European Business Schools Librarian's Group

IESE Research Papers,
IESE Business School

No D/550: 80 common and uncommon errors in company valuation

Pablo Fernandez ()
Additional contact information
Pablo Fernandez: IESE Business School, Postal: Research Division, Av Pearson 21, 08034 Barcelona, SPAIN

Abstract: This paper contains a collection and classification of 80 errors seen in company valuations performed by financial analysts, investment banks and financial consultants. The author had access to most of the valuations referred to in this paper in his capacity as a consultant in company acquisitions, sales and mergers, and arbitrage processes. Some of the errors are taken from published reports by financial analysts. We classify the errors in six main categories: 1) Errors in the discount rate calculation and concerning the riskiness of the company; 2) Errors when calculating or forecasting the expected cash flows; 3) Errors in the calculation of the residual value; 4) Inconsistencies and conceptual errors; 5) Errors when interpreting the valuation; and 6) Organizational errors.

Keywords: valuation; company valuation; valuation errors

JEL-codes: G12; G31; M21

39 pages, March 19, 2004

Full text files

DI-0550-E.pdf PDF-file 

Download statistics

Questions (including download problems) about the papers in this series should be directed to Noelia Romero ()
Report other problems with accessing this service to Sune Karlsson ().

RePEc:ebg:iesewp:d-0550This page generated on 2024-09-13 22:20:02.