Why Turnaround Pros and Interim CEO’s Make Great Buy-Side Deal Room BS Detectors
May 8, 2025
The Best BS Detectors in the Deal Room: Why Turnaround & Transformation CEOs Make Exceptional Buy-Side Advisors
In today’s M&A environment, it’s not enough to have smart bankers and lawyers in the room. If you’re looking at acquiring a company—especially in the middle market or in distressed or underperforming situations—you need a different kind of advisor at the table: a seasoned, streetwise operator.
Think: turnaround executives. Interim CEOs. Proven transformation leaders. The people who’ve been in the trenches, led companies through fire, and seen behind the curtain more times than they can count.
These aren’t just advisors—they’re BS detectors, value engineers, and integration whisperers.
Yes, Caveat Emptor. Buyer Beware.
Why These Leaders Are Invaluable on the Buy Side
While traditional due diligence will give you a picture of the business as it’s presented, these executives dig deeper. They’ve seen perfect-looking decks from companies on the brink. They’ve heard the polished pitch from founders who are burned out but hiding it well. And they know exactly what to ask—and where to push—to surface the real story.
What makes them so effective?
It’s simple: they’ve run companies. They’ve fixed broken ones. They’ve led teams through chaos and clawed businesses back to profitability. They know what healthy—and unhealthy—really looks and feels like.
15 Things These Pros Zero In On—That Others Often Miss
Here’s what experienced turnaround and transformation leaders laser in on when evaluating a target acquisition:
- Founder Fatigue & Exit Urgency Is this a growth story—or a quiet cry for help dressed in lipstick?
- Revenue Reality vs. Revenue Hype They can sniff out padded pipelines, aggressive forward projections, and “non-recurring recurring” revenue.
- Customer Stickiness (or Lack Thereof) They dig into churn rates, customer tenure, and hidden dissatisfaction—not just logos on a slide.
- Leadership Bench Strength Is there depth beyond the founder? Can the next layer run the business if key people exit?
- True Operational Leverage Can this business scale profitably—or will growth just add cost?
- Employee Morale & Culture Health A quick team read reveals more than any HR presentation ever could.
- Sales Team Effectiveness They look past quotas and headcount to assess process, productivity, and whether the machine actually runs.
- Working Capital Warning Signs Stretching payables? Early invoicing? They know the tells of a cash-strapped company.
- Unrealistic Growth Narratives If the hockey stick doesn’t match the market or internal capability—they call it out.
- Tech Stack Fragility Legacy systems dressed up in cloud language? They’ll spot it in minutes.
- Cost Structure Bloat Too many VPs, overbuilt HQs, legacy vendor contracts—they see waste where others see “strategic investment.”
- Customer Concentration Risk One whale client? That’s not revenue strength—it’s a sword hanging over valuation.
- Post-Acquisition Integration Landmines From systems to culture, they know exactly what will (and won’t) survive Day 100.
- Regulatory Skeletons in the Closet They don’t just ask for compliance reports—they ask why issues were missed in the first place.
- How the Business Handles Pressure Their favorite question: “Tell me about a time this business nearly broke.” The answer reveals everything.
The Streetwise Advantage
These leaders bring something no spreadsheet can offer: street smarts. Gut instinct. The hard-won intuition that only comes from being in the seat. They’ve seen the movie before—often the horror version—and they know how to tell when something just doesn’t smell right.
That sixth sense can mean the difference between a deal that delivers… and a deal that detonates.
“We’ve cleaned up after failed post-merger integrations. We’ve assessed staff. We know a BS forecast when we see one. We know why companies fail and why they succeed. We know the culture inside and out – particularly if it’s a company we’ve worked on previously. We know the difference between lifeblood companies, and lifestyle companies.” – Paul Fioravanti, MBA, MPA, CTP, CEO & Managing Partner, QORVAL Partners, LLC.
Final Word
If you’re serious about making smart acquisitions, don’t just bring in the deal team. Bring in someone who knows how companies really work—especially when the cameras are off and the story isn’t rehearsed.
Turnaround executives. Interim CEOs. Transformation pros. They are your best chance at cutting through the noise, avoiding costly missteps, and unlocking real, sustainable value.
Because in a world full of glossy decks and “strategic visions,” sometimes the best thing you can have on your side… is a really good BS detector.
Paul Fioravanti, MBA, MPA, CTP, is the CEO & Managing Partner of QORVAL Partners, LLC, a FL-based advisory firm (founded 1996 by Jim Malone, (1942-2021) six-time Fortune 100/500 CEO) Qorval is a US-based growth and exit advisory, turnaround, restructuring, business optimization and interim management firm. Fioravanti is a proven advisor and CEO with experience in more than 90 situations in more than 40 industries. He earned his MBA and MPA from The University of Rhode Island and completed advanced post-master’s research in finance and marketing at Bryant University. He is a Certified Turnaround Professional and member of the Turnaround Management Association, the Private Directors Association, Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), Association of Merger & Acquisition Advisors (AM&MA), the American Bankruptcy Institute, and IMCUSA. Copyright 2025, Qorval Partners LLC and/or Paul Fioravanti, MBA, MPA, CTP. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution without permission.
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