Article at a glance:

Smoothing postmerger integration

• After a merger or acquisition has been announced, the CFO must manage the old business while integrating the new one—often with few sources of information.
• Even those who understand the value of a clean team often resist appointing one, because they overestimate how much time a clean team needs to add value.
• Clean teams play different roles in different stages of the integration effort. A very basic clean team can meet its objectives in a matter of weeks.
• An effort to support integration will eventually be necessary in all mergers. Even a basic clean team can help companies complete the integration sooner—so that they can begin to reap the synergies of the merger.