Valuation Techniques for Business and Investments Training Course

Course overview

Valuation produces a number, and the number carries an authority the analysis behind it rarely deserves. Change the terminal growth rate by half a percentage point and the answer moves twenty percent. Choose a different set of comparable companies and it moves again. The skill is not calculating a value; it is knowing which assumptions carry the result and being honest about the range.

This course covers valuation across twelve units: the principles, statement analysis, discounted cash flow, market approaches, asset-based methods, startups, risk and sensitivity, transactions, intangibles, portfolio valuation, communication, and an integrated closing case. It is educational and is not financial or investment advice.

Where the number comes from

In a typical discounted cash flow, most of the value sits in the terminal value, which rests on a growth assumption for a period nobody can forecast, discounted at a rate built from a beta estimated over a window someone chose. Every one of those choices is defensible and every one moves the answer.

That is not an argument against valuation. It is an argument for triangulation: build the discounted cash flow, cross-check with multiples, sanity-check against asset value, and present a range with the drivers named. A valuation presented as a single number, with no sensitivity, is an argument disguised as a fact.

Course objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Determine which approach fits the purpose of the valuation.
• Normalize reported results before comparing or pricing them.
• Value a business by its free cash flow and cost of capital.
• Apply trading and transaction multiples to a defensible peer set.
• Anchor a value in net assets when earnings say little.
• Gauge the value of a startup with no cash flows to discount.
• Bracket a value by moving the assumptions that matter.
• Establish the price ceiling a buyer can pay for synergies.
• Substantiate goodwill and intangible values after a purchase.
• Prepare a valuation that survives an auditor's challenge.

Course outline

Unit 1: Introduction to valuation principles

• Value against price and why the two often differ.
• Purpose drives method: transaction, tax or litigation work.
• Standards of value: fair, market and investment value.
• The three approaches: income, market and asset-based.

Unit 2: Financial statement analysis for valuation

• Normalizing earnings: one-off items and owner compensation.
• Items a buyer strips out before applying a profit multiple.
• Adjusting working capital and debt-like items in the price.
• Segment results and the internal charges that flatter them.

Unit 3: Discounted cash flow valuation

• Confusion between free cash flow to the firm and to equity.
• Forecast horizon past which growth assumptions fail.
• Terminal value from perpetuity growth or an exit multiple.
• Discount rate inputs and the ones open to challenge.

Unit 4: Market-based valuation approaches

• Trading multiples: earnings, revenue and enterprise value.
• Control premium and the extra value a buyer assumes.
• Selecting comparable companies and the adjustments needed.
• Reconciling a multiple with a discounted cash flow answer.

Unit 5: Asset-based and alternative valuation methods

• Net asset value, liquidation value and replacement cost.
• Sum-of-the-parts valuation and the conglomerate discount.
• Real options and the value of flexibility in a decision.
• Excess earnings and hybrid methods used in specific contexts.

Unit 6: Valuation of startups and high-growth companies

• Why discounted cash flow struggles without comparables.
• Scenario-weighted outcomes and the venture capital method.
• Dilution across rounds and headline versus effective value.
• Unit economics as the test of whether growth is real.

Unit 7: Risk and sensitivity in valuation

• Sensitivity analysis and the assumption the value rests on.
• Scenario analysis and the story each set of numbers tells.
• Probabilistic valuation and honest input distributions.
• Control, marketability and minority discounts and premiums.

Unit 8: Valuation in mergers and acquisitions

• Standalone value, synergy value and where the price falls.
• Synergy estimation and overestimated revenue synergies.
• Cash, shares and earn-outs as ways of transferring value.
• Fairness opinions and the governance around board approval.

Unit 9: Valuation of intangible assets and goodwill

• Brand, customer relationship and technology intangibles.
• Relief from royalty and multi-period excess earnings.
• Purchase price allocation and the goodwill it leaves.
• Impairment testing and the goodwill never written down.

Unit 10: Portfolio and investment valuation

• Valuing illiquid holdings and the smoothing of returns.
• Fair value hierarchy and the judgment in level three assets.
• Fund valuation policy, governance and independent checks.
• Conflicts of interest when a manager marks its own book.

Unit 11: Communicating valuation results

• Presenting a range rather than one misleading number.
• The valuation report and the questions it must answer.
• Defending a valuation to a board, an auditor or a court.
• Ethics and the pressure from the party paying the fee.

Unit 12: Capstone case study

• Normalizing the case financials and building the forecast.
• Producing a cash flow value, a multiple and an asset check.
• Reconciling the three and testing what moves the answer.
• Presenting the range and the drivers that set its width.

How the course is delivered

The course works from published accounts, real transaction documents, valuation reports and disputed valuations. Participants build and challenge valuations in guided worked examples, and argue the assumptions with each other. There is no software environment; models are examined through structure, assumptions and output. The course is educational and is not financial or investment advice, and it does not certify participants. Participants who want the modeling discipline in depth should look at Financial Modeling and Forecasting Techniques.

Who should attend

• Corporate finance, transaction and valuation professionals.
• Finance managers and analysts who prepare or review valuations.
• Investors, advisers and consultants assessing businesses.
• Auditors and executives who rely on valuations produced by others.

About EuroQuest International Training

EuroQuest International Training was founded in 2015 by a team with more than 25 years of experience in professional development. We deliver over 1,000 courses and have trained more than 15,000 participants, from our head office in Bratislava, Slovakia, with hubs in Dubai, London, Barcelona, Istanbul, Vienna, Paris and Geneva. Courses are developed and reviewed by practitioners from the fields they teach.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need spreadsheet skills?

They help, but the course teaches the logic and the judgment. Participants who do not build models leave able to challenge one, which is often the more valuable skill.

Which valuation standard does the course follow?

It works from principles common to international valuation practice and notes where reporting standards impose specific requirements. Formal valuation engagements should follow the applicable professional standards in your jurisdiction.

Will the course value my company?

No. It is educational and is not financial or investment advice. It gives you the method; a valuation for a transaction or for reporting should be produced or reviewed by a qualified valuer.

Related courses

• Corporate Finance and Capital Budgeting
• Financial Statement Analysis for Decision Making
• Advanced Financial Management Strategies
• Real Estate Investment Analysis and Strategies

Register for this course

Choose a city and date from the schedule above to register, or contact EuroQuest about in-house delivery for a finance or corporate development team.