The Gateway Engagement
You can't transform what you haven't assessed. The Finance Diagnostic is a structured 2-3 week deep dive into your finance function across six critical dimensions. It gives you a clear, unvarnished picture of what's working, what isn't, and what to tackle first.
This is where every engagement starts. I don't do assumptions and I don't do generic playbooks. I look at your specific situation, gather the evidence, and tell you what I actually find.
The 6-Dimension Assessment
1. Process Maturity
How mature are your core finance processes really? From month-end close to accounts payable, I map every workflow against best practice for PE & VC-backed companies at your stage. Where are the bottlenecks? Where are the manual workarounds that nobody talks about but everyone knows exist?
2. Data Quality
Your data is either an asset or a liability. I've lost count of the times I've seen companies discover which one only when they're already in due diligence. I assess completeness, accuracy, timeliness, and consistency across your financial data. This dimension alone has saved clients from some very nasty surprises at exit.
3. Systems Landscape
What technology are you actually running, and is it fit for purpose? I evaluate your ERP, reporting tools, consolidation software, and the inevitable spreadsheet layer that sits on top of everything. (There's always a spreadsheet layer.) No vendor bias, just a clear view of whether your systems are helping or getting in the way.
4. Controls & Compliance
Are your controls robust enough to survive investor scrutiny? I assess segregation of duties, approval workflows, reconciliation processes, and audit readiness. For PE & VC-backed companies, this dimension matters more than any other. Small gaps here cause outsized problems.
5. People & Capability
Do you have the right team, in the right structure, with the right skills? I look at team composition, capability gaps, succession risk, and how effectively the operating model is actually working day-to-day. Sometimes the biggest transformation lever is organisational, not procedural. Better to find that out in a diagnostic than halfway through an exit.
6. Strategic Alignment
Is your finance function delivering what the business and your PE sponsors actually need? I assess reporting relevance, KPI frameworks, business partnering capability, and strategic decision support. A finance function that processes transactions but doesn't inform strategy is only doing half the job. And in a PE context, half the job doesn't get you to exit.
Optional: AI Readiness Add-On
For companies thinking about AI in finance, I extend the diagnostic with a focused AI readiness assessment:
- Data Readiness — Is your data structured, clean, and accessible enough to feed AI tools? (The answer is usually "not yet," and knowing that before you write a cheque is worth the exercise alone.)
- Process Automation Potential — Which processes are actually suitable for AI-driven automation, and which are better served by simpler solutions?
- Use Case Viability — Realistic assessment of AI use cases for your specific finance function, ranked by feasibility and impact.
- Governance Readiness — Are you prepared for the EU AI Act and emerging regulatory requirements around AI in financial processes?
What You Get
Every diagnostic produces four concrete deliverables:
Finance Function Scorecard — Visual assessment across all six dimensions, benchmarked against PE-portfolio best practice. One page that tells you exactly where you stand.
Gap Analysis — Detailed findings for each dimension, with specific gaps identified and their impact on business performance, exit readiness, and investor confidence.
Prioritised Roadmap — A sequenced transformation plan with quick wins, medium-term initiatives, and strategic investments. Every recommendation includes effort, impact, and dependencies.
Executive Readout — A board-ready presentation that communicates findings and recommendations in the language your PE sponsors expect. No jargon. No hedging. Just clear, actionable intelligence.
Who It's For
The Finance Diagnostic is right for any PE or VC-backed company that wants clarity on where their finance function actually stands. Typical triggers include:
- A new PE investment and the need for a baseline assessment
- Board-level concern about finance function performance
- Preparation for a future exit (12-24 months out)
- Post-acquisition integration planning
- Considering AI investment and wanting a reality check before committing budget
What Happens Next
70% of diagnostics lead to transformation engagements — because the roadmap makes the case.
The diagnostic is designed to stand alone as a valuable deliverable. But in practice, most clients see the roadmap and want to start executing. I understand why. Once you can see the path clearly, it's hard not to take it. That's when we move into a transformation engagement, with agreed priorities and no wasted time on discovery.
The diagnostic pays for itself by eliminating guesswork and focusing investment where it matters most.
Ready to find out where you stand? Get in touch to discuss whether a Finance Diagnostic is the right starting point for your situation.