Imagine the most important decisions in your career being guided by an experienced, well regarded, knowledgeable expert.

Reality is here, you can stop imagining!
Practice Transition / Succession Planning is designed to provide a process to develop associateships, partnership and practice sales smoothly and equitably. It helps make the transitions a win-win for all parties. Randall K. Berning co-authored the ADA publications Associateships and Valuing A Practice. Those publications are now on their 5th revision and have withstood the test of time and countless doctors and their advisors review. You can be guided by the same judgment he provided in writing the publications and that has served hundreds of dentists in his consultations for more than 25 years.

We help create a satisfying practice arrangement for the doctors seeking a well planned practice relationship by stating what the parties should do and how to do it. Most doctors seem to forget that professional practice relationships have great elasticity. By that we mean that there are a variety of options available to create a structure tailored to the doctors needs. We are experts at identifying options for the doctors to consider, determining what structure fits the underlying practice and matching it with traditional or more creative formats. With a tailored associateship, partnership or planned larger growth oriented practice it provides a wonderful and satisfying practice arrangement.

The Program Starts With Several Important Initial Discussion Areas.

What Is Right For This Practice and For Each Of the Doctors: Developing An Initial Associateship, A More Immediate Buy-In, A Shorter Term Buy-out Or A Longer Term Buy-in? Is the current doctor owner or group looking toward a doctor leaving in the near future or is there interest in the doctor continuing with the practice for many years? Is the younger professional prospect interested in a modest equity interest or equal equity partnership interest? Stating the expectations of the parties relating to a variety of foundation and qualifying issues, including those above, allows for an intelligently designed partnership relationship to be developed. It is part of our mission to develop professional practice associateships, partnerships or planned larger practices that last for the time period necessary to effectuate the parties' goals. The structure, agreement provisions and relationship should give the doctors, the staff, the patients and referral sources the confidence that the practice is stable. 

We have a solid record of helping doctors develop their professional practice goals. We coordinate with our affiliates in providing professional third party practice valuation, cash flow projections to illustrate the financial and tax terms, providing suggested terms for the entire period of the relationship. The period of the relationship can be short or long, starting with an associateship or not, or starting with a partnership and where there is a planned buy-out and eventual hire back of a practice founder.

For Practice Owners We Provide Prospect / Practice Evaluation and Next Steps To Take. We act to suggest and illustrate the steps the practice owner should be taking to find, qualify and present an opportunity to prospects, including comprehensive opportunity binders, practice valuation, compensation distribution, terms letter and document sets.  Younger professionals have many practice equity opportunities today and we take seriously encouraging practice owners to develop a professional package for the younger professional and their advisors to evaluate the practice partnership opportunity.

For Younger Professionals We Provide Opportunity Review and Guidance. On behalf of younger professionals we help to review and evaluate proposals, buy-in or buy-out arrangements, compensation distribution, tax structure, benefits, and the potential path of the relationship as well as help locate local counsel and accounting assistance.

How We Help You Establish Your Relationship and Your Future Path.

• A Tackle It consultation is scheduled prior to Your Planning Day.  The consultation is designed to help ensure that the Practice Transition / Succession Planning Day is right for you and tailored to the needs of the doctors and practice.

• Once the Practice Transition / Succession Planning Day is scheduled. We request relevant information on the practice and practitioners. An appropriate questionnaire is provided to each party.

• During Our Day Together, In Addition To the Items Noted Above, We Assess The Potential Future Path of the Relationship and Provide a "Start to Finish" Discussion. A primary part of the day is to use a process to build your practice transition relationship, suggest proven terms, suggest advisors if the practice does not currently have counsel, suggest agreement provisions, develop your timeline and more.

The above description of the program offered by Berning & Affiliates is intended to help doctors start their practice transition planning right by taking account of the practice and personal goals of the doctors. Practices vary. Call us at 800-8121 to discuss your practice and your needs.

If you are ready to proceed -

#1 - Purchase your Tackle It Consultation
#2 - Purchase your Practice Transition / Succession Planning Day