The Morning Brief · 29 October 2026
Hamiconsult
On 15 September 2026 a court in Herning declared a small engineering firm bankrupt. Its last accounts showed a profit. How?
Engineers for the building trade.
Hamiconsult was a consulting engineering firm in Herning, founded in 2014. It advised on building and construction projects. It had 12 employees and was part of a small group of companies.
Steady advice, steady work.
A small engineering firm lives on a simple promise: good advice, delivered on time, and paid for when the project pays. That last part is where the trouble usually starts.
- Keep winning projectsThe business modelShrinking
- Carry on as a going concernIts own accountsDoubted
One minute read. Four to go.
The Power Test · Question 9 of 35
Do the notes in your last annual report raise any doubt about the business continuing?
This question is about your company, not Hamiconsult.
Your answer stays on this screen. The advice opens free when you join the Morning Brief.
- In your company
- The sign: a line in your own annual report that doubts the business can continue. The check: read the notes to the last annual report. The move: if you find one, ask what has been done about it since.
- In your investments
- The sign: a small company with a small profit. The check: before you put money in, read the notes for "going concern" or "material uncertainty". The move: weigh those words above the small profit.
- In your career
- The sign: an employer that looks fine on one good number. The check: read the notes in its public accounts for doubt. The move: if you find some, start looking early; a profit of a sofa’s price is not a cushion.
— Max Noble
Take the short test, 2 minutes →The full chapter is in the book →
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- Five years of shrinking business, in a chart
- Why a profit can hide a cash problem
- Three lessons for every small firm
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Less work, year after year.
Hamiconsult’s gross profit is what is left after paying for outside work. It fell from DKK 13.2 million in 2021 to DKK 9.8 million in 2025.
In 2024 it lost DKK 1.1 million. In 2025 it made a profit of just DKK 19,000. Black ink, technically. The kind you need reading glasses to find.
On 4 September 2026 a bankruptcy petition was filed. On 15 September the court in Herning declared it bankrupt. A sister company in the same group was asked into bankruptcy the same day.
Gross profit, DKK million
A profit is not cash.
Engineers are paid when projects are paid. If the building trade slows, or one big client pays late, a small firm can show a profit on paper and still run out of money. Paper does not pay the rent.
According to Licitationen, the latest annual report already raised doubt about whether the business could continue.
That doubt, written into the accounts, is one of the earliest public warning signs a small company can give.
Read the note, not just the number.
The bankruptcy hit two companies in the same group within days. When firms in a group lean on each other, one problem rarely stays in one company.
Three lessons for every small firm.
Watch the cash, not the result.
Know each month how much money is in the bank, and who owes you what.
Don’t depend on a few clients.
If two or three clients pay late at once, a 12-person firm has no cushion.
Act on the auditor’s doubt.
When the accounts say ‘doubt about continuing’, that is the moment to act. Raise money, cut costs or find a buyer.
Always Read the Footnote, Not Just the Number
Herning, 2025. A firm of twelve people closed its books and found a profit: DKK 19,000. That is roughly the price of a good sofa, but black ink is black ink. Most readers would stop there. That was the mistake. Year by year the work had been shrinking, and according to the trade press, the same annual report already raised doubt about whether the firm could carry on. In September 2026 the court in Herning declared it bankrupt. The headline figure tells you what happened. The note beside it tells you what is coming. Always read the footnote, not just the number.
— Max Noble
Hamiconsult’s last result was a profit. The warning was in the words beside it.
From the book in preparationThe 52 Laws of Business Power · the 2027 edition, out 31 OctoberRead every law so far →
The Power Test · Question 9 of 35
Do the notes in your last annual report raise any doubt about the business continuing?
This question is about your company, not Hamiconsult.
- In your company
- The sign: a line in your own annual report that doubts the business can continue. The check: read the notes to the last annual report. The move: if you find one, ask what has been done about it since.
- In your investments
- The sign: a small company with a small profit. The check: before you put money in, read the notes for "going concern" or "material uncertainty". The move: weigh those words above the small profit.
- In your career
- The sign: an employer that looks fine on one good number. The check: read the notes in its public accounts for doubt. The move: if you find some, start looking early; a profit of a sofa’s price is not a cushion.
— Max Noble
Take the short test, 2 minutes →The full chapter is in the book →
You have read the case. Now make the call.
Compete in The Power GameEvery number traceable.
- Licitationen, 17 Sep 2026: bankruptcy spreads in the group · licitationen.dk
- estatistik.dk: Hamiconsult accounts 2021–2025 · estatistik.dk
- Proff.dk: company facts, employees, owner · proff.dk
The Score, the three moves and the law are Max Noble’s analysis. Not investment advice.
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Always Read the Footnote, Not Just the Number
The same mistake, in your own world. Free, from the book.
- In your company
- The sign: a line in your own annual report that doubts the business can continue. The check: read the notes to the last annual report. The move: if you find one, ask what has been done about it since.
- In your investments
- The sign: a small company with a small profit. The check: before you put money in, read the notes for "going concern" or "material uncertainty". The move: weigh those words above the small profit.
- In your career
- The sign: an employer that looks fine on one good number. The check: read the notes in its public accounts for doubt. The move: if you find some, start looking early; a profit of a sofa’s price is not a cushion.