your staff will be much more comfortable.
by marc rosenberg
cpa firm mergers: your complete guide
most firms find that it takes three to four years to fully implement a merger. but during the first few months after the merger’s effective date, there are quite a few administrative and procedural issues that need to be attended to immediately.
more: m&a: the six types of due diligence | why solo cpas need pcas | mergers: one stage or two?
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most firms try to get as much of a head start as possible before the effective date.
merger implementation checklist
| action step | assigned to | due date |
| 1. get seller to bill out as much of their wip and collect as much of their receivables as possible prior to merger. | ||
| 2. prior to the merger, compile the necessary data to allocate post-merger client invoices between work done before and after merger. | ||
| 3. transition any wip by seller personnel who will not be working for the buyer. | ||
| 4. decide how to contact seller’s clients about the merger; some in person, some by phone, all by mail. | ||
| 5. make the contacts, per step 4. | ||
| 6. convene a joint session of buyer and seller personnel as an orientation and introduction. | ||
| 7. notify seller personnel of upcoming firm business and social events. | ||
| 8. send formal, written employment letters to the seller’s personnel, just as the buyer does when hiring their own personnel. | ||
| 9. distribute employee/personnel manuals; get signoff. | ||
| 10. arrange for training incoming personnel in areas such as work product presentation, workpaper standards, work processes, technology, systems, filling out forms. | ||
| 11. order new stationery, business cards and similar materials. | ||
| 12. change signage. | ||
| 13. handle checks from clients received that are due the seller. | ||
| 14. physically move files, furniture, etc. agree on filing systems for client files and convert. move and cull files, if necessary, at outside location. | ||
| 15. make decisions regarding it systems, health insurance, business insurance, general policies and procedures (work hours, vacations, holidays, expense reimbursements, etc.). | ||
| 16. add seller personnel to health insurance, personnel files and cpe records. | ||
| 17. distribute keys and building passes. | ||
| 18. assign offices and workspaces to seller personnel; contract for and furnish more office space. arrange for necessary computer and telephone cabling. | ||
| 19. decide salary levels for incoming personnel and get them on the payroll. | ||
| 20. review buyer’s hardware capacity to handle seller workstations, application needs, etc. make necessary upgrades. | ||
| 21. same as above for telephone system. | ||
| 22. assign billing rates to seller personnel. | ||
| 23. load seller’s client information on buyer time-and-billing system. | ||
| 24. merge seller’s and buyer’s mailing lists. | ||
| 25. if tax return due date control is different from seller’s client list, load seller’s clients. | ||
| 26. send press release and client announcements. | ||
| 27. contact professional liability insurance carrier and make any needed changes. | ||
| 28. obtain employment agreements with seller personnel, especially nonsolicitation agreements. | ||
| 29. review all contractual obligations of seller, such as printers, maintenance agreements and tech system agreements. | ||
| 30. arrange telephone call forwarding, email and mail forwarding for seller’s personnel. | ||
| 31. review the need to continue/cancel organization memberships, subscriptions, reporting services, books, etc. | ||
| 32. integrate seller’s client work schedule and immediately begin scheduling the work. | ||
| 33. get copies of seller’s partners’ licenses and similar documents. | ||
| 34. update fixed-assets inventory; photograph all assets. |