ProcessPrivate Capital

Preparing quarterly LP reports for the ILPA templates, and automating the work

ILPA's updated Reporting Template and its first Performance Template, released in January 2025, standardise how private fund managers report fees, expenses, carried interest and returns to limited partners1. Both are voluntary, but LPs increasingly expect them. This page explains what each template asks for, which funds they target and a repeatable quarterly process from fund accounting data to a reviewed, reconciled report, including where AI helps and where it must not.

Reviewed 8 min read

On this page
  1. Why limited partners push for one reporting format
  2. What the Reporting Template and the Performance Template each ask for
  3. Voluntary in principle, contractual in practice
  4. From the general ledger to a template an LP can read
  5. A quarterly reporting process that survives an audit
  6. Where AI helps in ILPA reporting, and where it must not
  7. Hypothetical: reconciling management fee offsets across two funds
  8. Controls an auditor or LP will ask about
  9. Questions and answers
  10. Sources

Why limited partners push for one reporting format

LPs who invest with many managers receive fee and expense information in as many layouts. Some managers net offsets before reporting, others show them gross; some report partnership expenses in one line, others itemise them. Without a common format, an LP cannot easily check fees against the limited partnership agreement or compare the true cost of two funds.

ILPA published its first Reporting Template to address this, and the January 2025 update is the first revision since that 2016 release2. It adds detail on partnership expenses paid to third parties and on amounts paid to the manager and related persons, and generally does not allow the format to be modified2. The new Performance Template does the same for returns, so IRR, multiples and the underlying cash flows are calculated and presented consistently2.

Regulation points the same way. The SEC's private fund adviser rules, which included a quarterly statement requirement, were vacated by a federal court with effect from June 20243, so in the US the push now comes from investors. In the EU, the amended AIFM Directive says managers should periodically report all fees, charges and expenses to investors4.

What the Reporting Template and the Performance Template each ask for

AspectReporting Template (updated)Performance Template (new)
PurposeUniform disclosure of the fees, expenses and carried interest investors bearUniform calculation and presentation of returns and the cash flows behind them
Core contentA capital account statement plus a schedule of fees and reimbursements received by the manager and related persons from portfolio companies2Fund-level and portfolio-level performance metrics with the related contributions and distributions5
Funds in scopeFunds still in their investment period during Q1 2026 and funds starting operations on or after 1 January 20261Funds starting operations on or after 1 January 2026, on a go-forward basis5
Methodology choiceOne standard format; modifications are generally not permitted2Two versions, granular and gross up, chosen by how the manager calculates gross performance and calls capital5
First deliveryQuarterly reporting from Q1 2026 for funds in scope1Data capture from Q1 2026, with first delivery after the quarter ending 31 March 20272
StrategiesDesigned for closed-ended private equity funds; other strategies can use it with care2Written for closed-ended funds and can suit venture, private credit, real assets and secondaries2

Summarised from ILPA's published materials and practitioner commentary. Download ILPA's current templates, definitions and guidance before building anything.

Voluntary in principle, contractual in practice

From the general ledger to a template an LP can read

01Source data02Map to template lines03Calculation layer04Reconcile05Review and sign-off06Distribute via LP portal
  1. Source data

    Administrator ledger, capital account statements, valuations, portfolio company fee records and subscription facility statements.

  2. Map to template lines

    Each ledger account and fee type is mapped once to a template line, under version control.

  3. Calculation layer

    Allocations, offsets, carried interest accruals and performance metrics use documented, tested formulas.

  4. Reconcile

    Template totals are tied to the financial statements before anyone reviews commentary.

  5. Review and sign-off

    Preparer, reviewer and approver each sign in the system, and open exceptions carry explanations.

  6. Distribute via LP portal

    The approved report goes to investors and the released version is archived.

Conceptual data flow for ILPA reporting. Stages may sit with the manager, the administrator or both; it is not a system design.

A quarterly reporting process that survives an audit

  1. Fix the scope and methodology

    List which funds report on which template and, for new funds, choose the granular or gross up version of the Performance Template. Record the reasoning, because LPs and auditors will ask.

    Output
    Template scope memo
    Owner
    CFO

  2. Build the ledger-to-template mapping

    Map every ledger account, fee code and expense category to a template line, including items that need splitting. Agree the mapping with the administrator so both sides produce the same numbers.

    Output
    Versioned mapping table
    Owner
    Fund controller with the administrator

  3. Load and validate source data

    Pull the quarter's ledger, capital activity, valuations and fee records into staging. Check that capital calls tie to cash received, fee rates match the LPA and every portfolio company fee has an ownership split.

    Output
    Validated staging data with an exceptions log
    Owner
    Fund accounting team

  4. Calculate offsets, allocations and metrics

    Apply management fee offsets as each LPA defines them, allocate shared expenses by the agreed method and compute metrics using ILPA's definitions, in tested code or the administrator's system rather than an untracked spreadsheet.

    Output
    Calculated template draft
    Owner
    Fund controller

  5. Reconcile to the financial statements

    Tie template totals to the capital account statements and quarterly financial statements. Investigate every difference above an agreed threshold and record its cause.

    Output
    Signed reconciliation
    Owner
    Fund controller, reviewed by the CFO

  6. Draft and review commentary

    Draft explanations for material movements in fees, expenses and performance from reconciled figures only. A reviewer edits and approves the text before it joins the report.

    Output
    Approved commentary
    Owner
    Investor relations with finance

  7. Approve, distribute and archive

    The approver signs off, each LP receives the report through the portal with access limited to its own data, and the final version and its evidence are locked.

    Output
    Released report and evidence pack
    Owner
    CFO

Where AI helps in ILPA reporting, and where it must not

  • If

    Administrator reports and portfolio company fee invoices arrive as PDFs.

    Then

    Use document extraction to fill the staging tables, with every value linked to its page and low-quality scans flagged for manual entry.

    Re-keying is where transcription errors enter, and extraction with a source link is quick to check.

  • If

    Quarter-on-quarter movements need explaining in the report.

    Then

    Let a model draft variance commentary from the reconciled numbers for a controller to edit and approve.

    Drafting from approved figures is low risk; drafting from unreconciled data spreads errors into prose.

  • If

    You want automated consistency checks before review.

    Then

    Run deterministic rules, such as fees matching LPA rates and offsets never exceeding the fees they offset, and use AI only to summarise exceptions.

    An auditor can re-perform rules, not a model's judgement.

  • If

    Someone proposes letting AI calculate carried interest or IRR.

    Then

    Decline. Keep those calculations in tested code or the administrator's system, with formulas documented against ILPA's definitions.

    LPs and auditors need calculations they can reproduce exactly.

Hypothetical: reconciling management fee offsets across two funds

Controls an auditor or LP will ask about

0 of 6 checked

Questions and answers

Is the ILPA Reporting Template mandatory?

No. ILPA's templates are voluntary industry standards, and ILPA invites managers to endorse them rather than requiring adoption. In practice many LPs ask for ILPA-format reporting during fundraising, and once that commitment is written into a side letter or the LPA it becomes a contractual obligation, including for LPs who elect it under a most-favoured-nation clause.

How do the ILPA templates relate to the US private fund adviser rules?

The SEC's private fund adviser rules, including a quarterly statement requirement for fees, expenses and performance, were vacated by a federal court with effect from June 20243. The templates now stand on their own as an investor-led standard. Other US obligations, such as how performance appears in marketing materials, still apply, so legal review of investor materials remains necessary.

Can our fund administrator produce the templates for us?

Often, yes: many administrators offer ILPA-format outputs. The manager remains responsible for what investors receive, so agree who owns the ledger-to-template mapping, how fee offsets and related-party payments reach the administrator, and how the manager reviews the output. Portfolio company fee data usually has to come from the manager.

Should we use the granular or gross up version of the Performance Template?

Match your existing practice. The granular version suits managers that calculate fund-level gross performance from fund-to-investor cash flows and itemise each capital call by purpose. The gross up version suits managers that use fund-to-investment cash flows or do not itemise calls5. Both show the same metrics, so choose the one your records already support.

Do our existing funds need the Performance Template?

ILPA aims the Performance Template at funds that begin operations on or after 1 January 20265. Existing funds still in their investment period may move to the updated Reporting Template if the manager adopts it, but are not expected to produce the Performance Template2. Individual LPs can still request it, so check side letters.

Sources

  1. Reporting Template Overview & Documents — Institutional Limited Partners Association · checked 10 October 2026
  2. Institutional Limited Partners Association releases new reporting standards — Travers Smith · checked 10 October 2026
  3. Private Fund Advisers; Documentation of Registered Investment Adviser Compliance Reviews — US Securities and Exchange Commission · checked 10 October 2026
  4. Directive (EU) 2024/927 amending Directives 2011/61/EU and 2009/65/EC — EUR-Lex · checked 10 October 2026
  5. Performance Template — Institutional Limited Partners Association · checked 10 October 2026

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