Mergers and acquisitions are terms used in business transactions. Though business people use mergers and acquisitions terms interchangeably, both mergers and acquisitions terms differ in meaning, application, and effect to each of the organizations affected.
A merger is a process in which two independent entities or businesses agree to unite to produce a single new firm doing the same for another kind of business. It’s jointly owned by both of the original two merged companies. The degree of management and industry participation in each of these merging companies is normally agreed upon.
The mergers and acquisitions agreement also includes the placements of their workers before they joined together and the financial considerations that resulted from the deal.
On the other hand, the act of one entity taking over the business of another firm is referred to as an acquisition. The acquired firm agrees to be taken over to create and increase the value of its shareholdings. A corporation may engage in mergers and acquisitions to broaden the scope of its operations or expand its business’ market share.
Negotiations may seem like a simple transaction to business executives because of all the favors it promises monetarily. However, it’s a very challenging job for each of the company’s accounting departments. If you’re one of these companies working out a merger or acquisition, it’s more advantageous if you hire experts at Sharp LLC to assist you regarding these matters.
Some Things To Know About Mergers And Acquisitions
1. Establish The Financial Statements
It may be a good investment opportunity and marketing strategy to merge with another firm doing the same business as yours. Conversely, it may be worth your investment to acquire a business competitor to widen your market. But these profitable business strategies also double the intricacies and hurdles of your financial data.
There are many reasons why firms consent to merge or be acquired by another. But almost every time, it’s due to financial reasons. One of the merging firms can no longer continue its operations due to a lack of funds. But they may have a solid market base from which the other company may benefit.
Whatever the cause may be, it’s necessary to establish a financial baseline. You must record the current overall situation of each company joining forces. Accounting for the availability of funds and resources during a merger or acquisition can easily be tracked down when financial statements are well established before the transaction.
2. Know Who’s The Acquirer
An acquirer is a company or institution that buys another firm, its property, other ownerships, and other rights. There will always be an acquirer in an acquisition business transaction. It’s the party that ends up maintaining control over the combined businesses.
It may not be so in mergers where firms agree to pool all their resources to help each other thrive in a given market. There may be instances where a more prominent business may merge with a smaller one. Still, this transaction may contain an agreement that the larger company’s name will survive, and the smaller ones will be absorbed.
One definition of control means ‘the power to manage the financial and operating policies of an entity or business to derive advantages from its actions.’ Sometimes it’s the main reason why a company wishes to acquire another. It’s to possess and take complete control over it.
The acquirer must be identified so that the status and capacities of each joined entity be fully accounted for. Accounting for the assets and liabilities of each combined firm is very laborious and complicated to start with.
It would create confusion and inaccuracies in the consolidated financial statements later if they didn’t adequately establish the personality of the acquired and the acquirer during negotiations.
It’s also the acquirer’s responsibility to allocate all the acquisition costs to be recorded in the financial books of the new company.
3. Compliance To Standards
Accounting for mergers and acquisitions covers an extensive scope. That’s why states must establish rules and implement guidelines for the transaction to be legally compliant. These standards and policies are also set to protect each party to the merger or acquisition.
The fair value of the assets and all the valuables of each combining company must be accounted for. It needs to be reported according to accounting standards. It’s to help account for the actual worth of these firms at the time of the acquisition or merger. Most of the time, Valuation is done by third-party property evaluators to avoid issues of fraud and other illegalities among the parties.
All legal documentation should be appropriately made into public documents and recorded accordingly to bind parties to their agreements and accountabilities.
Bottom Line
You may find it daunting because there are still so many things to know and watch out for before, during, and after themergers and acquisitions negotiations. It’s just worth noting that all of them are set by the international accounting standards that are adhered to by businesses worldwide. Consider all the information mentioned above to have an idea of how mergers and acquisitions work.
