What M&A Readiness Really Means

Effective M&A preparation aligns financials, legal documentation, and operations with buyer expectations. It includes a credible business valuation, clean data rooms, and clear narratives on growth, risks, and synergies. The goal is to make diligence fast, transparent, and defensible.

Financial Preparation Essentials

1) Audit-Ready Financial Statements

Produce reconciled, consistent statements with clear policies for revenue recognition, accruals, and provisions. Fix classification issues before diligence.

2) Clean Bookkeeping and Ledgers

Ensure accurate, timely bookkeeping, documented month-end checklists, and fully reconciled banks, AR/AP, payroll, and taxes.

3) Forecasts and Unit Economics

Provide a realistic budget and rolling forecast with assumptions tied to history, pipeline, and capacity. Include unit economics and sensitivity analyses.

4) Working Capital & Inventory

Prepare a normalized working-capital analysis and robust inventory valuation with slow-moving and obsolete stock policies.

Operational and Legal Preparation

• Contracts & compliance: Centralize customer, vendor, IP, and employment agreements; resolve expiries, change-of-control clauses, and compliance gaps.

• Tax & statutory: Clear filings, VAT status, and any rulings or exposures with supporting documents.

• People & org: Role descriptions, incentive plans, and retention risks documented for buyer review.

• Systems: If relevant, map processes and controls in SAP Financials or your ERP; export repeatable reports for diligence.

Build a Buyer-Friendly Data Room

Organize folders for financials, KPIs, legal, tax, HR, tech, and operations. Use consistent file naming, version control, and an index. Include a Q&A log to track responses and clarifications during diligence.

Craft a Defensible Valuation Story

Triangulate methods from our guide to valuation methods—DCF, market multiples, and asset-based—into a coherent range. Link the story to growth drivers, synergies, and a clear plan for post-deal integration.

Run a Competitive and Controlled Process

• Teaser & NDA: Share a non-confidential teaser, then a management presentation after NDA.

• Timeline discipline: Define milestones for IOIs, LOIs, diligence, and SPA negotiation.

• Communication plan: Align internal/external messaging to protect morale and confidentiality.

Be Deal-Ready and Confident at the Negotiating Table

Reportat supports Austrian SMEs with end-to-end M&A preparation—from valuation and forecasts to data room setup and diligence responses—so you maximize value and minimize surprises.

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Prepare your company for mergers and acquisitions with audit-ready financials, realistic forecasts, defensible business valuation, and an organized data room. Our resources help SMEs and startups in Austria run a smooth, competitive process that protects value and accelerates closing.