Social audit for the acquisition of a publishing company (due diligence)
Background and objectives mission
As part of the acquisition of a publishing company with sales of €9 million and around 75 FTEs, an investment fund commissioned our firm to carry out a full social audit. The aim of this assignment was to assess the compliance of the company's social, contractual and reporting practices with legal, regulatory and collective bargaining obligations, and to identify any latent social risks or liabilities likely to be transferred to the acquirer.
approach adopted
The analysis covered a number of themes: employment structure (status, seniority, types of contract), payroll elements and charges (calculations, exemptions, DSN), application of the Syntec collective bargaining agreement and company agreements, as well as social dialogue (bodies, elections, CSE, litigation). It also looked at sensitive clauses, absences, provident cover and the social security system, as well as potential exposure to URSSAF reassessments or industrial tribunal disputes. The audit was based on documents provided by the company (payroll extracts, contracts, registers, DSN), as well as on interviews with the HR director and CSE contacts.
Benefits obtained
- Identification of an URSSAF risk linked to non-compliant compensation practices for teleworking expenses.
- Absence of up-to-date company agreements
- Detecting the risk of industrial action
- Estimation and integration of all risks in the protocol's liability guarantees
- The fund was able to secure its investment and launch a post-acquisition HR action plan with the support of our firm.