Merging professional practices, part 2 Putting it all together feature In Part 1, I talked about the synergistic considerations of merging chiropractic practices, sug-gested some potential disadvantages of doing so, and began to discuss the steps you might take if you’re considering a merger with another DC. Lloyd Manning is a semi-retired business appraiser and financial analyst who is now a freelance business article writer. He resides in Lloydminster, Sask. He can be reached at [email protected]. A successful merger takes time and money to put into motion. Six to 18 months is the normal time frame for constructing a merger. When you start paying law-yers, accountants, appraisers, and facilitators, it can be quite expensive. Accord-ingly, there must be commitment. The larger the number of participants, the more com-plicated the process will be. You will require a good accountant, a lawyer, a business analyst who is qualified to val -ue professional practices, and depending on the number of prospective partners, perhaps a facilitator to get everyone to agree and tie it all together. Don’t rush into it. Many mergers that have the potential to be successful do not happen because the participants lack suffi-cient guidance, or the patience, to plow through and resolve the many decisions that must be made, or feel uncertain regarding whether the end product is worth the upfront cost. Do not be too disappointed if some of the pending merger partners fall out along the way. TYpE OF ORGANIZATION Your accountant and lawyer – with whom you should consult prior to acting on any of my suggestions, as I am neither – will give more in-depth and better advice applicable to your situation. My recommendation is that each chiropractor incorporate him/herself as a professional corporation and that the merged practice be an unincorporated partner-ship of their respective professional corporations. www.canadianchiropractor.ca Lloyd C. Manning 34 • Canadian ChiropraCtor | oCtoBEr 2011
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor October 2011: Page 34
