To become qualified as an Insolvency Practitioner (IP) in the UK, one needs to have a certain minimum number of hours of experience of working in an insolvency practice, currently about 600 and to have passed the Joint Insolvency Examination Board (JIEB) examinations.
Most IPs would also be qualified accountants and members of the relevant recognized professional body (RPBs). An IP’s staff support would usually include qualified accountants and people with ancillary qualifications in insolvency such as the Certificate of Proficiency in Insolvency (CPI). Insolvency firms which use the services of such professionals and which provide debt advice services are also required to have a consumer credit license. The R3 website provides details about relevant insolvency qualifications in the UK.
Interestingly, there is no insolvency qualification which is equivalent or similar to the JIEB in the Republic of Ireland nor is there currently a requirement for a firm offering debt advice in Ireland to hold a consumer credit license although the law in this regard is likely to change. It is expected that legislation recommended in the Law Reform Commission of Ireland’s consultation paper on Personal Debt Management and Debt Enforcement, which was published in 2009, will be enacted in Ireland in the next year. It is expected to address the need for insolvency qualifications and to implement a regulatory and licensing regime similar to that currently in place in the UK.