Expert Advisory Forum (27th August 2026)
From Trusted Accountant to Deal Advisor:
Supporting Clients Through a Business Sale
Tim Phelan | TBA Corporate Finance
Discover how accountants and fractional CFOs can play an invaluable role throughout a business sale. The session explores the deal process from planning and valuation through to due diligence, negotiations, and completion. It will highlight where Advisors can strengthen the financial position, support their clients, and work collaboratively with business brokerage and M&A experts to help achieve a successful transaction.
Selling a business can be a lengthy and demanding process for an owner. Even when a business appears ready for sale, buyer scrutiny can expose financial weaknesses, unresolved risks and issues that affect its valuation.
In this Advisory Expert Forum, Tim Phelan of Transworld Business Advisors provides a practical overview of the business sale process and the important role accountants, fractional FDs and CFOs can play at every stage.
Tim explains how advisers can help owners prepare earlier, strengthen the financial position of the business and maintain performance while a transaction is progressing. He also explores how businesses are valued, what buyers look for and why clear, reliable financial information is essential to protecting value and keeping a deal on track.
Highlights from the session
- Why an exit-ready business is generally easier to sell and more likely to achieve a stronger valuation
- The importance of beginning exit preparation well before the owner wants to sell
- How adjusted EBITDA, business size, sector and growth prospects influence valuation multiples
- The stages of a typical sale, from initial planning and market preparation through to due diligence and completion
- How to identify and address financial weaknesses and potential deal-breakers before buyer scrutiny begins
- The role of forecasts, normalised earnings and accurate balance-sheet information in supporting the valuation
- How teasers, buyer lists and confidential information memorandums are used to take a business to market
- Why maintaining confidentiality and assessing the credibility of potential buyers are essential
- How advisers can support management presentations, negotiations, due diligence and completion accounts
- Why the adviser must help the owner keep the business performing throughout the transaction
- Opportunities for accountants and fractional finance professionals to provide valuable additional support during the sale process
