When liabilities
outrun cash flow
The window in which an owner can still make their own decisions is short — after that, creditors and the court start making them instead. Here I work out where you stand on that timeline, how much time is left and what can still be done. I work on both sides — for debtors and for creditors — but never in the same case.
Crisis management
Financial diagnostics
Where all crisis work starts: numbers instead of gut feeling.
- Solvency and stability ratios
- The point at which liabilities stopped being covered by assets
- How much runway is left before the point of no return
Recovery programme
A recovery plan, not a wish list: what exactly to do and in what order.
- Cash-flow management and payment priorities
- Cutting costs without breaking operations
- Scenarios for 3, 6 and 12 months
Working with creditors
A schedule the business can actually sustain usually beats litigation.
- Debt restructuring and instalments
- Negotiations with creditors: with a model in hand, not by feel
- Stress-testing the schedule before you sign it
The creditor's view
If it is your debtor heading into insolvency — an economic read on what to expect.
- Analysis of the debtor's financials
- Estimated recovery given the statutory priority of claims
- What to look for in the case documents
Preparing for insolvency
If bankruptcy cannot be avoided, it is better to enter it prepared.
- Restoring the books and assembling the documents the administrator will request
- What the administrator's financial analysis will show
- Timelines, roles and procedure — without illusions
Numbers for a dispute
The economic side of your position: figures your lawyers rely on.
- Calculation of losses and lost profit
- Analysis of financial indicators and trends
- An explanatory note: the calculation is economic; your lawyers submit it to court
The earlier, the wider the choice. While the cash gap is manageable, instalments, restructuring and negotiations all work. Once arrears become systemic, fewer options remain and some decisions pass to creditors and the court.
My part here is economic: diagnostics, modelling, the plan and the negotiations. Legal support of formal procedures is handled by lawyers — I will tell you at which point you will need it. I am not an insolvency administrator and exercise no powers under the insolvency law.
If the parties need a neutral intermediary, the mediation must be run by another mediator: advising one side and mediating the same dispute is prohibited.
How the work goes
- STEP 01
First conversation
You describe the situation by e-mail or phone. Within a working day I reply with what I understood, which documents are needed and whether it makes sense to start.
- STEP 02
Diagnostics
I go through the accounts, the payment calendar and the debt register, and work out where the company sits between a cash gap and insolvency and how much time is left.
- STEP 03
Plan
A written report: scenarios, payment priorities, what to discuss and with whom. We go through it together at a meeting.
- STEP 04
Support
If you decide so: negotiations with creditors, monitoring of the plan, recalculating the scenarios as the inputs change.
- Consultation with a document review
- Diagnostics with a written report
- Support for the length of the programme
In person in Moscow or online. Scope, timing and fee are fixed in the brief before work starts.
What people come with
- The bank demands early repayment and there is no free cashWe work out what the company can realistically offer and prepare the conversation about a new schedule.
- Suppliers switched to prepayment and working capital ran outA week-by-week payment calendar, payment priorities and negotiations on terms.
- A major debtor has gone into bankruptcyAn analysis from the creditor side: how much can be recovered and what to watch in the procedure.
- The owner cannot tell a cash gap from a crisisFive numbers in an evening, then diagnostics if the numbers look alarming.
These are typical requests, not descriptions of specific cases: client information is never disclosed.
Related articles
Frequently asked questions
How is a cash gap different from a crisis?
A cash gap is a temporary mismatch between incoming and outgoing payments in a business model that works. A crisis starts when operating cash flow has been negative for several quarters, the share of overdue debt is growing and the margin of safety over break-even is close to zero.
The five numbers that show this are covered in the article «A cash gap or already a crisis».
Which documents are needed for diagnostics?
Financial statements for two years and the latest quarter, breakdowns of receivables and payables, loan agreements with schedules, and the payment calendar if you keep one. If something is missing, we start with what exists and rebuild the rest along the way.
Can creditors be dealt with out of court?
Often, yes: an instalment plan with a clear calculation is usually better for a creditor than lengthy enforcement. The one condition is that the offer rests on numbers the business can actually sustain, so I test the schedule first and negotiate second.
How it works in practice: «How to agree an instalment plan with a creditor».
When must a director file for bankruptcy?
Under Article 9 of Federal Law No. 127-FZ of 26.10.2002 «On Insolvency (Bankruptcy)», the head of a debtor must apply to the arbitration court no later than one month after the circumstances listed in the law arise, for example signs of insolvency or insufficiency of assets. Missing the deadline may lead to subsidiary liability.
The legal assessment is made by lawyers. My part is calculating where the company stands so the decision is taken in time.
Do you work with debtors or with creditors?
With both, but never in the same case. For a creditor I calculate what to expect if the debtor goes bankrupt: financial position, ranking of claims, likely recovery.
Not sure this is your stage yet? Describe the situation in two paragraphs — I will tell you how much time you have and what can still be done.
Describe your situationThe other five tasks
Mediation
Dispute resolution with a neutral intermediary — before court or alongside it. Faster and cheaper than litigation.
03 / 06Business value
What a company or stake is worth, what drives the number, and what to check before buying.
04 / 06Career strategy
For executives at a turning point: profile diagnostics and workable scenarios for the next step.
05 / 06Recruitment
From line staff to engineers and mid-level managers. Volume flow, targeted search, project teams.
06 / 06Training
Seminars and corporate programmes: money, negotiations, disputes, business value and hiring — on your cases.
Describe the task
in your own words
Write what is going on: you need a person, negotiations have stalled, you are weighing a move or a sale of the business, the cash flow does not add up. I will reply within one working day: what I can help with, how long it takes and the rough order of the price — or tell you straight if the task is not mine.
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I reply myselfRequests come to me personally, with no managers or call centre in between.