Investor due diligence readiness

Approach and deliverables

We organise corporate, financial, tax, employment and contract records against a diligence request list. Missing evidence is recorded as a gap rather than replaced with an unsupported assurance.

The output is an indexed data-room structure, ownership map for requests and a remediation log. Management explanations are reconciled with source records before being used in investor responses.

1. Agree the request list and assign record owners.
2. Collect and index evidence with clear versions and periods.
3. Reconcile management responses to the supporting material.
4. Hand over the request tracker and unresolved-action log.

Use controlled access to the data room and avoid including personal information unrelated to the request. A document’s availability should be distinguished from whether it answers the investor’s question.

Information to prepare

• Statutory records and ownership history
• Accounts, returns and financial reconciliations
• Material contracts and intellectual-property records
• Employment, licences and dispute information

Keep issued ownership records separate from proposed transactions and draft agreements. Identify missing executed versions, inconsistent dates and gaps in the filing trail. Record the source of each management explanation so later responses remain consistent.

A practical example

A founder’s claim that all intellectual property belongs to the company should be backed by employment and assignment documents, especially for work completed before incorporation.

For the founder-IP example, map the asset to the person who created it, the period of creation and available agreements. If the evidence is incomplete, state the gap and assign the follow-up instead of converting the founder’s assertion into a confirmed ownership statement.

Scope and responsibilities

Readiness work is not an independent audit or a legal clean bill. Historical corrections, valuations and specialist reviews are scoped separately; unresolved matters remain disclosed.

The engagement letter records the workstreams included, client decisions and external professional costs. New transaction steps or material changes are assessed before the scope is extended.

The completion pack shows answered requests, evidence supplied, open questions and separately scoped remediation. The investor’s own review and decision remain distinct from readiness preparation. New information should be added through the response tracker so the earlier record remains traceable.