The economic impact on businesses by the pandemic and prolonged lockdowns has been brutal; it's an environment that requires business leaders to be at their best to navigate their organisations through unprecedented challenges and uncertainty.
Whilst survival might seem like the only priority, it's no longer the focus for many executives. Those that were well equipped and suitably structured before the pandemic have been able to quickly re-strategise, taking advantage of new opportunities and aligning them with corporate objectives to stabilise business performance. Achieving growth is back as a paramount goal. Two principal methods are via organic growth or M&A. In this segment, we give the spotlight to CFO's embarking on M&A as part of their strategy and provide insights on how they can overcome the common challenges to unlock real value.
Managing the M&A process and outcomes can be an arduous undertaking. Our 4 hot spot areas we recommend you give special attention are stakeholder management, regulatory and compliance risk, Integration and ERP systems infrastructure.
Depending on the type of M&A transaction, combining two organisations, increases compliance and regulatory risk, which require adequate solutions to mitigate. In the rapidly evolving digital economy, these are often IT-based.
Stakeholders play a pivotal role in how well firms merge, if poorly managed, they will slow down the transition process and delay realising benefits. Integration is often undervalued and underestimated; significant benefits are derived from having smooth dataflows for easy reporting and decision making, standardised processes and procedures boost efficiency and reduce costs. A robust ERP platform creates a strong foundation for successful integration. CFOs should lean towards SaaS solutions that offer more flexibility and cost-effectiveness and allow teams to work anytime from anywhere in the world with ease compared to on-premise solutions.
Speed of a transaction often dictates what executives can achieve, and there can be many unknowns with added pressure to continue trading as a new structure ASAP. Decision-makers naturally jump on a tactical solution that seems like the best option, typically in the form of consultancy services from the 'Big Four' firms. But how much value lies in a patched, short-term solution, merely able to delay the need for restructure and transformation whilst wasting away your budget?
Strategic solutions are the best way to solve these challenges and sustain a long-term competitive advantage from an M&A growth strategy. Dynamic CFOs should be backed by a solid digital transformation roadmap, with SaaS ERP systems that enable them to onboard/merge new entities quickly and train staff faster, whilst flexible enough to meet the difficulties of regulatory risks in a global business environment. Fully integrated systems with smooth dataflows will aid decision-making and provide insights to spot business and revenue growth areas.
At Change Frontier, we focus on delivering strategic solutions, giving your team access to highly qualified consultants specialised in finance change and transformation at a much more affordable rate to see you through your long-term goals.
Our object is to empower your growth initiative with proven methodologies and the experience of our experts. We are conscious of how, now more than ever, finance change leaders need to deal with the limitations of outdated infrastructure, and we are here to support organisations successfully navigate that journey.
Stay ahead and become agile. Let's deliver success together.