The slide deck, the workbook, how an engagement runs, and the documents we ask the company for.
Updated October 6, 2026
A Quality of Earnings report from Tonnesen Accounting Services is a full report in a slide deck, about 40 slides in eight sections, plus the Excel workbook that holds the support behind the figures in the deck. We walk the client through both on a call. This page lays out what is in each part, how an engagement runs, and the documents we ask the company for, with a sample deck and workbook you can download.
Free downloads. The sample deck and workbook are a full example engagement, with names removed and company details changed. The one-page overview, the engagement process and the document request list are the same documents we send prospective clients.
| Section | What it covers |
|---|---|
| 1. About the firm | Who prepared the report and how the work was reviewed. |
| 2. Scope of engagement | The documents received, the procedures performed and the periods covered, usually the last three fiscal years plus the trailing twelve months. |
| 3. Executive summary | Company overview, recalculated SDE and adjusted EBITDA, customer analysis, revenue recognition, the CIM comparison, the bank review and tax reconciliation summaries, and working capital. |
| 4. Financial statement walkthrough | Sales, gross margin, SG&A, other income and expense, both sides of the balance sheet, and customer concentration by period. |
| 5. Reviews and reconciliations | Bank statement review for each period tested, and the tax return reconciliation year by year, including M-1 adjustments and the comparison to IRS transcript data. |
| 6. SDE and adjusted EBITDA recalculation | The add-backs with their support and the questions they came from, the CIM reconciliation by year, and a debt service coverage illustration using the client's proposed financing. |
| 7. Opportunities and risks | The items that affect how durable the earnings are after closing. |
| 8. Disclosures | The terms the report was prepared under. |
The figures in the deck carry question references back to the management Q&A, so a reader can see what the company said about each adjustment.
The workbook is where the work lives. Its tabs follow the report:
Most engagements finish in two to four weeks from the day we have the documents. The company's response time sets most of the pace. Multiple entities can add time, and rebuilding the books from scratch typically adds about a week.
Priority 1 items let us make real progress and usually take the company less than an hour to pull:
Priority 2 items include bank reconciliations, a description of the owner's role and hours, W-2s for officers, accounts receivable aging and lease agreements. The full list, with example P&L and balance sheet layouts, is in the download above.
Yes. The sample deck and workbook above are a full example engagement with names removed and company details changed. Download them, and we can walk you through them section by section on a call.
Yes. The scope and the deliverable are the same whether a buyer, a lender, a business owner or a broker engages us. See Quality of Earnings for SBA lenders.
$7,500 flat for SBA-financed and lower middle market deals under $50 million. See pricing for what is included and the two situations that carry an added fee.