Our latest insights

Social media offers strong appeal for the masses to learn finance due to the ability to quickly disseminate information in a digestible way. While this may not be how previous generations learned financial acumen, it is undeniable that social media platforms are opening new ways of understanding how to build wealth.

Money and finances can often be a sensitive and discreet topic in families, but what about families that own and operate a family business? Discussions about money can often begin around the dinner table, with even very young children receiving pocket money in exchange for chores.

It’s common for business owners to transfer shares to their children as a reward for valued contributions to the business. Ownership can also motivate individuals to perform better as they have a vested interest in the company's success.

Some families spend a lifetime generating wealth and hope to financially set up future generations. However, when looking at Estate Planning, sometimes families only consider one generation at a time.

The results of the 2023 Family Business survey report identified top concerns for Australian family businesses in the current environment.

The results of the 2023 Family Business survey showed succession planning is still a topic of high importance to family businesses. The results revealed 72 per cent of family businesses believe succession planning would be an important topic for their business over the next two years.

Succession planning is a key issue that all will eventually have to face. While some businesses would have considered a family business successor, what is often overlooked are internal risks.

Whether you’re eyeing off the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) role in your current organisation or elsewhere, the intel from CEO, CFO and industry surveys suggests the path from financial controller to CFO is more of a zigzag than a straight line. So what skillsets are organisations looking for in a modern CFO, and do you have them? We’ve put together some advice to take you from CFO-in-waiting to the top job.

While conflict happens, how you manage it can be the difference between a business (and family) that thrives, and one that becomes destabilised.

Next generations are itching to take over – the question is are they ready? Future leaders should allow at least three to five years to demonstrate their credibility and develop leadership skills. There are high expectations of the next generation’s business acumen, financial and industry understanding, the ability to lead and inspire, and capability to overcome hurdles. Taking over the family business is a process that often spans across a number of years, and can be separated into succession of management (that is, responsibility and authority), and succession of ownership.

When considering starting a Family Office, it is important to know the potential pitfalls that may affect your wealth position and how every family member has the potential to impact this wealth – positively and negatively. And many are often an untapped resource.

The complex multi-generation relationships in a family business define their success – and often underline their failures