Business Succession

You will benefit from our training, our experience, our desire for ongoing professional development and our attitude towards tax and business consulting – a one-stop expert advisory network.

Based on available statistics, thousands of companies are expected to be transferred over the next few years. In addition to personal, inheritance, employment, tenancy and liability law issues, tax hurdles also create a headache. The succession should remain affordable.

The succession of companies usually means a deep cut in the entire company structure. On the one hand, you should let go and on the other, the company should be allowed to continue without any hindrance or delay. Nevertheless, successions are often “cobbled together” and the consequences are rarely considered in detail. Optimally organising a succession means thinking intensively about all the alternatives right from the very start. In this context, we offer “brainstorming for restructuring”, wherein all relevant areas are addressed using a prepared list of questions:

• Recording of those involved and affected: are all those involved and affected known? What are the interests and goals of each respective person?
• In particular, the goals of succession should be explored: saving taxes alone is rarely a good enough reason to change the structure of a company. Liability issues, issues of generational succession, retirement planning and civil law issues must be addressed.
• A precise timetable must be set out that also leaves room for new considerations and alternatives. The most serious mistakes happen at the very last second! A well-planned succession requires at least a lead time of one to three years.
• Formation of the team to accompany the succession or restructuring. The large number of people involved requires comprehensive coordination. Well-organised brainstorming usually eliminates many uncertainties at an early stage, thereby avoiding hasty actions.
• Timely discussion on the occasion of the annual year-end presentation – it is never too early to start the discussion!