Debt restructuring and the new figure of the bailout expert. An opportunity for reorganization without resorting to bankruptcy proceedings

The decree-law 118 called "Negotiated composition of the crisis" published in the Official Gazette on 24 August introduced a new figure in the context of the business crisis: it is in fact an expert in corporate restructuring who will assist the entrepreneur during dialogue with all parties involved in the recovery.

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Clearly, the figure of the expert is completely independent from the entrepreneur in crisis, in order to guarantee the most complete transparency during the reorganization process.

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A particular distinction must be made with regard to the requirements: the list of professionals deposited in the Chambers of Commerce of the related regional capitals, including Trento and Bolzano, will be able to access accountants and accounting experts registered for at least 5 years in the Register, lawyers and labor consultants . For these last two professions, in addition to seniority, the possession of further requirements is required.

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In the aforementioned Decree 118, the deferral of the entry into force of the Corporate Crisis Code is envisaged. This deferral does not apply to the negotiated settlement for the solution of the business crisis (so-called "debt restructuring"). In fact, due to the exhaustion of government funds that have kept companies in difficulty during the pandemic and with the end of the suspension of collection activities by the tax authorities, restructuring can be a useful tool to be used outside the procedures. provided under the control of the Bankruptcy Court.

This procedure has been innovated to make it more effective and easier to apply. This will lead to a presumable increase in requests for legal assistance to avoid bankruptcies. In this sense, many firms, including ours, are setting up real multidisciplinary teams made up of lawyers and experts from various sectors.