As I write this on the new version of WordPress, I am thinking about a major business transition/restructuring that the company’s lawyers had suggested a couple of months ago, but I put on hold after receiving initial advice from our accountants.
The project doesn’t have extreme urgency (in fact the delay here will make the process easier to manage), so I didn’t worry too much. Then a couple of weeks ago, my lawyer said he thinks there may be some sort of misunderstanding at the accountants — the tax circumstances for the change shouldn’t be that onerous.? I went back to the accountants, and after a week (with additional internal consultations), they returned with more specific numbers and a revised analysis: Yes the restructuring makes sense.
Next stage is to double check everything, review the arrangements, consult with the external parties involved in the issue, and also the employees — who will need to re-sign employment contracts under a new corporate identity.? If all goes well, the process should be completed by Jan. 2, 2019, and the business will continue in a new framework.
Why these changes? I won’t go into all the details in a public posting, but the purpose is to tidy up everything as we move the business forward for a major new project next spring/summer and also to correlate the business (and its future) with my stage in life — what is turning out to be a true golden period between age 65 and 70, when I can continue to earn salaried income, fund my registered retirement account (similar to a 401-K in the US) and draw Canada Pension Plan/Old Age Security (OAS) payments (similar to US Social Security).?
The new arrangements will also complete the business’s transition from a print to digital enterprise, and in that light, it is reasonable to adapt to WordPress 5.0 — the latest version of the blogging software that now drives an incredible number of websites around the world.?
You may not see any differences externally (as few outsiders will see in our business after the January transition) but there are big changes at the back-end.
These are good changes. I’m fortunate that, at my age, I am still connected and communicating and enjoying new technologies, as we build for the future.