When advisers disagree, check which financial picture they used

Different answers may begin with different information

Your accountant raises insolvency concerns, while another adviser sounds less worried. Do not choose the answer you prefer and continue unchanged. Identify what each person was asked and which records they reviewed. Seek prompt, competent advice on the actual current position and any immediate decisions. Apparent disagreement may reflect different dates, assumptions or scopes of work.

Write down the questions asked

Imagine a contractor whose accountant reviewed overdue liabilities while a finance broker discussed a possible loan. Those conversations may address different questions. Record the actual advice and qualifications rather than reducing one to insolvent and the other to fine. A discussion about potential funding is not necessarily a solvency assessment or advice about director obligations.

Use a common evidence set

Provide dated accounts, current balances, creditor information and the status of proposed funding to the appropriately qualified advisers. Identify anything that has changed since earlier discussions. Do not omit an unfavourable letter or overdue amount when seeking another opinion. The comparison is only useful if the people reviewing the position receive the same material facts.

Keep the urgency clear

ASIC recommends early competent accounting and legal advice in financial difficulty and says a registered liquidator can conduct a solvency review. Ask who is qualified to address each issue and whether specialist review is needed. Do not treat the search for another opinion as permission to incur further debt while the underlying concern remains unresolved.

Source: ASIC: What to do if your company is insolvent

Ask where the conclusions differ

With appropriate authority, arrange for the advisers to clarify the assumptions or explain the issue in writing. In the contractor's example, a conditional loan may have been treated as available by one person and uncertain by another. Establish the actual conditions and timing. Avoid asking either adviser to endorse a conclusion based on a summary they have not checked.

Record the decision and its basis

Keep the current advice, unresolved questions and urgent actions together. Update the information when circumstances change and revisit decisions accordingly. Directors need a reasoned response to the warning, not a collection of reassuring comments. Clarifying the inputs helps determine what still requires assessment without pretending that a difference of opinion removes responsibility for the next commitment.