Guidelines for Internal Ownership Transfer

Abstract

Internal ownership transfer is a subject that is receiving increased attention from professional services firms. No longer are founders content to transfer their work in progress to an associate and close the doors on a successful practice. Likewise, younger principals are no longer satisfied to work only for a salary. The new generation sees their contemporaries acquiring ownership interests or starting their own firms and they expect to do the same. The legal and tax implications of transfer can best be handled by specialists. However, planning the transfer and carrying it out so that clients and staff are retained and the firm prospers is a delicate process that requires the full resources of the founding principals.