It is not about horror stories, of which we know many. It is solely about how you prepare your business for future developments and for the unpredictability of life. Succession is not only the planned end of your entrepreneurial activity, but also the abrupt, hopefully temporary loss of an entrepreneur. From the responsibility towards the ecosystem of your business follows the preparation for the worst-case scenario – even if it will hopefully never occur.
Play it safe: ensure the ability to act
Of course, the famous emergency folder falls far short. Your company must be able to act if you cannot be available. In the digital age, it is easy to organize the availability of all important documents, and substitution arrangements are an integral part of the organization. The levels at which the managing partner of a company makes decisions are often overlooked. The ability to act at the management level must be just as given as at the shareholder level – and this must be coordinated with the articles of association of your company.
The definition of the roles creates clarity
As an entrepreneur you have at least two roles: You are management, and you are owner or shareholder. If there is another member of the management in the company, the company is capable of acting if it has the appropriate power of representation.
The shareholders’ meeting, on the other hand, may not be able to act if you are not available. Or decisions are made in which you, as a shareholder, have no vote because you are not present. The consequences can be manifold. For example, if you have defined transactions that require your consent, these consents may not be given, and the management would be limited in its ability to act.
Entrepreneurial power of attorney – let you act if you cannot!
You can shape the possible effects on the shareholders’ meeting to a certain extent. With an entrepreneurial power of attorney, you can have yourself represented. In this way, you ensure that the shareholders’ meeting of your company remains capable of acting and that your interests are safeguarded. The arrangement in advance helps your family, as you have established a framework for action. The entrepreneurial power of attorney and the regulation of the ability to act in an emergency is to a certain extent a legal issue. The decisive questions are of an entrepreneurial and organizational nature, from which the legal implementation arises.
Preparation and implementation
THE MAK’ED TEAM knows the issues involved in setting up emergency concepts. Even if the objectives of these concepts are always the same – every company and every company constellation is different. And so, a structured approach is recommended to establish an emergency concept that takes into account the important interests of you, your company and your families. Experience shows that this can be a good basis for further development into a succession concept.
