Your Final Sunset: Contingency Planning For Firm Owners
Whenever you want to see me, always look at the sunset; I will be there.
― Grace Ogot
::Together With Financial Cents::
Financial Cents has a fantastic library of templates built by accounting firms like yours!
When my Father-In-Law passed away, we were able to admire, grieve and mourn him without chaos. He had documented everything - banking, his DNR, income sources, investments, properties, and he had a Will. He had organized all the papers related to the above in a folder and let us know where they were. This was his final legacy to his family, having a contingency plan that ensured his wishes were clear, that his wife Frances was looked after and that we knew all the details. Don was a charming, loving, organized, and wise man - that’s how we will always feel about him. In part because he created a beautiful sunset plan for his life.
How would those around you feel about you if something happened today?
Your sunset plan is critical for so many reasons: continuation of services for both employees and clients, regulatory compliance, and security of data, to name just a few. The contingency planning I am writing about today focuses on the unexpected disruption of operations from firm owners or key personnel issues, not economic downturns, natural and physical disasters, or security breaches.
I have put a lot of thought into this, having been the only parent for my children for nearly seven years and being a solo business owner for a long time before having any team members. Even with a team now, the plan remains the same, except that in writing this article, I realized I had a few critical holes, which have now been fixed.
A sunset framework will always have missing elements, but getting a base plan in play and running the what-if scenarios is critical.
The acronym version of this article is DEESC:
Document, embrace technology, empower autonomy, secure data and communicate.
🚨 Document everything
Document all the aspects of running your business, especially client work.
Don’t overthink it in the beginning. Pop your thoughts into a spreadsheet or doc. Record yourself doing work or noodling through things. You can get it all into your apps later, but get started. Get it out of your head!
And document your sunset plan, of course.
Create a different version for each stakeholder role (more on this below).
🚨 Embrace technology
Implement a practice management app.
Again, more on this below, but having all your processes and workflows, along with client data and notes, aggregated and accessible will smooth a transition period immensely.
Use a password manager app and a separate 2FA app.
Document the password, security key, and user name down and put it in a secure place, along with the logins/PINs for your devices. I created a document for this, put it on a USB, and deleted the doc from my computer rather than having all the key data anywhere a bad actor could access. Let your key stakeholders, lawyer (and, in my case, also my tax pro) know where it is, along with a documented chain of who can access it and when.
The password manager app will allow continued access to everything; to pass apps along to clients and family members or shut them down.
I have 2FA on virtually everything, so even though key contingency partners will have all our logins, they will need a second person to access the 2FA codes on a separate device. This protects them from anyone thinking they may be accessing things inappropriately. I trust my partners to the moon, but you never know how family members will feel about them in a time of confusion and grief. Protecting the integrity of those you have entrusted to wind down your life is key to your sunset plan.
🚨 Empower autonomy
Create a client collaboration document with their key business details.
Add business numbers, closing passwords to apps (not to be confused with login details), entity (and multi-entity) details, sales tax deadlines, stakeholder information, year-end details, and key information that makes their business unique. This document ensures that all parties have everything related to their business at their fingertips. These details should be in your practice management app, of course, but creating one that can be shared with the client and their other professionals (financial planner, lawyer, tax pro if you aren’t theirs…) levels up your professionalism and empowers them to access their information independent of your firm.
My practice management app, Financial Cents, also has a robust, searchable notes feature. I periodically download the notes and share them with my clients, so they have key details that may not be directly in the collaboration doc or their workflows. Bank/credit card/loan details, AP and vendor details and coding nuances, AR and customer payment information, meeting summaries…
Ensure clients can access all the apps you use with them.
I strongly believe Solos should not be the main admin or manage the subscriptions on their clients' apps, but I know some folks want the control. Whichever way you lean, think about the repercussions if you have the main control and how it can be passed along if the need arises.
Even if clients are not directly involved in using the apps such as QBO or the like, they should know how to access them.
Ensure team members and/or a contingency partner can access your workflows.
And that your workflows and client notes are clearly documented so that someone can either pick up your processes to complete client work or pass them along. A practice management app, such as Financial Cents, will make this part of your contingency plan seamless. There will be an aggregation of your work for your clients, how you do it and what is outstanding. There will be a trail of what you are working on, waiting on, by whom, and a timeline for it all.
Your practice management app should have features such as checklists, communications with teams and clients, descriptions and best practices, notes, resources to SOPs and video links, and much more. Having all of this in a single place allows easy access to the continuation of service for client work by either your firm or another.
Also, clients should have at least a basic understanding of your workflows.
They should know what you do when you do it and why you do it.
Not only does this help in the case of an unexpected transition to another firm, but it can also help with scope creep.
🚨 Secure all data
Have all client data, reports, and documents backed up in a cloud folder they control.
Clients should not be wholly dependent on you for their reports and documents. Before we moved into a paperless environment, clients gave us their documents; we did our good work and then gave them back their stuff along with a report package. Many firms are not replicating this process digitally, even though it can be automated. Take the onus off your firm for client dependency and security by setting up systems to send back what they need for audit and posterity purposes in real-time.
This is great not just in case of an emergency, but you have also set everyone up for a quick and graceful ending when you rehome clients.
Here is an article on my backup processes to get your thoughts flowing.
🚨 Communicate
Get your plan out to those most impacted and who can enact it, no matter how remedial.
We have a base document that tells our family who to contact (our accountant, financial planner and lawyer) and what those professionals' roles are. The professionals each have documents outlining their next steps and how to communicate with each other and our family.
I hope you never need to put a sunset plan into action.
But, having one in place helps with unexpected transitions and forces you to put processes, systems, and workflows into place that create a more efficient and professional firm. Should your plan ever need to be activated, it also gives the people around you a sense of calm and comfort under trying circumstances, leaving feelings of respect and caring for you.
Kellie :-}
I also wish we never had to plan personally for tragedies, but we do. A drunk driver killed a friend of mine, and I created an action document in his memory. Download it here and share it with other folks.
Of note: This article is for end-of-life planning. You also need to plan for long & short-term incapacitation. I also didn’t mention succession planning, transfer of assets, critical illness, disability or key man insurance, but you must consider whether these are critical to your contingency planning.
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Scaling New Heights
June 22 - 25, 2025
Orlando Marriot World Center
I am excited to be teaching a few sessions - Onboarding On Autopilot: Building A Harmonious Workflow, Automate Your Prospective Client Discovery Process and Graceful Endings: Disengaging Clients Respectfully.
