Succession Advisory Membership Benefits
Below you will find descriptions of all the benefits of your Succession Advisory Membership:
Free webinars
Your membership will include free Mergers and Succession Planning Webinars with the CPA Leadership Institute. To view our catalog click here.
Succession Advisory Report
This report with be emailed to you bi-monthly and will include:
Case Studies
These studies will walk you through actual deals in detail. The cases will include the goals of the parties, the terms and deal structure created to achieve those goals, the business plan issues, and financial terms of the deals. Each case study will depict different situations such as: multi-partner firms where some want succession and others want long term careers, firms exploring upstream mergers for growth, firms seeking to capitalize on cross-selling opportunities, firms and their partners seeking near and long term succession solutions, and firms seeking growth strategic objectives through mergers and acquisitions.
Benchmarking Survey
This section will highlight a survey question sent out to CPAs. It will include the results of the survey as well as our experts analysis of the results.Archive of Articles
This archive is included with every Report and available to you instantly after purchase. It is arranged by topic to easily find articles to fit your needs. The articles included are from a wide variety of sources and will give insight into the world of Succession Planning and Mergers.Ask the Expert
This is a section where you can ask our Succession Planning and Mergers experts question related to your personal situation. They will respond to you via email within 24 hours.
Firm Market Valuation/Succession Readiness
This is a market analysis of what you can expect to receive in compensation for your firm in a sale or merger. Plus our experts assess your readiness to pursue succession for the partners in your firm.
Based on the information you share with us, our experts will suggest very specifically:
- The type and characteristics for a successor firm that would likely make the most sense for your situation.
- Deal structure options.
- The actual valuation of the equity owned in the firm with an emphasis on the following five variables:o Cash upfront
o Duration of the retention period
o Profitability of the deal
o Length of the payout period
o The expected multiple of billings
Your analysis will include the information candidate successor firms will seek about your firm, the information you need to know about potential successor firms from a personal and professional perspective, and how to assess important characteristics of successor firms relating to excess capacity, specialties, professional and financial wherewithal.
Upon registering, a Firm Evaluation Form will be available to you. When you are ready for your valuation, complete the form and email it to us. Our experts will complete a phone interview and provide you with a general current market conditions in your area and how that affects your firm's overall value.
The services below are done on an as needed basis and will include filling out and emailing a form and approximately a 15 minute phone consultation. More in depth analysis may be arranged at an added cost.
Recommendations on Deal Structure
There are many methods of structuring deals. They include straight sales, straight mergers, two-stage deals, buy-in to buy-out, merger to buyout, cull-out sales, and many more. Once our experts understand your firm and the goals of the partners, they can dig deeper into your situation to recommend alternative deal structures that would be the most likely path to achieve those goals. A good deal is a fair deal in which everyone wins: the buyer and seller in acquisitions, both firms that are party to a merger, clients, staff, and the other important stakeholders of both firms. A critical part of deal structure is having a strong transition plan that leads to retention of clients and critical staff. Our experts will point out tips that work and roadblocks to avoid specific to your situation.
Internal Succession Readiness
Many firms feel their long term and/or near term successors are in their firm right now on the “bench”. Other firms feel like their bench is not adequate but they are prepared to undertake a program to strengthen it to provide successors in the future. How do you know if your firm is prepared to execute a successful internal succession plan? In addition to replacing the body of the retiring partner, one must replace that partner's unique roles in the firm. How do you assess the time commitments existing and new partners will need to have and whether your firm has the necessary excess capacity to handle these transitions? Will your compensation package work by promoting a transition plan that promotes client retention? Does your partnership or shareholder agreement promote a viable succession plan by fairly rewarding the retiring owners and leaving an appropriate upside for the remaining owners while keeping the firm financially strong over the long run? Does the agreement appropriately address not just planned retirements but unplanned ones as well?