Due diligence is the examination of an acquisition target before the transaction. The buyer verifies whether the company matches what the seller claims and what risks are associated with the deal.
The findings affect the purchase price, the terms of the purchase agreement, and sometimes whether a deal happens at all.
| Area | What Is Examined | Typical Provider |
|---|---|---|
| Financial | Quality of earnings, working capital, cash flow, liabilities | Audit or advisory firm |
| Tax | Tax liabilities, transfer pricing, tax risks | Tax specialist |
| Legal | Contracts, disputes, intellectual property rights, permits | Law firm |
| Commercial | Market, customers, competitive position | Strategy consultant |
| Personnel | Key personnel, employment terms, pension liabilities | HR specialist |
| IT and Security | Systems, technical debt, information security | IT specialist |
Vendor due diligence is an examination that the seller commissions before the sales process. This allows deficiencies to be identified in time and corrected before they drive the price down.
Typical items to be corrected include reporting quality, slow month-end close, and undocumented contracts.
The inspection reveals what is wrong. It does not fix anything. The most common findings remain the same year after year: financial reporting that the buyer does not trust, excessive dependence on a few key individuals, and systems that do not scale.
The fix always hits the same spot: the company’s own management is already working at full capacity preparing for the deal, and the advisor does not come into the company to do the actual work. Therefore, the person fixing the findings is in practice most often an interim manager who takes responsibility for one specific area alongside the transaction.
Financial reporting and cash management are handled by an interim CFO. Post-deal integration is covered on the M&A integration page. If the owner’s value creation plan needs an executor, see Cherry Operating Partner.
We will go through it in about half an hour. The assessment is free of charge and does not commit you to anything.
You'll typically receive 2–4 carefully selected candidates with justifications within 48 hours. Not a long list of "just-okay" names.
You meet the candidates and decide for yourself. A start is possible as early as next week.
The advisor writes the report, but the fixing is left to the company. If the own management is tied up in the deal, the work is done by an interim manager: an interim CFO for financial reporting, and an interim CTO for systems.
Typically, the buyer pays for their own review and the seller pays for vendor due diligence.
An audit assesses whether the financial statements provide a true view of the completed fiscal year. Due diligence evaluates the acquisition target and its risks from the buyer’s perspective, and it also looks to the future.
A free assessment takes about half an hour. After that, you will know what kind of expert suits your situation, when they can start, and what it will cost.
In a hurry? Call any of us directly.
Ilari Kallio040 070 5050
Petri Kujala040 076 7767
Samppa Seppälä050 568 0533
Sampo Salmi050 386 6565Are you an interim manager yourself? Apply for the Cherry Pool →
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