Planning for Succession

"Small business in Canada is facing a leadership crisis because thre is so little proper planning" says chartered accountant Al Froggatt, a partner with BDO Dunwoody LLP in Toronto. "The small business sector generates enormous wealth for Canada - about $1.5 Trillion in sales. Considering that more than half of business owners will retire within the next 10 years, and only one in 10 family companies survive to the third generation, we have a real crunch ahead of us."

Sounds like oppotunity to me.

"Basically, owners have five options - appoint a family member, select a caretaker manager, wind down the business, sell the business or do nothing. In most cases the 'do-nothing' option is the worst."

* Written by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario and Published in the REM paper edition. August 2006.