Chapter 15
Day 1 Implications for IT Functions
Day 1 is a significant event in the M&A lifecycle, because it represents the official change in ownership, with the buyer organization assuming control of the target organization. The Day 1 scope will vary based on whether the transaction is a partial or whole acquisition and also based on the buyer or seller perspective. However, a constant across most transactions is that information technology (IT) is a major part of Day 1.
Most business or functional changes have underlying implications for IT. As a result, IT should make sure it is engaged early in the planning process across the major functional areas. Furthermore, plans should be aligned to help confirm that changes are not conflicting and there is sufficient IT capacity to execute all required IT work.
As documented in Exhibit 15.1, in our experience, there are six core areas that have critical IT dependencies on Day 1.
Exhibit 15.1 Areas with Critical IT Dependencies
Top Day 1 Priorities for IT
On Day 1, a multitude of things must happen almost simultaneously. The following are some of the key action items and considerations.
Finance Separation
Most transactions require financial separation as a basic legal and regulatory requirement. The level of scrutiny of the financial separation increases if public entities are involved on either side, and will ...
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