WORLDS
TOGETHER
Effective succession happens
when lawyers and accountants
collaborate to script the fine print
By Donalee Moulton
THE TEAM THAT advises together succeeds together — for their clients and their businesses. Accountants commonly work with entrepreneurs and owners as they move forward with succession planning.
More and more, accountants are part of a team that
includes lawyers, insurance specialists and others.
There is strength in numbers. “A team around suc-
cession planning is absolutely mandatory,” said David
Khan, a tax partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
in Vancouver. “It’s an evolutionary and fluid process.”
Because succession planning is a moving target
that requires addressing financial, legal, insurance,
investment, and other issues, he added, “encom-
passing these parameters means there is no one ad-
visor that can meet all these needs.”
Lawyers are key players, said Melanie McDonald,
a lawyer with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Cal-
gary. “We do bring unique perspectives to the table.”
One area in which lawyers and accountants can
collectively join forces for the benefit of clients is
with respect to succession planning. There are sev-
eral areas that need to be explored — together, said
McDonald. These include identifying the successor,
the roles of the partners, timelines for staying and
handing over control.
