Getting to the Heart of Business Valuation- I (Selecting the Right Business Evaluator)

Are you wondering about the value of your business? The current economic meltdown has forced many small businesses to go down under the axe. If you are one of those who are ready to sell business, one of the most important things to remember is not to panic, keep a positive attitude and find the right value of your business. The current crisis has opened up a buyer pool of highly educated unemployed people who would like to check out the options to owing one’s own business. With the current downturn period, the buying terms become more favorable. The only consideration is the availability of easy credit. From a seller’s perspective, specifically the small business owners, they majorly face difficulty on how and where to begin their exit strategy? Next 4 blog series will take you through the entire business valuation process in a step by step manner to guide you to undertake a proper planned approach to put your businesses for sale.

Business ValuationTo begin with, ask this simple question “Am I qualified and experienced to evaluate my own business?”


If it is an unchartered territory, start with selecting the right professional evaluator capable to handle the business valuation process professionally. Some of the expert business professionals who offer business valuation services are:

  1. CPAs offer business valuation services. The knowledge gained from handling various accounting, finance and tax work allows an experienced CPA to gain knowledge that is well suited for valuing a business

  2. Financial experts/consultants (Non-CPA) can also lend their expertise, but their background and experience needs to be investigated carefully before hiring them.

  3. Business brokers are an obvious choice to value the businesses for sale as they have many years specialization in buying business and selling business which involves business valuation to negotiate and close the deal at the right price.

  4. Commercial Real Estate Brokers/Agents are good at appraising real estate, but lack skills and experience to properly value intangible assets like goodwill.
Final selection of a suitable professional depends on particular industry type, the professional’s qualifications and experience in handling business valuations. One should also check industry credentials through:

  • The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) which grants the ‘Accredited in Business Valuation credential’ that requires being a CPA, passing an exam and business valuation education and experience.

  • The American Society of Appraisers offers ‘Accredited Member’ and ‘Accredited Senior Appraiser’ designations which requires to pass exams and have business valuation experience and experience

  • The National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA) offers several designations including the ‘Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA)’ that require passing an exam and business valuation education.

  • The Institute of Business Appraisers offers several designations including the ‘Certified Business Appraiser (CBA)’ that require passing an exam, and varying degrees of business valuation education and experience.
No one type of professional is inherently better than another. Next post we will take up the various popular method of business valuations.

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