Dallas’ Jennifer Cuello Chats Valuations, Audits, How She Stays “On the Pulse” in Venture Capital, & Exciting New Professional Accomplishments
We interview Jennifer Cuello, Partner at EisnerAmper on how she stays on top of the pulse in venture capital, her experience in early & late stage audits and valuations, why she moved to Texas from the northeast, and her most recent & top professional accomplishments.
EisnerAmper has been a big supporter of both the venture capital and startup scene, not only by attending and sponsoring activities, including our Texas Venture Crawl, but also by guiding the topics. As you’ve stayed on top of the pulse of the industry at these events, what are the most important and relevant topics for EisnerAmper and how do you provide a solution?
You hit the nail on the head when you say “pulse of the industry”. I think we do that by understanding that the venture community is really the entire ecosystem covering limited partners, venture firms, accelerators/incubators, and founders. At times service providers can be focused on their specific area (for example, a fund auditor focuses on the fund itself), but we believe in pushing through that and bringing expertise in all areas of the ecosystem to every engagement. I have a start up group that helps me understand founder related issues that I can discuss with my clients, a valuation group that helps me better understand the industries that my fund clients are operating in, etc.
Jen Cuello moderating a Dallas Startup Week Program, “Future of Venture Forum”
What are the biggest areas in accounting, audit, and tax challenges that you can help solve for startups and investors?
From the fund audit perspective, a big focus is valuation. While we (as auditors) cannot do valuations for our clients, we like to make sure they have a full understanding and clear expectations of what our audit will entail. Valuation is challenging no matter what stage of venture investing a Fund is participating in, and even if investments are being held at cost or the last round of financing, auditors will be asking significant questions and requesting documentation.
For early-stage venture where funds can sometimes be the first money in and companies are pre-revenue, one big question is really whether the valuation is impaired. Holding valuations flat to the last round of financing (or buy-in) only works for so long. Some things groups can do to be prepared in the event they are going through their first audit and understand in advance if they may have an issue with impairment:
Understand your information rights. If you’ll be going through an audit, the auditors will want to understand the financial position of the company.
Ask about cash runway and plans for cash in the next 12 months. If a Company has limited cash left at a balance sheet date, what is their plan to continue operations? This will be a key thing auditors ask and there are both quantitative and qualitative considerations.
Strong diligence memos covering initial investment expectations are great support for both your investors and your auditors to understand the projected growth of the company.
For later-stage venture where companies are more mature and have real metrics, if there hasn’t been a recent round of financing (at least in the last 12-18 months), consider other available information to value the Company:
Public comparable companies
Comparable transactions in the same industry
Discounted cashflow analysis
Auditors have to maintain independence, so while they can’t do these analyses for you, knowing these considerations can help drive a smoother audit. You can also consider outsourcing valuations to an outsourced provider.
Jen Cuello Co-Hosted a Venture Capital Dinner in Austin
As a supporter of the industry across the country, EisnerAmper has maintained presence in other regions such as New York, California, and other big hubs for innovation. What do you think the potential for Texas is, especially compared to other regions?
I love this question because I specifically moved to Texas from our northeast offices. I started at EisnerAmper 14 years ago in our New Jersey office and my focus in Fund audit made me eventually more of a hybrid employee between New York and New Jersey.
There are two main reasons I made the move to Texas; the strong relationship-first mindset in the business community and the opportunity. With record breaking business growth in the state, including business relocations to Texas, funding, opportunity and innovation follow. Add the energy and enthusiasm of communities like Dallas and Austin, and there is no ceiling to what can be accomplished.
That’s why since I moved here in April of 2019, the firm continues to invest in Texas. We’ve grown from 5 people to over 100 through a combination of organic growth and acquisition. The services we offer from a local perspective have grown with the full support of our colleagues nation and world-wide. We truly seek to be a one-stop shop for our clients. Firm leadership frequently travels to the state, and we remain committed to providing the highest quality and most comprehensive suite of services to the state.
Jen Cuello serves as Co-Chair of the Women of EisnerAmper Dallas Chapter
What makes startups and investors choose y’all as a partner over other options?
Our firm is a large firm (top 20 accounting firm), but has a client-first mindset and culture that makes us an approachable option for businesses of all sizes. My personal book of business ranges from Funds with 10M of AUM up to multi-fund groups with 2B AUM. Getting in with our clients early and setting the foundation, and then being able to service them no matter how large they grow makes us a really attractive option. Our practitioners are specialists and leaders in their fields, while also being responsive and thoughtful. Clients get high partner involvement with a brand name that is a check the box for stakeholders.
Jen, it’s been just now over a year since you’ve made partner at EisnerAmper, congratulations! What are some key lessons have you discovered along the way?
Thank you! It was a professional milestone I worked hard to achieve and an honor to have joined many of the partners that “brought me up” in the profession. I feel that since becoming partner, it’s become even more critical to understand that this business is about people, not just the numbers or the deliverables.
This people-first mindset needs to drive my interactions with my leadership, my peers, those working for me, and my clients. Focusing on the aspirations and motivations of those working for me will help me not only to teach them, but also to give them professional purpose and opportunities to grow. The same is true for my interactions with my clients. No matter what type of engagement we are working with a client on, we need to be thinking beyond the task at hand to the people that are the stakeholders and key contacts and how to best interact with them. Emotional intelligence is a critical component of any job we’re doing.
Jen Cuello giving a speech as the new DFW Chapter President of Association for Corporate Growth
What other professional accomplishments are you proud of and why? Please share any moments, especially that might inspire or help others in your practice.
I am currently serving as the Association for Corporate Growth (“ACG”) Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter President. The Chapter has approximately 700 members and focuses on building a community for M&A Professionals. When I moved to Texas, as excited as I might have been, I only knew one or two people here and had lofty personal and professional goals for myself. Those in ACG made introductions when I had nothing significant to offer in return other than my time and my grind. I remained consistent in my attendance at events and offered to plan events and eventually get involved on committees. I was able to level up my commitments and developed incredible relationships, all while also working on myself personally. The vast majority of my network was built by those within ACG and for that, I will always be grateful and am incredibly proud to be in this role this year.
During 2023, I was also named to Dallas Business Journals “40 under 40”, which celebrates up-and-comers in the North Texas community.
In terms of EisnerAmper, in addition to my “day job” I serve as Co-Chair of the Women of EisnerAmper Dallas Chapter, teach internal trainings and seminars, act as formal and informal mentor to a number of our staff, and serve on a number of internal go-to-market and improvement committees and task forces. I take pride in the fact that I feel I can make a difference and an impact, even as just one of 4,000 employees, and that myself and my peers have direct access to leadership and an understanding of the direction of the firm.
Jen Cuello accepting the award as Dallas Business Journal’s 40 Under 40