Doing well… but wondering what's next?
If your business is thriving right now, that’s something to be proud of. But success brings its own set of challenges, often different from the ones faced in the early stages.
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You might find yourself asking:
“Why is there so much cash in the business, but I can’t access it without triggering a massive tax bill?”
“Growth is great — but why does it feel like I’m struggling to keep up with it?”
“What happens if I step back — do I have a plan for succession?”
“Is red tape and regulation slowly draining the joy from what I’ve built?”
“Why am I still losing sleep, even though the numbers say we’re doing well?”
“We’re profitable — but I’m not sure where that profit is really coming from.”
If any of this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Growth often brings uncertainty, pressure, and complexity. The reality is: success doesn't mean smooth sailing, it often means a new kind of storm to navigate.
Where we see the pressure points
In conversations with SME and family business owners, the same themes come up again and again. The key is clarity. Once you can name what’s bothering you, even if it’s just a nagging feeling, the path forward often becomes clearer.
These aren’t just technical problems, they’re personal ones:
Business owners unsure if they’re making the right strategic calls.
Tax implications acting as a barrier to reinvesting or drawing down wealth.
Ambitious leaders held back by operational chaos or unclear financial insight.
A lack of succession clarity creating tension between generations or business partners.
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From worry to action
At ifac, we try to start every conversation by asking: what’s keeping you awake at night? Once that’s out in the open, we can often take practical steps to relieve pressure or unlock new opportunities.
For example:
One business owner recently came to us post-exit, looking for a second opinion on how to manage significant corporate wealth. Through our tax and wealth advisory teams, we helped design a structure that will, over 7 to 10 years that will support new ventures, enable tax-efficient wealth extraction and ensure succession happens on their terms, not the taxman’s.
In another case, a fast-scaling business engaged our fractional CFO service. By digging into the numbers, we identified where margins were strongest, helping the leadership team focus energy where it had the biggest return.
Get more from the relationship with your accountant
If you only ever talk P&L and balance sheets, you’re missing the bigger picture. A truly effective advisory relationship should zoom out to give you a “helicopter view” of your business and your life goals. From tax compliance and company law deadlines to strategy, growth planning, sustainability, and succession, there’s more help available than many business owners realise.
We’re here to ask better questions, offer informed perspective, and help you move forward with confidence, whether you’re scaling up, stepping back, or simply asking “what’s next?”
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