PRACTICAL RESOURCE / ACQUISITION TEAMS
What an acquisition-program review should show.
A pipeline review should make the next decision easier. Use this example to see how activity, opportunity quality, and management action can sit in one working report.
01 / MANAGEMENT SUMMARY
The management view
Illustrative program review
SAMPLE 01 / NOT CLIENT DATAAcquisition brief
Add complementary maintenance and technical-service capabilities in an adjacent geography. Prioritize management continuity and customer fit; validate financial quality before advancing.
Since the last review
Four example opportunities are at different stages. Progress is reported against the agreed thesis, rather than treating the number of names collected as the outcome.
Decisions for management
2 decisions requested: approve an introduction to Company A and decide whether Company D merits an exception to the agreed size criteria.
Follow-ups and open information
Clarify Company B's owner objectives. Obtain the agreed information for Company C before moving beyond initial evaluation. Neither task is a commitment to transact.
02 / THE PIPELINE
Opportunity detail
Every record should distinguish the thesis, what is known, what still needs validation, and the owner of the next action.
Regional maintenance provider
- Stage
- Management review
- Potential fit
- Could extend service coverage into an adjacent geography.
- Open question
- Contract quality and management continuity remain unverified.
- Next action
- Management: approve or decline an introductory approach.
Specialist field-service business
- Stage
- Founder follow-up
- Potential fit
- Potential capability addition within the existing footprint.
- Open question
- Owner objectives and timing need clarification.
- Next action
- Windridge: follow up on the initial discussion and record the owner's priorities.
Equipment-support company
- Stage
- Initial evaluation
- Potential fit
- Possible customer overlap and service-line extension.
- Open question
- Customer concentration and recurring revenue are not yet established.
- Next action
- Windridge: coordinate the agreed information request before further evaluation.
Local technical-services firm
- Stage
- Scope decision
- Potential fit
- Interesting capabilities, but outside the agreed size range.
- Open question
- The strategic benefit may not justify the integration effort.
- Next action
- Management: keep the current criteria or authorize a specific exception.
03 / USING THE REPORT
Make it a working document.
Agree stage definitions
Use consistent criteria for research, outreach, qualification, evaluation, and deferred opportunities. A meeting is not the same as seller intent.
Keep an evidence trail
In the real report, record sources, dates, material assumptions, and unresolved information. Separate management judgment from verified facts.
Close the review with actions
Assign an owner and due date to each next step. Bring exceptions, changed priorities, and blocked decisions to the next management review.
Adapt the format to the mandate and agreed confidentiality controls. Do not place sensitive target information in public documents. Legal, tax, accounting, and investment decisions require advice tailored to the actual situation.