Exit Planning Expertise
Providing expertise in Exit Planning for clients looking to transition a business through third-party acquisition, family transfers or other situations.
Planning and Training
David A. Cole supports your existing relationships with clients by offering comprehensive training and strategic planning for successful transitions within your clients’ businesses. David’s approach to Exit Planning, formed from more than 40 years in the industry, is to follow the Seven Step Exit Planning Process.
7 Steps to Exit Planning
Step
1
Establish Exit Objectives
By outlining your objectives, the Exit Plan works to achieve your goals. Key objectives in most Exit Plans are:
- Desired departure date.
- Value needed from business.
- Identifying to who or what you want to sell or transfer your business.
Step
2
Tally Your Business And Personal Financial Resources
Ask these questions to get started: How much is your business worth today? How much cash flow does it currently generate? How much income do your non-business assets produce? Your Exit Plan takes these answers to project future cash flow, as well as the future value of your business and non-business assets. The combination of Step 1 and 2 projects how much value or cash flow increase is necessary to meet your goals.
Step
3
Build And Preserve Value
Based on the first two steps, the Exit Plan makes specific recommendations to help grow business value, protect existing value from the action of others, and preserve company value by minimizing income taxes.
Step
4
Selling Your Company To A Third Party
If you choose to sell your company to a third party, the Exit Plan will design strategies to improve the likelihood of a successful sale, minimize the taxes paid upon sale and maximize the sale price and terms.
Step
5
Transfer Ownership To Insiders
Insiders are children, co-owners or key employees who often do not have the financial resources to pay owners what the business is worth. If you choose to transfer your company to insiders, the Exit Plan will create a detailed plan to ensure that the seller receives the money desired from your business, minimize risk for nonpayment and ensure clients retain control of the business until payment has been fully made.
Step
6
Ensure Business Continuity
The Exit Plan coordinates your business continuity with your lifetime objectives. The purpose is to ensure your goals, such as transferring the company to the successor of your choice and having family members receive the full value for your ownership, are met no matter what happens.
Step
7
Tie Your Plan Together With Your Personal Wealth And Estate Planning
After the Exit Plan is complete, it is folded into your total Estate Plan. The design of the Exit Plan emphasizes tax efficiency and ensures that your family receives the amount of annual income necessary to satisfy the financial security goal set up in Step 1
