I received a telephone call today from another business appraiser. I met him at a conference several years ago and this was the first time I had talked to him since. He explained that he had performed a business appraisal for a buy-sell agreement. It is not unusual for buy-sell agreements between owners to require one, or more, valuations as part of the process of buying out one of the owners. In this case, a second valuation was performed, and since the parties could not agree on a purchase price from those two valuations, a third appraiser is to be called in.
This acquaintance explained that the second valuation was poorly done and that he was recommending that I come in as the third appraiser. He specifically said he was recommending me because he had been to my website, had seen my sample report, and was impressed with the quality of my work. This is not unusual. I have been approached by CPA firms and other valuation professionals to step into situation where the previous work was substandard. It is nice to be recognized for doing quality work, but many times, these situations require untangling a mess created by someone else. The take-away from this is you get what you pay for, and it’s better to do it right the first time.