Exit Planning Glossary

Advisor Team
A cross-functional group (financial planner, CPA, attorney, etc.) supporting the business owner in exit planning.

Attractiveness Score
A diagnostic score that highlights how appealing a business is to buyers.

Business Attractiveness
A measure of how appealing the business is to potential buyers or successors. Factors include recurring revenue, management depth, systems, customer diversity, and industry trends.

Business Vision
A strategic vision that guides decisions in the business to align with a future transition, including target valuation, leadership structure, and operational outcomes.

Capital Asset Matrix
A framework assessing the strength of the business’s four intangible capitals.

CEPA (Certified Exit Planning Advisor)
A professional designation for advisors who are trained to lead business owners through the Value Acceleration Methodology™, integrating business, financial, and personal planning.

Decide Gate
The final stage in the Value Acceleration process where the owner commits to an exit strategy or reinvests in growth.

Enterprise Value
The market value of a business, considering earnings, growth potential, risk, and how well the business operates without the owner’s daily involvement.

Enterprise Value Assessment
A process of evaluating the worth of a business using structured analysis and scoring systems.

Exit Options
The various pathways an owner can take to transition out of their business — including third-party sales, internal succession, management buyouts, ESOPs, or liquidation.

Exit Planning
A proactive, strategic process that aligns the owner’s personal, financial, and business goals to prepare for a successful transition. It’s not just about the transaction — it’s about building value, protecting wealth, and ensuring personal fulfillment.

Exit Planner
A certified advisor who leads business owners through a structured process to grow value and prepare for transition.

Exit Readiness
An evaluation of whether the business is operationally and structurally prepared to transition. Includes transferable value, documentation, leadership succession, and risk mitigation.

Exit Strategy
The chosen path to exit the business, informed by the owner's goals, company structure, and market conditions. It includes tactical and financial elements to ensure a successful transition.

Exit Timeline
The intended timeframe for a business owner to transition out of their business. Clarifying this early helps define urgency and planning strategy.

Exit Planning Ecosystem
The collaborative network of advisors, tools, and processes involved in an effective exit strategy.

Financial Planning Gap
The difference between the personal financial resources currently available and the amount required to achieve the owner’s post-exit lifestyle and legacy goals.

Financial Readiness
An assessment of the owner’s personal wealth, cash flow needs, and whether they can sustain their desired lifestyle without the business. This readiness helps define the target exit number.

Freedom Point
The moment when the owner’s personal, financial, and business goals align, allowing for exit on their own terms.

Gate System
The three-phase approach (Discover, Prepare, Decide) used in the Value Acceleration Methodology.

Harvesting
The process of converting business value into personal wealth during or after a transition. May involve a sale, internal transfer, recapitalization, or other liquidity event.

Intangible Capitals
The four critical, non-financial areas of value in a business: Human Capital, Customer Capital, Structural Capital, and Social Capital. Improving these drives enterprise value and exit readiness.

Leadership Succession
Planning and developing the next generation of leadership to ensure business continuity after the owner transitions out of the company.

Legacy Planning
The personal side of exit planning focused on impact, purpose, and how the owner wishes to be remembered — through philanthropy, mentorship, or family continuity.

One-Page Plan
A simplified, strategic document that aligns team members and advisors around short- and long-term goals.

Owner Dependence
A key risk factor. The more a business relies on the owner for day-to-day decisions and relationships, the less transferable its value becomes.

Owner’s Box
The personal side of the Value Acceleration process where the owner envisions life after the business.

Personal Readiness
An evaluation of how emotionally and financially prepared the owner is to exit their business. Includes clarity of life-after-exit goals, estate planning, wealth management, and identity beyond the business.

Personal Vision
A clearly articulated picture of the owner's desired life after exit — including lifestyle, impact, family goals, and personal fulfillment.

Personal Visioning
An exercise that helps the owner define what they want life to look like after their exit.

Pre-Diligence
An internal review of business systems, financials, and operations to identify potential issues before entering a formal sale process. Reduces surprises during due diligence.

Protect, Build, Harvest™
The three-stage framework used in Value Acceleration to safeguard existing value, enhance the business, and ultimately monetize the value through a well-timed exit.

Readiness Assessment
Evaluates how prepared the owner and business are for a transition across financial, personal, and operational dimensions.

Strategic & Emotional Insights
Perspectives that connect personal vision and emotional readiness with business strategy in the exit planning process.

Transferable Value
The portion of enterprise value that would remain if the owner stepped away. A key determinant of sale price and deal structure.

Transition Team
A group of professionals — typically including a CEPA, CPA, attorney, and financial advisor — who work collaboratively to guide the business owner through the exit planning process.

Triggering Event
The initial step in exit planning, consisting of independent assessments across the personal, financial, and business domains.

Value Acceleration
A disciplined process for increasing the value of a business in alignment with the owner's exit timeline and goals.

Value Gap
The difference between the current business valuation and the amount needed to fund the owner's post-exit financial goals.

Wealth Gap
The shortfall between the owner’s current wealth and what is needed for their post-exit lifestyle.