The real cost of not having a defensible valuation

A valuation has a fee, and fees are easy to compare. The cost of not having one is harder to see, because it usually arrives later, and usually as a surprise.

What happens when a number is questioned

If the ATO, a court, a lender or a business partner challenges your value, the question is not whether the number seems reasonable to you. It is whether you can show how it was reached. A signed report with documented assumptions answers that question. An unsupported figure turns the discussion into a disagreement about your judgement rather than about the evidence.

Where the cost actually shows up

• Positions that cannot be supported: correcting them later costs more than getting them right once.
• Transactions that stall while the work is done under pressure — often at the moment the other side can see you are in a hurry.
• Negotiations entered without a floor, where the first number on the table survives simply because nothing contradicts it.
• Disputes argued opinion against opinion, with no report to point at.
• Time: yours, your accountant's, and the delay to everything else in the business.

None of those costs appear on a fee schedule, and none of them are hypothetical. They are the ordinary consequence of relying on a number nobody can reconstruct.

The comparison worth making

Compare like with like: the cost of a signed valuation against the realistic cost of being asked to justify a number you cannot reproduce. For a business facing the 2027 transition, the second number is usually the larger — and much harder to plan for, because it arrives at the worst possible moment.

Getting the number without buying more than you need

Not every business needs a full valuation, and we would rather tell you that than sell you one. Begin with the free indicative range: if your position is straightforward, it may confirm that the ATO's apportionment method is enough. If it is not, you will know before you commit to anything.