Directors' Services
It is recommended that directors ensure they have up to date financial information, hold regular meetings, keep minutes of all decisions taken if they continue to trade and comply with all relevant legislation. If they have been a director of a company during the last three years of its trading that ends up in administration, receivership or liquidation, the office holder concerned is required by law to file a report on their conduct to the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. The most commonly reported conduct includes:

1. Continuing the company's trading whilst it is insolvent


2. Failing to keep proper accounting records, file accounts and returns at Companies House


3. Failing to submit returns and pay all taxes due to the Crown

Following receipt of the report the Secretary of State would have to decide whether it would be in the public interest to seek a disqualification order against or a disqualification undertaking from the director(s) concerned. If any director has any concerns about their responsibilities in law, their conduct or the position they may find themselves in, they should seek expert advice from an insolvency practitioner or solicitor without delay.
Sterling Ford appreciates the considerable pressure directors are under when deciding what is best for their company, particularly when making the decision to continue or cease trading. Sterling Ford aims to relieve that pressure by providing professional advice in a timely manner and which is easy to understand.
Recovery/Turnaround, Business Rescue and Interim Management have been among the key services provided by Sterling Ford since its inception. We so often hear clients say, "if only we had known about you earlier!" This service is available to both commercial entities as well as charities (companies limited by guarantee).
Why do businesses and charities fail? Failure is not something that they plan to achieve, nor is it a single event. Failure is a process of decline that quite often ends with insolvency. Unfortunately, by the time the directors, trustees or managers realise there are problems, many fail to act, hoping that the problems will correct themselves, or if they do act, they act too slowly and often misdiagnose the problems so that the action they take ends up # making the actual problems worse. Many a business or charity could have been saved if only early, appropriate advice and intervention had been obtained. Sometimes a month, a week or even a day, can make quite a difference to the options available, as well as to the final outcome.