CREATING BUSINESS SUCCESSION

ISSUE
Retirement, let alone plans to hand over the business, can seem like a distant speck on the horizon when virtually all of a business owner’s time is consumed by maintaining positive cash flow and a stable balance sheet. And if you don’t want to simply sell the business lock, stock and barrel – picking a successor isn’t always as easy as appointing a family member or assistant to take your place. Establishing a sound business succession plan is beneficial […]

I AM AN S-CORPORATION OWNER-EMPLOYEE, WHAT SHOULD BE REPORTED ON MY W-2?

Jobe Dupre, CPA

As an S-Corporation shareholder there are certain items that should be reported on your W-2 as compensation. These items are commonly either reported incorrectly or not reported at all. The good news for this year is that you still have time to call your payroll company and have these items correctly reported on the W-2. The following are two items that are often not reported correctly.

Medical insurance of a 2% or more shareholder-employee: Medical insurance paid […]

Should You Be Paid to Find Your Successor?

Posting by Joel C. Susco, CPA

Recently I read an interesting article from The Wall Street Journal titled “The Hottest Corporate Fad: Pay CEOs to Find Successors.” What a novel idea, particularly for a family-owned business! According to the article, sixteen Fortune 1000 companies have indicated that there is a direct link between the top executives’ performance awards and their establishment of a true succession plan. In addition, the article goes on to say that this number will grow rapidly […]

The Gray Areas of Estate Planning for a Family Business

Posting by Joel C. Susco, CPA

Estate planning is a daunting task for most anyone, but estate planning if you are a family business owner is usually twice as difficult. So much must be considered: the estate plan needs to address the equitable division of assets among the heirs while minimizing the impact of estate, gift and income taxes, not to mention the succession of business leadership, coupled with the conflicting goals of inheriting family members. This process is further […]

The One Thing Your Family Business Culture Needs

Posting by Geoffrey D. Brown, CPA

I recently came across a great article in Entrepreneur about re-focusing a fourth-generation family business in a new strategic direction. In this first person chronicle, Will Housh, the current business owner, tells his story of selling the family’s HVAC business and refocusing it on an ecommerce enterprise.

Change is difficult for most of us, and it can be even more difficult in a family-owned entity. The same qualities that can help sustain a family business […]

DC Family Business Alliance Welcomes Governance Expert Barbara Hauser for Advisor Roundtable

The Greater Washington DC Family Business Alliance (the Alliance) is pleased to announce that internationally-recognized family business expert Barbara Hauser will be facilitating its Family Business Advisor Roundtables on May 14, 2014. Designed to provide a forum to discuss relevant issues, the Roundtables bring together lawyers, bankers, financial advisors, and other professionals who specialize in serving family-owned entities; Hauser will share governance insights and best practices from her decade-long work with Saudi family businesses during 8AM and a 12PM […]

Running a Green and Streamlined Business: Establishing a Paperless System

Posting by Joel Susco, CPA

Business inefficiencies are often linked to slow, inaccurate, and poorly defined paper-based workflows. Going paperless isn’t just about going“green” – it can also help you save significant time and money. By transitioning to paperless systems in a variety of areas, you can make your business more efficient and also potentially increase profitability. You may be surprised at the far-reaching impacts that simple changes in this area will have for your business.
Streamlining Your Business with Paperless […]

DC Family Business Alliance Forms Family Business CEO Roundtable

The Greater Washington DC Family Business Alliance (the Alliance) is pleased to announce the formation of a Family Business CEO Roundtable, a monthly facilitated peer group session exclusively for family business owners and executives. Through guided discussions with nationally-recognized experts, brainstorming sessions, and problem-solving exercises, the Roundtables will provide important perspective and targeted insights to help family business executives gain clarity and develop practical solutions.

The inaugural Roundtable meeting will take place on Thursday, May 15 in Bethesda, MD. Interested […]

Family Business Estate Planning: Establishing a Family Limited Partnership

Posting by Billy Thomas, CPA

In estate planning, families are presented with many financial challenges: asset control, asset protection, ensuring the financial literacy of future generations, and maintaining wealth for future generations. In certain cases, a Family Limited Partnership (FLP) is a helpful estate planning tool to address and provide for those concerns.

What is a Family Limited Partnership?

Organized under state law, a Family Limited Partnership is simply a limited partnership in which the partners happen to be a closely related […]

Problem-Solving Tough Challenges: Our Family Business CEO Roundtables

Posting by Geoffrey D. Brown, CPA

When’s the last time you were able to think long-term about your family business? You may find yourself fighting daily fires and attending to time-sensitive problems, leaving strategic initiatives to fall by the wayside. Or, perhaps, you want to face the challenge head on, but don’t know who to turn to and have trouble obtaining an objective view.

The Challenges Facing Family Businesses

While every business has its unique environment, there are some common problems that […]