Mackay Goodwin appoints bankruptcy division head
The firm’s director expects an uptick in insolvencies amid high interest rates and an ATO director crackdown.
National insolvency and advisory firm Mackay Goodwin has appointed an experienced insolvency practitioner as the director of its personal insolvency practice.
Gavin King joins after six years at accounting firm Condon Advisory Group.
CEO Domenic Calabretta said Mr King's expertise and qualifications would raise the firm's capabilities.
“His extensive experience spanning business-related matters, crisis management, and asset management will be instrumental in driving growth for Mackay Goodwin,” he said.
With a combined 18 years of experience in boutique firms, Hall Chadwick and Condon Advisory, Mr King said he decided to join the mid-tier firm due to their innovative approach to client problems.
“Mackay Goodwin is technologically productive and focused on becoming more effective for clients — driving efficiency through the use of technology such as AI and virtual agents — more than what some traditional firms would be doing,” he said.
“My focus will be running the personal insolvency and bankruptcy area … we're looking at trying to get in early and talk with people when they first notice financial distress, rather than waiting until it's too late.”
Mr King is a registered trustee for bankruptcy and a registered liquidator, and said his experience with both directors and companies has helped him understand the “personal” side of insolvency.
“You'll find that most liquidators aren't trustees…you tend to focus on one or the other, not both,” he said.
“I've had the opportunity through my career to have my foot in both sides, which I think has helped me understand how to relate to directors who are going through financial difficulty, not just the company side.”
In the first quarter of the year, AFSA reported 674 insolvencies in NSW and 2494 personal insolvencies in Australia, a 12.6 per cent national increase compared to the same period last year.
ASIC reported a 9 per cent decrease in company insolvencies in June compared with May and Mr King expected an “uptick” on those numbers.
“We're going to have the ATO chasing people, directors, which will in turn increase the bankruptcies as it increases the corporate appointments,” he said.
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