January, 2025
At the FOTechHub 2024 Virtual Conference, Tania Neild—CTO and Owner of InfoGrate—delivered a compelling solo presentation on how family offices can design and execute a best-in-class technology stack. Her metaphor? Think of your architecture like the top of a puzzle box. If you don’t have the picture, it’s almost impossible to assemble the pieces correctly.
And in this case, it’s not a thousand-piece jigsaw—Tania says the puzzle has around 20 pieces. But without the big-picture view, even that can feel unmanageable.
Tania’s session took attendees through the many layers of modern family office technology, from core accounting modules to data workflows and communication tools, emphasizing that clarity and strategy—not just software selection—are what ultimately determine success.
Start with the Picture on the Box
Too often, family offices select new systems or vendors without understanding how all the pieces should work together. “You really want that framework right out of the gates,” Tania said. “Not just go, ‘Oh, one-stop shop, it's lovely, I'm just going to get it all in one place.’”
She presented a visual framework with five color-coded layers: accounting systems, investment tools, data and task management, document and content control, and finally communication platforms like portals and board systems. This is the real architecture—not just software logos, but what the systems actually do and how they must integrate.
The Six Core Accounting Types
According to Tania, any meaningful architecture must start with accounting. And not just general ledger. “There are six main components,” she explained: portfolio accounting, partnership accounting, omnibus accounting, tax accounting, general ledger accounting, and trust accounting.
Each of these may demand its own system—or might be combined. But the more accounting you do, the harder it becomes to report on it. “Accounting and reporting are inversely proportional,” she noted, pointing out that many family offices need a third-party reporting layer just to make sense of what’s already in the system. Reporting tools like Power BI and SQL are often required to pull coherent narratives from siloed data.
Don't Assume Integration Means Simplicity
Tania offered a clear warning about the term “integration.” It’s not enough to know that systems claim to talk to each other—you need to know how and by whom. “Is that someone in your shop pressing the button? Is it a third party? Is it the target system pulling it in?”
She described a real-world case where a supposedly integrated document feed delivered performance data—but not enough to record the transaction in the general ledger. “It didn’t actually give me the document type,” she said. “I wanted to know—was this a capital call? A commentary? A tax document?”
Aggregators, APIs, and Getting Data Out
Much of the presentation focused on how important it is to manage your own data—especially when changing systems. “Getting documents out of a system is extraordinarily difficult,” she said. “You should not wait until you're leaving the vendor.”
This goes double for document management systems where hundreds of files can build up over time. Tania urged attendees to think about APIs and export capabilities before signing contracts: “Can you get your data in? Can you get your data out? And what level of detail flows through?”
The Value of Detail—and the Danger of Assumptions
She also pointed out how seemingly minor implementation details can snowball into larger problems. “Just because it's a preset integration and they say, 'Yeah, I can move your documents into SharePoint'… You need to be very clear about what’s in that box.”
In one example, data moved smoothly into a performance system, but lacked critical information needed by accounting. “That’s where people go wrong—they think they’re building a straight line, but they haven’t checked what’s actually in the pipeline.”
Investments, Risk, and Task Management
Tania described a move from basic portfolio accounting to tools that support risk analysis, exposure attribution, and gifting strategies. Features like Monte Carlo simulations and due diligence tracking are becoming standard—but only add value when properly integrated across the tech stack. “You can’t just drop in a risk tool and expect clarity,” she said. “It needs to be connected to your actual investment architecture.”
She also stressed the need to consolidate key data—loans, insurance, art—into centralized CRM systems. Task management tools, she noted, are essential for maintaining continuity: “If someone’s out or something’s missed, you need a system that tells you who’s got the ball.”
Content, Workflow, and Communication
Modern content systems now link documents to data, replacing outdated folder trees. “Traditional file structures just aren’t enough anymore,” Tania noted. “You need document systems that talk to your data.”
At the core, workflow powers processes like AP, tax, and legal billing—and must be solid for the rest to function smoothly. “Workflow is the engine. If that’s not running cleanly, the rest of the system can’t move.”
She wrapped with communication tools—family portals, board systems, and grantee platforms—which sit on top of the architecture and only work when everything beneath is well-connected. Otherwise, "it’s just a pretty front door with no house behind it.”
Final Takeaway: Build the Picture Before Placing Pieces
Tania wrapped up her presentation with a return to her core metaphor: the puzzle box. “If you don’t have that framework and you're just going to pick up a random puzzle piece and try to make the puzzle without the top of the puzzle box—it’s really tricky.”
Her advice? Sketch it out. Map your systems and what they actually do. Color-code it by vendor and identify gaps. And don’t underestimate the importance of integration—not just that systems connect, but that they really share the data you need.
This piece is based on a solo presentation by Tania Neild at the FOTechHub 2024 Virtual Conference.