In The Media

It seems every small business owner I speak to lately is struggling with the same thing. The compound effect of lockdowns, border closures, the ‘Great Resignation’, the gig economy, rising wages and flexible work arrangements is making attracting and retaining good people tough.

At our own firm, where we focus on succession planning for privately-owned businesses, we often hear of job candidates we’re considering being offered sign-on bonuses and salary bumps to sweeten the deal elsewhere.

Succession planning is becoming a big area of opportunity for financial planners as baby boomers retire in droves.

Craig West, executive chair at Succession Plus explains that many baby boomers are business owners who require additional support along the journey to retirement because their affairs are more complicated.

As trusted advisers to SMEs, accountants need to discuss with their clients the impact non-financial metrics can have on their firm’s development.

Accountants must have a conversation with their small business clients about non-financials to improve their risk management and growth, says the founder of advisory firm Succession Plus Craig West.

He said the volatile economic climate had pushed lenders to avoid risk, which meant businesses needed to reevaluate their non-financial metrics.

I recently completed doctoral research on succession planning. Yes, I dedicated seven years of my life to studying the ins and outs of what happens when a business owner decides to pass the torch.

For me, the question of how to exit is the most important financial decision an owner will make, and I’ve built a business of helping other founders figure it out.

Nobody knows your business and its culture better than your employees. So, is selling it to them an effective way to exit your business?

A growing number of business directors are making the decision to pass a controlling stake in their company to their employees.

Employee-owned businesses enjoy various tax advantages and often experience higher productivity and greater economic resilience.

Employee ownership can be a complex and time-consuming option, however, so it’s important to take expert advice and ensure it fits with your long-term financial goals.

Giving up power is hard: just ask Donald Trump or Boris Johnson. But what can HR do to encourage a CEO it's time to make way?

Donald Trump and Boris Johnson are just two recent examples of bosses who have been reluctant – to say the least - to give up the top job, having to be practically dragged out by their ankles to make way for fresh blood.

Employee share schemes (ESSs) have become an important tool to recruit and retain talent, but there are complexities to the system potentially holding back wider spread use.

Early last year, national accounting, business and financial advice dmca introduced an ESS in an attempt to retain key staff members in the business in case directors retire or leave.

How can an HR director and other C-suite executives tackle the problem?

Donald Trump and Boris Johnson are just two recent examples of bosses who refuse to leave the top job, having to be practically dragged out by their ankles to make way for fresh blood. A reluctance to let go is the issue most often encountered in business succession, says Craig West, founder and CEO of Succession Plus.

There is an untapped role for financial advisers to help business owners sell their business and understand how that can fit into their retirement plans, according to Succession Plus.

Speaking to Money Management, Craig West, founder of Succession Plus, said the way that owners were looking to exit a business had changed from focusing on money to one focused on legacy.

As technology takes over core accounting tasks, it makes sense to diversify into strategic business advice.

It’s a tough time to be an accountant. Client demand is up, but what good is that if you don’t have enough staff to service it? Not to worry. We’ll all soon be out of a job anyway thanks to AI. That is, unless we start thinking more strategically about our true value as accountants.

It’s not compliance, and it’s not tax returns

Succession Plus specialises in providing proactive, focused and strategic advice for small to medium business owners to prepare their businesses for an exit strategy. Their Accredited Advisers understand where to make short and long-term improvements in order to help maximise a business’s succession plan and sale outcomes.

The biggest wealth transfer in history is well underway, with baby Boomers exiting businesses every day – but we are only halfway thru the wave – there is a lot more to come.

Good advisers are finding they need to provide more than just transactional advice and services as Business Succession and Exit Planning is a long-term process. Owners need help to understand what their business is worth, what their exit options are, how to prepare for sale or exit and what they need to do to make sure the business, the owners and the finances are ready to go when the time is right .