Recently witnessed the flop of what could/should have been a win-win buy/sell transaction . . .

professional profile

September 09, 2021

by a professional from University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business in North Palm Beach, FL, USA

. . . thanks to BOTH of the parties foolishly relying on advice from their respective CPA. Here's an excerpt from an SBA seminar. (Fundamentals of Business Valuation for SBA Loans)

• Notice, below, the warning about CPAs..

What is a qualified source? [Valuation]
A “qualified source” is an individual who regularly receives compensation for business valuations and is accredited by one of the following recognized organizations:

1. Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) accredited through the American Society of Appraisers;
2. Certified Business Appraiser (CBA) accredited through the Institute of Business Appraisers;
3. Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) accredited through the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants;
4. Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) accredited through the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts; and

A new change to the SOP in 2014 is that a CPA without one of the credentials listed above is not considered a qualified source.

• AND MY PERSPECTIVE: Be wary of valuations from business brokers, too.

• Even if the SBA changes its policy, it is NOT a good idea to get valuations from anyone not fully and properly trained and accredited by a legitimate source.

https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/articles/Fundamentals_of_Business_Valuation_-_June_19_2017.pdf

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Reply by a professional
from University of Southern California in North Palm Beach, FL, USA
A related tip: Focus on more than tangible assets.
Tangible assets are important, but the value of a business is influenced more by its intangibles such as goodwill. Make a mistake valuing a tangible asset and you pay more than it is worth. Overvalue goodwill and you make a bad investment.
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Reply by a searcher
from United States Naval Academy in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Would love to see a video or article about the details on this. Thanks for the post!
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