Whether firms are looking to conduct more deals, bigger deals, or more bigger deals, a competitive private equity (PE) market may drive firms to more aggressive acquisition strategies. As with any pressurized, aggressive environment, there is a chance of overlooking some key compliance factors that can result in regulatory risk post-transaction. In order to reduce that long-term compliance risk, A&M recommends the assessment of the following functions of any target company:

  • AML & Sanctions- Understanding the company's customer base, jurisdictional risk, and products and services; Assessing controls related to the prevention, detection and reporting of money laundering and sanctions violations.
  • Data Protection- Conducting cyber readiness evaluations; Preparing a cyber incident response.
  • Data Privacy- Assessing risk of data breaches; Reviewing the data breach response and reporting processes.
  • Fraud, Bribery, & Corruption- Reviewing cross-border relationships, contracts, vendors and third parties; Assessing the company's "culture of compliance" and related governance.
  • Cross-Functional Risk- Keeping in mind that companies that operate in multiple jurisdictions and possess complex structures, functions and processes across their value chain are challenged to sufficiently meet compliance requirements due to resource limitations, diverse processes and unwieldy organizational design.

For assistance with understanding compliance requirements, contact Larry Iwanski at liwanski@alvarezandmarsal.com.