What is a section 52? If you are selling a business in Victoria for under $500,000 then you will need to prepare one of these otherwise you are breaking the law and the sale of your business can be cancelled by the buyer. (not what you want!)
As a purchaser the section 52 lists key financial data about the business you are buying, it should not be the only financial information you review before your purchase though. Also have a look at other reports such as the businesses profit and loss and management reports. It is also a good idea to check the numbers of the section 52 against evidence like tax returns, BAS statements and even the business bank account. We call this Due Diligence – ie checking the numbers you have been told are true & accurate.
As business accountants we prepare these section 52s on a regular basis, we also review them and assist with due diligence in business purchases on a regular basis.
Our fees to prepare a section 52 are $250 for existing clients or $550 if you are not our normal client and we can get them done within one business day. If you want a basic review of a business you are looking at purchasing then we charge $250 to review your potential purchase with you and up to $2000 if you want help with due diligence or more details analysis of your purchase.