How leading PE firms help management teams adapt to new KPIs, reporting expectations, and digital transformation – without slowing execution.

You’ve aligned on the value creation plan. Now it’s time to execute. But for many portfolio companies, this next step involves more than just rolling out initiatives – it means embracing new ways of measuring, reporting, and operating.

This shift from traditional financial tracking to cross-functional performance metrics can overwhelm even seasoned PortCo leadership teams if not managed thoughtfully. More rigorous reporting expectations, performance metrics and KPIs are often the first challenges encountered by PortCo Management Teams. 

In our new best practice guide [download in full here] we focus on the criticality of PE Sponsor and PortCo alignment. From ensuring VCP alignment to overcoming common reporting and governance challenges, the paper outlines real-world best practice for fostering a successful collaboration between PE stakeholders and Portfolio Companies. In this blog, we look at one of the biggest challenges – reporting.

The Modern PE Reporting Mandate

PE firms today need consistent, cross-portfolio KPI tracking, real-time performance visibility and deeper analytics to tie operational outcomes to enterprise value.

But this often requires PortCos to adopt unfamiliar KPIs and dashboards, transition from manual to automated reporting, and build confidence in new tools and workflows. It’s not just a systems challenge – it’s a culture shift. It’s why it’s critical to equip them with clear, manageable KPIs and tools that support, not slow, execution.

Proven Best Practices to Guide the Transition

1. Be Selective with Metrics

Start small. Focus on 1–2 progress (leading) metrics and 1–2 impact (lagging) metrics per initiative. This reduces noise and helps teams understand what really matters.

2. Introduce KPIs Gradually

Implement in phases. Give management teams the time and support they need to evolve their internal processes and workflows.

3. Support the Shift to Agile, Digital Execution

New tools shouldn’t slow down execution. They should make it easier. Focus on adoption, integration, and delivering early wins.

Empowering PortCo’s to Embrace Change

A key takeaway? Prioritize purpose-built systems with interoperability and user-centric design that empower PortCo teams to embrace change. We’re focused on this at Maestro, integrating reporting and strategy execution in one platform for a tool PE-backed management teams actually want to use. 

A modern VCMP, like Maestro, simplifies initiative and performance tracking for PortCo leaders across functions by:

• Automating KPI collection through integrations with existing tools
• Assigning clear ownership for metrics and initiatives
• Powering meetings, dashboards, and reporting from a central source.

It’s not just project management technology – it’s a new, collaborative operating model built for execution. 

Want the full list of proven best practices? Download the complete guide for all five recommendations, here.

Coming Next in the Bridging Theory & Practice Series: How to streamline governance and communication without burying your PortCos in data, meetings and reports.