Forvis Mazars LLP Insolvency Services Privacy Statement

Should you require any further information, contact us at privacy@mazars.co.uk

Forvis Mazars LLP Insolvency Services Privacy Statement

This statement explains relevant information about our processing of personal data in relation to insolvency appointments, including bankruptcy and individual voluntary arrangements in respect of individuals and receivership, administration, creditors’ voluntary liquidation, compulsory winding up, company voluntary arrangement and members’ voluntary liquidation in respect of corporate entities (“Insolvency Services”).

Applicability

This statement covers the Data Controller activities undertaken by Forvis Mazars LLP and our Insolvency Practitioners and their teams in relation to our Insolvency Services. Details of our Insolvency Practitioners registered as Data Controllers can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) register at www.ico.org.uk.   

Categories of Data Subjects

Personal data we process depends on the type of Insolvency Services we provide and may include data of the insolvent individual, data of directors or shareholders of the corporate entity, employee data, contractor data, supplier data, customer data and data of children.

Types of Personal Data Processed

The types of personal data processed will vary depending on the data we are required to process to deliver the Insolvency Services.  

When our Insolvency Practitioners are appointed, they must hold the records of the company or entity during the insolvency and for at least one year after the company’s dissolution to fulfil their investigatory and statutory obligations. These records may include employment records (including payroll information) and any other personal data the company or entity processed prior to the commencement of the Insolvency Services.

These are the categories of personal data we process:

We may process Special Category Personal Data from you for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, if it is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest and on occasion, we may ask your explicit consent. When we rely on your consent to process Personal Data, you may withdraw your consent at any time.

Purposes for Data Processing

• Our Insolvency Practitioners process personal data during their Insolvency appointments to carry out the statutory and regulatory duties of Insolvency Practitioners, which include:
  • communicating with insolvent individuals, directors, shareholders, creditors, courts and regulators
  • fulfilling their investigatory and statutory reporting obligations
  • assessing creditors’ claims
  • valuing and realising the assets
  • distributing payments
• Forvis Mazars LLP completes checks prior to providing services to ensure we do not have any conflicts that would interfere with our independence in providing Insolvency Services. These checks will take into consideration the financial interests, relationships and publicly available information of insolvent individuals, directors, shareholders and other third parties associated with the insolvent entity. We will collect data from individuals directly and will review this information with information we gather from third party data sources. We also exchange information with other firms of the Forvis Mazars global network to maintain our independence.
• Under anti-money laundering legislation, we are required to verify the identity of the insolvent individuals and the directors and other associated individuals (including the beneficial owners of organisations and trusts) of insolvent entities prior to commencing our services. To comply with this legal requirement, we use Smart Search and credit reference agencies (including Experian, Equifax, Transunion and Dow Jones) who check the details supplied during the onboarding process against information to which they have access. The credit reference agencies may keep a record of the information we provide them and disclose it (and the fact that a search was made) to its other customers, including for the purposes of assessing the risk of giving credit and occasionally to prevent fraud, money laundering and to trace debtors.
• To manage our business operations and run our firm
  • Forvis Mazars LLP processes personal data for data management activities (such as back up, storage and destruction of data when it is no longer needed), managing our IT systems (including security monitoring) and business continuity purposes; these activities may include all personal data we handle.
  • We also process limited personal data for billing, general administration and insolvency appointment management.
  • To facilitate our business operations, we may use artificial intelligence that may process personal data.
  • We have identified the necessity for our legitimate interests as our lawful basis for these processing activities.

Duration of Processing

Forvis Mazars LLP and our Insolvency Practitioners will process personal data as long as necessary to deliver the Insolvency Services and to comply with our legal obligations. Our standard retention period for Insolvency Services, where it is not otherwise determined by contractual or regulatory obligations, is six years following the end of our appointment. Sometimes we may need to retain information longer if we are required by a regulatory authority or if we need to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights.

Recipients of your Personal Data

Our Insolvency Practitioners may disclose personal data where necessary, to solicitors, ERA specialists, agents, creditors, courts and other third parties directly involved in assisting us to progress the insolvency appointment.

To comply with statutory obligations applicable to Insolvency Services, we may need to provide personal data to third parties such as law enforcement, the Insolvency Service, regulators, or government or public bodies. 

Forvis Mazars LLP relies on third parties to provide our services and to operate our business (for example, our use of third-party IT solutions). Our need to rely upon suppliers may vary depending upon the insolvency appointment. When suppliers process personal data on our behalf, we require them to provide at least the same level of protection for personal data as we do.

International Data Processing

Forvis Mazars LLP and our Insolvency Practitioners may transfer personal data outside of the United Kingdom or European Economic Area (EEA). We ensure we have taken appropriate measures to protect personal data and to comply with the data protection laws of the United Kingdom and EEA.

International data processing may occur in the following circumstances:

• Forvis Mazars LLP uses subsidiaries of Forvis Mazars LLP, other member firms of the Forvis Mazars Group (including subsidiaries of Forvis Mazars Group SC) or the Forvis Mazars Global network for some processing activities. When we use the services of other firms in the Forvis Mazars Global network, data may be stored or accessed from outside of the United Kingdom.
• Some of our suppliers may need to transfer data outside of the United Kingdom for the provision of services.
• Forvis Mazars LLP employees and partners may need to work from outside the United Kingdom occasionally and may have access to personal data when working abroad. When our people need to work abroad, we ensure appropriate security measures are in place to protect personal data. 

Your Data Subject Rights

You may exercise your data protection rights by requesting:

• Access to the personal data we hold about you.
• A correction of any data which are inaccurate.
• Deletion of your personal data.
• Restrictions on our processing of your data.
• A transfer of your data to another controller (data portability).

We will handle your request in accordance with the data protection laws and any national laws applicable at the time of your request. Requests should be submitted by email to our Data Protection Officer (privacy@mazars.co.uk).

If you are dissatisfied with the way we have handled your personal data and we are unable to resolve the matter for you, you may take your complaint to the ICO.  Further details can be found via their website at www.ico.org.uk.

Data Security

Forvis Mazars LLP has in place technological and organisational controls, including policies and procedures, to protect personal data from loss, misuse, alteration or unintentional destruction. Our staff have been trained to maintain the confidentiality of such information. 

For more information on our security controls, please see Our Security Approach.

Changes to this Statement

Should we make significant changes to the way we process data, we will draw your attention to the relevant part(s) of this statement through email and or other appropriate communications during the Insolvency Services.

Last updated: October 2025