Southern Indiana Business September-October 2020 | Page 9
PAID ADVERTISEMENT
The primary goal of the second and
third generation family business leader
is to begin to professionalize the business,
so that a platform for growth and
expansion can be established, as well as
a merit-based, professional culture. As
the founder exits the business, decision
making may no longer concentrated in
one person. Collaborative decision making
is often a foreign concept to companies
who’ve been ruled by one person
for many years. Nevertheless, in order
to scale up and grow, an entire company
cannot report to one individual. A professional
management team and collaborative
culture must be established.
If the goal is to build a legacy family
business that will endure for multiple generations,
a dual family and corporate governance
infrastructure should be in place
by the third generation. Policies should
be in place governing the interaction of
the family and the business. Independent
directors should begin to make their presence
known on the board. There is great
separation between family and business
issues, and even management and ownership
by this stage. Certain best practices
are in place that have been researched and
established as being essential to long term
family business sustainability.
Where are you along the family business
generational continuum? What
transitional stage do you find yourself in?
Are you aware of the tension points ahead
and do you have a plan to proactively
address them? A trusted family business
advisor can help you answer these questions
and help move your business forward
for generations to come.
Family is
everything.
We think so too. We proactively
work with family businesses to
achieve goals and build legacies.
812.670.3400 | www.mcmcpa.com |
September / October 2020
9