The situation
A Rajkot auto parts promoter has sold a minority stake to a fund. The shareholders' agreement says the company will send monthly management accounts within a set number of days of month end, and a quarterly board pack. The promoter's finance team closes the books in Tally once a month, usually late. Nobody has written a board pack before.
What the new owners want
They want to know, quickly and reliably, how the business is doing against the plan they invested in, and whether anything needs their attention. That usually means:
- Monthly: management accounts, cash position, and a few key figures such as orders, revenue by customer and working capital.
- Quarterly: a board pack with commentary, progress on the plan, risks and decisions needed.
- Annually: budget for the next year, audited accounts and compliance confirmations.
What goes into a first board pack
- Summary. One page: what went well, what did not, decisions needed.
- Financials. Profit and loss against budget and last year, balance sheet, cash flow.
- Key figures. The handful that drive the business: capacity use, order book, top customer revenue, debtor days.
- Plan progress. The integration or growth plan, by workstream, with status.
- Risks. The risk register, with owners and actions.
- Compliance. Statutory filings and payments made on time, or exceptions.
Keep it short. A fifteen page pack that is read beats a sixty page pack that is not.
Building it without burying the finance team
- Close faster first. Agree a month end calendar with the accounts team and your CA.
- Fix the chart of accounts. If the investor needs figures by product or plant, set up the accounts so those figures come out directly.
- Template once. Build the board pack template in the first month and reuse it.
- One source of figures. Every number in the pack should come from the books or one agreed tracker.
Year two
After the first hundred days, reporting usually settles into a routine. Year two goals, such as a new plant or a combined purchasing function, should have their own measures in the pack so progress stays visible.
A short checklist
- Reporting duties from the shareholders' agreement listed with dates
- Month end calendar agreed
- Chart of accounts aligned to the figures investors want
- Board pack template built and agreed
- Risk register and plan tracker linked to the pack
Where Synerger fits
The integration plan on Synerger tracks workstreams, milestones and risks, which feed the plan and risk sections of the board pack. Status reports and decision logs from engagements keep the record. See also the first hundred days.