a business idea where you take money from clients who would be too embarrassed to chase it. Or at least think twice? This time around Chris talks about a guy who set up an online business that never really existed....