M&A assurance · After completion
Post-deal Assurance Programme: independent proof the deal is delivering
Independent assurance for the months after completion, when the deal thesis meets reality: due diligence findings tracked to closure, TSA exits tested before their deadlines, integration progress verified against evidence rather than status decks, and a monthly position the board or investment committee can rely on. Post-close reviews from £15,000 + VAT, standing assurance from £6,500 + VAT per month.
The programme at a glance
Definition
What is post-deal assurance?
Post-deal assurance is independent, evidence based verification that an acquisition is delivering what it was priced to deliver: the diligence findings closed, the TSA exited on time, the integration moving as planned, the key people still in the building, and the deal thesis tracked accurately for the people who approved it.
Completion is where deal discipline usually dies. The diligence report goes in a drawer, the integration is reported by the people running it, and the TSA quietly becomes permanent at overstay rates. Most value leakage in the first year is visible months early in the systems, the contracts and the leaver list. Somebody independent has to be looking.
The programme picks up where due diligence stops and runs alongside the integration assessment: diligence tells you what you bought, the assessment plans the first hundred days, and this programme proves the plan is happening. It belongs to the same assurance practice, and our guide to technology due diligence for UK private equity covers the ground the baseline is built on.
Evidence over status decks
Progress verified in systems, contracts and invoices.
The DD stays alive
Every diligence finding tracked to closure with an owner.
Deadlines carry prices
TSA overstays and slippage costed while fixes are cheap.
Built for the sponsor
One page a month for the board or investment committee.
The watch list
Six things the programme tracks
Each card says what gets tracked and what lands in the monthly reporting. This is where first year value quietly leaks.
The deal thesis against reality
The synergies, savings and assumptions the deal was priced on, tracked against what is happening month by month.
OutputA thesis scorecard the investment committee can read.The risks diligence found
Every finding from due diligence tracked to closure, because a risk priced into the deal and then forgotten is paid for twice.
OutputA closure register with owners and dates.The TSA clock
Every service still run by the seller, mapped against exit dates, exit criteria and the cost of overstaying.
OutputA TSA exit map with every deadline priced.The integration plan
The keep, merge and retire decisions tested for drift: what slipped, what quietly changed and what nobody restarted.
OutputA drift report with the slippage costed.The people and the knowledge
Key person risk through the change: who holds the systems together, who has resigned and what leaves with them.
OutputA key person risk register with mitigations.The view the investor receives
Reporting built for boards and investment committees: position, movement, risk and the decisions needed this month.
OutputA monthly one page position with evidence behind it.How it works
What happens in the programme
Five stages from the diligence baseline to the year one readout. Each engagement stands alone, and the programme runs them together.
Baseline from the diligence
The DD report, integration plan and TSA read at source and turned into a baseline. Where no diligence exists, the post-close review builds one.
Agree the watch list
The synergies, risks, exits and decisions that matter agreed with the sponsor: what gets verified monthly and who receives the reporting.
Verify against evidence
Progress checked in the systems and contracts rather than the status decks: migrations tested, exits evidenced, savings traced to invoices.
Escalate what drifts
Slippage named early with its cost and a decision path, while the fix is still cheap and the TSA clock still has room.
Close with proof
The day 100 or year one readout: thesis scorecard, closure register and exit map, written for the board and the next audit.
The best programmes start at signing rather than at completion, because the baseline is cheapest to build while the diligence team still remembers the deal. Started late, the post-close review rebuilds the baseline from what exists.
Published fees
The programme options and fees
Every engagement has a published floor and a defined output. They stand alone or combine into the first year programme.
Post-close technology review
The first honest look after completion: DD findings against reality, the risk position now, and what must move before day 100.Best whenThe deal completed and nobody has opened the diligence report since. FeeFrom £15,000 + VAT2 to 4 weeks 02
TSA exit assurance
Separation tracked service by service against the exit schedule, with readiness tested before each cutover rather than after.Best whenThe TSA end date is real and the overstay rates are painful. FeeFrom £12,500 + VATscoped to the TSA 03
Standing integration assurance
The integration checked monthly against plan and evidence, with a one page position for the board or investment committee.Best whenThe sponsor wants monthly proof rather than quarterly surprises. FeeFrom £6,500 + VAT / month 04First year assurance programme
The post-close review, standing assurance and TSA exit run as one programme from signing to month twelve, with one evidence file.Best whenThe deal is large enough that the first year decides the return. FeeFrom £30,000 + VATsigning to month 12
The alternatives
How the programme compares with the alternatives
Three ways sponsors watch the first year. The difference is who the reporting serves.
The integration plan filed at completion and reopened when something breaks
Nobody. There is no reporting
Value leaks for months before anyone looks
Free, until it is very expensive
Monthly status decks written by the team delivering the integration
The team being reported on
Bad news arrives after it is expensive
Buried in the integration budget
Independent monthly verification against evidence, from £6,500 + VAT per month
The board and the investment committee
Where Intelance planned or ran the integration, the assurance goes to another firm
From £6,500 + VAT per month, fixed in writing
Scope
Exactly what the fee covers
You get
A thesis scorecard tracking the synergies and assumptions the deal was priced on.
A closure register for every diligence finding, with owners and dates.
A TSA exit map with readiness tested before each cutover and every deadline priced.
A monthly one page position for the board or investment committee, evidence behind it.
A day 100 or year one readout written for the board and the next audit.
This is not
The integration team. We verify delivery and never run it. The integration assessment plans the work separately.
A second due diligence. The DD is the baseline. The programme keeps it honest rather than repeating it.
A self-review. Where Intelance planned or ran the integration, the assurance goes to another firm and we say so.
A reporting layer that blames. Drift is named early with its cost and a decision path, while the fix is still cheap.
Where to start
The calls we usually get
Four situations we are usually called into. If none of them fit, speak to us and we will point you at the right first step.
Why Intelance
The rules this work runs under
Evidence is the method
Migrations tested, exits evidenced and savings traced to invoices. Status decks are read, and never believed on their own.
If we ran it, we do not assure it
Where Intelance planned or ran the integration, the assurance goes to another firm and we say so. Independence is the product.
Drift is priced early
Every slip is reported with its cost and a decision path while the TSA clock still has room and the fix is still cheap.
Written for the sponsor
One page a month, in the language of boards and investment committees, with the evidence file behind every line.
The fee floors and what firms them up
From £6,500 + VAT per month for standing assurance and from £15,000 + VAT for the post-close review, fixed in writing before work starts.
Who carries out the work
Programmes are led by a senior partner and delivered by senior reviewers who run due diligence, integration assessments and delivery assurance for deal clients every month, with established associates across cyber, AI and data governance where depth is needed.
Deal assurance guides
All insights
M&A Technology Due DiligenceTechnology due diligence checklist for UK private equity
The six areas where technology findings move mid market deals, and how each one becomes a price chip, a condition or a walk away. The checklist we run for UK buyers, published in full, built for deal timescales.
9 July 2026 · 7 min read Read the guide
Technology AssuranceWhat is technology assurance? Independent reviews explained
9 July 2026 · 6 min read
AI GovernanceWhat is AI governance? The seven questions boards should ask
9 July 2026 · 9 min read
Cyber EssentialsCyber Essentials vs ISO 27001 vs IASME Cyber Assurance: which do you need?
9 July 2026 · 6 min readReady to talk?
Tell us where the deal stands
Thirty minutes with a senior reviewer: when the deal completed, what the TSA looks like and what the sponsor is asking for. If the right first step is a post-close review rather than a programme, we will say so in the call.
FAQs
Questions about post-deal assurance
What is post-deal assurance?
Independent, evidence based verification that an acquisition is delivering what it was priced to deliver: diligence findings closed, the TSA exited on time, the integration moving as planned, key people retained, and the deal thesis tracked accurately for the board or investment committee that approved it.
How is this different from the M&A integration assessment?
The integration assessment plans the first hundred days: the keep, merge and retire decisions and the roadmap. The post-deal programme verifies that the plan is happening, month by month, with evidence. One plans, the other proves.
What is TSA exit assurance?
A transitional services agreement keeps the seller running services after completion, usually with hard end dates and expensive overstay terms. TSA exit assurance maps every service to its exit date and criteria, tests readiness before each cutover, and prices the cost of every slip, from £12,500 + VAT.
What does post-deal assurance cost in the UK?
With Intelance, the post-close technology review runs from £15,000 + VAT, TSA exit assurance from £12,500 + VAT, standing integration assurance from £6,500 + VAT per month, and the first year programme from £30,000 + VAT. Every fee is a published floor, fixed in writing before work starts.
When should the programme start?
Ideally at signing, because the baseline is cheapest to build while the diligence team still remembers the deal and the TSA clock has not started. Started later, the post-close review rebuilds the baseline from the documents and systems that exist.
What if no technology due diligence was done?
The post-close review builds the baseline from scratch: the estate mapped, the risks tiered and the integration position assessed. It is the same discipline as pre-deal diligence applied to a company you already own.
Is the assurance independent if Intelance ran the integration?
No, and we treat that as disqualifying. Where Intelance planned or ran the integration under review, the assurance goes to another firm and we say so plainly. The rule runs across the whole practice: if we ran it, we do not assure it.
What reporting does the sponsor receive?
A one page monthly position covering movement, drift, risk and the decisions needed, written for boards and investment committees, with the evidence file behind every line. The programme closes with a day 100 or year one readout written for the board and the next audit.