Advisor, Accountant or Lawyer: Who Does What When You're in Trouble

Advisor, Accountant or Lawyer: Who Does What When You're in Trouble

When a business starts sliding, most directors don't have a "who do I ring" problem — they have a "who do I ring first" problem. Accountant? Lawyer? The bank? Someone told them a liquidator. They end up ringing no one, because they can't work out where to start.

So let me clear that up. There are several professionals who might end up involved when a company's in trouble, and each does a specific job. The trap is thinking one of them does all of it. None of them do. Here's who's who — and why someone needs to hold the whole picture together so nothing falls through the cracks.

Think of the advisor as the GP

When something's wrong with your body, you don't self-diagnose and book yourself straight in for surgery. You see a GP. They look at the whole picture, work out what's actually going on, explain it in plain English, and send you to the right specialist at the right time.

That's the advisor's role in a business that's under financial pressure. I diagnose the whole position — not one slice of it — tell you straight what you're looking at, and coordinate the right specialists around you as you need them. I'm not a liquidator, a trustee, an accountant or a lawyer. That's deliberate. It means I can look across all of it without being pulled toward the one solution I happen to sell.

And critically: I work for you, not the creditors. Hold that thought, because it's the line that separates an advisor from a liquidator or trustee.

What the accountant does — and where they stop

Your accountant is essential. They keep the books, prepare the financials, lodge the BAS and returns, and know your tax position better than anyone. When we need an accurate picture of what the company actually owes and owns, that's where it comes from.

But an accountant's job is generally to keep the machine running and compliant. Many are outstanding at that and don't work in insolvency day to day — it's a different world, with different rules and different pressures. So they'll tell you your numbers are ugly, but they may not be the person to map your way through a formal insolvency process or sit across the table from a hostile creditor. That's not a criticism. It's a different lane.

What the solicitor does — and where they stop

The solicitor handles the legal side. If there's a dispute, a contract fight, a director's guarantee to unpick, or documents and structuring that need to be watertight, that's their domain. When a matter turns genuinely legal, you want a good one.

But you don't send every problem to a lawyer, and you usually don't start there. Legal advice is sharp and it's specific — and it's not cheap. Point a solicitor at the wrong question and you'll get an expensive answer to something that didn't need one. Part of the job is knowing when a problem is actually legal and when it isn't yet.

What the registered liquidator or trustee does

This is the formal appointment — the person who steps in when a company is wound up or an individual goes bankrupt. A liquidator takes control of the company, sells the assets, and distributes what's there to creditors in order of priority before deregistering it with ASIC. A trustee does the equivalent on the personal side.

They're licensed, they're necessary, and when the time comes for a formal process you want the right one. But understand what they are: they're appointed to act in the interests of creditors, and they run a business that has to make a return. They are not there to protect you. That's exactly why you want your own advisor working out your position and getting you ready before any formal appointment is on the table — not after.

Why someone has to hold the whole picture

Here's what goes wrong when there's no one in the GP seat. The accountant's working on the numbers, the lawyer's on a legal point, and no one's looking across the lot to see how it all fits together or what the sequence should be. Directors end up with three sets of advice that don't join up, bills stacking from every direction, and the actual decision — what do I do, and when — still unmade.

Someone needs to hold the whole thing together. That's the job:

• Read the full position, not one professional's slice of it.
• Explain the options in plain English, with the consequences of each.
• Bring in the accountant, the solicitor, the liquidator or trustee at the right moment — not too early, not too late.
• Make sure nothing slips between the specialists while everyone's heads-down on their own bit.

That way you get the experience and firepower of a full team, with one person holding it together so nothing falls through the cracks — and that person is working for you, not the creditors.

What this looks like in practice

A director comes in convinced they need a liquidator. Sit down and look at the whole picture and the real sequence might be: get the accountant to firm up the numbers first, park the one genuinely legal question with a solicitor, and hold off on any formal appointment because there's a restructuring path worth testing. The liquidator conversation might come later — or not at all.

Same facts, completely different outcome. The difference is having someone diagnose the whole thing before anyone reaches for a scalpel. Get the order right and you don't just save money — you keep options open that panic would have closed.

Talk it through — before the next letter arrives

If any of this is sitting on your desk right now, the next move is a confidential strategy session. Phone or video, whichever suits you — we'll look at your whole position, tell you straight where you stand, and map the options while you still have them.

Book at resolvency.com.au or call 0457 099 099.

I'm not a liquidator or trustee — I work for you, not the creditors. In 36 years I've never once heard someone say they acted too early.

General information only — not financial, legal or tax advice. Everyone's position is different, so get advice specific to yours before you act.

Related service: Restructure & Trade On — see how we can help.