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Displaying 1-30 of 34 results
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How to choose a CEO: Lessons from large family businesses
- Article
- 01 Jan 2024
An update on new research analysing succession practices in businesses, which has found that large family businesses have much better succession practices than their non-family counterparts. Some best practices for CEO succession which were identified from the research are shared.
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Unconventional exits: An increasing number of owners are selling their companies to ESOPs
- Article
- 01 Jan 2024
- Cheryl Meyer
Why an increasing number of US business owners are choosing to sell their companies to Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) as an exit strategy. The article discusses the benefits of ESOPs but also the potential risks, particularly in terms of financing and the credit-worthiness of the company.
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What's the plan?
- Article
- 01 Dec 2023
- Jamie Zachary
Succession planning and family business experts share advice on avoiding conflict during business ownership transitions. Tips for business owners include accepting that the new owners may have a different idea of how the company should be run. A clear plan is needed, setting out roles, responsibilities and milestones to work towards.
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Preparing your firm for your death or disability
- Article
- 01 Sep 2023
- Edward Mendlowitz
Advice on creating a Practice Continuation Agreement (PCA) with another firm. The PCA is an agreement by a practitioner with a firm who would acquire their practice upon their death or would service their clients if they needed time to recover from a temporary disability. The article covers how to choose a PCA partner, how to prepare before approaching them and ways to structure payment under a PCA.
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Succession planning: Secure a positive future for your credit department
- Article
- 01 Jun 2023
- Jamilex Gotay
A summary of the steps credit professionals must take to ensure the future success of their departments. Tips include setting in place delegation of authority and fostering a spirit of mentorship to train up employees.
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Succession stories: lessons learned from former family office CEOs
- Article
- 01 Jul 2022
- Jane Flanagan
The article discusses succession planning in family enterprises, considering how CEOs may retire without causing significant disruption to business operations. The author highlights the importance of trusted advisors as sources of guidance, and outlines certain key aspects of the strategic succession planning process, including training future leaders and writing clear job descriptions for successors.
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Making succession planning effortless
- Article
- 01 May 2022
- Brannon Poe
An accounting firm broker discusses how to create a firm which is in a good place for succession planning and staff retention. Tips include: focus your service offerings, be selective about your clients, hire staff to fit your firm culture and price your services appropriately.
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Have a plan to pass the torch for succession planning success
- Article
- 01 Oct 2021
- Paula K.Barrett, William Onorato
Article covering some basic elements of a succession plan for an owner-managed business, plus how to accelerate business value before the exit. Planning and execution are key, ideally with a staggered and phased approach to the owner's exit plan.
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Crisis proof your succession plan
- Article
- 01 Nov 2020
- Kelly Pike
Succession planning is a critical tool for organisations s to identify up-and-coming talent and provide a long-term strategic vision. But how has COVID-19 affected these plans? Experts discuss strategies for making sure your organisation’s succession plan can withstand this crisis—and the next one
Exclusive
Succession planning is the key to family enterprise resilience
- Article
- 01 Jul 2020
- Robert "Bobby" Stover Jr.
Making a distinction between family considerations and business considerations, this article sets out some suggestions for how family businesses ought to get started in the succession process, put together a succession plan, and manage the transition. The author puts forward four key dimensions that ought to be considered: leadership; ownership; legacy and values; and wealth transition.
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CFOs not doing enough succession planning
- Article
- 07 Jun 2019
- Michael Cohn
Only 34 percent of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) agree there is a succession plan in place for their role, and 81 percent of CFOs report there is no internal successor for them, according to a recruiting firm study.
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Succession planning: A case study
- Article
- 01 Jun 2019
- Denis Ryan
Former practice owner Denis Ryan discusses the process of ensuring successful practice succession from his general accountancy, taxation and audit practice in Ireland. He describes how he gradually reduced his hours over a four-year timescale, giving his clients time to become comfortable with his planned successors at the firm. In his view a clear and unambiguous exit is crucial for a successful transition.
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Revised Corporate Governance Code: what you need to know
- Article
- 01 Sep 2018
- Amy Austin
The article examines whether the 2018 Corporate Governance Code of Great Britain will be able to prevent corporate failures with the introduction of changes such as the provision to encourage greater engagement of the board and the nine-year rule for directors on the company board. Topics covered include flexibility offered by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) for the enforcement of the Code, succession planning and development of a diverse board, and excessive executive pay. * For full article please contact the Library. *
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From board seat to c-suite
- Article
- 01 Jul 2018
- Carrie Pryor, Ted Pyor
The article focuses on the corporate practice of CEO (chief executive officer) succession, discussing the role of the board of directors in naming the CEO and the procedure strategic planning.
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Succession planning: what makes a great bench?
- Article
- 27 Jun 2018
Succession planning, says former Walmart CFO Charles Holley, is a critical differentiator between a good and a great Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Here are his suggestions for implementing a good plan.
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Planning for the day after
- Article
- 01 May 2018
- John P. Napolitano
Article looking at how to help business-owner clients with their succession plans. It notes that the conversation should extend to the key people considered a part of the continuity. It adds that funding and format also play a major role, with the primary tools for funding being cash in the possession of the surviving owners, life insurance, or an instalment buyout.
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Passing the chair baton
- Article
- 01 Nov 2017
- Karen Bohn, Sandra Davis
The article discusses the five-step process of board leadership succession. Topics discussed include the importance of defining the role of a board chair, a sound and repeatable chair selection process that helps to identify viable candidates while engaging the chief executive officer (CEO), and recommendations for transition planning and board chair development.
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A review of the CEO succession literature
- Article
- 01 May 2017
- Kristin V.D Berns | Patricia Klarner
An overview of research into CEO succession. Practical evidence, using case studies such as General Electric's selection of a successor for longtime CEO Jack Welch, suggests successful CEO succession is a long-term process which boards of directors play a key role in. The article also considers potential frictions during the CEO succession process.
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Succeed at succession
- Article
- 01 Apr 2017
- Michael Timms
How to design succession planning and grow the bench strength from within. The article argues that firms need to create a culture of leadership development; they should be clear about why they are doing succession planning. Other tips include having career-development discussions separate from the performance review, and minimising the paperwork burden on managers.
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What's top of mind for audit committees?
- Article
- 01 Mar 2017
- Jose R. Rodriguez
Article on the key takeaways from KPMG's 2017 Global Audit Committee Pulse Survey. Risk management is a top concern for audit committees, which are looking to internal audit to focus on the critical risks to the business. Tone at the top and business culture are also considered major challenges, as well as sufficient focus on talent, skills and succession planning.
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ESOPs fables
- Article
- 01 Sep 2016
- Douglas S. Neville
Discusses the value of considering employee stock ownership plans (ESOP) in succession planning. Topics covered include the structure and tax advantages of ESOP.
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How to best conduct CEO succession planning
- Article
- 01 Sep 2015
- Susan Ellen Wolf
A look at common features of successful board succession planning processes and potential pitfalls along the way. Good practices include closely tracking the development of internal candidates, maintaining awareness of outside candidates and considering personal fit as well as skills and experience. Includes a comparison chart of two successful CEO succession processes.
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Why boards fail at CEO succession
- Article
- 01 May 2015
- Randall S. Cheloha
Randall S.Cheloha discusses some of the complex succession issues boards often grapple with and suggests practical techniques to overcome them.
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Essential continuity
- Article
- 01 Mar 2015
- Norma Dávila, Wanda Piña-Ramírez
Managers should carry out succession planning, to avoid being unprepared when a key player suddenly leaves. Article explains the manager's role in succession planning and do's and don'ts.
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Governance culture and performance improvement
- Article
- 01 Dec 2014
- Don Seymour | Susan O'Hare
The article discusses issues relating to governance and performance improvement in the healthcare industry. Topics explored include the importance of collaboration between the board chairman and the chief executive officer (CEO), the significant responsibilities of board members such as promoting transparency and addressing organizational challenges, and strategies for improving performance such as succession planning and self-assessment.
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Scenario planning not succession planning
- Article
- 01 May 2014
- Sandra Davis
The concept of succession planning can distract a board towards focusing solely on who will be the next CEO, rather than considering the entire senior leadership team and addressing a variety of strategic leadership, succession and transition topics. Try discussing short-term, mid-term and long-term leadership and company structure scenarios.
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Planning for CEO succession
- Article
- 01 Sep 2013
Conclusions from a meeting of the Lead Director Network (LDN) in New York City in March 2013, where critical aspects of succession planning for CEOs were discussed. Topics included the importance of having emergency succession plans, getting to know potential candidates outside the boardroom and the pros and cons of combining the CEO and Chairman roles.
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Board governance depends on where you sit
- Article
- 01 Jan 2013
- George William
The author discusses the role of the board of directors from multiple perspectives, based on his experiences on several corporate boards. He explains challenges facing independent directors, including possessing less information than senior executives and being viewed as non-experts. Other topics include advantages and disadvantages of separating the CEO and board chairman roles, recruitment of board members, and executive succession.
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Best practices for CEO succession
- Article
- 01 Jan 2013
- Dennis Carey, Stephen P. Mader, Jane Stevenson
Passing the leadership torch from one chief executive to another is a crucial moment for any corporation. Succession planning is a basic duty of the board, but also a potential crisis for the company's future if mishandled. The authors have studied CEO succession in depth, and offer quantifiable rules on how boards can make a CEO change succeed.
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Making the most of the CEO's last 100 days
- Article
- 01 Jan 2011
- Christian Caspar, Michael Halbye
The authors offer opinions on executive succession, focusing on the role of CEOs during their last 100 days in post. Many CEOs believe they should avoid making major decisions in this period for fear of interfering with the plans of their successors. This, however, may conflict with the CEO's goal of leaving the organization in the best possible situation before leaving.
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