Business Succession Planning

Succession is the transfer of ownership and/or management of a business. It is important for people in business who are relying on the sale of their business to fund retirement.  Whilst most business owners recognise the need for succession planning, and while many include selling the business for the best price as part of their retirement plans, only 22.7% have a documented plan!

Source: Australian Family and Private Businesses Survey 2005

In the future, getting the price you want at the time you want may become increasingly more difficult with many more businesses for sale and fewer qualified willing buyers. Don't make the mistake of leaving succession planning until it's too late.

Where will you start when it comes to winding down your business, passing it on to someone else or preparing it for sale . . or perhaps you just want to walk away from the business on occasion and know that it’s working fine without you?

Planning for such contingencies is paramount and rarely done:

• 57% of business owners are expected to retire within 7 years
• 68.2% have not chosen a successor leading to a glut of businesses for sale
• 17.7$ of business owners have a succession plan

Succession planning is the transfer of ownership and or management of a business. It is important to people whose business is their major source of income and wealth and are relying on the sale of their business to fund part or all of their retirement. It’s also important to business owners who are contemplating handing over the reins to younger partners or other members of the family. Australia’s baby boomer business owners face the greatest succession planning challenge as they look to exit their business and transition business wealth to personal retirement funds.

We begin with a plan that enables a smooth transfer of ownership and management. This plan is provided well in advance of the business owner’s leaving the business so that everyone has a clear forward direction and understanding of what is going to happen. We will workshop with business owners, family members and staff to ensure that your business doesn't suffer whether it's being prepared for sale or to be inherited by others.

We also ensure that a process is established to ensure that those succeeding business owners have the required skills and knowledge to continue running the practice. Through a comprehensive business life plan, spouses and partners identify the issues and work together towards tackling them with a Parkside Adviser as their guide.

We use a pre determined, tried and true valuation methodology to properly value your business. We help with new structures, growth plans, and identify what corporate governance documents need to be amended, what dividend policy is required and how the new management structure might work in the event a partner or other key person inherits the business..

A structured succession program can also help you manage life within your business by providing you with reduced stress yet maintaining an interest in the workings of the business.

Once your Business Succession Plan has been created and worked through, we will also link you to specialist professionals to help you implement the transition.  Talk to a Parkside InvestorPlus Business Succession Planning Adviser today!