# Answer key: planted issues

**Keep this file out of the copilot's inputs.** It is the scoring key: run the copilot on `data/` only, then check its output against this list.

Each issue is planted across one or more files, so finding it usually means reading across sources rather than spotting a single row. Severity uses the scale a steering committee would care about:

- **Day-1 stopper:** the business cannot operate normally on April 1, 2027
- **High:** material cost, legal or operational risk within the first 6 months
- **Medium:** needs a plan, but won't break anything quickly

| # | Issue | Severity | Evidence | Expected finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | **Payroll has nowhere to run on Day 1, and Canada has no target platform at all** | Day-1 stopper | `tsa_term_sheet.md` §3; `target_applications.csv` RDG ADP rows; `vendor_contracts.csv` C-M-03 note, C-R-16; `correspondence/..._payroll_canada.md` | Payroll is excluded from the TSA. The first US payroll is April 9 and Canada's is April 15. Meridian's Workday Payroll is US only, so Canada needs a new provider. Year-to-date data must convert. Kronos feeds ADP, so that feed also changes. |
| 2 | **Supplier payments break: the MFT is in the TSA, but Kyriba downstream is not** | Day-1 stopper | `target_interfaces.csv` INT-18; `target_applications.csv` Kyriba (not in TSA), GoAnywhere (TSA); `tsa_term_sheet.md` §3 treasury; finance transcript | Payment and positive-pay files would leave EBS and have nowhere to land. Ridgeway needs its own bank accounts and connectivity (or Meridian's Kyriba) on Day 1. The nightly cash sweep into Calder's pool must also end. |
| 3 | **DTC card payments stop: the Stripe merchant account is Calder's** | Day-1 stopper | `vendor_contracts.csv` C-R-15; `target_applications.csv` Stripe; INT-16; TSA §3 | The merchant account is non-assignable and excluded from the TSA. Ridgeway needs a new merchant account and a Shopify payment change before close, plus its own PCI DSS compliance (it was in Calder's scope). Option: Meridian's Adyen. |
| 4 | **Q2 quarter close falls outside the OneStream TSA** | High | `tsa_term_sheet.md` T-10 and open point 2; finance transcript | T-10 runs 3 months (April–June). The June/Q2 close happens in early July and carries extra entries: tax provision and purchase accounting. Either extend T-10 or move Ridgeway to Meridian's OneStream before the Q2 close. |
| 5 | **Salesforce auto-renews for 36 months before Day 1** | High | `vendor_contracts.csv` C-R-04; finance transcript; `correspondence/..._calder_tsa_manager.md` | The term ends May 31, 2027 with 90 days' notice, so notice is due by **March 2, 2027**, a month before close. Missing it locks in about $770K+ over 3 years (with the 7% uplift) for a CRM Meridian plans to replace. Pre-close, Meridian can't direct Ridgeway, so the request must go through deal counsel. |
| 6 | **Blue Yonder WMS change-of-control consent** | High | `vendor_contracts.csv` C-R-03; IT transcript | Consent is needed within 30 days of close (by about May 1, 2027) or the vendor can terminate or relicense at list price. It also lines up with the May 31 maintenance renewal. The WMS runs both DCs. Request consent before close. |
| 7 | **EDI cutover runs into the retail change freeze** | High | `vendor_contracts.csv` C-R-05; TSA T-09 (6 months, no extension) and open point 1; `deal_profile.md` seasonality; IT transcript | The TSA ends about September 30, 2027. About 45 partners need to re-onboard to new IDs (Meridian's SPS Commerce), at 60–120 days each. Retailers freeze changes October 1–January 15, during peak. Migration must start right after close and finish before October, or the TSA must be extended. |
| 8 | **The pricing tool is mislabeled as low criticality** | High | `target_applications.csv` Trade & Pricing Tool (criticality 3); INT-21/22; IT transcript | An Access database on one laptop drives every retail price list and trade deduction. Reclassify it as critical, back it up now, and plan to move it into Vistex or the Meridian Pricing Workbench. |
| 9 | **Key-person risk: the only EBS developer's contract ends at close** | High | `vendor_contracts.csv` C-R-14; INT-13; Supplier Portal row; IT transcript; Calder email | The Calder-held SOW terminates on divestiture, and the TSA excludes third-party contracts. One person supports about 140 undocumented customizations plus the Supplier Portal. Sign a direct contract with Ostrowski effective Day 1 and start documenting now. |
| 10 | **Consumer marketing data may not transfer** | Medium | `vendor_contracts.csv` C-R-07 note; `target_applications.csv` Klaviyo; Calder email | The DPA names Calder as controller, and the privacy notice covers the "Calder family." About 60,000 UK and EU profiles may need re-consent under GDPR. Involve privacy counsel and OneTrust; hold UK/EU sends after close until resolved. |
| 11 | **Shadow IT not in the inventory: the Airtable allocation tracker** | Medium | IT transcript only (does not appear in any CSV) | A peak-season allocation process runs on an Airtable base paid on a personal corporate card, with manual keying into EBS. Add it to the inventory, check data and access controls, and include it in the peak-season continuity plan. A good copilot should also say the inventory is incomplete. |
| 12 | **Identity exit has a hard deadline** | Medium | `target_applications.csv` (20 apps authenticate with Calder AD); TSA T-03; INT-28; Calder email | Calder will not extend T-03 beyond 6+3 months (December 31, 2027 at the latest). That deadline lands in peak season and drives the order of the M365, Intune and SSO migrations into Meridian's Entra ID. |

## Lesser findings worth credit

- **Benefits** are excluded from the TSA and need at least 60 days to set up (HR email).
- **Kronos** is unsupported. Replace it with Meridian's UKG rather than reconnecting it.
- **EBS data separation:** item and supplier masters are shared across Calder operating units, and the TSA allows only two standard extracts. Plan data cleansing in Meridian's Informatica.
- **EBS exit deadline:** Oracle transitional use ends 12 months after close, which matches T-01 at 9+3 months. The S/4HANA migration must go live by March 31, 2028, and it should avoid the Q4 peak.
- **Security on Day 1:** CrowdStrike agents run on Calder's license (T-06, no extension), so Meridian EDR must be deployed within 6 months.
- **Klaviyo** contract has lapsed to month-to-month, which makes it easy to exit.

## Scoring

- 1 point per issue found among the 12 (partial credit 0.5 if found but severity or action is wrong).
- Target for the portfolio write-up: **at least 10 of 12**, with all 3 Day-1 stoppers found.
- Note any false positives: issues stated confidently that aren't supported by the data.