When a business files Chapter 11, it becomes a “debtor-in-possession” of its own affairs as a fiduciary to the bankruptcy estate. What this means is that management of the business during the Chapter 11 case will remain under the control of its prepetition management and principals, subject to certain duties to report and maintain the business in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of Chapter 11 business reorganization bankruptcy. While these mostly financial and administrative requirements for operating the business during Chapter 11 are relatively straight-forward and generally represent good business practices, failure to follow these requirements can result in an appointment of a trustee to takeover operations of the business or dismissal or conversion of the case to liquidation.
While the business is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it has an obligation to file both a comprehensive initial financial report as well as ongoing monthly operating reports. The monthly operating reports provide an itemization of cash receipts and disbursements, profit and loss statement, balance sheet, copies of all bank account statements and other financial information that facilitates an ongoing review of the debtor’s finances while it is in bankruptcy. These monthly operating reports may be reviewed by any party in interest to the case and also form a basis to determine the feasibility of a plan of reorganization. If the debtor continually sustains a monthly net loss as demonstrated on the monthly operating reports, its hope for reorganization may be diminished.
Additionally, the business debtor must also stay current in the filing of all applicable tax returns and payment of taxes, including monthly sales tax and employee withholding tax obligations. This may be a challenge for businesses that do not maintain regular accounting books and records, or may routinely default in the payment of taxes. If the business accounting records and tax reporting is not current or accurate prior to the Chapter 11 being filed, an effort should be made as soon as possible to arrange the resources necessary to ensure that correct and timely tax filing and payments are made as soon as the Chapter 11 is filed. Tax obligations accrued prior to the bankruptcy may be dealt with in the plan, which often means that pre-petitiion sales tax obligations in Chapter 11 are repaid over five years at low interest.
The Chapter 11 business debtor has additional requirements to these, including the requirement to immediately open new debtor-in-possession bank accounts and close all pre-petition bank accounts, to maintain all insurance standard in the debtor’s particular industry, to pay a quarterly fee to the Office of the U.S. Trustee that monitors the debtor’s finances throughout the Chapter 11 proceeding, to attend various interviews and hearings conducted by the U.S. Trustee, as well as adhere to other restrictions on compensation, partner distributions, use of cash and more.
Keep reading for more on the Chapter 11 process, timeline and fees involved in a reorganization.
A qualified Chapter 11 attorney can advise your business of all the requirements and obligations before a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case is filed. Wartchow Law Office provides initial Chapter 11 consultations to review the business liabilities and other circumstances affecting a possible Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding, and to advise on possible options and solutions that Chapter 11 can provide to keep a business operating and improve future prospects.