Family Businesses
The
times are changing for family-owned businesses. Are you ready?
The average age of
Americans is increasing every year. In fact, as the "baby-boom"
generation matures, a larger part of our population is approaching
retirement age, and planning for the future has become more essential than
ever.
Within your family
business, planning is essential for the security and continued success of
the business itself as well as for the current and future generations of
your family.
According to a recent survey
of more than 3,000 companies:
Nearly 43% of
family-owned businesses will change hands within the next five
years.
With the exception of
preparing a will, one in four family business owners has not completed
any estate planning.
Lack of succession,
estate and investment planning may dramatically affect or even prevent
the successful passing of the reins to the next generation.
Fewer than one-third of
family businesses have a written strategic plan.
Few family businesses
use a formal process for managing their assets.
If this concerns you,
what can you do?
First, ask yourself if
you and your family have taken steps in the business to handle these issues.
Also, ask yourself if you have taken steps to ensure your financial security
after you turn the business over to your heirs? Have you prepared your heirs
for succession?
Planning - for the owner,
for the family, for the company and for succession – is the solution. The
key to success is making sure all of the plans work together. Important
questions need to be addressed in each area of planning.
Family Planning:
Is there any conflict
within your family affecting the business? Do those who are active in the
family business remain close with those who are not? Can family members
pursue their own goals within the structure of the family business?
Owner Planning:
As an
owner, what is your role now? What do you want it to be in the future? Will
you remain involved, or will you totally step aside? How will you remain
financially secure? What are your sources of income? What are your options?
Company Planning:
What is your
company’s value? What are its strengths and weaknesses? Where do you want
the company to be in five or
ten years? Do you want to
expand? Or sell? What steps do you need to take in order to reach those
goals?
Succession Planning:
Who will
take over your business? Should it be a family member? How will the wealth
of the company be distributed? How will estate taxes affect the company? How
will leadership be transferred? Your goals as a current owner, your family’s
goals, and your company’s goals must all be considered in a successful
succession plan.
We Can Help.
Hunter Group, together with our
professional colleagues networked across the USA, share national experience
as leaders in planning for the special accounting and consulting needs of
the family and owner-managed business. We have access to the specialized
training and expertise of more than 2,000 CPAs across the country.
We provide both
sophisticated financial planning and comprehensive help with business and
interpersonal issues. This enables you to design and integrate the four
plans described above which you need for the future success of your family
business.
Financial Services
include:
-
Wealth transfer
and preservation
- Improvement of cash flow
-
Business and personal tax planning
- Business
valuations and structures
- Business profitability
enhancements
- Family compensation structures
Personnel Services
include:
- Improving
communication
- Clarifying goals
-
Establishing commitments
- Developing performance
standards
- Building trust and creating a process for
addressing future business and family matters.
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