Transaction Readiness

Every major transaction — whether you are pursuing M&A from the buy-side, sell-side, or preparing for an IPO — becomes a financial story. And the quality of that story, the rigor behind the numbers, and the credibility of the CFO presenting it will directly influence the outcome: the price, the terms, the timeline, and whether the deal closes at all.

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CFO Services for Merger & Acquisition Due Diligence and IPO Preparation

CXO Partners’ CFO partners have been delivering compelling financial stories for over three decades. With $7B+ in client transactions and direct experience across 50+ M&A deals — as sell-side CFOs, buy-side advisors, quality of earnings leads, and post-close integration architects — we bring a level of M&A financial fluency that most companies cannot access without a full-time hire.

Whether your transaction is six months away or six weeks away, here is what CXO Partners brings to the table.

$7B+

Client Transactions

50+

M&A Deals and IPOs Supported

20+

Years of PE & M&A Experience

Transaction Readiness Services

M&A transaction readiness is not accounting. It is forensic financial analysis — a disciplined process of verifying claims, identifying risks, quantifying liabilities, and building a financial picture of a business that is accurate enough to stake a transaction price on.

Buy-Side M&A Prep

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.

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.

Sell-Side M&A Prep

The best sell-side processes are won before they begin. Companies that achieve premium valuations are not the ones that scramble to clean up their financials when a buyer appears — they are the ones that spent 12 to 18 months before marketing building the financial story, closing the gaps, and constructing the data infrastructure that makes due diligence fast, clean, and confidence-inspiring.

CXO Partners provides the full continuum of sell-side CFO support, from early exit readiness assessment through closing.

Financial Due Diligence

We provide a holistic suite of due diligence and assessment services, including Financial Due Diligence; Core Analysis / Adjustments, Quality of Earnings; Revenue Recognition; Cash Proof/Free Cash Flow; Cash Free, Debt Free Issues; Working Capital PEG; and Contract Reviews. We also provide full executive visibility into CEO/Board/Audit Committee Advisory/Governance; Financial Statement Reviews, Enhanced Analytics & KPIs; and Operational Performance evaluations. Beyond finance, we conduct due diligence services around technology, operations, strategy and supply chain.

IPO Prep

We provide critical, CFO-level leadership throughout your IPO preparation to ensure compliance with rigorous financial and regulatory standards. Our key IPO prep services include developing SEC-compliant financial statements, implementing SOX-ready internal controls, and overseeing the S-1 registration statement. The CFO coordinates with underwriters and legal counsel while ensuring GAAP compliance across all reporting.

Beyond compliance, the CFO guides the strategic transformation required for public company readiness. This includes building the finance team, implementing enterprise-level systems, and developing investor relations capabilities. We also prepare management for roadshow presentations and advise on capital structure optimization—positioning the organization for long-term success in the capital markets.

Quality of Earnings

Comprehensive Quality of Earnings (QoE) reports, enable organizations to make informed decisions during the financial due diligence process. Quality of Earnings reports go beyond standard financial statements to truly assess a company’s financial health and performance and are critical for determining the sustainability and accuracy of earnings, as well as uncovering risks and opportunities that are pivotal in M&A transactions. Our QoE services allow organizations to avoid last-minute surprises that could disrupt or derail a deal.

Post M&A Integration

We help new entities understand the expectations of adding a newly acquired partner and/or becoming a PE portfolio company as part of their post-merger integration. We help build new strategies, operating models, GTM, data strategies, IT operations, and tech infrastructure. We also help with Board Packages, benchmarking/KPIs, financial reporting, and generally plug gaps in management teams, security, sales, etc.

Finally, we provide full systems implementation support (e.g. ERP/NetSuite, WMS, and Distributed Order Management); new process capabilities (SIOP, Supplier Performance, Assortment, and Inventory frameworks); and coach and mentor companies on operating like PE-backed companies, including establishing operation cadence, building scorecards, and Board effectiveness.

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

Transaction Readiness Frequently Asked Questions

How early should we engage a CFO for exit preparation?

Twelve to eighteen months before you expect to begin a marketing process is the ideal window. This gives sufficient time to identify and remediate financial issues, build the data infrastructure, and develop the financial narrative without the pressure of an active process. Companies that begin exit preparation this early consistently achieve faster processes, fewer re-trading events, and higher final valuations than those that begin preparation after a banker is engaged.

What is the difference between a quality of earnings analysis and an audit?

An audit is a historical verification that financial statements conform to GAAP. A quality of earnings analysis goes further — it evaluates the economic sustainability and representativeness of reported earnings. QoE examines whether EBITDA is truly recurring, whether revenue recognition is appropriate, whether add-backs are legitimate, and whether the business's financial performance is representative of its ongoing earning power. Buyers conduct QoE — not audits — because they need to understand the real economics of the business they are acquiring, not just confirm GAAP compliance.

Can CXO Partners support both the financial due diligence and the post-close integration?

Yes — and continuity across these two phases is one of the most significant advantages of engaging CXO Partners early. A CXO Partners CFO who conducted buy-side due diligence on an acquisition target arrives at integration with deep knowledge of the target's financial systems, team, and issues. That institutional knowledge dramatically accelerates the integration process and reduces the risk of surprises. We actively encourage clients to engage us for both phases for exactly this reason.

What size transactions does CXO Partners typically support?

CXO Partners's M&A CFO work spans a wide range — from add-on acquisitions in the $10M to $50M enterprise value range to platform exits and strategic transactions in the $100M to $500M+ range. Our sweet spot is the middle market, where the demand for experienced transaction CFO support is highest and where the financial complexity of the deal often exceeds the capacity of the portfolio company's internal finance team.

Does CXO Partners work with companies that do not have a PE sponsor?

Absolutely. CXO Partners serves founder-owned businesses, family-owned companies, and VC-backed businesses pursuing strategic exits alongside PE-backed portfolio companies. The financial disciplines required for a successful M&A transaction are the same regardless of the ownership structure — and the value of having an experienced transaction CFO in your corner is equally significant whether or not a PE sponsor is involv

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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