A LOST GENERATION

摘要

Succession and retirement issues are creating inertia across independent practices as partner payout expectations outstrip what can realistically be achieved. Faced with an ageing demographic, the findings of the Accountancy/CCH retirement survey, in association with practice advisor Kato Consultancy, provide an insight into the prevailing views of independent practices on the challenges of retirement and concerns about the future of their firms. The major talking point is the number of firms who see merger or sale as the route to succession. Some 29% said that merger or sale would be the solution, with a few believing that a merger or sale, coupled with an incoming partner, is the answer. It is an astounding figure. If this is representative of the independent sector of the profession as a whole, there is a very real possibility of losing a fifth to a quarter of small and medium-sized firms in the next five to 10 years.