Manager Oversight App for Business Valuation Firms

The general manager will judge the app on whether it protects report deadlines and keeps partner time out of status meetings. Before the pilot begins, agree on checks such as whether every open engagement has a named analyst and a reviewer, whether a court-driven date sits at the top of the queue, and whether a draft waiting for review is visible the day it is uploaded.

The numbers must agree across the firm. Hours logged to each file should reconcile with the billing summary, and the capacity view should use the same staff calendar the office already keeps. When those figures match, the monthly meeting can focus on decisions instead of which file is correct.

• Each engagement shows one lead analyst, one reviewer and a deadline
• Court and filing dates sit above routine work in the queue
• Draft reports waiting on review appear the day they are uploaded
• Logged hours reconcile with the billing summary each month

Consider a managing director reviewing the week before a Thursday deadline. The board shows a family business valuation for a shareholder dispute with its reviewer still unassigned. The director assigns a senior appraiser who has room, and the change is recorded with the time and the name of the person who made it.

Next, the director opens an analyst's draft that was uploaded overnight. Reviewer comments sit in the file, and an open question about owner compensation is flagged as blocking. The director sends a note through the app, so the question stays attached to the work it concerns.

Before leaving the office, the director checks the capacity view for the next two weeks. Two analysts are double-booked on a site visit and a deposition preparation session, so the visit moves to the following Monday. The client sees the new date in the portal the same afternoon.

Before the build, the firm should provide its engagement types, the standard milestones for each one, and the names of every analyst, reviewer and backup. It should also share the court and regulatory dates that always take priority, plus the staff calendar showing leave, training and conference commitments.

Access rules need the same care. A managing director may see every file, while analysts see only their own assignments. Ask counsel whether any protective order limits who may open a particular file, and build those limits into the permission settings from the first day.

• Engagement types with the standard milestones for each
• Named lead analyst, reviewer and backup for every open file
• Court, filing and regulatory dates that always take priority
• Staff calendar with leave, training and conference commitments