Maxwell G. Mitchell

Executive summary

Max is a Managing Director in our Transaction Advisory practice. Max leads Grant Thornton’s Purchase Agreement Advisory (PAA) practice, having established the service offering for Grant Thornton in February 2019. Max previously performed the same work for Grant Thornton UK. Max has fourteen years of experience providing financial and accounting services to clients.

Max advises buyers and sellers on the accounting and financial aspects of purchase agreements. He gives guidance on the purchase price mechanisms (closing balance sheet, or ‘locked box’), price adjustments and the key value drivers (working capital, cash, indebtedness) that determine the final price paid and received on deals, as well as the accounting representations and warranties, earn-outs, escrows, dispute resolution clauses, and the financial definitions underpinning agreements.

His team is an integrated, specialist purchase agreement advisory group, with a focus on mid-market transactions. He brings insights and experience from over a thousand transactions, ranging from under $10m to over $2bn in enterprise value, to help navigate the accounting complexities and potential pitfalls within the purchase agreement, providing advice that protects dollar value, while mitigating the risk of disputes. Max has been qualified as an expert on working capital.

Prior to joining Grant Thornton, Max was a Manager within the Forensic Investigations and Disputes Practice at Ernst & Young LLP. Previously, he was an Audit Manager in the Consumer & Life Sciences practice within Ernst & Young serving public and private companies.

Presentations and publications

• Controlling purchase agreement risks in a COVID-19 environment, AICPA.org, Co-Author, March 2021
• M&A Dispute Survey: How to Guard Against Rising M&A Disputes, GT.com, Co-Author, October 2020
• Sale and Purchase Agreement Research Report 2021 (China), GrantThornton.cn, Co-Author, June 2021
• Sale and Purchase Agreement Research Report 2019 (China), GrantThornton.cn, Co-Author, May 2020
• Earn-outs: How to avoid pitfalls and protect value, GrantThornton.co.uk, Co-Author, January 2019
• A smarter way to get deals done: identifying international market practice for equity value adjustments and Sale and Purchase Agreements GrantThornton.co.uk, Co-Author, November 2017
• Presenter in US, UK, Continental Europe and China on various accounting topics for attorneys, investors, and Grant Thornton personnel

Education

• Chartered Accountant (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland)
• BSc (Hons), Accounting, Auditing and Finance