Quality of Earnings

It rebuilds normalized EBITDA from your source records and tests what the earnings are really worth, isolating one-time, discretionary, and pro forma items so the number reflects the ongoing business. We scrutinize revenue, margins, working capital, and add-backs, then trace each adjustment to how it moves price, working capital pegs, and terms. The result is a defensible EBITDA figure that buyers, lenders, and investment committees will accept.

It's built for PE buyers, strategic acquirers, and lenders who need EBITDA validated before committing capital, and for owners who want their add-backs substantiated before a buyer's team challenges them. We work both sides: buy-side analysis protects price, while sell-side work documents value early so it holds up in the data room. In both cases the goal is an earnings number that survives the other side's scrutiny.

The right moment is when a deal is on the table and the price rides on EBITDA, before the other side starts digging in. Sellers benefit from engaging before the data room opens so add-backs are documented ahead of any challenge; buyers should bring us in before capital is committed. We recommend requesting a scoping call early, since findings are most useful while price and terms are still being negotiated.

You get a committee-ready report where every conclusion is shown with its evidentiary basis, built to withstand a diligence challenge. It substantiates each add-back, ties adjustments directly to price, pegs, and indemnities, and gives lenders evidence-backed earnings quality that clears credit. In short, the findings translate directly into negotiating posture rather than sitting as an abstract accounting exercise.

The senior partner who signs the report does the work start to end, so you're not handed off to junior staff. We've sat on both sides of the table as operators, buyers, and sellers, which shapes how we read the numbers and where we probe. We also deliver on the deal clock rather than an audit calendar, and as a recognized regional firm we carry weight with lower-middle-market deal teams.