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Independent directors can enhance a family business board in a variety of ways, including providing expertise in a range of subject matter areas, leadership development, and learning opportunities. They can also help owners expand diverse viewpoints, adapt to changing circumstances in the market, and help make decisions that are difficult for the f...

For many business owners, their tax accountant has been with them for years, and therefore understands the business, along with some aspects of the industry, key employee roles, and family dynamics at play. In addition, a tax accountant who is viewed as a trusted advisor is in a key position to help a family-owned enterprise think through some of t...

If you’re considering a sale of a business, listen in on this 10-minute interview for some valuable potential tax-savings strategies. Attorneys Jason Kohout and Stephanie Derks also discuss income and estate tax planning opportunities, especially for business owners who are in a high income tax state.

The pay levels for board directors have been increasing as the board members’ responsibilities grow with the need to fully understand and navigate the challenges arising from a variety of areas including geopolitical risk, regulatory complexities, macroeconomic shock, climate/environmental challenges, and technology advancements. Given these change...

By exploring the essence of legacy and its impact on business performance, this report brings together the detailed analysis, academic insights, and the firsthand experiences of family business CEOS to contribute to a deeper understanding of the importance of balancing tradition and innovation for long-term success in family businesses. From this r...

While entrepreneurs are intently focused on building their businesses, they may have less time to spend on building, sustaining, and distributing their wealth. Given the importance of early wealth planning and its long-term impact, this guidebook provides insights and tools at each stage of the entrepreneur’s journey to help them move forward ...

The concept of transferring ownership of a private business to a purpose trust was first popularized when the Patagonia transaction was announced—instead of “going public,” they were “going purpose” to allow the owner to monetize his stake in the business while at the same time ensure that the values of the business are preserved for future generat...

As tax strategy becomes more central than ever to business success, tax leaders must adopt new capabilities beyond those traditionally required to lead the tax function. Essential to this evolution is the ability to develop and execute a forward-looking tax roadmap that fully integrates emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). ...

Individuals with substantial business holdings often face complicated estate tax issues. Failing to recognize and plan for these issues may adversely impact the ability of the estate to timely pay any estate tax it owes. What is more, a lack of planning can affect the ability of the business to continue operating in the manner envisioned by the cur...

Entrepreneurs and business owners often put off wealth planning because they’re so busy with their businesses. Yet, wealth planning is a crucial part of protecting everything they’ve worked so hard for. That’s because their personal and business finances can be interconnected, but they aren’t always at the same stage of growth. This guide by BMO ou...

For business owners and their advisors, it’s probably not surprising that buying another company or other assets requires moving with speed and diligence. But gaining an edge—and winning—on the buy side is a bit more complicated. Effective companies tend to deploy a series of purposeful tactics and avoid common mistakes when pursuing acquisitions. ...

Today, digital customer experiences are table stakes. Yet, digital transformation is widely misunderstood by business leaders as being primarily focused on digitizing existing processes, moving to the cloud, or enabling scalability of the business. While this was true historically, today digital transformation requires fundamentally changing the di...

Effective pre-liquidity planning is always important for a business owner considering a business sale, exit, or other transaction. But several recent and upcoming developments—related to estate laws, small-business tax exemptions, residency trends, philanthropic endeavors, and high interest rates—make 2024 a uniquely challenging year. This article ...

While the market for private sales has slowed, private equity companies have record amounts of dry powder they need to put to work—for the right companies, this may be the ideal time to explore a business sale or capital raise. In this podcast episode of Business Insights, Terry Hill, Partner in BPM’s Advisory Practice, is joined by Tara Smith Kach...

Many successful family-owned businesses are managing embedded family offices within their existing operations to maximize the benefits and opportunities gained from the unique structure. But in time, the needs of both the business and the family shift for various reasons that include the family growing and earlier generations transitioning out of t...