Abstract:
Preliminary analysis of business rescue plans suggested that a signifi cant
contrast exists between international reorganisational plans and those
being published under the newly formed business rescue regime in
South Africa. Since the South African regime has emerged from an
international insolvency framework, an international benchmark was
used to effectively assist in creating an evaluation tool. To better
understand the expectations demanded of the plan, principles from
comparable international regimes were identifi ed. Data on regimes
were obtained, scrutinised and reported on; the expectations were
extrapolated and aligned with Chapter 6 of the South African Companies
Act, No. 71 of 2008, to determine whether the Act complied with
a set of expectations based on an international perspective. The
proposed framework shows the key principles that govern rescue plans
worldwide. The framework could serve as a guideline for the evaluation
of rescue plans and help practitioners to enhance what is seen as their
key task, namely to compile the rescue plan. Comparison with the fi ve
key principles found by the research reveals particular shortcomings in
Chapter 6 of the South African Companies Act of 2008. International
regimes indicate that the rescue plan should adhere to a broader and
more extensive set of expectations than those explicitly provided for
by the Act.
