Seminar on company succession – Kreishandwerkerschaft
On the 26 of June 2014, Dipl.-Ing. Reinhold Wanner held a seminar on company succession at the seminar house NETZWERK (Werkstraße 14 Töging am Inn). The working group “Strengthening Small and Medium-Sized Businesses” Landkreis Mühldorf/Altötting was the organiser of this event.
The company succession
An orderly handover takes time and the necessary knowledge, regardless of whether a successor is available within the family or externally. In fact, however, many entrepreneurs do not look for a successor until very late in the process. This is mainly due to the fact that entrepreneurs feel too closely connected to the company. This ultimately complicates the handover process, which then often has to be carried out in a hurry lasting several months.
Without professional help, this can cause lasting damage! Every second entrepreneur prefers a family-internal solution. However, this only comes about in one third of cases. Too often, private and business issues are mixed up. As a result, discussions take place on an emotional rather than a rational level. Eight percent of the companies are ultimately liquidated. Reasons for this include the lack of a suitable takeover candidate or disputes over the handover to a family member. In addition, liquidation often occurs due to simply late or unqualified succession efforts.
The seminar
This seminar was less about financial aspects or the valuation of the company. The focus was on the practical process in the company. On the one hand, the role of the senior boss, who can only let go when he knows the company is in good hands, was discussed. In addition, it was a question of determining a suitable successor who would have to fit into existing structures and possibly obtain additional qualifications. Furthermore, they discussed how to win over employees to support the new boss in a committed manner, and much more.
According to the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Media, Energy and Technology (source: Unternehmensnachfolge in Bayern, Ein Leitfaden für die erfolgreiche Betriebsübergabe), 12,000 companies with over 100,000 employees are up for succession in Bavaria every year! Due to the high level of interest and the explosive nature of the topic, Mr Demmelhuber from the working group “Strengthening SMEs” suggested repeating the seminar in autumn 2014 or spring 2015.
