Planning business succession is an important element of business strategy and should be a priority. Failure to plan generational change may leave a business with heirs who are unprepared or uninterested; the result is unnecessary business failure.

The successful entry of a new generation into the top positions of the family business is not a single event, it should be part of a long-term and planned process of change. Technical issues, such as pension or tax planning are important, but they are contingent on strategies that sustain the harmony and consent of family members and employees for the proposed succession.

This guide describes best practices for passing family businesses from one generation to the next. It is ideally intended for accountants to give to their clients as part of a process of a structured review of succession issues.