I know some really good accountants! They analyse our valuation, they make recommendations and are an asset to the process of selling your business. One such accountant is Kirit Lal from Walker Wayland in Auckland.
Kirit referred a business to me a while back. He let us prepare the appraisal, made recommendations of what aspects could influence the sale price and came to a meeting meet a potential buyer to explain the accounts in detail. This person ended up buying the business.
In this instance it was teamwork that made the sale of a business happen. The client had a great accountant (that looked after the interest of his client), a great business broker who went the extra mile to target the right buyers and, a good lawyer that was motivated and had the best interest of the Vendor at heart.
While preparing an appraisal value is not exactly science, it is important to understand the data you work with and the relevance in the current market condition, as well as the historical data of business sales in a specific industry. This is one of the reasons why an appraisal value of a business broker is most likely much more accurate than that of an accountant; we sell businesses every day of the week!
We completely understand that your accountant has a different view on the valuation of your business, often coming to a much higher valuation. While we respect accountants, there is a time and place in the sales process to use them and that is not at valuation time. Most accountant do not have the data of historical sales and they have very little experience with selling businesses, apart from being advisers.
Having a team of advisers that have your best interest at heart sometimes means that the accountant, who you have been loyal to for decades, is going to lose a very good client. A good accountant though, will view this as positive and wants to send you off with the best possible start for your new future; not hinder a loyal client from moving on.
Do you know what your business is currently worth in an open market? I recommend to have a an appraisal prepared every 1 or 2 years. It becomes your roadmap for the future and a guide to reach the full potential of your business. I prepare appraisals for free and I am happy to do so for you too! Call Rudy on 09 555 6042.
visit www.BusinessSalesHUB.co.nz for more information regarding expert advice from the accountant in the process of selling your business
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