“What does Sneijders' painting ‘Bird Concert’ have in common with bankruptcy procedures in the Russian Federation” — essay by Ekaterina Mikhalskaya for Forbes
We have been thinking about the idea of a picture for a long time, against the background of which the speakers of the conference "Bankruptcies, Restructurings, corporate conflicts: landmark cases and lawsuits in modern Russia" speak. They chose the painting "Bird Concert", having seen in it a meeting of creditors with the report of the arbitration manager. It is unlikely that Sneijders could have imagined that four centuries later his contemporaries would offer such an amazing interpretation of the images. Art historians and historians of painting designate the "Bird Concert" as a painting with an allegorical plot, reflecting the Dutch proverb "Every bird sings by its nature." This is exactly what every creditor does in the bankruptcy process, competing with others and defending their own interests.
Ekaterina Mikhalskaya, Managing Partner of Prime Advice:
— In the plot of Frans Sneijders' painting "Bird Concert", according to experts, there is a hint of the proverb recorded by the Dutch poet Jacob Katz, "Every bird sings according to its breed." But, as you know, appearance is deceptive, and it is impossible to judge the beauty of a bird's voice by the brightness of its expression.
It's the same with bankruptcy, especially when it comes to bidding and selling property.
There are often hidden difficulties with bankrupt assets, which are unpleasant and too late to identify at the stage of lotting and going on sale (overlapping liens, third-party real estate, social facilities, etc.).
The measures taken in advance to prepare and conduct an inventory of property, its assessment and qualitative formation of lots allow identifying potential problems and ways to eliminate them at an earlier stage in order to conduct auctions with maximum efficiency (at least in terms of the timing of all events) for creditors.