►EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FORENSIC ACCOUNTING ENDS WHERE THE REAL WORK STARTS: The numbers are half the job. EBITDA is X, working capital is X — congratulations, you have a spreadsheet. What you do in the 60 days after that number lands is what actually decides whether you own a good business or a lawsuit. YOUR $1M EBITDA JUST CAME BACK AT $750K — NOW WHAT: Seller's reneging on the $200K working capital and telling you to go get a loan. Most buyers panic and slash the price from $4M to $3M. There are better levers: seller note size, rollover equity, extended transition time. Cut price and you may cut the deal. THE NON-COMPETE NOBODY READ ALMOST COST A GUY HIS $4M BUSINESS: Sellers wanted their out-of-state entities carved out of the non-compete. Nothing stops them from relaunching in your backyard under a different flag and walking off with your customers. I flagged it. His lawyers sat on it for 60 days. I POSTED ON LINKEDIN TO FIRE MY CLIENT'S LAWYER — HE GOT 50% OFF INSTEAD: Twenty lawyers responded. His original firm was so embarrassed that the QoE provider had to shop for their replacement that they put the senior partner on the deal and halved the fees. That's what a deal person does that a forensic accountant never will. THE $1M-TO-$4M JUMP ISN'T MADE AT CLOSE — IT'S MADE BY NOT SCREWING UP BEFORE IT: Most of the value creation is simply avoiding bad decisions between QoE and closing. You either have someone in that gap or you're guessing with your family's money.