A multiple is not a valuation. It is a shortcut.
When a valuation has to stand up in court, in a divorce, or under IRS scrutiny, the shortcut methods start to wobble. A disciplined CFO looks at return on investment, return of capital, normalized earnings, officer compensation, and the true durability of the business.
A fast number may feel comforting, but comfort is cheap. The real work is proving whether the business can actually support that number when buyers, lenders, attorneys, or the IRS begin kicking the tires.
In business valuation, the most dangerous number in the room is often the one delivered with the most confidence. A seller has a number. A buyer has a number. A broker has a number. An expert witness has a number. And somehow they all say it as if the answer were obvious, even when the gap between those numbers is large enough to ruin a deal, fuel a lawsuit, or turn a divorce into a demolition derby.