Buy-Side CFO Services

CXO Partners CFO partners provide buy-side financial due diligence that goes beyond verifying historical numbers. We evaluate the quality of revenue, the sustainability of margins, the reliability of management's projections, and the financial risks that could impair the investment thesis — giving you the confidence to proceed or the information to renegotiate.

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Financial Due Diligence on Acquisition Targets

Buying a company without rigorous financial due diligence is one of the most expensive mistakes an acquirer can make. The issues that surface after close — revenue recognition problems, undisclosed liabilities, customer churn patterns, accounting irregularities — are almost always visible in the financials before close, if you know what to look for and where to look.

$7B+

Client Transactions

50+

M&A Deals and IPOs Supported

20+

Years of PE & M&A Experience

Buy-Side M&A Prep Services

Our CFO partners have served as sell-side financial leads guiding companies through strategic sales and PE exits, and as buy-side financial advisors conducting due diligence on acquisition targets. That dual perspective — knowing what buyers look for because we have been buyers, and knowing how to prepare a seller because we have been sellers — is what makes CXO Partners M&A CFO support different.

Revenue & Earnings Quality

Revenue recognition policy review and compliance assessment
Revenue quality analysis — recurring vs. one-time, contractual vs. at-risk
Customer concentration, cohort retention, and churn analysis
Backlog and pipeline quality assessment
Normalized EBITDA — evaluation of management's add-back claims
Gross margin trend analysis and cost of revenue decomposition

Financial Controls & Compliance

Internal controls assessment — identify material weaknesses and control gaps
Accounting policy review — consistency, appropriateness, and GAAP compliance
Tax exposure identification — federal, state, and local compliance review
Audit history review — prior findings, management letters, and open items
Related-party transaction review — identify undisclosed or non-arm's-length transactions.

Balance Sheet & Working Capital

Working capital analysis — historical levels, seasonality, and normalized target
Accounts receivable quality — aging, collectability, and credit exposure
Inventory analysis (for product companies) — obsolescence, valuation, and turns
Accrued liabilities — identification of understated or unrecorded obligations
Deferred revenue analysis — recognition timeline and customer renewal risk.

Forward-Looking Financial Analysis

Management projection review — evaluate assumptions, drivers, and achievability
Financial model stress testing — sensitize key assumptions and identify downside scenarios
Synergy validation — evaluate the financial basis for cost and revenue synergy claims
Integration cost estimation — quantify one-time costs required to achieve synergies
Capital expenditure analysis — evaluate historical capex and future requirements.

Our Team

Chris Gwiazda

Operating Partner

Mike Casey

Managing Partner; Co-Lead Turnaround & Restructuring

Bill Keneally

Operating Partner, CFO Practice; Interim CFO

Michael Levine

Operating Partner CFO Practice; Interim CFO

Mark Livingston

Operating Partner; Interim CFO; Co-Lead Industrials & Energy sectors

What our clients say about us

Within a highly challenging environment, CXO Partners was integral to the development of the strategy and execution of the tactics to protect, enhance, and then secure the value of RiceBran Technologies (NASDAQ - RIBT).

— Multiple Board Members

Our company was acquired by Oracle. [CXO Partners] was a key player in helping to get that accomplished. They are very much integrated into our leadership team.

— Diego Pantoja-Navajas,
Founder & CEO, Logfire

We leveraged [CXO Partners] CFO services to grow. They helped us package two businesses that led to successful M&A exits. I can’t recommend them highly enough.

— Alexei Rojanets, President & CCO, Aptitude Health

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Insights

Next Steps

Review our team of experts or schedule a brief call. Once you schedule a call, one of our team members will contact you directly to learn more about your needs.