The first 90 days of finance after a PE close
The deal closed on Friday. On Monday, the sponsor asks for a monthly reporting package the finance team has never produced.
Day 1 feels like a finish line. For finance, it is the start. The first 90 days after a close set the tone for the whole hold period, and the work stacks up faster than most teams expect. There are four workstreams, they overlap, and they land in roughly this order.
1. The opening balance sheet (days 0–45)
Purchase accounting under ASC 805 needs fair values, a goodwill number and a clean audit trail before the first quarterly close, not after it.
Engage the valuation provider in week one.
Tie every fair value back to support before it reaches the auditors.
Document judgments as they are made, not months later.
2. The close calendar (days 0–30)
Sponsors typically expect financials within 10 to 15 business days. If today's close runs 25, the gap needs a plan in week one.
Map the current close day by day.
Find the three longest-lead items holding it up.
Set a target, and a month to hit it by.
3. The reporting package (days 15–60)
Covenant calculations, KPI definitions and lender compliance certificates often have to exist for the first time. The definitions matter far more than the formatting.
Agree EBITDA and KPI definitions with the sponsor, in writing.
Build the covenant calculation straight from the credit agreement.
Dry-run the compliance certificate before the first one is due.
4. The team (days 30–90)
Someone has to own all of this while still running the day-to-day close. The honest conversation about bandwidth belongs before the first board meeting, not after it.
Name one owner for each workstream.
Be clear about what the monthly close gives up to make room.
Decide what to build in-house and what to bring in.
The takeaway
None of it is exotic. It just arrives all at once. The teams that come through the first 90 days well are the ones that sequence the work in week one, rather than discovering the order as deadlines arrive.
Solaris supports finance teams through purchase accounting, close acceleration and interim leadership after a transaction. If a close is coming up, book a 20-minute call.