Oliver Elliot

21/10/2026

11/10/2026

“I gave the accountant the records to do the accounts.” Is that enough to protect you as a director? ⚠️

Not necessarily.

Directors have a legal duty to ensure their company maintains adequate accounting records. Appointing an accountant does not automatically transfer that responsibility.

If your company enters liquidation and its records are inadequate, you could face serious questions about missing assets, unexplained transactions and the conduct of the business.

Depending on the circumstances, the consequences can include liability issues, director disqualification and criminal proceedings.

Your accountant can prepare the accounts. You cannot simply outsource your legal responsibilities and assume you are protected.

If your company is struggling, don't wait until liquidation to address the problem.

📩 DM CLOSE for advice on closing your company.

General information only, not legal advice. Seek independent professional advice.

Business

07/10/2026

What is artificial solvency?

A company can look solvent on paper while its apparent solvency depends on an asset that is unlikely to be realised.

A common example is an overdrawn director’s loan account.

It can turn an otherwise insolvent balance sheet into one that appears solvent. But if the debt cannot realistically be recovered, the numbers may give a misleading impression of the company’s true financial position.

When assessing solvency, the question is not simply “What does the balance sheet say?”

It is “What assets are actually recoverable?”

InsolvencyPractitioner Business

04/10/2026

Director’s Loan Account + Section 212: this one matters.

An overdrawn DLA is not always simply a debt to be repaid.

In Hinton v Stobinski, the director continued drawing on his DLA while the company appeared insolvent and HMRC debt was perhaps accumulating.

The court found breaches of directors’ duties under the Companies Act 2006, bringing the DLA claim within the scope of the liquidator’s s.212 proceedings.

The lesson?

It’s not just what the DLA balance is. It’s how the director dealt with it.

£112,506 DLA. Breach of duty. Judgment followed.

Liquidation HMRC CompanyDirector Business

03/10/2026

Director’s Loan Accounts: Dodge the Danger.

An overdrawn director’s loan account can become a problem.

Know the danger. Understand your options.

DirectorAdvice Business LimitedCompany

02/10/2026

Director disqualification for Bounce Back Loans continues.

Bounce Back Loans may have been government-backed, but that did not suspend directors’ legal responsibilities.

Issues around how a loan was applied for, used or repaid can still attract scrutiny and, in some cases, disqualification proceedings.

DM CLOSE if you need to discuss your options.

BusinessDebt LimitedCompany

02/10/2026

“I’m not an accountant” is not generally likely helpful to an overdrawn director’s loan account issue.

If you’ve taken money from your company and the director’s loan account is overdrawn, simply saying you didn’t understand the accounting won’t likely make the problem disappear.

The issue is what happened to the company’s money, whether the balance can be repaid, and what happens if the company becomes insolvent.

General information only. Not legal or financial advice. Take independent professional advice.

28/09/2026

HMRC successfully reversed the write-off of an overdrawn director’s loan account tax case known as Quillan.

In this case, HMRC challenged the treatment and successfully reversed the write-off decision of the Tax Tribunal in the first instance. If the overdrawn director's loan account has not been dealt with then the filing of the Liquidation final report in effect writes it off. This can spark an Income Tax issue for the director concerned.

If you are considering closing or liquidating a company with an overdrawn director’s loan account, the way it is dealt with can have significant tax and insolvency consequences.

DirectorsLoan CompanyClosure Tax InsolvencyPractitioner

General information only. Not legal or tax advice. Independent professional advice should be obtained.

25/07/2026

How are an Insolvency Practitioner's fees calculated?

An Insolvency Practitioner's remuneration is approved on one or more of the following bases:

• ⏱️ Time properly spent on the case.
• 💷 A fixed fee.
• 📊 A percentage of the assets realised and/or distributed.

In most cases, the basis of remuneration must be approved by creditors, a creditors' committee or, in some circumstances, the court. Detailed fee information must also be provided so creditors can understand exactly what work has been carried out.

The process is designed to balance fair remuneration with accountability.