Most CFOs spend more time surviving month-end close than driving the business. In this webinar, Ashley Honeyman, Consero Global’s chief financial and operating officer, and David Ancona-Cole, director of finance and operations on LLR Partners‘ Value Creation team, break down what separates a reactive finance function from a strategic one, starting with the first 90 days after a platform investment.
Watch the full conversation below.
Where a CFO’s Time Goes
57% of investor-backed CFOs spend more time on operational work than strategic work. Payroll, vendor payments, and the monthly close are non-negotiable deadlines that consume a CFO’s calendar long before any strategic work gets a turn.
“Your KPI package can slip a day or two. Your payroll can’t. You can’t pay vendors late. You have to get your bills out on time.”
Ashley Honeyman, Chief Financial and Operating Officer, Consero Global
Every CFO on a portfolio company’s exec team wants to spend that time analyzing metrics and working with the business on strategy instead. Getting there means handing the non-negotiables to a strong internal team or a provider built to run them.
The First 90 Days: Education Before Everything Else
The first 90 days post-close follow a set sequence: a diligence bringdown session with management, a reporting package by day 30, and a workshop to map the finance function’s current state against where it needs to be by month 12. Before any of that, a new CFO needs to know the people.
“The first 30 days is really education. Know your lenders. You should meet with your lenders in the first 30 days. And know what your PE firm looks at.”
Ashley Honeyman, Chief Financial and Operating Officer, Consero Global
A CFO who walks into the first board meeting without knowing which metrics the sponsor cares about has already fallen behind. The assessment that follows, of systems, team, and process, looks different for every company, especially one going through its first private equity sponsorship, where the finance function is often little more than a checkbook.
Where AI Helps a Finance Function, and Where It Still Can’t Be Trusted
AI readiness is a data problem first. A finance team needs clean, foundational data before any AI layer on top of it is worth trusting. Past that baseline, the output has to be right every time.
“When you’re doing FP&A and analysis, I think it’s a great place for AI. I think where you don’t want AI right now running is in your close, and in places where it can’t be wrong.”
Ashley Honeyman, Chief Financial and Operating Officer, Consero Global
FP&A tolerates an AI agent getting a comparison wrong and getting corrected. Accruals, prepaids, and fixed assets don’t get that tolerance. That’s why Consero builds its own AI agents to run those functions on code.
What Belongs in a Board Package
Boards push hardest on four priorities: revenue growth, EBITDA margin expansion, cash flow optimization, and digital transformation. Getting digital transformation right in year one is what frees up time for the other three. Underneath all four sits Consero’s PE Reporting Standard for what a board needs to see.
“Performance versus plan, KPIs, those are standard. The most important thing for the CFO to bring is really the explanation and the action.”
Ashley Honeyman, Chief Financial and Operating Officer, Consero Global
When a company is hitting its metrics, the financial section of a board meeting can shrink to a pre-read, leaving the room for the strategic conversation the board wants to have.
Faster Closes Start With a Foundation
The close cycle is compressing fast: 62% of finance teams now close their books within nine days, up from just 8% a year earlier. Any company can close that fast once it gets comfortable with accruals, but speed without a foundation underneath it is a trap.
“Foundation first. You have to build a foundation before you can build a house.”
Ashley Honeyman, Chief Financial and Operating Officer, Consero Global
Clean procedures, a documented close calendar, and systems the finance team trusts come before any push to shave days off the calendar. Automation on top of a weak foundation just moves bad data faster.
The Million-Dollar Gap Diligence Finds
A Consero practice director sat on the buy side of a deal where a deferred revenue gap, missed because the seller’s financials weren’t tied back to source contracts, came straight off the purchase price. The companies that avoid that outcome treat audit and diligence readiness as a process that runs continuously through the hold.
“If you have your viewpoint and your process well in advance, you don’t have to just go with the buyer’s definition.”
David Ancona-Cole, Director of Finance and Operations, Value Creation, LLR Partners
Deferred revenue is the example that keeps surfacing in diligence because it’s the easiest line item to treat as an afterthought until a buyer’s quality-of-earnings team finds it first.
Exit Readiness Starts on Day One
Ninety-nine percent of the CFOs Consero surveyed expect a material transaction in the next 12 months, and 48% expect an exit specifically. Despite that, exit readiness ranked last among finance priorities in the same survey, a good sign: a CFO who has been running clean, audit-ready financials all along shouldn’t need a scramble when a deal shows up.
“You’re always preparing for an exit at any time. It just has to be part of your day-to-day. It starts on day one.”
David Ancona-Cole, Director of Finance and Operations, Value Creation, LLR Partners
Monthly and quarterly syncs with a PE sponsor force that discipline whether a CFO wants it or not. Reviewing performance every month, explaining what moved and why, is the same muscle a CFO needs when a buyer starts asking the same questions during diligence.
AI Strategy: Offense vs. Defense
“What are we doing with AI?” is the wrong first question. A company’s AI plan should follow from its competitive position. Pressure to have an answer ready for the next board meeting is a weak substitute.
“Every company needs to step back and really be critical of your business. Where is this going to hurt us? Step back, look at it, ensure your plan is there, and tackle the biggest priorities first.”
Ashley Honeyman, Chief Financial and Operating Officer, Consero Global
The finance transformation that happens in the first 90 to 100 days is what gives a CFO room to focus on strategy and value creation for the rest of the hold. The board package, the faster close, and exit readiness all build on that early foundation.
For the full playbook, see Consero’s Help Your CFO guide to the hold period, from close to exit.
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