As well as opportunities, M&A deals always also harbour risks. In order to make the right decision, it’s important to be able to access reliable valuations. Thanks to digitalisation, IT is becoming a significant factor in valuations.

In any event, IT has become a core value within a business. At least since the arrival of the GDPR, every company is required to implement extensive data protection measures, starting at the company’s homepage and even going beyond the company’s ERP systems. The risks in M&A deals in this area are considerable. Therefore, with buy-and-build strategies and transactions, the GDPR and data separation requirements must be observed, but the systems and processes side must also be considered by IT due diligence.
There are not only dangers, however – opportunities may also arise related to operational value creation and potential synergies. Precisely these opportunities should be identified and leveraged. IT is not only a cost and risk factor; it also has potential for increasing value, so companies can face the future with even more confidence.

 

IT due diligence with Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton’s international team of IT specialists have a tried-and-trusted understanding of mid-market sectors. This combination of sector-specific expertise and technical know-how allows us to carry out due diligence in depth on your company’s IT, so you can leverage hidden sources of potential, identify opportunities and minimise risks.

As part of our IT due diligence, we ask questions such as:

  • Does the company's IT set-up support the current and future business strategy?
  • Are its IT costs appropriate? Is there a back-log in investing in IT?
  • Does the IT target operating model meet today’s requirements?
  • Are all the key resources needed to run IT profitably in place?
  • Are all the guidelines for the core IT processes including implementation state of the art?
  • Did any critical findings result from the physical inspection of key IT infrastructure, from the entire data centre down to individual cables?
  • What software packages and interfaces are in use, especially with regard to critical and financially relevant applications? Where do manual short-cuts exist?
  • What IT projects are currently running?
  • What is the situation regarding compliance with existing certification and observation of existing requirements?

Our IT due diligence experts and Partners Alexander Griesmeier and Thomas Takkin and their outstanding technical team are personally available for all your questions on IT due diligence. 

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