A checklist converts a transaction into a task list with owners and dates, and maintaining it is the deal’s project management.
Structure. Every document and deliverable, the responsible party, the status, the condition it satisfies, and the date required. Organised by category — principal agreements, corporate approvals, third-party consents, regulatory filings, financing, real property, intellectual property, employment, closing certificates and post-closing items.
One owner. Maintained by a single person and circulated on a fixed cadence, daily in the final week.
Consents. Identified early with the counterparty’s notice periods, because consents are the most common cause of delay and cannot be accelerated.
Signature logistics. Who signs what, in what capacity, whether notarisation or witnessing is required, and which documents must be delivered in original.
Funds flow as a separate document, reconciled to the purchase price calculation, with wire instructions verified by telephone.
Conditions mapping. Each closing condition linked to the deliverables that satisfy it, so that the closing call is a confirmation rather than a negotiation.
Post-closing section with owners and dates, because it is otherwise abandoned. Filings, recordings, notices and the closing binder.