Why Spreadsheets Weren't Working

The firm's Head of Finance had invested significant effort building sophisticated Excel models for capital allocations. These models worked, but maintaining them had become a burden that consumed valuable time every quarter. A fund accountant had to roll forward the previous quarter's data and painstakingly update formula references across complex workbooks. What started as a manageable task grew increasingly tedious as the fund count expanded.

After personnel changes at the firm’s fund administrator, service quality deteriorated dramatically as the provider transitioned to an outsourced model. The team found itself increasingly unable to depend on external partners for consistent, accurate support.

The controller was preparing for extended paternity leave, which meant the finance team would soon be operating at half capacity for several months—right when operational demands were at their peak.

Dependency on spreadsheets was also causing issues with team responsiveness and data accuracy. Answering LP inquiries meant pulling data from multiple files (slow work that made quick responses difficult), and complex fee structures and investor equalization processes were at risk of costly calculation errors.

Keeping Control While Modernizing

The Head of Finance identified Maybern as the ideal solution—one that could address their operational challenges while keeping control of their data.

Implementation focused first on automating the most labor-intensive processes with minimal disruption. The firm established a centralized data model across all funds and investment vehicles, eliminating the fragmented spreadsheet environment that had created so many headaches previously.

The efficiency gains were substantial. Maybern's automated calculation engine replaced error-prone manual calculations for waterfalls, fee structures, and investor-specific terms. Cross-fund reporting that once required tedious data aggregation could now be generated quickly, dramatically improving response times to investor requests.

Automation proved especially valuable during the controller's extended leave. Rather than scrambling to cover gaps, the remaining team members could rely on systematic processes that didn't depend on any single person's institutional knowledge.

The firm also reduced its dependence on inconsistent external administrators. By establishing their own data foundation with Maybern, they gained the ability to reconcile with administrator data—catching discrepancies before they became problems.

As the Head of Finance explained: "Being able to pull information and respond to LP requests more timely and in a more systematic way will be useful. Our brand is obviously very important, and being able to be responsive and provide accurate information to our LPs when requested is something that everyone sees the value in."

The finance team could now focus on financial analysis and strategic planning, rather than spending days on spreadsheet maintenance and manual data reconciliation.

Conclusion

By implementing Maybern's platform, this investment firm turned operational problems into strengths. The co-sourcing model let them use modern technology to build operations that scale—adding new funds and investors without proportional increases in overhead or risk.

The firm can now grow without adding headcount while maintaining its reputation for accuracy and responsiveness with investors.