Post acquisition compliance checklist

Start with what actually closed

Confirm the closing date, acquired entity or assets, payment evidence and conditions satisfied. Separate signing from completion and identify deferred consideration, escrow, holdbacks and obligations that continue after closing.

In a share acquisition, the target generally remains the operating entity; in an asset transaction, identify which contracts, employees, assets and permissions move to the buyer. Do not treat a change in shareholders as the same event as a transfer of the business to a different legal person.

Create a day-one authority and access file

• Executed transaction documents and the agreed closing evidence set.
• Current board, management and signing authorities, supported by actual decisions.
• Bank mandates, payment limits and authorised-user changes.
• Controlled access to accounting, payroll, tax and regulatory systems.
• Custody of statutory registers, original contracts and certificates.
• A list of outgoing access rights to revoke after a verified handover.

Map filings to the underlying event

An acquisition can involve director appointments, resignations, ownership changes, securities transactions or changes to registration particulars. Identify each event, its effective date, applicable form and responsible person. MCA’s DIR-12 instruction kit is relevant to director and key-managerial-personnel changes; it is not a substitute for assessing all transaction filings.

Maintain the supporting resolutions, consents and documents with filing acknowledgements. Track resubmissions and approval status instead of treating payment of a filing fee as the end of the process.

Keep tax and operating registrations accurate

Review the entity name, address, authorised signatories, bank details and business activities recorded on tax and operating registrations. GST’s official non-core amendment guidance provides a process for relevant changes, but the correct route depends on what changed. A transfer to a different legal person needs a separate registration and transfer assessment.

Check contracts, licences and financing for notices, consents or conditions triggered by ownership or control changes. Record which are already satisfied and which remain outstanding. A private acquisition agreement cannot itself rewrite a regulator’s certificate or a third party’s contract.

Reconcile the opening financial position

Agree the cut-off for revenue, purchases, payroll, inventory and cash. Reconcile bank balances, debt, receivables, payables, tax accounts and intercompany items to the closing statement and the transaction’s adjustment mechanism.

Keep historic exposures and post-closing activity traceable without erasing the target’s accounting history. Assign ownership of tax notices, refunds, litigation and claims covered by the transaction documents. Preserve evidence needed to make or defend an indemnity claim.

People, customers and suppliers

Confirm the employing entity, continuity arrangements, accrued benefits and authorised payroll instructions before making changes. For transferred contracts or employees, record the necessary agreements and communications rather than assuming that a purchase agreement alone resolves every relationship.

Verify new payment instructions through a trusted channel before changing supplier or customer bank details. Keep service continuity, access permissions and confidential information under a documented handover process.

Example: the former finance head remains the portal contact

A share acquisition closes, but tax messages still go to the outgoing finance head’s personal email. Identify the authorised replacement, complete the relevant amendment and confirm access and notifications. Retain the historic filing evidence and revoke obsolete access only after the replacement can operate the account.

This is an operational action with a compliance consequence: a valid notice can be missed even when the ownership transfer itself was correctly documented.

Run a dated post-closing action register

Use one register showing obligation, source document, trigger date, deadline, owner and proof of completion. Separate statutory deadlines from negotiated milestones and internal targets. A 30-, 60- or 90-day integration plan does not extend a legal filing deadline.

Escalate unresolved consents, missed records and inconsistent balances early. Close an action only when the required evidence exists, and retain the final handover file with access and retention responsibilities.