Accountants for Buying a Business

Buying a business is one of the most significant decisions you’ll ever make. Many business owners feel overwhelmed by the complexities, from understanding financial statements and negotiating fair purchase prices to ensuring tax efficiency and structuring the acquisition for long‑term success.

Our Perth-based accountants and business advisors are available to assist you, using their first-hand experiences to help make your journey into business ownership a success.

BOOK A FREE MEETING WITH A BUSINESS ACCOUNTANT

 

Most Popular Accounting Services for Business Purchases

Pre-Purchase Sanity Check & Structuring Advice

 

From $2,000 (excl. GST)

Business Acquisition Advice

Due Diligence Advice

 

From $5,000 (excl. GST)

Due Diligence Service

Advanced Tax & Asset Protection Strategies Report

 

$4,000 (excl. GST)

Tax Minimisation Strategies Report

Advice from Accountants for Buying a Business in Western Australia

The rest of this page is dedicated to providing you with an overview of the typical problems and associated solutions with regard to buying a business. These apply whether you are buying a business in Perth, elsewhere in WA or across Australia.

We’ve helped countless people along the business acquisition journey and stand ready to help you. When you’re ready to talk, book a meeting or send an enquiry.

The Problem:
When you’re considering buying a business, questions immediately arise: Are the financials as healthy as they appear? Could hidden liabilities derail your investment? Will the purchase structure suit your future growth plans? Without clear, specialist advice, you risk making costly decisions that could jeopardise your new venture’s success.

Our Solution:
At Munro’s, we take a holistic, problem‑solving approach. We work with you from the initial assessment through to closing the deal. Our process includes:

  • Comprehensive Due Diligence: We review financial records, assess cash flow and identify potential risks.
  • Tailored Acquisition Advice: We guide you through negotiations, assist with business valuation and recommend the optimal purchase structure, ensuring that the business fits your growth ambitions.
  • Tax & Compliance Strategies: Our specialists ensure that every transaction complies with Australian tax laws and that you benefit from available concessions and planning opportunities.
  • Ongoing Support: After the deal is closed, we continue to support you with business advisory and accounting services that help you integrate your new acquisition smoothly, attend to ongoing accounting and tax, and plan for future growth.

Key Outcomes and Benefits:

  • Informed Decision-Making: With our thorough due diligence, you gain a clear picture of the business’s true value and potential.
  • Risk Mitigation: We identify red flags early so that you can avoid costly pitfalls.
  • Optimised Structure: Our recommendations not only protect your investment but also set the stage for tax efficiencies and long‑term business growth.
  • Peace of Mind: With Munro’s by your side, you can focus on the opportunities ahead, confident that you’re making a secure investment.

Problem 1: FOMO

The fear of missing out is so powerful and can lead people to make terrible decisions. Buying a business requires you to put a lot of wealth on the line. You’ve got to think clearly and sceptically.

Solution
Be sceptical.

Outcome
Reduce the chance of buying an overpriced / non-profitable business.

Problem 2: Financing

How are you going to fund the purchase of the business? Do you need extra funds to satisfy ongoing financial obligations? What additional liabilities, guarantees and risks are you going to take on? Will you have sufficient cash to survive and eventually thrive?

Solution
Appropriate funding.

Outcome
The money you need to survive and thrive.

Problem 3: Setup for Future Tax Success

Tax is generally unavoidable, but the amount of tax you pay in the future will be heavily influenced by decisions made now.

Solution
Setup tax planning.

Outcome
Bare minimum tax.

Problem 4: Assets & Liability Protection

Operating a business increases exposures to extra liabilities and requires safeguarding of existing and new wealth as best as possible.

Solution
Basic asset protection + optionally advanced protection.

Outcome
At least the bare minimum wealth protection you should have.

Problem 5: How to De-risk

When arranging a due diligence, you should really follow the classic wisdom: you can’t just look at the iceberg above the ocean surface because there is so much hidden and dangerous below.

Solution
Comprehensive due diligence.

Outcome
Make a fully informed decision and know what you’re getting into.

Problem 6: Going into Business with Others

Whether you’re going into business with family or friends, it’s important to recognise that business life and the stresses it brings will give rise to new and sometimes challenging issues.

Solution
Clearly defined and understood intent with a proactive dispute resolution agreement.

Outcome
Mitigate the potential of messy and costly future disputes.

Problem 7: Setup Bookkeeping in Xero, MYOB, Quickbooks, etc

We cannot stress enough how vital it is to setup an accurate accounting system from the beginning.

Solution
Startup bookkeeping.

Outcome
Clean financial information from the beginning as opposed to a costly, uninformative mess.

Problem 8: Employing People

Employment, tax and superannuation laws impose a heavy burden on employers and you must give this responsibility the attention and care it requires.

Solution
Skilful and pragmatic support with implementing employment basics.

Outcome
Legally compliant employment arrangements.

Problem 9: Business Ownership Education

There is no one who knows everything about business. From the moment you buy your business, you’ll need to continually upskill to meet the challenges. Don’t start from scratch; tap into the knowledge and learnings of others.

Solution
Sprints, blended learning, community insights and coaching.

Outcome
The best leader you can become, as quickly as you can get there.

Frequently Asked Questions for Buying a Business

  1. What are the first steps in buying a business?
    Before proceeding, you should conduct preliminary research, understand your financial capacity (can you get a loan) and arrange for specialist advice. We help you assess whether a business aligns with your growth plans.

  2. How do I know if a business is fairly valued?
    Our valuation process uses multiple methods to ensure accuracy, considering cash flow, assets and market trends. We compare industry benchmarks to determine a fair price.

  3. What if I find hidden liabilities during due diligence?
    Identifying risks early is crucial. We advise on mitigating strategies and this may allow you to renegotiate terms based on unforeseen liabilities, ensuring you don’t overpay for potential risks.

  4. How can tax planning help when buying a business?
    Effective tax planning can significantly reduce your tax burden in the future. We work with you to structure the deal in a tax‑efficient manner, ensuring you take advantage of all applicable concessions and deductions.

  5. Are your services available only in Perth?
    While Munro’s is proudly based in Perth with deep local expertise, our compliance and advisory strategies are effective for businesses throughout Australia.

  6. What makes Munro’s approach different?
    We are known as “The Professional Problem Solvers” because we focus on understanding your challenges and crafting tailored solutions. Our approach is transparent, value‑driven and backed by over 100 Google reviews praising our responsiveness and specialist advice.

  7. How can a business accountant help improve my profit following the acquisition?
    Our specialists don’t just crunch numbers; we provide actionable insights that can help optimise your operations, reduce unnecessary expenses and ultimately boost your profit margins.

  8. What is the price for your structuring and due diligence service?
    Our pricing is transparent and reflects the complexity of your needs. Please visit our pricing page and contact us for a personalised quote.

  9. How long does the buying process usually take?
    Every acquisition is unique. Generally, the process can take several months from initial enquiry to final settlement, depending on whether you’ve already identified a target acquisition, your access to business loans, the complexity of due diligence and negotiations.

  10. Can you help if I’m considering a franchise purchase?
    Absolutely. We have assisted many clients in purchasing franchises by evaluating their financial performance and negotiating favourable terms.

Where To Begin

Get To Know Each Other Meeting

 

FREE (incl. GST)

How We Get Started

Come Along To An Improve Session

 

First Session is FREE (incl. GST)

Upskilling Event for Business Leaders

Munro's, where client service matters

Top 2% ranked Australian Accounting Firm

Play Ranking Explained

  • ★★★★★ — Robert Elliott

    Brilliant accounting firm I have trusted for almost 30 years with all of my business and personal accounting. Their service is second to none.

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  • ★★★★★ — Robynne Richards

    Munro’s are an honest, reliable, on the ball, and personable business. The family feel engendered has been highly regarded by our family for over 40 years.

    Congratulations on a significant and well deserved creditable milestone, with best wishes for what we are sure will be a successful future.

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  • ★★★★★ — Lucas Overman

    The team at Munro’s were incredibly understanding, helpful and professional when providing advice tailored to my needs.

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  • ★★★★★ — Ferrante Alvarezdetoledo

    Happy 50 years !!! I joined Munro’s in 1974 just close to when the accounting firm had started, Don Munro was my accountant at the time and helped greatly in all my various problems and successes and he still remained a very dear friend to me; now Simon Strawbridge is looking after me and I can only praise all the work that he has been doing for me not only in accounting, but also in advising my various legal problems and investments.

    I can only say well done to the whole team and hope that I will still be their client in the coming years.

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  • ★★★★★ — Margaret

    Congratulations to Munros on reaching its 50 Year Milestone!  This excellent firm has efficiently handled our Family’s affairs for 45 years, and into its 3rd Generation.

    We have been grateful for conscientious and good advice from Ted and now from Mike.  Roll on the next 50 Years!

    Best wishes from the Hodgson Family.

    5 Stars!

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  • ★★★★★ — Frances Morrell

    Munros have been a wonderful support over the last 50 years. Christine , Simon and previously Barry, have taken tremendous care of all my accounts and have even managed not to laugh at the state of my annual paperwork, that is, when I eventually submit it.

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  • ★★★★★ — Nick Tighe

    On behalf of our farming family, congratulations on 50 years. We have been with Munros 3 generations starting I think when My Grandmother switched at the start. My late Father always had good dealings with whoever was assigned to us which there have not been too many over the 50 years which I think may be a reflection of the stability and integrity of Munros. Simon Strawbridge who was the new kid on the block back in my fathers day and the rest of the team has always provided us with great service and we thank the whole team for their support over the years.

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  • ★★★★★ — Gautam Sathivel

    One of the best decisions we made was switching our accounting services to Munro’s. Especial thanks for Saul and Brian for their extensive knowledge, understanding our business requirement, goals and most importantly keeping us compliant. Extremely happy to engage with this organisation and team.

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  • ★★★★★ — Jamie Little (JAMIETV)

    Professional service, very quick & reliable especially when it involves Cryptocurrency. Went out of their way to assist by a deadline that I had & they were happy to accommodate.

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  • ★★★★★ — Fay & Steve

    Our Munro’s Experience began approximately 38/40 years ago. Steve’s parents were already customers of Munros, in particular Barry Virgo, and we followed suit.

    For the first couple of years we had several changes of Accountants at Munro’s (we always got the newbies and had to ‘train them up’ to know how to get the best deal from the Tax Office for farmers. We became fed up of this system. Our last newbie was Simon Strawbridge. Well, we got him “trained up right proper” then they wanted to give us the next new one, but we stated we weren’t changing.

    Today, Simon is still our go to man. Whilst we understand there have been many very efficient people working in the background on our business affairs, for which we thank them sincerely, we have always maintained our professional relationship with Simon.

    We have been through some big business changes in our farming adventures over these past 40 odd years, and the advice, help and professional assistance has been 100%. At times we didn’t know who to trust to give us the best business advice and we were fortunate to be able to lean on Simon’s vast knowledge to help us make these decisions.

    Our working partnership of having our taxation needs, investment portfolios, wills, etc. linked in with Munros and the great staff has been successful.

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  • ★★★★★ — Val McAlpine

    David and I have been loyal clients of Munros for many years—I think since we were married in 1962. David made all the decisions in those early years. I became a more active partner as we worked with Ted Wilhelm and Ian Arblaster until their retirement. We then worked with Christine Prasetia for our financial, accounting, taxation and our wills until David’s death in May, 2017. Christine has patiently guided me through taking up the reins of our business venture. She is very efficient and totally reliable in all our dealings. I feel fortunate to have Christine as my accountant and business advisor. Thanking you, Val McAlpine

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  • ★★★★★ — Jason Park

    I’m glad my sister introduced me to Carl, he has a wealth of knowledge, great at complex problem solving, always helpful and very attentive. Would give 10 stars if I could.

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  • ★★★★★ — Jason Park

    I’m glad my sister introduced me to Carl, he has a wealth of knowledge, great at complex problem solving, always helpful and very attentive. Would give 10 stars if I could.

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  • ★★★★★ — Ivan

    They know what they are doing. No matter how complex your accounting is, Munro’s is the way to go. They also have international experience. Drew and Mike’s expertise and responsiveness won’t disappoint you.

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  • ★★★★★ — Mike

    For nearly ten years, Munros has consistently provided me with excellent service. Drew has been a pioneer in handling crypto tax matters, even before it was a thing. I can’t imagine finding a more approachable and professional outfit. I anticipate a lasting partnership, despite a few questionable football team preferences.

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  • ★★★★★ — Matt R

    Drew and the team made my 2019 tax return easy. They also made an alteration to my 2018 tax return and I had an unexpected return. Highly recommended.

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  • ★★★★★ — Greg Berlin

    Munros have been doing my family tax returns for the past 3 years, and I’ve been nothing but delighted with the service they’ve offered. They took on a relatively complex set of returns, including sharing of CGT benefits between myself and my partner, and did exactly what I hoped they’d do, and more. Not only that, they always went above and beyond to explain what they have done and why, keeping us happy and at ease at all times during the tax return processes.

    And to top it off, their knowledge of the crypto space is phenomenal, as are the tools they’ve developed to report and get the best possible returns with cryptos in mind.

    Give them a try, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

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  • ★★★★★ — Pond Family

    Highly recommend Munro’s accounting firm AAA +++

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  • ★★★★★ — Tom Eldred

    I was clueless when it came to processing my taxes for crypto, having a few years worth to file. Drew and the team were very thorough with their process and made it so simple on my end. Well worth the service.

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  • ★★★★★ — Jacob Holmes

    Genuine, honest, reliable accountants that actually care about their clients businesses/companies. They fixed all of my previous accountants errors without being asked, and put in a lot of work to get the job done right moving forward. You get what you pay for. They go above and beyond. Special shout out to my fantastic crew; Sanjay, Paul, Drew, Michelle and Finlay.

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  • ★★★★★ — Will S

    The team at Munro’s has been of great assistance to me over the years, with a particular special mention to Drew Pflaum. They’ve helped me navigate some complex tax matters with proactive, insightful, and pragmatic advice. I highly recommend them for anyone seeking expertise in this area. Thank you again to the whole team and especially to Drew.

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  • ★★★★★ — Alex England

    I was recommended to use Munro’s as I had a number of well overdue tax issues to have resolved. All was promptly taken care of and with a far better outcome than I had anticipated…great work Josephine! Highly recommended!

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  • ★★★★★ — Leslie & Joan O'Halloran

    MUNROS what a great team:

    Munros have supported 3 generations of the O’Halloran family from Kojonup over the past 50 years. Starting with Donald Munro when he was Wesfarmers client Accountant.

    We are very grateful for their ongoing support in all accounting matters. Simon, Christine and their team are always willing to help whenever we need it.

    Congratulations on your 50-year celebration. All the best for the future.

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  • ★★★★★ — Jennifer Fox

    A big shout out to Mike and his team at Munro’s for the outstanding work you’ve done on our accounts and returns!!

    From our very first interaction with Mike, we had a great feeling about engaging with Munro’s, and you’ve more than delivered.

    It’s been such a relief to know our business and personal accounts are in such capable hands.

    Highly recommended.

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  • ★★★★★ — Jennifer Fox

    A big shout out to Mike and his team at Munro’s for the outstanding work you’ve done on our accounts and returns!!

    From our very first interaction with Mike, we had a great feeling about engaging with Munro’s, and you’ve more than delivered.

    It’s been such a relief to know our business and personal accounts are in such capable hands.

    Highly recommended.

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  • ★★★★★ — Graeme Bassett

    We are delighted with the friendly, knowledgeable and efficient service Simon and his team provide.
    We have tested Simon’s patience and humour over the years but he has always managed to come through with a smile.

    Thank you to Simon and his team!

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  • ★★★★★ — Asif Raza

    Drew was extremely helpful and professional. Highly recommend!!

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  • ★★★★★ — Maneesha Kulasekera

    I highly recommend Munro’s for their brilliance and hard work. Saul, Sanjay and the Munros team are highly capable and passionate in their dealings with their clients and have been a strong pillar in navigating through my Taxes and Accounting over the past few years. They are exceptionally knowledgeable in their field of expertise and up to date with the latest policies/requirements and very easy to work with as they understand the client’s needs. I want to express my sincere gratitude and thanks to especially Saul and Sanjay for their professionalism, great advise, friendly attitude and major efforts in assisting me with my Taxes/ accounting. I couldn’t have asked for a better team than Munro’s.

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  • ★★★★★ — Cynthia Johnston

    This is such a great team! I was behind in my crypto accounting and I received clear instructions and assistance to bring all of my accounting up to date this year. I recommend Munro’s to everyone, especially people using crypto currency. This team are experts in this field!

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  • ★★★★★ — Markus Mark

    Munro’s are an outstanding outfit mastering in complicated tax situations and are highly focussed on providing a client centred approach. I presented Saul with a complicated case of overdue tax’s and substantial crypto and share trading activity. To say that he handled this situation with aplomb is an understatement. He resolved my situation promptly and what seemed to be with ease. Sure it is great to have your taxes done by consummate professionals but for me this is not their best feature. It is the customer service that I received that was outstanding and exceeded my expectations. He was extremely patient and dealt with my constant questioning with a great attitude. Always polite and willing to offer his professional advice I sincerely felt like a had an ally in my corner. Saul was a pleasure to work with and I look forward to next years Tax Time.

    Mark.

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  • ★★★★★ — Jery

    I engaged Munro’s on line owing to the fact that they claimed a specialisation in share trading. I am not a professional trader, however I presented Munro’s with a complex set of circumstances ranging over a 5-6 year period. To say I was delighted with their level of expertise and professionalism would be an understatement. I reside in Victoria and Munro’s is in WA, so this matter was dealt with entirely on line. The accounting professional that looked after my matter was one of the most helpful service providers I have recently encountered, going as far as assisting with my rather rudimentary IT skill. This firm, through the diligent work of the previously mentioned accounting professionals turned what I thought, was a dire Tax situation into a win for me. I cannot rate this firm highly enough, two other firms wanted me to jump through all sorts of hoops, Munro’s did a magnificent job, with little fuss and all on line. I publicly extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to the person that looked after my matter.

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  • ★★★★★ — Arky Abbott

    Fantastic work. Professional accountants with incredible response times and excellent advice.
    Perfect service

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  • ★★★★★ — Moree Grazing Co, Tambellup WA

    We have been clients of Munro’s (and Donald F Munro & Assoc. before that) for more than 50 years and have always found them to be right on point with their advice and work. Nothing is too much trouble to research and the responses always given in easy-to-understand language. We love that the K.I.S.S principle is used (keep-it-simple-stupid!) We can’t thank Simon and Carl enough for the great service that they provide. I have also, in community roles, worked with Barry Virgo and Ian Arblaster over the years on Co-operative business and their knowledge was second to none.

    Thank you and congratulations Munro’s on 50 years + in business.

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  • ★★★★★ — the big fella

    I used Munro’s for the first time this past year for my tax. My situation was complicated, but this did not phase them. A massive thankyou to the team there including Drew and Christine. Their professionalism was excellent. I cannot flaw their efforts at all. It was a pleasure to deal with them. Thankyou very much Munro’s. See you next year.

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  • ★★★★★ — Peter D

    Munro’s are by far the best accounting firm I’ve ever dealt with it. My accountant Carl is very good at what he does and I would highly recommend him and the entire Munro’s team. They provide the most amazing customer service, absolute pleasure to deal with, incredible attention to detail and extremely experienced in all aspects of accounting for business, crypto, derivatives, property etc. I’m confident to say Munro’s have my business for life.

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