On October 18^th, RLB co-hosted a half-day seminar for Business Owners at Langdon Hall which addressed key issues relating to an increased change in ownership in the small and medium employers sector and the need for proactive planning. The content was structured for both buyers, sellers, and/or owners simply looking to build transferable value.

Jason Gibbons, Partner and Certified Business Valuator (CBV) at RLB, opened the morning with an overview of Business Valuations, explaining who needs a valuation, types of valuations, factors which impact value, and the valuation process timeline. Jason also explained normalization adjustments and how they may impact value.

Patrick Westaway, from Sorbara Law, dealt with legal issues relating to structuring for succession and underscored the importance of dealing with structural issues well in advance of a possible liquidity event as, among other considerations, they may have major tax implications.

Carson O’Neill, divestiture advisor for Rincroft Inc. and David Juvet of Ideal Solutions Financial Services spoke on the divestiture process itself with the example of a business David had once owned himself. This served as a ‘going to market’ reference to valuation principles presented. The session concluded with an open forum with the panel responding to questions from guests on a variety of issues. As expected, some questions related to the proposed legislation by the Liberal government which may impact small business. David indicated an Individual Pension Plan or a Universal Life Policy may remain as preferred choices for a company surplus in view of the Finance Minister’s proposals.

The event was attended by owners of medium-sized business in a variety of industries and/or their financial advisors and representatives of industry associations including The Family Enterprise XChange and Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

We received great feedback from the guests on the practical nature of this symposium – they appreciated the real world examples.

Article written by: Carson O’Neill, Divestiture Advisor of Rincroft Consultants Inc.