For the purpose of valuing a collection of business interests or business enterprises, business valuation services can be offered as either an opinion or consultancy services. Such analyses are performed for:

Valuation of Business Interests

• Transaction planning
• Purchase or sale of business
• General business purposes
• Financial statement or tax reporting purposes
• Collateral or secured financings or refinancing
• Litigation or dispute resolution purposes

Typical illustrations include:

• Valuation or assessments of firms, business ownership interests, securities, and partnership and limited liability company interests in privately held, publicly traded, or government entities
• Valuations, appraisal estimates, or assessments that estimate the fair worth of all business enterprises in connection with an entity’s financial statements in accordance with pronouncements made by regulatory authorities or organisations that define financial or accounting standards.

Intangible Asset Valuation

Providing valuation opinions or consulting services for one or more intangible assets, liabilities, or pieces of an intellectual property falls under the category of intangible asset valuations. The results may be utilized for the following purposes:

•  Financial statement or tax reporting purposes
•  General business purposes
•  Transaction planning
•  Purchase or sale of assets
•  Licensing or relicensing
•  Collateral or secured financings or refinancing
•  Litigation or dispute resolution purposes

Typical illustrations include:

•  Valuations related to a company’s need to present financial information in order to compete in business mergers or in relation to an external audit of fair value calculations.
•  Evaluations of specific intellectual or intangible assets, along with projections of their remaining useful lives.

Fairness Opinions

Fairness opinions involve the provision of a report, generally to a Board of Directors, deliberating the purchase or sale of assets or business interests. There is usually a presumption that the Board of Directors will rely on the fairness opinion in reaching its conclusions on proceeding with or completing a transaction. There is also a presumption that other third parties would need to have access to the fairness opinion or that the reference to the fairness opinion report may be needed in publications or filings available to the general public.

Fair Value Studies

“Fair value” type reports are a broad category of valuation-based services that are typically offered in connection with needs that arise during the acquisition, disposition, or transfer of assets or interests or as a result of contractual, governmental, regulatory, or statutory requirements like those relating to financial statement disclosures as outlined by the FASB, International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), and national regulatory bodies. As a result, it is necessary to examine assets and liabilities from the viewpoint of fair value. These services include: • Valuation studies or value estimations needed in connection with bylaws, articles of association, or other shareholders’ agreements • Value estimates demanded by agreements between parties or resulting from disagreements between parties. Valuation analyses related to tax mitigation and/or planning, • The creation of estimates, analyses, and reports on matters of tax, financial, or accounting solvency, typically incorporating “balance sheet” examinations on the worth of assets (Impairment testing studies, valuation of investments, derivatives securities, and inventories) • Sufficient consideration for a particular transaction or occurrence, such as “contribution-in-kind” paid or received. The standard of value measures and/or special or unusual valuation techniques may be used in the valuation services given in connection with fair value studies and fairness opinions, which are typically based on legal or statutory requirements. Services in relation to these kinds demand particular expertise and experience.