About
Catherine Labbé is Vice President at Accuracy.
After beginning her career at KPMG in Montreal, first in financial audit for 6 years, followed by 6 more years with the ‘OPS M&A’ teams in the Paris and Montreal offices, Catherine joined Accuracy Montreal in January 2024.
Armed with the financial and accounting technical skills she acquired during her audit years, Catherine has been focusing since 2018 on strategic consulting in transactional contexts, specifically assisting clients in their post-acquisition integration process or in preparing for carve-outs (Operational due diligence, Target Operating Model design, elaboration of Day-1 and Day-100 readiness checklists, synergy quantification and tracking, TSA negotiation, and project governance).
Her sectoral experience is diverse.
Catherine speaks French and English.
Qualifications
- Post-Graduate Diploma in professional accounting, CPA, HEC Montreal (2012)
In-depth expertise
Catherine has developed expertise in the following areas:
Post Merger Integration and carve-out/disposal preparation and execution: Target Operating Model design, synergy identification, quantification and planning, elaboration and execution of the Day-1 and Day-100 readiness checklists, negotiation, implementation and ramp-down of TSA agreements and more.
Transaction advisory: operational due diligence, vendor assistance and business plan preparation;
Assistance to financial management teams on operational levels: from diagnostic and recommendation phases (operational, financial, organizational review) to the support during the implementation phase.
Example of engagements
- Support of a construction company in the integration of a competitor, working with all departments to design the combined target operating model and to establish and deploy the plan to achieve integration objectives.
- Assisted a publicly traded Canadian software company in the integration of a competitor, a private French company. Set up of an integration management office, developed, executed, and monitored the Day-1 and 100-day plans, and facilitated the adoption of best practices for publicly traded companies (financial information, internal controls, GDPR)
- Supported a publicly traded European client in acquiring the Asian division of a worldwide insurance company. Conducted detailed analysis of standalone costs (one-time and recurring costs) and prepared standalone financial statements.
- Assisted a supermarket chain in its acquisition and integration of a competing chain, involving the end-to-end integration of 567 supermarkets. Drafted Transitional Service Agreements (TSA), developed the target operating model (TOM), designed and deployed the plan to achieve the TOM, and identified optimization opportunities (synergies).
- Developed all processes related to the transaction cycle for an HVAC unit retailer. Prepared an M&A playbook covering all phases of a transaction, including several project tracking tools tailored to the client’s context. Provided subsequent integration support to adapt and apply the M&A playbook.
- Supported an international player in the tire industry in preparing for the sale of one of its activities.
- Assisted an international brewery in its acquisition of a microbrewery.