It is both! Tulley (The Small Business Valuation Book - 1994) states:

Business valuation tends to be one of those ill-defined activities used in such a wide array of circumstances that it breeds an army of self-proclaimed "experts." Public accountants, real estate agents, bankruptcy lawyers, statisticians, securities analysts, insurance appraisers, taxing authorities, business brokers, management consultants, and a variety of others get into the act, each purporting to offer the best, the most authoritative, and the most meaningful method for arriving at a company's market worth.

Most of the confusion surrounding business valuation methods stems from two conditions:

• Various statutes, regulations, and court precedents dictate methods to match certain circumstances
• There are an unlimited number of purposes to which the results of a given business valuation can be applied

The first conditions we can do little about. Legislators, bureaucrats and lawyers will continue to set rules that serve specific needs and such rules must be followed if one is to stay in the game. Nevertheless litigations of these rules has become a big business, as evidenced by the hundreds of cases concerning disputed valuations of businesses and business interests that have reached the courts; most of these have arisen because the proper valuation technique was not used within the context of a given law or business situation.

What other condition is relevant?

Let us quote another author, Linton {Business Valuations - 2004} "Business Brokers," he states, "are the most in-touch" in the market and probably have the best sense of what businesses sell in certain areas. We agree! We believe sellers must have the best possible and most qualified specialist to evaluate their business.

We represent the Best! Regional Business Brokers is a partner with Business Evaluation Systems offering a myriad of business evaluation services.

Since 1982, Business Evaluation Systems has provided services to intermediares. The company conducted over 12,000 evaluations ranging from $200,000 to $700 million dollar companies. When it comes to helping determine the value of a business, we can provide many options ranging from an opinion of value to a full certified appraisal. There will be occasions when one may just want an informal report with an opinion of value. Then there may be a time when one is ready to implement plans to transfer the business and needs a full certified appraisal that meets the requirements of lending institutions, Small Business Administration, and/or another investor. In any case, we are ready to provide a high quality and professional service.