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Support for insolvency practitioners

Practical guidance for insolvency practitioners, including the latest information on SIPs, helpsheets, and sector news, as well as support on how to market your practice.
Insolvency Code of Ethics 2025
A revision to the ICAEW Insolvency Code of Ethics came into force on 1 October 2025. Find out more about the changes and what they mean for you.
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Insolvency regulations and standards

Statements of Insolvency Practice (SIPs) for England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland
SIPs are issued to licensed insolvency practitioners with a view to maintaining standards by setting out required practice and harmonising practitioners’ approaches.
Insolvency Regulations and Guidance Notes
The Insolvency Licensing Regulations apply to all insolvency practitioners authorised by ICAEW. Guidance is included within our Guidance Notes documents to help insolvency practitioners apply the regulations.
Insolvency Code of Ethics
This Code is intended to help Insolvency Practitioners meet the obligations expected of them by providing professional and ethical guidance.
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Insolvency News

The waiting game: changes to Insolvency Regulations
  • Article
  • 04 Dec 2025
  • Professional Standards Department
In September 2023 the Insolvency Service released its response to the consultation on the future of insolvency regulation which set out the government’s intentions on changes to legislation. We set out what we currently know about the intended changes.
Why your next insolvency monitoring visit may be earlier than expected
  • Article
  • 04 Dec 2025
  • Professional Standards Department
We are in the process of scheduling insolvency monitoring visits for the first few months of 2026. A number of insolvency practitioners (IPs) have responded to say the proposed timing is earlier than they expected. We would therefore like to remind IPs how our review cycle is set and what factors may bring forward your visit date.
Joint nominee agreements for insolvency practitioners
  • Article
  • 05 Nov 2025
  • Professional Standards Department
ICAEW and the other recognised professional bodies have worked together to develop guidance for joint nominees, both referring and receiving, helping you understand your responsibilities and ensure compliance in 2026.
Emerging risks in relation to members’ voluntary liquidations and the need for IPs to have an inquiring mind
  • Article
  • 31 Oct 2025
  • Allison Broad and Victoria Alexandrou
Increasing concerns around members’ voluntary liquidations (MVLs) underscore the importance for insolvency practitioners to conduct robust anti-money laundering checks. MVLs may be exploited to facilitate criminality, making vigilance, thorough customer due diligence and professional scepticism essential for preventing abuse.
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Helpsheets and guidance

SIP 11 Checklist: annual review of financial controls and safeguards
Use this checklist to support you in carrying out a SIP 11 review.
Financial controls for insolvency cases
It is essential that an Insolvency practice has robust controls over estate accounts and cashiering procedures, both to ensure that estate monies are safe, and also to enable you to prepare accurate statutory returns, and receipts and payments accounts.
Your insolvency compliance review
Guidance to support ICAEW-licensed insolvency practitioners and their staff in meeting the ICAEW requirement (under Insolvency Regulation 3.13) to complete an annual insolvency compliance review (ICR). Resources include, helpsheets, forms and checklists to help you plan and carry out your ICR.
Guidance on personal insolvency casework
  • Restructuring and Insolvency Community
Resources to support insolvency practitioners in undertaking formal personal insolvency appointments under the Insolvency Act 1986 (and associated legislation), providing information about the types of personal insolvency that may assist individuals experiencing debt problems, and guidance on bankruptcy and individual voluntary arrangements.
Guidance on corporate insolvency casework
  • Restructuring and Insolvency Community
The resources in this section support the work of ICAEW licensed insolvency practitioners and their staff who undertake formal corporate insolvency appointments under the Insolvency Act 1986 (and associated legislation). Guidance and checklists providing information on: liquidations (voluntary and compulsory), company voluntary arrangements (CVAs), administrations, moratoriums and administrative receiverships.
Creditors' guides to IP fees
  • Restructuring and Insolvency Community
These guides to insolvency practitioner fees form part of Statement of Insolvency Practice 9 – Remuneration of insolvency office holders.
Insolvency guidance papers
  • Professional Standards Department
Insolvency Guidance Papers (IGPs) are issued to insolvency practitioners to provide guidance on matters that may require consideration in the conduct of insolvency work or in an insolvency practitioner’s practice.
INSSight: The Insolvency Service’s internal case management system explained
The Insolvency Service has introduced a case management system (INSSight) to better integrate with insolvency practitioners’ internal and external systems, automate repetitive tasks and reduce manual data entry. Find out what it entails, including what templates to use.

ICAEW Restructuring and Insolvency Community

Log in to your community to access resources and events to support you with your CPD. Membership is open to everyone, including non-ICAEW members, and is free for ICAEW members, ICAEW licenced insolvency practitioners, ACA students, JIEB students and ICAEW Certificate in Insolvency students.
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Insolvency monitoring

Insolvency monitoring and annual return
We visit all our appointment-taking insolvency practitioners (IPs) as part of our monitoring process. For our larger firms that have consolidated their licensing with ICAEW or where we license several IPs in a firm, we will discuss the most efficient way to structure our visit. All our reviewers have had extensive experience of insolvency casework so are able to provide support and share experiences and best practice.
Insolvency Monitoring Results 2024
  • PDF (107kb)
In 2024, we undertook 153 reviews with our accredited insolvency practitioners. Access our infographic to see the results and outcomes of those visits plus what help and support are available.
Quality Assurance monitoring: view from the firms
As a world-leading improvement regulator, we supervise and monitor over 12,000 ICAEW firms and insolvency practitioners (IPs), holding them, and all ICAEW members and students, to the high standards of competency and conduct expected by the profession. Find out what our firms thought of the monitoring review process from our latest survey.
Annual return to ICAEW
Get the most up-to-date information on the online annual return, links and FAQs.

Marketing your insolvency services

Marketing your restructuring and insolvency services
ICAEW and our Restructuring & Insolvency Community have developed a suite of materials to help you promote the value of ICAEW insolvency practitioners. The guide and videos can be shared with your clients, business partners and staff. The materials provide a view of the direction of the market and offer guidance on the seven stages of business recovery and the role of insolvency and restructuring specialists.
Exclusive Insolvency industry guide
  • ICAEW Library & Information Service
This business and industry guide provides a summary of information and resources available for research into the insolvency sector, including links to market research reports, statistics, legislation, trade bodies and journals.
Exclusive Insolvency practitioner logos
View guidelines on using ICAEW's licensed insolvency practitioner logos and download the logo.

Further support

Our regulatory role
ICAEW’s regulation and conduct roles are separated from ICAEW’s other activities through internal governance so that we can monitor, support and take steps to ensure change if standards are not met. These roles are carried out by the Professional Standards Department and overseen by the ICAEW Regulatory Board and oversight regulators including the Financial Reporting Council, Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision, the Insolvency Service and the Legal Services Board.
Consolidate your insolvency licensing with ICAEW
You don’t have to be an ICAEW Chartered Accountant to qualify and be licensed as an insolvency practitioner (IP) with ICAEW. By choosing ICAEW as your single regulator, we can reduce the administrative burden and provide your current and future IPs with a wealth of benefits and support.
ICAEW Certificate in Insolvency
The ICAEW Certificate in Insolvency is the most flexible learning programme for insolvency professionals in the UK. It’s equally beneficial for experienced and inexperienced professionals, as well as being suitable for legal, finance, and other professionals.
Future of insolvency
The insolvency landscape is changing, and its role is more essential than ever. This hub features new regulation, trends and career roles as well as advice for firms and the challenges ahead.