In the context of business valuation, the term "securities" refers to the financial instruments that represent claims on a company's assets and future earnings. This definition is comprehensive, including not only equity instruments which signify ownership (such as common/preferred stock and partnership interests) but also debt instruments. Valuing a business interest often means valuing the specific securities that constitute its capital structure, whether it's the equity alone or the total invested capital (which includes both interest-bearing debt and equity). Therefore, "stock, debt and partnership interests" accurately represents the scope of securities subject to valuation.

A. This is incorrect because commercial paper is a form of debt, not an "ownership interest," making the description internally inconsistent.

C. This is too narrow. While partnership interests are a type of security, the term also encompasses stock and various forms of debt.

D. This describes the level or concept of value (i.e., what part of the capital structure is being measured), not the specific financial instruments (securities) themselves.

1. Pratt, S. P., Reilly, R. F., & Schweihs, R. P. (2000). Valuing a Business: The Analysis and Appraisal of Closely Held Companies (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill.

Page 29, Chapter 2, "Defining the Valuation Assignment": The text states, "The subject of the appraisal could be common stock, preferred stock, a partnership interest, a proprietorship, or total capital, among other possibilities." This supports that securities encompass stock, partnership interests, and the components of total capital (debt and equity).

2. Hitchner, J. R. (Ed.). (2017). Financial Valuation: Applications and Models (4th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.

Page 10, Chapter 1, "Introduction to Financial Valuation": The text clarifies the subject of a valuation, explaining that an analyst can value "a company's equity" or "a company's total invested capital (interest-bearing debt plus equity)." The instruments representing these claims are the securities, which include stock (for equity) and notes/bonds (for debt).

3. NACVA. (2023). Business Valuations: Fundamentals, Techniques & Theory (FT&T). National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts.

Module 1, Section "Defining the Valuation Engagement": The course material emphasizes that a critical first step is to define exactly what is being valued. This is specified as the "interest," which can be a 100% ownership interest in the equity, a fractional interest in the equity (e.g., a block of stock), or the total invested capital. This directly links the concept of a business interest to the securities representing it, namely equity (stock, partnership interests) and debt.