Today's post is by William Thomsen. William's journey spanning nearly three decades has been dedicated to providing comprehensive business valuations and economic analysis across a diverse spectrum of industries. With a keen focus on closely held corporations, partnerships, LLCs, and various entities and assets, his expertise has served critical purposes including estate tax planning, strategic consulting, exit and succession planning, financial reporting, transaction advisory, and litigation support.
A business valuation report might be thought of as a tip of an iceberg: what you see on the surface is just a fraction of the effort, research, and expertise that lies beneath. Yet the report is typically the only thing the client or the reader sees. In the end, the client does not care how many hours it may have taken to arrive at a particular conclusion. What does matter is whether a valuation report is useful to the end user.
As a business valuation professional for about 30 years, I have produced my share of valuation reports, and have read at least as many. To say that the quality of the reports I review vary would be quite an understatement. But what should a reader expect from a professionally-prepared business valuation report? This article provides some thoughts regarding what to look for in a good report, in terms of both form and content.