Professional Valuation Services

You’ve made up your mind, the jury’s deliberated, the verdict is in, it’s time to sell.  You may ask yourself why I need some so called expert to place a value on my company and you’ve got to be kidding me I have to pay for it?  What does he know about my business? How many sleepless nights did he spend growing this company?  It wasn’t his blood, sweat and tears that built this organization.  I know my company better than anyone else why can’t I just value it myself?

These statements are correct you can place a value on your company but let me tell you why you shouldn’t.  Because you are the owner you have a vested interest in the value of your company and the perception of potential buyers is that your bias has tilted the value one way or another depending on the purpose of the evaluation. 

An appraisal that is performed by a knowledgeable professional that is not involved in the daily operations of the business will validate your companies’ value and give you a defendable position.  There can be several people involved in the transaction, the buyer, their spouse, attorney, CPA and maybe even a mother in law that’s fronting some down payment money.  All these people have different agendas, thought processes and goals.  A professional business evaluation of your company and it’s financial performance is the only way to keep them all on the same page and remain in control of the sale process.

Usually valuations are used in the buying and selling arena.  They give sellers an idea of what a reasonable price for their company should be as well as giving buyers a starting point for any financial assistance they might need.  However, business valuations are also used in estate planning or buy/sell agreements among partners that are parting ways for whatever reason.  Valuations can also be used as a management tool exposing strengths and weaknesses in a company and giving insight to critical changes that may need to be addressed in the business.  It all comes down to this, professional business valuations are a useful tool to bring validity to the buyer and control the sale process, plan your families’ future and avoid unreasonable taxes in the event of your death or for managing your operations.  While you know your company best and industry “rules of thumb” are readily available in the end it just isn’t enough.  There are several different factors to take into consideration to obtain an accurate assessment of your companies’ worth.  A professional valuation will give you an accurate, defendable position and a true arms length transaction.