Private equity-backed middle market companies face a paradox in their accounting function. On one side: PE investors demand significantly higher standards of financial reporting than the company maintained pre-investment. Audited financials, tighter close timelines, LP reporting, and lender covenant compliance all require a more capable and better-resourced accounting team than the company previously needed.
On the other side: PE funds are relentlessly focused on margin improvement. Every cost line is scrutinized. Back-office functions, including accounting, are expected to do more with less, not more with more.
These two pressures are in direct tension when you use traditional talent solutions. Upgrading the accounting team through US-based hiring or temp staffing means higher cost. Cutting cost through offshore providers means lower quality. Neither option resolves the paradox.
MAVI resolves it. This guide explains how – and gives PE-backed senior finance leaders a concrete roadmap for reducing accounting talent costs by 50–70% while improving the quality and rigor of the function.
When a PE fund invests in a middle market company, the accounting function requirements change materially. Understanding exactly what's required helps identify where to invest and where to optimize cost.
Non-negotiable requirements post-investment:
What PE investors do NOT require:
The distinction matters. PE investors care about output quality and reporting standards. They are largely indifferent to where the talent is located or what it costs, as long as the function delivers.
Three spending patterns represent the most common sources of unnecessary accounting cost at PE-backed companies:
Staffing agencies are among the most expensive solutions for filling roles. The effective cost for comparable accounting talent is more than 70% higher than MAVI's all-in cost – and the quality is frequently lower. Companies using staffing agencies for AP/AR or mid-level accounting support are paying a premium for a model that underdelivers.
Many PE-backed accounting functions have roles that genuinely require 20–25 hours of skilled attention per week, not 40. An AP specialist at a $30M revenue company processing 300 invoices per month does not fill a full-time schedule. Hiring full-time for this role costs 60–80% more than a fractional engagement that covers the actual need.
Legacy offshore accounting agencies are cheap on paper but expensive in practice. Low-skill talent that requires constant oversight, produces errors that need correction, and can't handle US GAAP complexity creates work for the internal team – adding hidden cost to the nominal savings.
MAVI's approach to accounting talent is designed to resolve all three overspending patterns simultaneously.
MAVI's global talent model delivers comparable or superior accounting quality at 50–70% less than US equivalents – without the agency markup that makes staffing agencies so costly. No placement fees, no contract lock-ins.
MAVI explicitly supports part-time and fractional engagements. A PE-backed company can bring on a Senior AP Specialist for 20 hours per week instead of hiring full-time – paying only for the capacity the business actually needs.
MAVI's top-2% vetting standard produces global finance and accounting professionals who work autonomously, know US GAAP, and are proficient in the ERPs PE-backed companies use (NetSuite, Sage Intacct, QuickBooks Online). The hidden cost of oversight that undermines legacy offshore models is eliminated.
Book a call to learn more about MAVI’s business model.
Consider a PE-backed manufacturing company ($25M revenue, 150 employees) that has just received a PE investment. Pre-investment accounting team: a Controller and one Staff Accountant.
Post-investment requirements identified:
Traditional approach (Robert Half or full-time hire):
MAVI approach:
The savings are real and material. On a $3M–$5M EBITDA business, reducing accounting talent cost by $80,000–$120,000 annually moves the needle on margin in a way that PE investors notice.
Book a call to see how this scenario can play out in your company.
The concern most commonly raised about global accounting talent is quality – specifically, whether international professionals can meet the standards PE investors require. The answer, for MAVI talent, is yes.
MAVI's network includes accounting professionals with:
Only 2% of applicants pass MAVI's rigorous vetting process. The talent that reaches PE-backed company accounting teams through MAVI is not a compromise – it's a curated network of professionals who perform at the standard these companies need.
Book a call to learn more about MAVI’s talent pool.
Map every external spend line in your accounting function – temp staffing, other agencies, full-time headcount for potentially fractional roles, outsourced services. Calculate the true all-in cost per role.
For each role, assess whether full-time capacity is genuinely needed. AP, AR, close support, and staff accountant roles at companies under $75M revenue are frequently overstaffed on a full-time basis.
For any role currently sourced through Robert Half or a comparable agency – or any role where a full-time US hire is cost-prohibitive – bring on MAVI talent. The 5-day placement timeline means you can move quickly without disrupting the accounting function.
Document the cost differential between your previous approach and MAVI. For PE-backed companies, this becomes a margin improvement story that resonates at the portfolio level.
Book a call to get started and cut accounting costs without cutting quality MAVI.
Yes. MAVI handles data security and compliance infrastructure for all placements. Talent works within your systems under your supervision, with the same access controls you'd apply to any in-house team member.
In many cases, yes. PE investors care about the quality and timeliness of financial reporting – not the geographic location of the accountants producing it. Many PE-backed portfolio companies have successfully used MAVI talent to upgrade their accounting function while reducing cost.
5 business days from initial inquiry to onboarded accountant. For companies that have just received a PE investment and need to build accounting capacity quickly, MAVI's speed is a critical advantage.
MAVI places Senior Accountants, AP/AR Specialists, Accounting Supervisors, Controllers (in select cases), Revenue Accountants, and others – in both full-time and fractional capacities.
Yes. MAVI works with companies across a range of sizes. For smaller PE-backed companies, the fractional model is often particularly valuable – delivering the quality of a senior accounting professional without the full-time cost burden.