Social Strategy

It seems that every year lawyers and executives are becoming more and more savvy about social media usage, and some are applying that expertise to the realm of mergers and acquisitions. Fasken Martineau's 2013 Social Media M&A survey shows that a substantial percentage of senior M&A executives surveyed used social media platforms to research potential acquisition targets, as well as parties to transactions.

Most execs don't plan to develop a specific social media strategy for M&A, but Fasken Martineau notes that those percentages may change following the Securities and Exchange Commission's announcement that companies are now permitted to share market-moving news on social media.

36% Respondents who used social media to investigate potential acquisition targets in the past year

48% Executives who used social media to research companies involved in transactions

72% Respondents who said that LinkedIn added the most value to due diligence, rather than other social platforms

77% Executives who do not have a social media strategy specifically geared toward M&A

Compliance Challenges

Regulatory enforcement is a major challenge for companies nationwide, as indicated by a growth in federal whistleblower programs and an uptick in prosecutions for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other laws.

Now a new study from CEB shows that workplace changes such as layoffs, leadership overhauls and organizational restructuring—seemingly perennial occurrences in the current economic climate—can increase the risk of misconduct, especially if employees are left uninformed about such shifts.

84% Workers who have experienced a recent change in their business operations

42% Potential decrease in misconduct risk at companies who inform employees in advance about organizational changes

7.9% Shareholder returns of companies who communicate effectively with their employees

2.1% Shareholder returns of companies who do not practice effective communication strategies