Cliff Sanderson – Restructuring Works Spokesman
The main author of this site is Cliff Sanderson. If you would like to speak to Cliff then call on (02) 9290 1110 or email him on cliff@restructuringworks.com.au.
Cliff has been working in corporate restructuring for over 22 years. For much of that time he was a Partner with Ernst & Young, one of the Big 4 Accounting firms, in the Corporate Restructuring and Corporate Finance divisions.
Cliff has already ridden through two major recessions: the recession and major Australian corporate collapses of the late 1980s and early 1990s and he spent 7 years from 1997 working on very large restructuring assignments in Asia following the Asian Financial Crisis. He is now based in Sydney and advises companies in financial distress.
He is somewhat unique in the restructuring world having a deep background in restructuring and insolvency but also a wealth of experience in the non-insolvency practice areas of valuation, due diligence and mergers & acquisitions as a result of establishing and leading a Corporate Finance Division in Asia.
You can check out Cliff Sanderson’s detailed credentials here.
Cliff on the health of Australian business:
“At Restructuring Works we have gathered some statistics that we find very disturbing. Corporate Australia is twice as indebted as it was just five years ago and Australian households are close to twice as indebted as they were just ten years ago. In 2008, more companies are experiencing financial difficulty and fewer of those companies are successfully restructuring. We have already started to see many major companies in either informal workouts or formal insolvency appointments. The pileup at the big end of town is a reality and it will get worse. We are now starting to see the flow on effect to medium and small enterprises. It will get a lot worse before it gets better.”
If you want the detailed statistics go to our Statistics page.
Cliff on the looming wave of corporate insolvencies:
"I think the number of corporate insolvencies is set to skyrocket in 2009 and 2010. People forget what happened as recently as the last major stock market correction. Back then the stock market crashed in October 1987. The wave of large corporate insolvencies didn't begin until late 1988 and early 1989 with the likes of Bond Corp, Quintex, Equiticorp and Spedleys. It didn't hit the real economy until 1990 through to 1993 when the bad debt figures in the banks went through the roof and specialist insolvency firms quadrupled in size. This time the market has been on a long slide rather than a quick drop. We've seen a few very large companies hit the wall and there are several other large ones teetering. A wave of insolvencies will come out of medium and small businesses beginning at the start of 2009 and will continue for a number of years. The statistics from ASIC show that the last 4 months have seen the highest number of corporate insolvencies since ASIC started keeping figures in the current format (since 1999). So we are seeing a distinct uptick in the statistics but it is going to get a lot worse."
Cliff on the restructuring process:
“The world of corporate restructuring can be complicated – it is a matter of juggling a bundle of competing interests in a situation of commercial uncertainty. But it doesn’t have to be a “black box” for a director. There are tried and tested approaches to restructuring and the underlying laws are actually there to assist, not hinder, restructuring. The key is for a director to get truly good, independent advice from an experienced expert. If a director of a company in financial distress gets early advice form a truly professional adviser then a path forward can be found.”
