Recruitment drive in Scotland 'to deal with expected bankruptcies'

News Article - 24 May 2012
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Accountants are taking on extra staff to deal with an expected rise in insolvency cases, according to the Scotsman.

Companies who are finding the increasing cost of raw materials, tougher lending conditions and lower customer demand difficult to deal with are reportedly calling in professional help to assess their business health.

Johnston Carmichael in Edinburgh has moved to larger premises and increased the number of insolvency experts it employs to 14, a rise of 40 per cent.

Matt Henderson, an insolvency practitioner at the company, said: "We believe spring 2009 will be the peak and we are expanding accordingly."

The Scotsman claims a recent change in the law which makes it easier to declare bankruptcy is also expected to increase the number of personal insolvencies in Scotland next year.

This comes after PricewaterhouseCoopers reported pay increases for non-executives slowed again last year as businesses attempt to control costs during the economic downturn.

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