Advisory Support: The Competitive Advantage for Lower Middle Market PE Firms

In the lower middle market, private equity firms wear a lot of hats. You’re sourcing deals, negotiating terms, raising capital, managing lenders, guiding strategy — and often filling operational gaps at the portco level.

But that pace isn’t sustainable. To stay focused on what you do best — making smart investments and driving returns — you need an advisory partner who can handle the rest.

At High Point Advisory Group, we give lower middle market PE firms a real edge by delivering reliable, founder-friendly financial and strategic support. From diligence through post-close execution, our team helps you move faster, de-risk smarter, and scale companies with fewer distractions — so your time and attention stay on what matters most.

Close With Confidence — Without Getting Pulled Into the Weeds

Diligence in the lower middle market is rarely clean. Sellers don’t have audit trails, EBITDA is buried under owner perks, and working capital targets are often based more on gut than data. That’s where we come in.

We help PE firms:

• Quickly assess financial risk with full or Lite QoE reports
• Validate EBITDA through normalization and add-back analysis
• Navigate working capital with clear reviews and target setting
• Preserve founder relationships by managing tough conversations tactfully
• Move from diligence to execution with post-close financial integration support

Because we specialize in these smaller, messier deals, we know how to extract clarity fast — without blowing up the deal or dragging you into the details.

Your focus stays on the deal.
Ours is on making sure it closes cleanly.

Post-Close, We Handle the Financial Back Office

Most LMM portfolio companies aren’t built for financial visibility. After closing, PE firms often spend months just trying to get books in order — chasing AP, cleaning payroll, explaining accruals.

That’s time you can’t afford to waste.

We take financial operations off your plate so you can focus on value creation, not vendor reconciliations. Our team provides:

• Bookkeeping and monthly close
• AR/AP and payroll processing
• Controller-level oversight
• Financial dashboards and reporting

We work behind the scenes to make sure the finance function actually functions — so your portcos can operate like real companies, not legacy businesses flying blind.

Example: One recent client — a $5M acquisition in the services sector — had no chart of accounts, no process for closing the books, and cash-based payroll entries buried in Excel. Within 90 days of close, we implemented a monthly close calendar, rebuilt the GL structure, and produced clean financial statements with actionable KPIs. The PE firm never had to step in — just approve the new reporting package.

Fractional CFOs Who Align Execution With Investor Goals

Your portfolio company doesn’t need a $300K CFO on Day 1 — but it does need financial leadership. We step in as fractional CFOs to translate your investment thesis into action on the ground.

That includes:

• Strategic budgeting and forecasting
• Cash flow planning and debt modeling
• Unit economics and pricing strategy
• Hiring plans and organizational design
• Investor reporting and board prep

We align the numbers with the narrative — helping founders understand how financial decisions impact long-term value, while giving you visibility and confidence.

You set the strategy.
We help your teams deliver it.

Strategic Advisory That Keeps Your Vision on Track

PE firms bring capital and conviction — but founder-led businesses don’t always come with a playbook. We serve as an execution partner post-close, supporting the transformation from legacy operator to scalable, investor-ready company.

Typical strategic support includes:

• 100-day post-close plans
• KPI development and performance tracking
• Margin improvement initiatives
• Market expansion feasibility
• Exit prep and sell-side cleanup

Unlike firms that drop in and disappear, we work shoulder-to-shoulder with your operators — implementing change, not just advising on it.

We don’t just flag issues in diligence and walk away. We stay on board to help you fix them — before they affect performance or resale value.

Why High Point Advisory Group Gives LMM PE Firms an Edge

We’re not a big-box accounting firm, and we’re not a consulting shop that parachutes in with a slide deck. We’re purpose-built to support private equity firms in the lower middle market — where execution challenges are real, founder dynamics matter, and no one has time to wait three weeks for a report.

Here’s why our clients choose us:

✅ Full lifecycle support — From diligence to post-close execution, we stay with you
✅ Founder-friendly, investor-minded — We protect your upside without breaking trust
✅ PE-backed experience — We’ve operated inside portcos and sat in your seat
✅ Flexible and fast — We adapt to your deal size, timeline, and budget

Most importantly, we keep you out of the weeds, so your team can focus on dealmaking, capital allocation, and long-term value creation.

FAQs: What LMM PE Firms Ask Us Most

What size deals do you typically support?
We’re most active in deals between $2 million and $100 million in enterprise value, though we frequently support smaller bolt-ons when speed, clarity, and practicality are critical.

Do you only support buy-side diligence?
No — we also support sell-side readiness for funds prepping a portco for exit. That includes EBITDA cleanup, financial storytelling, and buyer prep.

What industries do you specialize in?
Our team has deep experience across services, construction, industrials, healthcare, cannabis, and consumer products. We understand owner-operator models and recurring revenue businesses especially well.

Can you work with existing finance teams or do you replace them?
We’re flexible — we can build the finance function from scratch, fill in temporary gaps, or complement your internal team with higher-level reporting, CFO support, or diligence muscle.

Do you offer referral or portfolio pricing?
Yes — if you’re bringing multiple deals or a platform company with multiple subsidiaries, we offer custom pricing models to match your structure.

Let’s Talk

If you’re tired of chasing down numbers, rewriting broken financials, or stepping into the CFO seat yourself just to get a portco under control — let’s talk.

High Point Advisory Group is the advisory partner that helps LMM private equity firms scale faster, de-risk smarter, and stay focused on what they do best.

👉 Reach out today to schedule an intro call or discuss how we can support your next acquisition — or clean up the ones you’ve already made.

‍