Page 81 - Bankruptcy Volume 1

Chapter 10

Court and U.S. Trustee Reporting Requirements

Shortly after the commencement of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a debtor, functioning as a debtor-in-
possession, will generally be contacted by the U.S. Trustee assigned to the debtor’s case to schedule an
initial debtor interview, which is often referred to as the IDI. The initial interview will take place at a lo-
cation designated by the U.S. Trustee and is often conducted at the U.S. Trustee’s local branch office.
The U.S. Trustee requires certain deliverables after the bankruptcy filing. The initial interview provides
an opportunity for the Trustee to specifically outline the required materials and to gain an understanding
of the debtor’s financial state and ability to comply with the reporting requirements. Although scheduled
by the U.S. Trustee, the initial interview also provides the debtor with an opportunity to negotiate the ex-
tent of the deliverables and the frequency with which they will be provided to the U.S. Trustee. In a case
where no initial interview is scheduled, the deliverables may be required to be turned over to the U.S.
Trustee within 15 days of the bankruptcy filing. This and other case deadlines are generally subject to
negotiations with the U.S. Trustee. Although extremely important at every stage of a case, frequent
communication with the U.S. Trustee is vital in the infancy of the bankruptcy in order to establish mutu-
al expectations between the U.S. Trustee and the debtor.

The following is a nonexhaustive list of deliverables the debtor may be requested to provide to the U.S.
Trustee on or around the initial meeting. Authority to make these requests, and to supervise the admin-
istration of all Chapter 11 cases in general, is granted by Title 28, Section 586(a)(3). Case-specific addi-
tions or exclusions from this list will be the subject of the aforementioned negotiations:

 Financial documents, such as the following:

— Copies of the debtors’ last two filed income tax returns, including all applicable sched-
ules

 Tax returns for postpetition obligations must be filed in a timely manner and obli-
gations paid in full. Prepetition tax returns must also be filed in a timely manner
but need not be paid.

— Copy of most recently issued or prepared financial statements (including the balance
sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows)

— Accounts receivable aging

— Specimen (voided) checks that verify the opening of debtor-in-possession bank accounts
with list of authorized signatories. This requirement might be modified pending approval
of the cash management motion.

— List of all disbursements made 90 days prior to filing — preparation should be coordinat-
ed with SOFA question 3b

 Copies of all licenses and permits (including licenses to intellectual property and certificates evi-
dencing ownership of intellectual property)

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