Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals (CAIRP)

Overview:

Profession(s): insolvency
Member Type(s): Trustees in Bankruptcy, Receivers, Agents, Monitors and Consultants in Insolvency matters
Scope: National - Canada
Formed: 1979
Members: 889
Address: 277 Wellington St. W., Toronto, ON, M5V 3H2, Canada
Phone: 416-204-3242
Fax: 416-204-3410
Email: info@cairp.ca
Website: www.cairp.ca

Description:

The Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals is the national professional organization representing 889 general members acting as trustees in bankruptcy, receivers, agents, monitors and consultants in insolvency matters. There are also another 629 members (in the articling, life and corporate categories). The Association is a non-profit corporation, established in 1979 to "advance the practice of insolvency administration and the public interest related to it".

Mission/Aims:

To develop, educate, support and give value to its members;

To foster the provision of insolvency/restructuring services with integrity, objectivity and competence, in a manner that instills the highest degree of public trust; and

To advocate for a fair, transparent and effective system of insolvency/restructuring administration throughout Canada.

Principal Activities:

As a professional organization, the Association has:

Created the FCIRP certification mark to confer fellowships on members who have given distinguished service to the Association and/or the profession, or brought distinction to the profession;

Developed the Prescribed Course of Study which formed the basis for the NIQP; enacted Rules of Professional Conduct and established a conduct and discipline process; presented annually, a continuing education seminar in six cities and a commercial forum in Toronto; created a course on insolvency administration for support staff in the offices of general members; provides for Mandatory Professional Development of members;

Enacted standards of professional practice;

Provided briefs on legislative changes;

Published national seminar papers; published Rebuilding Success magazine; and

Been a founding member of INSOL International (a federation of insolvency organisations representing over 7,700 professionals in 29 countries).

Member Benefits:

Only our members are eligible to be appointed to the NIQP Board of Directors and the oral board of examiners.

Through our Intervention Committee, members bring forward issues on which the Association should seek intervenor status or provide funding to support the proper functioning of the bankruptcy and insolvency system.

The Annual Conference provides an opportunity to visit different parts of the country and to network with other members as well as to attend technical sessions, which provide valuable and current professional development.

Members may search for, or advertise, career opportunities on CareerSite, the new insolvency-specific job board on the CAIRP web site.

Only trustees who are CAIRP members may use the web site’s Insolvency Discussion Group to ask questions and to exchange information with other members, OSB staff, insolvency lawyers, creditors and other interested parties.

Firstbrook Cassie & Anderson has developed a program of professional liability insurance that is available only to members of CAIRP.

North City General Insurance Brokers Ltd., a subsidiary of FCA, has created a group plan for CAIRP members to take advantage of reduced home and auto insurance rates.

Members in smaller firms can purchase eCarswell’s InsolvencySource at a greatly discounted price.

Anyone seeking an insolvency professional can use CAIRP’s search feature on the Association’s web site to locate CAIRP members.

The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy recognizes us by our participation in joint task forces ranging from the Insolvency Practice Committee (IPC) to our joint enforcement of advertising standards. Our participation on the IPC is exclusive. We appoint the trustee members and no other organizations are represented on the Committee.

CAIRP presents the Insolvency and Restructuring Forum, an annual series of cross-country continuing education seminars. Besides upgrading technical knowledge, the seminars provide an opportunity to network with fellow members, lawyers and government representatives. In 2005, for the first time, CAIRP introduced a seminar in Toronto devoted to corporate practitioners.

Opportunities for members to raise their own personal profile/exposure include volunteering to speak at our events, writing papers for publication and articles for Rebuilding Success magazine, and participating as chair or member on CAIRP committees. CAIRP is also raising the public profile of the profession as a whole through increased media relations, including Letters to the Editor and appearances on radio talk shows.

Training/Licensing/Certification:

The National Insolvency Qualification Program delivers, on behalf of CAIRP and the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, the common program of education and examination for all candidates wishing to become both a CIRP and a trustee in bankruptcy.

Verification Criteria:

Licensed by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy and holder of the CIRP [Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals] certification mark.

Additional Information:

The CAIRP general membership fee also includes membership in the Canadian Insolvency Foundation, which was founded by CAIRP to support Canadian research and education related to insolvency and restructuring and is funded by CAIRP.