Carey’s interview occurred before t

Carey’s interview occurred before the collapse of Enron and WorldCom, so he did not know what we know now. The recent demise of both Enron and WorldCom due to major scandals over illegal accounting practices has considerably dampened enthusiasm for M&A activity worldwide. These events have raised big questions about companies that finance continuous acquisitions as a core business strategy. The use of what BusinessWeek describes as ‘new era’ accounting is making investors nervous, and causing companies to be very careful with their investments and their financial reporting.
Public sector mergers, such as the Inland Revenue merging with Customs and Excise in the UK, have been plagued with problems, and in full public view. However, the Ofcom merger, which brought together five regulators into one organization, was seen as a great success.
The National Audit Office blames the public sector merger difficulties on the leadership vacuum between those who decide on the merger and those who are to implement it. Also, the amount of time taken by the legislative process and consultation requirements leads to much greater uncertainty for staff and stakeholders than in the private sector.
The discussion about the overall success rate of M&A activity still continues. But what lessons can be learnt from previous experience of undertaking these types of organizational change?