Business Valuation
Business valuation is working out what a company is worth, using more than one method, for a particular decision such as a sale, a purchase or a fundraise.

3Methods we set against each other, once the earnings are clean
Where does a valuation get its number?
From the earnings first. Every method multiplies or discounts a figure, so a figure a buyer will not accept spoils all three. Where the methods disagree, the disagreement is the finding.
The bigger the circle, the more of the number is decided there.
Clean earnings
Owner expenses, one-off items and related-party dealings at non-market prices taken out, so every method starts from earnings a buyer accepts.
Comparable transactions
What similar companies sold for. The nearest evidence of a price, though each of those deals had its own buyer and its own reasons.
Comparable listed companies
What similar listed companies trade at. A private company rarely matches them closely, so the differences are set out.
Discounted cash flow
What the future cash flows are worth today. It shows which few assumptions move the number most.
The buyer test
The number that counts is what a particular buyer will pay for. A company in the same business may pay for savings only it can make.
The signature
Where a law names who must sign, a registered professional we work with signs the report, on the same numbers.
What does a valuation from SRF cover?
The business valued three ways, for the decision in front of you, and the statutory report where a law needs one.
Where next in Business Valuation?
Business Valuation pages
- How we workFrom clean earnings to a number you can defend
We clean the earnings first, then value the business three ways and set the results against each other. Then we test the number against the buyers who would pay it.
- InsightsInsights on valuation
Our team writes about which method fits which business, and why a multiple is only as good as the earnings behind it.






