As the year 2000 draws ever closer, purchasers are becoming increasingly nervous about the potential effects of the "millennium bug" on the businesses they are acquiring. The danger that computers and other systems do not recognise the change to the year 2000 affects not just the target business, but also its suppliers and customers without whose continued support the business may not be able to function.
In May, the British Computer Society reported that nine out of ten UK businesses are likely to experience Year 2000 problems, but that only three out of ten have a contingency plan in place. How then do purchasers and their funders reach a level of comfort about the businesses they are acquiring?
