Succession planning is a process for understanding the needs of the Business Owner in facilitating the future of the business after their own tenure. It involves identifying and developing internal and/or external talent to take the business forward.

Planning for succession increases the availability of a pool of talent and/or buyers for a business.

We can add value to a business purchase by conducting a detailed and objective evaluation of what is being offered for sale and establishing whether the assertations made by the vendor or their agent are consistent and adequately supported by factual evidence. Consideration can be given to selection of the most appropriate business structure prior to the acquisition rather than after.

Advice on setting up a business including talking you through the best taxation structure for your circumstances, advice on required registrations, regulatory requirements, bookkeeping and all matters relevant to a new business owner.

We assist both buyers and sellers of privately held business’ in the buying and selling process.

We assist by:

• Preparing the owners and the business for sale

• Valuing of the business

• Facilitate the progress of the due diligence investigation and generally assist with the business sale

We are able to provide specialised services such as preparation of shareholders, loan and mortgage agreements with the assistance of our specialist partners.

We prepare financial projections that allow for you to assess future scenarios and present you with goals to work towards. There are many types of budgets. We can assist you in forming the right budget to fit your requirements.

Additionally, budgets will most often improve your chances of acquiring funding and financiers often need budgets as a requirement for funding approvals. Our professionals can show you how a budget can present feedback that assists you in planning for the future of your business.

One of the key decisions you’ll make when starting a business is its structure. Your choice of structure will depend on the size and type of business, your personal circumstances and how much you plan to grow the business.

Your business structure will have an impact on your:

• responsibilities as a business owner

• tax liabilities

• potential personal liability

• asset protection

It will also have an impact on the ongoing costs and the volume of required record keeping.

In an established business, the review of your structure should be an ongoing process, to ensure it is still appropriate for the circumstances. On occasion a restructure is required to ensure asset protection, tax effectiveness or to comply with changing regulations. At times it may even be a strategy to stabilise an underperforming business to provide a solid platform to return the business to profitability.

The ability to restructure with minimal taxes and other costs can be challenging, but possible if planned correctly. We have experience with the various concessions available to stamp duty, GST and capital gains tax to ensure there are no hidden costs along the way.

At dew|dallimore our team can assist regardless of what stage your business is in, from choosing the correct starting structure, to review of your existing structure, to planning and implementing a restructure.

We have built a network of trusted professionals for services outside of our core services. These include:

• Financial Planners

• Solicitors

• Settlement Agents

From time to time and to better serve our clients, we will seek independent opinion and professional technical support from the panel when coming across complex tax or accounting issues.