Our experienced risk assessment and asset protection lawyers can help guide you to the best outcome so you can focus on running your business with confidence.
Risk assessment and asset protection
Assessing the risks in your business can help you make decisions about the best way to deal with specific situations or strategically structure your business. It can also help you identify ways to reduce the risks and secure your business.
Everywhere you look there are potential risks, including:
- How your business is financed for both long-term growth and short-term cash flow;
- Whether your employees are at risk of injury or harm;
- How would you deal with a natural disaster, fire or other unexpected event (like losing a major customer);
- Environmental risks, particularly as more businesses look to decarbonise their operations; and
- Supply chain risks that could include what happens if there is a change in importation laws or you lose a critical supplier.
Planning for risks and protecting your assets
Once you’ve identified and assessed the risks in your business, you can put in place plans to mitigate them and protect your assets. These actions may include:
- Business continuity or emergency management plans to reduce risk if something unexpected happens;
- Succession plans to reduce risk if a key member of your management team leaves or has an accident or illness;
- Operational plans to change the way you manage your business day to day;
- Occupational health and safety plans to minimise the risk of harm or injury to your employees;
- Reviewing your business structure and making changes to mitigate identified risks;
- Changing policies, processes and procedures to minimise the identified risks;
- Sales plans that consider changes in your customer base; and
- Training plans to ensure your employees and management have the necessary skills to deal with potential risks as they arise.
Once you have identified your risks and put in place plans to protect your assets, you will need to keep revisiting your risk assessment and asset protection plan to ensure it covers anything that has changed.
Why MNG Lawyers
Our lawyers are experienced in helping businesses assess their risks and put in place plans to protect their assets. They listen to your concerns, help you identify your risks and can explain your options to you. They can even help you review your business structure and paperwork and make any changes you need to protect your business and assets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can change your business structure if you find it no longer meets your needs. Depending on the complexity of your business and the structure you have and want to change to, changing how it’s structured can be relatively simple or may be quite costly.
While it’s not always essential that you have an agreement, for some business structures we recommend that you do have an agreement. For example, a partnership agreement would set out the rights and responsibilities of the partners. Similarly, a shareholders agreement sets out the obligations and rights of shareholders in a company. If you’re establishing a trust, you will need a trust deed to be drawn up.
Some business structures do require specific legal registrations. For example, a sole trader doesn’t have to register their business but a company must be registered with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). Regardless, if you have a business name that you use publicly it may be worthwhile registering your business name.