{"id":8976,"date":"2026-09-22T18:51:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T15:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cherry.fi\/due-diligence\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T12:12:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T09:12:46","slug":"due-diligence","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cherry.fi\/en\/due-diligence\/","title":{"rendered":"Due Diligence"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Due Diligence: What It Is and Who Fixes the Findings?<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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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. <\/p>

The findings affect the purchase price, the terms of the purchase agreement, and sometimes whether a deal happens at all.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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What is examined in due diligence?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Area<\/th>What Is Examined<\/th>Typical Provider<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Financial<\/th>Quality of earnings, working capital, cash flow, liabilities<\/td>Audit or advisory firm<\/td><\/tr>
Tax<\/th>Tax liabilities, transfer pricing, tax risks<\/td>Tax specialist<\/td><\/tr>
Legal<\/th>Contracts, disputes, intellectual property rights, permits<\/td>Law firm<\/td><\/tr>
Commercial<\/th>Market, customers, competitive position<\/td>Strategy consultant<\/td><\/tr>
Personnel<\/th>Key personnel, employment terms, pension liabilities<\/td>HR specialist<\/td><\/tr>
IT and Security<\/th>Systems, technical debt, information security<\/td>IT specialist<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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What is vendor due diligence?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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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. <\/p>

Typical items to be corrected include reporting quality, slow month-end close, and undocumented contracts.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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When Due Diligence Reveals Deficiencies<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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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. <\/p>

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. <\/p>

Financial reporting and cash management are handled by an interim CFO<\/a>. Post-deal integration is covered on the M&A integration<\/a> page. If the owner’s value creation plan needs an executor, see Cherry Operating Partner<\/a>. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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How to get a fixer at your service<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\"\"<\/figure>

Tell us about your situation<\/h3>

We will go through it in about half an hour. The assessment is free of charge and does not commit you to anything. <\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Proposal in 48 hours<\/h3>

You'll typically receive 2\u20134 carefully selected candidates with justifications within 48 hours. Not a long list of \"just-okay\" names. <\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The work starts<\/h3>

You meet the candidates and decide for yourself. A start is possible as early as next week. <\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBook a free assessment<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Who fixes due diligence findings in practice? <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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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<\/a> for financial reporting, and an interim CTO<\/a> for systems. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Who Pays for Due Diligence? <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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Typically, the buyer pays for their own review and the seller pays for vendor due diligence.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

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What Is the Difference Between Due Diligence and an Audit? <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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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. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t