Business Valuation
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Business Valuation www.FelicianoFinancial.com Feliciano Financial Group 1828 East Southeast Loop 323, Suite 200 Tyler, Texas 75701 (903) 533-8585 Feliciano Financial does not offer legal or tax advice. Please consult the appropriate professional regarding your individual circumstance. Securities offered through Lion Street Financial, LLC, Member FINRA & SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Lion Street Advisors, LLC. Feliciano Financial and Lion Street Financial are not affiliated. Business Valuation Business Valuation The need for valuing a closely held business arises potentially from a number of sources. These include: • Buy-Sell Agreements • Minority Stockholder Disputes • Estate and Gift Taxation Needs • Marital Disputes Regardless of the need or of which party is being represented, the approaches, concepts and results of a business valuation should be the same. One of the “problems” is that valuations are subject to numerous subjective interpretations, rather than precise scientific applications of the facts and data sources. Therefore, it is not only common, but also probable, that competent, conscientious and sincere experts will arrive at different results from the same data. However, if the subject is approached as objectively as possible and proper valuation techniques used, differences that exist should be rather minor, so taking the numbers in total and dividing them by the number of valuations should result in a fair appraisal. This is certainly not the case where there are two appraisals that are considerable disparate. In such a situation, justice is rarely served when the results are simply split down the middle – the baby in the Feliciano Financial Group Business Valuation Solomon story. Just as in that case, justice would not have been served by an average; neither is it served when two valuations, so far apart that one or both of them have to be flagrantly in error, are simply averaged. Such poorly done reports can be recognized by an intelligent, informed and careful analysis. This document should give you an understanding of valuation procedures and the proper contents and approaches for a valuation report. In addition, you will be able to zero in on reports that have flagrant violations, recognize such violations of good valuation technique and, at the same time, be able to appreciate those reports that most likely are well done. The Starting Point The starting point in virtually any valuation of a closely held business is the reconstructed financial statement of the business. The emphasis is placed on “reconstructed” for very valid reasons. In the typical situation, even (though to somewhat lesser degree) audited (certified opinion) financial statements are usually not truly indicative of the operations and worth of that business. There may be a multitude of reasons, but the most common are for the bottom line preservation, that is, to save taxes. Unless financial statements have been “pumped up” for bank financing, it is most common that the financial statements and, especially the tax returns, actually understate the results of the business. Various steps may have been taken, some proper tax wise and some not, to reduce the corporate profit and the personal income of the principals to minimize the tax burden. • Payment of personal expenses through the business This common maneuver may include the payment of substantial amounts of personal expenses through the business (auto, medical, entertainment, utility bills, family on the payroll, etc.). • Burying expenses to obtain a tax deduction No one in business for any length of time can feign surprise at the concept of a business burying various expenses to obtain a tax deduction. Of course, varying degrees of this practice apply. It is one thing from a business to pay for personal entertainment (dinners, etc.) and write off a company car as 100% business instead by 60% business. It is an entirely different thing for a business to pay Feliciano Financial Group Business Valuation personal utility bills, to rake cash off the top before it hits the books, to permit relatives in no-show jobs to be on company payroll, etc. • Use of LIFO inventory versus FIFO There are other very legitimate tax and non-tax reasons why financial statements may understate the value of a business. From a tax point of view, for instance, this could include the use of LIFO (last-in, first- out) inventory. Inventory represents a pool of merchandise, the sale product of the business, bought over a period of time, usually at varying prices. The most common inventory method is FIFO (first-in, first-out). That is, as items are sold, they are considered sold from the items earliest purchased. In an inflationary period, this means that the items sold are given the lower price costs and the items remaining in inventory the higher price costs. This, in fact, is typically the normal flow, and typically represents the true economic result of the sales operations of a company. LIFO, however, a perfectly legitimate tax maneuver, treats items sold as coming from those last purchased, which means they are expensed at a higher price value and, thus, the remaining inventory is stated at a lower value. The result is that a greater amount of cost is written off and less inventory value is left for the balance sheet, thereby understating the worth of the company. More and more companies are adopting LIFO to save tax dollars, especially considering the inflation of the past several years. Notwithstanding the apparent reduction in the rate of inflation, we still have inflation, and barring expectations of a deflationary society, LIFO for a profitable operation is probably a wise move. Yet, when viewing financial statements stated on a LIFO basis, one must recognize that both the profits and balance sheet are understated. • Assets appreciated or depreciated very quickly Other balance sheet understatements include assets that have either appreciated over time or depreciated far more rapidly than the true economics of the situation. An example occurs when a company owns the plant and land on which it is operating. That land might have been purchased many years ago. In such a case, it is likely worth far more than stated on the balance sheet. This happens because basic accounting principles require assets be carried at cost. • There may be no relevance of cost versus market value Feliciano Financial Group Business Valuation In a situation such as real estate, it is obvious that an appraisal of the realty would be necessary. • Also very common is the use of rapid depreciation In an inflationary economy, this depreciates buildings and equipment far more rapidly than they depreciate economically. A typical example would be a luxury car, purchased at $50,000, written off to zero that in reality may be worth $20,000 to $30,000. Recognition of depreciation adjustments to real value must be given for a proper valuation of the business that has substantial written down assets. The Investigation The necessary precursor to arriving at reconstructed financial statements is the employment of an investigative accountant. While an experienced accountant is not an appraiser in the area of real estate, antiques, collections and the like, few occupations gain as much financial insight into the workings of a business and its market worth as do accountants. Depending on experience, the accountant may have the ability to double as an appraiser. This will depend on the complexity of the case and the money involved. It might be a prudent move to engage a qualified business appraiser. With the cooperation of both sides, it will typically take a qualified investigative accountant or business appraiser a month ideally, or more typically, two or three months to do a complete job. Beginning the Valuation Once the investigative phase is completed, there is a sufficient database from which to begin the valuation. It is common and good practice to utilize the viewpoint of several years, typically five, of operations of the business to appreciate a more complete financial history. Except in unusual circumstances, when a business has existed for several years, it is inappropriate to use only one or two years for valuation purposes. These one or two years may not be indicative of the financial results of the company. Five years, if available, assist in understanding whether or not the company has consistently grown or shrunk, shown profits or losses, Feliciano Financial Group Business Valuation fluctuated widely from year to year or been stagnant and gone nowhere. Putting several years on a comparative schedule gives insight into the overall expense and income structure of the business and highlights significant aberrations from year to year that should probably require special attention before the actual valuation procedure. For example, perhaps in one year, repairs and maintenance to the business building were several thousand dollars more than in any other year. This might lead one to discover in that year a storm or fire had damaged the building that was not adequately insured, and this was a rather extraordinary expense not recurring in nature. In such a case, that extraordinary expense should be removed from the operations of the company, as being not indicative of what one would expect from continuing operations. The other side of the coin is the removing of extraordinary income. Used properly, financial statements should be expressed in such a way to reflect a pattern of the business and what one could expect it to do in the future. It is the future for which one buys a company, and the expectations of such on which a valuation is based. Therefore, those items not indicative of a business and those that are non-recurring should be deleted. The tax effect, benefit or detriment of these extraordinary events should also be deleted. Before one can proceed further using this raw financial operational data, several other steps must be taken and information gathered from outside the business.