Baby Boomers and their families account for the lion’s share of business ownership and wealth in the United States. As Baby Boomers age, we will witness the largest transition of wealth in history. Businesses that attribute their growth to nimble moves and deft decision making will find that the “ready, fire, aim” approach to planning will not result in the desired outcomes of their Golden Years, and have consequences far beyond the walls of their business and potentially break the very fabric of their families.
What does successful Transition Readiness look like? How should families view the process of transitioning?
There are many moving pieces from all areas of the business, which must be understood, appreciated and aligned to prep for a successful transition. We’ll provide the playbook and share insight and real-world examples about what it means for the family and the business to be Transition-Ready. We will discuss activities that accelerate business value, and those that decrease value in the context of producing Predictable Profit, Cash Flow, Growth and Equity Value. Then we will take you through a real-life case study from the initial contact by the family through with the process and many complexities discovered along the path to transition readiness.
“Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” - Warren Buffett
Speaker:
H. Barry Goodman CPA CEPA CMAA
Managing Director, Birkdale Transition Partners LLC
I grew up in a business owning family. My father was a distributor of electrical supplies and lighting fixtures in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. Through the experience of working in my father’s business, at a very young age, the challenges of being a family in business are engrained in my soul.
Having chosen not to go into my family’s business, I became a Certified Public Accountant and owned my own CPA firm for over 20 years and then did my own transition to be a founding partner in a firm that grew to become one of the most successful middle-market firms in Chicago. For more than a decade after the merger, I continued to work with privately held companies in many industries. The lessons I learned from the business owning families I served enabled me to gain a reputation for recognizing a business’ strengths and challenges and identifying what could hold it back or push it to the next level. Seeing business owners make good and poor business and transition choices made me realize I had a passion for families-in-business, and I decided to focus my expertise and hands-on expertise experienced on a disciplined approach and process tailored to families and non-family stakeholders.
To better service my clients, I have invested heavily in education. In addition to my degree from Northern Illinois University and being a Certified Public Accountant in Illinois. I became a Certified Exit Planning Advisor, a Certified Merger Acquisition Advisor, and a Certified Value Growth Advisor. I also hold an Advanced Certificate in Family Business Advising bestowed from the Family Firm Institute. I speak regularly to several organizations and business groups on the Challenges and Perils of Family Business, Value Acceleration and Transition-Readiness. I have written an eBook, several articles and published in Family Firm Institute Publication the Practitioner. I also appear monthly to discuss family business on the Morning Blend, televised by TMJ-TV an NBC affiliate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
REGISTRATION FEES:
AFHE Members: No Charge
Non-Members: $60 per person
CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION CREDITS:
The course is pending approval for CLE credits in Georgia, Illinois and Ohio.
