Business AdvisoryNEW
Agree how you own, manage and develop the business together.
For business owners bringing in a partner, reviewing decision-making arrangements or preparing for changes in ownership. BIZ PARTNER helps structure the discussion, assess practical options and define the matters that require legal implementation.
The service
Shareholder and governance advisory helps business owners assess and agree how ownership rights, management responsibilities and significant decisions should work together. It addresses the practical arrangements between owners and their relationship with the company’s management.
For a business connected with Poland, the engagement also identifies which proposals require assessment under applicable law and implementation through appropriate agreements, corporate documents or approvals.
A governance roadmap records recommendations and agreed principles. It does not, by itself, amend company documents or create enforceable rights.
Your starting point
A
You need to clarify what the incoming partner contributes, what ownership means in practice and how the relationship will work.
B
Some owners work in the business while others take a less active role, and expectations are no longer aligned.
C
The business needs a clearer way to approve significant actions and address disagreements.
D
You want to consider how a future transfer, departure or other ownership event should be handled.
The central deliverable
A written framework for the decisions owners need to make.
The core engagement reviews an agreed ownership or governance question and produces documented recommendations. The scope identifies the participants, entities, documents and decisions covered.
An engagement may conclude that existing arrangements should be retained, clarified or implemented more consistently rather than replaced.
Legal drafting, formal legal or tax opinions, valuation, filings and representation are included only where expressly agreed and assigned to appropriate professionals.
An overview of the relevant ownership, management roles, existing arrangements and decision-making processes, based on the information reviewed.
A structured list of unclear expectations, governance gaps and matters requiring agreement or professional assessment.
Practical alternatives compared against the owners’ objectives, operating needs and relevant implementation constraints.
Written recommendations or a record of principles agreed by the participants, with open matters and assumptions clearly identified.
The documents, approvals, specialist input and sequence of actions required to put the selected approach into effect.
Illustrative governance framework - not a legal recommendation.
Analysis scope
The workstreams follow the ownership decision. The following areas are not automatically included in every engagement.
What does each owner bring to the business?
Review of ownership objectives, expected financial or operational contributions and matters requiring agreement before a change.
Which decisions require owner involvement?
Assessment of decision categories, approval processes and matters proposed for additional shareholder oversight, subject to legal review.
Who is responsible for running the company?
Clarification of operational roles, reporting lines and the distinction between ownership, management appointments and employment or service arrangements.
What should owners know and discuss?
Assessment of reporting expectations, budget oversight and principles for discussing remuneration, funding and profit distributions.
What happens when agreement cannot be reached?
Consideration of escalation, discussion and resolution processes, with specialist assessment of any proposed contractual mechanisms.
How should ownership changes be approached?
Review of proposed transfer processes, exit objectives, valuation principles and continuity questions requiring legal, tax or valuation input.
Comparing the options
A governance framework should reflect how the business operates, how owners participate and what happens when circumstances change. More approval rights do not automatically create better governance.
| Decision factor | What the review considers |
|---|---|
| Business objectives | Whether the arrangement supports the owners’ agreed direction and operating needs. |
| Decision-making | Whether responsibilities and approval processes are clear and workable. |
| Balance between owners | How participation, information and proposed protections interact. |
| Operational practicality | Whether management can carry out its responsibilities without unnecessary uncertainty or delay. |
| Legal implementation | Which proposals require legal assessment, documentation or corporate action. |
| Change and continuity | How the framework may operate when roles, relationships or ownership change. |
Principles and legal implementation
Owners first need clarity on the business arrangement they want to achieve. The legal implementation must then be assessed against the company’s circumstances, existing documents and applicable law.
Depending on the agreed scope, implementation may involve a shareholders’ agreement, amendments to constitutional documents, corporate resolutions or related arrangements. The appropriate documents and their interaction require qualified legal assessment.
The process
01
Describe the business, the owners involved and the decision or difficulty you want to address.
02
Confirm the client, participants, scope, responsibilities and how information will be shared.
03
Examine the relevant documents, roles and current decision-making practices.
04
Compare practical approaches and identify matters requiring agreement or specialist input.
05
Provide the agreed recommendations, principles and open issues.
06
Proceed with separately scoped legal drafting, corporate actions and other professional work.
The work combines document review, consolidated written questions and focused discussions. You can begin with a short written description of the situation.
Practical questions
Illustrative scenarios, not client case studies.
Trust and professional roles
An ownership engagement should identify who the client is, who participates and how information and recommendations will be shared. These points are particularly important where owners have different objectives.
Commercial analysis, legal advice and advice to individual shareholders may involve different professional responsibilities. The engagement should define those responsibilities before substantive work begins.
Where the owners’ positions differ significantly, separate participants may need independent advice.
Scope and fees
Fees depend on the questions being assessed, the number of entities and participants, the existing documentation, the complexity of the proposed arrangements and the professional input required.
The proposal defines the client, scope, deliverables, responsibilities, fees and exclusions before substantive work begins.
FAQ
No. An engagement can help owners clarify arrangements before a new partner joins, responsibilities change or significant decisions arise.
Yes, where included in scope. Commercial objectives can be reviewed alongside existing arrangements, while legal interpretation and drafting require appropriately qualified input.
No. They serve different purposes, and their interaction depends on the applicable law and the company’s circumstances. The appropriate arrangement requires legal assessment.
A project can assess decision-making, responsibilities and possible processes for disagreement. No mechanism can guarantee that owners will always reach agreement.
Only where expressly agreed and assigned to appropriate professionals. Advisory conclusions and legal implementation are distinct workstreams.
Yes. Before substantive work begins, the engagement must clarify who the client is, what can be reviewed and how other participants may be involved.
Only if specifically agreed. A review may identify the need for valuation principles or a separate valuation assignment.
Usually an ownership overview, relevant company documents, existing agreements and a description of the decision or concern. A tailored document list follows the scope discussion.
Related business services