Exclusive preview – September/October
Mergers and acquisitions have been notoriously difficult to get right once the money has changed hands, and studies – and anecdotal evidence – suggest that most M&As fail to deliver their stated goals or achieve value. It would therefore appear to be a ripe area for internal audit’s input.
in Features.
An exclusive preview of one of the articles in this month’s magazine.
Coming soon: “Your move”
But an international survey conducted in 2002 for IIA Global found that there was a low level of involvement by internal auditors at the various stages of M&As, despite a willingness on their part to help from the start of the process. Instead, the research found that internal audit’s contribution was limited to the due diligence or post-acquisition audit stage.
Ten years on, the situation does not seem to have changed much: internal audit is commonly involved in M&A work after their implementation – and often only at the request of management.
David Coombs, an internal audit and risk management consultant, says: “Management is less likely to include internal audit unless it has a proven record of adding value through the audit process or previously being actively engaged in M&A work.”
As a result, says Rainer Lenz, vice-president of internal audit at pharmaceuticals company Actavis: “The only way that internal auditors can really convince management that they should be part of the project from an early stage is to show that they understand what is involved and what the inherent risks are – and to realise that most mergers fail rather than succeed.”
Want to find out more?
Look out for the full feature, “Your move”, in the next issue of Audit & Risk.
