DSG operates as a retained senior executive for the finance and operating function — and extends into transactions and AI services as your business situation requires. The core relationship is always the same: one principal, direct involvement, full accountability.
How the Engagement Works
The CFO and COO retainer is the anchor. Transaction support and AI services extend into it as the business situation demands. All services are led by Vic Datta, backed by a deep network of senior, specialized experts, when necessary.
PRACTICE 1
The anchor service. DSG provides the full finance and operating executive function on a retained basis — covering everything a sitting CFO and COO would own, calibrated to your company's size, complexity, and current priorities. This is active leadership, not oversight.
Oversight of the monthly close and production of a management package that shows how the business is performing and why. Covers P&L, balance sheet, cash flow, KPIs, and variance commentary, with a target close inside five business days.
Rolling 13-week cash forecasting and active management of receivables, payables, and inventory. Focused on liquidity, collections discipline, vendor terms, payment timing, and measurable working capital improvement.
Department-owned budgets, quarterly reforecasts, and KPI frameworks built around the few metrics that actually drive the business. Includes board, lender, and ownership reporting that explains performance clearly.
Finance-led operating support across Order-to-Cash, Procure-to-Pay, finance team design, ERP alignment, and cross-functional cadence. Built for businesses that need tighter execution, not more process theater.
Support on ABLs, term debt, covenants, lender reporting, and working capital lines.Includes banking relationships, amendment support, and capital structure decisions at the board and ownership level.
Board-level financial communication, sponsor reporting, and ownership decision support.Covers quarterly packages, covenant summaries, annual reviews, and financial framing for key strategic decisions.
Owner-operated companies without a sitting CFO
Family businesses preparing for generational or ownership transition
Companies experiencing growth, margin compression, or operational complexity
PE portfolio companies between CFO searches
Businesses where the controller has been promoted beyond their bandwidth
Minimum retainer
By deliverable complexity
Typical duration
12–24 months (some engagements extend significantly longer)
Time commitment
2–3 days per week, remote-primary with periodic onsite
Revenue range served
$20M–$150M
LED BY
VIC DATTA DIRECTLY
Practice 2
An extension of the CFO relationship, available when a material event arrives. Transaction support ismost effective when it is built into an ongoing finance engagement, because the financial credibility that buyers and lenders evaluate is built over months, not assembled in the week before diligence
begins.
DSG clients who engage the retainer practice with a transaction in mind have a structural advantage. When diligence arrives, the management reporting is clean, the EBITDA story is documented, and the working capital is managed. That is not luck — it is preparation.
If you are approaching a transaction without that foundation, the honest answer is: some of the value that could have been captured will not be. DSG can still help — but the conversation will start with an honest assessment of what is achievable in the time available.
A readiness review against buyer-side QoE standards, producing a gap register, remediation plan, and timeline. Includes EBITDA normalization, peg analysis, management prep, and data room readiness.
Review and challenge of the seller’s QoE, earnings presentation, and working capital assumptions. Includes peg analysis, deal support, and financial assessment of management.
A 30/60/90-day finance integration plan covering systems, reporting, team design, and synergy tracking to protect stability after close.
Practice 3
The differentiator. AI has entered the finance function at most companies of scale. DSG operates two tracks: AI productivity tools for finance teams, and AI security and governance services for companies managing AI-related control risk.
Practical AI tools and training for finance teams, built from real engagements and tested on real company data. The focus is on immediate utility: better reporting, faster close, stronger analysis, and more effective finance output.
A finance-led review of whether AI use is governed well enough for diligence, audit, or regulatory scrutiny. The work centers on control readiness, accountability, policy, and board-level oversight.
Buy-side and sell-side assessment of AI systems, dependencies, and governance as part of transaction diligence. Identifies risk early, strengthens disclosure, and prevents unmanaged AI issues from affecting value.
A practical review of fraud exposure and control gaps arising from AI in finance workflows. Detects weak points in disbursements, entries, approvals, and finance process design before they become losses.
CFOs and controllers validating their AI control environment
Audit committees requiring AI risk assessment from management
PE sponsors requiring AI governance reviews in portfolio companies
Companies that deployed AI tools without aparallel controls update
Acquirers evaluating AI governance in a target
Sell-side companies preparing for buyer AI diligence scrutiny
AI productivity tools
Available to retainer clients and by stand alone purchase
AI governance assessment
Project-based, 4–8weeks, quoted on scope
AI diligence
Project-based, concurrent with financial diligence timeline
AI fraud & controls review
Project-based, 3–6weeks, requires GL, AP, and payroll data
LED BY
VIC DATTA DIRECTLY
Credibility Cannot Be Retrofitted
If you are within 12 to 24 months of any material business event, the time to prepare is now.
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