The first rule of selling any business is that it is only worth whatsomebody is prepared to pay for it. This may sound a little trite but ithighlights the real skill of selling. So, 'How do I find the right buyer?'
Experience tells us that similar accountancy firms often have verydifferent strategies and the impact of their strategy on acquisitions ndmerger will similarly vary considerably.
Then of course we have the outsiders coming into the profession in the form of the consolidators appearing to snap up acounting firms at a rate of knots (if you believe some of the press comments). None the less, the consolidators will certainly have an impact on this aspect of our profession and we are even seeing ‘mini consolidators’ – accounting firms consolidating ready for the ‘Big Day’ sell-out to a major consolidator – starting their acquisition and merger trails.
We also have observed that we cannot assume anything when looking for abuyer – anybody and any business is potentially a buyer and until we knowtheir strategy and, therefore, their view on the acquistion or merger of acertain size of accounting practice in a certain geapraphical area, weshould never write them off.
There are people that know some of the information you want but certainlynot all. You will need to promote your business for sale far and wide to getthe best price and in order that you keep it all secret – which some of usthink is important – we always recommend you do this through a third party.
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