Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It was important to clarify this. Professor Kane made an interesting remark which was that by the time accountants report a firm as being insolvent, the firm has been insolvent for a very long time. Can he explain what he means by this? Does it come down to the recognition of an asset value and if the asset is impaired?

Is it because of the accounting standards that there is a significant delay in making a provision for that asset or is it due to the lax application of standards by professional firms?