Bigger spreadsheets don’t win deals—defensible judgment does. A strong valuation is not a single number produced by a black box; it’s a transparent, evidence-based Possible Value range, supported by method choice, clean normalizations, defensible comparables, and a clear map from risk narratives to hard numbers.
Start with the business model
How the company makes and collects cash drives the method. Recurring revenue and contract durability often support income methods with defensible growth and discount assumptions. Asset intensity and replacement economics may justify an asset view. Smaller or highly volatile companies may call for a careful market approach with explicit adjustments. Templates can’t see these nuances; experienced judgment does.
Normalization is not a guess
Normalize owner compensation to market. Identify personal or non-recurring expenses with bank/credit corroboration. Adjust for seasonality and operational anomalies. When normalizations are evidence-based, the earnings quality story persuades buyers, courts, and lenders.
Comps you can defend
Comparable companies aren’t just SIC codes. Size, margin, growth, capital intensity, and cash-conversion must rhyme. Outliers should be cut. Multiples should be adjusted to reflect growth, margins, and durability differences. A smaller company with lumpier cash will not warrant the same multiple as a larger firm with sticky contracts—even in the same niche.
Turn risk into numbers
Key-person reliance, customer concentration, property treatment, and data quality shouldn’t sit in a paragraph of “risks.” They must be priced in discount rates, cap rates, and multiples—or shown via sensitivities that a buyer or judge can use. If a risk is real, it belongs in the math, not just the prose.
Triangulate and be transparent
Income, market, and (where relevant) asset approaches should be reconciled, with weights explained. This triangulation produces a Possible Value range (low/central/high) that reflects both the data quality and the stability/transferability of cash flows. That clarity builds credibility and reduces negotiation friction.
Bottom line
Templates produce numbers; seasoned judgment produces outcomes. If you’re heading into a transaction or litigation, insist on a valuation that explains the “why,” not just the “what.”
Call to action
Email sanjay@sankulinc.com for my one-page Second Opinion brief template—useful for buyers, sellers, and counsel.
About Sanjay: Sanjay Kulkarni, CBV, CFA, CPA (CA-I), C.Dir, is a Toronto-based Chartered Business Valuator and Fractional CFO with 25+ years of experience helping privately owned businesses, PE/VC, and family-law matters across Canada. Email: sanjay@sankulinc.com · Sites: SankulInc.com | BusinessValueGrowth.com
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