Virtual CFO
Exit readiness
Ahead of a sale, exit readiness work checks a business's books across every EU entity against what a buyer will ask for, fixing owner add-backs, related-party items and working capital trends on your own schedule instead of a buyer's, and in the currency each entity actually reports in.
13-week cash forecast
Illustrative client · August 2026
EUR
- Cash today
- €244,220
- Lowest week ahead
- 239,800
- Largest outflow
- Payroll, 46,300
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
Timing is the whole point
A buyer's diligence team applies the same checklist whether or not a seller prepared for it in advance. Catching an issue eighteen months out is routine cleanup. The same issue surfacing mid-negotiation becomes a point a buyer uses to renegotiate price. Running the review early, on your own calendar, changes which side of that gap you land on.
What the review actually checks
Normalised EBITDA and the add-backs behind it, entity by entity; owner compensation set against market rate; a lease with a related party; a one-off cost buried in ongoing operations; customer or supplier concentration a buyer's team will flag on sight. Each item is reviewed in the currency and standard the entity actually reports under, before any euro consolidation happens.
Looking across years, not one snapshot
A buyer reads several years of trend, not a single period. We build the working capital baseline that will eventually shape a closing peg, and we flag any year-over-year inconsistency in how revenue or costs were recognised across entities, since a buyer's team notices that inconsistency whether or not it gets raised first.
A ranked list, not a wall of findings
The output ranks what actually matters to a buyer against what can reasonably be left alone. Twelve to twenty-four months ahead of a planned sale gives enough runway to fix most of what shows up; even a shorter window still pays for the review. This shares its lens with M&A due diligence support, run proactively here rather than once a deal is already moving, and it does not replace an investment bank running the sale process itself.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Exit readiness
How early should this start for a business with entities in several member states?
Twelve to twenty-four months gives time to correct trends across entities that a buyer will scrutinise. A shorter runway still catches the biggest items.
What turns up most often in a review like this?
Owner add-backs and one-off costs recorded inconsistently between entities, which slow a deal down and invite a buyer to question every other adjustment too.
Does this take the place of an M&A adviser?
No. We get the numbers ready for scrutiny. An adviser or bank runs buyer outreach and the negotiation itself.
Will this raise our eventual sale price?
Clean, well-documented numbers reduce the chance a buyer discounts for diligence risk, though the final price depends on market conditions and buyer demand, not on the review alone.
Does exit-readiness work look different for a founder-owned business versus a group with several EU entities?
Yes, a multi-entity group needs its intercompany positions and consolidation cleaned up first; a single founder-owned entity usually starts from record quality and normalised earnings instead of a consolidation exercise. We scope the right starting point with you before the review actually begins.
How far ahead of a sale should we start exit readiness work?
Twelve to twenty-four months gives enough time to clean up trends a buyer will look at, though a shorter runway is still worth the review.
Does this replace hiring an investment bank or M&A advisor?
No. We prepare the financial side of the business; a banker or advisor runs the sale process and the buyer conversations.
What is the single most common issue you find?
Owner-related add-backs and one-off items that are not clearly documented, which slows down diligence and invites buyers to question every adjustment.
How do we get started with exit readiness?
Getting started with exit readiness begins with a short review of your current records and software access. Once that is done we confirm scope and timing in writing, and ongoing work begins on the schedule agreed with you.
Related services
- Virtual CFOM&A due diligence supportFinancial due diligence support for a buy-side or sell-side deal: clean data, a quality-of-earnings view, and answers ready before the buyer or their advisor asks.
- Virtual CFOKPI designA short list of the numbers that actually run your business, defined once and tracked consistently, instead of a dashboard nobody opens.
- Virtual CFOPricing and unit economicsA clear read on what each customer, order or unit actually costs and earns, so pricing decisions are based on margin rather than a guess.
Industries
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.