BUSINESS CONTINUITY
If Someone Essential Couldn’t Return Tomorrow
A successful business can still depend heavily on one owner, shareholder, or key person.
A death, serious illness or disability can create immediate questions around control, cash flow, ownership and the people who depend on the company.
Business continuity planning helps address those questions while there’s still time to make clear decisions.
WHO KEEPS THE LIGHTS ON
A Strong Business Can Still Depend Heavily on One Person
Some responsibilities are written into job descriptions. Others accumulate around the person everyone calls when something needs to be decided, approved or fixed.
That dependence can remain almost invisible while the business is running normally.
The exposure becomes clearer when you consider what would need to continue without that person’s judgment, relationships or daily involvement.
The Agreement Was Signed. The Funding Was Never Reviewed.
WHAT NEEDS TO KEEP MOVING
• Decision-making authority
• Payroll and operating expenses
• Client, lender and supplier relationships
• Business debt and personal guarantees
• Ownership and shareholder obligations
• Financial support for the owner’s family
CONTINUITY, IN PRACTICE
Four Areas That Deserve
a Clear Answer
Liquidity and Obligations
Would the business have enough accessible money to manage debt, payroll, transition costs and family or shareholder obligations without creating another financial problem?
Ownership and Buy-Sell Funding
If a shareholder leaves through death, disability or another triggering event, how will their interest be valued, transferred and paid for?
Key Person Exposure
Which relationships, skills or revenue sources depend on someone whose absence would be difficult and expensive to replace?
Owner Continuity
Who can make decisions, access information and keep the company operating if an owner dies or becomes unable to work?
A USEFUL STRESS TEST
Could the Business Answer These Questions Today?
You don’t need a crisis plan for every imaginable event. You need clear answers around the events that could place the business, the remaining owners or the family under immediate pressure.
If an owner died or became unable to work, who would have the authority to make decisions the following morning?
Would an existing shareholder agreement determine what happens to the ownership—and is the funding still aligned with the agreement?
How long could the business continue meeting payroll, debt and operating expenses during a difficult transition?
Which clients, lenders, suppliers or employees rely heavily on one owner or key person?
What would the owner’s family receive, how quickly would they receive it, and where would that money come from?
Does the current insurance still reflect the size, value and responsibilities of the business today?
AN ILLUSTRATIVE SCENARIO
The Agreement May Be Clear.
The Funding May Not Be.
Consider a company owned equally by two shareholders.
One owner manages operations and employees. The other drives sales and maintains the company’s largest relationships.
A shareholder agreement was prepared years ago. Since then, the business has grown, its value has changed, and the insurance intended to support the agreement hasn’t been reviewed.
If either owner died, the survivor could be left running the company while trying to negotiate with the other owner’s family and find enough money to purchase the shares.
The family could be left holding an interest in a business they don’t control while waiting to receive its value.
The agreement establishes what everyone intended. The funding determines whether that intention remains practical when money is needed quickly.
Illustrative example only. Actual planning needs depend on the business, agreements and circumstances involved.
01
Start With the Facts
We look at the corporation, the capital it has accumulated, how much needs to stay available, and what decisions are already being considered.
02
Find the Pressure Points
We separate immediate concerns from longer-term exposure: liquidity, tax drag, estate needs, family obligations, coverage gaps, and decisions that may need accountant or legal input.
03
Decide What Deserves Review
If there is a real planning issue, we decide what should be reviewed next. If there is no clear fit, we leave it there.
HOW THE REVIEW WORKS
We Start With How
the Business Actually Runs
Who owns what? Who carries the key relationships and responsibilities? What agreements and insurance are already in place?
Those facts show us where the business is prepared—and where too much may still depend on a handshake, an assumption or one person.
BUSINESS CONTINUITY
If Someone Essential Couldn’t Return Tomorrow
A successful business can still depend heavily on one owner, shareholder, or key person.
A death, serious illness or disability can create immediate questions around control, cash flow, ownership and the people who depend on the company.
Business continuity planning helps address those questions while there’s still time to make clear decisions.
WHO KEEPS THE LIGHTS ON
A Strong Business Can Still
Depend Heavily on One Person
Some responsibilities are written into job descriptions.
Others accumulate around the person everyone calls when something needs to be decided, approved or fixed.
That dependence can remain almost invisible while the business is running normally.
The exposure becomes clearer when you consider what would need to continue without that person’s judgment, relationships or daily involvement.
WHAT NEEDS TO KEEP MOVING
• Decision-making authority
• Payroll and operating expenses
• Client, lender and supplier relationships
• Business debt and personal guarantees
• Ownership and shareholder obligations
• Financial support for the owner’s family
CONTINUITY, IN PRACTICE
Four Areas That Deserve
a Clear Answer
Owner Continuity
Who can make decisions, access information and keep the company operating if an owner dies or becomes unable to work?
Key Person Exposure
Which relationships, skills or revenue sources depend on someone whose absence would be difficult and expensive to replace?
Ownership and Buy-Sell Funding
If a shareholder leaves through death, disability or another triggering event, how will their interest be valued, transferred and paid for?
Liquidity and Obligations
Would the business have enough accessible money to manage debt, payroll, transition costs and family or shareholder obligations without creating another financial problem?
A USEFUL STRESS TEST
Could the Business Answer These Questions Today?
You don’t need a crisis plan for every imaginable event.
You need clear answers around the events that could place the business, the remaining owners or the family under immediate pressure.
If an owner died or became unable to work, who would have the authority to make decisions the following morning?
Is passive income beginning to affect the corporation’s tax position?
How long could the business continue meeting payroll, debt and operating expenses during a difficult transition?
Which clients, lenders, suppliers or employees rely heavily on one owner or key person?
What would the owner’s family receive, how quickly would they receive it, and where would that money come from?
What would the owner’s family receive, how quickly would they receive it, and where would that money come from?
Does the current insurance still reflect the size, value and responsibilities of the business today?
AN ILLUSTRATIVE SCENARIO
The Agreement Was Signed. The Funding Was Never Reviewed.
Consider a company owned equally by two shareholders.
One owner manages operations and employees. The other drives sales and maintains the company’s largest relationships.
A shareholder agreement was prepared years ago. Since then, the business has grown, its value has changed, and the insurance intended to support the agreement hasn’t been reviewed.
If either owner died, the survivor could be left running the company while trying to negotiate with the other owner’s family and find enough money to purchase the shares.
The family could be left holding an interest in a business they don’t control while waiting to receive its value.
The agreement establishes what everyone intended. The funding determines whether that intention remains practical when money is needed quickly.
Illustrative example only. Actual planning needs depend on the business, agreements and circumstances involved.
HOW THE REVIEW WORKS
We Start With How the Business Actually Runs
Who owns what? Who carries the key relationships and responsibilities? What agreements and insurance are already in place?
Those facts show us where the business is prepared—and where too much may still depend on a handshake, an assumption or one person.
01
Understand the Structure
We look at ownership, responsibilities, key people, existing agreements, current insurance and the obligations that would continue during a disruption.
02
Identify the Pressure Points
We examine where control, liquidity, operations, ownership or family expectations could create difficulty if someone essential were suddenly unavailable.
03
Decide What Deserves Review
If there’s a meaningful gap, we decide what should be examined next and whether your accountant, lawyer or another professional should be involved.