Are you clear about the work after an acquisition?
Use these prompts when preparing for integration or reviewing an existing plan. Involve the people who will own delivery as well as those leading the transaction. Tick each question once discussed; an unanswered question is a useful planning finding, not a failed test. Completion is not confirmation that a transaction or integration is ready.
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Discussion date and participants
1. Agree the intended outcome
1.1 Can we explain what the acquisition is intended to achieve and which integration decisions are needed to support that outcome?
1.2 Have we identified what must change, what can remain different and which decisions are still open?
1.3 Are the key assumptions about people, client relationships, systems and ways of working explicit and supported by appropriate evidence?
2. Map dependencies and responsibilities
2.1 Who owns the work across people, clients, investment arrangements, operations, data and technology?
2.2 Which activities depend on other decisions, approvals, third parties or specialist reviews, and are those dependencies visible in the plan?
2.3 Do the people responsible have the capacity and authority to deliver integration while maintaining day-to-day service?
3. Prepare for delivery
3.1 Have we agreed how and when to communicate with colleagues and clients, including how questions and concerns will be handled?
3.2 Where a system or process change is planned, are testing, acceptance, continuity and recovery arrangements clearly owned?
3.3 How will we track progress, unresolved risks and the intended benefits, and who will decide when the plan needs to change?
Your next three priorities
1. Action · owner · evidence needed · review date
2. Action · owner · evidence needed · review date
3. Action · owner · evidence needed · review date
Turn the answers into a list of decisions, dependencies and accountable owners. This is a discussion aid, not transaction due diligence or a complete integration plan. It does not replace the legal, regulatory, financial, technical or other specialist work appropriate to the transaction.
Completion records questions considered; it is not a business score or assurance.