Chartered Accountants Journal, May 2002. Kim Powell reviews A Practical Guide to Surviving the Personal Properties Security Act, by Peter Hattaway & Alan Liddell.
THE authors are obviously not men to back away from a challenge - namely to make the Personal Properties Security Act (PPSA) accessible to non-lawyers. It is a worthy goal since the Act is so important and for many New Zealand professionals, is unknown territory.
Should you read this book? The answer is almost certainly yes. If you are in public practice you will need to offer advice to your clients. If in a corporate role you need to know its potential impact on your bottom line. If credit management is your responsibility, you may need to redesign your procedures, reissue your terms of trade and register your "security interests" on the new register.
If you get left behind, your professional reputation will suffer or your company may lose money - this issue has very real consequences. But before you dash out and buy the book, prepare yourself for the journey ahead. Remember those New Year Resolutions?
- Joining the gym is the easy bit - buy the book
- The programme looks impossible - skim through the contents
- The first couple of sessions are enjoyable - read the introduction
- The next 10 sessions are hell - get into the meat of the book
- Start to get the benefit - it all begins to come clear
- Say hello to the "new you" - gain a professional edge in business.
The glossary in chapter 1.4 is essential reading and the authors have done a good job in trying to explain the new terms in plain English.
Once that has been digested it is probably a good idea to launch into chapter 2 - "Will you win or lose from the PPSA?" If the reader has an idea of where the Act will benefit or adversely impact on their business, the relevant pieces in the rest of the book will stand out.
The authors have made every effort to make the journey as easy as possible. They use diagrams to lighten the text and many examples to explain what is basically a new language. Since many of the terms and concepts are drawn from Canadian legislation, some of them challenge our traditional concepts of title (to goods) and the protections that "owning" something has always given us.
One difficulty in writing a book like this is deciding how to structure it. You can follow the broad structure of the Act and have examples covering different industry sectors, or have sections devoted to industry sectors - which would involve a great deal of repetition. The authors, rather sensibly, have chosen the first route, but it does pose some challenges for the reader.
My suggestion of how to read this book is to have a liberal supply of Post-it notes and a highlighter. The key is to focus on examples that are relevant to your business and mark them. This will draw you back to areas of the book that are particularly important to you - and will sustain you when the going gets tough.
The other suggestion is not to try and read it in too short a space of time - break it down into bite-size chunks.
Give yourself time to digest the information. Your reward at the end of the day will be to gain a professional edge in an extremely important area. When the going gets tough remember - they authors did the really hard work - they wrote it.