Accountant, Lawyer or Broker? Who Should You Use When Selling Your Business?

When you sell your business, you'll quickly encounter three different types of advisors: an accountant, a lawyer, and a business broker (or "M&A advisor"). They each solve their own part of the task, and most larger deals actually involve all three — but it's far from certain you need the same extent of each.

The accountant: Tax and accounts

The accountant understands the sale's tax consequences and the accounting matters. It's typically the accountant who helps get the accounts ready for a deal, assesses the tax consequences of different ways of structuring the sale (e.g. personal sale vs. sale through a holding company), and ensures the figures a buyer sees are true, fair and well documented.

The lawyer: The legal foundation

The lawyer secures the legal foundation for the transfer — including legal, financial and strategic matters around the agreement itself. This covers, among other things, drafting and reviewing the letter of intent and transfer agreement, handling due diligence from a legal perspective, and ensuring contracts, ownership and any obligations are correctly transferred.

The business broker / M&A advisor: Buyer and price

The broker or M&A advisor focuses on finding the right buyer and setting the right price. This includes valuation, buyer identification, the initial negotiation on price and terms, and often coordinating the whole sale process from start to finish.

Do they work together?

Yes — in a well-functioning process, lawyer, accountant and broker work closely together to ensure an efficient, holistic process. The broker finds and negotiates with the buyer, the accountant ensures the tax and accounting matters are in order, and the lawyer formalizes it all legally correctly.

Do you need all three?

• Smaller, simple sales: If you already have a buyer, and the business is manageable, you can often manage with assistance from an accountant for the tax side and a lawyer for the final agreement.
• Larger or more complex sales: Here it typically makes good sense to have all three roles in play — particularly if you need to find a buyer yourself, or if the deal involves a complex company structure.

Unsure which advisors you actually need for your sale? Read about how to choose the right advisor, or book a free, no-obligation call where we guide you.