Overview

/ma-enforce is a production command in the M&A Operations category of the Prismatic Platform that manages compliance enforcement, deadline tracking, and escalation actions across the M&A deal pipeline. While /ma-analyze performs the analytical work and /ma-dashboard provides visibility, the /ma-enforce command ensures that deals progress according to their defined timelines, that compliance requirements are met at each lifecycle stage, and that violations trigger appropriate escalation actions.

This command operates under the L3 authority level and is executed by the ma-enforcement-commander agent. It is part of the platform's 216-command slash command registry, built on the AIAD (Autonomous Intelligence Agent Design) standard. The L3 authority level grants the enforcement commander sufficient authority to issue warnings, block state transitions, and escalate to L4 deal commanders when compliance violations are detected.

M&A enforcement in the Prismatic Platform operates on the principle that unmonitored processes degrade. Every deal has a defined lifecycle with expected timelines, required deliverables at each stage, and mandatory quality checks before stage transitions. The /ma-enforce command continuously monitors these requirements and takes automated action when deviations are detected. This automated enforcement prevents the common M&A failure mode where deals stall in due diligence, deadlines slip unnoticed, and critical compliance requirements are overlooked.

The enforcement engine integrates with the platform's Quality Gates system to validate that each deal stage transition meets defined quality criteria. A deal cannot move from SCREENING to ACTIVE without completed financial screening. A deal cannot enter NEGOTIATION without legal due diligence sign-off. These gates are configurable per deal type and can be customized through enforcement rule sets.

Architecture

The enforcement system operates as a continuous monitoring engine with rule-based escalation.

Enforcement Architecture

/ma-enforce -> Rule Engine -> Monitor Loop -> Action Dispatcher
                   |              |                  |
                   v              v                  v
             Rule Registry    Deal Scanner      Warnings
             Rule Compiler    Deadline Check     Blocks
             Rule Validator   Compliance Check   Escalations
                              Quality Gate       Notifications
                              Intel Completeness State Transitions

Enforcement Rule Categories

Category	Rules	Enforcement Level	Description
Timeline	12	WARNING -> BLOCK	Deadline proximity and overdue detection
Deliverable	18	BLOCK	Required documents and analysis at each stage
Quality	8	BLOCK	Minimum quality scores for stage transitions
Compliance	15	BLOCK -> ESCALATE	Regulatory and policy compliance requirements
Intelligence	6	WARNING	OSINT collection completeness requirements
Financial	10	BLOCK -> ESCALATE	Financial analysis completeness and thresholds

Escalation Levels

Level	Trigger	Action	Authority
INFO	Approaching deadline (>7 days)	Log + dashboard indicator	Automatic
WARNING	Approaching deadline (3-7 days)	Notification to deal team	Automatic
ALERT	Deadline imminent (<3 days)	Notification to deal lead + team	Automatic
BLOCK	Deadline passed or quality gate failed	State transition blocked	Automatic
ESCALATE	Block unresolved for >48 hours	Escalation to L4 commander	Automatic
CRITICAL	Compliance violation detected	Immediate freeze + L4 notification	Automatic

Usage

# Check enforcement status across all deals
/ma-enforce status

# Check specific deal compliance
/ma-enforce check DEAL-2026-001

# View active warnings and blocks
/ma-enforce warnings
/ma-enforce blocks

# View enforcement rules
/ma-enforce rules
/ma-enforce rules --category=timeline

# Manually trigger enforcement scan
/ma-enforce scan --scope=all

# Override a block (requires L3+ authority)
/ma-enforce override DEAL-2026-001 --rule=timeline-screening --reason="Extension approved"

# Set custom deadline for a deal
/ma-enforce deadline DEAL-2026-001 --stage=screening --date="2026-04-15"

# Configure enforcement rules for a deal
/ma-enforce configure DEAL-2026-001 --rules=strict
/ma-enforce configure DEAL-2026-001 --rules=relaxed

# View escalation history
/ma-enforce history DEAL-2026-001

# Create custom enforcement rule
/ma-enforce create-rule --name="custom-financial-check" \
  --condition="financial_confidence < 0.7" --action=block \
  --stage=negotiation --message="Financial confidence too low"

# Disable specific rule for a deal
/ma-enforce disable-rule DEAL-2026-001 --rule=intel-completeness \
  --reason="Target has minimal digital presence"

# Export compliance report
/ma-enforce report --format=pdf --output=compliance-report.pdf

Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
`action`	string	status	Action: status, check, warnings, blocks, rules, scan, override, deadline, configure, history, create-rule, disable-rule, report
`deal_id`	string	none	Target deal identifier
`--scope`	string	active	Scan scope: active, all, specific deal
`--category`	string	all	Rule category filter
`--rule`	string	none	Specific rule identifier
`--reason`	string	required for overrides	Justification for override or disable
`--stage`	string	none	Deal lifecycle stage
`--date`	string	none	Deadline date for custom deadlines
`--rules`	string	standard	Rule set: strict, standard, relaxed, custom
`--condition`	string	none	Rule condition expression
`--action-type`	string	block	Rule action: info, warning, alert, block, escalate
`--message`	string	none	Custom message for rule actions
`--format`	string	text	Output format: text, json, markdown, pdf
`--output`	string	stdout	Output file path
`--notify`	string	auto	Notification targets: team, lead, all

Execution Flow

Rule Loading: The enforcement engine loads the active rule set for the specified scope. Rules are loaded from the rule registry and compiled into executable check functions. Custom rules and rule overrides are applied.
Deal Scanning: Each deal in scope is scanned against all applicable rules. The scanner checks deal state, timeline adherence, deliverable completeness, quality gate status, compliance posture, and intelligence collection status.
Violation Detection: When a rule condition is met (deadline approaching, quality gate failing, deliverable missing), a violation record is created with the violation type, severity, affected deal, triggering rule, and recommended remediation.
Action Dispatch: Each violation triggers the appropriate action based on the rule's configured escalation level. INFO violations are logged. WARNING violations generate notifications. BLOCK violations prevent state transitions. ESCALATE violations notify L4 authority.
State Gate Enforcement: When a deal team attempts a state transition (e.g., SCREENING to ACTIVE), the enforcement engine evaluates all blocking rules for the target state. If any blocking rules are triggered, the transition is rejected with a detailed explanation of what must be resolved.
Override Processing: When an override is requested, the enforcement engine validates that the requesting operator has sufficient authority (L3+), records the override reason, applies the override to the specific rule-deal combination, and logs the action for audit.
Continuous Monitoring: The enforcement engine runs continuously on a configurable interval (default: every 15 minutes). Each scan evaluates all active deals against all applicable rules, detecting new violations and resolving previous violations that have been addressed.
Compliance Reporting: Compliance status is aggregated and made available to /ma-dashboard for real-time display. Periodic compliance reports can be generated for stakeholder review.

Integration Points

Component	Relationship	Details
Prismatic Agents	Executed by `ma-enforcement-commander`	Rule evaluation and action dispatch
/ma-create	Deal lifecycle	Enforcement begins at deal creation
/ma-analyze	Quality triggers	Analysis completeness feeds enforcement
/ma-dashboard	Status display	Enforcement indicators shown in dashboard
/ma-status	Status tracking	Enforcement status included in deal status
/ma-report	Compliance reports	Enforcement data feeds compliance reporting
Quality Gates	Gate enforcement	Quality criteria for stage transitions
Telemetry	Audit trail	All enforcement actions logged
NABLA Framework	Confidence checks	Confidence threshold enforcement

Best Practices

Use standard rule sets for most deals. The standard rule set provides balanced enforcement that catches genuine issues without generating excessive false alarms. Reserve the strict rule set for high-value or high-risk deals where additional oversight is justified.

Document override reasons thoroughly. Every override creates an audit trail. Clear, specific reasons ("Board approved 30-day extension per meeting 2026-02-10") are essential for compliance auditing and stakeholder confidence.

Review blocks promptly. Blocked state transitions indicate genuine issues that need resolution. Leaving blocks unresolved for extended periods triggers automatic escalation and signals process dysfunction.

Monitor enforcement scan frequency. The default 15-minute scan interval is appropriate for most pipelines. For time-critical deals approaching closing, consider increasing scan frequency to detect issues faster.

Create custom rules for deal-specific requirements. Regulatory requirements vary by jurisdiction, industry, and deal type. Custom enforcement rules ensure that deal-specific compliance requirements are tracked alongside standard requirements.

Export compliance reports before stakeholder meetings. Pre-generated compliance reports provide evidence-based status updates that reduce meeting time and improve stakeholder confidence in the process.

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Resolution
`deal_not_found`	Deal ID does not exist	Verify deal ID with `/ma-status`
`authority_insufficient`	Operator lacks authority for requested action	Request authority elevation for overrides
`rule_not_found`	Specified rule does not exist	List rules with `/ma-enforce rules`
`override_requires_reason`	Override requested without justification	Provide `--reason` parameter
`rule_compilation_failed`	Custom rule condition has syntax errors	Review condition expression syntax
`scan_timeout`	Enforcement scan exceeded time limit	Reduce scan scope or investigate system health
`conflicting_rules`	Two rules produce contradictory requirements	Review and reconcile conflicting rules

Advanced Usage

Automated Compliance Workflows

Create enforcement-triggered automated workflows.

# Auto-trigger analysis when intel is complete
/ma-enforce create-rule --name="auto-analyze-on-intel" \
  --condition="intel_complete AND NOT analysis_started" \
  --action=trigger --trigger-command="/ma-analyze ${deal_id} --scope=full"

# Auto-generate report at stage transition
/ma-enforce create-rule --name="auto-report-on-active" \
  --condition="state_transition:screening->active" \
  --action=trigger --trigger-command="/ma-report ${deal_id} --type=screening-summary"

Multi-Jurisdiction Compliance

Configure jurisdiction-specific enforcement rules.

# EU regulatory requirements
/ma-enforce configure DEAL-2026-001 --rules=eu-regulatory \
  --jurisdictions="DE,FR,CZ" --regulations="antitrust,data-protection"

# SEC filing requirements
/ma-enforce configure DEAL-2026-002 --rules=sec-compliance \
  --filing-thresholds --hsr-review

Enforcement Analytics

Analyze enforcement patterns across the deal portfolio.

# Most common violation types
/ma-enforce analytics --metric=violations --period=quarter

# Average time to resolve blocks
/ma-enforce analytics --metric=resolution-time --group-by=category

# Override frequency analysis
/ma-enforce analytics --metric=overrides --group-by=team

Doctrine Compliance

All commands operate under the NO MERCY, NO DOUBTS doctrine:

NO MERCY: Zero tolerance for incomplete execution or quality violations. Enforcement rules execute without exception. Blocks cannot be silently bypassed. Every override is logged with full audit trail. Compliance is not optional.
NO DOUBTS: Full investigation before action, evidence-based results. Enforcement decisions are based on quantifiable criteria, not subjective judgment. Rule conditions are explicit, measurable, and verifiable.

/ma-create - Create new M&A deal with target profiling and initial assessment
/ma-analyze - Comprehensive M&A analysis including financial, legal and operational review
/ma-report - Generate detailed M&A analysis report with visualizations
/ma-dashboard - M&A deal pipeline dashboard with real-time status tracking
/ma-status - M&A deal pipeline status overview and progress tracking
/investigate - Launch comprehensive OSINT investigation across 121+ sources
/quality-gates - Enforce quality gate checkpoints with zero-warning compilation validation

Connect & Contribute

Created by Tomáš Korcak (korczis) | Open Source under GHL

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