Our valuation process, from first question to signed report

The eight steps

1. 01Tell us about your businessUse the quote form or call 0433 475 518. We ask why you need the valuation, how the business is owned, which interest you hold, rough turnover, the valuation date and whether your accountant is involved. No documents yet. Family law matters go to our dedicated family law practice, Family Law Valuations.
2. 02We scope it and confirm the fee in writingA short call with you or your accountant pins down exactly what is being valued. A company owned equally by two siblings is one business but two parcels of shares, and a 50% parcel without control is not always worth half the company. We confirm the purpose, date, interests and entities in scope, and whether you need a full valuation or a narrower calculation. The fixed fee applies once we confirm the interest, purpose, structure and records fit the fixed-fee scope. Anything outside it is quoted in writing before we start. Fixed fee, confirmed in writing before we start. No hourly billing and no surprises.
3. 03Engagement letter and paymentBefore any work starts we run a conflict check, then send an engagement letter. It records the interest, the valuation date, the purpose, the type of engagement, the information needed, the fee, and what the report can and cannot be used for. You sign it and pay the agreed fee.
4. 04Securely provide financial informationYour matter has its own secure upload link, and that is the only way documents reach us: never by email and never through this website. Typically we ask for three years of financial statements plus the current year to date, the share or unit register, the constitution or trust deed, and any lease or key contracts. Your accountant can upload for you with your written consent. See the full list.
5. 05Analysis by a qualified valuerThe analysis is done by a suitably qualified business valuer at Valuation Group. First the accounts are normalised to show what a buyer would actually inherit: a below-market owner salary is replaced with a market one, one-off costs come out, and related-party rent is reset to market. The valuer then chooses a method that suits the business and cross-checks it where the evidence allows. Quick answers to our questions keep the timetable. Methods are explained in business valuation methods.
6. 06Review before issueBefore a draft reaches you, the file is reviewed as a separate step from the analysis. The review traces each key input back to your documents, re-checks the arithmetic and challenges the judgement calls. Is the earnings figure one the business can keep producing? Is the multiple supported? Has a controlling or minority holding been treated correctly? Anything that does not hold up goes back for rework.
7. 07Your report, with a representation letter before finalYou receive a draft to check the facts: the history, the structure, the ownership percentages. You then sign a representation letter confirming the information you supplied is complete and accurate, and we issue the final report, signed by the valuer. Delivery is 2 business days for a business with turnover under $2 million and 3 business days for turnover $2 million to $10 million. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received, and pauses while we wait for answers to our questions or your signed representation letter.
8. 08Follow-up and annual updatesIf your accountant or lawyer has questions about the reasoning, we answer them. A value at a second date within the same engagement is $495 + GST, because the analysis already exists. If a shareholders agreement sets a buyout price, or a succession plan runs over several years, an annual update keeps the figure current. We quote it in writing before starting.

What normalising looks like

Independence and conflict checks

A valuation is only useful if whoever reads it later, your tax adviser, a buyer, a co-shareholder or the ATO, can trust that the number was not chosen to suit you. So before we accept an engagement we ask three questions:

• Have we acted for anyone on the other side? In a shareholder exit, that means the other shareholders. In a sale, the buyer.
• Do we have any financial interest in the business or in the outcome?
• Is there a relationship with you, the business or your advisers that a reasonable outsider would see as a threat to our objectivity?

If there is a conflict we cannot manage, we tell you and decline the work. Our fee is fixed in the engagement letter and does not move with the value we reach, or with any sale or tax outcome that follows.

We are also independent of your accountant. We work closely with accountants, but the valuation judgements are ours.

How software helps, and where it stops

We use software where it makes the work faster and more accurate without touching the judgement. It helps us:

• Match uploads against the document checklist, so gaps show up on day one rather than day five.
• Lay out several years of financial statements in a consistent format, ready for analysis.
• Flag anomalies for the valuer to look at, such as a gross margin that jumps between years or a related-party loan that appears without explanation.
• Check that every figure in the report matches the workings behind it.

What software does not do: choose the method, decide which costs are one-off, pick the multiple, judge risk or weigh a minority holding. Independent Business Valuation keeps one rule here: a qualified valuer makes every valuation judgement and signs every report.

What guided by APES 225 means

Guided by APES 225 Valuation Services. APES 225 Valuation Services is issued by the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board. We follow its guidelines because it is the recognised Australian benchmark for how a valuation should be carried out and reported. For you, that means:

• Before you engage us, you are told whether you are getting a full valuation, a limited scope valuation or a calculation. The standard treats them as different things. See valuation or calculation.
• The report states its purpose, valuation date, scope, key assumptions and any limits on the information relied on.
• Independence and conflicts are considered before the work is accepted.
• The working papers show how we got from your documents to the number.

What it does not mean: that any professional body has reviewed or endorsed the report, or that the report binds the ATO or a court.

Privacy and your documents

A valuation involves your most sensitive numbers, so the handling is simple and strict.

• One way in. Documents come only through the secure upload link on your matter. Never by email, and never through the forms on this website, which do not take documents.
• Only what we need. We ask for what the valuation requires. If a document shows a tax file number, redact it before uploading; we do not need it.
• Your accountant, with your consent. A referring accountant sees your matter or documents only with your written consent.
• A confidentiality undertaking on request. We can sign one before you share sensitive documents, for example while a sale is being negotiated.

How we collect, store and handle personal information is set out in our privacy policy.