Mergers and Acquisitions in The London Insurance Market
Organisations continue to tread carefully in the resurgence back to market by all in the finance sector; in particular the Insurance & Reinsurance Market around EC3. Merger and acquisition’s have been prevalent in the insurance and reinsurance markets for many years, but now is the time when the value of due diligence prior to a merger or acquisition has never been more important.
What is the state of the merger and acquisition market?
The merger and acquisition market has dropped off a little when compared to the 1st half of 2021 but with numbers still around the 200 mark. However, with a significant step towards moving back to the workplace (even part time), September 2021 saw an increase of acquisitions and overall activity in this market.
Reviewing business and redirecting strategies has been paramount as we navigate through post-pandemic working and the impact of legislation changes due to Brexit. So whilst businesses look to grow again and mitigate risk, it is great to see the merger and acquisition market activity increase but there is more that can be done to protect organisations utilising this path for growth.
Data quality is key
Fixing legacy data quality problems can see organisations spend a significant amount on resource. This is a problem that many organisations face. Whilst legacy data does need to be addressed as efficiently as possible, building data quality processes into the start of a merger or acquisition project is vital to mitigate the risk of greater costs further down the line. The market is transforming itself digitally and with the growing reliance on data to make better business decisions, the need to have accurate data at the point of transition to achieve a seamless integration of businesses and their data is vital.
Integrating data quality processes is now a way of working. With organisations trying to grow in what is, a very competitive market with continued pressures, disappearing margins, ever changing operating environments and increased regulations; data accuracy is instrumental in successful growth plans.
Pre-merger or acquisition data cleansing is critical for success
In achieving a merger or acquisition flawlessly, the challenge of reliable data has never been more important. Whether looking to merge, acquire or even digitally transform the business, organisations need to be sure about the quality of the existing data before starting a project.
The starting point is to carry out analysis on the data and identify the anomalies, redundancies, and inaccuracies such as:
- Completeness
- Conformance
- Consistency
- Reasonableness
- Value and structural integrity
Once this is completed, the next stage is to extract, clean and integrate it. Simple to write in an article, but quite a big job when you consider the amount of data each organisation records!
Quality data: What is the answer?
The increased reliance on technology, information and transparency requires a different approach to data. Whilst legacy data and systems need to be addressed, a clearer understanding of the data to be integrated in a new project such as a merger or acquisition better supports all parties involved in the process in a smooth transition to a unified way of working and reporting.
Utilising proven processes and techniques and embracing a combination of people and technology to cleanse data is the most efficient and cost effective way of addressing the quality of data. Moving forward, this enables organisations to build a solid foundation of knowledge and be able to quantify the impact of data quality on strategic, data-driven initiatives.
If you would like to understand how you can save time, resource and benefit from our Data Remediation as a Service solution, contact our team on 020 7971 1141 or email data@legacydatasolutions.co.uk