What Investigative Powers Does a Liquidator Hold?

When a company goes into liquidation, the appointed liquidator in charge has to complete a minimum level of investigations to determine whether or not there are assets to be recovered for the benefit of creditors.

The liquidator must then compile his or her findings into a report to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. This is a statutory requirement as stipulated under s533 of the Corporations Act.

Some of the investigations the liquidator must carry out include:

The company’s history
Why the company failed
Report the claims of employees, secured creditors and nature of the debts incurred
If the company traded whilst insolvent
Whether the directors have committed any offences under the Corporations Act and any other possible claims against them
Whether or not the director made any preferential payments to creditors that may be recovered
Whether the director has been involved in a liquidation previously
Whether the liquidator believes that the director should be banned from acting as a director

In addition to these investigations, the liquidator holds other responsibilities such as collecting and realising the company’s assets, overseeing the distribution of the proceeds of realisation and applying for the company to be deregistered once the liquidation process is completed.

If you would like to learn more about company liquidation, then please contact CRS Insolvency Services on 1800 210 073 to speak to our friendly and expert insolvency specialists.