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Post-acquisition treasury is fundamentally a sequencing challenge. Certain processes must function seamlessly on Day One, others can be addressed within the first six weeks, and some will inevitably require a full quarter, regardless of urgency. This guide outlines the critical tasks in their optimal sequence: from essential pre-signing safeguards to the connections and integrations that typically settle by week twelve.
What post-acquisition treasury integration covers, and what it does not
Integration is more than merging bank accounts. Post-acquisition treasury covers cash visibility, payment continuity, control of bank mandates and the transfer of risk. Its remit is working capital, liquidity, debt and financial risk. Accounting, tax and the wider business integration sit with the finance workstream, and the post merger integration finance plan should say so in writing. The role of treasury during M&A is easier to defend when that line is drawn early.
What treasury needs to know before completion, not after
Gaps in information after close can expose the group to financial, operational and legal risk. Treasury needs the acquired company's banking landscape, mandate structure, authorised signatories and critical payment cycles before completion, within what the deal terms and competition rules allow. Where sharing is restricted before closing, agree a clean-team route with legal rather than waiting for Day 1.
The inventory you need before completion
Below is a simplified example of a post merger integration checklist, shown part-way through an acquisition. Each row is information you need from the acquired company before completion, and the status shows what has arrived so far. Anything still pending at completion becomes a Day 1 risk.
| Category | Details required | Source | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank accounts | Full list by entity, currency, account and bank | Acquired company CFO | Received |
| Mandates | Signatories, limits and approval matrix | Company secretary | Pending |
| Payment calendar | Payroll, tax and supplier cycles | Finance and HR | Received |
| Debt and covenants | Facilities, guarantees, covenants, change-of-control terms, maturities | Acquired company treasury and legal | Pending |
Day 1: the four things that must work the morning after completion
On Day 1, continuity is non-negotiable. Four things have to work:
- Payments that cannot fail: payroll, critical supplier payments and taxes released on time.
- Access to balances: every account’s position visible to treasury.
- Valid bank mandates: current, effective and unambiguous.
- Authority to move money: confirmed before completion, not discovered on the day.
| Area | What good looks like | Owner | Fallback |
|---|---|---|---|
| Critical payments | Payroll, tax and supplier runs release on schedule | Treasury and finance ops | Manual processing through the bank portal |
| Bank mandates | Authorised signatories in place at every bank | Company secretary | Temporary waivers agreed with the bank |
| Cash visibility | Daily balances for every account | Treasury | Manual balance reporting |
| Payment authority | Approval limits and process documented | Treasury and finance | Board-level escalation |
Integration advisers such as BD Emerson treat the transfer of legal and banking authority as a Day 1 priority. Systems migrations come later and are sequenced by risk, so the ERP is rarely the first to move. The immediate task is to establish who has the authority to move the acquired company's cash.
Who is authorised to move the acquired company's cash
This starts with the bank mandates and internal controls that govern who can access and move the money. Review every account, verify existing signatories and approval limits, and amend them where they do not meet group policy. Departed signatories, former approvers on dormant accounts, and limits set for a smaller business are common findings. If adding group signatories requires bank account onboarding, start before completion. Banks have their own checks and timetables, and delays can leave the group without the authority it needs to manage cash from Day 1.
| Bank | Signatory and limit | Approval rule | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Bank X] | [Name], acquired company CFO, £250,000 | Two signatories | Amend to group policy |
| [Bank Y] | [Name], former financial controller, £50,000 | Single signatory | Remove and replace |
Weeks 1–6: bank account inventory, mandates and rationalisation
Start with a full map of accounts - entity, owner, purpose, services used, fees and signatories. Then decide what closes, what stays and in what order. Close nothing that a payroll run, direct debit or customer collection still depends on, and leave accounts tied to facilities open until the lender agrees. Names and figures below are illustrative.
| Entity | Bank | Currency | Owner | Purpose | Services used | Annual fee (£) | Signatories | Facility link | Action | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Entity A] | [Bank X] | GBP | [Finance lead] | Operating | Payroll file | 2,400 | [Names and limits] | None | Keep | No change on Day 1 |
| [Entity B] | [Bank Y] | EUR | [Credit control lead] | Receivables | Customer collections | 1,100 | [Names and limits] | To confirm with lender | Review | After lender confirms and collections are rerouted |
| [Entity C] | [Bank X] | USD | [Finance lead] | Legacy | None live | 600 | [Names and limits] | None | Close | Last, once no dependencies are confirmed |
Weeks 2–8: one cash position across the enlarged group
You can establish visibility over the enlarged group’s cash position well before systems migration is complete. Daily bank reports, existing bank feeds or a structured manual file can provide an interim view by entity, bank account and currency. The aim at this stage is to establish visibility, not redesign the underlying systems or banking structure.
But visibility is not the same as control. Treasury needs to know not only where the money is, but how much is available, which accounts it can access, who can authorise payments and how long it takes to obtain a reliable answer. If establishing the group’s cash position means chasing reports, reconciling figures across spreadsheets and checking balances with individual entities, that delay has operational consequences. Decisions are being made on information that may already be out of date. Record when each balance was captured, distinguish reported cash from cash that is actually available to use, and establish who has the authority to move it.
For the longer-term build, see our guide to cash visibility across multiple entities.
| Capture | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Balance and time captured | Shows how stale the number is |
| Reported vs available cash | Separates what the bank says from what you can use |
| Accounts you can access | Shows what you can actually reach |
| Who can authorise payments | Shows who can move the money |
Weeks 4–12: connecting the acquired entity's banks and ERP
Connections run on different timelines depending on the bank, the region and the connection type, so plan each one separately and keep a manual fallback until it goes live. Bank-side testing and security approval usually set the pace, not the technical build. Host-to-host banking is the clearest example: a prepared bank can go live in weeks, while an in-house build can take months per bank. Wider ERP and banking integrations follow once the banks are stable.
| Connection type | Indicative timeline | What sets the pace | Fallback until live |
|---|---|---|---|
| Host-to-host | 4–12 weeks per bank | Bank testing and security approval | Bank portal, manual file upload |
| Bank API | 2–6 weeks | Whether the bank offers it for this entity | Daily statement download |
| SWIFT (MT940) | 6–12 weeks | Agreements and bank onboarding | Daily statement download |
| ERP | Often beyond week 12 | Sequenced after banks and cash visibility | Manual postings |
The risk, debt and covenants you inherit at completion
Catalogue every loan, guarantee, covenant and major contract, and make sure treasury can monitor each from Day 1. Check change-of-control clauses first because completion can trigger a prepayment, a consent requirement or a default if the lender has not been told. Then check cross-default links, and whether covenants are tested on the acquired entity alone or on the enlarged group.
| Facility | Amount | Key covenant | Tested | Maturity | On change of control | Monitoring owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revolver B | £5m | Minimum liquidity of £1m | [Frequency] | 30 Jun 2028 | Mandatory prepayment | Group treasury |
| Term loan A | £10m | Debt/EBITDA not exceeding 3.0x | [Frequency] | 31 Dec 2027 | Lender consent required | Group treasury |
Where the finance workstream owns it, and where treasury does
Treasury owns cash, liquidity, debt and financial risk. Finance owns accounting, tax and compliance. Integration works when each task has one owner and the other team knows it is supporting. Record the split in the post merger integration finance plan and review it at each phase.
| Task | Primary owner | Supporting |
|---|---|---|
| Bank account rationalisation | Treasury | Finance, legal |
| ERP postings and configuration | Finance | Treasury |
| Intercompany funding set-up | Treasury | Finance |
| Covenant monitoring | Treasury | Legal, finance |
| Financial reporting integration | Finance | Treasury |
A realistic timeline, and the part of this that cannot be compressed
Updating bank mandates, securing payment authority and completing bank-side testing cannot be hurried without risking a failed payment run. Build slack for external dependencies, regulatory approvals and systems work, and protect the Day 1 essentials first. Once the connections are live, the acquired entity's accounts can feed a treasury management system giving the group a consolidated view, and control, of its cash
Use the post-merger integration checklist as a weekly control, not a one-off document. Assign an owner, deadline and fallback to every action, so progress is tracked and delays have a clear response. This is what keeps post-acquisition treasury on track beyond day 100.
