Services / Business Valuation
Business Valuation Services
An independent, defensible valuation of your business for transactions, tax or planning purposes.
What Business Valuation is
A business valuation estimates what a company, or an interest in it, is worth as of a specific date and for a specific purpose. Purpose matters: it determines the standard of value and the form of the report. A valuation for a sale, one for tax reporting and one for an equity grant can reach different figures for the same company on the same day, each correctly.
Valuation is usually approached from more than one direction. An income approach values the business on the cash it is expected to generate, discounted for time and risk. A market approach looks at what comparable companies or transactions imply. An asset approach starts from the balance sheet. A defensible conclusion explains which approaches were used, why, and how they were reconciled.
What the engagement covers
- Purpose and standard of value
- Established at the outset, because they determine the methods and the report format.
- Financial analysis
- Historical performance from your financial statements, normalized for items that do not reflect ongoing operations.
- Valuation approaches
- The income, market and asset approaches applied as appropriate to the business and the purpose.
- Projections
- Your forward-looking forecast, where one exists, examined for consistency with historical results.
- Conclusion of value
- A reconciled conclusion as of the valuation date, with the reasoning behind it.
Who it is for
Owners considering a sale or buyout, companies that need a valuation for tax or equity purposes, and advisors planning a transaction.
How an engagement works
- 01
Scope
Choose the service and confirm the scope and CPA sign-off for your engagement at intake.
- 02
Share the evidence
Provide the financial statements, ledger detail and deal documents the engagement needs through a secure workspace.
- 03
Analysis
The work runs on Finsider's diligence software, which traces reported figures back to source records.
- 04
Reviewed deliverable
You receive a deliverable that has been through professional review, with the evidence behind its findings.
What we need from you
Required to start
- PurposePurpose determines standard of value and report format.
- Valuation date
- P&L: last 3 fiscal years + YTDMonthly detail preferred.
- Balance sheets: last 3 fiscal years + YTD
Helpful if available
- Cash flow statements: last 3 fiscal years + YTDIf not produced, we can derive from the GL.
- Trial balance / GL exportFull general ledger export covering the same periods.
- ProjectionsForward-looking forecast, if one exists.
- Cap tableRequired for 409A and equity-level valuations.
Questions
What do you need to start?
The purpose of the valuation, the valuation date, and profit and loss statements and balance sheets for the last three fiscal years plus the year to date. Projections and a capitalization table are needed for some purposes, including equity-level valuations.
Why does the purpose of the valuation matter?
The purpose determines the standard of value and the report format. State it at intake so the engagement is scoped correctly.
Is a valuation the same as a Quality of Earnings report?
No. A Quality of Earnings report examines the earnings a valuation is often based on. A valuation takes a view of earnings and converts it into a conclusion of value.