Family Businesses

Uniqueness and individuality characterise family businesses. They are characterised by the entrepreneur and the entrepreneurial family by setting and exemplifying values, making decisions as farsighted as possible and striving for prosperous development over generations. From this, family businesses draw the strength to survive in both national and international competition with manager-led groups. They score highly thanks to the close connection between the company and its leaders.

As individual as every family business is, so also its advisors should be. A profound understanding of the business of a family-owned company and its special features is the basis for successful cooperation. The company manager expects a central contact person who maintains an overview of all accounting, commercial and tax law issues and provides advice on business decisions. Even beyond the operational business, the chemistry between the entrepreneurial family and the consultant must work, not least because company succession is a key issue in a family business that requires sensitive yet highly professional support.

At RSM Ebner Stolz, this holistic consulting approach is a top priority and is often implemented across several generations of the business family. The client is supported by a central contact person who holds all the threads together and ensures that all individual aspects of the family business and the business family are always considered in the results of the consultation - both in Germany and, if necessary, with the involvement of our RSM network partners abroad.

Our services at a glance

Consultancy in ongoing business

Advice on accounting and tax law issues
Support or outsourcing of financial and payroll accounting as well as the controlling function
Preparation or support in the preparation of annual financial statements in line with commercial law and tax regulations
Audit of annual financial statements under commercial law
Preparation of tax returns
Advice on the introduction and implementation of a tax compliance management system
Support with the tax-optimised structuring of corporate financing
Advice on changing corporate structures
Questions of works constitution law (general and group works council) and co-determination issues

Support and advice for cross-border business relationships

Transfer pricing advice including benchmark analyses and support with the fulfilment of documentation obligations
Examination of possible permanent establishments abroad
Optimisation of corporate structures in Germany and abroad, considering among other things, the regulations on add-back taxation
Examination of matters subject to withholding tax and support in the fulfilment of declaration obligations
Examination of circumstances subject to exit taxation and tax-optimised arrangements

Relationship between family business and business family

Structuring and implementation of adequate corporate governance, taking appropriate account of the interests of the various stakeholders (e.g. by setting up advisory boards, shareholder committees and supervisory boards, robust articles of association and rules of procedure)
Implementation of family constitutions
Moderating differences of opinion and "change processes" between generations and shareholder groups as well as between different bodies (in particular management and shareholders' meetings)
Comparison of testamentary and matrimonial property law provisions with the requirements of company agreements (e.g. marriage contract clauses, restricted circle of authorised shareholders)
Assumption of advisory and supervisory board functions and execution of wills

Succession counselling

Legal and tax advice on succession and anticipated succession, considering a fair balance between the interests of the successors and the management structures in the company (e.g. through usufruct models, upstream family companies, separation of business and private assets, avoidance of business split-up risks)
Monitoring the preferential treatment of company assets for inheritance tax purposes
Optimisation of the asset structure from an inheritance tax perspective
You can read more about succession counselling here

Advising the shareholders of the family business on their personal business and tax law issues