Book excerpt: As the majority of baby boomers retire over the next five to 10 years, succession planning will be vital for the long-term survival of many businesses. Australia is about to see a huge transfer of wealth from the baby boomer generation, yet many businesses, particularly family-owned businesses, struggle to ensure a smooth transition of business management and ownership. Myriad studies show that fewer than 30 per cent of private businesses have an achievable succession plan in place. Most business owners do nothing or they choose to focus on one area in the succession planning process such as tax, while ignoring many of the other key issues that need to be dealt with. For companies that are family owned, the ramifications may be even more sweeping. The personal issues they face, compounding other day-to-day business concerns, range from planning for income taxes to maintaining interpersonal relationships with family members. Succession planning is more complex now as many different business, financial and personal issues come into play. A good succession plan will look at a range of issues such as people and talent, family dynamics, corporate structure, estate planning, insurance and share transfer to name just a few. The Art of Business Succession Planning is for anyone in business who wants to have a change, retire or simply sell their business. It is designed to guide business owners through a comprehensive and strategic approach to the business succession process. The opportunities and benefits are great when succession planning is undertaken in a disciplined way.