Exit Planning in Practice
An EPI Academy Mastery Series
Course Overview
Exit Planning in Practice presents the perspectives of experienced practitioners on how to apply the Value Acceleration MethodologyTM in client engagements.
The course is designed to help advisors move from understanding the Methodology to putting it into practice, with frameworks and approaches they can adapt to their own work. Across seven sessions, attendees will explore how advisors help business owners navigate exit options, assess readiness, and build long-term value. The goal is to go beyond successful transitions and create significant ones.
Attendees will gain further knowledge on:
- Applying the Value Acceleration Methodology to real client engagements across a wide range of industries
- Identifying the readiness gaps and emotional blind spots that shape a business owner's exit readiness
- Evaluating exit strategies and transaction structures across both internal and external transition options
- Collaborating with a multidisciplinary advisory team to solve complex client challenges
EPI Academy Mastery Series Format
- Six-week online program
- Weekly 90-120 min sessions, to be completed by weeks end
- New tools and resources provided with each module
- Submit questions throughout the course through the designated question form
- 40-question online exam
- Earn EPI Academy Mastery Series certificate upon passing exam
Course Details
Price: $995 $1,399
Platform: EPI Academy
Style: Online / Structured Pace
Value Acceleration Knowledge Hours: 10
Course Schedule
For more details on other EPI Academy courses, download the brochure.
Week 1: Financial Planning for the Owner and Spouse
Week 2: Private Company Valuation for Exit Planning
Week 3: Facing the Personal Planning Gap
Week 4: External Exit Options
Week 5: Internal Exit Options
Week 6: Final Exam
Upcoming Course Dates
Course Curriculum:
- Session 01: Financial Planning for the Owner and Spouse
- Sequencing a financial planning process that starts with discovery, not documents, to uncover what an owner and spouse haven’t yet calculated
- Turning post-exit unknowns into a number by modeling the income needed to make the sale timeline-driven rather than pressure-driven
- Extending the advisor relationship beyond the closing table through structured check-ins and professional introductions
- Learning how patience, rather than haste, added more than $1 million to the final outcome
- Session 02: Private Company Valuation for Exit Planning
- Testing an owner’s assumed valuation against real market evidence before the sale conversation begins
- Applying all three valuation approaches together to build a more defensible value
- Spotting dependency and concentration risks that can quietly erode enterprise value, illustrated through a real world case
- Translating valuation gaps into a concrete pre-exit action plan using Value Acceleration strategies
- Session 03: Facing the Personal Planning Gap
- Using an alignment assessment to turn an owner’s goals into ranked, actionable priorities
- Mapping advisory relationships to identify which add value and which drain an owner’s capacity during transition
- Comparing exit offers against an owner’s definition of freedom, not simply the highest price
- Guiding owners through identity and legacy work so post-exit success is measured beyond enterprise value
- Session 04: Selling to a Private Equity Firm
- Distinguishing what different types of private equity buyers are looking for before a deal is structured
- Reading a Quality of Earnings review for signals about how a buyer may price and structure the deal
- Evaluating post-sale leadership and governance terms to assess long-term fit, not just headline multiples
- Balancing founder goals with investor return expectations as a deal takes shape
- Session 05: How to Retain the AUM After a Business Sale and More
- Opening succession planning conversations well before a sale becomes imminent
- Assembling a coordinated deal team so the financial advisor remains part of the process
- Recognizing early warning signs that a client may be preparing to move assets elsewhere, illustrated through real client stories
- Applying a proven pre-sale framework to time and prepare a client’s exit
- Session 06: Understanding Family Transitions with the Bruce Family
- Untangling a family’s ownership history to identify how past decisions created future conflict
- Separating ownership and management decisions to resolve role confusion among sibling leaders
- Recognizing when family transition conflict is rooted in fairness and identity, not money
- Building a multigenerational ownership strategy that accounts for family members not yet in the business
- Session 07: ESOPs: Creating Liquidity Without Sacrificing Legacy
- Weighing a leveraged ESOP against other transition paths based on an owner’s liquidity needs
- Structuring ESOP financing and understanding the trustee’s role in protecting plan participants
- Evaluating how corporate structure choices, including C-corp vs. S-corp, affect the tax outcome of an ESOP transaction
- Determining when a partial ESOP sale better fits an owner’s goals than a full sale
Put Case-Based Learning Into Practice
Click the Register Now button to add this course to your cart.
Choose Program Date