A surge in the amount of consumers with debt problems applying for Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) has left the insolvency industry with a lack of employees trained to handle such applications.
According to Accountancy Age, the time required for insolvency practitioners to gain experience of the IVA process has been slashed from 2,000 hours of experience to 400 by the Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA).
Close examination of the workers will still be maintained in a bid to keep standards in the IVA industry high, the IPA stated.
IPA director general Peter Joyce said: "I certainly expect that IVAs will be properly administered by our authorisation holders. It`s a welcome development that these companies want their staff to go through formal study and independent examination."
Figures from the Insolvency Service show that over 111,000 people applied for bankruptcy or an IVA during 2007.
