Aside from the usual corporate finance uses, business valuation can also be used by the business owners themselves to measure risks or compare themselves to competitors. Understanding the value of your own business can help with a lot of individual situations, especially ones where your business is directly competing with others. It can also double as a planning tool for getting an instant overview of your business' worth, and can be necessary for many tax situations. For example, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires accurate tax information, which will be required for a business operating at least partially in the US.