Buying or Selling a Business?
Accountant’s role when buying or selling a business
In actuality, the accountant may represent and assist either the buyer or seller when engaged to consult on a buy or a sale of a business. Our roles are vast and go in many directions. Much of what we will be engaged to do will be determined for us, yet there are vast amounts of planning opportunities that should not be overlooked.
Typical accountant service fees for such engagements are a hybrid of an hourly/added-value based fee structure.
Our priorities are to assist our client and to help ensure that the transaction to go smoothly and that our client has obtained the best value for the amount being spent or received.
There are many considerations – the CPA’s role as part of your team is to help navigate the following myriad of complexities
- Overview and transactions profiles – tax planning and various options for buying or selling a business
- Buyer and seller due diligence and closing the deal
- Choosing the new business entity once the deal is made
- Valuation of a small closely held Business
- Buying a corporate business using stock purchase transactions
- Structuring the business sale as buying or selling of assets
- Capital structure and owner cash flow considerations
- Taxable stock purchase treated as asset acquisitions – Section 338 and 336
- Installment method reporting and debt-related purchase price changes
- Tax treatment of buyer/seller expenses and payments
- Specific asset purchase/sale price required allocations
- Tax accounting and reporting potential pitfalls
- Related parties
- Buy/sell arrangements
- Evaluate franchise opportunities
- Developing or reviewing business plans
- Firms in similar service
- Employee buyouts
