Succession Planning

Importance of succession planning

Succession planning is the process of developing a strategy to smoothly transition a business from the current owner to a new owner with minimal impact on business performance. Careful consideration and planning of all relevant factors is vital to ensure the current business owner maximises their business exit value.

A recent Family Business Australia survey identified that while 81% of business owners intend to retire in the next 10 years, less than a third of businesses have a formal succession plan. This survey highlights that although strategic succession planning is of significant importance, it often does not receive sufficient attention as the business owner is focussed on current business issues rather than a longer term exit strategy.

Key considerations

Griffin & Associates works closely with clients to ensure they plan beyond their current business demands. We can assist in developing a successful customised plan that allow a business to smoothly transition upon the retirement, incapacity or death of a key people.

The following is a list of the services we offer in developing a business succession plan:

Clarification of the business goals
Identification of key people
Reviewing management and staff requirements
Identifying the needs and expectations of the current owners
Assessing the time-frame of transferring ownership and control
Tax planning of the exit transactions, including:
- Review of business structure
- Application of small business concessions
- Minimisation of capital gains tax

Collaborative approach

The key to developing a strategic succession plan is to adopt a collaborative approach that involves each of the client’s professional advisers. Griffin & Associates works closely with the following advisers to ensure the strategy implemented is ideal from a legal, financial and funding perspective:

Solicitor
Financial planner
Bank / Financial lender