Saturday, June 1, 2013

Business Restructuring! Do You Know When it is Time?

A restructuring, is it time? Tick, tick, tick, the clock is ticking. In less than a week payroll is due. The company does not have enough cash to pay the 200 employees and you are not even thinking about how to pay the suppliers. The credit line is fully drawn and you have no more collateral to give. What do you do? How much time does the company have? These are the type of issues the company is facing. Is it time for a business restructuring?

If you cannot meet payroll, staff will leave, the state will be notified that the employees have not been paid, and this will be only the beginning of the company’s problems.  You know that if the company does not meet payroll, the game, known as the business, is over. And this is the only the start of the problem. For a privately owned business, personally guaranteed company obligations will default, and the personal assets of the owners will be seized.

This is not so much of an extreme case. This scenario often happens. So thinking about the company from the perspective of how to avoid or change the situation is critical.  A business restructuring may be needed and now!

Business difficulties can happen quickly and for many reasons. Businesses may suffer from lost market expectations, reduced operating earnings, or severe cash flow troubles. Whether triggered by marketplace forces or internal dynamics, an early assessment and quick decisive moves will be needed to reinvigorate earnings and company value (PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP, 2012). This is when you know that a business restructuring must commence.