IDW S6 (restructuring opinion)

IDW S6 is a standard published by the Institute of Public Auditors in Germany (IDW) for restructuring opinions. It prescribes a fixed review structure — analysis of the causes of the crisis, a target picture of the restructured company, concrete restructuring measures, and integrated profit, balance-sheet and liquidity planning — culminating in a reasoned statement on restructurability.

In practice, financing banks frequently require an IDW S6 opinion before granting or continuing credit during a crisis, because a soundly reasoned going-concern forecast simultaneously shields management and the bank from liability risk tied to lending during a crisis. The opinion is not a statutory requirement, but it has long been market standard for credible restructuring financing.

Relevant for buyers in insolvency because an existing (or in-progress) IDW S6 opinion often marks the difference between a StaRUG or Schutzschirm proceeding (early, plan-driven restructuring under debtor-in-possession management) and a regular insolvency. A credible S6 opinion signals a company with a clearer, already-thought-through turnaround path — a useful signal when assessing restructurability ahead of a bidding process.