The seminar focused on encouraging successful business transfers. Over 80 representatives from government and the private sector attended to discuss challenges to improving business succession rates. Key points from presentations included:
- Only 5-15% of family firms reach the third generation, with more transfers occurring outside the family.
- 30% of UK SME owners are vulnerable to age-related succession failure, and this proportion is rising. Up to 100,000 closures per year could be avoided with better succession planning.
- Barriers to successful transfer include a lack of exit planning, difficulties valuing intangible assets, and underuse of options like employee ownership.
Breakout groups discussed issues such as the role of
The document discusses new approaches to organizational change called "Pragmatic Pathways." It proposes three pathways: 1) Metrics that Matter focuses on deploying disruptive tools to trigger adoption and performance improvement. 2) Scaling Edges transforms the core business by focusing on low-investment, high-growth opportunities using different practices. 3) Shaping Strategies restructures markets using platforms to bring together large ecosystems with incentives and a vision of the future. The pathways aim to circumvent resistance, leverage ecosystems, use disruptive tools, and have immediate impact, while achieving long-term transformation.
The document discusses how companies are increasingly recognizing that more value comes from human factors like customer relationships, employee skills and knowledge, rather than just financial assets. It highlights the importance of understanding and measuring these intangible, human sources of value. The research found that CEOs see customers and employees as the most influential forces shaping their future businesses. In the next 18-24 months, companies plan to focus on reducing costs while also investing in innovation, marketing, upgrading talent and strengthening management - showing consideration of both financial and human factors. Overall the document argues that properly understanding and reporting on the human sources of a company's value is key to long-term sustainable success.
This document provides an overview of Tatum, the largest consulting and interim management firm focused on the Office of the CFO. It discusses how companies can thrive, not just survive, during tough economic times through a business reset that focuses on controlling costs, improving profitability, shaking up the organization, and using new decision tools. Case studies are presented on how companies achieved a reset by digging deeper into opportunities, focusing on profitability, and making difficult changes. Tatum offers strategic perspective and senior executive expertise to help companies ensure success during periods of economic turmoil.
Results of a survey I participated in at the beginning of the year around business improvement groups. An opportunity to break away from the competition during hard times !
Recap The Playbook for Success in a slow growth economyCharles Bedard
The document summarizes a playbook for success in a slow growth economy. It discusses the need for revenue growth through marketing, distribution, and acquisitions. It also stresses the importance of operational management information, financial engineering, and clarity around strategy, customers, and expectations. Metrics like productivity increases and client retention are important. Adaptation to change and customer needs is key to outperforming competitors in a challenging economic environment.
The document discusses mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and related human resource management (HRM) issues. It defines different types of M&As and reasons for companies merging. Major HRM challenges in M&As include communication, training, employee retention, cultural clashes, and resistance to change. Culture differences between merging companies can significantly impact integration efforts if not properly managed. The document provides best practices for strategic planning, due diligence, negotiations and post-acquisition integration to help realize the intended benefits of M&As.
This document discusses factors that improve productivity. It identifies five main elements: managerial and financial controls, Lean processes and operations, labor productivity and cost controls, asset productivity, and continual improvement. Other factors that can impact productivity include scale, markets, external factors, accurate information, process measurements, team structure, departmental methods, motivation, terms and conditions of work, materials utilization, and total procurement costs beyond price alone. Lean thinking emphasizes reducing waste and matching outputs to customer demands to boost productivity.
The document discusses new approaches to organizational change called "Pragmatic Pathways." It proposes three pathways: 1) Metrics that Matter focuses on deploying disruptive tools to trigger adoption and performance improvement. 2) Scaling Edges transforms the core business by focusing on low-investment, high-growth opportunities using different practices. 3) Shaping Strategies restructures markets using platforms to bring together large ecosystems with incentives and a vision of the future. The pathways aim to circumvent resistance, leverage ecosystems, use disruptive tools, and have immediate impact, while achieving long-term transformation.
The document discusses how companies are increasingly recognizing that more value comes from human factors like customer relationships, employee skills and knowledge, rather than just financial assets. It highlights the importance of understanding and measuring these intangible, human sources of value. The research found that CEOs see customers and employees as the most influential forces shaping their future businesses. In the next 18-24 months, companies plan to focus on reducing costs while also investing in innovation, marketing, upgrading talent and strengthening management - showing consideration of both financial and human factors. Overall the document argues that properly understanding and reporting on the human sources of a company's value is key to long-term sustainable success.
This document provides an overview of Tatum, the largest consulting and interim management firm focused on the Office of the CFO. It discusses how companies can thrive, not just survive, during tough economic times through a business reset that focuses on controlling costs, improving profitability, shaking up the organization, and using new decision tools. Case studies are presented on how companies achieved a reset by digging deeper into opportunities, focusing on profitability, and making difficult changes. Tatum offers strategic perspective and senior executive expertise to help companies ensure success during periods of economic turmoil.
Results of a survey I participated in at the beginning of the year around business improvement groups. An opportunity to break away from the competition during hard times !
Recap The Playbook for Success in a slow growth economyCharles Bedard
The document summarizes a playbook for success in a slow growth economy. It discusses the need for revenue growth through marketing, distribution, and acquisitions. It also stresses the importance of operational management information, financial engineering, and clarity around strategy, customers, and expectations. Metrics like productivity increases and client retention are important. Adaptation to change and customer needs is key to outperforming competitors in a challenging economic environment.
The document discusses mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and related human resource management (HRM) issues. It defines different types of M&As and reasons for companies merging. Major HRM challenges in M&As include communication, training, employee retention, cultural clashes, and resistance to change. Culture differences between merging companies can significantly impact integration efforts if not properly managed. The document provides best practices for strategic planning, due diligence, negotiations and post-acquisition integration to help realize the intended benefits of M&As.
This document discusses factors that improve productivity. It identifies five main elements: managerial and financial controls, Lean processes and operations, labor productivity and cost controls, asset productivity, and continual improvement. Other factors that can impact productivity include scale, markets, external factors, accurate information, process measurements, team structure, departmental methods, motivation, terms and conditions of work, materials utilization, and total procurement costs beyond price alone. Lean thinking emphasizes reducing waste and matching outputs to customer demands to boost productivity.
The document discusses strategies for IT leaders who feel overwhelmed by hiring demands. It identifies four primary barriers to effective hiring: lack of time for hiring in IT departments, financial constraints, talent shortages, and candidates' desires for flexibility. It then provides five strategies to help with hiring: building a stronger business case for hiring, streamlining hiring processes, focusing current staff on higher priority "big rocks" and using contractors for other tasks, using staff augmentation more strategically to address capacity issues, and partnering with staffing vendors for assistance.
Transformation with a capital t mc kinsey & companySusan Murphy
1) Companies must prepare for major change when facing disruptive threats, such as a changing global commodities market or new fintech competitors.
2) Transformations require intense, organization-wide efforts to significantly improve performance, such as a 25% increase in earnings, through changes to growth, efficiency, operations and culture.
3) Transformations often fail because companies lack the skills, mindsets and commitment needed for large-scale, rapid change and leaders are unprepared to lead change rather than just delegate or maintain the status quo. Tilting the odds of success requires identifying a company's full potential, empowering a transformation office to drive change, and embedding a new execution culture.
This document provides information about the BFM ENTERPRISE Breakaway 2011 conference, including:
1) The conference will be held on September 22nd, 2011 at the Sime Darby Convention Centre and will feature leading entrepreneurs and experts discussing issues relevant to business owners.
2) Topics to be discussed include business start-ups, growing your business, using the internet for resources, and raising capital.
3) Over 500 business leaders, including CEOs, entrepreneurs, investors and others, are expected to attend to learn from experts, network, and discuss strategies for advancing their enterprises.
This white paper discusses how human capital (i.e. a company's employees) can serve as a "force multiplier" for other elements of an organization like processes and technology. It argues that people should be considered the most important element of the "people, process, technology" framework that is commonly used. When employees are properly recruited, trained, engaged and supported by sound processes and enabling technology, they can amplify returns on investments in those other areas. The paper provides various examples and research findings that show the financial and performance benefits that companies gain when they make human capital development a top priority.
Beyond Budgeting: Leading with Flexible Targets. 2-day seminarNiels Pflaeging
Slides from 2-day Beyond Budgeting seminar in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The slides a re not entirely self-explaining. See the BetaCodex Network´s white papers for further detail.
Term Report on Human Resource Aspect of Mergers & Acquisition - Karim ViraniKarim Virani
The document reports on the human resource aspects of mergers and acquisitions. It proposes a three-stage model for mergers and acquisitions that identifies key human resource issues and activities at each stage. The stages are pre-combination, combination/integration of the companies, and solidification of the new entity. Key human resource issues include retaining talent, communication, integrating cultures, and managing duplicate roles. Addressing these issues is important for the success of mergers and acquisitions.
The document discusses some common reasons why mergers and acquisitions often fail. It provides examples of mergers that failed, including HLL-TOMCO due to differences in valuation techniques, Jet-Sahara due to overvaluation and lack of a robust business model, and Glaxo-Wellcome-Burroughs due to high pay differentials between workers causing integration issues. It then lists some common sins that can cause M&A to fail, such as lacking clear guiding principles, ground rules, stakeholder communication, aggressive synergy targets, and cultural integration plans.
This presentation provides an overview of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). It defines mergers as a combination of two firms on an equal basis, while acquisitions involve one firm purchasing a controlling stake in another. Mergers can be horizontal, vertical, congeneric, or conglomerate. Cultural and organizational fit are important factors in M&A success or failure. Human resources play a key role by managing communications, training, retention of key employees, and addressing cultural clashes post-merger. Common mistakes include lack of early HR involvement, understanding employee needs, empowering leadership, and appreciating the time required for integration.
This white paper discusses the "Fourth Generic Strategy" of Operating Cost Leadership. It argues that for mature industries, focusing on both cost optimization and differentiation/revenue enhancement simultaneously is more effective than pursuing any single generic strategy. The paper explains how mature industries can get trapped in the "Scissors Curve" where costs rise but prices cannot, and how Operating Cost Leadership provides a framework to optimize both revenue and costs at the same time through embracing the strategy company-wide and focusing on the four managerial elements of goal-setting, prioritization, accountability, and deployment.
This document discusses challenges faced by small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India and proposes solutions. It notes that SMB owners lack management skills and focus on firefighting rather than planning. This leads to low profits, difficulty retaining talent, and struggles to sustain improvements. It introduces the Theory of Constraints as a way to identify the key constraint limiting business and focus on improving it through five steps. This allows SMBs to increase throughput without additional costs by better exploiting existing capacity. The document argues that providing SMBs with dedicated teams using this approach can help them overcome challenges and achieve stability and future growth.
The document discusses how a company successfully navigated organizational change. The company implemented new systems, strategies, and a culture focused on proactively managing opportunities. It addressed financial processes, customers, internal processes, and employee growth. Challenges included resistance and rising costs, but the company committed to change and measured successes using key performance indicators. By gaining employee buy-in and flexibility from leadership, the company was able to successfully embrace change.
This document summarizes strategies for managing talent and workforce costs during an economic downturn. It discusses conducting a strategic role assessment to identify top performers in critical roles. It also recommends repositioning the workforce through comprehensive planning, including global sourcing, recruiting talent with needed skills, and creating meaningful work and career opportunities to engage employees. Keeping employees engaged and supporting their well-being is important for competitiveness during difficult times.
Mergers and acquisitions can occur for several strategic and financial reasons. There are three main types of mergers: horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate. A merger happens when two companies combine, while an acquisition occurs when one company purchases another. Successful mergers and acquisitions require thorough planning and integration of the combining organizations.
R407C Air Conditioning system simulation with numenGo|FL - SimulationXnumenGo
The document discusses an air conditioning loop simulation using numenGo software. The numenGo software contains libraries for modeling thermal fluids and two-phase mixtures. It allows modeling an air conditioning loop including a condenser with multiple plate passes, an evaporator, and studying refrigerant properties, heat exchanger performance, and air flow profiles. The software provides components for system-level modeling of HVAC and other applications involving two-phase mixtures and heat exchangers.
Este documento presenta información sobre los constituyentes químicos de las células. En las primeras secciones se explica que los seres vivos están compuestos principalmente por moléculas de carbono llamadas moléculas orgánicas como los carbohidratos, lípidos y proteínas. También contienen moléculas inorgánicas como el agua y las sales minerales. Luego se describe que el carbono es fundamental debido a que puede formar enlaces de diferentes tipos permitiendo una gran diversidad molecular. Finalmente, se explica brevemente la
Resource Management in complex environments: an application to Real Time Stra...Thiago Andrade
This document presents an approach called PICFlex for managing resources in real-time strategy games. PICFlex uses investment policies that allocate resources across different goals like army, buildings, and upgrades. These policies can be fixed or flexible/adapted based on the game context. Experiments show that a player using a flexible, adapted investment policy outperformed those using random, fixed, or single-switching policies, achieving a 42% victory rate on average. The success of the flexible policy demonstrates the value of dynamic resource allocation based on game state. Future work further improving the policy functions and strategy execution is suggested.
The document discusses strategies for IT leaders who feel overwhelmed by hiring demands. It identifies four primary barriers to effective hiring: lack of time for hiring in IT departments, financial constraints, talent shortages, and candidates' desires for flexibility. It then provides five strategies to help with hiring: building a stronger business case for hiring, streamlining hiring processes, focusing current staff on higher priority "big rocks" and using contractors for other tasks, using staff augmentation more strategically to address capacity issues, and partnering with staffing vendors for assistance.
Transformation with a capital t mc kinsey & companySusan Murphy
1) Companies must prepare for major change when facing disruptive threats, such as a changing global commodities market or new fintech competitors.
2) Transformations require intense, organization-wide efforts to significantly improve performance, such as a 25% increase in earnings, through changes to growth, efficiency, operations and culture.
3) Transformations often fail because companies lack the skills, mindsets and commitment needed for large-scale, rapid change and leaders are unprepared to lead change rather than just delegate or maintain the status quo. Tilting the odds of success requires identifying a company's full potential, empowering a transformation office to drive change, and embedding a new execution culture.
This document provides information about the BFM ENTERPRISE Breakaway 2011 conference, including:
1) The conference will be held on September 22nd, 2011 at the Sime Darby Convention Centre and will feature leading entrepreneurs and experts discussing issues relevant to business owners.
2) Topics to be discussed include business start-ups, growing your business, using the internet for resources, and raising capital.
3) Over 500 business leaders, including CEOs, entrepreneurs, investors and others, are expected to attend to learn from experts, network, and discuss strategies for advancing their enterprises.
This white paper discusses how human capital (i.e. a company's employees) can serve as a "force multiplier" for other elements of an organization like processes and technology. It argues that people should be considered the most important element of the "people, process, technology" framework that is commonly used. When employees are properly recruited, trained, engaged and supported by sound processes and enabling technology, they can amplify returns on investments in those other areas. The paper provides various examples and research findings that show the financial and performance benefits that companies gain when they make human capital development a top priority.
Beyond Budgeting: Leading with Flexible Targets. 2-day seminarNiels Pflaeging
Slides from 2-day Beyond Budgeting seminar in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The slides a re not entirely self-explaining. See the BetaCodex Network´s white papers for further detail.
Term Report on Human Resource Aspect of Mergers & Acquisition - Karim ViraniKarim Virani
The document reports on the human resource aspects of mergers and acquisitions. It proposes a three-stage model for mergers and acquisitions that identifies key human resource issues and activities at each stage. The stages are pre-combination, combination/integration of the companies, and solidification of the new entity. Key human resource issues include retaining talent, communication, integrating cultures, and managing duplicate roles. Addressing these issues is important for the success of mergers and acquisitions.
The document discusses some common reasons why mergers and acquisitions often fail. It provides examples of mergers that failed, including HLL-TOMCO due to differences in valuation techniques, Jet-Sahara due to overvaluation and lack of a robust business model, and Glaxo-Wellcome-Burroughs due to high pay differentials between workers causing integration issues. It then lists some common sins that can cause M&A to fail, such as lacking clear guiding principles, ground rules, stakeholder communication, aggressive synergy targets, and cultural integration plans.
This presentation provides an overview of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). It defines mergers as a combination of two firms on an equal basis, while acquisitions involve one firm purchasing a controlling stake in another. Mergers can be horizontal, vertical, congeneric, or conglomerate. Cultural and organizational fit are important factors in M&A success or failure. Human resources play a key role by managing communications, training, retention of key employees, and addressing cultural clashes post-merger. Common mistakes include lack of early HR involvement, understanding employee needs, empowering leadership, and appreciating the time required for integration.
This white paper discusses the "Fourth Generic Strategy" of Operating Cost Leadership. It argues that for mature industries, focusing on both cost optimization and differentiation/revenue enhancement simultaneously is more effective than pursuing any single generic strategy. The paper explains how mature industries can get trapped in the "Scissors Curve" where costs rise but prices cannot, and how Operating Cost Leadership provides a framework to optimize both revenue and costs at the same time through embracing the strategy company-wide and focusing on the four managerial elements of goal-setting, prioritization, accountability, and deployment.
This document discusses challenges faced by small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India and proposes solutions. It notes that SMB owners lack management skills and focus on firefighting rather than planning. This leads to low profits, difficulty retaining talent, and struggles to sustain improvements. It introduces the Theory of Constraints as a way to identify the key constraint limiting business and focus on improving it through five steps. This allows SMBs to increase throughput without additional costs by better exploiting existing capacity. The document argues that providing SMBs with dedicated teams using this approach can help them overcome challenges and achieve stability and future growth.
The document discusses how a company successfully navigated organizational change. The company implemented new systems, strategies, and a culture focused on proactively managing opportunities. It addressed financial processes, customers, internal processes, and employee growth. Challenges included resistance and rising costs, but the company committed to change and measured successes using key performance indicators. By gaining employee buy-in and flexibility from leadership, the company was able to successfully embrace change.
This document summarizes strategies for managing talent and workforce costs during an economic downturn. It discusses conducting a strategic role assessment to identify top performers in critical roles. It also recommends repositioning the workforce through comprehensive planning, including global sourcing, recruiting talent with needed skills, and creating meaningful work and career opportunities to engage employees. Keeping employees engaged and supporting their well-being is important for competitiveness during difficult times.
Mergers and acquisitions can occur for several strategic and financial reasons. There are three main types of mergers: horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate. A merger happens when two companies combine, while an acquisition occurs when one company purchases another. Successful mergers and acquisitions require thorough planning and integration of the combining organizations.
R407C Air Conditioning system simulation with numenGo|FL - SimulationXnumenGo
The document discusses an air conditioning loop simulation using numenGo software. The numenGo software contains libraries for modeling thermal fluids and two-phase mixtures. It allows modeling an air conditioning loop including a condenser with multiple plate passes, an evaporator, and studying refrigerant properties, heat exchanger performance, and air flow profiles. The software provides components for system-level modeling of HVAC and other applications involving two-phase mixtures and heat exchangers.
Este documento presenta información sobre los constituyentes químicos de las células. En las primeras secciones se explica que los seres vivos están compuestos principalmente por moléculas de carbono llamadas moléculas orgánicas como los carbohidratos, lípidos y proteínas. También contienen moléculas inorgánicas como el agua y las sales minerales. Luego se describe que el carbono es fundamental debido a que puede formar enlaces de diferentes tipos permitiendo una gran diversidad molecular. Finalmente, se explica brevemente la
Resource Management in complex environments: an application to Real Time Stra...Thiago Andrade
This document presents an approach called PICFlex for managing resources in real-time strategy games. PICFlex uses investment policies that allocate resources across different goals like army, buildings, and upgrades. These policies can be fixed or flexible/adapted based on the game context. Experiments show that a player using a flexible, adapted investment policy outperformed those using random, fixed, or single-switching policies, achieving a 42% victory rate on average. The success of the flexible policy demonstrates the value of dynamic resource allocation based on game state. Future work further improving the policy functions and strategy execution is suggested.
The Moonwalker Program aims to recruit 100 ambassadors from startup communities around the world to spread awareness of RocketClub's crowd-ownership model and services. Ambassadors will refer at least 2 startups to join RocketClub and receive benefits like equity, marketing support, and access to other founders. Ambassadors are expected to understand and promote RocketClub's mission at their local startup events. The kick-off session in February will provide more details on RocketClub and the ambassador's role.
The document discusses the benefits of exercise for mental health. Regular physical activity can help reduce anxiety and depression and improve mood and cognitive function. Exercise causes chemical changes in the brain that may help protect against mental illness and improve symptoms.
This document contains information about a supplemental resource for teaching science vocabulary and concepts to students. It includes:
- Definitions and pronunciation guides for vocabulary words from science lessons, along with tips to help students remember the words' meanings.
- "Science Ideas" statements that simplify and reinforce key concepts from the lessons in simpler language.
- Suggestions for how teachers can use the resource pages, such as having students read vocabulary aloud, illustrate concepts, create games, or rewrite statements in their own words. The pages are meant to provide extra support for students in understanding new science vocabulary and concepts.
Как культурные события могут стать основой для развития малого бизнеса и помочь формированию идентичности в регионе?
Проект сформирован в рабочей группе, которая разрабатывала предложения в стратегию развития Волгоградской области.
Strong learning programs result in higher employee retention, lower compliance risk, and a better skilled and more agile workforce. Rich in capabilities and easy to implement, Saba's Learning@Work sets the standard in learning management and will help make your learning strategy successful.
Learning@Work unifies Saba's secure and scalable Learning Management System (LMS) with virtual classroom, assessment, social, collaborative, mobile, and intelligent capabilities on a single platform. Having all pieces of the learning solution deeply integrated not only makes your L & D team more efficient, but also allows you to fully support the continuum of learning from formal to social and experiential. Deployed by thousands of customers of all sizes, Learning@Work is the foundation for many of the world's most dynamic and successful learning programs.
Join us and learn how Saba Learning@Work can help you:
Support and enhance all modes of corporate learning, leading to better individual and organizational performance
Engage learners with social communities, discussions and just-in-time access to content
Make learning proactive with personal, relevant recommendations of content, classes and experts
Reach more learners and save costs through blending traditional classroom instruction with virtual classrooms, recordings, and web based learning
Simplify and automate the administration of learning programs including reporting and analysis
Build new programs from scratch in a few minute with instant access to content and systems through Saba Marketplace
El documento clasifica y define los diferentes tipos de lenguajes de programación según 11 criterios: nivel de abstracción, propósito, evolución histórica, manera de ejecutarse, manera de abordar la tarea, paradigma de programación, lugar de ejecución, concurrencia, interactividad, realización visual y determinismo. Se describen ejemplos para cada categoría.
The document summarizes a webinar presented by Wendy Marx on driving revenue growth through PR initiatives. The webinar covered how PR activities like media relations, thought leadership, and content marketing can move prospects through the sales funnel. It also provided best practices for press releases, including publishing them monthly, including calls to action, and promoting them on social media to generate leads.
The document discusses the idea behind an upcoming two-day workshop on advanced business process management techniques. It notes that while many companies have undergone restructuring and optimization efforts, most have not fully adapted to the pace of globalization and technological change. The workshop aims to teach participants how to design efficient and effective business processes that more closely align with customer needs in order to gain competitive advantages. The course outline indicates the workshop will cover process diagnostics, improvement opportunities, and aligning all processes to achieve successful customer outcomes.
Paths to Prosperity Promoting Entrepreneurship in the 21ST Centuryled4lgus
Entrepreneurship drives economic growth and prosperity through innovation and job creation. However, there is little agreement on how best to promote it. This document discusses key factors that encourage or discourage entrepreneurship. It aims to provide policymakers with tools to better understand their local entrepreneurial environment and develop effective promotion strategies. The report analyzes entrepreneurship survey results from 22 countries and identifies different models for how entrepreneurship develops in various economic contexts. The goal is to move beyond one-size-fits-all approaches and develop locally tailored policies.
The document discusses finance business partnering and how it can improve decision making. It describes how the role of finance is changing from an efficiency and transaction processing function to one that provides more business insights and influences decision making. Effective finance business partnering involves applying management accounting skills through relationships and conversations to gain insights, ask the right questions, and improve business performance and decisions. The skills of objectivity, analysis, and understanding of the business allow finance partners to help managers make more informed, sustainable decisions.
This document discusses high-growth companies and business support for them. It argues that public sector thinking has overly focused on "gazelles," or fast-growing startups, ignoring that growth is not always linear and varies by industry and business lifecycle stage. It also notes that some businesses may plateau at a certain size due to infrastructure limits. The document aims to critically re-examine models of high-growth businesses and identify sectors on Merseyside that could benefit most from accelerated support like that planned for Project EV, a business incubator. It argues Merseyside's economy relies on manufacturing and visitors and examines why some businesses face growth blockages.
Finance Fast and Furious for Australian SMEsTim Richardson
Applying the lessons of the modern European finance team to Australian SMEs, to help businesses become more focused on opportunities and gain the agility to respond quickly and effectively.
Isnt it funny how you take your core business for granted. Having pioneered the approach since 2006, the icebreaker executive approach to the governance, resourcing, ROI measurement and delivery of interim management is still streets ahead of the competition :)
On this basis whilst we don't search awards out or put ourselves forwards - maybe its no wonder our highly trained team win awards every year?
If you have an intransigent business challenge you are looking to permanently resolve and along the way transform your teams capability - do call. we'd would love to hear from you.
A summary of the approach is below
best Tom
tom.pickering@icebreakerexecutive.com
High growth businesses it's a life stage problem not a journey to shangri-laDaveWaller
This document summarizes a paper examining the notion that high growth is a function of the life-stage of a business's development, not just its journey. It critiques the public sector's focus on "gazelle" companies and obsession with hunting only the fastest growing firms. While growth is not always linear, some sectors and companies will inevitably face more barriers during an economic downturn. High growth is better defined by a business's life-stage and capacity. The document also introduces Project EV, a private-sector funded initiative to provide support to 15 high-potential companies in Liverpool through mentoring and collaborative office space.
High growth businesses it's a life stage problem not a journey to shangri-laDaveWaller
This document summarizes a paper examining the notion that high growth is a function of the life-stage of a business's development, not just its journey. It critiques the public sector's focus on "gazelle" companies and obsession with hunting only the fastest growing firms. While growth is not always linear, some sectors and companies will inevitably face more barriers during an economic downturn. High growth is better defined by a business's life-stage and capacity. The document also introduces Project EV, a private initiative to provide accelerated support to select high-growth companies in Liverpool through mentoring and collaborative office space.
High Growth Businesses Its A Life Stage Problem Not A Journey To Shangri LaGed Mirfin
This document summarizes a paper examining the notion that high growth is a function of the life-stage of a business's development. It discusses previous public sector approaches that focused on hunting "gazelles" - fast growing small companies. However, it notes that gazelles are difficult to track as they develop. It also argues that high growth is determined by a business's life-stage and sector, not just age, and that the definition of high growth needs to account for economic conditions. The document aims to critically re-examine assumptions about high growth companies and identify sectors in the Liverpool area of Merseyside that could benefit most from accelerated business support.
This document discusses the career opportunities and qualifications for becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). It notes that demand for CPAs has increased due to factors like renewed focus on business ethics, globalization, and new technology. CPAs work in diverse roles beyond traditional accounting, including auditing, tax planning, IT services, and forensic accounting. The path to becoming a CPA involves obtaining a bachelor's degree, completing additional accounting credits, passing the Uniform CPA Exam, and gaining work experience. Earning a CPA license enhances career prospects and earning potential across various sectors of business.
This document discusses the role of the CFO as a corporate catalyst for change through process excellence. It argues that process excellence, rather than technical innovation alone, provides a sustainable competitive advantage. The document identifies several key processes that can give companies an edge, including shared services centers, centers of excellence, centralized procurement, and performance management. It provides examples of companies like Oracle, Experian, and Guohua Electric Power that have leveraged process excellence in these areas to improve efficiency, support global expansion, reduce costs, and gain competitive advantages.
This document summarizes a conference hosted by Celerant Consulting on how procurement professionals can add value in the process of buying business improvement services. The conference featured speakers from Insight Sourcing Solutions, 100% Effective Training & Consultancy, and Celerant Consulting. They discussed how procurement can become more "knowledgeable buyers" by getting involved earlier, understanding business needs, and focusing on engagement outcomes rather than costs. Effective characteristics of consultancies and ways to validate consultancies and ensure successful project delivery were also covered. The goal is to help procurement and consultancies work together to define outcomes and deliver the best business improvement programs.
Rest assured, you will never think about business in the same way again. Learn new methods which you can take back and apply immediately into your organisation.
Learn to Apply process diagnostics to existing processes, calculate causes of work
and points of failure, and identify actions that can be taken to improve them. Develop a
structured approach accessible by everyone in the organization to enable immediate
and significant performance improvements. Create a sustainable operational and
strategic method suitable for both dramatic and steady state improvements.
Rest assured, you will never think about business in the same way again. Learn new methods which you can take back and apply immediately into your organization.
This survey of 231 CFOs and finance directors from nine countries found the following:
1) Narrative reporting preparation is seen as highly important, with over 50% saying their department drives the process.
2) There is no clear consensus on the most important characteristic of narrative reports, with only 29% citing providing decision-useful information to investors.
3) Legal/regulatory requirements and shareholders are considered equally important drivers of narrative reporting, despite potential incompatibility of these needs.
4) The main challenges are seen as the large number of requirements and high cost/time needed for preparation, placing a significant burden on companies.
As a complement to the Lean Leaders Meeting brochure, we\'ve added the Business Development Pack for solution providers to review. Since delegates of the Lean Leaders Meeting are Lean practitioners by invite only, this document gives solution providers the chance to participate in the event through direct partnership with IQPC and Lean Leaders. Visit the website for complete details at www.leaders-in-lean.com.
John Greig has experience transforming underperforming businesses in the fintech sector. He discusses common mistakes of startup founders, such as lacking a clear vision and commercial plan. Greig also outlines the typical steps to transform an ailing business, including creating a case for change, communicating a new vision/strategy, and building changes into standard operations. When launching a new startup, Greig recommends focusing on culture, customer service, and validating the business model through customer purchase orders.
The document discusses business process ownership and the role of the Business Process Owner (BPO). It states that assigning a single person accountability for end-to-end business processes can help ensure improvements from change management programs are sustained. A BPO is responsible for continuously managing and improving a key business process that spans multiple departments. The roles of a BPO include designing and measuring the process, coaching process participants, and acting as an ambassador for the process.
Similar to Activities involved in succession process in uk (20)
Succession process among africa owned business kenya 1John Johari
The document provides background on Kenya's colonial history and the development of its economy. Key points include:
1) Kenya underwent significant economic changes under colonial rule, transforming from a subsistence farming society to an export-oriented agricultural economy dominated by European settlers.
2) The colonial administration established mechanisms to impose taxes, restrict land use, and limit economic opportunities for Africans, reserving many opportunities for European settlers and creating colonial class relations.
3) At independence in 1963, Kenya's economy was dominated by agriculture, primarily export crops, with foreign ownership and little productive reinvestment within Kenya. State agencies were established to control key industries and safeguard settler interests.
The colonial legacy left Kenya with
Succession process among africa owned business kenyaJohn Johari
This document summarizes a research article about succession planning in family-owned businesses in Turkey. The article reviews literature on successor selection, relationships between successors and predecessors, and involvement of family members. It then describes a study collecting data through surveys with predecessors in 408 Turkish family firms. The study aims to understand characteristics of the succession process, including views of predecessors, criteria for selecting successors, and the post-succession period. This is the first systematic study of succession planning in Turkish family firms.
Succession process among africa owned business in ukJohn Johari
1) The document discusses succession planning in family-owned businesses in Malaysia, focusing on retailing and manufacturing SMEs. It examines succession issues, planning, and developing a model for succession.
2) A survey was conducted of 126 family business owners in the East Coast region of Malaysia. The majority were middle-aged, married women with secondary education and 10-20 years of experience. Most businesses were first-generation family firms.
3) The study aims to understand succession challenges, attributes important for successors, and the current status of succession planning. A correlation analysis and regression model were developed to understand factors influencing successful succession planning.
Succession process among africa owned business general 5John Johari
This document provides a case study of Kloppers, a family-owned discount retail business in South Africa that has operated for 40 years. It discusses the business's progression through different stages of the life cycle model from a startup with a single owner, to expanding as subsequent generations joined, to decisions around succession. The case study analyzes how the business navigated critical aspects of ownership, management, and family development at different phases. It finds that decisions around these issues significantly impacted the business's sustainability and ability to transition to new generations.
Succession process among africa owned business general 4John Johari
This document summarizes a study on leadership succession in indigenous African businesses. The study found that many indigenous African businesses die with their founders due to a failure to properly plan for succession. Drawing from case studies and literature, the document discusses some of the factors that prevent smooth succession, such as the problem with entrepreneurial leadership styles that are not conducive to succession planning, as well as cultural factors around inheritance and the central role of the family in African societies. The future success of efforts to indigenize African economies will depend greatly on addressing this succession crisis in indigenous businesses.
Succession process among africa owned business general 1John Johari
This document summarizes a research article about succession planning in family-owned businesses in Turkey. The article reviews literature on successor selection, relationships between successors and predecessors, and involvement of family members. It then describes a study collecting data through surveys with predecessors in 408 Turkish family firms. The study aims to understand characteristics of the succession process, including views of predecessors, criteria for selecting successors, and the post-succession period. This is the first systematic study of succession planning in Turkish family firms.
Succession process among africa owned business europe 1John Johari
This document discusses family businesses and succession problems. It begins by establishing that family businesses make up a significant portion (70-80%) of businesses in Europe and employ 40-50% of the workforce. One of the major problems family businesses face is transferring ownership and management to the next generation, and only 30% of businesses survive to the second generation due to unsolved succession issues. The document then provides context on family businesses in the EU and former socialist countries like Slovenia, where they have emerged as an important part of the economy since the transition in the 1990s. It establishes that succession planning is a crucial issue for family businesses that requires supportive infrastructure and policies.
Succession process among africa owned business australiaJohn Johari
The document summarizes a study on succession planning in small to medium family-owned businesses. The study surveyed 368 family businesses and found significant differences in succession planning between larger and smaller firms. For firms with under $1 million in revenue, strong sales and marketing skills were a high priority in successors. The findings showed that developing a formal succession plan, communicating the successor, and providing training for the incumbent CEO are important regardless of firm size.
Succession process among africa owned business africa 3John Johari
This document establishes the East African Community (EAC) through a treaty signed by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. It outlines the historical economic and social integration of the region dating back to the late 19th century. It notes the previous establishment and dissolution of joint organizations between the countries to facilitate cooperation. The treaty determines to strengthen cooperation through establishing the EAC, with the goals of achieving a customs union, common market, monetary union, and ultimately a political federation. It lays out definitions, principles, institutions, and objectives of the EAC to facilitate regional integration and development among the partner states.
Succession process among africa owned business africa 2John Johari
This document discusses gender dimensions of inheritance law in East Africa, specifically focusing on Kenyan women's experiences. It provides historical background on how inheritance laws developed differently for Africans, Muslims, and Hindus in Kenya. During colonialism, customary laws governing inheritance were disrupted and new notions of private property and marriage were introduced. This led to breakdown of community institutions and ambiguity around which laws applied. Currently in Kenya, women's inheritance rights vary depending on location and whether traditional structures or mixture of laws apply. The paper analyzes issues around legal pluralism versus centralism and need to rethink customary laws to better support women's rights to inherit property.
Succession process among africa owned business africaJohn Johari
This document summarizes a study on leadership succession in indigenous African businesses. The key points are:
1) Indigenous African businesses often die with their founders due to a failure to properly plan succession. Founders tend to maximize control and avoid delegation, seeing the business as an extension of themselves.
2) Partnerships and joint ownership are uncommon due to widespread mistrust and a desire for autonomy among business owners. Forming partnerships is seen as limiting freedom and potentially damaging family relations.
3) Succession planning is made difficult by the personal nature of entrepreneurial leadership and the lack of collective entrepreneurship in African businesses. Transitioning to a more corporate structure separates the business from the owner.
Procedures involved in succession process among asian and african owned businessJohn Johari
The document provides a history of trade from ancient to modern times. It describes how early trade developed along rivers and coastlines, facilitated by advances in transportation like domesticated camels and ships. Key trading civilizations and empires like Phoenicia, Greece, Rome, West Africa, and China established trade routes and hubs that exchanged precious goods and spread religions and ideas over vast regions. The Silk Road opened direct trade between East Asia and Europe. Later, groups like the Vikings, Mongols, and Hanseatic League expanded and protected trade networks across Eurasia and northern Europe.
Nature of businees among african and asian owned business 1John Johari
Individuals who complete postgraduate education, such as an MBA, may be more likely to start their own business. A study analyzed 213 graduates of an online MBA program across 30 countries to understand the impact of the program on entrepreneurial intentions and activities. The study found that completing an MBA, coming from an entrepreneurial family, and believing in one's entrepreneurial skills increased the likelihood of pursuing entrepreneurship. The study also found some differences between men and women in these relationships. The results provide insights into how postgraduate education can help develop entrepreneurial mindsets and skills.
Nature of businees among african and asian owned businessJohn Johari
Ford published their first report dedicated to addressing the business impacts of climate change. The report discusses how climate change poses risks and opportunities for Ford's business operations, products, customers, and investors. Ford is taking actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its facilities and vehicles. However, addressing climate change requires coordinated global efforts across many sectors given the complexity of the automotive and energy systems. Ford is committed to playing a leadership role and working with partners to develop effective strategies for reducing emissions.
Wanamizigo Sacco Society Ltd is a cooperative society in Kenya that provides savings and loan services to its members. The annual report summarizes the society's financial performance for the year ended December 31, 2011. It includes the income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, and notes on financial results. Key highlights include a net surplus of KSH 4.1 million for 2011, total assets of KSH 2.5 billion, and growth in member deposits and loans to members compared to the previous year. The auditors issued an unqualified opinion stating that the financial statements accurately represent the society's financial position.
Issuesproblems in succession of africa and asian owned business 1John Johari
This document discusses the need for succession planning among minority-owned businesses. It notes that many mature minority businesses that were established during the civil rights era are now facing challenges, as their aging owners approach retirement without clear plans to pass their businesses to the next generation of minority entrepreneurs. The document aims to raise awareness of this issue and motivate stakeholders to provide resources to help retain these businesses within the minority community through succession planning.
Empirical stands of business succesion among african owned business kenya 4John Johari
The document discusses arguments for and against family businesses adopting practices that make them operate more like nonfamily businesses, a process called "professionalization." It notes that while there are perceived advantages to professionalization, many family firms fail to fully adopt these practices or do so only partially. The document then examines different possible "modes" or types of professionalization family firms may adopt, from minimal changes to more fully hybridizing family and nonfamily business models. It concludes by calling for more research that considers this variety in professionalization among family firms.
Empirical stands of business succesion among african owned business asian 1John Johari
This document discusses effective knowledge transfer in family firms. It begins by noting that succession is a critical process for family businesses that requires transferring ownership, management responsibilities, and competence/knowledge from one generation to the next. While ownership and management succession are usually planned, knowledge transfer is often taken for granted. The document then examines how knowledge transfer in family firms may differ from non-family businesses due to factors like strong family relationships and shared commitment to continuing the family legacy. It proposes a model of knowledge transfer in family firms that identifies variables and conditions that influence how intergenerational knowledge is effectively passed down. The goal is to provide a framework that can guide future empirical research on knowledge transfer in family business succession.
Empirical stands of business succesion among african owned business asiaJohn Johari
This study examined factors contributing to the longevity of small family firms through generations. 42 CEOs and presidents of multi-generational small family firms responded to a questionnaire. Results identified three key factors: 1) family involvement and commitment, 2) effective succession planning, and 3) maintaining a competitive advantage. A conceptual model was developed based on these findings and previous research to provide insights into reducing the high mortality rate of family firms. Understanding factors contributing to longevity can help develop programs to help more family firms survive across generations.
Empirical stands of business succesion among african owned business africa 2John Johari
This document discusses how family-controlled businesses communicate their heritage and values across generations. It argues that values-driven family companies are "built to last" by relying on their core values and relationship strengths. Some key ways families transmit their heritage include: telling family stories, creating oral histories, and writing ethical wills. These methods help preserve a family's legacy and can guide future generations leading the business. The document also criticizes the media for often misunderstanding family businesses and focusing only on failures rather than success stories.
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3. Encouraging successful business transfers:
Report of the seminar 7 June 2005
Certified Accountants Educational Trust, London, 2005
4. Introduction
This report aims to provide a record of the main points that emerged from the joint ACCA/SBS seminar
‘Encouraging successful business transfers’ held on 7 June 2005. The seminar aimed to raise awareness of the
challenges ahead to improve business succession rates.
THE ISSUE THE DELEGATES
In the UK, research shows that around 30% of The seminar was attended by over 80 representatives
closures might be viable businesses that close for lack from national government, English regional and
of a suitable successor. Failure to plan effectively for devolved administrations, private sector specialists, key
the future not only affects the survival of the firm in small business representative groups and a wide range
question, but can also have serious implications for of professional bodies.1
local employment and supply chains and, therefore,
the local economy. Effective transfer of business THE PROGRAMME
ownership has the potential to drive productivity
benefits through improved innovation, investment and Chaired by Mark Gold, Partner, Silver Levene, the
skills. morning session focused on the evidence base for
business transfers and specifically on research
There are a number of reasons why small businesses commissioned by SBS and ACCA respectively. The
tend to be more at risk of succession failure. These current data on business succession rates and the
include having owner-managers with a ‘lifestyle’ quality of the support and information available to
approach to business ownership and them placing less small businesses were examined.
emphasis on succession planning. Against this
background, more attention is being given to the The afternoon session centred on eight working groups
provision of ownership succession advice by based on key issue questions, each chaired by a
accountants and other business advisers. recognised expert. After discussion, the groups fed
back their views to the other delegates. This was
There are important policy and research questions followed by a panel discussion.
within current thinking and practice that need
addressing before introducing new policies and
initiatives. The aim of the seminar was to provide a
forum to discuss these areas of need to know, and
provide an opportunity for private and public sector to
work together to identify the range of solutions to
improve business succession rates.
1
A full list of organisations represented is included in the
Appendix.
PAGE 2
5. Introduction (continued)
THE WAY FORWARD
The key actions and issues raised in the afternoon
workshop discussion were particularly valuable. The
outputs will feed into the work of the Business Transfer
Steering Group, chaired by SBS, as it develops and
implements its detailed action plans. Not all proposed
actions can be taken forward simultaneously, and a key
role of the Steering Group will be to agree priorities.
Within that context, initial emphasis is likely to be on
the following action areas.
• A broad, awareness-raising campaign, initially
aimed at intermediary organisations from both the
public and private sector.
• A clearer definition of how the Business Link
brokerage model can engage more effectively and
consistently with private sector specialist advice and
help on business transfer.
• Improved understanding, through focused research,
on specific aspects such as the market for buyers
and sellers, and valuation of intangible assets.
• The creation of a business transfer ‘toolkit’, to be
available to all intermediaries, in both the public
and private sectors.
• To ensure that all options for business succession,
including more complex options such as employee
ownership, are understood and available on a ‘level
playing field’ basis.
• To learn from, and build upon, the significant work
done on family business succession, in this broader
context.
PAGE 3
6. Summary of the presentations
This summary outlines the key issues raised in each of the presentations. Full copies of the slides can be
accessed at www.accaglobal.com/smallbusiness.
MARTIN WYN GRIFFITH, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, PROFESSOR ROBERT BLACKBURN, DIRECTOR,
SMALL BUSINESS SERVICE SMALL BUSINESS RESEARCH CENTRE, KINGSTON
UNIVERSITY
Martin Wyn Griffith focused on the policy objectives of
government. Professor Robert Blackburn provided an overview on
the trends of business transfers.
• Small businesses account for over 99% of the UK’s
4 million enterprises. • Business succession is becoming a pressing issue,
partly because the number of small firms has
increased, but particularly because of the rapid rise
• SMEs account for 56% of employment and 52% of
in business formation in 1970s and 1980s – these
total UK turnover.
business owners are now in their 60s.
• Business transfer is an issue high on the • There is a deficiency in the evidence base, with no
Government’s agenda. It is a significant element of single dataset on ‘exits’ and ‘transfers’, this problem
government policy to increase productivity and GDP. needs to be addressed if sound policy decisions are
to be made.
• The aim is to increase the numbers of successful
business transfers where they make a positive • Not all business closures are failures and evidence
contribution to the productivity and/or sustainable suggests that ‘post transfer’ businesses show better
employment agendas. performance than new starts.
• From the seller’s perspective business transfer fails
• However, a certain level of business closure and
because there can be a lack of ‘exit’ readiness by
‘churn’ is one characteristic of a healthy, dynamic
owners and a psychological difficulty with ‘letting
economy – sectors with a high number of business
go’. Fee costs may also be a deterrent, together
failures may be declining or no longer competitive. with difficulties in the valuation of businesses.
• Successful business transfer can stimulate • From the buyer’s perspective, business transfer fails
innovation. because there can be a lack of awareness of what
is for sale, difficulties in ‘working out’ what the
• This seminar is a starting point to raise awareness, business comprises and because people prefer to
and the profile of this issue, among a wide variety start their own business.
of intermediary organisations.
• Evidence suggests that there is a ‘business transfer
deficit’ – the number of transfers is less than
optimal and there is unrealised potential.
• There is a need to raise awareness of succession
planning among business owner-managers above a
‘need to know’ issue and move from the reactive to
proactive.
PAGE 4
7. Summary of the presentations (continued)
PROFESSOR IAN STONE, DURHAM UNIVERSITY DR CHRIS MARTIN, CHRIS MARTIN & ASSOCIATES
Ian Stone outlined the main findings from the SBS Dr Chris Martin provided an overview of the ACCA
report Passing the Baton: Encouraging Successful research Accountancy Practices and the Provision of
Business Transfers. The report is based on evidence
2
Ownership Succession Advice.3
from an international literature review, focus groups
and consultation. • Accountants have a very important role. Succession
advice is not offered as a stand-alone service by
• One-third of UK SME owners have been identified accountants but embedded within accountant–client
as ‘vulnerable’ to age-related succession failure and relationships and forms part of the wide provision of
this proportion is increasing. Best estimates business and strategic advice.
suggest that 100,000 business closures every year
in the UK are ‘succession failures’. • Succession advice involves combining expertise from
individual specialist areas into packages of
• While not all business closures should be regarded succession advice to individual client situations.
as ‘succession failures’, for a number of reasons (not
just those relating to age profile of owners), • Four main themes of advice provided by accountants
business succession is a growing market. are tax and ownership structure advice, valuation
advice, business development advice and ‘emotional’
• Currently only 5–15% of family firms reach the third support.
generation – an increasing proportion of business
transfers occurs outside the family. • The succession advice most commonly provided
relates to tax issues and often involves the
• The chances of business succession success is structuring and timing of transactions in order to
enhanced if the owner and successor have similar mitigate clients’ inheritance, capital transfer and
value systems, their relationship is based on mutual capital gains tax liabilities.
respect and trust and if the owner is prepared to ‘let
go’. • The succession advice provided depends on the size
of the business and the complexity of the
• Small firms tend to be more at risk of succession succession processes involved – business closure is
failure than large businesses as relatively few have a the natural exit route for the owners of many very
formal succession plan, they have fewer potential small businesses.
managers and often owner-managers have a
‘lifestyle’ approach to business ownership. • Clients’ mindsets and attitudes towards exit and
succession issues have an important bearing on how
and when accountants provide succession advice.
2
Small Business Service (2004), Passing the Baton: 3
Martin, C. (2005), Accountancy Practices and the
Encouraging Successful Business Transfers (London). Provision of Ownership Succession Advice, ACCA
Research Report No. 85 (London: CAET).
PAGE 5
8. Group workshops
Eight group sessions discussed a variety of different issues before feeding back the key points to all delegates.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF PUBLIC FUNDING AND ITS HOW DO WE MAKE EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP A
RELATIONSHIP WITH PRIVATE SECTOR SUPPORT MORE ACCESSIBLE BUSINESS TRANSFER
– WHO SHOULD DO WHAT? OPTION?
Chaired by Norman Watson, Wales Co-operative Centre. Chaired by Patrick Burns, Job Ownership Ltd.
• There is a need for some element of public funding • The conclusion of the SBS report Passing the
to ensure information is available on the whole area Baton was that employee ownership and buy-outs
so that awareness can be raised on this issue. are highly viable options, but there is a massive
There is also a requirement for public funding to lack of awareness of this issue among
support educational needs, to prepare individuals for intermediaries, owners and employees which needs
business transfer, and for the development of a to be addressed.
brokering/matching service for small businesses.
The overall justification for public funding is that • There needs to be a significant communications
SMEs do not have the resources to fulfil these campaign which can be broken down into the
activities. following aspects.
• As there is clear evidence of a market failure, there - Producing more straightforward, simple and clear
is a need for continued public subsidy to ensure guidance. There is need for more ‘how to’
deals do take place and transfers do occur. There is knowledge so that individuals are aware of how
a need for the presence of an experienced and to work through the succession process where
independent person/mediator who has credibility the outcome is employee ownership in one form
with both parties, who can ensure the deal is or another.
properly facilitated.
- There is a need for careful targeting of advice.
• Support for business transfers is fragmented, uneven Accountants and owners were identified as the
and patchy. This is the case across England, key channels, but government sources (eg
Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Business transfers Business Links) and trade associations are also
needs to be integrated into current services and very important.
policy development, this should be addressed as a
fundamental public service issue. - Once the guidance is produced, there is a need
to produce specific and sensible advice on how
to obtain it. Good help and assistance is
available, but individuals need to know where to
access it. Good practice examples could be
produced.
PAGE 6
9. Group workshops (continued)
DOES THE TAXATION SYSTEM HELP OR HINDER • Businesses should be encouraged to visit an
BUSINESS TRANSFERS? accountancy firm from day one to develop a long-
term relationship for on-going business advice,
Chaired by Chas Roy-Chowdhury, Head of Taxation, ACCA. which would allow the opportunity for issues such
as succession to be discussed. Accountants are
• The UK tax system helps and does not hinder professionals, qualified to give appropriate, high-
succession; indeed it is better than in other parts of quality advice. Additionally, this provides a quality
the world. control mechanism for the books and records of the
business to be in order from the beginning and
• There is, however, a lack of clarity, certainty and allows contact with a professional who will also
consistency with the UK system. Small businesses provide succession planning advice.
require simplicity from a tax system. The key word
is communication. Individuals are not fully aware of IS ACCESS TO FINANCE AND VALUATION A
how the tax system works and do not know that BARRIER FACING BUSINESS TRANSFER?
they can actually avoid paying tax if they act at the
right time and in the right way. Chaired by Stewart Dickey, British Bankers’ Association.
• Major barriers are a lack of awareness of the tax • Overall, access to finance is not a real problem.
issues and existing, negative perceptions of However, there are problems with specific areas,
complexity and expense. To improve the attraction eg funding an employee buy-out, with small
of business transfer, significant effort must be put businesses which do not have access to
into raising awareness of the tax issues and of the sophisticated funds and when valuing intangible
costs likely to be incurred in handling them. assets.
Currently, much information exists, but it is not
effectively communicated or disseminated. • The problem is worse when the owner-manager
wants to exit in a short timeframe and requires a
• The group recommended that ‘succinct’ guidance of cash price. Therefore, the funding process has to
different aspects of the tax system (eg VAT, IHT) ensure management succession is in place. The
and how it impacts on businesses could be timing is critical. Delayed consideration for the sale
produced in a simple one-page format. This should of a business can be a useful source of funds
be available through a variety of media – the group provided the vendor is prepared to take some risk
noted that there is perhaps an over-reliance on the and remain involved in the business.
Internet as a key dissemination vehicle.
• The valuation of fixed and real assets is not a
• Suggestions from the Group included a development significant problem. However, the valuation of
of alliances between different advisers eg intangible assets is problematic. There can be
accountants, solicitors and transfer agents, to different views on value, especially between the
encourage one-stop delivery of advice. seller and buyer and the bank as a lender. From a
purchaser’s and lender’s point of view, once the
owner has gone there is arguably no intellectual
capital remaining in the business – it is a difficult area.
PAGE 7
10. Group workshops (continued)
• The lack of knowledge of sources of finance can be • Strong family bonds represent a strength, but in
a problem because of the variety available, eg Asian businesses this is now changing with the
business angels, venture capital, banks etc. It would third-generation of family members being less
be helpful for advisers and small firms to have a willing to take on the business and many wishing to
route map to take them to the kind of finance seek independent careers.
readily available. This not only helps vendors and
purchasers find the appropriate finance, but will • Business advice is required when exiting a business;
also serve as a reminder to owners to commence the advice is probably sector, rather than ethnic
succession planning. group specific. EMGs do not have much confidence
in the expertise of public sector support providers
DO ETHNIC MINORITY GROUPS (EMGS) FACE (eg Business Links). The diversity of the different
ADDITIONAL BARRIERS TO BUSINESS TRANSFER? EMGs is important in intervention. If the adviser is
from a similar background, the individual may be
more receptive to advice.
Chaired by Professor Monder Ram, De Montfort
University.
HOW CAN WE ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF ADVICE
GIVEN BY INTERMEDIARIES IN RELATION TO
• The family and ethnic minority businesses (EMB)
BUSINESS TRANSFER?
are synonymous. Business transfer for many first-
generation businesses was less of an issue because
Chaired by Leigh Sear, Associate Director – Research,
there was a cultural expectation that the business
Wood Holmes Group Ltd.
would be transferred to their children.
• The quality of advice does need to be improved; a
• It is important to consider what the business is for.
key issue is defining what actually constitutes an
This has added resonance for EMGs. There are
intermediary in the process of providing advice on
different motivations within first, second and third-
business transfer, eg accountants, specialist
generation businesses. First and second generation
business consultants, Business Links, chambers,
often had particular reasons, such as a desire get
banks, solicitors etc. There is a need for greater
children into education. These reasons have an
clarity in how the public sector engages with
impact on business transfer. Failure was not seen as
intermediaries in providing support, particularly in
an option, the status of having a business was
the context of the brokerage model, and the
particularly important for many first-generation EMGs.
challenges and development needs of the
intermediaries in working with the public sector.
• The family can be regarded as a resource because
of the strong family ties and an extended pool of • There is a need to learn from existing successful
potential successors to draw upon. It can also be a models of support where public and private sectors
constraint, with a lack of willingness to take work together to enhance current and future
external advice and reluctance to bring in external relationships.
management or lose some control/equity. Trust is
very important. There can be gender problems in • There is little or no common understanding, data or
business transfer, at present almost all businesses tools across intermediaries in supporting business
are transferred between males. Women often play a transfer, which leads to significant confusion and
strategic role in firms, but their contribution is not fragmentation, and sub-optimal support for the
recognised. businesses in need.
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11. Group workshops (continued)
• The proposal is to produce a ‘toolkit’ available to all • Women’s businesses are more likely to be lifestyle
intermediaries in both the public and private sector. based, part-time micro businesses, in the service
Possible content would include: industry, and home based than are men’s
businesses. Therefore measuring the ‘value’ of the
- a route map of the key intermediaries, who they businesses may make the transfer process more
are and what services they offer difficult.
- a simple customer diagnostic tool, or at least • In terms of business advice, low expectations of
access to an on-line diagnostic tool both the owner and adviser can be an issue.
Advisers can find it difficult to understand the
- a number of real business case studies describing business which results in problems in valuation. Exit
the help and benefits that a business can receive planning should be part of the business from day
one. The terminology used in business advice can
- a clear statement of what the benefits are to the be a problem and requires consideration.
intermediary in engaging collaboratively with the
business transfer agenda. WHAT ARE THE CONSTRAINTS/BARRIERS FACING
FAMILY BUSINESSES? – SHOULD BUSINESS
DO WOMEN FACE PARTICULAR BARRIERS TO TRANSFER WITHIN THE FAMILY BE
BUSINESS TRANSFER? ENCOURAGED?
Chaired by Erika Watson, Executive Director, Prowess Ltd. Chaired by Grant Gordon, Director General, Institute
for Family Business (UK).
• Women do face particular barriers to business
transfer. However, the extent of the problem is • There are a number of constraints/barriers facing
difficult to quantify as there is no firm data and only family businesses, including the following.
anecdotal evidence. Research should be conducted
on gender and ethnicity to identify any particular - Where a business has a strong ‘family ethos’,
barriers to business transfer, whether they are factors other than commercial profit
perceived or real. maximisation may influence decision-making
within the firm, therefore it may make different
• There is a big issue of exclusion of women in family business decisions. In some cases, this might
businesses. They are disappointingly likely to be produce ‘social’ benefits but in other cases it
passed over in succession even though they may could result in a firm failing to operate effectively
have been effectively running the business. and grow.
• Women are also less likely to reach senior - Small companies are prone to implosion where
management positions so are less likely to be the group of shareholders fall out with each
involved in management buy out’s. Government and other, leading to destructive conflicts. Unless the
business support organisations should identify case family relationship is strong, the lack of
studies and role models for women to aspire to. distinction between the business and members’
There should be an awareness raising campaign to personal lives can become a continuing threat.
value women working in business.
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12. Group workshops (continued)
- Firms which are entirely composed in KEY POINTS FROM THE PANEL DISCUSSION
management terms of family members may not
have the same level of business skills and • There should be an increased focus on the
experience as other firms. This can be a downside of not making a succession plan. For
particular constraint where family firms make a example, paying out redundancy costs, a lease on
conscious decision to exclude or freeze out non- premises which may be onerous and the major
family members, either completely or from impact it can have on relationships.
positions of influence within the firm, regardless
of the contribution they might be able to make • The terminology used is very important – an ‘exit
to the business. strategy’ is suggested as an alternative to ‘business
transfer’.
• The family firm concept has much to commend it,
in terms of providing employment opportunities and • Business transfer agents are reporting big problems
financial protection for family members. But it is not with finding buyers. There are far more sellers on
possible to argue that transfer within the family the market than buyers, a problem which needs to
should be encouraged in each and every case. What be addressed.
is important is that, in the process of succession
planning, there is a thorough assessment of the • This raises questions about making the market
talents and aspirations of the next generation. If the work – there could be a focus on encouraging
next generation are interested in running the individuals to take on existing businesses.
business and have the necessary skills and aptitude
to do so, then transfer within the family might
increase the chances of the business remaining
viable.
• It is important to raise the level of awareness
among family firm owners of the contribution which
business intermediaries – primarily accountants and
business support agencies – can make in terms of
providing expert, impartial advice in the planning
and execution of succession planning. It is, though,
desirable for those intermediaries to acquire a
greater understanding of the particular dynamics of
the family firm in order to enhance the effectiveness
of their services to the sector.
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13. Summary by Professor Robert Blackburn
The seminar brought together a diverse range of 6. RELATIONSHIPS
experience on the issues surrounding business transfer
and this stimulated the sharing of expertise and There is a need to improve the relationships between
development of ideas. There was a great deal of rich intermediaries – banks, accountants, estate agents,
discussion and we have a strong basis to move solicitors, trade associations etc. All need to be
forward. brought on board to help businesses find the
appropriate advice for buyers and sellers.
1. EVIDENCE BASE
7. MARKET FAILURE
The evidence base needs to be more authoritative and
systematic, although it is clear that we have a lot of We must accept that there is a market failure here
experience and anecdotal evidence. There is a need to which needs to be dealt with. There are specific
clarify the agenda for further research. problems and issues for female business owners,
employee buy-outs, micro businesses and EMGs. The
2. OBJECTIVES problem of more sellers than buyers is very significant
and was confirmed in the break-out workshops.
We have an aging labour force and business population
8. OWNER-MANAGERS
and therefore need to do something to facilitate the
process of business transfers.
There needs to be a focus on owner-managers (the
sellers) to understand their own emotional, financial
3. COMMUNICATION
and personal issues and objectives. They need to
understand that they will face succession issues and
There is an issue of improving communication between
this should be considered as part of an on-going
buyers and sellers, intermediaries and the private and
process – not six months before the event.
public sectors. Clearly there is an existing market
place for buyers and sellers but this is underdeveloped
9. THE BUYERS
and micro firms may require particular attention.
The market needs stimulating to overcome prejudices
4. MARKET SEGMENTATION about taking over a business – this already happens
with franchising. Buyers need to give time to
There are many different needs as each business is so understand the needs of potential sellers. The
diverse. There is probably a need by intermediaries to methodologies for valuation need developing by
understand that owner-managers view their businesses intermediaries, particularly for intangible assets.
as unique.
10. ROLE OF PUBLIC POLICY
5. ROUTE MAPS
There is a need to work through existing
There is need for clear route maps for those entering intermediaries used by businesses, for example
the business transfer market: as sellers or buyers. For accountants and trade associations. Public policy has a
example, there is one route for finding the appropriate broad educational role in facilitating dialogue between
business transfer agent and another for where to find agencies, generating the market for more buyers and a
help to fund the transfer process. responsibility to stimulate more research.
PAGE 11
14. Appendix
The following organisations were represented at the seminar:
ACCA Hines Harvey Woods Ltd
B & B Italia, London HM Revenue & Customs
Barclays Bank ICAEW
Baxi Partnership Ltd Ilyas Patel and Co.
Black Country Business Link Institute for Family Business (UK)
Black Country Chamber & Business Link Job Ownership Ltd
British Bankers’ Association Kingston University, SBRC
British Chambers of Commerce Lakey & Co National Business Agents
ME Harris
Business Link for London
NatWest
Business Link Solutions Ltd
National Black Women’s Network (NBWN)
Business Link Surrey
Newbond Accountants
Business Link Tyne & Wear
One Northeast
Business Link Wessex
Ownership Succession Ltd
Business West
Oxford Institute of International Finance
Cavendish Corporate Finance Limited
Pridie Brewster
CBI
Professional Contractors Group
Centre for Enterprise
Prowess Ltd
Comtek Network Systems Ltd
Scottish Executive
Co-operatives UK
SEEDA
Chris Martin & Associates
Selection Services
Davidson Consultancy
Silver Levene
De Montfort University
Small Business Council
Durham University Small Business Service
ECJ Associates Ltd Sowalfin S.A.
Enterprise Ireland The Forum for Private Business
European Commission The International Centre for Families in Business
Everywoman Limited UCE
Great Western Enterprise University of Brighton
Greenwich School of Management Wales Co-operative Centre
Harrow in Business Welsh Assembly Government
Highlands & Islands Enterprise Wood Holmes Group Ltd
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15.
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