Not surprisingly, Family Law clients are expecting business valuers to take into account the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in their valuation reports. This is a difficult, if not impossible, task where a valuer can only take into account information known or knowable at the date of valuation.
Most valuations currently being prepared would be based upon 30 June 2019 or 31 December 2019 figures. The existence of COVID-19 was not known as at 30 June 2019, and its impact upon the Australian economy (and specifically upon the business under consideration, which might be impacted negatively or positively depending upon the nature of the business) was not known as at 31 December 2019.
It is difficult to know when will be the right time to value a business as we do not know how long restrictions will continue or when the full impact of the pandemic will be identifiable. Other related complexities include the adjustments to reported results for trading and profitability which will be required over the affected period, and taking into account the temporary effect of government and bank concessions. Accordingly it is likely to be some time before a valuation can accurately reflect the full impact of COVID-19.
