As a child, Larissa Logan FCA watched her father, a small business owner installing concrete swimming pools, navigate both boom times and tough downturns.

“I think from an early age I understood how economic cycles worked,” she says. “And I always knew, even before I got to high school, that I wanted to work with businesses in some way and help them through the cycles.”

With that guiding principle, Logan studied accounting and worked for Deloitte in the preparation of financial accounts and tax returns for SMEs, and then at ANZ as a relationship associate.

Her career changed forever when she found herself in Christchurch during the 2011 earthquake.

“It really was a life-altering event, and I knew I wanted to change what I was doing but I didn’t know exactly what it would be,” says Logan.

She interviewed for several roles, and while she didn’t directly pursue a change to insolvency practice it was an immediate and natural fit.

“I haven’t looked back since the day I entered insolvency,” says Logan. “I joined in the thick of the global financial crisis, and it was awesome and I just loved it.”

More than “corporate undertakers”

Today, Logan is one of the most experienced insolvency practitioners in New Zealand, and is active in the profession as a board member of the Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association of New Zealand (RITANZ) and as a steering committee member for Women in Restructuring and Insolvency.

She holds a Certificate of Public Practice and is a licensed insolvency practitioner.

Insolvency, says Logan, is exciting because it is fast-paced and varied, and because in many situations there are opportunities to restructure a business and salvage something of value for the owners and creditors.

“People might see us as corporate undertakers but it’s just not like that,” she says. “We are all about trying to save the business, save people’s jobs and investments, and find levers to pull which can turn the business around.”

Balancing analysis with empathy

Insolvency work, Logan says, requires high-level analytical skills but also clarity in communication. 

People are going through the “toughest times in their lives”, so insolvency practitioners need to be able to communicate with them and empathise.

“Skills in psychology are up there with business and legal skills,” says Logan. “Many of the people I deal with are struggling under pressure and their mental health is being impacted.

“They are worrying about losing their homes and not being able to put food on the dinner table for their kids, so those interpersonal human skills are really important.”

A profession facing a talent gap

Logan loves her job and says New Zealand needs more insolvency practitioners. She actively promotes greater gender and cultural diversity, with women making up about 18% of the profession (10% in Australia).

“There are maybe 170 of us working in insolvency in New Zealand and a large percentage will be approaching retirement age in the next 15 years,” she says. “I think we need to get out there and talk about how cool this industry is, and talk to people at university and even high school level.

“It’s a great career and we do good work, and we need to drive the pipeline so there are more of us.”

An Australian pathway into insolvency

In Tasmania, Kiara Calvert CA also says she “hasn’t looked back” since pursuing an insolvency career.

Her trajectory was slightly different from Logan’s in that she had just completed an economics degree at the University of Tasmania, when a family member mentioned there was a position going at an insolvency firm in Hobart.

She attended the interview with practitioner Barry Hamilton and 14 years later the two are now business partners at Hamilton Calvert Advisory.

To arrive at this point, Calvert completed her CA qualification and then, through the University of Technology Sydney, the Advanced Certificate in Insolvency administered by the Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association (ARITA).

She is also a registered liquidator under the Corporations Act, as administered by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and a registered trustee in bankruptcy accredited by the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA).

Skills that drive turnaround success

Like Logan, Calvert leverages her foundational CA skills to understand what has happened in a business and see if there is some way of saving or restructuring, rather than going down the path of liquidation.

“No two engagements are the same. Each matter involves different stakeholders and a unique set of circumstances,” says Calvert. “We need to quickly understand how a business operates, identify the causes of financial distress and then guide people through what is often a very challenging period for them.

“This is a great career which has rewarded me professionally and personally, and I don’t think I’ve ever really had a boring day at work.”

Support clients through financial distress

Members play an important role helping clients monitor their business’s financial health – spotting the signs of stress early and connecting them with an insolvency practitioner if needed.

Learn about how you can support clients facing financial distress, including the engagement standards for insolvency appointments in Australia and New Zealand, at: charteredaccountantsanz.com/member-services/technical/insolvency-and-restructuring

This is also where you can discover the steps needed to become a licensed insolvency practitioner in New Zealand, plus how to progress to an insolvency professional in Australia.