Business valuation specialist: who can value a business in Australia, and who should you engage?

Anyone can value a business in Australia: no licence, register or statutory qualification exists, and the titles people search for, such as certified business valuer or registered business valuer, are not Australian designations. What makes a valuation hold up with the ATO, a court, a lender or the other side is independence, a fixed fee, a signed report that states its purpose, basis, date, evidence and limitations, and a valuer who will explain the reasoning to whoever relies on it. Oliver Group prepares independent, signed business valuations Australia-wide at fixed fees of $1,495, $2,495 or $3,495 + GST, set by turnover. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.

No licence or register exists for business valuers in Australia

If you have been searching for a certified business valuer or a registered business valuer, here is the plain answer: no such licence exists in Australia. There is no government register of business valuers, no statutory qualification, and no body that can stop someone from valuing businesses. Real property is different, because some states register or license land valuers, but that regime covers land and buildings, not businesses, shares, units or goodwill. So the question is never whether someone is allowed to value your business. Everyone is. The question is whether the report they produce will be accepted by the person who has to rely on it: the ATO reviewing a small business CGT concession claim, a court deciding a shareholder or family law dispute, a bank lending against the figure, or the buyer on the other side of a sale.

What the titles people search for actually are

The search terms are borrowed from overseas or from other professions, which is why they lead nowhere here. 'Certified business valuer' echoes North American credentials that have no Australian equivalent. 'Chartered business valuator' is a Canadian designation. 'Business valuator' is simply the North American word for valuer. 'Registered business valuer' has no Australian meaning: some states register or license land valuers, but no register covers businesses, shares, units or goodwill. 'Business valuation specialist' is a description, not a licence. What the phrase usefully describes is what you actually want: a valuer whose main work is valuing businesses, shares, units and goodwill rather than a sideline to accounting, broking or property.

What the ATO, the courts and lenders look at instead

Because there is no register to check, the people who scrutinise valuations look at the report and the person behind it. The ATO's market valuation guidance does not prescribe a credential; it expects the valuer to have qualifications and experience appropriate to the asset and the purpose, to be independent of the parties, and to set out the method, the evidence and the reasoning so that another valuer could follow them. The courts are similar: an expert needs specialised knowledge based on training, study or experience, and must comply with the expert witness code of conduct, which puts the duty to the court ahead of the duty to whoever pays. Lenders apply their own panel and credit rules, and will usually say what they need before you engage anyone. In every case the test is applied to the report, not to a title on a business card.

Five things to look for before you engage anyone

Treat this as the decision checklist. If a valuer cannot answer all five clearly, keep looking. 1. Independence and a fixed fee. The valuer should have no stake in the outcome and no other role in the transaction: not the broker selling the business, not the accountant who lodges the return, and never paid a fee that rises with the concluded value. Ask for the fee in writing before work starts. 2. A signed report from a named person. The report should be signed by an individual whose name and qualifications appear on its face, not issued under a letterhead alone. 3. Purpose, basis, date and standard of value stated up front. A report prepared for a sale is not automatically fit for a CGT event or a court; the purpose, the basis (usually market value) and the valuation date should be spelt out on the first pages. 4. Evidence and limitations. The report should show the financial information relied on, the adjustments made, the method chosen and why others were rejected, and the assumptions and limitations that apply. 5. Willingness to explain the reasoning. Whoever relies on the report, an auditor, a lawyer, a co-owner's adviser or a tax officer, may come back with questions. Ask whether the valuer will answer them,.

Your accountant, a broker, a calculator or an independent valuer?

Each has a place, and the purpose decides which. Your accountant knows the business best and can give you a planning figure quickly, but an accountant who acts for the entity year-round faces an independence question if the ATO or another party tests the number. A broker's appraisal reflects what buyers are paying now and suits a live sale campaign, but it is written to win a listing rather than to survive a review, and the broker is paid on the sale. An online calculator applies a multiple to whatever you type in and is fine for a first look at nothing more. An independent valuer is the right choice when the figure has consequences someone else will test: a CGT concession claim or restructure, a shareholder entry or exit, a family law settlement, a related-party transfer, an employee share scheme grant, or a sale where the price must be justified to a buyer's due diligence team or a lender.

What Oliver Group does and what it costs

Oliver Group prepares independent business valuations only. We do not broker businesses, and we are not a registered tax agent: how a valuation is applied to a tax or legal position is a matter for the client's accountant or lawyer, so the valuation is never shaped by another fee. Every report is signed by a named valuer, states its purpose, basis, valuation date, evidence, method and limitations. Fees are fixed in writing before work begins, set by the annual turnover of the business, and never depend on the value concluded. A Small Business Valuation is $1,495 + GST for turnover under $2 million, with the draft report in 2 business days. A Medium Business Valuation is $2,495 + GST for turnover between $2 million and $10 million, with the draft in 3 business days. A Large Business Valuation is $3,495 + GST for turnover over $10 million, with the delivery date agreed before commencement. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received. Retrospective valuation dates are $495 each and additional entities are $795 each. Business valuations for separation and property settlements are prepared by our dedicated family law practice, Family Law Valuations. Family law expert reports are $4,495 + GST, with the delivery date agreed before commencement, and court appearances are charged separately. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received. If the evidence does not support the number a client hopes for, we say so, and if a client wants a target figure rather than a valuation, we decline the engagement.

How to engage us

Send an enquiry through the contact form on this site or call 0433 475 518 and tell us three things: what the valuation is for, the entity being valued, and the turnover band. We confirm the package, the fee and the information required in writing, and work begins once payment and that information are received. The engagement runs Australia-wide by phone, video and secure upload from our Melbourne office at Level 7, 55 Collins Street. If you are an accountant or lawyer instructing on behalf of a client, tell us who will rely on the report so it is framed for that reader from the start.