My guest today is Bill Casey. Bill is the Vice Chair of the Transaction Advisory Services department of EY (Ernst & Young Global Limited.) He has been an employee of EY for 35 years and has seen many market changes come and go. Bill has an MBA and a background in audit, a solid career choice he believes for anybody wanting to get into the financial sector.

During today’s show, we discuss the 2018 M&A Firepower Report. Bill shares some of the trends emerging in this year’s report. We speculate what that could mean for the economy and how American tax reforms are affecting the trends. Bill also gives some foolproof advice for business owners thinking about selling in 2018. We cover the traits that are making companies attractive to buyers and how a seller can make their company more enticing in this current climate.

What are the key things you should do to prepare your company for acquisition? Bill Casey, with his 35 years at EY, says it all comes down to due diligence (or reverse due diligence). This isn’t just your run-of-the-mill due diligence, however. You need to take a close look at your company’s operations from both the tangible and intangible aspects.

At this point in the game, every entrepreneur knows about due diligence—at least in terms of the financials. So before you think about selling your business, make sure your books are in order. You need to know them inside and out, including where your weaknesses are, liabilities, potential legal kerfuffles and the state of your assets before you pass the business on. No buyer wants to acquire a company that is riddled with unknowns or risks that could potentially impact the future earnings or cash flows of its acquisition.

But that’s not where your due diligence should stop. You need to evaluate your intangible assets as well. Things like goodwill, customer/client retention, your employees and even your reputation and company culture all add (or detract!) from your business’ value.  Brand names have power and impact the market, just by reputation alone. Does your company do that? Do people vie for positions at your company when they come up because you are so well-known for a cool company culture or how you treat your employees? These and other intangibles impact your intrinsic value just as much as your tangible assets do.

There is a lot you can do with tangible assets, and your financial team can help you