Most corporate collapses involve small businesses and return less than 11c in the dollar to unsecured creditors, according to ASIC.

The corporate watchdog said 81% of insolvencies involved companies with 20 or fewer staff, according to a report for the 2012-13 financial year, which was based on data from 9,254 insolvencies.

Unsecured creditors received less than 11c in the dollar in 97% of cases.

The report also found that 85% of failed companies had less than $100,000 of assets, while 35% had asset deficiencies of more than $500,000.

Administrators and liquidators found evidence of pre-appointment misconduct in 43.6% of cases. ASIC deemed only 13.5% of those cases warranted investigation.

ASIC said: "It is important to note that an external administrator’s report of misconduct is an allegation and may not be substantiated by sufficient evidence to warrant action. We will not take action in every instance an external administrator reports alleged misconduct and we obtain a supplementary report."

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There was also evidence of post-appointment misconduct in 13.6% of cases.

Administrators and liquidators were only able to inspect the company's books in 77% of cases. Of those, 47% were found to be in an unfit state.

The top three reasons for collapses were poor strategic management with 42%, inadequate cash flow with 41% and trading losses with 32%.

Construction was the worst-performing industry with 24% of collapses. There was no printing category, but manufacturing placed fifth with 5.7%.

Meanwhile, ASIC has created an online hub to help small businesses understand their legal obligations.

It came after research found that small businesses have "little understanding of their compliance obligations" and often struggle to understand ASIC information "because it’s written in legal jargon".

ASIC commissioner Greg Tanzer said the hub would make things easier for the small businesses that account of 96% of ASIC registrations.

"Whether you're dealing with the everyday pressures of running a business, or looking to start up, you want information that is accessible, practical and easy-to-understand," he said.

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