The year is already coming to a close, which means it’s the perfect time to evaluate your business planning strategies to set yourself up for success in 2023. What areas of your business are you hoping to improve in the new year? Between inflation and a recession potentially looming, it’s never been more important to have a solid business planning strategy in the works.
Recently the BerganKDV team hosted a webinar centered on year-end planning key topics and considerations. Here’s a breakdown of a few top areas that our team is monitoring:
1. Inflation: Inflation dominated economic conversations this year. With the Feds recently rising interest rates, it’s expected that inflation will begin to plateau in the coming year. With this in mind, our team doesn’t expect inflation to reach the rates that it did in 2022 but doesn’t expect inflation to decrease substantially in any way.
2. Legislation Updates: 2022 didn’t present nearly as many tax legislative changes as the previous couple of years. A major piece of tax legislation passed was the Inflation Reduction Act. The legislation extended and created new tax credits associated with investments in clean energy with the goal of reducing carbon emissions and extended Affordable Care Act subsidies. To learn more about the bill and how it may impact your tax planning, check out this blog.
3. Owner Planning: As a business owner, creating enterprise value (growing the valuation of your business) should be one of your top goals. However, most owners are so involved in the day-to-day that they fail to focus on this as much as they should. Even if you have no plans of exiting your business, it’s key to have an owner plan in the works so that when the time is right, you can achieve an ideal outcome for your business and loved ones. If you don’t have a plan yet for your business, then this could be the year to begin one. Owner plans help form a solid strategy around your exit planning and can add value to your business.
4. M&A: Mergers and acquisitions continue to be a trending topic. Some sectors like construction and finance are still selling above historical averages, and others like food services and entertainment are selling below. Our team anticipates that it’s slowly becoming a buyer’s market, so if you have considered selling your business you may want to partner with an advisor to determine your options.
5. Digital Transformation: With technology constantly changing, workplace digitalization will remain a key business consideration for the near future. Between advancements in AI, predictive analytics, machine learning and more, the impact these factors will have on work environments, productivity and streamlining data is worth keeping an eye on.
6. Business Intelligence and Analytics (BIA): This topic ties to a key component of digital transformation. Having the ability to effectively analyze business data, draw key insights from it and use it to make actionable and predictive decisions will be a game changer for businesses that can achieve it. The Bureau of Labor Statistics considers data science among the top 20 fastest-growing occupations and has projected 31% growth over the next 10 years. If you aim to be a top-performing organization in your industry, having on-demand access to accurate and timely data is a must.
As you think about what is next for your business in the near future, the above topics may want to be at the forefront of your strategic plans. At BerganKDV, we provide meaningful advisory to help our clients determine the next best step for their business. From offering powerful software solutions to track and gain insights from data to M&A advisory, exit planning, and tax expertise, we have a wide array of services to address your unique needs. Contact us today to learn more!
