Manage Capital Planning: Mergers and Acquisitions Risk and Control Matrix (RCM)

This mergers and acquisitions RCM gives you a practical starting point for evaluating key risks and associated controls across the deal lifecycle. Rather than building control language from scratch, you can draw on this sample that illustrates how organizations may address approval authority, due diligence, transaction accounting and financial reporting. The examples connect common risks with potential control activities, helping teams identify where oversight, documentation, review and escalation may be needed. This tool also highlights considerations involving purchase price allocation, acquired assets and liabilities, earnouts, transaction expenditures, valuations, journal entries, and disclosures.

Key Features:

• Establishes tiered approval requirements based on acquisition value
• Addresses key purchase accounting risks, including completeness, valuation, authorization, period cutoff, earnouts and financial disclosures
• Incorporates legal due diligence and post-close oversight throughout the acquisition cycle

Note: This document can be used as a sample RCM and is not meant to be an exhaustive list of risks and controls. The KnowledgeLeader team will periodically update this RCM with new content. Organizations should select, update and modify the risks and controls included in this document to ensure that it reflects business operations.