Practices applied by practitioners to achieve management and financial control during business rescue

Orientation: To resuscitate financially distressed companies in South Africa, business rescue as introduced through the enactment of Chapter 6 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008 requires the business rescue practitioners (BRPs) to take management and financial control as part of their specific powers and duties.Research purpose: This study investigated what practices BRPs apply in order to achieve management and financial control.Motivation of the study: Business rescue practitioners are faced with complex assignments with no clear measurements in practice, thus making judgements subject to the perception of the enquirer. It was important to better understand the practices applied by BRPs to achieve management and financial control.Research design, approach and method: A qualitative study was conducted and 13 BRPs within the Gauteng Province were approached. These BRPs were registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission and consisted of junior, senior and experience BRPs. A thematic analysis was conducted to analyse the interview data. This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences at the University of Pretoria.Main findings: The findings indicate that management control is pursued via four main categories of tasks: meeting with stakeholders; clarification of roles; taking control of decision-making and understanding the business model. Taking financial control consists of managing finances, examining key financial information and engaging with financial people.Practical/managerial implications: For practitioners and educators, this study highlights the importance of using these practices to take control and remain in control in conjunction with management to achieve a productive rescue outcome.Contribution/value-add: This study minimises the gap that exists in the literature, detailing the specific activities conducted to achieve management and financial control and how to remain in control.