Acquisition Integration, in Hindsight

Each acquisition and integration is unique and has its own set of complexities and challenges. Mistakes will be made along the way, up-front assumptions will turn out to be inaccurate, and cultures and roles will inevitably clash. We all know the old saying, “Hindsight is 20-20.” When it comes to an acquisition and integration effort, a look back can provide great insight into what went well, what didn’t go well, and what should be done differently the next time.

For organizations that intend to remain active in acquisitions, a hindsight look before the acquisition is completed can be extremely beneficial. The effort needn’t be long-term; but for it to be efficient and effective, it should be structured, focused and well-organized. When we ask our clients to look retrospectively at an acquisition, we typically take the following approach:

• Establish a “hindsight team” made up of representatives from each functional area of both organizations. The representatives should play key management roles and, ideally, have been involved throughout the process, including front-end due diligence and implementation.

• Establish and define hindsight team roles, responsibilities and accountabilities.

• Establish templates for summarizing information and lessons learned so that the intelligence can be easily summarized, referenced and incorporated into plans for the next acquisition.

• Define categories under which to gather the information (external/internal communications; financial objectives; system testing and validation; cultural integration; and so on).

• Conduct workshops and interviews as needed to gather desired information to determine what went well and should be repeated, what did not go well, and what should be done differently.

• Establish a strong linkage between actual impacts on the up-front business case.

A critical outcome from this process should be to answer this ultimate question: “Did this acquisition make sense?” Answering this question at some level should be considered part of post-integration “business as usual” and does not need to be a complex, time-consuming effort—it could be as simple as comparing the financials on the first anniversary of the integration. At the functional level, work volumes, expense savings and revenue projections can be tracked by functional area so that impacts can be reported. The key is having a process and plan in place to track the short-term and long-term financial effects of the acquisition and then be able to tie everything back to the pre-acquisition business case.

On a smaller scale, system conversions or implementations provide a great example of this. Once the system is in place and the organization gets back to business as usual, there is a tendency to lose sight of whether the projected financial benefits or ROI are actually realized. The same often holds true for acquisitions. It is surprising that acquiring organizations are often unable to confidently answer the ultimate hindsight question because there is no process to measure or monitor the results.

A well-executed hindsight review can be a significant driver of future acquisition success and should be included in the latter stages of any integration plan.

Mike Meyer is a senior consultant at The Robert E. Nolan Co., a management consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry.

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