Valuation of your Business

Do you need to know the value of your business?  If you’re doing any of these things, the answer will be “yes”:

• Your business is insured with a buy-sell agreement;
• You’re transferring shares to your family trust;
• You’re transferring your business into a company;
• You have a shareholder entering or exiting your business;
• You’re focussed on maximising the value of your business for an eventual exit;
• You’re in a matrimonial dispute or a dispute with your fellow shareholders.

The first step is to determine what exactly is being valued:

Business Assets and Goodwill:  Often this approach is used when a business owner is contemplating a sale, as typically a purchaser will buy assets and goodwill leaving debtors, creditors, term loans, tax liabilities, shareholder current accounts and often some company vehicles behind to be dealt with and wound up by the vendor.

Shares in the Company:  This approach is often used for periodic valuations for buy-sell insurance purposes, where a new shareholder is being introduced to an existing company, where an existing shareholder is selling out or where shares are being transferred to a Trust.

Minority Interest:  Depending on the company’s constitution or shareholders’ agreement, a minority shareholder may have little influence in matters like dividend policy or remuneration of directors.  This may make a minority shareholding worth significantly less than a controlling interest.   

Majority Interest:  On the other hand, the shares that give a shareholder a controlling interest may attract a premium.   But often a “fair value” approach is stipulated, in which case it might be appropriate to ignore differences in value between minority and majority holdings.

A valuation can form the basis of strategic planning for your business. It is a powerful starting point to establish the value of your business today and devise strategies that will increase value over time.

Business Valuations typically fall into two categories:

Indicative Valuation:  The appropriate information is considered and a robust written valuation opinion is provided.

Independent Valuation to Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand standard AE2:  This requires full independence and a more robust level of verification and investigation.

If a valuation is to carry weight for example as evidence in court, an Independent Valuation will be required – otherwise an Indicative Valuation tends to be sufficient for most other purposes.

Elevate CA are Chartered Accountants and professional Business Valuers, and we can meet your business valuation needs. There is no need to disturb your relationship with your existing accountant as we can work with them to gather the necessary information.   We also provide peer review services for Chartered Accountants who may wish to sanity check their own opinions with an independent party.

We are happy to discuss your business valuation needs and give you an estimate of the likely cost – just contact Fraser Hurrell to start the ball rolling.