Succession planning | M & A

In every company – regardless of its size and corporate structure – the question of its long-term continued existence or at least its corporate restructuring arises, when the circumstances so require. This can result in the sale, merger or transfer of a sole proprietorship or a partnership to the next generation. In the case of a corporation, the question may arise as well whether other companies, establishments or business units should be acquired or whether own holdings or business units should be sold.

The key factor in all such transactions is their significance for the company as such and, as a rule, the considerable legal and tax consequences that may result from such transactions.

In this practice group, auditor activities are aimed particularly at the carrying out of a tax and management due diligence. This is to ensure that there are no tax risks hidden in the existing properties and/or that the acquisition makes economic sense, also in terms of the purchaser's previous activities.

A further focus of an auditor's work in this context is the company valuation, i.e. finding a resilient company value of the property in order to determine an appropriate purchase price or to investigate potential tax risks.