What plans are currently in place?
We’ve often heard the phrase “businesses don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan” but the the task of developing a suitable exit strategy requires a lot of future planning, and is often seen to be so difficult, that it is rarely undertaken. If it’s a 5 year strategy you’re looking at, then you’ll need a very clear roadmap to be able to get the business into a position where it can truly deliver the funds you are expecting.
Being unable to answer the first basic question “How much do I REALLY NEED from the sale?” with any confidence, clearly means you’re already in trouble and will need some professional advice.
Management accountants are great at creating business forecast models and will provide the steer and timeframe to move the business into a healthy position to sell, but you also need to speak with personal finance people to discuss tax efficient strategies covering; pensions, ISAs, stocks and shares and the like – especially if your ultimate plan is to retire.
My advice – start now and secure meetings with appropriate professionals – it takes two – a management accountant and a personal finance professional. As always, choosing the right ones are critical.
Call me or Skype; ianlinnegan for discussions on who to speak with (and, more importantly, why).
Using management accounting techniques and the budgeting process is key to answering the first challenge. It may be a good idea to review some appropriate blogs on my site on this issue.
