LORD Smith of Kelvin admitted to suffering sleepless nights as tense negotiations to reach a deal between the parties went to the wire.
The parties met around the negotiating table nine times in all, but agreement was reached during three sessions this week, including one marathon five-hour meeting.
After weeks of discussion, the report was signed off just 90 minutes before a "hard deadline" set for 8pm on Wednesday night.
Lord Smith yesterday praised the 10 negotiators, two from each of the Holyrood parties, for their professional approach.
He said: "The 10 people in the room were very high quality.
"I never got a sense that anyone was going to walk away. There were fireworks from time to time, but there was humour as well."
He added: "The 10 people in the room negotiated this. I was just Santa's little helper."
Most of the meetings took place away from the public eye at the Green Investment Bank in Edinburgh.
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