By Candice Czeremuszkin
Private equity is usually discussed in terms of investment strategy, deal execution and returns. The work that supports those outcomes - how a fund records its investments, values its assets, oversees its operations and reports to investors - receives less attention.
Yet weaknesses in those processes can have consequences well beyond the finance function. Inconsistent information can delay reporting. Unclear responsibilities can leave important decisions unresolved. A valuation that is difficult to explain can undermine investor confidence, even where the underlying investment case remains sound.
For managers, building that infrastructure deserves attention from the outset. A fund structure needs to support the strategy through acquisitions, changes in the portfolio and eventual exits, as well as at launch.
Investment decisions have operational consequences
A clear investment thesis can sit behind a complicated fund structure. Investments across jurisdictions, different currencies, financing arrangements and co-investment vehicles each introduce questions about accounting, tax, valuation and oversight. Consider an asset transferred into a continuation vehicle. Alongside the commercial rationale, there are questions about the transfer price, potential conflicts of interest, the treatment of existing and incoming investors, and how the transaction is reported. Those questions require input from several parties, with clear responsibility for the decisions made.
The FCA’s 2025 review of private-market valuation practices highlighted the potential for conflicts where managers operate intersecting business lines, continuation funds and co-investment opportunities. Its findings reinforce the importance of controls that reflect how a manager actually operates. This does not mean every fund needs an elaborate operating model. It means that managers and their service providers should understand what the strategy will require, where information needs to move and who is accountable at each stage. Issues that are manageable in a small portfolio can become harder to resolve as the number of investments, entities and investors grows.
Reporting starts with reliable information
Portfolio-company information can feed into fund valuations, financial statements, investor reports and regulatory filings. Each serves a different purpose, but they need to draw on information that is consistent and traceable. If those processes are disconnected, teams can spend considerable time reconciling different versions of the same figures. That leaves less time to understand what the numbers say about the investment.
The emphasis on consistent reporting is reflected in the Institutional Limited Partners Association’s updated Reporting Template, released in January 2025. It promotes more uniform reporting of fees, expenses and carried interest, helping investors compare and understand the information they receive. For managers, meeting those expectations starts well before a report is produced. It requires agreed definitions, reporting deadlines and controls over the information received from portfolio companies and other providers.
Technology can help with data collection, reconciliation and routine reporting. Its usefulness depends on the quality of the underlying information and the process around it. Automating an inconsistent process can simply reproduce its problems more quickly. There is also a distinction between processing information and taking responsibility for a conclusion. The 2025 International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines recognise AI’s potential to support valuation work, while making clear that professional judgement remains essential and the valuer remains accountable for the result.
A valuation needs an explanation
Valuing a private investment often requires judgement because there is no readily observable market price. Financial performance, comparable transactions, financing terms and assumptions about future cash flows may all be relevant.
The challenge is familiar to private equity. Different investments, however, require different approaches. A private loan, an infrastructure asset and an early-stage business cannot necessarily be assessed using the same methods or information. The updated IPEV guidelines, published in December 2025, reflect developments in valuation practice and the challenges involved in valuing private assets. They provide a framework grounded in the relevant accounting standards.
For a manager, the practical questions are straightforward. Why was this method selected? What evidence supports the assumptions? What has changed since the previous valuation? Who reviewed and challenged the conclusion? A detailed model is useful only if those questions can be answered. Clear documentation and appropriate oversight make it easier for directors, investors and auditors to understand how a value was reached.
They also help a fund respond when circumstances change. A deterioration in a portfolio company’s performance or a significant market event may require attention before the next scheduled reporting cycle.
What Cayman contributes
Cayman’s role in private capital is well established. CIMA’s statistics recorded 18,132 private funds at the end of the second quarter of 2026. That category covers a range of private-market strategies, rather than private equity alone. The significance for managers extends beyond the number of vehicles established here. Cayman offers access to professionals who work with international fund structures and understand the accounting, legal, governance and regulatory questions they create. For a cross-border fund, that experience can be particularly useful. The manager, investors and underlying investments may be located in different jurisdictions, each bringing its own requirements. The professionals supporting the fund need to understand how those requirements affect their responsibilities.
In my view, this is an important part of Cayman’s proposition. The choice of domicile establishes the legal framework, while the quality of the services around the fund helps determine how effectively it operates within that framework.
Working together, with clear responsibilities
Fund managers, administrators, directors, lawyers, tax advisers and auditors have distinct roles. Effective communication helps each perform its work, while preserving those responsibilities and the independence required of the auditor. An auditor needs to understand the investment and the basis of its valuation to assess the financial statements. That understanding does not transfer responsibility for preparing or approving the valuation to the auditor. Similarly, directors need information that enables meaningful oversight. Receiving a reporting pack is only useful if it explains the relevant issues and provides a basis for challenge.
From my perspective within Moore Global’s private equity network and in Cayman, international connections are valuable when they help professionals understand the context of an investment, obtain relevant expertise and address questions across jurisdictions. The practical benefit should be better informed decisions and clearer accountability.
Infrastructure that supports growth
As managers develop their platforms, they should revisit whether their operating arrangements can support the next stage of the strategy. Can reporting accommodate a larger portfolio? Can a new type of investment be valued with the expertise and information available? Are responsibilities clear when an additional vehicle or jurisdiction is introduced? Can investor requests be met without repeated manual work?
These questions deserve consideration before a transaction creates an urgent need to answer them.
For Cayman, continued investment in professional skills, technology and service quality will help the jurisdiction support managers as their requirements change. Experienced people remain central to that work: systems can organise information, but professionals must understand its implications. A strong investment strategy needs dependable support throughout the life of a fund. Managers who give that support proper attention are better placed to explain their decisions, respond to change and maintain the confidence of their investors.
Candice Czeremuszkin
Private Equity Sector Lead, Moore Global
Managing Partner, Moore in the Cayman Islands
Moore in the Cayman Islands is a leading audit and advisory firm specialising in alternative investments, supporting private equity, hedge, venture capital and other investment structures across the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands. As part of Moore Global, we combine deep local expertise with the reach of an international network spanning more than 100 countries, connecting managers and funds with the specialist knowledge they need across markets and throughout the investment lifecycle.
