Matt BergerContact details: Matt is a Director in PPB’s Sydney office. Background and significant appointmentsMatt Berger is a Chartered Accountant who provides advisory services to businesses, their secured lenders and other financiers. Matt has a “Big 4” background and has practiced in a number of overseas jurisdictions during his 13 year professional career including the UK, Hong Kong and the United States. Industry experience and specialised expertiseMatt’s key speciality is his ability to financially investigate medium to large businesses and then advise key stakeholders of those businesses on their options. Such investigations are typically undertaken under the instructions of the major retail banks who are the secured lenders of such businesses. Matt’s financial investigations involve detailed field work surrounding the financial history of the business, its current financial and funding position and also a detailed assessment of its financial outlook and in particular its capacity to generate sufficient future cash flows to enable adequate returns to the various stakeholders of the business. Matt’s findings and recommendations are often implemented by the owners of the businesses that he has investigated. The implementation of these changes often leads to the business stabilising its position and then recapitalising for the benefit of all stakeholders (including owners, lenders, employees, suppliers and customers). Matt has investigated businesses across a range of industry sectors in recent years and these sectors include manufacturing, printing and publishing, financial services, wholesale of goods and retail. Matt’s financial investigation skills are also applied to other services and these include pre-lending investigation reviews of potential new business customers of the retail banks where the lend is predominantly based on future cash flow generation. Matt also assists private buyers of businesses (either private investors or private equity firms) through detailed due diligence and financial investigation work. Matt’s investigation work and findings enables his clients to better negotiate sale terms and in particular the overall pricing structure of the deal. Finally, Matt also assists companies when they are in severe financial distress by taking them through a formal restructuring process which may encompass Administration followed by a Deed of Company Arrangement. Matt has had success in restructuring businesses through such formal processes which typically involve the compromising and settling of unsecured debts (with the consent of supplier creditors) in order to restructure the balance sheet of the business. Other changes Matt has implemented during an Administration process in order to save a business include first stage cost reduction including employee reduction programmes, new management and financial controls and working capital management. Qualifications and memberships
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