Business Advisory Group Vantis chooses ramsac to partner on IT due diligence projects  

ramsac, a leading IT solutions consultancy has announced that leading business advisory group, Vantis, has chosen to partner with it on all specialist IT due diligence projects following corporate acquisitions. Following its own merger with Numerica, Vantis will use ramsac for its own clients’ mergers and acquisitions, working closely together across the financial and IT processes to deliver the best possible service to its customer base.

IT due diligence is an audit that must take place whenever a company changes hands or is going through a process of acquisition, in order to assess exactly what is being acquired and the value of the proposed acquisition.

Explains Director of ramsac, Robert May, “Any investment in IT infrastructure, processes and personnel represents a considerable asset to any modern business and increasingly it is necessary for accountants to factor this into the due diligence process for acquisitions. Although, large corporate finance teams can reconcile purchase records to form a basic IT inventory, a more specialised skill set is needed to record the value and potential consequences of acquisition.”

Added Outsourcing Director of Vantis, David Rankin, “ramsac initially worked with Vantis when we invited the company in to carry out internal due diligence on our IT department, including interviewing our IT staff to ascertain their appropriateness for the job. We wanted to have a clear understanding of our IT systems and processes from an independent specialist prior to our acquisition of Numerica last year. We needed to envisage how easily the two companies would be able to fit together and we also wanted to know if we were working with the best business practices.”

When acquiring a company, it is vital to assess how quickly, efficiently and cost effectively the two businesses can be merged. Key questions that need to be answered are: What systems do they have in place? Does it need updating or replacing? Are these systems compatible with the acquiring companies existing infrastructure? If not, what will it take to join them efficiently? Is the prospective acquisition legally compliant? What are the on ongoing costs, such as contractual obligations to third parties? Are they fully licensed? If over licensed what is the cost-saving? If under licensed to what extent?

“We like the way that ramsac works,” concluded Rankin. “We rate their professional approach and I feel comfortable working with them, as I know that they fully understand our business and as a result, what is important to us. They asked the right questions to ensure that we were fully aware of the IT strategy of Numerica and were very thorough with their findings. With the conclusions in their report, we were able to make the best decisions for the ongoing success of our company.”

Concluded May, “We look at an IT strategy from a business perspective. This is imperative for a company that is thinking of acquiring another. IT due diligence is a vital part of the overall due diligence process of any company merger or acquisition. Crucially, it minimises risk and maintains ongoing efficiency.”