Of the many questions facing owners and executives of Private Enterprises, this is the most important questions for us to ask and help you answer.

How you answer that question – and all the questions that follow – will form the foundation of our work together. Your answers will help us better understand your goals and perspectives, and enable us to respond to your needs, assemble the right team, and deliver services and industry insight that are relevant and valuable to your circumstances.

Our observations about Private Enterprise

From our experience four major attributes influence our approach to serving Private Enterprise:

Business is personal. In Private Enterprise, the weight of financial success or failure is borne by a limited number of owners, whose financial circumstances are often impacted directly by the cash flow and tax implications of the business. That intertwined relationship calls for strategies that work both on a personal and enterprise-wide level.

Leaders have broad responsibilities. Regardless of the size of the business, leaders in Private Enterprises often cover a very broad set of responsibilities. That means they are looking for advisors who respond effectively to their business concerns, in addition to bringing deep technical professional skills.

Accountability is private. By its very nature, a Private Enterprise is accountable to a known group of owners. Accountability is every bit as stringent as it would be for a public shareholder group, but in a Private Enterprise there may be more opportunity for vetting action steps and results directly with the ownership. The dynamic of private accountability doesn’t change the underlying feeling of deep responsibility to an important group of stakeholders with whom the leaders likely have close personal relationships, but it can provide an opportunity to influence a longer-term view for driving growth and managing risks.

Transition is inevitable. Private Enterprises face the issue of sustainability, including succession and/or transition. No matter what form the transition takes, it needs to be planned and accounted for over time, including the establishment of long-term goals and strategies, and contingency plans to pursue them.

Our Approach

All business owners and investors, of course, expect to succeed. The challenge, however, is to achieve success. Regardless of whether you define success as faster growth, better returns, sustainability, owner wealth, or future ownership transition, achieving it requires you to plan and execute effectively, and identify ways to increase business profits and manage risks. We will seek to gain an understanding and perspective about you and your businesses so that our services and insight can be delivered in a valuable way. Our “Deloitte Private Enterprise Framework” illustrates many of the business areas that we want to explore with you to holistically understand your enterprise, your goals and strategies. This approach positions us to deliver professional services that are linked to your broader business issues and in a context that is relevant and meaningful.

About a quarter of the Deloitte U.S. Firms’ revenue is derived from our relationships with Private Enterprises, including family-owned businesses, closely held companies, and those funded by outside sources. With the wide range of skills, tools, and resources available within the Deloitte U.S. Firms, we are prepared to help in nearly every area of your business, both domestically and around the world.

Our years of working with Private Enterprises of all sizes and levels of complexity, and our knowledge of all major industry sectors, position us to explore opportunities to deliver great value to private businesses and their leaders.

We approach relationships with a Private Enterprise and its owners from their point of view and circumstance foremost. Our people are passionate about what they do and will ask the right questions and listen to your answers. Working together, we look to apply our knowledge, resources, and skills to explore opportunities to deliver value to your enterprise.

One last question

If you’re looking for advisors who listen – and who have the range of capabilities and access to the resources necessary to support the growth, change, and complexity of your business, we hope you’ll answer one more question: How can we help you?