In this rapidly changing environment, every company faces challenges. A step in the wrong direction can sometimes have significant effects on corporate performance and company value. KPMG’s Restructuring Services team guides companies through difficult times to deliver real results for stakeholders. There are a range of different outcomes for businesses in financial distress which may involve a solvent turnaround or a restructure or potentially a formal insolvency appointment, including:

• Turnaround – We provide a thorough approach to stabilising under-performing companies by identifying opportunities for strategic, operational, organisational and financial change and executing on them to achieve real results. We help establish solid ground for a turnaround by assessing a company’s liquidity position and creating a stakeholder management plan.
• Financial restructuring – We understand the complex landscape of borrowers, lenders and shareholders and can manage stakeholder communications, so short term liquidity requirements can be assessed and actions considered to quickly preserve value and address potential risks to stability.
• Solvency strategies – We assess the situation and, if necessary, assist a company with developing a practical insolvency plan to assess the impact and risks of the various options in order to identify the path that will maximise available value.
  

Restructuring Services has a diverse client base, with a focus on the banks and other financiers for lender advisory and formal receivership work, corporates for financial restructuring, turnaround management and insolvency engagements, and various government agencies. In addition to the major clients focus areas, Restructuring Services also engages with the not for profit sector, indigenous organisations and other stakeholder groups (boards of directors, shareholders, etc).

There is no such thing as an average day in Restructuring Services. As the work is incredibly varied, staff may have multiple projects on at any one time. In one project, the client might be a bank that wants our help with the sale of a challenging asset, and in the next, we’re appointed administrator of a retail chain, which may involve managing the continuing operations of the business while coordinating a structured wind-down.

You could be meeting with creditors or with directors of a company. You might be responsible for financial modelling, or you could be analysing records for signs of antecedent transactions. Business development and building relationships is also considered part of your role.

There is no ‘Graduate’ in your job title. Your job title is ‘Analyst’, which just acts to reinforce the level of responsibility afforded to you in your role.

The experience-based learning style implemented by Restructuring Services provides graduates with valuable professional development training in an array of areas, such as effective communication, conflict management, presentation, decision making and problem solving. You will be mentored and coached by our partners and professionals who are keen to share their knowledge and experience to ensure you succeed.

During a restructure, you will learn how to diagnose the cause of a company’s underperformance by understanding the business, how it operates, its key areas of risk and opportunity, to ultimately devise and implement a plan going forward. The scope for possible impact is immense and can be a rewarding experience. If it isn’t possible to save the company or its business, then your task will be to help wind up its affairs in a fair and orderly fashion. In some instances, our client may actually be a creditor(s) who is seeking to collect enough from the sale of the company’s assets to reclaim its debts.

Restructuring Services is a multifaceted field of accounting, offering opportunities for professional development and the ability to work across many different industries. It teaches you critical thinking and provides an opportunity to develop a strong commercial and analytical skill set, which are valuable transferable skills. The variety of the work and the culture of the team make it a great place to work.

• Restructuring Services