Hathway blasts ASIC statement on VU

Helm Advisory's Stephen Hathway
Photo: SiN Images

HELM Advisory founder Stephen Hathway was in a somewhat indignant state when SiN called last night to get the skinny on his recent brush with the compliance cops.

Around midday yesterday ASIC released a statement advising that Hathway had given the regulator a voluntary undertaking (VU) to implement firm-wide training at Helm Advisory, the firm Hathway founded in October last year after being axed from SV Partners.

Since SiN broke the story of his departure from SV in September, it's been unclear what caused the falling out between Hathway and SV managing director Terry Van Der Velde. But an unfavourable ASIC compliance review that could be laid at Hathway's feet might explain it.

When contacted, Hathway was more interested in attacking the wording of ASIC's press release, pointing out that despite the compliance failures identified taking place while he was at SV Partners, the ASIC statement makes no mention of his former firm.

"This is appalling because the firm (Helm Advisory) only started in October (2015) and the offences that've been represented in this report were all related to SV Partners," he said.

"I think it's a terrible misleading statement by ASIC but I can't do anything about it."

Ousted Hathway launches new firm

Helm Advisory founder Stephen Hathway (R) with
senior manager Adam Preiner.
Photo: SiN Images

STEPHEN Hathway hasn't wasted time. Little more than a month after being ejected from the SV Partners' Sydney practice he co-founded, Hathway is up and running with a new outfit he's dubbed Helm Advisory.

ASIC records show Helm Advisory Pty Ltd was registered on August 31 and SiN dropped into the new offices at 32 Martin Place yesterday to meet the team.

The core is made up of SV defectors. There's senior manager Adam Preiner, senior accountant Yuhan Tan and supervisor Alvin Yu. Their decision to break with SV was critical in ensuring Hathway could continue managing the appointments he brought with him.

Including the founder and the SV three, Helms' initial complement is seven but Hathway said he's on the lookout for another registered liquidator and possibly a trustee in bankruptcy to complete the team, which he sees as operating firmly in the SME debtor space.

"There's a whole discussion about what is the ideal size of a debtors insolvency practice," Hathway said. 

"The trap is growing it to a size where you start building a head office and the head office starts charging and some people in the head office don't believe they have to work on the files and they just become something that has to be paid for," he said. 

When contacted SV Partners' managing director Terry van der Velde, dismissed suggestions that Hathway's axing and the loss of three staff would precipitate further redundancies at the Sydney practice. 

"We are certainly not making anyone redundant, in fact there are top quality candidates in the market at present so it gives us an opportunity to hire them," van der Velde said.

See also: SV ditches executive director

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