Better way to buy, sell, merge. We live and work in an age of increasing digitalisation. While the landscape for many professions has been changing dramatically for a number of years, imminent developments in the use of “big-data” solutions championed by the ATO mean that looking to the future of the taxation profession and your role in it has never been more important.
As such, the options open to practitioners who are looking down the barrel of a “life changing” event have similarly changed — whether this is acquiring a practice, expanding the client base, or selling your practice for a good return.
Daniel Jones has worked in the accounting industry for decades. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, gained over many years in the industry, both locally and globally, and provides an experienced voice on the best practice used in the accounting industry on how accounting practices can maximise efficiencies.
“A big question or topic to consider is risk,” Jones says. “What should a buyer or a seller be looking at, in terms of the potential for risk in the transaction. There are a number of considerations that should be ticked off.
“Another consideration is what opportunity is inherent in the transaction?” he says. “For example, there is an opportunity for the buyer to work with the seller — they can try to entice the seller to pass on the benefit of their possibly many years experience.
“But there is also opportunity for the seller as well. It’s all about leveraging. So let’s put that on the list as well. Every transaction has risk, and opportunity, but also potential to leverage the experience to everyone’s advantage,” he says.
When selling an accounting practice, for example, Jones says that there are questions that every buyer should be asking a seller, and on the flip side, there are questions each seller should ask potential buyers.
“There are so many variations, to both the type of buyer and the type of seller. Some come from corporate life, some from financial planning, there are all sorts,” he says. “And not every one will suit the particular business that is at the centre of the transaction. They may or may not be just right for the business as it stands, so the seller needs to have a pretty good idea of what will fit. And also there are so many options for involvement post-sale. For example, some sellers may want to stay involved as a non-equity partner.”
NOTE: Daniel will be hosting a nationwide webinar on the topic on October 4. More details are available via the link below. Attendees will learn the attributes you need to consider and optimise when looking to acquire or divest your practice. Topics to be covered during the webinar include:
what to look for in acquiring a client baseinvestigating where you can get some value addwhat you need to do to ready your business for salewhen to do an earn-out arrangementwhen to purchase and how to purchasewhat options do you have as a seller during and post sale (also great for buyers to understand).
The webinar will be held on October 4.
#[accounting], [selling a business], [start ups], [transactions]
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