Executives given the task of bringing a company back from the brink of collapse may in future need to earn a formal qualification, after an industry body proposed an accreditation scheme with the backing of a group of leading banks.

The Institute for Turnaround, the professional body for turnround specialists, will launch the scheme by January, with the aim of raising the skills of professionals appointed to save struggling companies.

The move is in response to the government’s consultation on insolvency law reform and calls for more transparency and accountability among turnround specialists.

Bodies representing lenders and specialists in turnround and insolvency submitted responses to the consultation last month, which would create measures for struggling companies to restructure.

The measures would allow lending to companies in administration to take priority over existing creditors in a bid to encourage rescue capital.

Another potential change would be to give large and medium-sized groups court protection from creditors while they restructure debt.

The Association of British Insurers, which represents credit insurance companies operating in the UK, says the reputation of the insolvency industry has been damaged by “pre-pack” administration, which has been used to save a number of failing companies.

The Loan Market Association, which represents bankers, has flagged concerns that proposals to change insolvency laws in the UK could create uncertainty and lead to a fall in lending.

“[This] could undermine the principles of the priority of funding and could have a negative impact on lending,” said Clare Dawson, managing director at the LMA. “If banks’ collateral could be overridden then that could create uncertainty until the market has gone through more than one cycle and seen how it impacts situations.”

Steven Leinster, Director of Policy at the Insolvency Service, a government agency, says the consultations have been well received.