Ian Campbell Contributor Bio

Bio

Ian R. Campbell is a graduate of Western University’s Ivey Business School and is a Fellow of both the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators. He is the author of several business valuation texts, most recently The Valuation of Business Interests (2001). He is a past director of several publicly and privately held corporations.

Ian first offered business valuation advisory services in Canada in 1969. From 1972 to 1976 he headed the business valuation practice of one of Canada’s largest public accounting firms. In 1976 he founded Toronto-based Campbell Valuation Partners Ltd., one of Canada’s foremost independent business valuation consultancies. He retired from that firm in 2013.

The Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators recognizes Ian’s contribution to the Canadian business valuation profession through its annual funding of the Ian R. Campbell Research Initiative.

Since 1969, Ian has:

Been instrumental in developing the practice of business valuation consulting in Canada through participating in the founding of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators, lecturing and writing
Advised hundreds of Canadian business owners and their professional advisors with respect to business valuation, business succession planning and business sales and acquisition matters
Testified in business valuation matters before Canadian courts in appraisal/oppression remedy shareholder dispute matters, in income tax cases and in cases dealing with Canadian securities law
Interacted with and rendered business valuation and transition advice to a large cross-section of family (and non-family) business owners who have successfully transitioned their businesses through two or more generations
In 2014 published the book 50 Hurdles: Business Transition Simplified in order to fill what he thought to be a gap in business transition literature. He also publishes the Business Transition and Valuation Review, a free subscription newsletter
Ian now speaks regularly on the topic of family business transition and offers overview business transition and valuation advice to business owners and their professional advisors

Articles by Ian Campbell

The Single Most Important Lever Driving Corporate Value

There are many drivers that can increase the value of a business, but one is more important than any other.
How Business Sales Are Best Strategized, Conducted and Consummated

Vendor selection of a business sale advisor is of paramount importance! The referenced Divestopedia article written by John Carvalho does not discuss the importance of advisor selection by the vendors — see commentary...

Q&A by Ian Campbell

How do I differentiate between growth capex versus sustaining capex?

The simple answer is: with great difficulty. I began giving business valuation opinions in 1969, about 45 years ago, and I can tell you that up until about 25 years ago, I can’t remember dealing with a business owner who,...
Which professional is most qualified to perform a business valuation for the purpose of selling?

Let me start by saying that I have never walked into someone's office and adjudicated the occupant’s capability based on the degrees hanging on the wall. I'm much more a person who is inclined to think that experiences,...
Is EBITDA the best metric to use when calculating business value?

My answer is almost without exception, "No." That said, I think that the EBITDA business valuation methodology may be, in some cases, an enabler of business value approximations. However, notwithstanding EBITDA has, and...
Should comparable market transactions be used for a notional business valuation?

I have some very specific, long-held and unchanged views on this matter. Simply put, I believe that unless the person using a comparable has been actively involved in the transaction that gave rise to the comparable,...
If you had to pick one lever to pull to increase business value, which one would it be?

Well for me, there’s absolutely no doubt which lever I would pull. It would be the lever that would enable me to systematically, over time, create the absolute greatest level and implementation of good corporate governance....
How important is growth in business value to the success or failure of generational business transition?

The simple answer to your question is that it’s very important, and it’s particularly important in multigenerational planning. The reason for that is that families grow geometrically, not perfectly geometrically, but...
What level of business valuation engagement is most appropriate?

I think this question is a very important one, especially when you are considering a business valuator, but at other times as well. I don’t know about other jurisdictions, but in Canada, the Canadian Institute of Chartered...
How frequently should you get a business valuation?

I’m going to start by saying that, in my experience, expert business valuation opinions typically are sought when it is thought a business might be offered for sale, or where there is a dispute arising out of any number of...
How does globalization and the current economy impact business value?

My answer to that is in two parts. First of all, I absolutely believe that globalization, ongoing globalization and the current and prospective economy now does, and will going forward, impact the determination of business...
How important is expert objectivity when performing a notional business valuation?

I split business valuation advice and opinions into two distinct types. First, is advice given in circumstances where the expert is acting in an advocate role. The second is in circumstances where the expert is engaged as...