Business Valuation is the process of determining the present economic worth or value of the business, business unit or an owner’s interest in a business. It emphasizes providing key information to make informed decisions regarding business’s fair market value, strengths, weaknesses, risks and opportunities. Business valuation provides the management of a business with numerous facts and figures pertaining to the actual worth or value of the company in terms of market competition, asset values and income values. Benefits of business valuation include identification and better comprehension of assets of the business; definition of a clearer picture of your business's worth; navigation during Merger & Acquisitions with confidence; attract investors with a reliable valuation.

Valuation is applicable to various business events, i.e. mergers and acquisitions, sale of business, procurement of funds, taxation etc. Without a thorough grasp of valuation in situations like mergers and acquisitions, key managers will struggle to meet their professional expectations. The further description on its purposes is stated below:

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A): Valuation is fundamental in Mergers & Acquisition activities, where it helps in determining the fair price for acquiring or selling a business and helps both buyer and seller to negotiate better deals.
Investment Decisions: Investors rely on business valuation to assess the potential return on investment (ROI) and determine whether to invest in a company's stock, bonds, or other securities. Valuation assists in evaluating the risk associated with an investment opportunity.
Financial Reporting: Valuation is essential for financial reporting purposes, especially in cases where companies need to disclose the value of their assets or when reporting intangible assets like goodwill.
Litigation and Dispute Resolution: Valuation plays a critical role in legal proceedings such as shareholder disputes, divorce settlements, or instances of bankruptcy, where determining the fair value of a business becomes necessary.
Taxation: Governments use business valuation to assess taxes, particularly in cases of estate planning, gift taxation, or determining the value of shares for tax purposes.
Strategic Planning: Business owners and managers utilize valuation to make informed strategic decisions, such as expanding operations, raising capital, or selling a portion of the business. To maximize long-term wealth, companies should prioritize projects with a positive net present value.

Valuators rely on certain principal information, while assessing the value of enterprise, business, equity, asset and so on. The sources of information are generally common and the information that is considered or investigated shall be material. The nature of the information available and the amount of investigation done should be cost effective and will vary according to the individual circumstances of each valuation. The important sources of valuation related information are annual reports and audited accounts of the company or the business being valued, reports on future prospects, operational results, cash flows, acquisition and divestment strategies, internal documents related to business plan, board discussion papers, review documents after discussions with senior management, relevant economic data, industry statistics, stock market statistics, publicly available information like press release, media reports and Industry journals.

A precise valuation hinges on two key elements: applying the most fitting approaches and having a firm grasp of the exact investment involved in the business transaction and a clear measure of the returns that the company generates. Businesses vary in their nature of operations, the markets they serve, and the assets they own. For this reason, the body of business valuation knowledge has established three primary approaches by which businesses may be appraised. The brief on these methods is described below:

Income Approach:

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF): This method estimates the present value of future cash flows generated by the business. It involves forecasting future cash flows and discounting them back to their present value using a discount rate that reflects the risk associated with the investment.
Capitalization of Earnings: : Like DCF, this method calculates the present value of expected future earnings but uses a single period earnings figure and a capitalization rate instead of cash flows and discount rates.

Market Approach:

Comparable Company Analysis (CCA): This method compares the business being valued to similar publicly traded companies to determine its value. Key metrics such as price-to-earnings ratio, price-to-sales ratio, and enterprise value multiples are used for comparison.
Precedent Transaction Analysis: : Like CCA, this method compares the business to similar companies that have been recently sold or acquired, using the transaction multiples to estimate its value.

Asset-Based Approach:

Book Value Method: This method calculates the value of a business by subtracting its liabilities from its assets as reported on the balance sheet. However, this approach may not reflect the true market value of assets, especially for businesses with significant intangible assets.
Adjusted Net Asset Method: This method adjusts the book value of assets and liabilities to their fair market values, considering factors such as depreciation and appreciation.

Certainly in summary, when concluding a business valuation, follow these steps: clearly articulate the valuation methodology, including methods like discounted cash flow analysis and market comparable, specify key assumptions related to future cash flow projections and discount rates, present valuation results, potentially as a range, along with a sensitivity analysis, compare the valuation to market benchmarks for context, evaluate internal and external risk factors, base the conclusion on a holistic assessment, providing recommendations, disclose any limitations in the valuation process or data used, outline future considerations to keep the valuation relevant.