Succession planning is about more than your own future - it’s also about your clients’. By making contingency plans, you’re ensuring quality, certainty and continuity of service for your clients.

Furthermore, succession planning is not optional. 

Under APES 325 Risk Management for Firms, succession planning is mandatory for all Chartered Accountants in public practice in Australia as part of a practice’s business continuity risk management. In New Zealand, a succession plan is generally expected as part of an effective quality management system, which is required by the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA) PS-1: Quality Management.

For these reasons, CA ANZ has revised its Succession Planning Guide for members in public practice. This guide explains, in plain language, the rules and requirements around succession planning. Through a series of real-life case studies, the guide also explores the benefits, risks, challenges and nuances of succession planning. It includes a comprehensive, step-by-step checklist for succession planning, as well goal setting and retirement planning tools.

Importantly, this guide differentiates between immediate and non-immediate succession, walking practitioners through the process of creating a critical response plan that’s activated when the unexpected happens, as well as a long-term roadmap to strategic succession.