Quality of Earnings: The Number That Determines Your Sale Price | Michael Iannuzzi | The Owner Seat
The Owner Seat · Albert Ramos
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Show Notes
In this episode of The Owner Seat, Albert Ramos sits down with Michael Iannuzzi — Partner and Franchise Practice Leader at Citrin Cooperman, CPA, and Certified Franchise Executive
Michael works at the intersection of private equity, franchising, and financial diligence, advising franchisors and multi-unit franchisees across fitness, wellness, QSR, and multi-location consumer brands.
If you’re a fitness or wellness business owner, franchisor founder, franchisee investor, or multi-studio operator thinking about a sale — or simply wanting a business that is sellable on command — this episode is essential listening.
Because when private equity shows up, the conversation shifts fast:
from vision and growth stories
to proof, financial evidence, and Quality of Earnings (QoE).
This episode breaks down what buyers actually look for, why deals get retraded late in the process, and how owners unknowingly give up millions through preventable diligence mistakes.
This is not banker theory.
This is how deals really get done.
🔍 In this episode, we cover:
- What Quality of Earnings (QoE) really is — and why it determines valuation more than revenue growth
- How private equity diligence teams evaluate fitness franchises and multi-unit studio portfolios
- Why most add-backs fail and what makes an add-back defensible vs. wishful
- The financial cleanup owners delay — and how it destroys leverage during negotiations
- What a deal-ready financial data room actually needs to include
- How working capital pegs quietly transfer risk from buyer to seller
- Franchise-specific landmines that stall or kill deals (royalties, ad funds, FDD inconsistencies)
- Why clean monthly closes and unit-level reporting instantly change buyer confidence
- How fitness and wellness operators can prepare 12–24 months ahead without slowing growth
- What “sellable on command” really looks like for franchisors and franchisees
Work with Albert — Fractional CFO for Fitness, Wellness & Franchise Brands
I’m Albert Ramos, Fractional CFO and Founder of Stratego Intel Consulting.
I help fitness, wellness, and franchise brands ($1M–$30M+):
- clean up multi-location financials
- build 13-week cash visibility
- standardize unit-level economics
- prepare for private equity, debt, or strategic exits
If you want CFO-level clarity before diligence begins:
👉 Book a CFO Strategy Call
https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcast
📘 Free Resource — Stratego CFO Playbook (Fitness & Wellness)
Get the exact framework I use with franchisors, franchisees, and multi-unit operators:
- 13-week cash flow structure
- Location-level unit economics template
- Core KPI dashboard for studio & franchise systems
- “Owner Seat” finance rhythm you can actually run weekly
🔗 Download the free Stratego CFO Playbook:
https://forms.gle/M9QSgEz9VqiqkHVv6
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