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Stephen Ferraro, Scott DeMarco and Robert Devine |
SaxBST
855 Valley Road
3rd Floor
Clifton, NJ 07013
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Release Date: Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Media Contact: Caryl Bixon-Gordon (201) 796-7788
Developing a Solid Exit Strategy is Vital to an Organization’s Future
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., June 25, 2014 – While most small business owners understand the importance of succession planning, very few develop a solid strategy for transition when the time comes to retire, sell or turn over control of a company, according to the financial experts at SaxBST, one of the nation’s top 100 accounting firms. Implementing an effective succession plan gives business owners a voice in the future of their company, minimizes estate taxes and expenses, and ensures the survival of a family business from one generation to the next.
Multi-generational family-controlled businesses have long been part of the American dream, and many have proven very successful. However, business succession is no simple family matter. According to recent figures published by the Small Business Administration, approximately 90 percent of businesses are closely held and family owned, but only 30 percent of those succeed into the next generation; and just half of those, a mere 15 percent, survive into the third generation. This is, in part, due to the lack of succession plan.
Business owners not only need to plan their post-retirement, but they also need to create the road map to get there, according to Stephen L. Ferraro, SaxBST co-managing partner. “Ideally, the thinking on how to exit a business should be started the moment the business is founded or acquired. Our goal is to help clients establish a succession strategy that will preserve their family’s wealth as well as the future of the business.”
SaxBST’s succession planning experts are experienced in valuing companies and structuring successions that take into account management and financial realities. The company’s services are geared to closely held business owners and family-owned businesses, and include assistance with refinancing; expansion plans; fringe benefit planning; executive and incentive compensation planning; and profit-sharing plan administration.
“A key issue for many of our clients is the desire to balance the needs of children working in the business with those who are not involved with the business. While establishing a business succession plan is beneficial for all companies, it is essential when you consider the familial implications involved in the generational transfer of a business,” said Scott M. DeMarco, SaxBST partner.
The tax burden when transitioning a family business also can be significant. If the former owner stays on in some form, there are tax implications that must be taken into account. “The outcome of the exit plan not only impacts a business owner’s future, but his or her employees, their families and the company as a whole. Since there is no ‘one-size fits all’ approach to exit planning, we work with each business owner to customize an approach designed to achieve the goals of the owner and the business,” concluded Robert Devine, SaxBST partner.
One of the top 100 accounting firms nationally, SaxBST is a multi-disciplinary accounting, tax and advisory firm serving the needs of closely held companies, family-owned businesses, not-for-profit and governmental entities and high-net-worth individuals throughout the New York tri-state area. Based in New York City, N.Y.; Albany, N.Y.; Clifton, N.J. and Mineola, N.Y., SaxBST is the outgrowth of a merger between two of the area’s most prominent accounting firms, Sax Macy Fromm & Co., PC (SMF) and Bollam, Sheedy, Torani & Co. LLP (BST).
SaxBST’s expertise covers a range of industry areas and niches including real estate, construction, manufacturing and distribution, employee benefits, retail, financial services, healthcare, professional services, not-for-profit, governmental entities and labor unions
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