Due diligence
Due diligence is the buyer's investigation of a business before closing, verifying the financials, contracts, staff, assets and risks described
Due diligence is the period, usually set in the letter of intent, during which a buyer verifies what the seller has represented about the business. It covers financial records, tax filings, customer and supplier contracts, leases, employment, licences, equipment, litigation, environmental matters and anything else that affects value or risk. Sellers can also run their own diligence in advance, often called vendor due diligence, to find and fix problems before a buyer does.
In BC transactions, diligence is where most deals are repriced or lost. A buyer who finds undisclosed liabilities, add-backs that do not hold up, a lease that cannot be assigned or staff misclassified as contractors will renegotiate, add conditions or walk away. A seller who has prepared a complete data room and disclosed issues up front keeps the deal moving and keeps the price.
We manage the process for buyers and sellers: scoping what must be verified, issuing and tracking the request list, doing the financial and commercial analysis and coordinating the lawyers, CPAs and specialists who handle legal, tax, environmental and technical questions. The result is a findings report with clear implications: proceed as agreed, renegotiate specific terms or walk away. Diligence is scaled to the size of the deal, but it is never skipped.
Start with a confidential conversation.
Tell Ali where the business is and what you want to happen next. You leave with a straight read on value, timing and the two or three moves that matter, whether or not we work together.