How does an accountant help you sell your business?
Many owners, especially baby boomers, ask whether their accountant can help with selling or exiting the business. The answer is a resounding yes. Accountants educate owners on their responsibilities, collaborate with other professional advisors, and provide key services to ensure a smooth transition — drawing on financial analysis, tax planning, valuation and estate planning to maximize business value and minimize tax liabilities. Their work spans six areas.
1. Establishing clear business and personal goals — they align realistic, actionable goals with your exit plan and analyze your business and personal financial assumptions
2. Determining business value and price — ongoing valuations, cash-flow projections and tax-minimization advice keep pricing accurate so you retain more value
3. Protecting and growing business value — tax planning, entity structuring, value-enhancement strategies (audits, reviewed statements, benchmarking) and reassessing debt and capital needs
4. Converting business value into cash — for a third-party sale: pre-sale planning at least two years out, tax analysis, prepared statements and reviewed terms; for insider transfers to family or employees: cash-flow modeling, tax analysis and efficient transfer designs
5. Contingency planning — buy-sell agreement valuation formulas and business-continuity planning in the event of the owner's death
6. Wealth preservation and estate planning — estate-plan review, tax-minimization strategies, asset-transfer projections and pre- and post-transition analysis
Key facts: how accountants support a business sale
Accountants educate owners, coordinate the advisory team and provide financial, tax, valuation and estate services
Six areas: goals, valuation and pricing, protecting value, converting value, contingency planning, wealth preservation
Begin tax and financial planning at least two years before a third-party sale
Reviewed or audited statements and entity structuring help maximize value and minimize tax
Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax or financial advice. Consult qualified advisors regarding your specific circumstances.
