►EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1) A QoE IS NOT A FIFTH-GRADE ART SHOW — STOP HANDING ME FINANCIALS IN CRAYON: 16 years in the deal business taught Elliott one ironclad law: good financials come back fast, bad ones drip in over weeks. If your seller needs two weeks to produce numbers, you already have your answer. 2) "OOPS, WE FORGOT" IS FINE ONCE — SIX OR SEVEN TIMES AND YOU'VE TORCHED THE ENTIRE DEAL: First it was a $45K entertainment add-back. Then two ghost employees still on payroll. Then a shuttered division. Each new "discovery" didn't just move the number — it destroyed the credibility of every number that came before it. 3) THE BROKER SAYS "BLAME THE SELLER" — DON'T BUY IT: When the broker hits you with "I can only work with what my client gives me," that's a cop-out. The broker knew the prep level a QoE demands. Either they're incompetent, complicit, or both. Either way, you're the one holding the bag. 4) FINANCIAL SANCTITY ISN'T A NICE-TO-HAVE — IT'S THE WHOLE BALLGAME: In small business M&A, the financials need to arrive with a character of completion on day one. You can't "mix and match and change" your way to a believable earnings picture. Once that trust is broken, no amount of add-backs can rebuild it — and your buyer shouldn't wait two months while the seller finds a new surprise every week.