Comparable operating KPIs
A company-period model with explicit account mapping, reporting currency, calendar, and approved metric definitions. Keep reported and adjusted EBITDA separate.
BI & analytics
Portfolio reporting automation for private equity
Connect portfolio-company data, standardize operating KPIs, and automate recurring management reports with reconciliation, exceptions, and approval built into the workflow.
The problem
A portfolio rollup is only useful when its companies mean the same thing by revenue, margin, working capital, and the reporting period. Rebuilding those definitions in spreadsheets every month leaves little time to investigate performance.
Common signals
When this work becomes useful
- Company CFOs send different spreadsheet packs each month
- Board numbers change between versions without a visible explanation
- Acquisitions add new account codes, currencies, and fiscal calendars
- Reporting arrives too late to follow up on a margin or cash exception
Concrete output
What the engagement can produce
An inspectable management pack
Portfolio totals, company trends, budget variance, working capital, source freshness, and open exceptions. Drill from a measure to its supporting source and review status.
A controlled reporting cycle
Repeatable ingestion, validation, owner review, approved snapshots, and distribution. Failed checks remain visible and prevent unapproved figures entering the published pack.
A maintainable handoff
Source contracts, mapping ownership, scheduled refresh, reconciliation checks, and operating instructions for the finance and data teams.
Scope variants
Shape the engagement around the need
Rescue the current monthly pack
Start with one reporting cycle and its approved comparison period. Preserve useful Excel outputs while repairing the consolidation and validation underneath.
Build a cross-company dashboard
Model the selected portfolio entities in Power BI with a shared KPI dictionary, role-appropriate views, period selection, and company-level exception detail.
Onboard an acquisition
Map the incoming entity, effective dates, chart of accounts, reporting currency, and source ownership. Show acquired contribution separately from comparable growth.
Delivery approach
From current state to clear ownership
Trace one published number
Walk from a board-pack figure to its source files and approvals. Agree the reporting grain, review owners, materiality, and first deliverable.
Define the source-to-KPI contract
Record entity keys, account mappings, signs, units, currency treatment, cutoffs, budget versions, and how adjustments are approved.
Run a parallel reporting cycle
Reconcile source totals and KPI outputs against the existing pack. Explain differences before changing the production workflow.
Release with operating ownership
Test access, failed refreshes, late submissions, corrected data, and version history. Document who signs off and who resolves an exception.
Technical context
Platforms and disciplines
- Power BI
- Microsoft Fabric
- SQL
- Snowflake
- Excel and SharePoint
- ERP and accounting extracts
- CRM and operational systems
What we need to begin
- A non-sensitive sample pack and agreed KPI list
- Named finance owners for participating companies
- Source schemas, reporting dates, budget versions, and access constraints
- A defined pilot reporting cycle and approval owner
Engagement fit
Clear boundaries make better projects.
Often a good fit
- Private equity operating partners
- Portfolio-company CFOs and controllers
- Finance teams consolidating small and mid-market businesses
- Data teams supporting recurring operating and board review
Probably not the right fit
- Personal securities portfolio tracking
- An out-of-the-box fund accounting subscription
- Publishing unreconciled figures without accountable review
Anonymized proof
Existing anonymized finance and portfolio work includes organizing portfolio measures, reporting logic, source context, and recurring review. The public demo illustrates the method with fictional data; it is not a client result.Explore representative work
Questions
What teams often ask first
Can we automate reporting across different accounting systems?
Yes, where approved extracts or interfaces are available. Begin with explicit company and account mappings, reporting periods, sign conventions, and reconciliations. A shared dashboard does not require every company to migrate its ERP first.
Is this suitable for smaller portfolio companies using Excel?
Yes. For SMB and mid-market analytics, a controlled file submission can be a sensible first source. Define the template, period, units, owner, validation checks, and replacement policy before adding integrations.
Will automation remove finance review?
No. Automate collection, calculation, and preparation while keeping reconciliation, adjustments, commentary, and approval with named owners.
Can we see an example before discussing a project?
The ungated portfolio operations demo contains six fictional companies and eight quarters. It exposes weighted margins, budget variance, snapshot working capital, freshness, and reconciliation exceptions with downloadable inputs.
Discuss your portfolio reporting cycle
Start with the current pack, its source systems, and the point where preparation or reconciliation breaks down. Use the existing Reporting and BI Rescue engagement to define the first repair.
Discuss your portfolio reporting cycleThe packaged engagements and delivery models make the commercial boundary visible without forcing every project into the same shape.