The Key Value of Value A complete set of financial statements also include statements of cash flows and other comprehensive income. These statements play important roles, but earnings are still used in these as the starting and dominant measure. Occasionally, the relevance of financial statements is questioned; this article is written to reaffirm their importance. Accountants have been preparing some sort of financial statements since the beginning of written records, which were developed by the Sumerians in cuneiform around 3400 BCE. A more formal, and familiar, report was developed around 1350 CE by the merchants of Venice, Genoa, and surrounding…
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One Economic Loss or Two? A medical professional suffered a career ending injury. The injured person owned and managed the practice through which he provided his services. This medical professional also had employees who aided him and generated additional revenue and profits for the practice. The situation addressed in this article is as follows: While it seems plain that the physician here has lost earning capacity, has this injured medical professional also lost the value of his practice? If, the answer to the latter is ”yes”, how should such a calculation be made? In this article, the author discusses his…
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And How to Maximize It What truly influences value is the quality, consistency, and transferability of the earnings. Buyers are not solely purchasing a history of profitability; buyers are seeking future income that is sustainable and independent of the current owner’s direct involvement. Most business owners do not know what their business is worth. In many cases, they have never measured it in a formal or objective manner. Yet for most entrepreneurs, their business represents their single largest asset. It may be central to their retirement plan, their family’s financial well-being, or even their legacy. Despite its significance, the topic…
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Perils of Selling to Family Members and Delaying a Sale Now to Third Parties Are the increases in market multiples and the access to capital a sign of the impending surge of business exits? In this article, the author shares his views on selling to family members vis-à-vis to a non-heir third party, the perils of waiting to sell a business, discussing the valuation gap and seller’s expectations, and delaying a sell.
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Views Developed by an Appraiser Working with Business Brokers to Assess FMV Business appraisers typically assume that Price/Revenue, Price/SDE, Price/EBITDA and Price/EBIT, etc., are independent valuation methods. But, are they independent? This article shares my views on this subject matter and why they will lead to different conclusions of value.
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When Performing a Business Valuation Earnings are not always objective and valuations apply a multiple to earnings to determine a company’s value. The elements making up a company’s valuation involve determining normalized earnings, a decision whether income taxes would be applied, and the capitalization rate to be used to get the value. There are also other factors, but this article looks at the quality of earnings.