Course content

    1. a) Adam & Peter's Presentation

    2. b) Melanie's Presentation

    3. Recording

About this course

  • $75.00
  • 1.5 CPD hours
  • May 27, 2021

Course Description

This course will cover the perspectives of the vendor, the purchaser and the valuator/advisor in the selling of an accounting/tax practice. In the first part of this comprehensive session, benefit from the personal experiences of both Peter Sevitt, who recently sold his accounting practice after 40 years of practice, and Adam Guyatt, who purchased Peter’s practice. Peter will discuss his path to the decision to sell, the steps involved in the process from the decision to sell until closing, challenges he experienced along the way, which factors made the transaction successful, what he would do differently were he to do it again, and the lithmus test a few years post-closing. Adam will talk about the process from the buyer’s perspective in terms of how he analyzed Peter’s practice, how he made the purchase decision, the path he took until closing the challenges he experienced, and what he learned from both the purchase and integration processes. In the second part of this session, Melanie will discuss her experience as a sell-side advisor to practitioners and cover issues such why some practice transitions fail, current trends, practice values and ethical issues.

Instructor(s)

Adam Guyatt

Adam obtained his ACA designation while working with Deloitte in the UK. On moving to Canada with Deloitte in 2009, he obtained his CA designation followed by his CBV and CFA designations as well as becoming certified in financial forensics (CFF). Adam co-founded Grewal Guyatt LLP and leads the firm’s compliance team and additionally specializes in business valuations, litigation support and forensics. Adam has provided business and asset valuations within the context of a wide range of disputes, corporate reorganizations and purchase price allocations. He has also provided expert advice with respect to estate disputes, identification of misappropriated assets and the quantification of unreported income.

Melanie Russell

Melanie E. Russell, FCPA, FCA, CBV, CIM, CFE, CFF, ABV, FDRP-Val, Founder and President of Kalex Partners Inc. – her current practice focuses on business valuations, litigation support and dispute analysis, financial/forensic investigations, corporate finance and education. She has qualified as an expert witness in the areas of valuation, forensic accounting, income analyses and loss of income calculations in a number of cases in the Ontario Court of Justice, the Ontario Superior Court and the Federal Court of Canada. She has also acted as an accounting expert in arbitration, mediation and other alternative dispute resolution proceedings (e.g., collaborative family practice), and negotiated a number of buy/sell transactions. She has taught at various institutions, authored various articles and professional material, and has had a number of years marking, authoring and co-ordinating professional examinations including the CICBV Membership Qualifying Examination.

Peter Sevitt

Peter qualified as a CA in the UK in 1972,with KPMG ,and immigrated in the same year to Canada where he worked for Coopers and Lybrand. After spending time in industry and then in an associate relationship with a small accounting firm he started his own practice in mid town Toronto in 1979.

Peter's clients were owner managers, condos and professionals. He sold his practice in September 2019 and is presently assisting with the transition. Peters loves are rugby, informal education and acting.