SNS GroupInverness Caledonian Thistle FC could be facing administration.
The club has had contact with accountants who previously dealt with financial problems at Rangers, Hearts and Dunfermline, STV News understands.
It comes two months after a former chairman stepped in to keep the League One club running but, so far, a buyer or investor has not been secured.
There had been a profound sense of optimism in recent weeks but that has changed. The root of it is simply a cash flow problem.
Former chairman Alan Savage returned to the club in August hoping to find a buyer.
He injected more than £200,000 himself to help keep the club afloat.
However, the man who made a fortune from recruiting people for the oil industry has not succeeded in recruiting a buyer.
STV News understands there has been contact with Glasgow-based accountancy firm BDO.
If appointed as administrator, a sequence would follow, including a points deduction for the club and redundancies.
A document has surfaced spelling out a timeline for administration and the steps needed for a rescue through agreement with creditors about repayment of all or part of the debt.
That would come with a hefty cost, on and off the field.
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