For many family offices, accounting works just fine until it suddenly does not. When approaching $200M AUM, cracks begin to show. The month end takes longer. Reports stop lining up. The team feels busy but not in control. What used to be manageable with spreadsheets and basic accounting tools starts to buckle under real complexity.

This breakdown is not about talent or effort. It is structured.

Complexity Scales Faster Than Assets

At $200M AUM, a family office typically crosses several thresholds at once. More entities and employees. More investment vehicles. More alternative assets. More diversification in expenses. More reporting expectations from principals and advisors.

Accounting volume does not grow linearly with AUM. It compounds. Each new entity and project introduces intercompany activity, capital movements, and reconciliation requirements. What once lived comfortably in a single general ledger now spans dozens, sometimes hundreds.

Most legacy accounting systems were not built for this level of interconnected activity. They track simple transactions, not complex modern workplaces.

Manual Processes Stop Being “Good Enough”

Early on, spreadsheets feel flexible and fast. At scale, they become brittle. Every manual handoff introduces risk. Every formula becomes a dependency. Every custom workaround relies on tribal knowledge.

By $200M AUM, accounting teams spend more time managing the process than reviewing the output. Reconciliations happen late. Errors surface after reports go out. Fixes require rework across multiple systems.

The problem is not that spreadsheets are bad. The problem is that they were never meant to be the system of record for a growing firm.

Reporting Expectations Change

Principals at this stage want more than historical financials. They want clarity. They want consolidated views across all entities and investments. They want details and answers quickly and with confidence.

Static reports cannot keep up. Outdated platforms cause accounting to become reactive instead of informative. Without tight integration between accounting, investment data, and reporting tools, teams are forced to reconcile numbers manually before they can even begin analysis.

Systems Built for Businesses Do Not Fit Family Offices

Traditional accounting software assumes standardized operations, predictable cash flows, and limited entity interdependence. Family offices operate differently.

They manage investments, operating businesses, trusts, and personal assets side by side. They need flexibility without chaos, structure without rigidity.

When systems are not designed for this reality, teams compensate with workarounds costing precious time and labor. This could be easily eliminated with the right tools.

The Path Forward

The family offices that navigate this transition successfully do not simply upgrade software. They rethink the foundation of their platforms.

They move away from disconnected tools and manual processes. They adopt systems built specifically for complex family office accounting. They integrate accounting with investment data and reporting. They design workflows that scale without relying on heroics.

This is where Forest Systems becomes the path forward.

Built from the ground up for modern family offices, Forest Systems unifies accounting, investment data, and reporting in a single, purpose-built platform. It replaces fragmentation with clarity, manual effort with automation, and uncertainty with confidence, so finance teams can focus on strategy, not survival.

Most importantly, Forest Systems restores accounting to its proper role: not as a back-office function, but as a reliable source of truth. That is the difference for a family office between surviving growth and being ready for what comes next.