What I do.
If your business, investment or financing needs professional advice, restructuring or a crisis resolved, I can help you.
For over 20 years I have been working with my clients to improve their outcomes. I provide an independent approach to help make objective decisions.
Acting for shareholders, directors, creditors and financial institutions I help make objective decisions particularly where time critical and difficult decisions must be taken to preserve, protect or improve outcomes
Combining forensic accounting investigative methodology with technology and business intelligence, I help investors and managers in identifying, investigating and pursuing fraudulent activities including the recovery of lost value
I provide independent advice and consulting to stakeholders: debtors, creditors and holders of equity who want to improve the performance of a business or evaluate an existing investment
My insights.
Follow my insights into the latest trends and news affecting business
More about me.
I have more than 20 years experience in advising clients across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. With a focus on distressed and complex situations, I have helped my clients where the aim has most often been to mitigate losses or improve the recovery in difficult circumstances.
My clients have included directors, investors, lenders and governments with the scope of work ranging from family-owned businesses and charities to large listed multinational corporations.
During my nine years living and working across east and central Africa, together with my partners, we built the leading insolvency and restructuring firm in the region. We were consistently involved in the most prominent restructurings and recoveries in the region; of which I led some of the most high profile and economically significant matters.
Prior to this, I worked for the UK's leading business rescue and recovery firm covering a range of matters across Europe, Asia and the Caribbean.
Whether my client is a government, DFI, multinational or small family business, my attention to their matter is unrivalled: I have a lifelong passion for the profession and bring with me an enthusiasm to find commercial and workable solutions in particularly challenging circumstances.
Professional development.
I came to restructuring from an economics and accounting background and I continue to maintain an intellectual connection with economics through macroeconomic forecasting and analysis.
I served for two years on the board of the INSOL Africa Round Table in promoting the development and reform across Africa of effective insolvency and restructuring regimes.
This is an area of particular professional interest to me: having worked across multiple jurisdictions and under differing regimes, I am convinced of the need for countries to have quick, effective and fair resolution available for creditors to support economic development and growth. The absence of which, I am now convinced, hinders the private sector in increasing the cost of doing business and restricting access to capital.
And, I lead the training and development of recovery teams at banks on technical and operational aspects of insolvency, restructuring and turnaround of non-performing loans.
PANAFRICAN PAPER MILLS
I acted as the lead adviser and receiver for two consortia of lenders and to the Government of Kenya in one of the largest and most politically-sensitive receivership of East Africa's largest paper mill with four paper machines employing ca. 9.000.
Enforcement, litigation and negotiation resulted in favourable outcomes for the banking consortia and the Government of Kenya leading to a sale of the business and the return of the largest regional employer.
The business was setup in 1972 as one of the first major post-colonial enterprises to encourage regional industrialisation, urbanisation and development. An integral part of the community, the challenges from the outset were as mired in financial and operational difficulties as they were in sociopolitical matters.
Over five years, we planned and worked extensively with the district officers, police commanders, political and social leaders - local and regional, central government agencies and ministries and financiers to find a positive outcome.
Our key work involved:
- debt recovery
- restructuring
- forensic investigations
- viability analysis
- local, regional and national stakeholder management
IAN SMALL
BComm. (Hons) FCCA MABRP
Expertise.
SECTORS
Agri- and floriculture
Paper and print
Retail
Transportation

RESTRUCTURING & INSOLVENCY
Solvent restructuring
Corporate simplification
Insolvency advisory and planning
Debt recovery
Workouts

ADVISORY
Independent business reviews
Solvency reviews
NPL management
Performance improvement
Forecasting and modelling

FORENSIC
Fraud investigations
Asset tracing

After hours.
When I'm not at the office, you will probably find me on the touch (rugby) field with Den Haag Touch - refereeing the game. If I am not refereeing the game, then you will likely find me coach and assess referees. I was also the chair of the club leading it into its merger with Haagsche Rugby Club.
I was also the junior national touch coach of the Netherlands helping children aged 12-18 learn and develop in the sport.
And, when not playing or coaching touch, I am rather partial to playing a round of golf or spending time at the bridge table.
Get in touch with me.
Ian Small
Rapenburg 35
2311 GG Leiden
The Netherlands