Business Legal Lifecycle – Enhance your knowledge of legal issues affecting business clients

Course Outline

Accountants are often the first point of contact for business clients

From start-up to growth and succession, the accountant is often the first point of contact when business owners need advice on legal matters. Often, this advice requires a sound understanding of legal matters in relation to business structuring, financial contracts, workplace agreements, property investment and succession planning.

Of course, accountants are not (generally) legal advisors. However, with a good understanding of legal issues affecting their business clients, they can engage in effective conversations to identify key issues and suggest next steps. With this knowledge, they can effectively manage the relationship with external legal advisors.

What’s this course all about?

This course is designed for managers, partners and directors of accounting and advisory firms who are interested in helping business owners identify key legal issues so that they can seek the best solutions. Through this process, accountants will enhance their role as business advisors with clients.

Over 12 modules, Jeremy Streten, author of ‘The Business Legal Lifecycle’ and Legal Practice Director of SMS Law will take you through a step by step process that identifies and discusses all key legal issues that business owners will experience as they proceed through the lifecycle of their business.

Who’s it for?

This course is designed for managers, partners and directors of accounting and advisory firms who are interested in helping business owners identify key legal issues so that they can seek the best solutions. Through this process, accountants will enhance their role as business advisors with clients

Course Content

This course consists of 12 modules:

1. Start-up business – Structure and responsibilities for business owners

• Legal liability of different structures
• Key director responsibilities and liabilities
• Common mistakes when becoming a franchisee

2. Client engagement – Customer and supplier issues and agreements

• The importance of having an agreement with all clients
• The key features of a debt collection procedure
• PPSR common pitfalls, tips and tricks

3. Workplace policies – Putting in place employee and contractor policies

• The importance of having employment agreements
• Key features of a workplace policy including emerging trends
• Employee vs contractor – Key differences and examples

4. Intellectual property – Ensuring that the right IP protection is in place

• When you need to register a trademark
• How to set up a separate entity to hold intellectual property
• The importance of how-to guides in any business

5. Business investors – How to properly bring investors into a business

• What to look for in an investor
• The key features of a good shareholder agreement
• When you need a joint venture agreement

6. Business expansion – Focus on challenges faced when growing a business

• What to look out for when buying a business
• Franchisors and misleading and deceptive conduct
• Franchising vs Licencing, which one is right?

7. Estate planning – Establishing the right estate planning practices for any business

• What constitutes a will and why you need one
• The importance of putting the right power of attorney in place
• The key features of a buy-sell option agreement

8. Property investment – Putting the right structures in place to invest in property

• Why property should be held in different entities
• Importance factors to consider when buying a property
• The conveyancing process explained

9. Dispute resolution – How to deal with litigation and dispute resolution procedures

• What do I do when a client has been sued?
• Dealing effectively with debt collectors
• My client is owed money, what information do they need?

10. Business sale – What business owners need to do to sell their business

• When is a business ready for sale?
• What to do if my client wants to see part of their business
• The process of selling a business explained

11. Retirement planning – Helping business clients in the transition to retirement

• Common issues with earn out agreements
• When does my client need to revisit their will?
• Fundamentals of SMSF buying property

12. Insolvency and bankruptcy – Dealing with insolvency and winding up the right way

• Outline of the insolvency process for individuals and companies
• Questions to ask someone who is considering bankruptcy
• What is a preference claim and what needs to happen?

CPD – This course is worth 18 CPD hours

Course Structure

• Learners can complete courses at a place that suits them, within and outside work hours
• Each learner will have a dedicated login to give them personal access to their course
• Module material includes online presentations, workbooks, PowerPoint Slides, templates, scripts and articles
• All modules also incorporate formal qualitative assessment tasks that encourage learners to develop practical actions demonstrating understanding of the concepts
• All assessment tasks are scored, with directed feedback to learners on their response
• As the learner progresses, they develop their personal SMART action list to drive change
• Managers are able to see at a glance how their staff are progressing
• All learners have access to course content for 12 months following their enrolment

Learning Process

Our self-paced eLearning courses follow a 4-step process in relation to learning objectives:

All modules are structured with specific learning objectives and assessment tasks. Learners are expected to demonstrate that they understand learning objectives and can apply concepts through completion of the assessment tasks. A SMART action planning template is used to consolidate specific actions and to ensure that a timeframe for completion is established and followed. Regular review of progress is ensured through commitment to completing the course.