The Family Business in Canada: Planning for Succession and Crisis

Family conflict, divorce, illness, premature death of key family members in the business. All these issues represent potential threats to precious family relationships and the business itself.

But, such damage can be managed and mitigated and working with trained professional specialists is an important component of the potential solutions. Knowledge Bureau will provide opportunities for advisors to come up to speed on the issue at the November Distinguished Advisor Workshop sessions, being held in Winnipeg, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, featuring special guest lecturer Jenifer Bartman, author of two Knowledge Bureau certificate courses and co-author of the book  Master Your Investment in the Family Business with Larry Frostiak.

This opportunity to learn more about transitioning family businesses comes on the heels of Small Business month in Canada and in response to concerns. It’s an important and complicated area of concern because both senior and junior family members face challenges in the transition.

According to a 2012 Study by KPMG, the biggest obstacles that future generations need to overcome are:

• gaining the right experience
• acquiring the right skills
• gaining business knowledge
• developing new ideas to help the company compete and grow
• overcoming entitlement issues

There are many things that the family business leader can do proactively to avoid catastrophic situations. Separating the life cycle of the family business leader from the life cycle of the business can be an important start. It is a key component in recognizing that the business is a distinct and separate entity that is not solely reliant on the family business leader.

NEXT TIME: Tips on Starting a Succession Strategy