Article
Taking a holistic approach to private equity fund administration
Eight realities shaping the investment landscape for emerging managers
March 10, 2026 · Authored by John Heyde
The private equity (PE) landscape is constantly evolving. This article outlines eight key considerations for PE managers in today’s environment and underscores why a holistic solution is essential for fund growth and emerging firm success. Explore how modern fund administration, ILPA reporting and integrated operating models bolster transparency and investor trust.
1. Fund administration has become investor-facing
Fund administration has quietly become one of the most investor-facing parts of a private equity firm’s operating model.
When emerging managers evaluate fund administrators, the conversation still starts with the fundamentals: fund accounting, capital calls, distributions, waterfall administration, investor reporting, tax support and audit readiness. But the market has moved beyond the notion that fund administration is merely a back-office function. Today, it is an investor-facing operating capability. Limited partners (LPs) are no longer focused solely on whether the numbers reconcile; they expect reporting that explains performance clearly, consistently and on time.
2. LP expectations now extend beyond accuracy
This shift is changing how LPs evaluate managers. Transparency, governance and operational resilience are now concrete investor expectations. They are being codified into the industry’s shared standards and expectations. As value creation becomes more complex, hold periods lengthen and liquidity needs increase, reporting quality matters more. This is especially true for emerging managers, who have little margin for rework, surprises or quarter-end “data archaeology” projects.
3. Standardized reporting has raised the bar
The clearest signal that LP expectations have risen is the rapid adoption of standardized reporting. In 2025, the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) released a new ILPA Reporting Template (v2.0)1, which is explicitly designed to promote transparency and provide more uniform reporting related to fees, expenses and carried interest.
This new template gives LPs a clearer view of what they are paying for and who is being paid. This includes increased visibility into how expenses are categorized, what types of fees are being assessed, where fees are being charged (fund vs. portfolio company level), how any fee offsets are applied and how subscription facility interest and fees are disclosed.
4. Performance comparability is now expected
The ILPA template also introduces standardized performance reporting, specifically how funds report on key metrics like Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Total Value to Paid-in Capital (TVPI), Distributions to Paid-In Capital (DPI), Multiple on Invested Capital (MOIC) and the underlying cash flows used in those calculations.
This reflects LP demand for comparability and credible benchmarking across managers. While ILPA adoption is not legally mandated, it is widely viewed as best practice and often required by investors through LPAs or side letter agreements.
For emerging managers, the takeaway is practical and strategic: adopting ILPA reporting is a powerful signal of institutional readiness, operational maturity and alignment with modern LP expectations.
5. Reporting is part of performance
A common misconception is that “value creation measurement” is owned exclusively by the deal team or the portfolio operations team. In reality, measurement becomes credible when it is operationalized – when portfolio KPIs tie directly to accounting data and investor reporting consistently links outcomes to inputs.
This matters now more than ever because industry research increasingly frames performance as less dependent on tailwinds, such as cheap leverage and multiple expansion, and more dependent on operational value creation and execution through longer, more complex holding periods. In parallel, advisory analysis suggests that today’s deals demand faster EBITDA growth and a clearer, data-backed edge—language that underscores why “measurement” is now an operating discipline.
A helpful way to think about this is that the fund administrator is no longer supporting just the accounting close process. They are supporting an explainable and comparable credibility loop:
portfolio data → fund-level data → KPI reporting → investor reporting.
6. Fragmentation is a growing operational risk
One of the most common operational risks for emerging managers is fragmentation: multiple providers, multiple data models, multiple timelines and multiple handoffs. Even when individual providers perform well, the overall system can underperform when ownership is unclear.
The advantage of a unified operating model is more about control, not just convenience. Fewer handoffs mean fewer reconciliations, fewer explanations and fewer moments where LP confidence is tested.
7. Total solutions: Integrating fund, management, company and portfolio operations
This is where a “total solutions” model becomes relevant. Rather than treating fund administration as a discrete function, the model connects adjacent responsibilities that LPs implicitly experience as one system: fund reporting, valuation support, tax compliance, portfolio company reporting, data readiness and data accessibility.
What this looks like at Baker Tilly is structuring fund administration around proactive advisory, operational efficiency and scalable integrated support – delivering core fund accounting, reporting and investor servicing through a centralized portal while connecting that workstream with broader managed services capabilities, including tax strategy, valuation support, portfolio company accounting and finance and other operational solutions such as cybersecurity and anti-money laundering (AML) support.
8. Institutional habits matter more than institutional complexity
Emerging managers don’t need “institutional complexity,” but they do need institutional habits. The goal is to build an operating model that can answer LP questions cleanly today and still work when you double assets under management (AUM), add funds and increase portfolio complexity.
Choose partners based on operating behavior, not marketing claims. A fund administrator (and any extended “total solutions” provider) adds the most value when they behave like an extension of your team – helping interpret fund documents, flagging issues early and translating complexity into consistent reporting.
Final takeaway
As fund administration becomes inseparable from investor trust, emerging managers need operating models that deliver transparency, consistency and credibility by design. In that environment, a unified, reporting ready back office is no longer a nice to have—it is part of the investment proposition itself.
For more information, or to learn about how Baker Tilly’s private equity specialists can provide total solutions, contact our team.
[1] For any funds with ILPA reporting mandates, the updated template is to be adopted on a go-forward basis for funds still in their investment period during Q1 2026, or for funds commencing operations on or after January 1, 2026.
Read the latest M&A reports
Healthcare M&A update: H2 2025
Baker Tilly’s H2 2025 healthcare M&A update highlights key market trends, valuation shifts, deal activity and the sector outlook heading into 2026
Food and beverage M&A update: H2 2025
Baker Tilly’s H2 2025 food and beverage M&A update highlights key market trends in agribusiness, beverage, natural/organic and other market segments, including investment information and notable transactions that closed during H2 2025.
Software and technology M&A update: H2 2025
Baker Tilly’s H2 2025 software and technology M&A update highlights key market trends, SaaS deal activity and insights shaping digital transformation and AI growth.
