Michael Pfeffer
(239) 877-9911
Michael D. Pfeffer, MBA, CBA, CM&AP
Michael Pfeffer has over 30 years of management, operations, consulting, and financial analysis experience in a wide variety of business venues. Michael is a Certified Business Appraiser (CBA) and Certified Merger & Acquisition Professional (CM&AP). He previously held Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) and Certified Machinery & Equipment Appraiser (CMEA) designations.
Michael has held Senior Valuation Analyst positions in major public accounting firms and has valued over three hundred businesses. His background and experience make him particularly adept at uncovering the business drivers that allow management to maximize business value and marketability to position the company according to its strategic plans.
After receiving his Bachelor of Business Administration with concentrations in Administrative Management and Industrial Relations from the University of Iowa, Michael held numerous management positions for national and international companies before venturing out on his own. He has owned seven businesses ranging from real estate development to business services. After serving as the COO of a telecommunications company that went public, Michael returned to the U of I to obtain an MBA in Finance where he was exposed to valuing closely held businesses.
Michael spent five years with public accounting firms as a senior valuation analyst before relocating to Southwest Florida. In 2006, he purchased two business brokerage franchises serving all of Southwest Florida with business brokerage, business appraisal, and exit planning services.
Michael’s passion is to educate business owners on how to protect, increase, and realize the value that is locked up in their business. Through education, he believes he can help business owners realize their second American Dream….a comfortable and fulfilling life after the transition, and the continuity of their life’s work.
CERTIFICATIONS/DESIGNATIONS
- Certified Merger & Acquisition Professional - M&A Source
- Certified Business Appraiser - National Association of Certified Valuators & Analysts (NACVA) “Recognized as an Industry Expert by Business Brokerage Press”
- Senior Business Analyst - Society of Business Analysts
- Previously held Certified Exit Planning Advisor - Exit Planning Institute
- Previously held Certified Machinery & Equipment Appraiser - National Equipment & Business Builders Institute
- Previously held Certified Divorce Financial Analyst - Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts
- Licensed Florida Real Estate Sale Associate - Department of Business & Professional Regulations
- Master of Business Administration - Finance and Entrepreneurial Studies – University of Iowa
- Bachelor of Business Administration - Administrative Management & Industrial Relations – University of Iowa
Michael earned Top Producer Award for National Brokerage Franchise in 2008, 2010, and 2017.
Michael's $1.5M transaction total in 2023 earned him the 2023 Business Brokers of Florida (BBF) Million Dollar Plus Award. Michael's $3.6M transaction total in 2022 earned him the 2022 Business Brokers of Florida Million Dollar Plus Award and the 2022 International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) Chairman's Circle Award for transacting more than $3M. In addition, he won the BBF Million Dollar Plus Award in 2020, 2017, and 2010.
Michael is a member of the Business Brokers of Florida (BBF), International Business Brokers Association (IBBA), M&A Source, and National Association of Certified Valuators & Analysts.
BUSINESS APPRAISALS
Business appraisals come in many forms and are used for a variety of purposes. From simple calculations to determine a ballpark estimate of value to comprehensive business appraisals with a formal report. There is also a calculation of value and a broker’s opinion of value, which are not certified appraisals but employ many of the same techniques to arrive at an estimate of value. They typically do not include a comprehensive report explaining the methodology. Appraisals can have different levels of reporting from an oral report, a letter report, or a limited-use summary report, to a comprehensive and all-inclusive report.
The purpose and/or use of an appraisal often dictates the level of analysis and report required. Litigation support for such things as divorce and dissenting shareholder actions or damages typically requires a comprehensive appraisal with a full report. Appraisals for estate and/or gift taxes usually require a full appraisal with a summary report to start the adequate disclosure requirements clock ticking to limit the amount of time the IRS has to review/challenge the value. Appraisals for management purposes or transactions may be any of the above, depending on the needs and/or desires of the client.
Most transaction-based appraisals do not require a full appraisal with a full report. Often time, a business owner will start with a broker’s opinion of value and may later expand the valuation to include an appraisal with a summary report to support the asking price for the business. We also perform appraisals for SBA financing as we are approved vendors.
MACHINE & EQUIPMENT APPRAISALS
MACHINE & EQUIPMENT APPRAISALS
Machinery & Equipment appraisals are required for a wide variety of reasons, some of which include:
- Lenders (banks, credit unions, and leasing companies) need a certified appraisal in support of loan decisions to meet the requirements of SBA's Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
- CPAs need a certified appraisal when helping their clients convert from a C to an S Corporation, estate and gift planning (especially for the Pension Protection Act Of 2006), trusts, Sarbanes Oxley, and FASB 141/142.
- Attorneys need a certified appraisal for divorce dissolution and litigation to substantiate accurate and realistic values that withstand IRS and court scrutiny.
- Business owners need a certified appraisal to accurately substantiate realistic asset values that withstand lender, buyer, and seller scrutiny.
EXIT PLANNING
Recent studies show 66% of the current American business market is owned by baby boomers, who are set to transition over the next ten years. Statistics also show only 20%-30% of businesses that go to market actually sell; leaving up to 80% of those without solid options to harvest their wealth and ensure economic continuity into the next generation. An owner who is “ready” with an attractive business greatly increases the odds the business will survive a transition. The question is, "How ready are business owners?" According to the Exit Planning Institute, only about a third of business owners have an exit strategy, and only about a third of them have a formal, written plan.
Exit planning should not be thought of as a one-time exercise. It is actually a philosophy of operating the business so it is always ready to accept or reject any offer at any time by maximizing and understanding the value of the business. Effective exit planning requires a thorough understanding of the drivers of the business, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the business, its people, and the environment in which it operates. At Edison Business Advisors, we employ sophisticated tools to analyze, identify, and target the things that make the business both more valuable and more marketable, so you are always ready for any contingency.
