// v4/chapter-page.jsx — Chapter III detail (curriculum sample / paid product). function V4Chapter() { const v4 = window.v4; const accent = v4.yellow; const accent2 = v4.red; const lessons = [ { n: '3.01', t: 'What "Quality of Earnings" actually means', d: 'Reported vs sustainable vs transferable earnings — three layers, one number on the page.', mins: 4, free: true }, { n: '3.02', t: 'The five categories of normalisation', d: 'Owner, family, related-party, non-recurring, accounting policy. Why each requires a different lens.', mins: 4, free: true }, { n: '3.03', t: 'Owner remuneration: replacement-cost framing', d: 'The role is rarely one role. How to defend a market-salary substitute the buyer cannot pick apart.', mins: 5 }, { n: '3.04', t: 'Family on payroll', d: 'Spouse, child, parent: defensible, partially defensible, indefensible. A column for each in your file.', mins: 4 }, { n: '3.05', t: 'The car, the trip, the credit card', d: 'The three categories of personal mix that show up on every SME P&L, and how to bound them.', mins: 4 }, { n: '3.06', t: 'Related-party rent and royalties', d: 'Arm\'s-length is a test, not a checkbox. Building a defensible comparable for property leases.', mins: 4 }, { n: '3.07', t: 'Working capital, properly normalised', d: 'Not just average days. The mid-cycle problem, the seasonality problem, the supply-shock problem.', mins: 4 }, { n: '3.08', t: 'Capex: maintenance vs growth', d: 'The split most analysts get wrong, and why it changes both FCF and the multiple you can support.', mins: 4 }, { n: '3.09', t: 'Off-balance-sheet and contingent items', d: 'IP held personally. Personal guarantees. Operating leases pre-IFRS 16. The hidden liabilities.', mins: 4 }, ]; return (
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Keelvalue / Curriculum / § III · Quality of Earnings
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CHAPTER §III The 80% chapter

Quality of
Earnings.

Translucent adjustment blocks extend beyond an opaque core whose shorter shadow represents transferable earnings.

The earnings figure printed on the financial statements is rarely the earnings figure a buyer is willing to capitalise. This chapter is the bridge between them — nine lessons, a 47-item checklist and one worked case.

9
lessons
37m
reading
47
checklist items
3
worked cases
The shock chart

One real business. Four entries. $720,000 of EBITDA — gone.

{/* Mini bar chart */}
{[ { label: 'Reported EBITDA', val: 1200, color: v4.bg, pct: 100 }, { label: 'After owner adjustment', val: 1020, color: '#dcdcdc', pct: 85 }, { label: 'After family payroll', val: 800, color: '#bcbcbc', pct: 67 }, { label: 'After personal mix', val: 705, color: '#9a9a9a', pct: 59 }, { label: 'After related-party rent', val: 480, color: accent, pct: 40 }, ].map(r => (
{r.label} ${r.val}K
))}
The Lesson
At 4.5× the broker priced $5.4M. At 2.1× the buyer paid $1.0M. Same numbers, different EBITDA.
{/* LESSONS TABLE */}

The nine lessons.

Start anywhere
{/* table head */}
№LessonBriefLengthAccess
{lessons.map((l, i) => ( {l.n} {l.t} {l.d} {l.mins} min {l.free ? 'Read free ▸' : 'Paid'} ))}
{/* WHAT THE PAID TIERS CONTAIN */} {/* INSTRUCTOR / METHOD STRIP */}
§ Method note

How this chapter is built.

The 47-item checklist is organised around the five normalisation categories, and every item is there for one reason: it is the kind of line that moves a price between reported and transferable earnings. Nothing is included for completeness alone.

It treats owner-occupier leases in the light of IFRS 16, which changed how operating leases sit on SME books, and gives family payroll a lesson of its own (3.04).

{/* CTA / paywall */}
↘ Access

Two free lessons.
Seven in the paid tiers.

You can read 3.01 and 3.02 right now — no card, no email. The other seven unlock with the Deal Pack or Complete, along with the Quality of Earnings workbook.

▸ Read lesson 3.01 — free See pricing · from NZD 249 →
Deal Pack NZD 249 · Complete NZD 490
); } window.V4Chapter = V4Chapter;