Using Private Equity Project Management Software to Improve Business Processes

Why would a private equity or other financial firm take a project-management-oriented approach to improve business processes? How would they implement such a system? What purpose would this approach serve for private equity and financial firms? What benefits would this approach afford to firms needing services for capital calls, subscription documents, compliance, and other responsibilities? The answers to these questions lie in private equity project management software. 

As a distinct discipline, project management is a relatively new field. Although the concept has been around for millennia, recognition of the practice only started in the 1950s. Before then, project managers were simply professionals who handled many tasks in an undertaking at the same time. Early project management methodologies were limited to basic scheduling and resource allocation. Over the years, approaches like Waterfall, Agile, Scrum, and Lean have developed to address the growing complexities of different industries such as construction, manufacturing, and engineering. 

Today, private equity, fund administration, and other firms around the world are seeing paybacks from applying project management methods to their financial-related tasks and workflows. 

What Is Private Equity Project Management? 

Investopedia defines project management basics “as the planning and organization of a company’s resources to move a specific task, event, or duty towards completion.” For example, when constructing a building (a single task), a contractor would use any one of several standard project management methodologies. 

In project management terms for the finance sector, the planning and organization of a firm’s resources would apply to the day-to-day functions performed in the execution of its business (e.g., NAV calculations, reporting, reconciliations, treasury reviews, counterparty risk, document archiving, and other tasks). This is a business process, a group of related tasks ending in delivering a product or service to a client. When a private capital firm or fund administrator adopts software based on project management fundamentals, they utilize every available resource to optimize their business processes.   

Adopters should understand some project management best practices. Not every firm needs a project management office or a dedicated project manager to reap the rewards of the discipline. Your company doesn’t have to join the league of large, multinational organizations like Bank of America or JP Morgan. 

Today, many organizations rely on general project management tools such as Excel, email, Slack, Trello, Asana, and Monday to manage their projects. These tools are great for basic scheduling and task management, but they lack the depth and sophistication needed to support the complex financial operations of the finance, venture capital, and private equity industries. These industries require specialized tools that can handle things like repeatable financial tracking, budgeting, and reporting, which are essential components of project management in these sectors. Organizations without project management methods waste 28 times more money than their counterparts who use proven practices. 

Why Use Private Equity Project Management Software?

Adopting a project management approach for business process improvements in the financial industry isn’t rocket science. Private equity project management software has made these solutions available to any firm wishing to improve productivity and, at the same time, mitigate operational risk amid turbulent conditions in the markets and broader economy. Project management systems, in short, boost efficiency and growth.  

The most cost-effective means of accomplishing this is via project tracking software that organizes workflow and task management systems using an easy-to-use project management dashboard. 

A project and workflow management platform must be flexible, adapting to different business models and processes. But effective project management software streamlines repetitive, mundane, and complex tasks. Best of all, it can be tailored to the specifics of your office and your project management plan. 

In the highly regulated finance industry, there is an inherent need for accuracy and efficiency in major projects, from capital calls to auditing and compliance. Because of these demands, financial professionals tend to have a careful, methodical approach to their work. They need team task management. 

Private equity project management software automates reminders, reporting, and compliance, freeing up managers to focus on more important tasks. These tools also provide real-time tracking, centralized information-sharing, and complete visibility of the workflow, preventing missed deadlines and improving project quality. 

Along with mathematical ability and financial acumen, the sector also requires many so-called soft skills, like relationship management and communication. Using a system that can automate clerical, record keeping, and other administrative tasks, that frees up managers for this important work is advisable. 

As software steps in to enable accuracy and efficiency with online project management, managers can be hands-on with investors or other stakeholders or regulators, supervising their teams, identifying cost efficiencies, or pursuing other areas of improvement rather than getting bogged down in distractions. 

How Software Enables Private Equity Project Planning and Management 

Private equity project management software delivers the transparency needed for full oversight. Having project task lists and complete 360-degree visibility of the workflow identifies issues before they become problems. 

When your system has the built-in ability to track and record work in real-time, missed deadlines become a thing of the past and project quality improves. With centralized information-sharing, you get simple reviews and monitoring in a single location. 

Powerful private equity project management software will drill down, providing data from your teams, departments, and custom categories. Red flags are quickly picked up, letting you focus on any workflow sphere needful of support. Robust workflow technology gives wide-ranging transparency for operations and compliance. All-in-one management of tasks and workflows will support all your essential operational objectives, such as audit trails and logs. 

These critical records of a firm’s day-to-day business operations form a vital part of an operational risk management strategy. Not only does this fulfill the needs of the C-suite, regulators, and clients with auditable workflow logs, but managers can quickly see whether or not the company’s task and workflow ecosystems display well-ordered business processes. 

This complete oversight and project quality control, which prevents delays and advances your organizational goals, is the value of project management.