WHAT DOES A FUND CONTROLLER DO?

Published: Mar 18, 2025 – The Fund Controller manages accounting, consolidation, and reporting processes for the fund, ensuring accurate financial statements, investor reporting, and compliance with audit and tax regulations. This position oversees cash management, including investor calls, distributions, and recommendations to fund managers, while coordinating with internal teams and external advisers. The controller also supports due diligence, debt structuring, and banking operations to maintain seamless financial processes and efficient fund management.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Fund Controller

1. Fund Controller Key Accountabilities

  • Asset Valuation: Directly handle the validation of the monthly net asset value of several investment vehicles.
  • Profit and Loss Allocation: Take responsibility for Profit and Loss allocation.
  • Portfolio Valuation: Portfolio/Investment Valuation Analysis.
  • Stock Distribution Valuation: Stock distribution valuation (In-Kind-distribution).
  • Investment Reconciliation: Take responsibility for the Reconciliation of Investments.
  • Investment Onboarding: Assume responsibility for the Onboarding of Investments.
  • Quality Assurance: Completes high-quality, error-free work.
  • Deadline Management: Fully understands and delivers on deliverables and deadlines relating to the Investment Control Team service catalog.
  • Process Improvement: Engages in Business Unit-wide process improvement initiatives.
  • Stakeholder Collaboration: Collaborate with Partners Group stakeholders to uphold quality in accounting output.
  • Constructive Dialogue: Encourage challenging and constructive dialogue with team members and all internal and external stakeholders to achieve effective outcomes.

2. Fund Controller General Responsibilities

  • Financial Analysis: Prepare and analyze financial statements and books of records, and evaluate and recommend potential operational improvements.
  • Document Review: Review paper, including capital activity, investment activity, income and expense accruals, valuation adjustments, etc.
  • Revenue and Budget Management: Manage the fund’s revenue analysis, budgeting/forecasting, and financial reporting.
  • Fee Calculation Review: Review management fee calculations, including offsettable amounts, management fee waiver contributions, etc.
  • Client Relationship Management: Manage fund relationships, including scheduling and meeting all client deliverables.
  • Accounting Knowledge: Demonstrate strong knowledge of accounting, specifically concerning alternative investment funds and GAAP Compliance.
  • Team Interaction: Interact with other teams, including tax, legal, treasury, client services, investment teams, corporate finance, etc.
  • Waterfall Modeling: Create, maintain, and/or review distribution waterfall (carried interest) models in keeping with the applicable fund terms.
  • Financial Statement Preparation: Prepare and/or review financial statements, notes disclosures, and supporting schedules.

3. Fund Controller Role Purpose

  • Fund Accounting: Maintaining the accounts of the fund and associated entities.
  • Asset Management: Assisting with the asset management of current and future portfolio investments.
  • Financial Analysis: Accounting and other financial analysis tasks.
  • Fund Modelling: Taking responsibility for fund modeling.
  • Portfolio Management: Portfolio performance monitoring and management and portfolio valuations.
  • Financial Modeling: Development and maintenance of financial models.
  • Due Diligence Support: Supporting Acquisition and Legal teams in financial, tax, and structuring due diligence.
  • Drawdown and Distribution Calculation: Calculation of drawdowns and distributions.
  • Investor Reporting: Take responsibility for investor and board reporting.
  • Cash Flow and Budget Management: Assisting with cash flow and budget management.
  • Financial Control: Assisting with financial control and accounts payable tasks.
  • Stakeholder Liaison: Liaising regularly with overseas fund administration providers, external auditors, and portfolio-level finance teams.

4. Fund Controller Essential Functions

  • Financial Reporting: Perform financial reporting and oversee financial statements and regulatory filings.
  • Audit Coordination: Assist with the coordination of audits.
  • Tax Compliance: Oversee and coordinate tax compliance efforts.
  • Transaction Support: Work with due diligence and external counsel to close transactions.
  • Debt Oversight: Responsible for debt oversight.
  • Cash Flow Modeling: Assist with the preparation of consolidated cash flow models, projected earnings, and other special projects.
  • Investor Relations: Respond to investor requests for information and inquiries.
  • REIT Compliance: Review quarterly and annual REIT compliance testing.
  • Cash Projections and Reconciliation: Review weekly cash projections and bank reconciliations.

5. Fund Controller Additional Details

  • Project Management: Project-leading the onboarding of a new fund admin and revision of operating procedures.
  • Documentation: Produce a documented operations manual.
  • Resource Allocation: Determine the allocation of team resources and responsibilities across the 3 funds.
  • Outsourced Management: Ongoing management of the outsourced fund administrators.
  • Account Management: Manage the fund accountant and ensure that all accounts and statutory reporting deadlines are met.
  • Audit Support: Assist the CFO with managing fund audits.
  • Waterfall Calculation: Maintain carried interest waterfall calculations for all 3 funds.
  • Cash Flow Forecasting: Cash flow forecasting for investment purposes.
  • Investment Support: Assist the investment team through investment closing and finance deployment on new investments.
  • Performance Monitoring: Monitor fund performance and production of quarterly LP reports in conjunction with the Portfolio Manager, who is responsible for valuation and credit reviews.
  • IT Systems Development: Develop an investor portal, GP portal, and continuous improvement in the use of IT systems.
  • Fund Structure Development: Assist the CFO with establishing new fund structures.
  • Process Improvement: Consider ways of improving the process and ensure that the fund accountant(s) reconciles and issues invoices/remittances.
  • Loan Administration: Loan administration – manage the in-house/outsourced (TBD) processes for all 3 funds.

6. Fund Controller Overview

  • Financial Reporting: Prepare monthly financial statements and NAV calculations.
  • Fee Calculation: Calculate management fees and incentive allocations.
  • Performance Analysis: Compute fund returns and analyze performance and tax implications.
  • Audit Support: Assist senior team members in working with auditors to prepare year-end financial statements.
  • Tax Projection Review: Review overall fund-level tax projections and understanding of state and foreign tax jurisdictions.
  • Client Deliverables: Ensure all client deliverables are prepared accurately and with a high level of quality.
  • Cash Management: Manage the investment reserving process, forecasting, and cash management for the venture capital platform.
  • Fund Accounting: Partner with investment professionals to manage fund-level cash.
  • Financial Reporting: Provide Fund and LP-level accounting, financial reporting, and performance information.
  • Tax Estimate Management: Assist in managing the LP tax estimate and year-end tax process.
  • Structuring Advice: Advice on structuring SPEs, new funds, incubated entities, QSBS for LPs, and incubated companies.
  • Document Maintenance: Collect and maintain electronic copies of all accounting records and source documents.
  • Expense Allocation: Oversee fund expense allocation and accrual following GAAP.
  • Valuation Coordination: Coordinate with the peer controller on private investment valuation.

7. Fund Controller Job Description

  • Reporting Oversight: Assist with overseeing the administrators reporting on the Private Credit Funds on a monthly and quarterly basis.
  • Fund Ownership: Ownership of several private credit funds and fixed-income funds.
  • Audit Management: Oversee the annual financial statement production across funds and manage the audit process.
  • Fee Calculation: Calculate management fees and report fees to the Parent Company.
  • Carried Interest and IRR: Understand carried interest waterfalls and perform net IRR calculations.
  • Investor Relations: Assist in the development of processes around external investor queries and internal investor relations demands.
  • Cash and Treasury Management: Manage fund cash and treasury positions, including assisting in developing and monitoring counterparty exposure and cash flow forecasts.
  • Tax Planning: Understand the complexity of the fund structures to ensure the fund flows reflect the tax planning in the structure.
  • Expense and Distribution Review: Be involved in the review of fund expenses, drawdowns, and distributions.
  • Financial Reporting: Work closely with the administrators to ensure financial reporting is accurate and timely and reflects all relevant insight from the wider team.
  • Working Capital Forecasting: Understand and report on the working capital position of the funds and assist with forecasting requirements.
  • FX Position Analysis: Understand fund FX positions and report on exposure scenario analysis.
  • Investor and Regulatory Reporting: Review and preparation of all investor financial and ad hoc reporting, fund analysis, and deal with regulatory reporting standards.
  • Technical Documentation: Formally document technical matters concerning complex accounting issues, including broader fund matters that impact the fund’s financial records.
  • Performance Reporting: Oversee the quarterly fund performance reporting to investors, demonstrating an understanding of the key drivers behind performance and strategy.

8. Fund Controller Functions

  • Accounting and Reporting: Manage the accounting, consolidation, and reporting processes for the fund, including quarterly/annual financial statements, investor reporting, annual financial accounts, and investor requests.
  • Account Prep: Review and prepare the accounts of the fund (with the assistance of external providers in certain cases).
  • Audit and Tax: Manage the audit and tax compliance processes, including fee negotiations, scope determination, appointment, and coordination of external advisers.
  • Stakeholder Liaison: Serve as a single point of contact for internal fund managers, portfolio and asset managers, and administrators.
  • Cash Mgmt: Responsible for cash management of the fund, including calculation of investor calls and distributions, along with making recommendations to the fund managers.
  • Finance Liaison: Liaise with the wider and different Finance functions and ensure all information and reporting requirements are provided in an accurate and timely manner - including budgeting and forecasting.
  • Due Diligence: Assist in due diligence and structuring of new debt investments.
  • Banking Coordination: Work closely with the wider banking team to ensure the seamless setup and running of the pledged accounts.
  • Bank Process Lead: Be the link between the borrower and the banking team and the "champion" for bank accounts/bank processes within the team.

9. Fund Controller Job Summary

  • Accounting Oversight: Oversee the accounting and financial statements prepared by the external service providers.
  • Investor Reporting: Prepare investors’ financial reports quarterly.
  • Capital Management: Prepare capital calls/distributions to investors and cash flow monitoring.
  • Payment Coordination: Key contact with custodian bank for payment processing, cash movements, and documentation matters.
  • Investment Support: Assist with investment transactions in partnership with the investment teams.
  • Audit and Tax Coordination: Coordinate the audit processes and the tax statement preparation.
  • Accounting Coordination: Coordinate accounting, reporting, and controlling with Fund controllers.
  • Investor Communication: Prepare reports to investors.
  • Capital Management: Prepare capital increases and distributions.
  • Fund Flow Accuracy: Ensure fund flows are accurate.
  • External Liaison: Liaise with external parties, including auditors, tax advisors, and banks.

10. Fund Controller Responsibilities

  • Fund Accounting: Take responsibility for all Fund Accounting, reporting, auditing, tax compliance, transaction settlement, and cash management.
  • Relationship Management: Assist with the transition of fund accounting and build and maintain strong relationships.
  • Financial Reporting: Manage all financial reporting requirements, including financial statements audit and investor reporting.
  • Tax Distribution: Fund tax distribution calculations and preparation of tax returns, statements, and reports.
  • Investment Record Accuracy: Liaise with portfolio companies and investment teams to ensure the accuracy and completeness of investment records.
  • Cash Flow Management: Fund cash flow management, including collection of Fund capital calls, payment of Fund distributions, settlement of investment transaction disbursements and receipts, and bank reconciliations.
  • Tax and Financial Review: Review tax returns and financial statements.
  • Financial Controlling: Participate in performing financial controlling, including cost controlling and cash management.
  • Ad Hoc Reporting: Financial controlling and ad hoc reports (both internally and externally).
  • Performance Reporting: Manage and report historical and forecasted performance for the funds, including scenario analysis of the investment portfolio.
  • Process Improvement: Drive projects to efficiency, transparency, and quality of all internal and external reporting.
Relevant Information
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