#25 Year-End PE/VC CFO/Finance Checklist

Apply the checklist + software principles to position your fund for growth in 2023

December 02, 2022

Gm crew! Remember, you can’t spell “fund finance” without “FUN.” 🚀

Welcome to the new members of @TheFundCFO crew! Every [week] or so (#goals), we’ll bring you actionable tools, real-world experiences, and insider insights for #VC CFOs and fund managers, #LP investors, and general industry enthusiasts/people who want to learn :).

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Today’s Top 3:

  • The Year-End CFO/Finance Checklist - you need one (see below)! Apply the checklist + software principles to position your fund for growth in 2023.

  • Run Your VC Fund Like any Business, with Software Principles. Document your key processes and automate, automate, automate!

  • Differentiate CFO from Financial Controller, Other Finance Roles. Divide & conquer w/ the resources you have while also planning for the future. Key questions for financial controllers are highlighted below for reference!

The Year-End CFO/Finance Checklist

We’ve seen a lot of different frameworks over the years to keep track of all the requirements for funds at year-end. One of our favorites is breaking things down into four buckets: portfolio companies, investor reporting, compliance/legal, and operations/HR. Here’s some of the top items in each bucket for year-end:

Portfolio Companies

  1. Deal Documents: confirm closing package for new deals are documented, saved, and organized (executed legal documents, funding confirmations, etc.)

  2. Company Updates: confirm you have received and saved a Q4 update

  3. Track Record: begin updating your track record w/ Q4 valuation estimates

Investor Reporting

  1. Capital Call: review Q4 expenses, update your forecast, and issue Q4 capital call

  2. Valuations: reference the company updates & financial information to start the Q4 valuations process

  3. Financial Statements: work w/ accounting, audit teams to begin preparation of year-end financials

  4. Audit: email your audit firm and confirm they have what they need

  5. Tax: email your tax firm and confirm they have what they need

Compliance & Legal

  1. Bank: confirm quarterly/annual compliance is in order and renew lines of credit (if applicable)

  2. Entity Filings & Registrations: coordinate w/ accounting, legal, tax to ensure annual filings and registrations are filed

  3. Form ADV: coordinate w/ compliance, accounting, legal on Form ADV

  4. Insurance: review insurance policies, including general business, D&O

Operations & HR

  1. Bills & Expenses: review bills and expenses to date; ensure proper classification

  2. Vendor Renewal: review key vendors, expenses, timing for upcoming year

  3. Budget: complete budget vs. actual for current year; confirm/update forecasts for upcoming year

  4. HR: confirm w/ your HR provider that you’ve met filing requirements for year-end

Further Reading

That’s all for today folks! Thanks for your support and spreading the word! Share this on Twitter or LinkedIn to help grow “the crew!”