Success in Succession Planning

Having the right team with the right skills in place for future business success is crucial to a family owned business.

But, it is not only ownership succession which is crucial to get right, but equally vital is planning for management succession too.

At GSM we provide all interested parties with the transparency, the expert accountancy skills and the estate planning experience that will bring a cohesive, communicative and collaborative approach for successful succession planning.

Ownership Succession Planning

Ownership succession planning presents a number of issues to contend with, including the challenges of...

  1. who will own shares and assets
  2. treating children equitably
  3. leaving the business to a surviving spouse
  4. handling current management fairly

Fundamentally, it is crucial not to plan in a vacuum, where both technical and emotional mistakes can be made leaving all parties disaffected, not to say financially disadvantaged.

Management Succession Planning

The development of leaders for your business that naturally fit the company, who won't break the mould, but will build on it, is not only of great comfort to the current ownership, but provides vital reassurance for your clients too, maintaining that important customer loyalty to ensure your business retains its value and its values, despite the change in management.

Whatever your size of company, management succession planning requires great focus on four key areas of your business to ensure that no one function, that makes your business what it is and no one person, falls through the net:

  1. Finance and administration
  2. Operations and customer fulfilment
  3. Sales
  4. Marketing

Drawing on our extensive experience of working with family businesses across all industries, we are able to inform, advise and implement a comprehensive and integrated approach to uphold your family ethos and extend your success to-date, by addressing not only the financial side, but operational issues too.

With only about 30% of family businesses surviving in to a second generation, there's a real disconnect between the optimistic belief of today's family business owners and the reality of family companies surviving across generations.

A look at our client list is testament to our success in succession planning, where we have acted for some family businesses well in to their fourth generation.
Here's a case study in point.

Succession planning can be tough but it can also be a great opportunity to refocus and maximise the potential of the company for long after the founders have gone.

To hear more contact us to arrange a free no-obligation consultation.