Craig West

Craig West, B.Bus (Mgmt), M.Bus ( Acct/Finance), M.Tax Law

https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigwest/

Craig West is a strategic accountant who has over 20 years’ experience advising business owners. His background as a CPA in public practice has provided invaluable experience in the key issues of concern to business owners.

Following 6 yrs of study to gain two masters degrees, Craig focused on Capital Gains Tax (CGT) for business sales advising on strategic management of taxation issues. This experience formed a very strong view that the majority of business owners (and often their advisers) were unprepared and unaware of the steps required to prepare for an exit.

Craig West now acts as a strategic business and financial mentor for mid-market business owners and has written four critically acclaimed books educating business owners on employee incentives, succession planning, asset protection and exit strategies. Craig has conducted numerous seminars and keynote presentations throughout Australia & internationally, including adviser education programs for the Institute of Chartered Accountants and CPA Australia, and is a sought-after presenter.

In March 2014, Craig was appointed Executive Chairman of the SME Association of Australia, an organisation focused on improving the success of SMEs in Australia and is also the host of SME Radio – a weekly broadcast focused on business.

In October 2014, he was awarded the Exit Planner of the Year at the Exit Planning Institute Annual Conference in Texas, USA as a result of his innovative development of an exit planning process to help business owners maximise business value and achieve a successful exit.

In 2015, Craig West commenced a Doctor of Business Administration on the topic of using Employee Share Ownership Plans (ESOPs) as a Business Succession and Exit Planning tool. Craig’s proprietary structure – a Peak Performance Trust – has won the Australia-wide award for the Employee Share Ownership Plan of the Year twice in four years.