Seeking audit firm recommendations

Member resources:

Frequent asked questions:

What is Searchfunder.com?

Searchfunder.com is an online community of searchers, investors, lenders, brokers and other professionals. Over 80% of those involved in searchfunds maintain a Searchfunder account to help them network, hire, and mentor others.

What are the benefits of membership?

In addition to accessing the most active online network of business buyers, Searchfunder licenses research that is simply not cost effective for individuals. Access over 15,000 industry reports and 50,000 transaction financials. You also get monthly credits for contact information for your company sourcing campaign with the option to purchase more at drastically discounted rates. Searchfunder has pre-purchased access from these data providers in order to empower individual buyers and to help searchers level the playing field versus private equity.

Do you have deals?

While we are primarily a buy-side network, we do have hundreds of brokers that regularly post deals to the community.

Can I find an internship on Searchfunder?

Absolutely! We have the industry's largest intern job board. If you are considering a search, the first step is to help another business buyer so you can hit the ground running.

What does it cost?

Searchfunder is a subscription service. We offer flexible monthly, annual and lifetime memberships.

Monthly

$79 / month

Annual

$19 / month

Lifetime

$432 / once

Those who maintain an account with us for over 4 continuous years are permanently added to the community without the need for a membership.

Do I need an MBA to join?

While a large number of our members come from dedicated programs at Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, Chicago Booth, and other top programs, searching is no longer reserved for the elite. With the current abundance of dry powder in private equity, and an increasing number of business owners reaching retirement age, good deals rarely go unfunded.

Post a question, deal, job, etc...

Make a post...

Complete registration to post.

by a searcher from Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management
in New York, NY, USA

2yrs ago

Seeking audit firm recommendations

We completed an acquisition over the summer and seeking a small business friendly (and therefore cost friendly) audit firm to comply with our lender requirements. Would appreciate any recommendations.

1 Like

96 Views

reply by an investor 2yrs ago
from Western Washington University in Key West, FL 33040, USA

There are a couple of SBA lenders requiring an annual audit, which is absolutely ridiculous. I would push back on this. An audit will likely cost $60k or more, which is a lot relative to $1-$2m of EBITDA. At a minimum, push for "reviewed" financials.

reply by an intermediary 2yrs ago
from The University of Chicago in Radnor, PA 19087, USA

If your lender is a community or smaller regional bank, I would get referrals to local CPA firms who perform audits. Depending on the size and complexity of the business, you may be able to get an audit completed for around $40K. Expect to have to pay extra in the first year for an opening balance sheet audit as well. If the lender is one of the larger regional banks or one of the national banks, they will most likely prefer, and maybe require, a larger CPA firm. In that case, I would recommend going with one of the tier 2 national/regional firms rather than a top tier firm. Since you haven't identified where the business is located, I can only make general suggestions of tier 2 firms such as RSM and Eisner Amper. An audit by one of these firms will cost, again depending on the size and complexity of the business, around $60K - $70K. Note: These estimates assume a less than $10M - 15M business. As the business becomes larger and more complex, the audit fees will increase considerably.