Small Business Q&A: Kieran McCarthy from Hughes Blake Chartered Accountants

In this week’s Q&A, Kehlan talks with Kieran McCarthy from Hughes Blake Chartered Accountants. Kieran has written a book entitled Family Business: A Survival Guide and talks with Kehlan about the book and why he decided to write it.

So, Kieran what’s the book all about?

In my job at Hughes Blake, I come across a lot of businesses looking to pass the family firm from parents to sons and daughters. But what many people don’t realise is that it is a complex mechanism and not simply a case of handing over the keys. Some 75% of businesses in Ireland are family-owned. Of those, two thirds of businesses will fail within a short period because they haven’t taken proper account of factors which influence the hand-over.