Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory

A Neumann & Associates, LLC

September 11, 2017

Poor Legal & Accounting Advice

By Jeremy Albelda

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A typical sale of a business is not simply facilitated by a business broker or M&A advisor. “As a matter of fact, a successful transfer is always a team approach” says Achim Neumann, President, A Neumann & Associates, LLC, a leading New Jersey-based mergers & acquisitions and business brokerage firm, “and a well-functioning interaction between the three professions will guarantee the best outcome for all parties involved.”

Unfortunately, realities are often different.

With the M&A advisor having facilitated the introduction between buyer and seller, this professional also has typically the best personal relationships to both parties – quite different than the attorneys or CPAs who only join the transfer process in a later stage and can only converse with their respective principal on the buy or sell side. Quite often this ends in ‘political jockeying’ by the principal advisors, often resulting in sub-par advice to execute a transaction – one of the worst examples being an attorney generating $100,000+ billing for a small transaction of $2m.

All too often, sellers will follow their comfort level and simply rely on a legal buddy when choosing legal support —for example, someone who has bailed them out of a divorce or a recent traffic ticket—to help them with the sale of their business. Unfortunately, such an attorney is often highly incompetent.  Within the seller’s preparatory context, it is very important that the owner selects a qualified transaction attorney well ahead of any contemplated transaction, preferably right after the valuation is received and the decision to move forward with a sale of the business is made. Certainly, such early consultation will result in some expenses, but this step will pay off handsomely in the end.

The focus here must be on the transaction, not on attorney. Like any other field, the legal profession is highly specialized, and for example, the seller will derive little benefit of hiring a former county prosecutor representing him or her in a $10 million business sale. Such an attorney will know very little about commercial business transactions and will therefore either slow down the process or completely kill the deal.

By far the most toxic combination for any deal is a seller who refers all questions to an attorney, especially, if that attorney perceives as being hired to focus solely on protecting the client and not to move towards a deal closing. In this type of situation, a deal will never be closed. The attorney will always find yet another aspect to be secured in a deal—all along generating more legal fees—in a never-ending negotiation attempt.

Similar challenges exist for recruiting tax advice. The business’ current CPA is well aware that after the closing of the transaction, her/his services are no further needed as in all likelihood the buyers will bring in their own accounting team. Thus, the implication is that – at times – a considerable revenue stream for the CPA firm will no further exist. No question, some CPAs will tend to ‘prolong’ the negotiations or in a few scenarios, even attempt to undermine the transfer.

In sum, within the context of selecting the right advisors, a seller (or buyer) must ensure to take an active role in all aspects of the transfer. The objectives of a legal or tax advisor are not always completely aligned with the objectives of the principals and ignoring these facts can have a devastating outcome – despite all intentions and motivations to close a deal.

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[The blog contains excerpts out of the recently published book “ The Road BeyondWhat Nobody Tells You About Selling a Midsized Business by Achim Neumann]

About A Neumann & Associates, LLC

A Neumann & Associates, LLC is a professional mergers & acquisitions and business brokerage firm having assisted business owners and buyers in the business valuation and business transfer process through its affiliations for the past 30 years. With an A+ Better Business Bureau rating, the company has senior trusted professionals with a deep knowledge based in multiple field offices along the East Coast and has performed hundreds of business valuations in its history. The firm’s competitive transaction fees are based on successfully completing transactions. For more information, please contact A Neumann & Associates at 732-872-6777 or info@neumannassociates.com

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“ I appreciate your diligent approach to screening buyers and sellers as well as the high quality CIM that you produce.”

Andrey O, Investor

“Finally enjoying retirement after recently selling my business using the services of A Neumann & Associates. Joe Oddo provided the conduit to a successful transaction. Joe knew when to inject input and when to simply listen and allow the buyers to vent, step back and regroup. The outcome met our expectations and got us to the finish line, which included my staying with the company six months in order for the buyers to get their footing and keep our workforce in the loop. He helped at every step by providing his expert guidance & resources. Thank you!”

Emily Parker Myers, Co-Owner - Myers McRae

“I had been in touch with Karin and Gary from A Neumann & Associates regarding some opportunities and was looking forward to meeting with them. Hence, when they organized a seminar in Princeton, NJ, I was quick to sign up. The seminar was very informative as the team walked the attendees through various scenarios and referenced real life buying/selling situations they had been through. The sessions by Gary, Karin and Achim were crisp and focused and brought clarity to potential seller and buyers. I strongly recommend the team and look forward to continue working with them.”

Gaurav Tyagi

“Thank you for your Event on "How to value, Sell, and Buy A Business for Maximum Profit" and the insight into ANA’s approach on what is involved in the Business Exit for sellers. Garys Hervieiou's "Business Valuation", Achim's "Deal structure" presentation and Karin’s "Preparing the Package" are real street knowledge shared. They answered attendees questions which makes it more interesting for learning from others. Great for small businesses like us. The presentations were totally worth our time and travel for the event to Princeton, NJ from Rockville MD. Ravi Bhutani, President, CIPS”

Ravi Bhutani

“Gary, this is to thank you for an excellent job done in selling our business. We could never have done it without your professional expertise, dedication and time put in without reservation to make it happen. We will gladly and highly recommend you to anybody in our position.  It was a pleasure to work with you.”

Pat Iammatteo, Owner

“Your vetting is simply outstanding, among the best I've seen from a broker.”

Eric H., Investor

“I recently contacted A. Neumann and Associates about getting a valuation of my business done. I spoke with Marc, who explained the process in detail. After meeting with Marc in order to get a clear understanding of my business, and what I was hoping to accomplish. His patience in answering all my questions and his knowledge of the proper way to market my business gave me great confidence that this is the firm I will be using to sell my business for max value. Working with Marc at A Neumann & Associates was very easy and professional. I did not know all that was going to be involved in selling my business but they helped me through the process. What I thought was going to be a just another one of those pushy sales companies was just the opposite. Polite, knowledgeable, and a pleasure to talk to and deal with. I highly recommend this firm to anybody who wants to sell now or down the road. Marc not only knows his stuff, but actually is a real nice guy.”

Double Diamond

“Used A Neumann & Associates to sale my business. could not imagine having done it with out the patience and experience Gary provided. Thanks Gary,”

Dennis Frazier

“Working with Marc and his company was a pleasure. What I thought was going to be a just another one of those pushy sales companies was just the opposite. Polite, knowledgeable, and a pleasure to talk to and deal with. Marc handled most of the interaction and he has one of the greatest demeanors. Again, it was a pleasure working with him and his firm.”

Douglas DiCeglio

“I recently completed an acquisition using A Neumann & Associates. Tony Valentino was very helpful and accessible during the entire process. They do a thorough job vetting both parties and got us to the finish line.”

Srini Mudambi
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