Ghana: GARIA Enhances Thought Leadership in Business Framework Space

7 November 2023
Ghanaian Times (Accra)
By Kingsley Asare

The Ghana Association of Restructuring and Insolvency Advisors (GARIA) has unveiled the maiden edition of the Corporate Insolvency and Restructuring Journal, marking a significant step forward in enhancing thought leadership in the business framework space in Ghana.

Ghana's journey towards an improved business environment has been punctuated by key legislative milestones, including the enactment of the Companies Act in 2019, and the Corporate Insolvency and Restructuring Act in 2020, of which GARIA has been at the forefront of advocacy, with the support by the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Trade and Industry, various development and foundation partners and corporates.

This launch kicks-off GARIA celebrations comprising seminars, workshop and a Gala Presidential Awards Night on November 11, 2023.

Elsie AddoAwadzi, Editor-In-Chief of the Maiden Journal and 2nd Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, launching the Journal in Accra yesterday, noted that GARIA was privileged under the Corporate Insolvency and Restructuring Act 2020 (ACT 1015) to be recognised as the professional body for insolvency practitioners.

"I felt that the next step would be for GARIA to start a mouthpiece for intellectual discourse, for intellectual workmanship in terms of helping to develop our jurisprudence and our practice in this area," she said.

George Fosu, CEO of GARIA, who shared insights into the significance of the Corporate Insolvency and Restructuring Journal, said, "The then Companies Act 1963 (Act 179) was quite inadequate to address the trajectory that Ghana was on in the context of its integration into the global economy. The Companies Act and the Official Liquidation Bodies Corporate Act, 1963 (Act 180) provisions did not provide any room for resuscitating businesses that were viable but had incurred some sort of financial distress."

MrFelix Addo, President of GARIA, reflected on the Association's journey since 2006, stating, "We've come a long way since 2006, and it's a momentous occasion. Tonight, we have a diverse audience, including lawyers, members of the judiciary, accountants, bankers and others. Our focus is on restructuring distressed companies at the company level."

He highlighted the distinction between restructuring at the national orsovereign level and the GARIA's focus on helping distressed companies.

Professor Emeritus Albert Fiadjoe, Chairman of the launch of the maiden edition of the Corporate Insolvency and Restructuring Journal, underscored the importance of education, training, research, and advocacy in promoting business rescue practice.

The Corporate Insolvency and Restructuring Journal's keynote speaker, Professor Philip EbowBondzi-Simpson, Vice Chancellor of the Methodist University, and former Dean of the University of Cape Coast Business School and Rector of GIMPA, emphasised the necessity of corporate solvency and restructuring for corporate entities facing financial distress

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