Software or done-for-you Advisory?
The right choice depends on who is responsible for the opinion, how much time the team has, and what the reader of the report will expect to see signed.
Three ways to get the work done
Finsider offers three levels of support, and they answer different needs.
- [Addback](/addback) is a free first screen. Upload the records you have, and it runs ten checks and tells you what it could and could not assess.
- [Finsider Platform](/platform) is software for teams that do the work themselves. Connect QuickBooks or upload the ledger, and the workspace builds the statements, the schedules, the findings, and the exports for your reviewers to work through.
- [Finsider Advisory](/advisory) is a done-for-you engagement. Finsider's CPAs scope the work, perform it in the same workspace, and sign the deliverable.
Many clients use more than one: a screen to decide whether to proceed, the platform for the internal model, and an Advisory engagement when a lender or committee needs a signed QoE.
Who owns the opinion
The first question is who will stand behind the conclusion. A CPA firm running its own transaction advisory practice owns the opinion already; it needs software that makes the work faster and more traceable. A deal team without a CPA on staff may need the opinion itself.
An initial screen and a Quality of Earnings engagement answer different questions. Screening helps prioritize the next steps. A QoE engagement applies a defined scope of financial analysis and professional review to the transaction.
Consider the reader. An investment committee reviewing an internal model will accept a team's own workbook. A lender underwriting an acquisition loan, or a counterparty in a dispute over a working capital adjustment, will usually expect a signed report with a scope letter.
Time, volume, and repeatability
Software pays off with volume. A firm or fund that screens dozens of targets a year and takes several through diligence benefits from one workflow, one evidence standard, and one export format across all of them.
A single transaction with a deadline is often better served by an engagement. The scope is set once, the work is done by people who do it every week, and the team's time goes to the deal rather than to the schedules.
Advisory offers full and Lite buy-side and sell-side QoE, business valuation, LBO modeling, and M&A advisory hours. The deliverables, CPA sign-off, timing, and pricing are confirmed for the specific engagement.
The same evidence either way
Whichever route is chosen, the evidence standard does not change. The baseline is reconciled before adjusted earnings are discussed. Each adjustment is reviewed on its own merits. Management explanations stay distinguishable from independent source evidence. Unsupported checks are reported as not assessable.
Because Platform and Advisory share one workspace, the choice is not permanent. A team can start the work itself and hand the engagement to Advisory when the scope grows, with the data room, the baseline, and the findings carried over.
Use the final deliverable to communicate the reviewed analysis, material adjustments, unresolved issues, and scope limitations. The objective is a better-informed transaction decision, not a guarantee about future performance. This is a general methodology discussion, not an accounting opinion on a particular company.
Start your next diligence workflow with Finsider.
