The Future of Private Market Fund Accounting: Balancing Technology and Human Expertise

As the private equity and venture capital markets continue to evolve, the demands managers are placing on their administrators continue to become increasingly complex. Effective private market fund accounting requires a strategic blend of technology and experienced practitioners, a reality Thean Lourens and Jan Solms, Associate Directors within JTC’s Fund Services team, know firsthand.

The private equity and venture capital markets have continued to show growth over the course of 2025. After a cautiously optimistic first half of the year, private equity deal values reached a record US$310bn in the third quarter of 2025 according to EY (PE Pulse).

Over the longer-term, meanwhile, the number of US-listed companies has halved since 2000 to over 4,000, while the number of private venture capital-backed companies has risen by a factor of 25. Moreover, recent data shows that startups are now remaining private for an average of approximately 16 years before going public, which is 33% longer compared to a decade ago ¹. This extended private market lifecycle creates significantly more complex fund accounting requirements.

Against this backdrop of added layers of regulatory, reporting and structuring complexity, the expectations of fund managers when it comes to administration and accounting are shifting from basic back-office tactical support towards administrators being more strategic partners. Managers now expect their private market fund accounting provider to anticipate challenges, not just respond to them.

Our team in South Africa sees this firsthand, working alongside colleagues across the firm’s global network to provide holistic private market fund administration solutions to both domestic South African and global managers.

How private market fund accounting adds strategic value

With managers needing to address the needs of a broad range of stakeholders, from regulators and auditors to investors and executives, it falls increasingly on private market fund administrators to be able to show a capability to add value. And that can be done in a few ways.

Technology-driven value in fund accounting

First, through technology. Being able to deliver on-demand and tailored access to investment data has become a prerequisite for fund accounting operations in an era where investors want access to real-time information. Investor portals have, in JTC’s experience, become a critical component of modern fund accounting, providing a seamless channel for centralising investor communications, dashboarding Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and acting as a repository for due diligence.

That is backed up by automated fund accounting management and analysis of mass data, whilst data protection in the face of a surge in cyber-attacks is an area that stands to benefit considerably from fund accounting software innovation.

Human expertise as a fund accounting competitive advantage

However, administrators need to recognise the opportunity to add value through human expertise too.
Service quality, for instance, remains absolutely critical, with the potential to directly influence fundraising, investor confidence and ultimately investor retention. Experience is also vital when it comes to adding value beyond just an expected contractual relationship. For instance, challenging a fund manager’s compliance frameworks in order to strengthen internal control processes.
As transactions become more and more complex, human-led fund accounting expertise can complement technology to deliver a bespoke, relationship-driven service that recognises and acknowledges human preferences and sentiment.

The intersection of fund accounting software and expert practitioners

We stand at a pivotal moment in the evolution of private market fund accounting, with technology promising to positively transform much of the way administrators service the needs of alternative fund managers.

But there is an intersection here: technology can only deliver on that promise if it is delivered and integrated appropriately and complemented by experienced practitioners who understand the nuances of manager needs and fund accounting compliance requirements.

It’s why JTC has adopted an innovation-first mindset, recognising that digitally driven solutions are pivotal when it comes to the type and quality of fund accounting now being demanded by managers. At the same time though, we remain cognisant to not use technology for the sake of it and our dedicated Digital Innovation team, based in South Africa, provides progressive thinking to ensure that fund accounting software and platforms are optimised to deliver the best possible investor experience.

At the same time, fund accounting experts can only thrive if they are alive to the capability of technologies in scaling bespoke structures and managing data sets and complex documents swiftly.

In the current market, managers are looking for more than just an outsourced fund services function – they want their administrator to be proactive in providing fund accounting guidance throughout the lifecycle of their fund. That hands-on strategic support, informed both by technological capability and deep fund accounting expertise, can be a differentiator.

As the private markets continue to shift and private market fund accounting complexity increases, fund administrators will need to invest further in technology to meet the complex needs of managers; but they also need to invest in skills and recruitment to ensure they maintain service levels.

Striking that balance is vital if administrators are to truly be the strategic partner they aspire and need to be.

This article was originally published in FundHub, an independent platform profiling asset managers, discretionary fund managers, investment platforms and service providers for the South African investment landscape.

¹Q1 2024 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor | PitchBook