CPA-Led Exit Planning for Business Owners Who Want Options
Who We Are and How We Work
Business Transition Specialists is a CPA-led exit planning and business transition advisory firm working exclusively with privately-held business owners.
We help owners build businesses that generate predictable profits, operate with less dependence on the owner, and create transferable value that withstands the scrutiny of real buyers, investors, and lenders. Our work focuses on exit planning early enough to preserve leverage, expand options, and create value before timing or circumstances begin to limit decisions.
Exit planning is not about deciding to sell. It is about being prepared long before circumstances force a decision.
Most business owners only get one opportunity to exit well. BTS exists to make sure that opportunity is not left to chance.
Exit Planning Starts Earlier Than Most Owners Expect
Value is not created at the moment of exit. It is shaped by how a business is structured, led, and operated long before a transaction occurs.
Most advisory firms enter the picture when a sale is imminent, pressure is high, and options are already narrowing. At that point, outcomes are largely shaped by past decisions, not future planning.
Exit planning is not a transaction event. It is a disciplined process of building enterprise value, reducing risk, and aligning the business with the owner’s personal and financial goals before urgency dictates the outcome.
BTS works earlier and differently because preparation creates leverage. Waiting transfers control to timing and circumstance.
The Problem BTS Exists to Solve
Most business owners do not lack ambition or effort. They are trying to balance competing priorities inside a business that was never intentionally designed to support all of them at once.
In practice, owners are usually trying to accomplish three things at the same time:
Grow the business profitably, with durable cash flow that does not depend on constant owner involvement.
Make the business easier to run with clear accountability, effective systems, and fewer daily decisions.
Be prepared for an eventual business transition, whether that involves a third-party sale, internal transition, or partial exit, with value that holds under outside scrutiny.
Very few businesses are intentionally designed to achieve all three at once. Revenue growth alone does not resolve this tension. Growth, operational ease, and exit readiness often compete unless the business is designed with transferability in mind.
That gap is the problem BTS exists to solve.
How We See Businesses
We view every business as an engine designed to convert effort into results.
When that engine lacks structure, clarity, or balance, owners work harder without gaining control, flexibility, or real exit options. When it is intentionally designed, the business becomes easier to run, easier to grow, and easier to transfer.
Exit readiness is not a separate goal.
Strategic Capacity and Exit Readiness
Strategic Capacity is a company’s ability to grow profits, scale sustainably, and transfer value with confidence. It reflects how well the business can perform without constant owner intervention and how prepared it is to withstand buyer, investor, or lender scrutiny.
At BTS, we view Strategic Capacity as the foundation of exit readiness. It is built across three interconnected dimensions that directly influence business value and optionality.
Operational Strength
Leadership depth, people and systems, margins, recurring revenue, customer concentration, and disciplined execution.
Strategic Clarity
Clear direction supported by planning, culture, market positioning, scalable sales and marketing, and innovation.
Value Readiness
Credible financials, risk mitigation, governance, defensible positioning, and a business story that withstands external review.
When these elements are aligned, the business becomes more resilient and less dependent on the owner. Strategic Capacity allows owners to plan proactively rather than react under pressure.
This approach is informed by established value acceleration principles, including the EPI framework, and applied through BTS’s disciplined, advisor-led process.
Clarity™ Exit Planning and Business Value Assessment
Clarity™ is the foundation of BTS’ exit planning work and the starting point for most client engagements.
It provides business owners with an objective view of how their company would be evaluated by an independent buyer or investor today, and what would need to change to improve confidence, value, and exit options over time.
Clarity™ answers one critical question:
How much confidence would an outside party have in this business’s ability to generate predictable free cash flow without the owner at the center?
Business value is defined by external confidence, not internal expectation. Clarity™ replaces assumptions with facts and transforms exit planning from guesswork into informed decision-making.
For owners who want to understand their current position before committing to a broader engagement, Clarity™ creates a disciplined foundation for meaningful action.
How Engagements Begin
Exit planning is most effective when expectations are clear from the start.
That early clarity matters because value erosion unfolds over time, often before an owner recognizes it is happening and understands the impact.
Every engagement begins with a brief introductory conversation to determine fit, priorities, and timing. From there, owners move through a structured assessment and collaborative review process designed to turn insight into disciplined action.
Common risks include overreliance on key relationships, founder-dependent operations, inconsistent cash flow, unclear leadership continuity, and unaddressed execution risk.
Effective exit planning addresses these issues before urgency limits available options.
How We Approach Exit Planning
A disciplined, owner-first advisory focused on building value, reducing risk, and preparing businesses for a transition that holds up under scrutiny.
We intentionally focus on helping owners build value, reduce risk, and prepare for a successful business transition on their terms.
At BTS, conversations are handled personally, not routed through automated systems or generic workflows.
We are not trying to sell your business.
We are not managing investments.
We are not selling financial products.
Exit planning is not solely a technical exercise. Tax, legal, and financial decisions matter, but they are only effective when the business itself is operationally strong, scalable, and transferable.
Our role is practical and disciplined. We help owners turn insight into execution.
A Proven Exit Planning Methodology
BTS follows the Value Acceleration Methodology developed by the Exit Planning Institute (Link this to the infographic - create landing page), the leading authority in exit planning.
This methodology provides a structured, repeatable approach to growing enterprise value and reducing risk before a transaction is forced by timing or circumstance. It aligns strategy, operations, and value creation into a disciplined planning process.
A Collaborative, Team-Based Approach
BTS does not replace your existing advisors. We align them.
Exit planning requires coordination across accounting, legal, financial, and operational disciplines. Most owners already have trusted relationships in place. The challenge is not access. It is alignment.
In our collaborative advisory model, the owner remains at the center, supported by their CPA, attorney, wealth advisor, bank, and other trusted partners. BTS serves as the coordinating force, providing structure, clarity, and accountability so progress does not stall.
The strongest exit outcomes come from alignment, not silos.
Our Mission and Philosophy
In decades of advising business owners, our experience shows that what owners say they want and what actually drives their decisions are often different. Our work addresses both.
Our mission is to help mid-sized business owners navigate one of the most significant financial events of their lives: the successful exit of their business, with clarity and confidence about what comes next. Most business owners get one real opportunity to exit well. There are no do-overs. The decisions made well before a transition often play the greatest role in shaping the outcome.
Our philosophy is simple:
Predictable profits fuel growth.
Predictable growth creates value.
Predictable, transferable value defines a successful exit.
BTS works with owners who want more than a transaction. We work with those who want control, optionality, and a business that rewards the effort they have invested over a lifetime.
Leadership Built for Your Exit
Michael DeSiato, CPA, CExP, CEPA, CVGA
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
As a CPA with advanced exit planning credentials, including the CExP, CEPA, and CVGA designations, Mike combines tax expertise, financial planning depth, and exit-specific training to guide owners through the complex intersection of business value, tax exposure, and personal financial security.
Exit outcomes are not driven by valuation alone. They are shaped by tax structure, cash flow durability, risk mitigation, and how well a business transition aligns with an owner’s long-term financial goals.
Mike has advised business owners for decades and has personally exited his own accounting practice. That firsthand experience informs how BTS anticipates both the financial and personal realities of exiting a business.
At the core of his work are five critical exit planning questions every owner must answer:
How much money is required to fully fund life after the business?
How much of that must come from the business itself?
What proven exit planning process will close the gap?
Who is qualified to lead that process?
And whether that advisor is truly focused on exit planning rather than selling unrelated products or services
BTS is built around disciplined exit planning, value growth, and long-term readiness. The objective is not just a transaction, but a stronger, more transferable business and a financially secure life beyond ownership.
Career Highlights & Milestones
Mike’s approach to exit planning is shaped by decades of firsthand experience advising business owners through growth, transition, and exit.
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Obtained his CPA credential and began his career in public accounting, gaining early exposure to business ownership and entrepreneurship.
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Returned to FIU to complete a Master’s degree in Taxation, establishing a strong technical foundation in complex tax planning and advisory work.
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Elected Managing Partner of his accounting firm, leading firm strategy, client advisory services, and operational growth.
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Led the sale of his accounting practice to a national firm, gaining firsthand experience navigating valuation, deal structure, negotiations, and transition planning as a business owner.
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Served as a trusted advisor to mid-sized business owners across industries, with a focus on tax strategy, financial planning, and long-term value creation.
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Recognized a growing need among clients for structured exit planning and intentionally specialized in this discipline.
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Completed rigorous training and earned the following designations:
Certified Exit Planner (CExP)
Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA)
Certified Value Growth Advisor (CVGA)
What These Designations Mean and Why They Matter
Certified Exit Planner (CExP)
The Certified Exit Planner (CExP) designation reflects formal training in the end-to-end process of exiting a business. It focuses on helping owners prepare years in advance so an exit is intentional, well-timed, and financially sound.
Why it matters:
Most business owners wait too long to think about an exit. A CExP helps identify risks early, align personal and financial goals, and avoid value-destroying decisions before a transaction is ever on the table.In short, this credential signals disciplined exit planning, not last-minute deal scrambling.
Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA)
The Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) designation, issued by the Exit Planning Institute, is widely regarded as the gold standard in exit planning education.
It emphasizes a holistic approach that integrates:
• Business value
• Financial readiness
• Personal readiness
• Continuity and succession planningWhy it matters:
Exiting a business is not just a financial transaction. It affects income, identity, family, employees, and legacy. CEPA training ensures those elements are addressed together, not in isolation.This designation demonstrates the ability to coordinate strategy across legal, tax, financial, and personal dimensions, something most advisors are not trained to do.
Certified Value Growth Advisor (CVGA)
The Certified Value Growth Advisor (CVGA) designation focuses on increasing the value of a business before exit. It centers on identifying and improving the specific drivers buyers care about most.
These include:
• Sustainable cash flow
• Profitability
• Operational efficiency
• Customer and revenue diversification
• Risk reductionWhy it matters:
Owners do not get paid for effort. They get paid for value.A CVGA understands how buyers and investors evaluate businesses and helps owners close the gap between current performance and market-ready value. This often results in stronger offers, better deal terms, and more optionality at exit.
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Shifted focus to working exclusively with business owners preparing for liquidity events, ownership transitions, and exits.
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Helps owners increase enterprise value, reduce risk, improve cash flow, and exit their businesses on terms aligned with both financial objectives and personal goals.
Why Choose Us
Business owners choose BTS for one reason: clarity when it matters most.
Exit planning is not general business advice. It is a specialized discipline that requires credentials, training, and a structured approach. At BTS, exit planning is the only work we do. That exclusive focus enables a level of rigor, consistency, and professional judgment that firms with broader practices cannot match.
Business value is defined by external confidence, not internal expectation.
Every BTS engagement is built on:
Advanced credentials and specialized exit planning training
A disciplined, repeatable methodology
Real-world experience navigating business transitions
Clear outcomes, including higher value, lower risk, and real exit options
BTS operates solely in the best interest of the business owner. Exit planning is never used as a gateway to sell unrelated products or services. The objective is not a transaction, but a stronger, more transferable business and a financially secure life beyond ownership.
