Author: Diane Loupe

Become a Board-Certified Business Broker with the GABB

The Georgia Association of Business Brokers is launching a new educational program which will help our members achieve proficiency in the profession of business brokerage. The Board-Certified Business Broker designation, or BCBB, is intended to make clear to prospective clients that the broker has the knowledge and skills to professionally represent them in future transactions.

The GABB operates Georgia’s only Real Estate School dedicated specifically to business brokerage. The BCBB curriculum includes 42 hours of coursework covering a wide range of topics important to business brokers in the areas of valuation, finance and legal issues. The program is designed to be completed within a two-year period.

SUMMARY:

To earn the designation, business brokers must successfully complete a minimum number of hours in Business Brokerage Fundamentals, Financial Knowledge, and Legal Issues. The remainder of the hours can be chosen from the Miscellaneous category.

Proposed: To earn the BCBB Certification, business brokers must:

• Be an active member of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers.
• Earn 42 hours of educational credits, which must include 12 hours of Business Brokering Fundamentals classes, 12 hours of classes covering Financial Knowledge, 12 hours covering Legal and Business Issues, and 6 hours of Miscellaneous classes. 
• Each class will have a written test, and brokers must pass the course test to earn credit.
• Have at least two years of business brokering experience.
• GABB members may opt to take a limited numbers of missed courses online for a fee and will receive BCBB credit for the course upon successful completion of the course’s final exam. This option will not confer any CE credits.  Additional fees for taking BCBB classes will apply.
• Attend at least three GABB events each year, which may include meetings or classes.
• Negotiate and complete the sale of at least three businesses as lead agent or demonstrate relevant, comparable business brokerage experience approved by the GABB Board.
• The GABB Board reserves the right to revise the requirements as deemed necessary and in the best interest of the GABB Real Estate School.

 Business Brokering Fundamentals, 12 hours of coursework required

• All classes are three hours each
• Introduction to Business Brokerage: Offered on 2-9-21, taught by Dave Chambless
• Elements of Value: TBD
• Business Broker Process: TBD
• Securing Businesses for Sale Listings: Offered on 8-17-21, taught by Matt Wochele
• Marketing Your Listings: Offered as Business Broker Marketing on 6-15-21, taught by Jeff Merry
• Setting Up Your Business Broker Practice: TBD
• Pricing a Business: Offered on 4-26-22, taught by Erin Crawford
• Business Broker Models: Offered on 7-13-21, taught by Mike Ramatowski
• Introduction to Buy-Side Business Brokering: Offered on 4-27-21, taught by Marty Rueter
• Introduction to Sell-Side Business Brokering: Offered on 4-29-21, taught by Dave Chambless
• Business Broker Practice Approaches: Offered on 10-28-20, taught by J. Snypp and Robin Gagnon

Financial Knowledge, 12 hours of coursework required

• All classes are three hours each
• Introduction to Accounting Terms & Federal Tax Returns: TBD
• Understanding Financial Statements: TBD
• Recasting Financials: TBD
• Recasting and Accounting Fundamentals: Offered on 3-1-22, taught by Jon Roman
• Business Valuation Basics Business Valuation Basics,
  • Offered 10-27-20, taught by Dan Browning
  • Business Valuation, Offered on 10-19-21, taught by Jeff Forrestall and Ricky Moore
• Financing a Business Sale: TBD

Legal Issues, 6 hours of coursework required

• All classes are three hours each.
• Understanding Business & Corporate Structures:  TBD
• Legal Issues in Business Brokering: Offered on 5-24-22, taught by Shannan Collier Stalvey
• Business Brokering Ethics: Offered on Oct 25, 2022, taught by Matt Wochele

Miscellaneous, 12 hours of coursework required

• All classes are three hours each.
• Negotiations: TBD
• Inventory Valuation Basics: TBD
• Valuing Real Property: TBD
• Understanding Leases in a Business Transaction: Offered as Evaluating Lease Issues When Buying and Selling a Business on 5-20-20, taught by Wendy Kraby and Jon Roman
• Due Diligence: TBD
• License Law: Offered on 5-19-20, taught by Ann Cyphers
• Any classes from other categories

For more information about the GABB Real Estate School or the application process for the BCBB credential, please contact Diane Loupe at diane.loupe@gabb.org. For more information about the GABB or GABB membership, contact GABB Administrator Courtney Foley at courtney.foley@gabb.org or 770-744-3639, or GABB President Judy Mims at judy@childcare.properties. 

Application for Board-Certified Business Broker Credential

Please complete this application to become a Board-Certified Business Broker with the Georgia Association of Business Brokers. Please contact our administrator, Laura Goe, at admin@gabb.org with any questions about completing this application. Please email the Administrator to obtain a record of classes you have taken with the GABB.  The GABB Board or Laura Goe may contact you for additional information before granting your certification. 

GABB Class: Business Broker Ethics, Oct. 25

GABB Vice President Matt Wochele will teach a course in Business Broker Ethics on Oct. 25, 2022, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. The class will be offered both in person at the Georgia Association of Realtors, 6065 Barfield Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30328 and via Zoom online.

Kim Eells, SBA Business Development Officer at First Bank, will provide refreshments. 

PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND THE CLASS ON TIME!

The class will be eligible for the Georgia Association of Business Brokers’ Board Certified Business Broker credential. Students who attend the class live will earn continuing education credits towards renewing their Georgia real estate license with the Georgia Real Estate Commission, Class Code #75494.

Register below for the Business Broker Ethics class, which is offered through the GABB’s Real Estate School, GREC School Code #8074.  The class will be $49 for current GABB members and $75 for non-members. If you wish to register for the GABB’s Board Certified Business Broker credential, you may sign up for $225 which includes one class. This class will be the last continuing education class offered by the GABB in 2022. 

The course will cover ethical issues faced by Georgia Business Brokers. It will cover the GABB’s Code of Ethics, which is linked here. 

The International Business Brokers Association (IBBA), to which Mr. Wochele belongs,  also has a Code of Ethics.

Matt Wochele CBI

Matt Wochele CBI (Certified Business Intermediary) founded Preferred Business Brokers, Inc., in 1996 after a successful 17-year career in the investment banking industry. He is a life member of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers Million Dollar Club, membership chairman of the GABB board, a GABB Phoenix Award recipient and a member of the International Business Brokers Association. As president and managing broker of Preferred he has had the opportunity to be personally involved in hundreds of private business sales. The combined personal experience in the public sector with the private business sales has positioned the company to handle both the smaller main street business deals and the larger middle market business acquisitions. Matt and his wife Kathy, a professional artist, live in Sandy Springs.

For more information about the GABB classes, contact Diane Loupe at diane.loupe@gabb.org or text her at 404-374-3990, or contact GABB President Judy Mims at judy@childcare.properties. Please contact Courtney Foley at courtney.foley@gabb.org or 770-744-3639 for all questions about GABB benefits and membership.

GABB Class Aug. 16: Introduction to Accounting Terms and Federal Tax Returns for Business Brokers

To best serve a client, a business broker should be familiar with an array of accounting terms and know how to gather data from a company’s tax return. Sometimes, that’s a daunting task.

CPA Ricky Moore, a shareholder of the firm Forrestall CPAs, will teach an online class — Introduction to Accounting Terms and Federal Tax Returns for Business Brokers — for the GABB that will be tailored to teaching business brokers the basic accounting terms that they might encounter when brokering the sale of a business. The class will also teach attendees how to look at a business’s federal tax returns to obtain information needed when selling the business.

The class will be held online on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. The class will be eligible for the Georgia Association of Business Brokers’ Board Certified Business Broker credential. Students who attend the class live can earn continuing education credits towards renewing their Georgia real estate license with the Georgia Real Estate Commission.

Register below for the Introduction to Accounting Terms and Federal Tax Returns for Business Brokers class, which is offered through the GABB’s Real Estate School, GREC School Code #8074, Course code 75213.  The class will be $49 for current GABB members and $75 for non-members. If you wish to register for the GABB’s Board Certified Business Broker credential, you may sign up for $225 which includes one class. For more information about the GABB classes, contact Diane Loupe at diane.loupe@gabb.org or text her at 404-374-3990, or contact GABB President Judy Mims at judy@childcare.properties. Please contact Courtney Foley at courtney.foley@gabb.org or 770-744-3639 for all questions about GABB benefits and membership.

Ricky Moore

Instructor Ricky Moore is eminently qualified to teach the class. He has been certified by local court systems and the Small Business Administration (SBA) as a ‘Qualified Source’ for business valuation and was awarded the Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) credential by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), one of the most rigorous and prestigious business valuation certifications. Mr. Moore also provides retirement planning services to both individuals and businesses and was awarded the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) credential by the AICPA and the Qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA) by the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA), the national standard for all professionals working with 401 (k) retirement plans.

Mr. Moore is the Manager of Advisory Services at Forrestall CPAs. Originally joining the firm as a staff accountant in 2016, Mr. Moore quickly transitioned into advisory services focused on providing more access to a wide range of services that focus on future growth and less on past compliance for both individuals and businesses alike. These advisory services include business valuation of closely held companies, business acquisition/exit strategy, tax & financial planning, Employee-Owned Stock Option (ESOP) retirement plan design, risk management, and other unique consulting engagements designed to specifically provide a solution to specific needs in industries such as transportation, dentistry, health care, food processing, veterinary practices, childcare facilities, and real estate.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Moore was the co-host of the Forrestall CPAs COVID-19 Small Business Update webinar series and led a task force that helped the business community receive loan forgiveness on more than $35 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

To give back to the community, Mr. Moore is a current board member of both the Georgia Lenders Quality Circle (GLQC) and the Hamilton Mill Men’s Golf Association. 

GABB Class May 24: Legal Issues in Business Brokering

Learn about legal issues you are likely to face when buying or selling a business, how to use standardized legal forms, and how to avoid problem clients  in a May 24 class to be taught by Georgia Association of Business Brokers member Shannan Collier Stalvey. 

The class Legal Issues in Business Brokering will be eligible for three hours towards the GABB’s Board-Certified Broker credential, and is eligible for continuing education credit under Course #71540 approved by the Georgia Real Estate Commission. 

This class, which will earn credits towards the Board-Certified Broker Credential, will cover the following topics: 

• How to identify potential legal problems that could arise in the purchase or sale of a business such as identifying asset purchases versus stock purchases; how to verify a business’ legal status; identifying ownership structures; how to use the basic legal forms provided by GABB; identifying and understanding the steps in the due diligence process; and securing their commission and avoiding litigation.
• How to identify and explain basic legal issues business brokers may encounter in the sale or purchase of a business, identify types of purchases, and identify legal entities.
• How to verify the status of a business, and understand the due diligence process.
• How to identify and use common legal documents used in the purchase of a business.
• How GABB members can obtain and use GABB Forms.
• How to identify legal problems that a broker may encounter when using a standardized forms, how to use a standardized form, and identify situations in which a broker should consult an attorney.
• How to identify and explain legal pitfalls when selling a business, how to avoid lawsuits, and how to identify asset purchase agreements and non-compete agreements.
• How to avoid problem clients.

The class will be held on May 24 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Georgia Association of Realtors classroom: 6065 Barfield Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30328-4402. The class will also be held via Zoom (The Zoom link will be provided to enrollees prior to meeting).

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: For more than 25 years, Shannan Collier Stalvey has been providing legal services to a wide array of clients. In her business transactional practice, Ms. Stalvey has helped newly formed and newly acquired businesses set a strong foundation for future growth. She works with existing and well-established businesses identify, correct, and prevent weaknesses. She also facilitates the acquisition and disposition of businesses, ensuring compliance with legal and accounting standards. She works closely with distribution, licensing, and franchising businesses, both domestically and internationally, putting together the pieces of complex business relationships through the preparation and use of comprehensive documentation. Shannan S. Collier Stalvey earned her B.B.A. from The University of North Florida in Jacksonville. Thereafter, she attended Cumberland School of Law and Samford University, where she was the first woman attending to simultaneously earn her J.D. and M.B.A. She then studied at Emory University, School of Law, where she obtained her Masters of Laws in Taxation. Shannan S. Collier Stalvey is a member of both the Florida and Georgia bars and maintains clientele in both states. She is also a Tax Section member and a frequent speaker at seminars, wherein she instructs both lawyers and non-lawyers on various business, estate, and tax planning techniques.

In order to receive GREC credit, attendees MUST arrive on time, be on camera for the entire class, pass the end-of-course test, and stay until the end of class.