What Is Portfolio Company Reporting?
Standardized financial and operational reporting that PE portfolio companies provide to their investors, typically monthly or quarterly.
Portfolio Company Reporting Explained
Portfolio company reporting is the regular cadence of data and analysis that portfolio companies share with their PE sponsors. It covers financial performance, operational metrics, progress against the value creation plan, and key risks or opportunities.
Standard reporting packages include income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, KPI dashboard, management commentary, and initiative updates. The level of detail increases with each reporting cycle, from weekly flash reports to monthly board packages to quarterly deep dives.
The challenge for most portfolio companies is that they were not built for this level of reporting. Before PE ownership, a $10M business might have a bookkeeper and QuickBooks. After acquisition, they need GAAP-compliant financials, departmental P&Ls, and KPI tracking.
Automated reporting dashboards solve this challenge. Modern tools pull data from CRM, accounting software, and operational systems to generate real-time dashboards. This reduces the manual effort from days to hours and improves data accuracy.
Why Portfolio Company Reporting Matters
PE firms manage dozens of portfolio companies simultaneously. Standardized reporting enables comparison, early warning detection, and informed decision-making. Companies with strong reporting get more support from their PE sponsors because the sponsors can see where help is needed.
Common Mistakes
- 1
Building reports manually in spreadsheets instead of automating data feeds
- 2
Reporting lagging indicators only (what happened) without leading indicators (what will happen)
- 3
Sending raw data without management commentary that explains the story behind the numbers
Related Terms
Private Equity (PE) Portfolio Operations
Strategic and operational support for companies within a PE firm's portfolio, focused on driving growth, improving margins, and preparing for exit.
100-Day Plan
A structured action plan for the first 100 days after a PE acquisition, focused on quick wins, team assessment, and laying groundwork for the value creation plan.
Run-Rate Revenue
Annualized revenue projection based on current performance, used to estimate future revenue by extrapolating a recent period's results.
EBITDA Add-Back
Expenses added back to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization to reflect the true recurring profitability of a business.
How Attainment Helps
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a PE portfolio company report monthly?
Income statement with budget vs. actual, balance sheet, cash flow, revenue by customer/segment, pipeline metrics, KPIs specific to the industry (patient visits, job completions, etc.), value creation initiative updates, and a management narrative explaining variances.
How do you automate portfolio company reporting?
Connect your accounting software (QuickBooks, NetSuite), CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce), and operational tools to a reporting dashboard (Databox, Klipfolio, or custom). Automate data extraction so reports update in real-time rather than requiring manual assembly.
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Book a Discovery Call. We will show you how Attainment can help with portfolio company reporting and more.
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