For business families · ownership, authority & capital
Clear decisions.
A practical way forward.
I help your family connect the arrangements you already have—so you can see what needs deciding, give your advisers a clear brief, and know what still needs to happen.
What your family gains
You may have the pieces.
Do they work together?
Your managers can run the second location. Can they sign the lease, commit the deposit and keep enough cash available for the first?
You may already have capable advisers, documents and investments. A review adds value when ownership, authority, family expectations and usable funds still need to be considered together. Read how one reported review recorded the approvals still needed.
Follow one fictional handover
The existing arrangements
A successor has been appointed.
Legal documents are in place. Your CA and banker understand their respective parts. The family expects the business to keep moving when the founder steps back.
These are useful foundations. They do not, by themselves, answer every connected question.
The questions to connect
Who can actually act?
- Which commitments can the successor approve?
- When must other owners be consulted?
- Are funds accessible under the relevant mandates?
The family’s intentions and the authority recognised by documents or institutions may need to be reconciled.
The Diagnostic’s written output
A clear basis for the next decisions.
The Diagnostic records the dependencies, who must decide or confirm each point, and the priority sequence for the family and its advisers.
It does not itself change authority, amend documents or implement the arrangement. Further work is separately agreed.
See the three written outputs →A clearer discussion.
Bring differing priorities and the decisions requiring agreement into view.
A coherent brief.
Connect the family’s direction with the questions each specialist needs to address.
Visible responsibilities.
Know who must act, what comes first and which confirmations remain open.
If your current arrangements already provide this coordination reliably, a separate engagement may add little. The first conversation establishes whether there is a meaningful gap and whether Sandeep can help address it.
Start a private conversation →
Family Continuity Architect
Sandeep N. Setty
I listen to the people affected by a decision. We work out what the family needs to agree, what the business can support and which questions belong with your CA, advocate or banker.
What would be fair
to both children?
The family is considering passing on ownership. Both children could hold shares. Only one wants to manage the business.
What can I approve on my own?
Running the company and having authority to act are different responsibilities. Which decisions can I take day to day, and which go to the board?
When will I be heard?
I work elsewhere, but my shares matter to me. I want to understand how dividends are decided and when I’ll be consulted on a major change.
What has actually been approved?
The board needs a record of who may act and within what limits. The family’s advisers can then confirm which documents and mandates give effect to that decision.
Starting points
01 — 02What needs
deciding?
A question may arise while the business is growing, during a founder’s absence or ahead of a handover. Start with the decision your family faces now.
Several decisions
are connected.
Look at ownership, family priorities and authority together before committing to a structure.
Three written outputs
- Continuity Exposure Map
- Decision and Dependency Register
- Priority Action Sequence
Check what must be paid, when funds will be available and who can authorise their use.
A first conversation checks whether a separate review is useful. Some questions can be resolved directly with your existing advisers.
Inside the focused Capital Review · Follow one supplier payment
Inside a Capital Review
The cash is there.
Can it be used?
A supplier is waiting. The founder is away. A bank balance answers only the first of the company’s questions.
Explore the Continuity Capital Review
How I work with your advisers₹12 lakh
The forecast covers the payment.
The finance team has identified the amount due and the cash to meet it.
Who has authority to release it?
The alternate signatory’s mandate and payment limit still need confirmation.
Ask the bank to confirm the mandate.
The finance lead records the bank’s confirmation or takes the outstanding question to the board.
In conversation with
the profession.
A professional record
Working alongside your advisers.
A teaching session for Chartered Accountants on the first conversation, professional boundaries and connected family decisions.
Examine the session record ↗Evidence of professional education; not a client outcome.
Also in print
Q4 Capital Allocation: Direction Before Drift
Before you get in touch
A sentence or two about the decision is enough. Please leave out account details, private documents and other family members’ names.
I reply to written enquiries within one business day. A covering partner responds when I’m unavailable.
The first conversation is complimentary. If further work makes sense, we agree the scope and fees separately.