Business owners often discover they need to place a value on their enterprises.
These Business Valuations are commonly used to:
     • assist in estate planning
     • value stock for gifting or charitable contribution purposes
     • comply with Internal Revenue Service requirements for estate and
       gift tax returns
     • determine the value for buy/sell agreements
     • resolve shareholder disputes
     • help resolve marriage dissolution issues
     • buy, sell or merge a business
     • assess employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs)

Valuing a business is as much art as it is science, which is why professionals with the appropriate industry background, education, and experience should be retained for this purpose. In fact, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has established the Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) credential to recognize those CPAs who have not only obtained professional training and work experience, but have also passed a rigorous examination that covers the substantial valuation body of knowledge.

Our valuation services are well suited to a wide variety of circumstances, including mergers and acquisitions; sales of divestitures of businesses; buy/sell agreements; divorce; estate planning; taxation; and litigation support. Our findings have been instrumental in multimillion-dollar engagements for major corporations, as well as in marital dissolutions of high-worth couples. We value your business by interviewing management, analyzing industry information, economic conditions and relevant tax and financial data. Our valuation experts are versed in a variety of industries including medical practices, manufacturers, distributors, restaurants, construction companies, real estate entities and family limited partnerships. Using nationally accepted methodologies and approaches, we are able to arrive at an objective valuation conclusion based on reasonable assumptions. Our business valuation practice is staffed with seasoned certified valuation analysts (CVA) and certified public accountants whose years of experience and real world expertise can assist you with all aspects of valuation and litigation support.

Valuing a business is complicated; and, there are a variety of methods used in the process. It is crucial that you work with experienced professionals who recognize which methods are most appropriate for the purpose of the valuation.

For example, valuations performed for estate, gift, and charitable contribution transactions must determine the fair market value of the asset valued, while buy/sell and merger valuations may require that the investment value be determined. Valuations that are performed for divorce proceedings, on the other hand, require the determination of fair value.

It is also essential to understand that the premise of value also depends upon the purpose of the valuation. The going concern value of an enterprise, for example, includes the intangible elements of the business — such as the work force in place and the licenses, systems, and procedures in use.

Valuations on a liquidation basis may determine the value under an orderly liquidation — selling assets over a reasonable period of time to realize the highest price — or under a forced liquidation, which is when assets are sold as quickly as possible, usually in an auction setting.

Because the professionals at GALLINA respect our clients and know how hard they’ve worked to grow their businesses, we have a unique appreciation of value — both of the companies... and the people who create and run them.