TOPICS
ecosystem
Second Middle-Back
Office Roundtable Held
On December 2, Japan Investment Corporation (JIC) held its second Middle-Back Office Roundtable for middle- and back office professionals from domestic venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) funds in which JIC invests.
The roundtable series, which was inaugurated last year, is part of JIC’s ongoing efforts to “actively foster investment talent and promote knowledge sharing to create a virtuous cycle of risk capital in Japan.” A total of 62 participants from portfolio funds, including those within the JIC Group, attended the session. The event began with a presentation by JIC’s Fund Monitoring on recent revisions to the Practical Guidelines for Financial Instruments Accounting and the differences between financial instruments accounting and limited partnership accounting.
Panelists:
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Manasa Okada (ANRI Inc.)
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Miki Ito (Genesia Ventures, Inc.)
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Yuko Kanai (Globis Capital Partners Co., Ltd.)
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Takuma Kawaguchi (EY ShinNihon LLC)
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Junichiro Akiyama (PwC Japan LLC)
VC panelists shared insights into the process for building valuation frameworks, promoting effective communication with audit firms, improving efficiency through the use of AI, and investment stage-appropriate valuation methods. Audit firm panelists emphasized how fair value measurement serves as an important communication tool for GPs to convey their investment perspectives to LPs, highlighting the importance of governance structures and documentation. The session provided a wide range of practical knowledge—from implementation to ongoing operations and valuation methodologies—and generated active discussion among participants.
The latter half of the event allowed participants the opportunity to freely exchange opinions, discuss challenges, and strengthen their personal networks. Attendees commented that the event was valuable for exchanging information on middle- and back office challenges and best practices, and indicated that they hope the roundtable series will continue.