Sale & Exit Planning
Understand your business value and its key drivers when preparing to sell, planning an exit or assessing a buyer’s offer.
Fred Zheng — Independent Business Valuation
INDEPENDENT BUSINESS VALUATIONASA · AIBB RBV · CVA / Melbourne, Australia
/ 01 · BUSINESS VALUATION
What is your business really worth?
Independent business valuation for decisions that matter.
Whether you are considering a sale, reviewing an offer, changing ownership or planning ahead, understanding your business value helps you make an informed decision.
Fred Zheng provides an independent, reasoned assessment of business value—explaining the financial performance, business risks and key assumptions behind the conclusion in language you can understand.
Discuss your valuation with Fred ↗What you receiveWhen do you need a business valuation?
Shareholder & Ownership Matters
Independent analysis of business or equity value for shareholder exits, share purchases, new shareholders and ownership changes.
Family Law Matters
Business valuation analysis for family law matters involving business interests, with the engagement purpose, report scope and intended use agreed with the parties and their lawyers.
Commercial & Shareholder Disputes
Independent analysis for disputes involving business or equity value, with the valuation reasoning, material assumptions and limitations clearly explained.
Restructuring & Insolvency Matters
Discuss valuation requirements with liquidators, accountants and legal advisers, clarifying the subject, valuation date, basis of value and information requirements.
Strategic & Succession Planning
Understand current business value and its main drivers to inform future development, succession and ownership transition planning.
Services and report suitability are discussed and scoped according to the purpose of each engagement.
YOUR VALUATION / DELIVERABLES
What you receive
Report format, depth of analysis and delivery arrangements are agreed in advance, based on the valuation purpose and scope.
INCLUDED IN YOUR FEE
Discuss your valuation report ↗A post-delivery discussion and Q&A within the agreed scope are included in your valuation fee.
Written Valuation Report
An independent value conclusion for the agreed valuation subject, purpose and date, with the report’s intended use explained.
Clear Analysis & Reasoning
An explanation of financial performance, relevant earnings adjustments, selected valuation methods and key inputs, so you can understand how the conclusion was reached.
Value Drivers, Assumptions & Limitations
The business factors that materially affect value, together with important assumptions, information limitations and uncertainty, so you can understand how the result may be used.
Discussion of Findings
After delivery, a discussion of the main conclusion, valuation reasoning and key assumptions, with answers to questions within the agreed scope.
/ 02 MEET FRED
THE PERSON BEHIND THE VALUATION
GOOD JUDGEMENT.
PLAIN ENGLISH.
NO SHORTCUTS.
I'm Fred Zheng, a Melbourne-based business valuer, author and educator, and Co-Founder and Director of Savoir.
I help business owners and their professional advisers understand business value, the risks that matter and the reasoning behind the conclusion.
My background includes mergers and acquisitions and capital investment at Linde Group, together with business valuation experience in Australia, China and the United States.
More about Fred ↗English & Mandarin enquiries welcome.CREDENTIALS & PERSPECTIVE
Experience you can explore.
Credentials you can verify.
Professional designations, specialist training, published writing and teaching help inform Fred's approach. Scope and independence are assessed for every engagement.
ASAAccredited Senior AppraiserAmerican Society of Appraisers · USA
AIBB RBVRegistered Business ValuerAustralian Institute of Business Brokers
CVAProfessional valuation qualificationChina
MBAMaster of Business AdministrationMonash University
Master of AccountingPostgraduate degreeMonash University
6 BOOKSEnglish & ChineseBusiness valuation and specialist industries
VALUATION WITH PERSPECTIVE
Evidence. Judgement. Clarity.
Understand the business. Examine the evidence. Explain the conclusion.
/ 03 · YOUR ENGAGEMENT
HOW SAVOIR
WORKS
A clear process. Fees agreed upfront.
Initial Discussion
Discuss the valuation purpose, subject, intended users, valuation date and timing requirements.
Scope & Fees
Before work begins, agree the report format, scope, deliverables, fixed project fee and expected timetable.
Information & Analysis
Collect the financial and operating information needed for the engagement, then analyse performance, value drivers and relevant risks.
What to prepareValuation & Reporting
Apply appropriate valuation methods, form an independent conclusion and explain the reasoning, key assumptions and limitations in a written report.
Report Discussion
After delivery, explain the main findings and valuation reasoning, and answer questions within the agreed scope. Included in the valuation fee.
/ 04 · A SAMPLE VALUATION
SEE THE
REASONING.
A civil contracting business. A potential acquisition. A value conclusion explained.
Explore the earnings adjustments, choice of methods and the bridge from operating value to equity value in Fred's sample report.
Explore the valuation case ↗Anonymised website sample. Financial appendices are redacted. Figures relate to 30 June 2025.
70-page English PDF · Anonymised sample ↗/ 05 · FEES & SCOPE
Fixed project fees
Each valuation is quoted individually. The fixed project fee, agreed scope, deliverables and expected timetable are confirmed before work starts.
What shapes your quote?
Valuation Purpose
Why the valuation is needed, who will use the report and the level of reporting required.
Business Complexity
The ownership and entity structure, nature of operations and complexity of the valuation subject.
Information & Analysis
The availability and condition of financial and operating information, and the analysis required.
Reporting & Timing
The agreed depth of reporting, delivery requirements and timetable.
Included in your fixed fee
The fixed project fee includes report explanation and answers to questions within the agreed scope.
Changes to scope
If the scope needs to be expanded, we discuss the related fees and timetable with you before starting the additional work.
CONFIDENTIALITY MATTERS
Start with a brief email or a phone call. Secure document-sharing arrangements can be agreed when the scope of an engagement is discussed.
/ 06 · BOOKS
BOOKS BY
FRED
ZHENG
Writing that makes business value easier to understand.
Six books in English and Chinese, exploring business valuation, industry questions and the decisions behind an ownership transition.
Explore all six books
FEATURED ENGLISH TITLE
Is Your Business Really Sellable?
For Australian business owners preparing for sale, with a focus on buyer risk and exit value.
Buy on Amazon AUMore by Fred
SAVOIR ORIGINAL SERIES
BEFORE
BEFORE
YOU
SIGN /
A Melbourne business sale. An attractive offer. Questions that only emerge when you look at the terms.
A fictional AI-produced drama exploring business valuation, negotiation and the people behind the deal.
Watch Episode 01 Explore the series
EPISODE 01 / 01:12
An offer is more
An offer is more
than a number.
What is paid at settlement? What arrives later? And who controls the profit that determines the final payment?
The business behind the story English dialogue and on-screen captions.FRED TALKS / BUSINESS VALUATION
Business value.
Plain English.
Short, practical conversations about business value with Fred Zheng.
For business owners and professional advisers who want to understand the reasoning behind the number.
Watch episode 02
1:55
EPISODE 02
Why two businesses with the same profit can have different values
English audio · Chinese & English subtitles
/ 07 · GUIDES & RESOURCES
VALUATION,
MADE CLEAR.
Explore the reasoning, see an anonymised case, and know what to prepare for a conversation.
READING GUIDE
Inside a valuation report
Understand the scope, analysis, methods, assumptions and conclusions behind a valuation.
Read the guide ANONYMISED CASESee the reasoning in practice
Follow a civil contracting valuation, from earnings adjustments to the value conclusion.
Explore the case GETTING STARTEDPrepare for your valuation
A practical checklist of the financial and business information usually needed for an engagement.
View the checklistVALUATION / QUESTIONS
Before we
begin.
Clear expectations, from the first conversation.
Discuss your valuation with Fred ↗Is the initial discussion free?
Yes. The initial discussion is completely free. We use it to understand your valuation purpose, scope and timing requirements.
Formal valuation services are scoped and quoted separately before work begins.
How long does a business valuation take?
A formal business valuation report usually takes 2–3 weeks after the engagement is confirmed and complete information has been received.
The expected delivery date is agreed before work begins, taking account of the valuation scope and business complexity.
Do you accept urgent valuation engagements?
Yes. Please tell Fred your required deadline when you first enquire. We assess the valuation scope, information available and capacity to meet the deadline before confirming the delivery timetable.
An additional rush fee applies to urgent engagements. The amount is agreed before the urgent delivery timetable is confirmed.
How is the valuation fee agreed?
We agree a fixed project fee before work begins, based on the valuation purpose, scope, business complexity and reporting requirements.
What financial information should I prepare?
Usually the most recent three completed financial years, together with the latest available management accounts. We provide a tailored information request once the engagement is confirmed.
View the information checklist ↗Is a discussion of the report included?
Yes. Explanation of the findings and valuation reasoning, and answers to questions within the agreed scope, are included in the valuation fee.
/ 08 CONTACT
LET'S TALK
VALUE. /
Your initial discussion is completely free. Send a short enquiry about your valuation purpose and timing. Fred will review it and arrange a conversation.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA / CONFIDENTIAL VALUATION ENQUIRIES
FREE INITIAL DISCUSSION
Tell Fred what you have in mind.
A few details are enough to start. Fred will review your enquiry and contact you by email to arrange a conversation.