Industry Articles - Kenwood Management Company

Financial Reporting Checklist: What Your Investment Partners Must Provide

Written by Kenwood Management Team | Dec 23, 2025 1:15:00 PM

Families and private investment entities managing commercial real estate face a common challenge. It is not finding opportunities; it’s gaining clear, consistent insight into how those investments are performing. When reporting is incomplete or inconsistent, it creates risk, slows decision-making, and limits confidence in your investment partners.

Strong financial reporting is a requirement, not a bonus. As investment decisions approach execution or long-term commitment, transparency becomes increasingly important. 

This checklist outlines exactly what investment partners must provide to support proper oversight, due diligence, and long-term portfolio performance.

Why Financial Reporting Matters at the Decision Stage

At the decision stage, families and private entities are no longer reviewing concepts. They are validating performance, testing assumptions, and confirming alignment. Reporting gaps at this point signal deeper operational issues.

Clear reporting allows you to:

  • Verify performance claims with real data
  • Understand how capital is deployed and returned
  • Confirm fee structures and incentive alignment
  • Maintain fiduciary control over long-term assets

Before reviewing specific documents, it helps to organize reporting expectations into clear categories.

Category 1: Performance and Valuation Reporting

This category focuses on how returns are measured and how assets are valued. These reports provide the foundation for understanding whether an investment is performing as expected.

Performance reporting should be standardized, consistent, and easy to audit over time. Your investment partners should provide the following documentation on a regular schedule.

Before reviewing individual reports, confirm that methodologies are clearly defined and applied consistently.

  • Internal Rate of Return (IRR) calculations: Reports should include both gross and net IRR, with fees clearly disclosed. Methodology should be documented and repeatable.
  • Time-Weighted Returns (TWR): These allow performance comparison against benchmarks without distortion from cash flow timing.
  • Quarterly or monthly portfolio statements: Statements should summarize holdings, capital contributions, distributions, and ending balances in a clear format.
  • Mark-to-market valuation reports: Valuation assumptions should be explained, especially for illiquid assets like commercial real estate.
  • Benchmark comparisons: Performance should be presented alongside relevant market or peer benchmarks to provide context.

After reviewing these reports, investors should be able to answer a simple question. Is this portfolio performing in line with expectations and stated strategy?

Category 2: Operational and Cash Flow Transparency

Performance alone does not tell the full story. Operational reporting shows how capital moves through the partnership and how day-to-day financial decisions are made.

This category provides visibility into how funds are managed, allocated, and distributed among invested partners.

These documents should be delivered consistently and without delay, as timing is often as important as accuracy.

  • Capital call and distribution notices: Each notice should detail the purpose, amount, and timing of capital movements.
  • Waterfall calculations: Reports must clearly show how profits are allocated between the invested partners and the general partner.
  • Management fee and carried interest statements: Fees should be itemized, clearly calculated, and matched to the governing partnership agreement.
  • Audited financial statements: Annual balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements should be prepared by an independent accounting firm.
  • Detailed expense reports: Expenses should be documented at a level that allows for review and verification.

Once reviewed together, these reports should provide a clear picture of operational discipline and financial integrity.

Category 3: Real Estate-Specific Documentation

For families and entities working with real estate investment partners, asset-level reporting is essential. Portfolio summaries are helpful, but they are not sufficient on their own.

Real estate investments require property-specific documentation to evaluate risk, income stability, and long-term value.

This documentation should be provided for each asset within the portfolio.

  • Property-level operating statements: Reports should show rental income, vacancies, operating expenses, and net operating income on a monthly or quarterly basis.
  • Debt and financing summaries: These should outline loan terms, balances, maturity dates, and covenant requirements.
  • Insurance and title documentation: Proof of coverage and a clean title status should be maintained and updated regularly.
  • Legal and regulatory compliance reports: Documentation should confirm compliance with zoning, licensing, and local regulations.
  • Alignment and capital commitment disclosure: Strategic investment partners should disclose how much of their own capital is invested alongside limited partners.

This level of detail helps investors understand not just returns, but underlying asset quality and risk exposure.

How Strong Reporting Protects Long-Term Investors

Clear reporting does more than satisfy due diligence requirements. It creates discipline, accountability, and trust across the partnership.

When reporting standards are high:

  • Decisions are based on facts, not assumptions
  • Risks are identified earlier
  • Performance issues surface faster
  • Alignment between partners is easier to verify

Over time, consistent reporting supports better capital allocation and more stable long-term outcomes.

How Kenwood Supports Transparency and Oversight

At Kenwood, financial reporting is inseparable from asset ownership and day-to-day property operations. We are not a passive allocator or third-party overseer. We invest alongside our partners and actively manage the multi-tenant commercial properties we own.

Because we operate as an owner-operator, our reporting connects portfolio-level performance directly to what is happening at each asset. Leasing activity, tenant retention, capital improvements, operating expenses, and long-term positioning are all reflected in the data we share.

Our reporting standards are designed to help families and private investment entities understand not just what returns look like on paper, but why performance is trending the way it is and what actions are being taken to protect and grow value.

With deep experience across the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. commercial real estate markets, we evaluate reporting through a practical lens. We focus on information that supports real decision-making, identifies risk early, and reinforces alignment between partners over the full investment lifecycle.

Take the Next Step with Kenwood Management for Reliable Financial Reporting

Strong financial reporting is not about volume or complexity. It is about clarity, accountability, and alignment between investors and operators.

If you are reviewing existing reporting practices, evaluating a new real estate partnership, or seeking greater visibility into multi-tenant commercial assets, Kenwood can help you assess whether the information you receive truly supports informed oversight.

We work with families and private investment entities to define reporting standards that reflect how commercial real estate actually performs at the asset level and across a portfolio.

Schedule a strategy session with Kenwood to review your reporting expectations and ensure your investment structure supports long-term confidence, transparency, and control across your commercial real estate investments in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. markets.