Prudent business leaders seek to minimize the impact of risk from all sorts of macroeconomic events: oil price fluctuations, the Canadian dollar’s rapid decline in value, the Euro’s volatility and Russian geopolitical concerns. But most business leaders seek help minimizing risks like these after the fact —even though they know they should address risk at exactly the opposite time.

This follows a pattern that saw 2014 M&A deals at their highest level in six years. Rob Schipper is head of investment banking at Fifth Third Bank, and he and his team regularly advise companies and owners on strategic alternatives including M&A. Here, he shares his essential M&A tips to drive value and mitigate risk in transactions.

This is an exciting time for companies that weathered the recent economic downturn and are now seeking to grow. For many of these businesses looking to expand, financing tools to support business growth will be a cornerstone of success.

Business owners can tend to be financially vulnerable as they age. According to an SBA study1, business owners are less likely to establish a diversified retirement portfolio than other people since they tend to reinvest cash into their companies, rather than put it aside for retirement.

Running a successful business requires a seemingly endless variety of skills and knowledge, and even the most talented CEOs may soon realize that they alone cannot provide all the guidance that their companies need. For most business leaders, creating a board of advisors enables them to draw from a much wider pool of experience and know-how.

Early in the year is a great time to dive into your financials and set some annual goals. Start by reviewing revenues and expenses from last quarter: Are your revenues growing enough to support your expenses? Can you boost one and reduce the other?