Deloitte. Managing risk in the M&A box

Managing risk in the M&A box Broaden your approach or keep it contained? Point Counterpoint Go broad and deep “Manage M&A risk using a structured approach with broad involvement across the entire enterprise.” Broad and deep enables better informed decisions. When more people are empowered to monitor risk, it can reduce the likelihood of issues slipping through the cracks — and you can more effectively assess the value of a deal. M&A deals can happen fast. Hold out for fully informed decisions and opportunities may be lost. This is how you work to avoid surprises. If you don’t sweat the details until later, you’re less likely to make the deal pay off. It’s impossible to anticipate every problem, so why try? Better to focus on responding to problems quickly. If your whole organization knows what you’re looking for in terms of M&A risk, you’re more likely to uncover more issues. Executive leadership, the deal teams and board should manage M&A risk. The fewer people involved the better. Broader involvement helps create a seamless transition from the deal phase to execution, which is where many acquisitions fall down. Business unit and functional leaders should focus on their day-to-day operations and not get distracted by M&A until a deal is fully integrated/divested.