M&A Market Pulse Report | MergeAssist

Welcome to the M&A Market Pulse Survey

This report will provide accounting and financial advisory firms with an analysis of the current trends, opportunities and challenges associated with M&A activity within this industry sector. We recognise that ultimately, the prime motivation behind most M&As is to maximise revenue, profit and business value.

As part of this report, we’re asking individuals directly involved with M&A activity to provide some feedback on their experiences and observations. All feedback will remain CONFIDENTIAL. Only consolidated results will be made available through the report.

In this survey, you will be asked to describe your role within the M&A outlined. You may be the seller, buyer or perhaps involved in a merger where you are taking on an equity position in a new business. Please describe your role as accurately as possible.

There are 20 questions in this survey. It should take you around 10 minutes to complete to survey. Thank you for your time.

Question Title

* 1. Describe the nature of your business

Core services

Secondary services

Annual gross revenue

Location (city)

Question Title

* 2. Describe your role in the merger or acquisition

Vendor (Seller)

Buyer

Question Title

* 3. Have you commenced or completed a merger or acquisition in the past 5 years? If not, you don’t need to go any further. If you’ve been involved in more than one transaction, refer to the most recent one in this survey .

Sale, Acquisition or merger? (indicate best option)

Year completed

Estimated value of fees involved

Question Title

* 4. Outline how relevant each of the following factors were in your decision-making process

	Not relevant	Somewhat relevant	Quite relevant	Very relevant
Sale of the business	Sale of the business Not relevant	Sale of the business Somewhat relevant	Sale of the business Quite relevant	Sale of the business Very relevant
Increase revenue and profit	Increase revenue and profit Not relevant	Increase revenue and profit Somewhat relevant	Increase revenue and profit Quite relevant	Increase revenue and profit Very relevant
Increase overall business value	Increase overall business value Not relevant	Increase overall business value Somewhat relevant	Increase overall business value Quite relevant	Increase overall business value Very relevant
Acquire new technologies	Acquire new technologies Not relevant	Acquire new technologies Somewhat relevant	Acquire new technologies Quite relevant	Acquire new technologies Very relevant
Create greater leverage	Create greater leverage Not relevant	Create greater leverage Somewhat relevant	Create greater leverage Quite relevant	Create greater leverage Very relevant
Defend against competition	Defend against competition Not relevant	Defend against competition Somewhat relevant	Defend against competition Quite relevant	Defend against competition Very relevant
Develop new service streams	Develop new service streams Not relevant	Develop new service streams Somewhat relevant	Develop new service streams Quite relevant	Develop new service streams Very relevant
Employ qualified and experienced staff	Employ qualified and experienced staff Not relevant	Employ qualified and experienced staff Somewhat relevant	Employ qualified and experienced staff Quite relevant	Employ qualified and experienced staff Very relevant
Expand the client base	Expand the client base Not relevant	Expand the client base Somewhat relevant	Expand the client base Quite relevant	Expand the client base Very relevant
Expand the geographical reach	Expand the geographical reach Not relevant	Expand the geographical reach Somewhat relevant	Expand the geographical reach Quite relevant	Expand the geographical reach Very relevant
Opportunistic (an offer was made)	Opportunistic (an offer was made) Not relevant	Opportunistic (an offer was made) Somewhat relevant	Opportunistic (an offer was made) Quite relevant	Opportunistic (an offer was made) Very relevant
Reduce operating costs as % revenue	Reduce operating costs as % revenue Not relevant	Reduce operating costs as % revenue Somewhat relevant	Reduce operating costs as % revenue Quite relevant	Reduce operating costs as % revenue Very relevant
Succession planning strategy	Succession planning strategy Not relevant	Succession planning strategy Somewhat relevant	Succession planning strategy Quite relevant	Succession planning strategy Very relevant

Question Title

* 5. Which of the following MOST ACCURATELY describes the nature of the transaction?

Transformational (a new combined business)

Absorption (a stronger business)

Tuck in (greater capacity, otherwise no real change)

Stand-alone (a separate business)

Question Title

* 6. How was the transaction funded (indicate % total if more than one option is chosen)

Company cash reserve

Cash reserve and bank lending

Partnership buy-in (external)

Equity swap

Other (describe)

Question Title

* 7. In retrospect, how would you consider the price paid for the transaction?

Too high

Just right

A bargain

Question Title

* 8. How would you describe the integration process following the transaction?

Well planned integration

Loosely planned integration

Ad hoc process

Question Title

* 9. If an integration team was formed, who was part of this team (outline up to 5 key roles)

Question Title

* 10. When did the integration team first get involved?

Initial screening

During due diligence

Finalisation of the transaction

After the transaction was completed

You're half way through the survey, just 10 questions remaining!

Question Title

* 11. Indicate how relevant each of the following areas of focus were for you following the transaction.

	Not relevant	Somewhat relevant	Quite relevant	Very relevant
Firm branding and positioning	Firm branding and positioning Not relevant	Firm branding and positioning Somewhat relevant	Firm branding and positioning Quite relevant	Firm branding and positioning Very relevant
Development of consolidated business strategy	Development of consolidated business strategy Not relevant	Development of consolidated business strategy Somewhat relevant	Development of consolidated business strategy Quite relevant	Development of consolidated business strategy Very relevant
Client transition and management	Client transition and management Not relevant	Client transition and management Somewhat relevant	Client transition and management Quite relevant	Client transition and management Very relevant
Internal communication	Internal communication Not relevant	Internal communication Somewhat relevant	Internal communication Quite relevant	Internal communication Very relevant
Integration of financial systems	Integration of financial systems Not relevant	Integration of financial systems Somewhat relevant	Integration of financial systems Quite relevant	Integration of financial systems Very relevant
Integration of IT hardware and software systems	Integration of IT hardware and software systems Not relevant	Integration of IT hardware and software systems Somewhat relevant	Integration of IT hardware and software systems Quite relevant	Integration of IT hardware and software systems Very relevant
Marketing activities for growth	Marketing activities for growth Not relevant	Marketing activities for growth Somewhat relevant	Marketing activities for growth Quite relevant	Marketing activities for growth Very relevant
Staff employment / remuneration levels	Staff employment / remuneration levels Not relevant	Staff employment / remuneration levels Somewhat relevant	Staff employment / remuneration levels Quite relevant	Staff employment / remuneration levels Very relevant
Staff training and professional development	Staff training and professional development Not relevant	Staff training and professional development Somewhat relevant	Staff training and professional development Quite relevant	Staff training and professional development Very relevant
Workflow integration and management	Workflow integration and management Not relevant	Workflow integration and management Somewhat relevant	Workflow integration and management Quite relevant	Workflow integration and management Very relevant
Leadership and management team organisation	Leadership and management team organisation Not relevant	Leadership and management team organisation Somewhat relevant	Leadership and management team organisation Quite relevant	Leadership and management team organisation Very relevant
Financial outcomes (revenue, profit, value)	Financial outcomes (revenue, profit, value) Not relevant	Financial outcomes (revenue, profit, value) Somewhat relevant	Financial outcomes (revenue, profit, value) Quite relevant	Financial outcomes (revenue, profit, value) Very relevant

Question Title

* 12. Overall, how successful was the transaction for you?

Very successful

Somewhat successful

Neutral outcome at this time

Somewhat unsuccessful

Very unsuccessful

Question Title

* 13. Indicate now successful each of the following elements of successful M&A were from your perspective.

	Very successful	Quite successful	Somewhat successful	Unsuccessful
Firm branding and positioning	Firm branding and positioning Very successful	Firm branding and positioning Quite successful	Firm branding and positioning Somewhat successful	Firm branding and positioning Unsuccessful
Development of consolidated business strategy	Development of consolidated business strategy Very successful	Development of consolidated business strategy Quite successful	Development of consolidated business strategy Somewhat successful	Development of consolidated business strategy Unsuccessful
Client transition and management	Client transition and management Very successful	Client transition and management Quite successful	Client transition and management Somewhat successful	Client transition and management Unsuccessful
Internal communication	Internal communication Very successful	Internal communication Quite successful	Internal communication Somewhat successful	Internal communication Unsuccessful
Integration of financial systems	Integration of financial systems Very successful	Integration of financial systems Quite successful	Integration of financial systems Somewhat successful	Integration of financial systems Unsuccessful
Integration of IT hardware and software systems	Integration of IT hardware and software systems Very successful	Integration of IT hardware and software systems Quite successful	Integration of IT hardware and software systems Somewhat successful	Integration of IT hardware and software systems Unsuccessful
Marketing activities for growth	Marketing activities for growth Very successful	Marketing activities for growth Quite successful	Marketing activities for growth Somewhat successful	Marketing activities for growth Unsuccessful
Staff employment / remuneration levels	Staff employment / remuneration levels Very successful	Staff employment / remuneration levels Quite successful	Staff employment / remuneration levels Somewhat successful	Staff employment / remuneration levels Unsuccessful
Staff training and professional development	Staff training and professional development Very successful	Staff training and professional development Quite successful	Staff training and professional development Somewhat successful	Staff training and professional development Unsuccessful
Workflow integration and management	Workflow integration and management Very successful	Workflow integration and management Quite successful	Workflow integration and management Somewhat successful	Workflow integration and management Unsuccessful
Leadership and management team organisation	Leadership and management team organisation Very successful	Leadership and management team organisation Quite successful	Leadership and management team organisation Somewhat successful	Leadership and management team organisation Unsuccessful
Financial outcomes (revenue, profit, value)	Financial outcomes (revenue, profit, value) Very successful	Financial outcomes (revenue, profit, value) Quite successful	Financial outcomes (revenue, profit, value) Somewhat successful	Financial outcomes (revenue, profit, value) Unsuccessful

Question Title

* 14. In relation to staff performance and professional development, what key challenges did you see post M&A?

Question Title

* 15. In your experience, what are the key causes of M&A transition challenges?

	Very important	Quite important	Somewhat important	Not important
Conflicting cultures	Conflicting cultures Very important	Conflicting cultures Quite important	Conflicting cultures Somewhat important	Conflicting cultures Not important
Management issues	Management issues Very important	Management issues Quite important	Management issues Somewhat important	Management issues Not important
Poor internal communication	Poor internal communication Very important	Poor internal communication Quite important	Poor internal communication Somewhat important	Poor internal communication Not important
Lag in delivering client services	Lag in delivering client services Very important	Lag in delivering client services Quite important	Lag in delivering client services Somewhat important	Lag in delivering client services Not important
Poor communication with clients	Poor communication with clients Very important	Poor communication with clients Quite important	Poor communication with clients Somewhat important	Poor communication with clients Not important
Conflicting objectives and goals	Conflicting objectives and goals Very important	Conflicting objectives and goals Quite important	Conflicting objectives and goals Somewhat important	Conflicting objectives and goals Not important
Unexpected challenges arising	Unexpected challenges arising Very important	Unexpected challenges arising Quite important	Unexpected challenges arising Somewhat important	Unexpected challenges arising Not important
Lack of an integration plan	Lack of an integration plan Very important	Lack of an integration plan Quite important	Lack of an integration plan Somewhat important	Lack of an integration plan Not important
Unrealistic expectations	Unrealistic expectations Very important	Unrealistic expectations Quite important	Unrealistic expectations Somewhat important	Unrealistic expectations Not important

Almost there, just 5 questions remaining. Thanks for your time

Question Title

* 16. What, if anything, would you do differently with your next M&A transaction?

Question Title

* 17. Do you intend to commence or complete a merger or acquisition in the next 5 years? If so, outline the proposed nature of the transaction.

Sale, acquisition or merger (indicate which)

Year anticipated

Estimated value of fees involved

Question Title

* 18. How do you intend to identify potential M&A targets? (multiple responses can be provided)

Business broker

Colleagues

External networks

External consultants

Financial institution

Recruitment agency

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 19. Overall, how would you describe the experience of being involved in an M&A transaction?

Question Title

* 20. Any further comments or thoughts (get it off your chest!)

Question Title

* 21. Thank you for completing this survey. If you would like a copy of the final report, please provide your contact details below

Name

Firm

Email Address

Thanks for your time. The survey report will be forwarded to you once all responses are collated.

For any feedback or queries, please call 1300 621 883

www.mergeassisst.com.au