The Role of Accounting Information in Valuing Unlisted Shares

Little research has been conducted on how professional accountants value unlisted shares. The study reported in this paper analyses the accounting and other data drawn from 185 actual unlisted share valuation reports within seven major Canadian accounting firms to estimate a model of and to explain variations in the values placed on unlisted shares. The findings suggest that valuation of unlisted shares can be explained largely in terms of historic accounting data, the main sources being earnings, earnings stability and asset book value. A high degree of consensus on the importance of variables was found across accounting firms. The implications of these findings are discussed.