Introduction
As an accountant you provide a valuable and essential service for your business owner clients. Unfortunately, they only want to see you for emergencies and the only other time you see them is during the busy tax and audit season. How can you transform your practice from a one-time annual service provider to a trusted advisor overnight? You should consider offering Business Valuations and Performance Reports, a service that every business owner needs but few professionals provide.
Traditional valuations are time consuming and costly. This explains why over 90% of small businesses are not currently valued. Online software systems are now available that can deliver accurate valuations in very little time and for a fraction of the cost. If you show your clients what they are worth today, you can better help them prepare for tomorrow. By better informing your business owner clients you show your ongoing value.
In the next ten years more than 10,000,000 businesses will transfer ownership. This means the stakes are high for your business owner clients. In this course you will learn how valuation can help your clients make better business decisions today and how valuation can help you engage them more frequently, creating more revenue opportunities for your practice.
Would it be helpful to your practice to answer the question your business owner clients and prospects ask themselves every day? “Am I doing better today than I was yesterday?” As the CPA, you have the data to answer that question: the cash flow statement, the net income statement and the balance sheet. In this course you will learn more about Business Valuation today and how it can help you become the Business Owner’s Most Valuable Advisor.
Learning Outcomes
Learners will discover the role Business Valuation has in helping small and medium sized business owners make better planning decisions. The course covers:
- Valuation Basics – What every CPA should know.
- Engagement and Planning Opportunities with Valuation.
- A 3-Step Plan for CPA’s to bring valuation to Business Owner Clients and Prospects.
The course answers questions CPA’s have about Business Valuation, the role of Business Valuation in helping business owners get what they want and how Business Valuation over time can help Owners: Discover, Monitor, Optimize and Protect the Value of their business.
- Business Valuation is a service every business needs.
- Knowing what a business is worth today helps business owners prepare for tomorrow.
- You can transform from a one-time annual service provider to a trusted advisor by introducing the benefits of Business Valuation.
Additional Course Materials Provided
- 3-Step Plan Worksheet
- Financial Data Checklist for Business Valuations
- Frequently Asked Questions about Valuation
How does Valuation relate to Accounting?
Something to think about – Accounting captures everything that has happened in a business while Valuation measures the potential of a business. According to Aswath Damodaran, professor at NYU, valuation is neither science or art, it is more like a craft and it is learned by doing. It never is just about the numbers, it starts with a story and a good valuation connects the story to the numbers.
Core Values
Small and Medium sized businesses employ more than 58 million people in the United States. They bring great benefit to the local community. Increased regulation and ever-changing tax code reduce the amount of time owners can spend working on growth initiatives and planning.
CPA Advisors to Business Owners have most of the data needed to perform a valuation for a business and a valuation can offer needed insight to the business owner. Valuation is one of the key components to helping an owner achieve success.
Topics Covered in this Course
Lesson 1 – Valuation Basics
25 Minute Recorded Instruction
Even seasoned valuation experts continue to learn something new for every valuation they perform. Yet there are some fundamentals needed to start. Beginning with the Generally Accepted Business Valuation Principles and Procedures (GABVPP) and IRS Revenue Ruling 59-60 there is a framework to give guidance. Lesson 1 will answer the following questions:
- What is a Business Valuation?
- Why is Valuation Important?
- What data is needed to perform a valuation?
- How accurate are valuations?
- What are the different methods for valuation?
- What is IRS Revenue Ruling 59-60?
- What is Fair Market Value?
- Asset Value – Equity Value – Enterprise Value – Liquidation Value? Where is the Answer?
Lesson 2 – Engagement and Planning Opportunities Using Valuation
25 Minute Recorded Instruction
How can CPA’s engage their Business Owner Clients with Business Valuation? There is one question that business owners ask themselves each day they wake up and that is, “Am I better off today than I was yesterday?” A good business valuation effectively takes the business’ Financial Dashboard (Net Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement, Balance Sheet) and translates it into a working number called Fair Market Value. This process will be covered in Lesson 1. If valuations are performed at regular intervals, over time the owner will begin to see the financial trajectory of the company.
Lesson 2 begins with an interesting case study of a Craft Brewery Owner looking for financing to expand the production facilities and how a Current Business Valuation helped secure the capital for a second location.
We will then examine how by using valuation you can help business owners do the following:
- Better understand the business and its potential
- Secure financing
- Ensure proper credit and risk management
- Attract and retain talent
- Sell a business for its full value
- Pursue growth initiatives
- Reduce taxes
- Plan for retirement
- Create a succession plan
- Establish an Estate Plan
- Take advantage of unexpected opportunities
In addition, you will be introduced to a 3-Step Plan to start you on your way to integrating valuation into your practice with the goal of increasing profits for your firm.
Attendance and Grading
All learners who have registered must watch all videos. Learners will be prompted to verify their presence every ten minutes as they watch the Lesson videos. Home works are graded “pass” or “fail” based upon meeting deadlines and completing the assignment.
Quizzes
Two types of quizzes are administered for each course; end-of-Lesson quiz and a cumulative end-of-course quiz. Final grades are given on a pass/ fail basis.
- Quizzes after each Lesson to verify learners understand core concepts and know how to apply them before advancing in the course. Minimum passing standards will be learners must achieve an 80% or higher grade for all end-of-Lesson quizzes to qualify to take the cumulative quiz. The LMS provides the quality control to ensure only learners who have achieved an 80% score in a Lesson quiz can advance in the course. Learners have three attempts to meet this requirement. Those who fail the end-of-Lesson quiz must watch the Lesson again and pass the quiz before advancing in the course.
- Final cumulative quiz-learners must have a comprehensive understanding of all course concepts delivered based on achieving a score of 90% or better in order to receive CPE credits. Only those who have achieved 80% or higher in Lesson quizzes qualify to take the final cumulative quiz. Group Leaders will monitor the performance of learners. All courses require learners to take the final cumulative quiz.
