Sale prep
01M&A Readiness
What buyers underwrite, where reporting credibility breaks down, and how to improve it before a process.
Insights
Practical guides for founder-owned businesses navigating M&A, operations, and AI.
Written for operators and owners, not consultants. Each piece covers the mechanics, the dollar math, and the mistakes that cost founders value at the transaction or inside the business.
38% fewer post-LOI retrading events with 12-month prep0.8–1.4x higher multiples for disciplined operations$8K–$45K annual productivity recovery from AI workflows
Coverage
Three topics that map directly to how clients find Glacier Lake.
Each area reflects a distinct client situation and the kinds of questions that arise before, during, and after a transaction or operating engagement.
Execution
02Operational Discipline
KPI structure, management cadence, margin visibility, and the execution habits that protect value.
AI route
03AI-Enabled Execution
Where AI delivers measurable operating value in finance and operations workflows, and where it does not.
Applied AI Examples
A few workflow case studies that fit Glacier Lake's audience particularly well.
These examples lean toward the kinds of workflows an owner, operator, or sponsor actually cares about: operating leverage, commercial execution, and margin improvement. They are illustrative higher-complexity patterns, not a claim that every AI engagement should start here.
IT service desk automation
IT service desk workflows show AI resolving tier-1 requests, including password resets, access management, software provisioning, and VPN troubleshooting, autonomously with sub-minute resolution times versus a 2+ hour baseline.
Relevant for management teams where IT support overhead is absorbing analyst capacity, creating productivity drag, or exposing the business to SLA risk and security gaps from delayed access management.
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AI-assisted supplier negotiation
Supplier-negotiation workflows show how AI can support procurement teams with vendor preparation, negotiation sequencing, and scalable handling of lower-priority spend categories.
Relevant for sponsor-backed and middle market businesses trying to expand margin without adding procurement headcount or losing control of supplier strategy.
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B2B sales development with AI agents
Sales-development examples show AI handling account research, outreach preparation, and meeting scheduling so lean commercial teams can raise coverage without building a full SDR layer.
Relevant when a portfolio company needs more top-of-funnel consistency, better account preparation, or cleaner outbound execution ahead of a growth push.
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AP invoice processing
AP automation patterns show AI reducing manual invoice capture, coding, and matching work so finance teams can improve cycle times, reduce exceptions, and tighten back-office control.
Relevant when invoice volume is rising, controller bandwidth is tight, or payables delays are spilling into working-capital performance.
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Financial close and reconciliation
Financial-close workflows show AI reconciling accounts, surfacing anomalies, and preparing journal-entry support so finance teams can compress close cycles and reduce recurring manual rework.
Relevant when reporting lag, controller bandwidth, or board-pack timing are starting to affect lender, investor, or management confidence.
View source library
Financial audit and controls testing
Audit-and-controls workflows show AI testing far more transactions than traditional sampling, surfacing anomalies earlier and reducing the manual load around recurring control work.
Relevant when a business needs stronger control coverage, cleaner audit readiness, or more confidence in finance processes ahead of a transaction, lender review, or scale-up.
View source library
Reading Paths
Start here: reading paths for your situation.
Each path is a short sequence of articles ordered for a founder in a specific moment. Pick the one that matches where you are right now.
Planning to sell in 12–18 months
- Building Relationships with PE Sponsors Before You're Ready to Sell
- Transaction Readiness Checklist for Founder-Owned Businesses
- How to Build a Weekly Management Reporting Package That PE Buyers Will Recognize
- Pre-Sale Tax Planning: The Decisions That Have to Happen Before You Sign
- What Is a Quality of Earnings Report? A Founder's Guide to Sell-Side QoE
- EBITDA Normalization and Add-Backs: The Complete Guide for Founders Preparing for a Sale
- How Private Equity Actually Models Your Business
- How to Prepare for Management Presentations to Private Equity Buyers
- How PE Investment Committees Actually Evaluate Deals: What Happens After Your Management Presentation
You have an LOI — now what?
- How to Evaluate a Direct Offer When No Banker Is Involved
- Letter of Intent in M&A: What Every Term Costs Founders Who Don't Negotiate It
- Working Capital Peg: The Closing Adjustment Most Founders Do Not See Coming
- Due Diligence Checklist for Middle Market Founders: What Buyers Actually Ask For
- Closing Conditions in a Purchase Agreement: What Has to Be True Before the Deal Closes
- Purchase Agreement Indemnification: What Founders Actually Negotiate
- Rollover Equity in Middle Market M&A: What Founders Need to Understand Before They Sign
- SBA Loans in M&A: What Founders Need to Know About Assumption, Prepayment, and Lender Consent
PE just bought your business
- Management Package Mechanics in PE-Backed Companies: Equity, Incentives, and Liquidity
- PE Ownership After the Close: What Founders Actually Experience in Year One
- D&O Tail Insurance After Selling Your Business: What Founders Must Negotiate Before Closing
- How to Work With a PE Board After the Close: What Founders Need to Know
- Value Creation Plans in PE Ownership: How to Build and Execute Against the Thesis
- Add-On Acquisition Due Diligence: A Platform Company Perspective
- Post-Merger Integration: What Happens After You Sign
Getting AI-ready in 90 days
- AI Workflow Implementation for Middle Market Companies: A Practical Guide
- How to Build an AI Workflow Without Code: A Step-by-Step Guide for Business Operators
- AI for Finance Teams: A Practical Implementation Playbook for Middle Market Companies
- AI for Legal Contract Management: How Middle Market Companies Reduce Contract Risk Without a Law Firm on Retainer
- AI Change Management: How to Get Your Team to Actually Use the Tools You Deploy
- AI Governance for Middle Market Businesses: The Framework That Makes Implementations Stick
- Building a Coherent AI Tool Stack: How to Avoid Overlap, Waste, and Integration Debt
All Insights
Find the article that matches the problem in front of you.
Filter by category or topic. Every article includes dollar math, a common mistakes section, and a practical framework.
Stay current
New perspectives as they publish
Practical M&A, AI workflow, and operating discipline content for founder-owned and middle market companies. No pitch, no spam.
Next Step
Insights are useful. Conversations are faster.
If a perspective resonates with a live transaction, operating, or AI situation, the right next step is a direct discussion — not more reading.