E&Y: Half of Romanian family businesses make it to the second generation

Half of local family businesses are passed to the second generation of owners, while 20% make it to a third generation, according to the E&Y study The Barometer of Family Owned Business in Romania. At the same time, only 3% of family businesses go beyond the third generation of owners. The study surveyed 247 family business owners, who answered an online questionnaire between February 8 and March 5 of this year. Some 44% of respondents said that their business was completely dependent on them while 62% had not picked a successor yet. Out of those surveyed, 80% led businesses with a turnover of EUR 1 million. Of these businesses, 20% had been passed on to a second generation, while 73% were still run by their founders and getting ready for a generation transfer. At the same time, only 27% of businesses with a turnover of over EUR 1 million were run by a leader who took over from the founders, compared to 53% of family business worldwide. Overall, 80% of the businesses surveyed had at least one woman in a top management position, compared to 95% with one man at the same level. Also, 49% of business had more than 2 men in top management, compared with 31% with at least 2 women. Of the family businesses surveyed, 45% did not hire a woman member of the family, compared to 34% that had no man member of the family hired. The survey also showed that a quarter of family businesses thought that extending the term for the tax break on the reinvested profit is the fiscal measure with the most significant impact on their business in 2017. Among the businesses with a turnover of over EUR 1 million, 33% of respondents had the same view. The VAT reduction is the second measure seen as having the most significant impact on business this year, by 19% of respondents, followed by removal of the ceiling for calculating social contributions. According to the same report, 94% of family businesses in Romania hire a specialized consultant for various aspects of their business, but only 27% use consultancy services constantly. editor@romania-insider.com