Three years out

The fifteen questions

One page. Print it, and take it to your own accountant or lawyer.

People

  1. If you were gone for a month, who keeps the top three customers?
  2. Who else can price a job, and sign off on it?
  3. Which decisions still wait for you?
  4. Who are the key people, and what keeps them after a sale?

Numbers

  1. Do job costs tie to the financial statements?
  2. Can you show what the last three jobs actually cost against what you bid?
  3. Which costs run through the company that a new owner wouldn’t carry, and which would a new owner have to add?
  4. Could you hand over the last twelve months of monthly statements tomorrow, each closed on time?
  5. How much of your revenue comes from your two largest customers?

Assets and obligations

  1. What equipment does the business depend on, and when does it need replacing?
  2. Where are the reclamation, abandonment and environmental obligations recorded?
  3. Which contracts, permits or licences don’t transfer to a new owner?
  4. What do your bank covenants require, and how close are you to them?

Ownership

  1. Do all shareholders want the same thing, and is it written down?
  2. Is there a shareholder agreement, and does it say what happens on a sale?