Accomplished Harrisburg Accountants Perform Business Valuations

Reliable, accurate assessments based on important factors

Have you ever wondered how much your business is actually worth? During the normal course of business, it might be the subject of daydreams. But circumstances can suddenly arise where a firm answer is vitally important. If you have to sell the business, if you’re going through a divorce and the business is considered a marital asset, if you’ve inherited a business, or if you want to borrow using the business as collateral, you need to know for certain what your business is worth on the open market. At Breon & Associates, our knowledgeable accountants have vast experience in business valuation. We thoroughly examine all pertinent factors, giving each appropriate weight, so you receive a reliable and accurate assessment of your company’s worth, supported by verifiable data.

Understanding the factors that contribute to a business’ value

Ask most people what a business is worth, and they’ll ask how much it makes. Certainly, revenue and net profits are important factors, but they are not the be all and end all. Anyone buying a business wants to know about the company’s future potential. Can the company sustain its earnings performance? Is there potential to grow the company? What is the company going to look like in 10 or 20 years? The answers to these questions are somewhat speculative, but it’s possible to make reliable projections by examining a variety of factors, including:

• Prospects for industry growth — If your company is in an industry, such as technology, where economists anticipate growth, it’s in better shape than companies in industries, such as retail, which are contracting.
• Company growth prospects — If your company has strong branding, protected trademarks and trade secrets, and customer goodwill, the company may be poised for growth. If there is weak branding and issues with the company’s intellectual property, growth prospects are limited.
• Availability of business financing — Is the company a good bet with lenders and investors? Financing is another key to growth.
• Competitive environment — If your company exists in a crowded market where large competitors dominate; its position is weaker than a company in a fragmented business sector.
• Location — Although Internet commerce has made location moot for certain businesses, some still thrive based on location, location, location.
• Quality of the leadership team — Skilled corporate management is vitally important in the competitive global economy. The talent, experience and stability of your staff is a weighty factor.
• Quality of contracts — If your company has good relationships with its suppliers and distributors, no labor issues, and secure leases, prospective buyers can have confidence in continuity of performance.
• Customer concentration — A business that relies on only a few large clients is not as secure as a company with many clients contributing to its earnings.
• Product and service concentration — Companies that have limited offerings are more vulnerable to competition than more diversified companies.

These are just a few of the major factors a thorough and complete business valuation must consider. With Breon & Associates, you get a dedicated and experienced team working to drill down on all pertinent areas to elicit the most reliable data.

Knowledge across a wide range of industries

The weight that should be given to each factor we evaluate often depends on the industry in which the company operates. For example, location is not a major factor for a software engineering firm, but it’s perhaps the most important factor for a restaurant. Our business valuations are reliable in great part because our team has extensive experience providing accounting services for small, medium and large companies, including Fortune 500 firms, within diverse industries.