The Importance of Due Diligence

Due diligence is as an investigation, audit/ review performed to confirm facts/ details of a matter under consideration; it is the care that is done to avoid harm to other persons or property. Due diligence can therefore be best understood as a process of research and analysis that is initiated before an acquisition, investment, business partnership or bank loan in order to determine whether there are any major issues to be concerned about. Both individuals and businesses must conduct due diligence before they engage in all endeavours that they feel important to their property, person and finances.

Good due diligence needs the service of experts who know how to source data and documents that are informative and legal. Due diligence is done to verify information and expectation, what you have heard from the company. It’s not necessary to verify everything about the company mostly if the company is a startup. The information obtained from the facts gathered will help a person or entity make an informed decision if they are to do business or engage in mergers or business partnerships.

The major types of due diligence include; Financial, Commercial, IT, Human Resource, Intellectual Property, Regulatory and Environmental due diligence. The various types of due diligence entail: financial and profile analysis, investigations of corporate affiliations, address verification, location of hidden assets, property ownership enquiries, overall reputation and background, pending court cases/ disputes, the details and the general reputation of the managers/ directors of a company, professional and educational background, involvement in crime/ dishonourable conduct like theft, fraud, bribery or extortion among others.

By carrying out due diligence, one is able to carefully collect and organise findings for court purposes, trace missing debtors for banks, financial institutions, government, companies and law firms. Through due diligence, one is also able to develop a Cyber breach response plan to identify sources of the breach and develop a plan for maximum protection. The specialised investigators also work with lawyers and insolvency practitioners to recover assets/ hidden funds for the bankrupt individuals/ insolvent companies. Companies/ individuals can also trace assets that may have been misappropriated through due diligence (asset tracing is closely related to fraud/ theft).

Many businesses/ individuals usually don’t have the resources, time or the knowledge to carry on these services themselves, there is always the dire need of specialised personnel who have the resources and time to produce quality work. At Infotesters, we carry out comprehensive investigations and or analysis on either a person or business to establish credibility before a merger, company purchase or acquisition. Our services will give you a complete profile of the target company or your potential business partner(s) based on a wide range of information that we will submit to you to avoid any costly unforeseen mistakes. Do reach out to have a chat on how you can be supported via info@infotesters.com.