Many of us have experienced a small business venture at one time or another, whether it be a two person partnership or a medium sized company with employees.
Selecting the correct structure and performing the due diligence and financial checks is certainly an important role for an accountant in an acquisition process but it is only part of the process, as not having all the legal aspects of a transaction fully investigated could be fatal to its future viability.
Just consider a few of the possible legal processes that a business sale or purchase could involve.
- retail and commercial leasing of premises
- franchising
- business name registrations and transfers
- partnership agreements, company formations or implementing trusts
- GST issues
- transfer of employee obligations and entitlements
- restraints against future competition
and these are just a scratching of the surface!
It may be that you have a shop, office or factory lease that needs review, or you own premises that require a lease to be implemented. Do not leave this to your property managing agent or accountant. Invariably they do not have the required skills to detect potentially hazardous terms or prepare a sound and effective document. A defective lease can have dire consequences for both property owners and tenants alike. Retail leases in particular are specialised documents and contain traps that could apply as much to the party collecting the rent as the one occupying the premises.
You just cannot afford to take shortcuts on your business and commercial related transactions, as your livelihood is dependant on them. It takes the type of experienced and knowing lawyers that our practices have at each of our offices to guide you through the minefields.
As well, we liase with local accountants to whom we can refer clients that may be in need of advice on the financial aspects of their intended acquisition.