CEPA (CERTIFIED EXIT PLANNING ADVISOR) EXAM
PREP 2026
1. What is the calculation for Recasted EBITDA?: Addbacks + EBITDA = Recast-
ed EBITDA
2. What does EBITDA stand for?: Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation,
& Amortization
3. What are the three gaps within the Value Acceleration Methodology?: Wealth
Gap, Value Gap, & Profit Gap
4. What are the Five Stages of Value Maturity in order?: Identify, Protect, Build,
Harvest, Manage
5. In the Five Stages of Value Maturity, what occurs in the "Identify" stage?-
: Identify and asses the business value. Understand how ready and attractive the
business is. What is the current value? What is it's potential value? What are the
gaps?
6. What are considered the "Value Creation" stages within the Five Stages of
Value Maturity?: Protect Value and Build Value
7. In the Five Stages of Value Maturity, what occurs in the "Protect" stage?-
: Protect what you have because "build" means more risk. Make sure the right
systems are in place: the right financial advisor, right financial plan, documented
standard operating procedures within the business, insurance, etc. Protect always
comes before Build. Non-strategic actions are ALWAYS before strategic actions.
8. In the Five Stages of Value Maturity, what occurs in the "Build" stage?: This
is made up of strategic actions including culture building, communication building,
personnel changes, new products/improvements, etc.
9. In the Five Stages of Value Maturity, what occurs in the "Harvest" stage?: -
This is when the owner exits the company and harvests its value
10. Simply put, what is exit planning?: Good Business strategy
11. What are the Four intangible Capitals or "Four C's"?: Human Capital, Struc-
tural Capital, Customer Capital, & Social Capital
12. How much of a business' value (in percentage) is trapped inside the four
intangible capitals or "Four C's"?: 80%
13. What is Human Capital?: It's the people in the business. Employee tenure,
experience / talent level, management team succession plan, management team
strength, etc.
14. What is Structural Capital?: The most robust of the "Four C's", this includes
everything from the real estate, intellectual property, equipment, process & docu-
mentation, IT, systems (including financial & accounting systems), etc.
15. What is Customer Captial?: Depth of customer relationships, customer entan-
glement, customer concentration / diversification, contracts, etc.
, CEPA (CERTIFIED EXIT PLANNING ADVISOR) EXAM
PREP 2025
16. What is Social Capital?: Culture within & outside the company. How people
relate outside of the company. This is developed over time after all other intangible
capitals are established/improved.
17. What are the three gates (in order) of the Value Acceleration Methodolo-
gy?: Discover, Prepare, & Decide
18. What are the Three Legs of the Stool?: Business, Financial, & Personal
19. What is the Wealth Gap?: Understanding the owner's wealth goal (how much
money they'll need to fulfill personal needs) and the current value of their assets (not
including their business). The gap or difference between these two is usually filled
by the business' value.
20. What is the Value Gap?: The difference between the owner's current business
value and the Best-In-Class business value.
21. What is the Profit Gap?: The difference between the owner's current business
profit (or recasted EBITDA) and the Best-In-Class business profit (or recasted
EBITDA)
22. The two concurrent paths are in which gate within the Value Acceleration
Methodology?: The Prepare Gate
23. What are the two concurrent paths within the Prepare Gate?: The risk
mitigation (De-risk) / business improvement path
AND
The personal/financial ("Vision") path
24. What is the ONE goal of the Value Acceleration Methodology?: To drive
value across all three legs of the stool (business, financial & personal)
25. How much of an owner's wealth (in percentage) is locked in their busi-
ness?: 80-90%
26. What's the difference between a Lifestyle Business and Value Creator
Business?: Lifestyle business = good income; not transferrable
Value creator business = good income; transferable (owners treat their business like
an asset)
27. Most owners don't address what kind of planning?: personal planning
28. What kind of planning could be the key to making an exit successful?: per-
sonal planning
29. What is the number one reason deals fail?: seller's cold feet
30. The Value Maturity Index teaches owner's the concept that they can have
and .: value AND income (as long as the owner
focuses on VALUE first)
, CEPA (CERTIFIED EXIT PLANNING ADVISOR) EXAM
PREP 2025
31. What is the formula to calculate value?: Cash (Recasted EBITDA) x MM
(market multiple) = Value
Sales X MM (market multiple) = Value
32. Every business trades in a .: range of value
33. Value Acceleration focuses on work-
ing with while improving
.: accounting systems; intangible assets
34. Why is vision important?: Vison is needed to execute well, and it must come
from the owner / owner's family
35. What is Alignment?: When the owner aligns his/her resources including family,
staff, Advisors, etc.
36. Which of the Five Stages of Value Maturity are in the Discover Gate?: Iden-
tify
37. Which of the Five Stages of Value Maturity are in the Prepare Gate?: Protect
and Build
38. Which of the Five Stages of Value Maturity are in the Decide Gate?: Harvest
39. What is the definition of a Triggering Event?: A business valuation correlated
to a personal, financial, and business attractiveness and readiness assessment to
determine where the business value lands in the range of value
40. What is the definition of Exit Planning?: Exit Planning combines the plan,
concept, effort, and process into a clear, simple strategy to build a business that
is transferable through strong human, structural, customer, and social capital. The
future of you, your family, and your business are addressed by exit planning through
creating value today.
41. Who determines the multiple range of a company?: The private capital
market, but company's can control where they place in that range depending on the
strength of their intangibles. Value acceleration occurs by managing the controllable
factors (intangibles) within the company's multiple.
42. What're the scoring metrics for the Common Sense Scoring Scale?: 1)
Weak - haven't thought about it
2) Have thought about it but they don't have anything
3) Below average
4) Above average
5) Best-In-Class
6) Perfect; can't get better; this is rare
Most people fall in the 2, 3, 4 or 5 range. 1's and 6's are rare.
, CEPA (CERTIFIED EXIT PLANNING ADVISOR) EXAM
PREP 2025
43. What are the Range of Values for the Common Sense Scoring Scale?: 50%
or less = weak; high risk
58% = average
67% = above average; low risk
72% or higher = best-in-class
44. What is the definition of Value Acceleration?: A proven process that focuses
on value growth and aligning business, personal and financial goals.
45. As it relates to retirement planning, what are the three main business
owner issues?: 1) How much do I need?
2) What rate of return (ROR) do I need on my investments?
3) Addresses stock market volatility
46. What are the main drivers of financial planning as it fits in with exit
planning?: - age at retirement
- spending in retirement
- current assets
- savings until retirement
47. What are the topics of typical estate planning conversations?: - preserving
the deceased spouse's coupon
- disability trustee planning
- probate avoidance
- creditor protection
- predator protection
- bloodline protection
48. How does a workshop differ from a meeting?: - Workshops are more collab-
orative; time-restrained
- people (you need decision makers)
- positive (more buy-in from participants)
49. "Readiness" for transition determines what?: Grow or Exit (which should be
asked every 90 days)
50. What is the question owners must continue to ask themselves in the Third
Gate?: Do I keep growing or do I want to sell?
51. What are the benefits of a Triggering Event?: 1) Establishes, based on fact
(not feeling), your present value
2) Predicts the probability of succeeding with growth and transition strategies
PREP 2026
1. What is the calculation for Recasted EBITDA?: Addbacks + EBITDA = Recast-
ed EBITDA
2. What does EBITDA stand for?: Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation,
& Amortization
3. What are the three gaps within the Value Acceleration Methodology?: Wealth
Gap, Value Gap, & Profit Gap
4. What are the Five Stages of Value Maturity in order?: Identify, Protect, Build,
Harvest, Manage
5. In the Five Stages of Value Maturity, what occurs in the "Identify" stage?-
: Identify and asses the business value. Understand how ready and attractive the
business is. What is the current value? What is it's potential value? What are the
gaps?
6. What are considered the "Value Creation" stages within the Five Stages of
Value Maturity?: Protect Value and Build Value
7. In the Five Stages of Value Maturity, what occurs in the "Protect" stage?-
: Protect what you have because "build" means more risk. Make sure the right
systems are in place: the right financial advisor, right financial plan, documented
standard operating procedures within the business, insurance, etc. Protect always
comes before Build. Non-strategic actions are ALWAYS before strategic actions.
8. In the Five Stages of Value Maturity, what occurs in the "Build" stage?: This
is made up of strategic actions including culture building, communication building,
personnel changes, new products/improvements, etc.
9. In the Five Stages of Value Maturity, what occurs in the "Harvest" stage?: -
This is when the owner exits the company and harvests its value
10. Simply put, what is exit planning?: Good Business strategy
11. What are the Four intangible Capitals or "Four C's"?: Human Capital, Struc-
tural Capital, Customer Capital, & Social Capital
12. How much of a business' value (in percentage) is trapped inside the four
intangible capitals or "Four C's"?: 80%
13. What is Human Capital?: It's the people in the business. Employee tenure,
experience / talent level, management team succession plan, management team
strength, etc.
14. What is Structural Capital?: The most robust of the "Four C's", this includes
everything from the real estate, intellectual property, equipment, process & docu-
mentation, IT, systems (including financial & accounting systems), etc.
15. What is Customer Captial?: Depth of customer relationships, customer entan-
glement, customer concentration / diversification, contracts, etc.
, CEPA (CERTIFIED EXIT PLANNING ADVISOR) EXAM
PREP 2025
16. What is Social Capital?: Culture within & outside the company. How people
relate outside of the company. This is developed over time after all other intangible
capitals are established/improved.
17. What are the three gates (in order) of the Value Acceleration Methodolo-
gy?: Discover, Prepare, & Decide
18. What are the Three Legs of the Stool?: Business, Financial, & Personal
19. What is the Wealth Gap?: Understanding the owner's wealth goal (how much
money they'll need to fulfill personal needs) and the current value of their assets (not
including their business). The gap or difference between these two is usually filled
by the business' value.
20. What is the Value Gap?: The difference between the owner's current business
value and the Best-In-Class business value.
21. What is the Profit Gap?: The difference between the owner's current business
profit (or recasted EBITDA) and the Best-In-Class business profit (or recasted
EBITDA)
22. The two concurrent paths are in which gate within the Value Acceleration
Methodology?: The Prepare Gate
23. What are the two concurrent paths within the Prepare Gate?: The risk
mitigation (De-risk) / business improvement path
AND
The personal/financial ("Vision") path
24. What is the ONE goal of the Value Acceleration Methodology?: To drive
value across all three legs of the stool (business, financial & personal)
25. How much of an owner's wealth (in percentage) is locked in their busi-
ness?: 80-90%
26. What's the difference between a Lifestyle Business and Value Creator
Business?: Lifestyle business = good income; not transferrable
Value creator business = good income; transferable (owners treat their business like
an asset)
27. Most owners don't address what kind of planning?: personal planning
28. What kind of planning could be the key to making an exit successful?: per-
sonal planning
29. What is the number one reason deals fail?: seller's cold feet
30. The Value Maturity Index teaches owner's the concept that they can have
and .: value AND income (as long as the owner
focuses on VALUE first)
, CEPA (CERTIFIED EXIT PLANNING ADVISOR) EXAM
PREP 2025
31. What is the formula to calculate value?: Cash (Recasted EBITDA) x MM
(market multiple) = Value
Sales X MM (market multiple) = Value
32. Every business trades in a .: range of value
33. Value Acceleration focuses on work-
ing with while improving
.: accounting systems; intangible assets
34. Why is vision important?: Vison is needed to execute well, and it must come
from the owner / owner's family
35. What is Alignment?: When the owner aligns his/her resources including family,
staff, Advisors, etc.
36. Which of the Five Stages of Value Maturity are in the Discover Gate?: Iden-
tify
37. Which of the Five Stages of Value Maturity are in the Prepare Gate?: Protect
and Build
38. Which of the Five Stages of Value Maturity are in the Decide Gate?: Harvest
39. What is the definition of a Triggering Event?: A business valuation correlated
to a personal, financial, and business attractiveness and readiness assessment to
determine where the business value lands in the range of value
40. What is the definition of Exit Planning?: Exit Planning combines the plan,
concept, effort, and process into a clear, simple strategy to build a business that
is transferable through strong human, structural, customer, and social capital. The
future of you, your family, and your business are addressed by exit planning through
creating value today.
41. Who determines the multiple range of a company?: The private capital
market, but company's can control where they place in that range depending on the
strength of their intangibles. Value acceleration occurs by managing the controllable
factors (intangibles) within the company's multiple.
42. What're the scoring metrics for the Common Sense Scoring Scale?: 1)
Weak - haven't thought about it
2) Have thought about it but they don't have anything
3) Below average
4) Above average
5) Best-In-Class
6) Perfect; can't get better; this is rare
Most people fall in the 2, 3, 4 or 5 range. 1's and 6's are rare.
, CEPA (CERTIFIED EXIT PLANNING ADVISOR) EXAM
PREP 2025
43. What are the Range of Values for the Common Sense Scoring Scale?: 50%
or less = weak; high risk
58% = average
67% = above average; low risk
72% or higher = best-in-class
44. What is the definition of Value Acceleration?: A proven process that focuses
on value growth and aligning business, personal and financial goals.
45. As it relates to retirement planning, what are the three main business
owner issues?: 1) How much do I need?
2) What rate of return (ROR) do I need on my investments?
3) Addresses stock market volatility
46. What are the main drivers of financial planning as it fits in with exit
planning?: - age at retirement
- spending in retirement
- current assets
- savings until retirement
47. What are the topics of typical estate planning conversations?: - preserving
the deceased spouse's coupon
- disability trustee planning
- probate avoidance
- creditor protection
- predator protection
- bloodline protection
48. How does a workshop differ from a meeting?: - Workshops are more collab-
orative; time-restrained
- people (you need decision makers)
- positive (more buy-in from participants)
49. "Readiness" for transition determines what?: Grow or Exit (which should be
asked every 90 days)
50. What is the question owners must continue to ask themselves in the Third
Gate?: Do I keep growing or do I want to sell?
51. What are the benefits of a Triggering Event?: 1) Establishes, based on fact
(not feeling), your present value
2) Predicts the probability of succeeding with growth and transition strategies
