Virtual CFO
Exit readiness
A review of what a buyer's diligence team will see in a Hong Kong company's books before it goes to market, built around the audited accounts every Hong Kong company already files, so gaps get fixed on your own timeline rather than a buyer's.
13-week cash forecast
Illustrative client · August 2026
HKD
- Cash today
- HK$244,220
- Lowest week ahead
- 239,800
- Largest outflow
- Payroll, 46,300
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
The audit is already the buyer's starting document
A Hong Kong company preparing for sale has an advantage most sellers do not: audited financial statements already exist for every prior year, since no active Hong Kong company escapes the annual statutory audit requirement. That also means a buyer's advisor knows exactly where to start looking, and any inconsistency between the audited accounts and the story a seller tells shows up quickly.
What we review before you go to market
We run a pre-diligence review of your books against a standard buyer request list, checking that management accounts reconcile cleanly to the last two or three years of audited financial statements. Normalised EBITDA and an add-back schedule are prepared in advance, covering related-party transactions, owner drawings and one-off items common in Hong Kong groups with an affiliated Mainland or overseas entity. Working capital is baselined and trended in Hong Kong dollars, converting USD or RMB balances consistently, so the closing peg conversation does not start from a surprise.
Territorial tax exposure, checked early
Where part of the company's profit has historically been treated as offshore under Hong Kong's territorial tax principle, we flag whether that position is documented well enough to survive buyer scrutiny, and raise it with your tax adviser well before a buyer's advisor raises it first. Company secretarial standing and Companies Registry filing history are checked for gaps, though any filing itself is handled by a TCSP licensee or exempt accounting or legal practitioner, not by our team.
A prioritised list, not a report that sits on a shelf
The output is a ranked list of fixes, ordered by how much each one actually matters to a buyer, so effort goes where it changes the outcome of the deal.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Exit readiness
How far ahead of a sale should a Hong Kong company start exit readiness work?
Twelve to twenty-four months gives enough time to clean up trends across two or three years of audited accounts, though a shorter runway is still worth the review.
Does this replace our statutory auditor or an investment bank?
No. Your Hong Kong registered auditor continues the annual audit, and a banker or advisor runs the sale process. We prepare the financial side of the business ahead of both.
What is the single most common issue you find in Hong Kong companies preparing to sell?
Undocumented related-party transactions and a territorial-tax position that was never written up clearly, both of which slow diligence and invite a buyer to question every adjustment.
Do you handle Companies Registry cleanup as part of exit readiness?
We flag any gaps in company secretarial standing or filing history. The filings themselves are handled by a TCSP licensee or exempt accounting or legal practitioner, since that work needs Hong Kong licensing we do not hold.
Does exit readiness work change how our monthly bookkeeping is done?
Not usually. It reviews what already exists in your books against what a buyer's diligence team will expect to see, and fixes gaps found along the way, rather than changing your ongoing bookkeeping process itself.
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.