Merged on Paper. Divided in Practice.

Uniting cultures in mid-market deals

In accountancy and advisory, most merger or acquisition announcements celebrate scale, reach, and growth potential. But what happens after the headlines fade?

We often see culture treated as an afterthought. The early energy drops. Legacy habits resurface. Integration plans that once looked solid on paper begin to lose traction.

For PE-backed firms or those growing through acquisition, the pressure to deliver results quickly is real. But growth that lasts depends on alignment. When values, expectations, and ways of working differ across newly combined teams, it becomes harder to win work, keep talent, and deliver a consistent client experience. The risk isn’t just internal tension. It’s missed opportunities and commercial underperformance.

The firms that get this right treat culture as a core part of integration, not a communications exercise. They don’t rely on town halls or top-down updates. They invest in shared ways of working, visible leadership, and genuine local buy-in. They understand that culture isn’t about what’s written on the wall; it’s what happens in everyday decisions, meetings, and conversations. Most importantly, they make it someone’s job to lead it.

We’ve seen the difference this makes in practice. When leaders take ownership of alignment early, integration moves faster, trust builds sooner, and performance follows.

The deal might be signed and the strategy clear, but if the culture isn’t working, growth won’t follow. For firms navigating integration today, what’s one small action you could take this week to make alignment easier tomorrow?

Inspired by HBR: A Guide to Building a Unified Culture After a Merger or Acquisition, April 2025.