Answering Common Financial Questions from Business Clients

Business clients bring attorneys some of the most challenging financial questions. Here are insights from our experts answering questions we’re asked most often.

 

1. What is the Value of My Business?
By Paul Heidt, CPA, ASA, ABV

Business owners often approach their legal counsel with a myriad of legal and financial issues that include needing to know the value of their business. Clients can be tempted to ask ChatGPT to value their business or consult with their tax CPA. But when everything is on the line, a low-cost answer can not only be entirely wrong but highly risky. That’s when attorneys and their clients turn to us to develop a professional and well-supported opinion of value.
Also see: Answers to 6 Common Questions from Attorneys on Business Valuation.

 

2. My Business Partner Wants Out. How Much Should I Pay Them?
By Alina Niculita, ASA, CFA, ARM-BV, MBA

Your partner’s ready to leave the business. You’re committed to staying. Now the question is on the table: How much is it fair to pay them for their share? Should you use a rough estimate of value, or hire a qualified business appraiser?

We help business owners determine a well-supported, defensible value when a partner exists, whether it’s amicable, court-ordered, or somewhere in between.

 

3. I have been accused of stealing trade secrets. How much might I owe my previous employer?
By Serena Morones, CPA, ASA, ABV, CFE

You’ve left your job to launch something new. Now your former employer is claiming you took trade secrets with you — and they want compensation.

You ask: What’s the financial exposure here? How much might I owe?

At Morones Analytics, we’re often brought in to assess the alleged financial impact of trade secret use — from either side of the dispute.

 

4. I’m in a bad business partnership. How much is a fair amount to get me out?
By Terry Whitehead, CPA, ASA, ABV

Unfortunately, in business, like in life, sometimes bad things happen. Our clients seek our advice and financial analysis on various issues: some seemingly straight forward and others with more complex facts and circumstances. When a client is in a bad business partnership, our business valuation experts help determine how much is a fair amount to get them out.