M&A Integration Processes and Issues

The principle of M&A is to avoid destroying value, so you need to take the time to create your processes and plan carefully for the eventuality that something goes wrong. I’ve observed that the most prevalent issues are related to people: how https://reising-finanz.de/choosing-the-right-personal-property-insurance/ they respond to change, how they resist it and what they do when things don’t go as planned.

One of the main tasks we provide to our clients is to help them set up a process which allows them to spot possible issues early and respond to them quickly. This could be for instance, having a weekly meeting where the IMO and functional work streams review the progress made against the plan and escalate risks and issues to the SteerCo.

Once the procedure for addressing issues is established, it’s crucial to focus on implementation. This means ensuring that the team knows what it’s required to achieve, how that will be evaluated, and when. It’s also about clearly defining accountability (i.e. ownership of the end results) and decision making authority across the entire integrated business.

It is vital to ensure that the CEO and top management are able to devote at least 90 percent of their time working on core business issues and not be distracted by integration activities. It is an ideal idea to select someone who will oversee the Decision Management Office and coordinate work streams. This could be a person from the organization that acquired the company, or it can be an emerging star within the merging company who has the support of their boss to make this commitment.