Fractional CFO Services for PE Portfolio Companies
We run the operating finance function inside PE portfolio companies. Cash discipline, margin depth, sponsor-ready reporting, ERP integration — executed by CFOs and Controllers who have lived it before.
The Value Doesn't Live in the Investment Committee Memo. It Lives Inside the Portco's Finance Function.
A private equity sponsor's job is to build value inside portfolio companies. The finance function of the portco is where a lot of that value gets built — and where a lot of it gets lost. Sponsors don't need help with capital structure or strategy. They need someone to run the operating finance function of the underlying business at a level the portco itself often can't hire and the sponsor's operating partners can't spend the time on.
Vessel Advisors places fractional CFOs and Controllers directly into PE portfolio companies. We run monthly close on the sponsor's cadence. We produce the board and lender package in the sponsor's format. We find margin in customer, product, and channel data the previous finance team wasn't producing. We select and implement the ERP that turns the operating function from a reporting bottleneck into a decision surface. And we do it with people who have been through it before — not learned it on the sponsor's dime.
Every engagement is calibrated to the portco. A $12 million services roll-up doesn't need the same finance function as a $60 million industrial platform. The sponsor doesn't get a template. The sponsor gets a finance team sized and staffed for what this business actually needs.
Where We Work Inside the Portco
Five Areas Where the Value Actually Compounds.
Every one of these is a cluster page. Each is a real engagement pattern, not a service line brochure.
The First 90 Days Post-Close
Chart of accounts alignment. Monthly close cadence. Sponsor-format reporting stood up. The integration work that determines whether the sponsor has visibility from month one or from month six.
Finding Hidden Margin
Customer, product, and service-line contribution analysis at a level of detail the previous finance team wasn't producing. Usually where the fastest EBITDA growth in the hold period comes from.
Board-Ready Reporting Packages
Monthly MD&A, KPI dashboards, variance analysis, quarterly board deck. Formatted for the sponsor. Delivered on the sponsor's cadence. Reliable enough that the operating partner can trust the numbers before the call starts.
ERP Selection, Migration & Ops-Finance Integration
QuickBooks → NetSuite, Sage Intacct, or Acumatica migrations. Ops software (Salesforce, ServiceTitan, Procore, Fishbowl) wired into the ledger. The systems work that determines whether financial data is actually decision-useful.
Add-On Integration
When the portco starts acquiring, finance integration determines whether the roll-up is a real platform or a collection of businesses that share ownership. CoA alignment, close consolidation, KPI standardization, systems integration.
Exit-Ready Finance Function
Working capital normalization, QoE preparation, buyer-facing reporting, data room infrastructure. The finance work that determines whether the exit multiple actually holds when the buyer's diligence team arrives.
Where PE Portfolios Historically Underinvest.
Operational accounting depth. The portco's controller was hired to close the books. The controller usually doesn't have time or reach to do customer-level margin analysis, product-line contribution work, or SKU-level cost roll-ups. That's where the largest EBITDA gains actually live.
Reporting discipline. Sponsors specify what they want; portcos deliver something adjacent to it. The gap eats sponsor time in every board meeting. A finance function that produces the requested package in the requested format on the requested cadence is worth a multiple in itself.
Systems. The portco is running on the accounting platform the founder picked when the business was smaller. Financial data lives in one system, operations data lives in three others, and the reporting layer is a spreadsheet the controller updates manually. Every hold period includes a systems project. The question is whether it's done well or badly.
Exit preparation. The finance function is optimized for the hold period, not for a buyer's diligence team. Working capital, quality of earnings, and buyer-facing reporting all get rushed in the last quarter and cost the seller value at close.
How We Engage With Sponsors.
Pre-close diligence support. Sponsor asks us to look at a target's finance function before signing. What's real, what's not, what will need to be rebuilt, and what the first hundred days look like.
Post-close deployment. Interim CFO or Controller on day one. Cadence stood up in the first 60 days. Sponsor-format reporting live by month three. Full team sized to the portco.
Ongoing fractional retention. Once the function is stable, the fractional CFO stays as senior judgment layer — monthly close review, board package, quarterly planning, lender relationships — without full-time overhead.
Sponsor-wide platform coverage. Multiple portcos, same sponsor, consistent reporting standards. The sponsor gets predictability across the portfolio; each portco gets the specific finance function it needs.
For Sponsors, Operating Partners, and Portco CEOs
Tell Us About the Portfolio Situation.
Pre-close diligence, post-close integration, mid-hold finance rebuild, or exit prep — we deploy quickly and stay as long as the portco needs the seat filled at that level.
Tell Us the Situation
The Portco, the Sponsor, and the Timing.
Which portfolio company, where it is in the hold period, and what the finance function needs. Same-day response, sponsor-friendly discretion.
Schedule a Discovery Call
We’ll reach out within one business day.