Pub. 1 2013 Issue 4

Spring Issue 2013 33 companies. These involve the identification of potential future leaders and the application of rotational and training arrangements to enhance their expertise and experience in each major facet of the business. While you may not have the luxury of being able to institute a com- prehensive rotational program, you should be able to create training programs that provide many of the same benefits. TAKE A LONG VIEW Management succession and ownership transition are often confused when the leader of a company is also the owner. For family-owned and closely held dealerships expecting to transfer ownership from one generation to the next, it's especially important to take a long view by distinguishing leadership from ownership. Sometimes the best course of action to ensure the continued success of your dealership means separating the ownership baton from the leadership baton, because even if you're ready to transition ownership, the next generation may not be ready to take on leadership. In this situation, you should identify the best candidate (internal or external) to run the business and let the management succession program prepare the next generation to eventually take over. This path will best serve the interests of the dealership, the employees, and your family in the long run. COMMUNICATE INTENT More than anything else, uncertainty negatively impacts employee morale. When business leaders approach retirement age, especially when they're owners, employees start to wonder about the future of the company. As is human nature, employees typically think about the full range of possibilities, but they tend to dwell on the worst-case scenarios. As a result, it's important to proactively and transparently communicate the plan for addressing your organization's management succession needs. THE BOTTOM LINE If you've developed a management succession plan, instituted it well in advance of a leadership succession event, created multiple succession options for core positions, taken a long view toward business leadership, and communicated your plans to employees, then you're well on your way to successful management succession—and you're well ahead of most businesses. Sid Tobiason hasmore than 33 years of tax experience, with a focus on federal income and estate taxation of dealerships. He leads the firm’s Automotive & Dealer Services tax practice and is the author of the NADA’s Dealer Guide to Business Succession Planning. Mark Steranka is a director with Moss Adams Advisory Services. He has over 25 years of experience helping businesses, assess and improve their performance through strategic planning, succession planning, management and organizational assessments, and compensation design. Learning from your peers: It’s what you do in your 20 groups. Couldn’t your accounting team benefit from a similar event? We thought so too. That’s why we’re holding our seventh annual workshop to help CFOs and controllers at dealerships nationwide share best practices and learn about vital accounting and tax issues. Space is limited—save a spot now. www.mossadams.com/dealerserv ices rev up your financial operations 2013 Workshop for Cfos and Controllers DATE June 20–21 LOCATION New York–New York Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas REGISTER www.regonline.com/2013DSWorkshop CPE credit available upon request.