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The work involved in
assessing the operational strengths and weaknesses of a company is a
short term intensive task and an additional work burden on a probably
already overstretched core management.
If the acquisition is
abroad, it will require the interim executive to have fluency in a
foreign language and be familiar with the business ways of the country
concerned.
The interim
manager gives undivided attention to the task
and perfects the knowledge needed by a Company’s Board to make a
sound investment choice.
How? Using an
interim executive, pre-acquisition, will yield one or more of these:
- Assessment of manufacturing efficiency, quality control and
potential improvement areas.
- Analysis of policy and competence of management in their asset
control and the strengths and weaknesses of the incumbent management
team.
- Assessment of marketing and sales organisation, performance and
potential.
- Appraisal of financial management, costing systems and policies,
budgetary controls and treasury function.
- Efficiency improvement requirements for all aspects of the supply
chain - materials management, procurement, operations and logistics.
- Harmonisation implications for personnel and company systems, post
acquisition.
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And all this work can run
simultaneously to the due diligence undertaken by the traditional
outside advisers with the interim manager providing an objective and
experienced input as a contribution to their work and conclusions.
Increasingly, venture capital companies use an
interim manager in the assessment of their investment in target
companies. Frequently this is the case where a foreign investment is
involved and where linguistic ability and knowledge of the country and
culture are required.
Use of an interim manager after acquisition is now
quite common. Early identification of the
management needs immediately following the trauma of take-over - and the
rapid deployment possible - mean resource gaps are covered almost from
Day 1. Difficulties not possible to anticipate earlier in the
acquisition process, can be readily tackled by an interim manager thus
releasing senior executives and their immediate team members to get on
with the strategy, confident that they will not be blown-off course.
Company disposals
are another matter but nevertheless delicate and need equally careful
management. Experience shows that the line executive, under instruction
to shut down the operation, is understandably little motivated for a
variety of reasons.
For the interim manager, this is just another
assignment to be dealt with efficiently, objectively and economically in
the shortest possible timescale, with no split loyalty between employer
and employee. His innate independence helps him achieve this.
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