The Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA) is a professional body whose purpose is to inform and regulate insolvency practitioners (IPs) within the UK and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. There is a similar organisation in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

History

Formed in 1961 as a discussion group of accountants specialising in

insolvency In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...

, it became incorporated under its current name in 1973. It became a Recognised Professional Body under the UK

Insolvency Act 1986 The Insolvency Act 1986c 45 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that provides the legal platform for all matters relating to personal and corporate insolvency in the UK. History The Insolvency Act 1986 followed the publication and ...

, empowered to grant and renew insolvency licences. It is the only such body whose membership is composed solely of IPs. Its members act as trustees in bankruptcy, nominees and supervisors of individual voluntary arrangements, liquidators,

administrators Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

and administrative receivers of

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

Objectives

The IPA's main objectives are to encourage recruitment of IPs; to promote their training and education; to maintain and improve standards of performance and conduct, and to regulate and monitor its members' practices, and, where appropriate, discipline them. Every individual wishing to qualify for an insolvency licence needs to satisfy the IPA that he is a fit and proper person and has passed the examination set by the Joint Insolvency Examination Board.

Membership of the IPA

The IPA has over 2,000 individual and companies registered as members. The IPA recently widened access to affiliate membership (AIPA) and introduced a new category of affiliate firm membership for those practices, businesses and organisations which are involved in insolvency related work.

Insolvency examinations

The IPA sets two annual intermediate level insolvency examinations, the Certificate of Proficiency in Insolvency (CPI) and the Certificate of Proficiency in Personal Insolvency (CPPI).

External links

Insolvency Service website

Insolvency Practitioners Association website

JIEB Online; Joint Insolvency Examination Board exams - study resource & discussion forum

IPAA (Australia)

Insolvency Service
in

North of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

Insolvency law of the United Kingdom Financial services companies of the United Kingdom

Insolvency Practitioners Association The Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA) is a professional body whose purpose is to inform and regulate insolvency practitioners (IPs) within the UK and Ireland. There is a similar organisation in Australia. History Formed in 1961 as a di ...