ExitSMART™ Services
Maximize Your Life’s Work
You’ve worked hard to create a successful organization. Are you building a plan to get the most out of what you’ve built?
ExitSMART™ is a is a four-phase approach that takes an owner through the process of transitioning their business from beginning to end, including considerations for ownership, leadership, and personal planning.
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Take the ExitSMART™ Assessment
Is your succession planning on the right track? Find out with our ExitSMART™ assessment tool.
The 4 Phases of ExitSMART
Build your comprehensive strategy with these key steps.
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Discovery
Develop a full picture of your personal financial, family and business situation, including perspectives of key stakeholders. This will ensure planning is relevant, customized and meets owners’ goals. This stage also includes review of emergency planning should there be an unexpected exit.
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Clarify objectives and outcomes
Analyze and merge personal, business and industry factors to establish timelines and strategies for transition of ownership and leadership.
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Document a clear, time-lined action plan
This ensures nothing is missed and there is no duplication of work between your professional team members, i.e., lawyer, accountant, etc.
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Implement
We work alongside you to ensure the required steps are executed and to support all members of your professional team, through to the completion of your transition.
Insights
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Confidence
May 09, 2022
Why grooming your successors is critical to the family business
A formal grooming plan helps ensure your successors have the requisite skills to effectively manage and lead the family business.
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Confidence
May 03, 2022
Succeeding at Family Business Succession Planning
Communication, governance, grooming and fair vs. equal are important principals to keep in mind when developing a succession plan.
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Confidence
May 02, 2022
Family focus: The non-technical or family component of succession
The best succession plans focus on the non-technical component such as family communication, family values, family dynamics and family expectations.
Contact Our ExitSMART™ Team
John Hughes CPA, CA, MBA
Senior Vice President, Private Enterprise
John Hughes, MBA, CPA, CA, is MNP Senior Vice President, Private Enterprise. John is a member of the Firm’s management team and leads the Private Enterprise practice, which advises Canadian business families, entrepreneurs and management teams to create value and grow their businesses through a diverse range of services and customized strategies.
John was formerly national leader of a Big Four private enterprise practice, and is also the former national leader of Canada’s Best Managed Companies program. His consulting experience has included everything from audits, strategic tax planning and strategy and operational consulting to corporate finance, due diligence, mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings (IPOs).
John obtained a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from York University in 1992. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), qualifying as a Charted Accountant (CA) in 1988.
John’s expertise and passion for Canadian private business led him to co-author two Canadian best-sellers: Building the Best (Penguin 2006) and Power of the Best (2012).
Lynne Fisher
National Team Leader, ExitSmart
Carla Milne CPA, CA
Partner and Business Advisor
Jim Chagnon CPA, CA, TEP
Partner, Private Enterprise & Professionals
Shane King CPA, CA
National Leader, Succession Services
