Financial Red Flags That Kill Fundraises
Written by Harry Prabandham
Curated by Rubric Financial
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Messy Books and Late Closes
- If your books are more than 60 days behind, most institutional investors will pause diligence until you catch up. They view it as a proxy for operational discipline.
- Inconsistent chart of accounts, miscategorized expenses, and unreconciled balances make it impossible for investors to trust your reported metrics.
- Cash-basis financials without accrual adjustments misrepresent your true revenue, deferred revenue, and expense timing, and investors notice immediately.
- Restatements during diligence are a deal killer: if the numbers you presented in your deck do not match the numbers in your accounting system, credibility is lost.
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About the author
Harry PrabandhamFounder & CEO
Founder and CEO of StartupCFO. MBA from Wharton, MS in Computer Science, and decades of experience building and advising venture-backed startups.
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