Legal Mechanisms for Early Warning of Corporate Difficulties in Morocco: Between Myth and Reality

Résumé

Under Law No. 73-17 on the prevention of business difficulties, the Moroccan legislator aims to align the national legal framework with international standards, particularly those promoted by the World Bank and UNCITRAL on corporate insolvency. The reform’s main objective is to strengthen preventive mechanisms and, when prevention is no longer sufficient, to ensure effective collective proceedings that safeguard viable firms and preserve value for creditors. Given the sharp rise in business failures, with 7,659 bankruptcies in 2024 (a 14 percent increase according to Info Risk), early warning systems deserve close attention. Very small entreprises account for 98.8 percent of these failures, compared with 1.1 percent for small and medium-sized enterprises and 0.1 percent for large firms. This pattern supports the study’s central argument: early vigilance is the most effective remedy against economic imbalance, since prompt detection of warning signs can prevent reversible difficulties from escalating into irreversible crises. A preventive approach, supported by efficient collective proceedings, forms the cornerstone of a coherent framework for managing corporate distress in Morocco.