The synergy your finance team will actually sign
Deals are signed on synergies and judged on what happens on the floor. A synergy only counts when finance would put its name to it.
Ines Bramley
,
Partner
·
5 min read
Integration
·
4 Aug 2026
The synergy your finance team will actually sign
Deals are signed on synergies and judged on what happens on the floor. A synergy only counts when finance would put its name to it.
Ines Bramley
,
Partner
·
5 min read
Integration
·
4 Aug 2026
The synergy your finance team will actually sign
Deals are signed on synergies and judged on what happens on the floor. A synergy only counts when finance would put its name to it.
Ines Bramley
,
Partner
·
5 min read
Integration
·
4 Aug 2026
Every integration plan we have read lists its synergies. Few of them say who owns each one, when it lands, or how anyone will know. Six months after completion, the number in the deal model and the number in the accounts have quietly parted company.
Owner, number, date
We treat a synergy as real only when it has a named owner, a figure the finance team has agreed to and a date. Anything else is a hope. It sounds strict, but it is what lets a board see, month by month, whether the deal is doing what it paid for.
The work is unglamorous. It means sitting with site managers on both sides and agreeing how each saving will be measured before anyone changes anything. It is also the only part of an integration the board will still be asking about in a year.
Every integration plan we have read lists its synergies. Few of them say who owns each one, when it lands, or how anyone will know. Six months after completion, the number in the deal model and the number in the accounts have quietly parted company.
Owner, number, date
We treat a synergy as real only when it has a named owner, a figure the finance team has agreed to and a date. Anything else is a hope. It sounds strict, but it is what lets a board see, month by month, whether the deal is doing what it paid for.
The work is unglamorous. It means sitting with site managers on both sides and agreeing how each saving will be measured before anyone changes anything. It is also the only part of an integration the board will still be asking about in a year.
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