cpas have a role to play.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
inheritance is notorious for ripping families apart. many manage to divvy up their parents’ wealth with the kind of mutual love and respect we expect to see in families.
but sometimes, with the smell of moolah in the air, it’s more like a knife fight.
it’s even more complicated when there’s a family business involved.
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so many questions
unless there’s just one inheritor, one who wants to own and run the business, there are many complex issues – financial, legal, psychological – that need to be resolved.
and it’s a lot easier to resolve them if it’s done before it’s too late. which, for all anyone knows, for any given person, could be five minutes from now.
the annual private business owner survey conducted by brown brothers harriman finds that a staggering 74 percent of family business owners say that the roles for the next generation are either not well defined or not fully communicated. and 29 percent are struggling to pick a successor.
besides questions around who-gets-what there’s the question of who-wants-what. it’s perfectly natural for parents to want to see their kids take the family business – the family identity – and keep it intact and alive. indeed, 91 percent of private business owners say it’s important to them to see the business remain in the family for the next generation. and 35 percent are willing to forego potential growth to keep the business in the family.
but that’s not going to happen, at least not smoothly, if a lot of issues aren’t resolved, communicated and agreed upon.
enter the cpa
randy a. fox, founder of two hawks family office services, says that the stress and disruption to a succession plan can be avoided by having conversations well in advance. and the family’s accountant can and probably should be guiding those conversations.
fox offers a lot of questions that need to be addressed.
- who wants to run the business? who’d prefer to just receive dividends or just get bought out?
- how can the impecunious younger generation “buy” the business from their living parents?
- if the estate is taxable, how will the inheritors pay for the tax if there’s inadequate liquidity in the business?
- suppose none of the inheritors is capable of running or willing to run the business but one of their spouses is? what would the actual inheritors need to know and how would they benefit? what’s the difference between ownership and control?
- if one kid wants to take on the business, how will other kids benefit? how can the owner prevent the stress and resentment that could result?
- are the inheritors (the kids) going to cooperate with each other? what do they hope and expect to get?
- do the kids understand and agree with the values and mission of the company and are they willing to carry them into the future?
- can the living parents (owners) keep some of the equity before transferring the business?
- are there other owners involved? what are they expecting to get? what rights do they have? do the kids know?
- do the owners want to place restrictions on when inheritors can receive dividends or other benefits? do they want to restrict how the inheritance is spent?
- have all issues been resolved? are there lingering questions (typically the hardest ones to resolve)? has it all been communicated and understood?
an accounting practice can and should play an essential role in guiding the business owner, providing the financial numbers that will be requested and informing everyone of tax implications. it means business for today and the future.