When a company is facing M&A, the necessity of merging two IT systems can sometimes raise some interesting issues surrounding compliance. As you examine the data, you may discover gaps in the information you are tracking. The stakes for non-compliance are high, so don’t leave this risk to chance!
To begin evaluating whether you have this issue covered, first understand whether your current system for tracking leases and regulations is adequate:
- Can you access necessary documents on demand?
- Is all your lease and other compliance information stored in a single repository?
- Can you receive proactive notifications about non-compliance?
If your answer to any of these questions is no, or if you are managing everything with a large spreadsheet, you probably are not maintaining compliance as well as you’d think. Start taking steps to address this issue.
Once the risk on your end has been assessed, take a hard look at the acquired/merged company’s systems. When you bring on another company, you also bring on all of its legal commitments. The competitive landscape of onshore drilling and increasingly complex land contracts threaten to put your company at further risk if new obligations are on paper somewhere in the land department, completely disconnected from everyone else. Protect your company’s interests by examining these commitments and translating them into terms that match your system so you can track them.
Read our case study for more information on how we helped one client manage compliance.
Find out more about merging data systems during M&A here.