Achieving Synergy After a Merger

The Client was unsure of the scope of support needed, thus our Accordion team planned for two senior consultants to initialize the engagement and finalize a project roadmap that allowed for flexible staffing. Our work included:

• Process and Controls Review: Working with a cross-functional Integration Team, we identified key business issues, critical metrics, and “pain points”. We also provided thought leadership for handling hard-to-track items, monitoring one-timers, and standardizing allowances for training and other miscellaneous costs. Where estimates were more practical to use, a process for accruals and true-ups was implemented to maintain integrity of financial records.
• Planning, Tracking & Reporting: Headcount and Payroll data was sourced from existing HR systems, with minor modifications to create an auditable historical record. A robust database was developed to enable tracking headcount and savings realized vs. total rosters and salaries for both Plan and Actuals. Reporting was created by department, manager and location with transparency to drill-down to names and dates.
• Project Management: Our team was tasked with creating an end-to-end process beginning with a Synergy Plan, calendarizing planned actions into the budget, and establishing an ongoing business rhythm for review and corrective actions. A bottoms-up approach drove ownership and accountability among department heads. Roles of support functions were clearly defined to bring control and oversight.

Our Accordion team implemented a process to leverage existing systems, complemented by ad-hoc reporting tools.  Process refinements simplified inputs to improve accuracy and reliability while reducing resource requirements and timing.  The overarching emphasis was to support monthly Management reviews with a focus on execution and accountability to drive achievement of the $100M+ synergy goal.