CIRA Part 1
June 2 - 4, 2008
  • Monday: 8:30 - 5:30
  • Tuesday: 8:30 - 5:30
  • Wednesday: 8:30 - 11:30
Part 1: Managing Turnaround and Bankruptcy Cases
  • Financial statement analysis of troubled companies
  • Causes of business failures
  • Profitability improvements, including outsourcing
  • Nuts and bolts: four-wall analysis, JIT and ABC, EVA
  • Turnarounds and workouts: stages of turnaround process; operational/strategic
  • Pre-bankruptcy planning
  • Managing bankruptcy cases
  • Dealing with creditors and their committees
  • Special investigations including preferences and fraudulent transfers

Objective of CIRA Program

To recognize by public awareness and by certification those individuals who possess a high degree of specialized, professional financial and operational expertise in the area of distressed and insolvent businesses. Such expertise includes accounting, operations, managerial strategies, taxation and finance issues related to business bankruptcy and insolvency.


Requirements for Certification

In order to enroll in the program, complete the course of study and take the examination, the candidate must:

  1. Be a regular member of AIRA in good standing.
  2. Possess (at least) a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university (or license as a CPA, CA, CMA).

    To receive the certification, the following additional requirements must be met:
  1. Completion of five years of accounting or financial experience 1
  2. Completion of 4,000 hours, within an eight-year period ending no earlier than the exam completion date, of specialized Business Turnaround, Restructuring and Bankruptcy experience.
  3. Completion of the course of study and passing of all three parts of the uniform written examination.
  4. Pledging of oath regarding professional standards.
  5. Three letters of reference (excluding candidate’s current employer or other merbers of candidate’s firm) attesting to character, professional experience and specialized expertise.

1 Relevant experience includes public accounting, crisis management, consulting, investment banking, credit management, loan workout or applicable government experience (e.g. financial analyst with Office of the U.S. Trustee, Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, FBI and SBA, etc.)


Specialized Business Turnaround, Restructuring and Bankruptcy Experience

To receive certification, the applicant must have 4,000 hours of specialized business turnaround, restructuring and bankruptcy experience within an eight year period ending no earlier than the exam completion date. The following experience is applicable: financial advisor for a trustee or debtor; creditor or equity holder committees, or specific creditors or equity holders; business turnaround specialist, including business receivers and reorganization management or consultants; bankruptcy trustee; bankruptcy examiner or accountant for examiner; educator and/or author of published works in the areas of business turnaround, restructuring and bankruptcy; and expert witness regarding bankruptcy issues.



Continuing Education Requirements

Participants may receive 24 hours of CPE credits for each part of the CIRA course and examination. In accordance with the standards of the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, CPE credits have been granted based on a 50-minute hour. To maintain your certification, you are required to complete 60 hours (20 hours per year) of continuing professional education (CPE) credits related to turnaround, restructuring and bankruptcy within each successive three-year period.

Course and Examination Format
The CIRA course of study is divided into three parts:
Part 1: Managing Turnaround and Bankruptcy Cases
Part 2: Plan Development
Part 3: Accounting, Financial Reporting and Taxes
The study course, one for each part, will involve some advance preparation (10-15 hours of reading) and a two and one-half-day course

with a three-hour examination given during the last day of the course.

To register for this program, please indicate your interest on the registration form. You may also call the AIRA office at (541) 858-1665 or register online at www.airacira.org.


Fees and Refunds
Registration fee for each part is $650. The fee for government employees is $275. A full refund or credit will be made for parts that are canceled 10 business days before the part begins if all materials sent in advance of the course are returned. For parts cancelled with less than 10 business days notice, credit toward a future part will be granted less a $75 service charge per part. For parts cancelled with less than 3 business days notice, credit toward a future part will be granted less a $150 service charge per part.