If you are a business owner or are planning to transition from employee to employer in mining and resources, this series of four articles is for you.
As a business owner you need to protect your assets, plan your financial future (including your retirement) and realise the full value of your business upon its sale. To achieve these outcomes, there are a range of often complex and interrelated matters such as financial planning, legal issues, accounting and business advice, and property considerations, that will need your attention.
Over the next four weeks, we’ll illustrate the importance, and necessity, of an integrated multi-disciplinary advice approach for achieving your business, financial, personal and lifestyle objectives. These articles may also help you avoid adverse financial, tax, legal and property impacts. Here’s the first in the series…
Multi-disciplinary advice for business owners:
FIVE important financial planning considerations
In my experience, a pressing concern for business owners who may have accumulated significant wealth in their business is how to manage it effectively. While you need to fund your immediate livelihood, you also need to extract that wealth to create future financial independence that will fund your retirement lifestyle of choice. I can help, and here’s how:
#1 Planning
Looking closely at your current financial situation and systematically identifying and prioritising your financial requirements for the short, medium and long term then developing and implementing strategies to achieve them, is important. During the planning phase, it is likely that a range of matters, often specific to mining and resources, will emerge in the areas of tax, business, law and property and these will likely affect your overall financial plan. I manage a collaborative a team of highly qualified professionals in these areas, and together we address each of the matters that need attention to create the cohesion necessary to deliver the outcomes you need. With specialised knowledge and experience in the mining and resources business environment, this collective input contributes significantly to your ‘big picture’ financial outcomes.
#2 Protection
Effectively managing your wealth is complex because your business life and personal financial life overlap. It is imperative to have an appropriate asset protection plan and a comprehensive risk strategy in place so that your family home and other assets – personal and business – are protected in the event of legal action against you or your business. If your assets include intellectual property, different protection strategies will need to be considered and implemented. These are of course in addition to personal risk insurance measures that provide financial benefits in the event of unforeseen illness, disablement and/or a temporary inability to work, and in the worst case, your death.
#3 Superannuation/SMSF
A clearly articulated superannuation strategy provides long-term and tax effective savings for retirement. Depending on your individual circumstances, it may be appropriate for you to extract wealth from your business as contributions to superannuation (limits may apply). If you plan to sell the business one day, it may be possible to direct some of the sale proceeds to your superannuation and you may also be able to access provisions such as small business contribution exemptions. There are different super options, and you may wish to consider a self managed superannuation fund (SMSF). It is important to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this type of fund in alignment with other matters that may include residential or commercial property and asset management.
#4 Investments
A clear investment strategy is an important component of wealth accumulation especially when the goal is for you to make the most of income that is not immediately required for lifestyle expenses. Questions of investment diversification and management options need to be considered in context of your overall plan and short and long term goals.
#5 Central Coordinator
For business owners wishing to take full advantage of their income both now and in the future, there is a great deal to consider and no single professional is qualified or specialised across all disciplines to provide the advice and help you require. The solution is collaboration.
Resources Unearthed was founded to address this very real need. Together, the specialised contributions to Resources Unearthed form an information hub that allows executives, professionals and business owners in mining and resources to easily access specialised financial, business, legal and property services, among others. The second important aspect of this hub is access to a highly qualified central coordinator who identifies your advice needs and coordinates the necessary services for you. With a clear understanding of all your overall financial requirements, the central coordinator role is undertaken by, me – the financial planner – and my focus is to deliver outcomes including streamlined, fully integrated and timely advice that always serves your best interests.
Please take a moment now to view this important strategy paper: ‘Business Sold. Value Extracted. Future Assured!’. Written specifically for business owners in mining and resources, the paper outlines the complexities involved when a small business that has grown significantly needs to protect assets and realise the full value of the business upon its sale.
To discuss your own financial planning requirements, please contact Brett on (07) 3007 2000 or email contact@resourcesunearthed.com.au
Multi-disciplinary Advice for Business Owners in Mining & Resources
FIVE essentials when preparing your business for sale | THREE legal predicaments you can avoid with specialist advice
Resources Unearthed is a solutions hub that provides integrated financial, legal, property and accounting & business advisory services for executives, professionals and business owners in mining and resources.
Stratus Financial Group and its advisers are Authorised Representatives of Fortnum Private Wealth Ltd ABN 54 139 889 535 AFSL 357306. This is general advice only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs, so you should consider whether the advice is relevant to your personal circumstances. You should also read the relevant Product Disclosure Statements (PDS) before making any financial decisions.