By: Sidney Kess, Alan Gassman, and Aaron Slavutin
The CPA Journal
October/November 2020
From name-brand corporations like JCPenney and Neiman Marcus to small and mid-sized companies, businesses of all sizes are responding to pandemic-related lockdowns by seeking refuge in bankruptcy. Legal services provider Epiq has reported that June 2020 commercial Chapter 11 filings were up 43% from one year earlier; for the first half of 2020, total commercial Chapter 11 filings were up 26%, to 3,604 new filings.
This spate of bad news may be good news for accounting firms that become actively involved in bankruptcy proceedings. Debtors, creditors, and other interested parties are likely to seek help from knowledgeable CPAs to help get them through tumultuous times with the best possible outcomes.
CPAs looking to practice in this area need a unique skill set focused not only on accounting, but have also demonstrated command of the forensic issues that arise in litigated matters.
