Diligence before the close. Integration after it. The exit when it comes.
Twenty-five years on the diligence side of the table, five turns in the CFO chair, and a company taken through its own sale.
One person, the whole transaction
Most diligence teams hand over a report and leave. The findings get re-learned by a different team on your time and your budget, and when the business is sold years later a third team starts from nothing again. The person who scopes the work here performs it — no leveraged pyramid, no first-year staff learning on the target's ledger. That person is Arthur J. Dembro: CPA, CFA charterholder, CAMS.
Before the close
Quality of Earnings and EBITDA normalization. Working capital, net debt and purchase price adjustments. Revenue, margin and customer concentration analysis. Management interviews and site visits. Investment-committee write-ups and databook exhibits.
After the close
Opening balance sheet and purchase accounting. Chart of accounts and reporting converted to sponsor format. Close calendar, controls and reporting cadence. Cash, treasury and banking consolidation. Remediation of what diligence flagged.
When it's time to sell
Sell-side quality of earnings on your own numbers. The data room built and run. Buyer requests tracked and answered, management prepared for the meetings, and the closing mechanics checked before they are agreed. For a fund exiting a portfolio company or an owner selling the business they built.