Every CFO has many and varied responsibilities. But running the finances of a private equity portfolio often involves an even broader range of disciplines, challenges and relationships. So what separates private equity CFOs from the rest?
Every CFO has many and varied responsibilities. But running the finances of a private equity portfolio often involves an even broader range of disciplines, challenges and relationships. So what separates private equity CFOs from the rest?
Every CFO carries a broad set of responsibilities. But running the finances of a private equity portfolio often adds another layer of complexity—spanning detailed reporting requirements, system efficiencies, and the need to support rapid change.
So, what sets private equity CFOs apart?
Here are three priorities that define highly effective PE finance leaders—and how AccountsIQ helps deliver on them.
All CFOs are responsible for reporting, but in private equity the depth and speed required can be a shock. A five-days-or-less monthly close is often the expectation. Many PE funds also demand daily or weekly dashboards showing performance against multiple financial and operational KPIs.
Stakeholders want visibility, consistency, and confidence that decisions are based on one version of the truth across a complex portfolio of SPVs. This typically includes:
With AccountsIQ, consolidations can be performed in a single click, eliminating the need for endless spreadsheet workarounds. Inter-company transactions, minority interests, and FX revaluations are handled automatically.
“I don’t know of any other system that can do consolidation the way AccountsIQ can. It takes the complexity out of everything and saves us a lot of time. It used to take two weeks to do our accounts; now with AccountsIQ, and other improvements, we get our accounts out in five working days.”
Wayne Copeland, Head of Finance, AES International
“Before AccountsIQ, our group consolidation was entirely spreadsheet-based, with multiple currencies and entities. It wasn’t sustainable. Now, we can trust the accuracy of our data and focus on insight, not firefighting.”
Rob Shaw, CFO, Apera Asset Management
Private equity finance leaders face intense demands for FP&A and due diligence. That means detailed cash flow projections, industry benchmarking, and scenario planning across multiple growth opportunities.
With AccountsIQ’s open API and integrations (including ProForecast), CFOs can connect financial data directly into forecasting tools and run complex “what if” models to support investment decisions.
Manual processes are still a major challenge for many PE finance teams. From annual fund revaluations to inter-company reconciliations, FX adjustments, third-party invoices and expenses, the volume of tasks can overwhelm lean teams.
Yet, over 90% of these processes can be automated with AccountsIQ and its ecosystem of integrations:
“Everything from VAT to reporting has been really quick to implement. Bank uploads, accruals, and pre-payments all work seamlessly, saving us time. The whole team uses the expenses app—it’s simple, intuitive, and efficient. AccountsIQ is perfect for the high-complexity, low-transaction nature of private equity accounting.”
Jeremy Paul, CFO, Queen’s Park Equity
Private equity firms thrive on growth, transformation, and opportunity. That means CFOs must be ready to adapt constantly—whether through acquisitions, restructurings, or onboarding new portfolio companies.
With AccountsIQ’s cloud-based structure, each SPV can be set up as a separate entity within minutes, then incorporated seamlessly into group reporting. This gives CFOs the agility to scale at pace, without compromising compliance or control.
For more information, get in touch with our team to book a personalised 1:1 demo and see how AccountsIQ can transform your finance function.
+44 (0) 203 598 7350
Together, AccountsIQ and Harlequins celebrate the idea that numbers are more than figures – they are the foundation of strength, intelligence and progress.
London, UK; Thursday 18th September 2025: Harlequins F.C. (“The Club”) has today announced a major partnership with cloud accounting leader AccountsIQ (“AIQ”). Under a multi-year agreement, The AccountsIQ Group will serve as the Club’s Official Data & Insights Partner.
With naming and branding rights to the Club’s iconic West Stand, coaches’ gantry, and laptops, the AccountsIQ Stand -for the 2025/2026 season - will become the focal point for all data, insights and key-decision making across the Club, both on and off the field. Through data-driven insights, the AIQ Match Insights, Preview and Coaches’ Ledger content series will serve to deepen fan engagement and understanding and showcase AccountsIQ’s role in helping key decision-makers transform the way they work.
The partnership blends AccountsIQ’s market-leading cloud accounting platform which delivers unparalleled transparency and control, from automating manual data entry to once-click consolidation of multi-entry accounts, with the Club’s ambition to bring best-in-class insights, data and storytelling to its fans.
Laurie Dalrymple, Chief Executive, Harlequins said: “We’re delighted to welcome AccountsIQ to the Harlequins family ahead of the new season as Data and Insights Partner and the title sponsor of the West Stand at The Stoop. AccountsIQ shares our commitment to using clear insights to drive progress both in our sporting performance and how the Club operates as a business, and the new AccountsIQ Stand will serve as a physical and digital hub for that activity for this season and beyond.”
Darren Cran, CEO at AccountsIQ, added: "This partnership marks a significant milestone for The AccountsIQ Group. The Harlequins brand - and especially its iconic jersey - is among the most recognised in the rugby world and across the wider sporting landscape. Becoming the club's official data and insights partner reflects the strong synergy between Harlequins and AccountsIQ, and highlights the power of data and intelligence to drive teams forward and deliver results - whether for a finance team in business or a rugby team on the pitch. We wish the team every success for the season ahead and will be watching keenly from the newly named AccountsIQ Stand!"
About Harlequins:
Founded in 1866 and playing in famous Quarters kit, Harlequins is possibly the most iconic and recognised Rugby Union club in the world. The Club is proud to be a founding member of the RFU and boasts and has a rich history alongside a healthy dose of current and former men’s and women’s international players. The Club were double domestic league champions in 2020/21 and continue to push for silverware in both European and domestic competitions.
Harlequins Men and Women both play their home matches at the 14,500 capacity Twickenham Stoop stadium in SW London but twice a year travel across the road to play at the Home of England Rugby, the 82,000 Allianz stadium, Twickenham. The annual festive Big Game event, now in its 17th edition, is the biggest annual club rugby event in the world and features both men’s and women’s teams. Due to its success a summer version, Big Summer Kick-Off has been created to allow more fans to see the team play and is in its 5th edition this year.
The Club is renowned for its remarkable matchday experience and unrivalled atmosphere. With almost all men’s matches sold out across the last 3.5 seasons, matchdays at the Stoop are ranked as the best in the league by an independent Premiership Rugby survey. The combination of a family friendly matchday environment and an entertaining style of play has attracted more people than ever to follow the Club who are now digitally the most followed team in England and the 9th most followed in the world.
About AccountsIQ
AccountsIQ delivers cloud accounting software for mid-market businesses. Providing automated processes that increase productivity, group accounting features and next-level business intelligence, AccountsIQ supports over 35,000 users in over 85 countries, enabling them to streamline their workflows and save one week per month via smart automation. With a go-live period 5x faster than competitors, AccountsIQ stands out in the market as an easy-to-use, cloud-native platform that delivers next-level insights and empowers better business decisions and faster results.
AccountsIQ is part of the AccountsIQ Group, which also includes the leading expense management software ExpenseIn. The Group has a combined headcount of 146 and is headquartered in Dublin with a second office in London.
A new finance system implementation project is a big project, but it can be a smooth one, with our hints and tips, gained from supporting hundreds of clients’ move on to AccountsIQ.
Implementing a new finance system is a significant project, but with the right planning and expert support, it doesn’t have to be stressful. At AccountsIQ, we’ve helped thousands of organisations transition smoothly to our cloud financial management platform. Along the way, we’ve gathered a wealth of practical insights to help make your finance system implementation a success.
Our Customer Success and Implementation teams are made up of qualified accountants and experienced finance professionals—many of whom have used AccountsIQ themselves before joining our team. They understand the challenges first-hand and are here to help you every step of the way.
When speaking with new clients, these are some of the most frequent questions we hear:
If you're still exploring whether a finance system change is right for your business, we can help you evaluate the benefits and understand what’s involved. For further guidance, check out our blog on Top Tips Before Changing Accounting Software.
Get in touch
Our team is here to support you at every stage of your finance transformation journey—from planning and onboarding to long-term success.
Group accounting can be one of the most challenging and technically difficult areas for finance teams. This article explores some of the main group accounting challenges and how finance managers can overcome them with modern, cloud-based group accounting software.
Group accounting can be one of the most technically demanding and time-consuming areas for finance teams—especially as businesses expand across entities, currencies, and geographies. If you're relying on disconnected systems and manual processes, the complexity increases fast.
While consolidation may feel manageable with two or three subsidiaries, scaling that process across a fast-growing national or multinational group often becomes unworkable without the right tools in place.
This article highlights some of the key challenges in group accounting and explores how modern financial management software—designed specifically for group structures—can help overcome them.
Group companies must track the financial performance of each individual entity. But standalone accounts won’t provide the full picture you need at group level.
As the Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) puts it:
“Group accounts combine all the information from subsidiaries under the parent’s control. They reflect the underlying commercial reality of group control, making it easier to compare performance across entities, even where ownership structures vary. Importantly, the accounting group is not a legal entity in its own right.”
Many finance teams are still managing group accounts in spreadsheets—collating and reconciling data from different systems and subsidiaries. These manual processes are not only time-consuming but also prone to error. Most entry-level accounting platforms simply aren’t built for group consolidation.
To minimise the risk of accidental errors, access to group spreadsheets is often tightly restricted. But this limits collaboration and transparency. Finance teams struggle to share timely insights with department heads or business leaders—undermining the finance function’s strategic impact.
Group accounts built on spreadsheets often involve hidden formulas, manual FX rate updates, and inconsistent reporting structures. Multi-currency trading, minority interests, and nested ownership structures further increase the risk of errors and inconsistencies.
Group finance involves multiple layers of complexity, including cost allocations, recharges, and intercompany reconciliations. When done manually, these tasks consume significant time and often require multiple reworks before month-end close.
Senior leadership needs clear, timely reporting—but manual consolidation often causes delays. Even when reports are available, they may lack the depth or consistency needed to compare entity performance and identify actionable insights across the group.
Modern cloud accounting platforms like AccountsIQ are purpose-built to address the complexities of group finance. With real-time access to consolidated and subsidiary-level data, you can reduce reliance on spreadsheets, simplify your workflows, and deliver more meaningful insight across your group.
AccountsIQ’s cloud-based financial management platform is built for growing businesses with complex group structures. We help you reduce complexity, save time, and unlock powerful insights through real-time, multi-entity reporting.
Whether you manage three subsidiaries or thirty, our platform enables you to consolidate with confidence and scale with ease.
Talk to our team to see how we can support your group finance goals.
Request a demo to explore the platform in action
Fast-growing companies typically experience similar pain points or growth obstacles related to their finance systems and processes. This article lists the 7 most common ones.
Here are the 7 most common ones:
Raising capital can be a lengthy and stressful process. For finance teams, it often pulls focus away from day-to-day operations and strategic growth initiatives. Preparing accurate, timely, and credible financial reports becomes a full-time job—and if your systems aren’t up to the task, the process is even more draining.
Entry-level accounting software often hits its limits as your business scales. Increased transaction volumes, complex reporting requirements, and expanding teams put pressure on your existing processes.
You might find your finance team spending hours manually collating data just to track KPIs or assess performance. And if you become part of a group structure—whether through acquisition or expansion—monthly consolidation becomes a manual, time-consuming task.
As you enter new markets, you’ll need to manage multiple currencies and entities efficiently. Without proper FX management or inter-company accounting tools, these processes can become error-prone and opaque—impacting everything from cash flow to compliance.
When your finance team is spread across multiple locations, maintaining oversight becomes more difficult. Without robust system controls and a clear audit trail, tracking transactions and approvals can become a challenge—raising risks for compliance and reporting accuracy.
As your organisational structure becomes more complex, so do your reporting needs. You need real-time, granular insights—by product, geography, revenue stream or partner—to make fast, informed decisions. If your current system can’t break data down in this way, you’re flying blind.
Disconnected systems slow your team down and leave room for error. For true efficiency, your finance platform should integrate with your core tools—CRM, EPOS, payroll, expenses, and banking—so that data flows automatically between systems and provides a single source of truth.
Today’s finance professionals want to work with modern tools. A slow, manual, or outdated system can frustrate your team—and make it harder to attract or retain top talent. Offering a cloud-based platform that supports remote collaboration, automation and smarter reporting signals that you’re serious about innovation.
The best way to avoid these challenges? Invest in a finance system that’s designed to scale with your business. Your accounting platform should not only meet your needs today, but support your growth for the next 5 to 10 years and beyond.
AccountsIQ is built for companies with a growth mindset, and need a finance platform that can keep up. Our scalable, cloud-based system helps you automate manual processes, manage multi-entity structures and gain real-time insights that drive growth.
Book a demo to see how we can help your finance team thrive as your business scales.
In this article we highlight nine reports every CFO in a leading finance function should be presenting.
In our recent guide, Group Finance Reporting, we explored the importance of accurate, real-time reporting and the challenges finance leaders face when working across disconnected systems. At the heart of these challenges is a common goal: achieving a single version of the truth across all financial and operational data.
This article continues that conversation by spotlighting the core reports every CFO should be delivering to drive strategic decision-making and performance management. While metrics will vary across industries, these reporting themes are universal for forward-thinking finance functions.
Financial reporting is the backbone of performance insight. It equips finance leaders with the data they need to guide the business, communicate with stakeholders, and drive informed decisions.
Whether shared internally with executive teams or externally with investors and lenders, CFO reports offer a concise, structured view of the company’s financial health, operational efficiency, and strategic direction.
Below, we outline the nine reports that should form the foundation of every modern CFO’s reporting suite.
Cash is the lifeblood of any business. With economic uncertainty still affecting global markets, a robust short- and medium-term cashflow forecast is non-negotiable.
This should include a rolling 60- or 90-day forecast, reconciled against your opening balance sheet, as well as integrated projections across the P&L and balance sheet. Yet, many SMEs still lack a structured cashflow forecasting process—this is a key area where finance leaders can add immediate value.
Too often, OKRs are defined but not monitored. Less than half of FTSE 100 companies consistently report on their strategic objectives—and this figure is significantly lower in the SME sector.
Aligning reporting to your business goals helps maintain focus and ensures operational activities are contributing to strategic success. Whether formal OKRs or key project milestones, progress should be clearly and regularly reported.
In a world of constant disruption, risk management must become a core part of finance reporting. The modern CFO is increasingly seen as the Chief Performance Officer—and that includes managing risk.
A live risk register—covering likelihood, impact, and mitigation strategies—helps drive proactive planning. Highlighting risks early is often enough to trigger the right action and protect business continuity.
Future revenue is just as critical as current performance. A detailed pipeline or sales forecast should cover both volume and value, with clear conversion probabilities and timelines.
This information is essential for integrating revenue projections with cashflow forecasts and assessing the sustainability of current growth levels.
These core reports provide the high-level financial overview every Board or C-suite requires. However, the real value lies in being able to drill down into segmented insights—by business unit, location, product line, or sales team.
Best-in-class finance functions balance top-down consolidation with granular visibility, enabling smarter, more strategic decisions across the business.
This is an extension of the P&L, providing clarity on what’s driving top-line performance. Tracking revenue concentration and product mix helps identify opportunities for diversification or highlight areas of over-dependence.
It’s also a powerful tool for targeting investment and marketing spend where it will deliver the greatest return.
Gross margin is a fundamental performance metric—but it becomes even more valuable when viewed at a segmented level. Whether across products, geographies or departments, this report allows you to benchmark performance, identify trends, and replicate success across the business.
It also helps highlight areas where efficiency improvements or pricing adjustments may be required.
Understanding your customer base is essential for sustainable growth. Key metrics might include acquisition cost, churn rate, repeat purchase behaviour, customer satisfaction (e.g. NPS), and overall revenue per customer.
Customer behaviour reporting ensures that finance plays a central role in shaping customer strategy—not just tracking revenue after the fact.
Every business wants to do more with less. Productivity reporting helps identify efficient teams, pinpoint bottlenecks, and support continuous improvement across departments.
Benchmarking internal processes and performance helps you make data-driven decisions that support scale and drive profitability.
While these nine reports are essential, it’s not just about what you report—but how you report it. Leading finance teams share several common traits:
Ultimately, finance’s role is to enable decision-makers—across the C-suite and beyond—to act with confidence, speed, and clarity.
Achieving a single version of the truth across complex finance environments no longer has to be so complex. Our latest reporting one pager highlights how you can make better business decisions with intelligent reporting.
Download your free copy: https://lp.accountsiq.com/make-better-faster-decisions-with-intelligent-reporting?utm_campaign=88979695-eGuide%20-%20Intelligent%20Reporting&utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_term=organic-linkedin&utm_content=reporting-eguide
Learn how AccountsIQ helps finance teams deliver smarter reporting, faster close cycles, and greater control across multiple entities. Book a demo or join one of our upcoming webinars to see our award-winning finance management platform in action.
The benefits of an integrated accounting system can add up to a radical transformation of your finance function. In this article we explore the advantages of integrated accounting systems and when integrating may be the right choice for your business.
Integrated accounting connects your business systems so they work in unison—improving the flow of data, enhancing visibility, and reducing operational costs. The right integration setup can transform your finance function, streamlining routine tasks and delivering sharper insights.
In this article, we explore the benefits of integrated accounting systems, when to consider integration, and how to approach the process in a way that delivers maximum value.
Integrated accounting enables all your key business systems to work together seamlessly. Traditionally, businesses used separate tools for each function—accounting, invoicing, CRM, sales, payroll—resulting in fragmented data and a heavy reliance on manual work.
Cloud-based systems like AccountsIQ have changed that. Thanks to our Open API, we can connect with a wide range of cloud apps. Integration means you can synchronise data across systems automatically, improving accuracy and efficiency.
Here are some of the most common integrations our customers use:
Integrated accounting is especially valuable for businesses managing large volumes of transactions or multiple systems. If your team spends hours on manual data entry, reconciliations or error checks, integration can save significant time and reduce friction.
Ask yourself:
If the answer is yes, integrating your systems could deliver immediate and lasting benefits.
But if your business only handles a handful of transactions a month, the return on investment may be lower—at least in the short term.
It’s also important to evaluate whether the system you’re considering for integration is closely aligned with the finance function. The most impactful integrations are those that streamline core processes and improve data quality and decision-making.
We support a growing number of pre-built integrations, making it quick and easy to connect with popular software applications. If you're working with a new or custom-built platform, some setup is required to map the relevant data fields and ensure smooth synchronisation with AccountsIQ.
Thanks to our robust API and full technical documentation, connecting to another cloud system is straightforward. Our development team is on hand to support your IT specialists or third-party consultants, and we can provide access to a staging environment for test integrations.
Integrations are a frequent request, and we’re always happy to advise on the best approach and collaborate with whoever is managing the project.
Timing
While it may be tempting to set up integrations during your accounting system implementation, we recommend waiting until the core system is fully embedded. Your team should be comfortable with the platform and internal processes should be stable before layering in integrations. A solid foundation is key.
One example is PortSwigger, who adopted AccountsIQ for its integration capabilities with their in-house CRM and OCR tool, AutoEntry.
“The integration and the API are what we’ve really been happy with. Our in-house developers found it refreshingly easy to work with compared to other accounting vendors. That’s what really sold us.”
– Helen Macdonald, Finance Manager, PortSwigger
The adoption of cloud accounting has accelerated in recent years—and integration is now viewed by many businesses as a necessity, not a luxury. Customers across all sectors, including charities and schools with complex reporting needs, are benefiting from streamlined, integrated solutions.
Every time we develop a new integration, it becomes available to the wider AccountsIQ customer base—extending the value and flexibility of our platform.
Integration eliminates the inconsistencies that come from managing data across disconnected systems. With automated input and synchronisation, you’re more likely to get accurate, timely data—improving confidence in reporting and decision-making.
This helps establish the ‘one version of the truth’ every finance team needs.
Integrated systems make it easier to scale. Many high-growth companies use AccountsIQ to keep up with increasing transaction volumes or global expansion.
Take Asavie, a fast-scaling connectivity provider. They adopted AccountsIQ when expanding internationally and integrated it with Concur for automated expense management—enabling them to support growth with better business intelligence and more efficient processes.
“AccountsIQ solves so many problems for businesses like ours. It handles complex requirements without the cost or complexity of enterprise-level systems.”
– Emma Whelan, Financial Controller, Asavie
With automation taking care of repetitive work like invoice capture, bank reconciliation and VAT returns, finance teams can focus on higher-value activities like analysis, strategy and stakeholder reporting.
This shift not only boosts efficiency—it also makes finance roles more rewarding and impactful.
By reducing manual tasks and improving efficiency, integration cuts operational costs. Time saved can be invested in projects that add value, and with scalable systems like AccountsIQ, you don’t need to grow your finance headcount at the same rate as your business.
Want to learn more about how APIs can enhance your finance processes?
Book a demo to see how AccountsIQ can automate everyday tasks, integrate with your wider business systems, and accelerate your finance transformation.
