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The
Continuity Audit
The primary concern of most family business owners is continuity. Most owner-managers consider the transfer of the enterprise, in good operational and financial condition, to a next generation who are ready and eager to take over, as their ultimate responsibility. Continuity planning is more than succession planning, or estate planning, or contingency planning, or strategic planning – it is all of them, integrated.
All of our projects to assist families with succession and continuity begin with a comprehensive assessment of the company’s readiness to move into the future:
the Continuity Audit.
In
the audit, LGA
consultants, working with a coordinator or steering committee from the family, gather data through a set of well-validated assessment tools and in-depth interviews with family members, managers, board members, and advisors. The team explores such dimensions as:
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the company’s strategic and operational plans
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the career development of key future leaders
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the family’s governance structures and estate plans
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the operation of shareholder groups
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the role played by the board of directors
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the impact of family dynamics on business decisions
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The report at the conclusion of the Continuity Audit provides owners with specific recommendations on how they can enhance organizational functioning
and the role of the family in the enterprise. The report also recommends specific steps
to resolve the most important continuity challenges facing the system, such as improving communication in the firm and the family; financial planning; relations with shareholders; leadership development, and governance structures.
Just as important as the
content of the final report is the process outcome of the Audit: the stakeholders' enhanced understanding of how they can collaborate in service of realizing the family’s vision for the future.
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