CEPA study plan

Write a five-sentence contrast between exit planning as a continuous discipline and a one-time transaction event.

Diagram the four stages of the Value Acceleration Methodology and state the core owner action and core advisor action in each stage.

Explain the three legs of the stool (business, personal, financial) and construct one concrete example of an owner whose legs are misaligned.

Match each of the major exit paths (third-party sale, internal transfer, ESOP, recapitalization) to a one-line owner profile it best fits.

Sequence the exit planning process from first owner contact through advisory team coordination into a numbered 10-step timeline with the owner decision required at each step.

Draft an owner intake questionnaire that captures goals, target exit timing, business and personal readiness, and post-exit financial needs.

Script a 15-minute discovery conversation using open-ended questions that surface the owner's real motivation for exiting.

Write a scope-and-expectations memo that sets boundaries on the CEPA's role versus the attorney, CPA, and M&A advisor.

Assemble a mock advisory team for a fabricated client and assign each advisor's decision rights and deliverables on a RACI chart.

Compare the income, market, and asset-based valuation approaches and state the fact pattern in which each is the primary method.

Explain how earnings quality, revenue durability, customer concentration, and growth prospects move a valuation multiple up or down.

Calculate a normalized EBITDA figure from a self-built fact pattern with at least four add-back adjustments and derive a defensible value range.

Categorize a sample company's intangible capital across human, structural, customer, and social capital and score each category on a 1-5 maturity scale.

Convert at least six value drivers into measurable KPIs with a baseline reading and a 12-month target.

Explain the mechanism by which strengthening intangible capital expands the exit multiple rather than merely the earnings base.

Diagnose the two weakest intangible categories in the sample and prescribe one remediation initiative for each.

Quantify a value gap analysis comparing current enterprise value to potential value across the four intangible capital categories.

Build a 12-month value acceleration action plan with sequenced initiatives, accountable owners, and completion dates.

Assess owner personal financial readiness by calculating post-exit annual income need, required liquid capital, and tolerance for deferred or contingent proceeds.

Identify the three most common non-financial readiness gaps (identity, purpose, relationships) and describe one diagnostic question for each.

Compare third-party sale, internal transfer to family or management, ESOP, and recapitalization across control retained, time to liquidity, proceeds certainty, and risk allocation.

Model net after-tax proceeds for two different exit paths using identical business assumptions and quantify the dollar difference.

Draft a life-after-business plan for a sample owner containing three non-financial goals and a 90-day post-close calendar.

Match owner objectives (legacy, fastest cash, keep employees, maximize price) to the exit path that best satisfies each priority.

Contrast the conceptual tax treatment of asset sales, stock sales, ESOP sales, and installment or seller-financed notes, and state which structure each party typically prefers.

List the core legal documents in an exit (letter of intent, purchase agreement, non-compete, employment agreement, escrow terms) and name one negotiation risk in each.

Outline estate planning moves that must be coordinated with exit timing, including gifting, trust ownership, and valuation discount considerations.

Flag the top five tax, legal, and estate issues for the two exit paths modeled in week 6 and assign each to the responsible advisor.

Define the CEPA's leadership role on the multidisciplinary team and build a team roster template with selection criteria for each advisor type.

Resolve a written team-conflict scenario by drafting the facilitation agenda, the framing statement, and the decision rule used.

Complete a full-length practice exam under timed conditions and log every missed item by domain.

Re-study the two lowest-scoring domains from the practice exam and rewrite condensed notes for each.