In a report made public in mid-September, the magistrates of the Court of Auditors report their observations with regard to the numerous systems for detecting and handling business difficulties, focusing more particularly on those intended for VSEs and SMEs. . The latter represent 99% of French companies, employ half of the employees and generate 40% of the added value.
Improve the organization and coordination of the different actors
Regarding the detection of companies in difficultythe report first notes that the ecosystem is “ abundant “. Networks managed by the General Directorate of Public Finances (DGFiP), by the General Directorate of Enterprises, by the Ministry of Labor, by Urssaf, commercial courts, regional councils, etc. In 2021, the government set up a “ entry point » unique with departmental advisors integrated into the departmental public finance directorates, an application « weak signals » to detect failure risks early and a platform “ business advisors » to centralize the contacts accessible to businesses. But the Court judges “ disappointing at this stage » the results of this coordination effort between the different players involved in detecting business difficulties.
First observation: departmental advisors to businesses in difficulty are still poorly identified by businesses and other stakeholders. Second observation: business leaders contacted by the administration after difficulties were detected via the “ weak signals » only respond in a third of cases, and the latter are not sufficiently oriented towards the appropriate interlocutors and support tools. Final observation: the stacking of structures “ does not facilitate coordination between actors, making the path of companies in difficulty complex and unclear », Estimates the Court. Who concludes: “ better articulation of local actors and rationalization of the organization at the departmental and regional level are necessary. »
Evaluate the effectiveness of different measures for dealing with difficulties
In terms of handling business difficultiesthe procedures which intervene once the company is in a situation of cessation of payments are very diverse. Staggering of payments to public creditors, loans, audits, amicable procedures, support for the business manager, etc. However, to the extent that these procedures are requested by companies with different profiles and at varying stages of difficulty, less advanced, it is difficult to analyze their respective effectiveness, all things being equal. It was therefore not possible for the Court, in the context of this investigation, to assess all rigor their impact », regret the financial magistrates. And more generally, public decision-makers lack elements enabling them to determine the effectiveness of the different treatment and support procedures for businesses “. This is why the Court invites the public authorities to conduct “ a thorough assessment » of the impact of the different devices for “ be able to better mobilize and develop the most effective measures ».
Devices of very heterogeneous efficiency
Despite this difficulty in evaluating the impact of the different measures, the work of the magistrates made it possible to establish a certain number of findings. Firstly, “ it appears that the spreading of public debts is not sufficient to ensure the recovery of the companies concerned and is accompanied by failures in a significant proportion of cases “. The one-year survival rate of companies benefiting from these spreads is 86%. “ Considering the resources mobilized, these procedures would benefit from being accompanied by better mobilization of other existing tools, but also by complementary orientation towards other support structures. »
Then, the Court notes that credit mediation, for the renegotiation of bank loans, is “ less and less requested “. Furthermore, she also believes that amicable procedures implemented by commercial courts should be encouraged, particularly for very small businesses. To do this, it would be appropriate to control the cost of procedures, which currently constitutes a barrier. But again, “ even if their advantages are undeniable “, it would be appropriate to better evaluate the success rates of these amicable procedures.
Improve support for business leaders
Finally, the Court observes that support for business leaders appears to be “ the weak link » procedures for handling difficulties. « While the monitoring of creators today constitutes a well-established public policy, benefiting from recognized means and structures, the support and training of business leaders, aimed at enabling reflection on the economic model of the business, are today only poorly developed. Certain initial training systems have been eliminated and the support networks remain little known and insufficiently mobilized by public actors. »
