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The business advisers’ companion for family business succession and transfers
Published on 31 January 2019
Bulgaria
Velizar Petrov
Executive director, Member of BoD
About this good practice
The process of transfer and succession within or outside the family is an extremely crucial phase in the life of a family enterprise. According to recent studies, family business successions fail 60% of the time due to communication breakdown within the family, rather than failures due to professional errors in accounting, legal and financial advisory planning, or to tax regulations regarding business transfers. At the same time, support and consulting in business transfers focuses too much on technical and legislative issues. Business advisers and consultants need guidelines, tools, and practical means to consult family business owners and members to deal with the issue of succession, where the “family” and the “business” interests meet, and more than often, confront each other.
Some of the subjects discussed in this companion deal with the following indicative aspects:
• The identification of family business owner’s needs and goals.
• Choosing between intra- and extra-family successor(s).
• The identification and management of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats involved in succession planning.
• How to assign responsibility and authority.
• How to know when the “best solution” has been achieved.
• Soft skills required to be a successful business consultant.
Some of the subjects discussed in this companion deal with the following indicative aspects:
• The identification of family business owner’s needs and goals.
• Choosing between intra- and extra-family successor(s).
• The identification and management of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats involved in succession planning.
• How to assign responsibility and authority.
• How to know when the “best solution” has been achieved.
• Soft skills required to be a successful business consultant.
Resources needed
On one hand, there is a need for trained business consultants providing inheritance and business transfer advice and a network of BCs offering such services. On the other hand, there should be family businesses in which business management is "ripe" for the use of such services. 252 680 euro by E+.
Evidence of success
A Testing of the Succession platform was done and the results of on-line testing and workshops in Bulgaria, Greece and Spain are summarized in the Intellectual product published in section Outcomes:
http://succession-project.eu/outcomes.html
http://succession-project.eu/outcomes.html
Potential for learning or transfer
The 5-lingual Guide for Succession and Family Business Transfer (GSFBT) was tested in BG,DE,GR and ES. The policymakers can learn from this practice. It was launched under Erasmus+ Programme. The aim of this GSFBT is to help family business owners, their advisors, and business support organizations to upgrade their non-technical skills. The GSFBT is being prepared to provide consultants with specific tools for consulting and guidance. In case of Bulgaria-for the Implementation and improving of the National Strategy for SMEs 14-20,priority areas: Encouraging entrepreneurial activity; providing appropriate regulatory and administrative framework for SMEs by applying the "Think Small First"; Improving conditions for SMEs to access foreign markets; For Entrepreneurship-Transfer of business: Measures aimed at the smooth conduct of the Transfer of business: public campaigns,mentoring schemes of the process,creating a fund to BG Development Bank to finance the process of Transfer of business.
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
Organisation
Yambol Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Bulgaria
Yugoiztochen
Contact
Velizar Petrov
Executive director, Member of BoD