It’s the afternoon of Thursday, August 21, and Mark Hutchinson, chief executive of ASX-listed education and training services company Vocation , is preparing for what will be the most fateful phone call of his career.

Hours earlier, Vocation delivered its maiden profit result as a listed ­company and on the surface things looked good. Profit and revenue were ahead of prospectus forecasts and the company’s stock, issued at $1.89 in December 2013, would close that day at $3.05.