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    The first 100 days, planned before closing

    We plan the first 100 days before closing. Then we change the bank mandates, close the first month on the new owner's terms, set up the reporting and hand over to a team that can run it.

    Render the same truth differently for each audience, but never keep different underlying numbers. (read where we wrote it)

    What do we take over in the first 100 days?

    The finance side of a newly bought business, in four parts. For a small acquisition, that is most of the integration.

    1. Day one

      What has to be true the morning after closing.

      • Bank mandates and signatories changed
      • The opening balance sheet agreed
      • Payroll, GST and statutory filings carried on without a gap

    2. The first close and the controls

      The books moved to the new owner's standard, and the controls that protect cash.

      • The first month-end close
      • Approval limits and payment controls
      • Dealings with the old owner's other companies ended or priced

    3. Reporting to the new owner

      One pack, on one set of definitions, every month.

      • The monthly MIS and the board pack
      • The plan against actuals
      • Loan covenants and any earn-out tracked

    4. Systems and people

      The finance team, its tools, and who approves what.

      • Finance roles and handovers
      • Accounting and ERP moves
      • The old owner's handover plan

    How do we hand a bought business to its new owner?

    The plan comes first, while the seller can still answer questions. The next three run through the first months after closing.

    1. Plan the first 100 days before closing

      What must change on day one, what must not change yet, and who owns each item, agreed while the seller is still in the room.

    2. Close the first month on the new owner's terms

      The opening balance sheet, the first month-end close and the controls on cash, so the numbers the deal was priced on keep holding.

    3. Put the reporting in place

      One monthly pack for the new owner and the lenders, with the plan against actuals and any earn-out or loan covenant tracked.

    4. Hand over to a team that can run it

      Finance roles, systems and the old owner's handover settled, so the function keeps running once we step back.

    What do buyers ask about the first 100 days?

    What is post-merger integration?

    Bringing a business you have bought under your own systems, controls and reporting, so it can be run as part of your company or trusted on its own. For a small acquisition, the finance side is most of the work.

    Why the first 100 days?

    Because habits set in fast. A payment approved the old way in the first month becomes the way it is done. And the lenders and investors who funded the deal want their first report early.

    Is this only for large mergers?

    No. It matters more for a first acquisition, where the buyer has no integration team and the seller's finance function was often one person.

    What goes wrong most often?

    Cash. Bank mandates left with the seller, payments still approved by people who have left, and money owed by customers that nobody chases in the month of the handover.