Search Results

We all want our children and grandchildren to be critical thinkers and to find their own way in the world. But we often want them to also adopt the family’s values and, in some cases, the responsibilities of running a family business. When those two goals are mutually exclusive, it can be a challenge to chart a course that embraces the future witho...

At its core, a mission statement serves as a compass, continually steering an organization or business toward their goals. For the families who undertake the process of creating a mission statement, it provides a similar and essential navigational tool. To be successful, however, the mission statement must resonate and mean something to everyone in...

When setting up a family legacy plan that extends across generations, it’s vital to have a family governance plan that empowers a family to govern its wealth and enterprises as a cohesive unit. While each family is unique, the keys to incorporating an effective family governance will be uniting around shared purposes, having a written family consti...

One of the greatest concerns among wealthy parents is that the family’s great fortune might inadvertently lead to misfortune for their children. Raising responsible children in affluence is a life-long task requiring patience and persistence. Like learning to read, financial literacy is a process that is best started in early childhood. Teachable m...

How far can artificial intelligence (AI) go in the financial reporting ecosystem? Is the vision of an interconnected ecosystem, with value-added and predictive insights, a near reality or still a far-off aspiration? The research conducted among 1800 financial reporting executives across major economies around the world shines a new light on those q...

Many affluent families assume their financial affairs and financial reporting are straightforward, yet they often involve complexities like multiple trusts and private equity investments. This can lead to frustration over the lack of comprehensive financial insights. While bookkeeping tracks financial inputs, it doesn’t provide strategic insights t...

Given how significant accounting processes and applications are prime targets for top business risks, it’s important to take control and start your risk management analysis. Take an important step toward that end by using this fillable and interactive segregation of duties form. After answering the questions, you’ll have a high-level view of functi...

While there are many items family offices should look for in technology solutions, one vital component is reporting capabilities. For family offices considering a move to Sage Intacct, there are five reporting advantages you can count on to help deliver the data and transparency that are important to the family members.

Families that have accumulated significant assets want to know how to best prepare the rising generation to help them maximize the benefits available to them, while also minimizing the unique challenges that occur when navigating the world of wealth. Younger family members may have different approaches when it comes to wealth. Understanding where t...

Families who successfully navigate the complexity of wealth through multiple generations tend to do things differently. They recognize the need to establish a framework for decision-making that includes creating foundational documents—also viewed as the “Cornerstone Statement”—that feature their values, vision, and mission for the wealth over many ...

Traditionally, wealth advisors use a succession planning framework that involves working with the founders to look downstream to the next generation for an effective “passing of the baton” strategy. In contrast, a multi-generational approach encourages each person within the family system to contemplate and share with others where they’ve come from...

Based on a FOX Research, the average family office spends about 32 percent of its time on financial administration and reporting. That’s almost 17 weeks a year spent on collecting, verifying, analyzing, and consolidating financial information. For some family offices, these jobs took up as much as 75 percent of their time, which left them with litt...

The more you know about yourself, the better your relationships will be—including with money. In this issue, we celebrate two people who are harnessing their experiences and expertise to help others understand the emotional side of money. From a conversation with Jennifer Risher on breaking the money taboo, to Stan Treger, a behavioral scientist, u...

Out of a need to address the administrative pain of managing the investment operations—specifically private investments—for a single-family office and multi-family office, Ryan Eisenman, CEO of Arch Labs, discusses how that need became a focus for starting his company. In this interview, Chris Mays talks with Ryan about how the Arch Labs platform i...

Most small businesses begin their financial lives using Intuit's QuickBooks, but if your business has moved beyond the entry level, your organization may be facing a number of challenges as you hit the limits of QuickBooks’ functionality. With the right framework and guidelines, you can assess the hidden costs of continuing to use QuickBooks along ...