Pre-Sale Accounting Best Practices for Buyers and Sellers In today’s market, it is especially important that prospective acquirers of emerging companies understand exactly what they are purchasing and how to allocate the purchase price among the assets acquired and liabilities assumed. This article discusses the importance of quality of earnings and impact on the acquisition price. As buyers tighten their purse strings in a volatile economy, parties on both sides of startup M&A deals must ensure they are prepared to effectuate the transaction from a financing perspective as well as address the related financial reporting and other accounting implications. This…
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Why it Matters This article examines the major nonconformance issues the average valuator may face, where to find the information necessary to investigate, and how to make the adjustments to conform with GAAP. The adjustments discussed are not exhaustive but do cover the more common adjustments valuators should consider. While a valuation is not an audit, the valuation analyst must recognize material deviations from GAAP and understand how to make the necessary adjustments. Valuation principles require the financial statements used be prepared based on generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) unless there is a different agreement by the parties to the…
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Finding the Culprits Whatever happened to the expected post-acquisition income? The author identifies the potential culprits. One of my favorite games as a kid was the murder-mystery classic Clue. How many of you remember trying to deduce the culprit, the murder weapon and the room in which the attack took place? “I think it was Colonel Mustard in the kitchen with the candlestick.” “I think it was Mrs. Peacock in the hall with the knife.” “I think it was Mrs. White in the billiard room with the lead pipe.” Clue was a great “whodunit” game in which players had to…