BUSINESS VALUATIONS

Selling or Buying a Business

Especially  in this economy, it is critical that a proper sales price be determined  when either selling or buying a business.  No one wants to pay too much  or receive too little for their investment.  A business valuation can  provide consensus during  a business transaction by providing confidence  and comfort to each party regarding the value of their investment.   

Financing Arrangements 

Whether  it is raising capital to finance operations, fund a new business  expansion or purchase a new piece of equipment, it is much harder these  days for businesses to expand with only cash.  That means banks will  likely be involved.  A proper business valuation can help expedite this  process by assisting banks in understanding the true value of any  business’ greatest collateral.….the business itself.   

Estate and Gift Planning

With  business values and interest rates at all time lows, it is an excellent  time to transfer wealth. Estate and Gift Taxes can be as high as 45% or  higher in certain cases.  A current business valuation in conjunction  with estate and gift planning can significantly  minimize, if not  eliminate this exposure through application of appropriate valuation  discounts.

Divorce and Litigation

The  true value of a business is typically a much debated issue during  divorce proceedings and other various types of litigation such as  dissenting shareholder and wrongful termination suits. A valuation  expert may be the basis for any awards or damages declared by a judge or  jury.  A proper business valuation is invaluable to both sides in a  marital or legal dispute to ensure that an equitable resolution be  decided. We also recommend to our clients that a business value be  agreed upon during premarital or contractual negotiations to help  prevent any future disagreements and avoid costly litigation.

Financial and Tax Reasons

Whether  your Company is required to determine any impairment of intangible  assets on their annual financial statements, your Company is considering  filing for bankruptcy and liquidation value needs to be determined,  your Company sponsors an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) or your  Company is considering converting from a C-Corporation to an  S-Corporation for tax purposes, a business valuation may be a  financially sound decision.  It may even be required to establish or maintain compliance with numerous Federal, State and Other Regulatory standards.     

Rich, Wightman & Company Certified Valuation Analysts

Our  business valuations are performed in accordance with National  Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA) Standards by a  Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA). The NACVA is one of the oldest and  most respected business valuation associations in America today.  Furthermore, CVA’s undergo an intensive training and certification  process, they are required to complete continuous professional education  in the field, and every CVA must  also be a CPA.  

We  utilize a very streamlined approach for each valuation. We work  directly with you and your staff to collect all of the necessary  historical information to understand your business. We work with your  professionals including attorneys, appraisers, bankers and accountants  to facilitate achieving your valuation needs.   

We  understand that each client has different goals and as such, we  customize our valuation reports to meet those goals. We offer various  business valuation tools including simple Calculation Reports, Modified  or Summary Reports, and full-blown Detailed Reports. We can work with  you to develop a valuation based upon your specific personal goals and  budget preferences.