The ICAS Insolvency Committee

The Institute's Insolvency Committee reports on insolvency matters primarily to the Regulation Board however it also feeds in to the Technical Policy Board (TPB) of the Institute. The Boards advocate, implement and monitor policies and standards designed to achieve the strategic aims and objectives set by Council. The Insolvency Committee has responsibility for overseeing the activities of the Technical Insolvency department.

Composition

The current convenor of the Committee is Donald McNaught. There are nine other committee members seven of whom are ICAS insolvency practitioners and one solicitor with insolvency experience. Nominations to the Committee have to be approved by the Regulation Board. Setutsi van Lare, Insolvency Technical Support, acts as secretary to the Committee.

Meetings

The Committee meets four times a year. It considers proposed changes to legislation, debates technical issues, and has input to courses and conferences on insolvency topics. The Committee liaises with both the Westminster and Scottish Parliaments, related government agencies and other organisations.

Remit

The key aims of the Committee are as follows:

• To uphold the public interest by maintaining high professional standards and promoting the value of insolvency practitioners licensed by ICAS.
• To serve the community by keeping abreast of and offering independent comment on legislation, rules and other issues affecting the insolvency profession and to bring relevant matters to the attention of ICAS Members.
• To liaise with the Insolvency Service, the Scottish government, the Accountant in Bankruptcy and other stakeholders on matters of concern affecting the profession.
• To seek to gather information from the Scottish insolvency arena to be used as a base for sound decision making within Scotland.
• To engage effectively with ICAS insolvency practitioners, involving them in projects and providing them with technical guidance as appropriate.
• To raise awareness within the public arena of insolvency law and procedure.

In discharging its remit the Committee will have regard to both the public and members' interests. Over the longer term the public interest generally equates with the members' interests however where a conflict between the public interest and that of the members arises the public interest should prevail.