Case studies

Context

A start-up SRL (Belgian limited company) in the construction / electrical sector had to present a €20,000 financing application to a Belgian bank. The manager knew his trade and his prices — but not what a credit committee expects, nor how to translate his order book into defensible projections.

Approach

I built a 3-year financial plan (income statement, balance sheet, cash flow), together with a cash-position note and a loan simulation embedded in the plan — the repayments can be read directly in the cash flows, so the bank sees the burden is absorbable. All structured in the order in which a banker reads a file.

Result

A complete application, ready to file — and reusable: the structure of the plan serves as the basis for the company's future financing requests; only the assumptions need updating.

Context

An SRL in the construction sector was facing a heavy unprovisioned tax debt, revealed outside the accounts — enough to call its solvency and its going-concern status into question. Its legal counsel needed a reliable set of figures before steering the strategy.

Approach

A full financial diagnosis, starting with the restatement of the off-balance-sheet debt to restore a true and fair view of the situation. Then an analysis of several scenarios — tax appeal, judicial reorganisation (the Belgian PRJ), cessation — each with its quantified impact and its Belgian legal framework (the Companies Code (CSA), CNC-CBN opinions, including opinion 2018/18 on valuation rules in the event of discontinuity).

Result

A clear diagnosis, delivered to the legal counsel, which allowed an informed decision — the company was able to identify a path to continuation.

Context

A services company that had ceased trading; the case was referred by a law firm acting for the creditors. One particularity: two diverging versions of the accounts were in circulation, and the schedules supplied by third parties contained material errors.

Approach

Reconciliation of the two versions of the accounts, correction of the material errors in the schedules supplied, then preparation of the statement of realisable assets against liabilities. I also documented points of attention on the chronology of the transactions — which movements took place, and when.

Result

A reliable, fully sourced analysis, which served as the basis for the firm's strategy. When the starting figures contradict each other, the added value is not in the opinion — it is in the reconciliation.

Context

A recently incorporated consulting SRL was approaching its annual closing. A double challenge: securing access to the reduced Belgian corporate-tax rate (art. 215 CIR92, with its strict conditions) and correctly treating specific flows — foreign assignment expenses, disbursements, contributions.

Approach

A review of the situation before the closing — that is when the options still exist: verifying the conditions for the reduced rate, correctly qualifying each flow (a disbursement is not income; an expense borne on the employer's behalf is not a benefit in kind), and bringing the accounts into compliance.

Result

Access to the reduced rate secured, every flow correctly qualified, accounts brought into compliance before the closing — so no unpleasant surprise at filing time. The optimisation that matters is the one you prepare before 31 December, not the one you regret afterwards.