Time kills every deal, and nothing drags one out like messy numbers. David Barnes has done 36 years and hundreds of acquisitions, and the fix starts long before you ever decide to sell.

See where your numbers really stand with a free business audit: https://ownersos.com/audit?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=ownersos&utm_content=get-your-numbers-right-before-you-sell-playbook

On the CEO Roundtable, hosts JD Beck and Ryan Nichols sit down with M&A veteran David Barnes, a self-described deal junkie with 36 years and hundreds of acquisitions across alarm monitoring, solar, pest control, and roofing. David breaks down why unreliable numbers are the number one deal-killer, what a Quality of Earnings report is and why it's your company's Good Housekeeping seal, how private equity roll-ups actually work, and the hard lessons from the Lumio roll-up that flew too close to the sun.

David Barnes is an investment banker and M&A advisor with 36 years in the industry and hundreds of home-services acquisitions, including a 200-deal roll-up at Protection One in alarm monitoring and roll-ups in solar, pest control, and roofing.

Questions this episode answers:

• What kills most business acquisitions?
• What is a Quality of Earnings report and do you need one?
• How do you prepare your company to sell?
• How does a private equity roll-up work?
• Why does accrual accounting matter when selling?

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why unreliable numbers are the number one thing that kills a deal and your valuation
• What a Quality of Earnings report is, what it costs, and why buyers and lenders demand it
• Why time is the enemy of transactions, and how messy books drag deals out
• How roll-ups combine companies, and what went wrong with Lumio
• The one thing to fix long before you decide to buy or sell: your numbers

This show is brought to you in partnership with Forge and D2D Experts. Clean, reliable numbers are what protect your valuation when a buyer's team tears it apart. Owner's OS helps you run the business on real numbers and systems, long before you ever sell. See it here: https://ownersos.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=ownersos&utm_content=get-your-numbers-right-before-you-sell-os