[M&A Advisors Association] Creates "Practice Quick Guide" for New M&A Advisors

The M&A Advisors Association (hereinafter, the Association; location: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Taku Miyake; URL: https://www.maa-a.or.jp/), an M&A industry self-regulatory body, has created and released to its members the "M&A Practice Quick Guide ~'Basic Methods' and 'Risk Avoidance' Points for New Advisors~." This guidebook, based on the self-regulatory rules established by the Association, organizes the basic procedures and points of caution required in each phase of M&A practice. It is designed to support the improvement of practical quality and risk reduction by presenting common issues faced by inexperienced M&A advisors in the field as a set of "practice models," "NG cases," and "grounding rules." ■ Background of Creation 1. Organized as a set of "Practice Models" and "NG Cases" It systematically organizes the standard processes in each phase from M&A consideration preparation to closing, along with common mistakes and inappropriate cases that occur in the field. (Examples) ・Risk of identifying the transferring company from non-name materials ・Overlooking the expiration of NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements) ・Negotiation troubles due to information transmission failures ・Inadequacies in supporting the release of management guarantees, etc. 2. Clearly Indicates Correspondence with Self-Regulatory Rules For each theme, the relevant self-regulatory rules are listed alongside, organizing the correspondence between practical actions and regulations. 3. Presentation of a Common Baseline This guidebook is not a detailed manual covering the entirety of M&A practice, but rather organizes the basic practical responses that M&A advisors should at least be equipped with. It is positioned as an entry point for learning the various regulations of the Association. 4. Equipped with a Self-Check Function It includes a 20-item "M&A Practice Compliance Diagnosis" and is structured to allow for objective confirmation of the compliance status of one's own company or staff. Example from Chapter 1 "Code of Conduct as a Professional" Example from Chapter 2 "'Practice Models' Useful in the Field" Example of a near-miss case ■ "Practical Training for New Employees and Inexperienced Persons" to be held from June The Association will hold "Basic Practical Training" for its members in June and July 2026. This training is a short, intensive program for learning about basic practical procedures and points of caution based on the Small and Medium M&A Guidelines and the Association's self-regulatory rules. ・Dates: Early/Late June, Early July 2026 (3 sessions in total / content is the same for all) ・Participants: Limited to member companies ・Fee: Free ・Training Content (partial): 1) Social significance and basic stance of the industry 2) Practice of contracts and fees 3) Use of anti-social forces checks and specified business operator lists 4) From acquisition due diligence to final contract practice, etc. ■ To M&A Support Institutions (Non-members) The Association provides various training and materials (such as the Practice Quick Guide) to its member companies to support the practical establishment of self-regulatory rules. We invite support institutions who are thinking about "promoting the reflection of rules in our own practice" or "strengthening practical quality and compliance/information management systems" to please contact us. Contact Form [M&A Advisors Association Overview] The M&A Advisors Association changed its name and structure from the M&A Intermediary Association in January 2025 and is active in aiming to be an open and effective self-regulatory body. Currently, 245 companies are members, supporting approximately 3,700 M&A deals annually. The association focuses on promoting fair and smooth M&A by formulating and strengthening the effectiveness of self-regulatory rules, operating a list of specified business operators, human resource development, and operating a complaint consultation service. Name: M&A Advisors Association (MAAA) Date of Establishment: October 1, 2021 Officers: Taku Miyake (Chairman, Nihon M&A Center Inc.) Kunihiko Arai (President, Strike Co., Ltd.) Nobuo Onodera (Deputy President, The Bank of Yokohama, Ltd. / The Regional Banks Association of Japan) Ryosuke Kubo (President and CEO, ONDECK Co., Ltd.) Shunsaku Sagami (Chairman, M&A Research Institute Inc.) Yasuhito Shinoda (President, Meinan M&A Inc.) Toshihiko Shibuza (Chairman, Toranomon & Co. / Executive Director, The Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants) Satoru Nakamura (President and CEO, M&A Capital Partners Co.,Ltd.) Akihiro Watanabe (Certified Public Accountant) Yutaro Kikuchi (Attorney-at-law, Kikuchi Sogo Law Office) Location: 20F Marunouchi Trust Tower Main, 1-8-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo URL: https://www.maa-a.or.jp/