Synergy registers that a site manager would recognise
If a cost commitment cannot be explained to the person who runs the warehouse, it is not ready for the board pack.
Synergy models born in the deal room often use categories that mean nothing on site: “overhead optimisation,” “network efficiency,” “shared services leverage.” Those phrases hide ownership.
Three tests for each line
- Named owner — a person, not a workstream label.
- Baseline — the number as it stands today, with the source system named.
- Evidence rule — what proof retires the commitment (role removed, lease exited, SKU delisted).
Fail any test and the line should stay off the board’s “committed” list.
Challenge sessions before lock
We run short challenge meetings where finance and the workstream lead must defend each figure before it enters the monthly pack. The tone is sceptical, not theatrical. Two hours of discomfort beats a year of unexplained variance.
Retiring commitments
Boards dislike watching lines disappear. Better to retire a weak commitment openly than to carry fiction. A register that shrinks honestly builds more trust than one that always “tracks to plan.”