Sheetal Shah of Shah Kazemi & Co Chartered Certified Accountants

Meet Sheetal Shah of Shah Kazemi & Co Chartered Certified Accountants (Shah Kazemi).
Sheetal Shah is a partner at Shah Kazemi, a Chartered Certified Accountancy practice based in Herne Hill that offers companies of all sizes a range of services, including audit and assurance, taxation and business development consultancy.

Shah Kazemi regularly recommends clients who are experiencing severe financial difficulty to seek Bailey Ahmad’s expert professional guidance and support. Shah Kazemi recently recommended a corporate client of theirs to seek the assistance of Bailey Ahmad. Although historically a successful company with a strong track record and a number of on-going and future projects, difficulties faced on a current and relatively high-profile contract had led to severe cash flow problems. This threatened the company’s financial stability and ultimately put it at risk of failure. Sheetal Shah tells how Bailey Ahmad and his client reached a solution that ensured his client’s creditors were protected as well as providing a mechanism for those involved to move forward.

Q: How do you know Bailey Ahmad?

We met Tom at an industry event and were immediately impressed by Bailey Ahmad’s approach to business – how they are focused entirely on supporting businesses by helping them manage creditors and their overall finances so that they can stay in business and move back into a position of growth.

They struck us as being a fresh, creative and modern kind of company, working with new technology and aware of the latest industry knowledge and trends.

Q: What made you choose Bailey Ahmad for your client?

What appealed to us most was their positive attitude to finding solutions for clients and how they treat issues as hurdles rather than problems. Approaching each case with a fresh perspective, they do absolutely everything they can to rescue companies in difficulty. Their first response is invariably

“Let’s see what we can do with the resources and skills at hand”.

Q: What prompted your call to Bailey Ahmad in this case?

Our client won a major contract involving this year’s Olympic Games but, despite plenty of work coming in, was experiencing cash-flow problems caused by factors outside its control, including late payments, retentions and bad debt. Although everything looked good on paper, the company was firefighting financially, with a real risk that it would be unable to continue trading. Bailey Ahmad’s creative and flexible approach meant they were the obvious choice in this case.

Q What did the company hope to achieve with Bailey Ahmad’s help?

As well as staying in business, the directors wanted to be in a position to plan their finances rather than constantly firefighting, and move beyond a level of sustainability to profitability and growth.

Q: What was your client’s first impression of Bailey Ahmad?

During the initial meeting with the directors, Bailey Ahmad showed sensitivity to the directors’ emotional situation as well as to the practical and business requirements, which quickly reassured and put them at ease. Naturally, the directors were very worried about seeing an insolvency  practitioner in the first place, but by the end of that first consultation they were feeling a lot more positive about the situation.

Q: What was Bailey Ahmad’s assessment of the situation?

Bailey Ahmad quickly identified the severity of the company’s position. Uncertainties surrounding its current contract, disputed debtors and the extent of creditor liabilities meant that the prospect of restructuring the company’s business in a way that would ensure the company’s survival was limited.

Q What solution did the company choose?

In the circumstances, Bailey Ahmad advised that the best way to both protect creditors’ interests and allow the directors to move forward in a new business would be to place the company into Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation. The company’s directors acted on this advice and sought Bailey Ahmad’s help in placing the company into liquidation.

Q: How did the directors feel during this process?

Initially, being both emotionally drained and having not been involved in a company liquidation before, the directors were understandably hesitant. Regular communication with Bailey Ahmad’s directors and other team members kept our client in the loop, and this ease of communication and positive approach meant that they felt supported all the way through the process.

Q: Do you think that liquidation was the right solution for your client?

It was undoubtedly the right solution; trading quickly recommenced in a new company and the directors are now optimistic about its future.

Q: Was there any aspect of Bailey Ahmad’s service that particularly impressed you?

Their ability to keep the client fully informed and carry out the liquidation process swiftly and efficiently meant that things were far less difficult for all those involved than they could have been.

Q: How are the directors doing now?

The new company and its directors are doing very well. Not only are they trading without a huge debt burden, they’ve developed short and long-term strategies for sustainability and growth. They’re tougher with clients, ensuring that they are paid promptly for their work, and they are able to plan their finances better – just as they had hoped to do.

Q: Would you use Bailey Ahmad again?

We’re very pleased with Bailey Ahmad’s work for our client, and wouldn’t hesitate to refer to them again.

Get in touch with Shah Kazemi & Co
Tel: 020 7733 3337
www.skco.co.uk

Take a look at our other testimonials and see what we have been able to do for a variety of other companies.