The Insolvency and Receivership Service within the Malta Business Registry (MBR) has launched an online portal with tools that will allow companies to assess their position to ascertain the viability of continuing in business.

In a statement, MBR noted that such initiative is part and parcel of the recent insolvency framework overhaul which sought to give businesses and entrepreneurs a second chance by encouraging them to engage in a confidential self-assessment exercise.

To do so, the Insolvency and Receivership Service, as regulator, is introducing the concept of early warning mechanisms. Such early warning notifications kick in when the debtor falls behind on certain types of obligations, such as when a company fails to submit its annual returns and financial statements.

Ingrid Hamilton, the Official Receiver and Head of the Insolvency and Receivership Service, shared that the purpose of this tool is to help businesses keeping track of their operations whilst instilling the idea that prevention is better than cure.

“Through the development of this tool, we sought to go above and beyond the role of this unit whilst giving a new meaning to the notion of preventive restructuring. With this tool available to businesses, traders can have easier access to crucial instruments they can rely on to monitor the progress of their business. Most importantly, it aims to give a new perspective to insolvency by guiding the business community towards its avoidance,” said Dr Hamilton.

Moreover, with the innovative and essential amendments brought about by the reform in the legislative framework of insolvency, the Insolvency and Receivership Service, which is the competent authority at law, recognised the need to have a specialised group of professionals with the expertise required to assist businesses in difficulty in their restructuring efforts.

Therefore, a process was triggered to offer a tailor-made training course to academics and specialist professionals interested in this field. Thirteen candidates successfully completed this course and are now authorised practitioners specialising in insolvency.

The MBR’s COO and Deputy Registrar Annalise Zammit explained that the course provided comprehensive training to accountants, auditors and lawyers interested in this field, to give them the skills necessary to achieve this goal.

“For the first time, the course has now produced a strong team of professionals who, with the help of the Insolvency and Receiver Service, will be able to practically steer businesses away from the brink of insolvency and back to profitable trading. In this regard a registry of practitioners specialising in this field has also been set up so that those who need this service have access in the most transparent and reassuring way,” said Annalise Zammit.

MBR’s CEO and Registrar Geraldine Spiteri Lucas said that with the specialised services and specific technological tools, the MBR is looking to offer a holistic service so that truly fulfils its mission of being a shoulder throughout the entire business journey whilst encouraging an entrepreneurial spirit.

"This is an ideal moment to view business restructuring from a fresh angle, seeing it as a pathway to solutions rather than as a mark of failure. Global studies reveal that entrepreneurs who experience setbacks in their first business attempt often achieve greater success in their second. Accordingly, through the self-assessment tool and expert support, we are creating a comprehensive ecosystem that fosters the transformation of ideas into thriving businesses. This new service is being given free of charge including the confidential report which will be generated to the user,” said Dr Spiteri Lucas.