Business Valuation Accountant or Specialist? | IBV™

Your accountant may prepare accounts, reconcile records, explain transactions and advise on tax within their qualifications and engagement. Those functions are valuable inputs to a valuation. Some accounting practitioners also have substantial specialist valuation training and experience; others do not offer valuation work. An accounting qualification alone does not tell you which services a particular practitioner is equipped to provide.

A business valuer assesses the value of a defined business or ownership interest at a specified date, on an agreed basis, for identified users. That requires financial analysis, but also judgement about future earnings, transferable relationships, commercial risks, ownership rights and evidence supporting the selected methods. The output needs to explain those judgements, not simply reproduce the balance sheet.

A tax-prepared profit figure, accounting net assets and business market value answer different questions. Internally generated goodwill, the cost of replacing the owner's work, lease continuity and working-capital requirements may need analysis beyond the headline accounts. Equally, valuation work is not automatically an audit, a tax opinion or legal due diligence. Ask each professional to identify what they will do and what remains outside their engagement.

An accountant is not automatically conflicted because they know your business. An external business valuer is not automatically independent because they are external. Assess actual relationships, financial interests, prior involvement, fee arrangements and the intended users for the particular engagement. Familiarity can help explain the records; it does not replace an objective assessment of assumptions.

The IBV™ Independence Guarantee means no commissions, no hourly billing, no fee linked to the value concluded and no interest in buying or selling your business. IBV also assesses engagement-specific conflicts. A Fixed Professional Fee gives you cost certainty, but a fixed fee alone establishes neither independence nor valuation quality.

Your consultation and draft-review discussion are opportunities to clarify facts and missing information, not to select the desired conclusion. We do not promise the highest valuation, a particular sale price or automatic acceptance by a buyer, lender or authority.

Australia has no single government licensing system for business valuers generally. Particular statutory purposes may impose eligibility requirements, and recipients may specify their own reporting or qualification requirements. Ask who will undertake and sign the work, which valuation-specific credentials they hold, who issued those credentials and what relevant experience supports the instruction.

The Australian Valuers Institute issues the Certified Business Valuer designation. CPA and Chartered Accountant qualifications have their own scope and obligations; neither is a universal prerequisite for every business valuation. Avoid treating any designation as proof that a report will be suitable for every purpose.

APES 225 Valuation Services sets requirements for members of relevant accounting bodies undertaking valuation services. IBV voluntarily aligns its processes and reporting with relevant APES 225 principles. That voluntary alignment is distinct from membership-based mandatory obligations and is not a claim of APESB certification. Read who can value a business in Australia for the broader professional-selection guide.

Start by telling us what you own, why the value is needed, the relevant date and who will use the report. With appropriate authority, your accountant can supply financial statements, tax returns and explanations of related-party balances or unusual entries. IBV reviews the information for the agreed valuation, raises questions and records material assumptions and limitations.

For a tax matter, your accountant or tax adviser identifies the tax issue, applicable transaction and required date; IBV provides the agreed valuation evidence. The ATO's market valuation guidance is relevant to the quality of that evidence. A valuation does not establish tax concession eligibility, replace tax advice or guarantee an ATO outcome.

Before sharing records, agree authority, confidentiality and access arrangements. Your accountant may provide records or discuss valuation assumptions without automatically becoming authorised to rely on the conclusion. If they or another recipient need to rely on the conclusion, identify them and their purpose in the engagement.

If you need routine accounting or tax advice, speak with your appropriately qualified accountant. If you need a documented independent business value, assess valuation capability and scope rather than assuming an accounting title is essential. Where your accountant also has suitable specialist valuation experience and can accept the instruction, they may be an appropriate choice. Where you want separately instructed valuation analysis alongside your existing adviser, discuss the purpose with IBV.

IBV supports owner-operated businesses, private companies and defined ownership interests across Australia, subject to accepted scope and evidence. Family law work is for non-litigious negotiations, voluntary mediation and settlement planning with agreed users; IBV does not provide expert-witness or court-appointed valuations. A business valuation specialist is not a substitute for a court expert or another specifically required professional.

Book a Free Valuation Call to explain your decision, records and intended readers. You do not need to choose a package first. We will confirm whether we can accept the work, the appropriate scope and a written Fixed Professional Fee.

Credential issuer: Australian Valuers Institute — Membership classes and Certified Business Valuer designation