When seeking diligence for your acquisition deal, you’ll need to choose between the services of a CPA firm and a financial due diligence firm like Guardian. Your choice will ultimately depend on your experience level and your deal. Before making a decision, you should consider what each provider includes in their due diligence report and how those offerings will help get your deal done. 

Is speed a priority for you? Do you require negotiation support? CPA and due diligence firms approach those needs differently. Understand what to expect from each provider so you can make your deal happen in a reasonable timeframe and with confidence. 

Quality of Earnings reports are vital to anyone looking to take the leap into entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA). At the beginning of your ETA career, you will probably search for months before finding an opportunity that seems to check all the boxes. You’ll investigate, do your own research, and ask the advice of friends and colleagues. The deal may feel just right. So, what’s next?

It’s time to take a step back and evaluate. You can never be sure that what you think you’re going to get in a deal is truly what you will get. Brokers and sellers are trying to make a buck just like you are, and they will go through some surprising lengths to try to convince you that their company is worth every penny. That’s where a Quality of Earnings report comes in. It will help you make a better deal and potentially save you millions.

Elliott Holland, Managing Director of Guardian Due Diligence, recently sat down with the Intentional Growth Podcast to discuss why he feels that buying and selling companies is a barbaric sport. Today's M&A game isn't played by timid people—it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there, and you need to know what it takes to thrive.

Elliott Holland, Managing Director of Guardian Due Diligence, recently sat down with the Branch Out Podcast to discuss staying focused on business growth.

In this episode, Elliott shares his winding path from majoring in Mechanical Engineering to breaking into management consulting at Accenture. Learn why he decided to go to Harvard Business School to break into private equity but made one important pivot before enrolling. Listen to how he hustled during school to make his dream a reality and why he ended up bootstrapping while working a full-time job to start his first Independent Sponsor firm Ellsworth Partners.