Acquisition & handover

Company or Client – InvestCo client (client agent confidentiality)
Trading activity – Campus trading, Student accommodations – University of Huddersfield

What?

Client purchased all student accommodations and campus trading activities including bars, supermarket, laundrette, canteen, transportation, conference halls and others.

The physical handover did not take place at completion. I was appointed to assist client appointed employees with the handover process.

How?

• Met University management and discovered that no process was in place to separate the above activities from its normal activities. Following meeting with senior managers it was agreed that a proposal needed to be made to the University outlining its responsibilities in facilitating the smooth handover.
• Met newly appointed client personnel and discovered that they did not have any systems or processes in place to undertake such responsibilities. From the initial meeting it also came to my attention that the University has decided to cease managing all the trading activities making the already complicated situation “a real mess!”.
• Immediately visited every single trading spot and insisted on ascertaining trading activities from the point of take over to now. Critically looked at the cash control situation and quickly designed and implemented internal control to segregate duties regarding till totals, cash counting, cash reconciliation and banking.
• Set-up temporary database to maintain trading records (history and current) in a format that can be easily imported to a ERP system.
• Prepared a schedule of tasks in MS project to plan the handover and circulated to the University management and client employees. Following some difficult negotiations this was agreed.
• Procured, designed and implemented all necessary ERP system components and carried out necessary test with client following intensive training.
• Designed a database for the University to segregate our data from theirs and to ensure that the data is recorded in a format that can easily be imported to our ERP system.
• A cut-off point was set in line with the planned programme.
• All data validated and imported to ERP system at the end of working day.
• Carried out data integrity check during the night and the new ERP system gone live in the morning.
• Obtained a copy of the completion statement and carried out in depth reconciliation of the current account with the University after taking into account all opening balances including inventory estimates. All queries handed over to the client to negotiate a final financial settlement.