Financial due diligence: record the earnings, asset and liquidity situation

Definition: What is financial due diligence?

Financial due diligence is about buyers realistically assessing the asset, earnings and liquidity position of the company in which they want to invest.

Most important for buyers and sellers is the company’s expected future earnings strength and cash flow. They are also interested in the target company’s asset situation.

The financing structure is also of interest to buyers. In this context, prospective buyers will check in particular whether liabilities need to be repaid in the short term. Such upcoming payouts would have to be refinanced by the buyers, if necessary.

Sellers will have already trimmed your company to earnings and liquidity strength before the sales process. Prospective buyers will use the earnings strength and any earnings and cash flow risks they identify during financial due diligence to adjust their willingness to pay the purchase price.

Process and procedure of financial due diligence

In the course of a financial due diligence, prospective buyers examine the previous and prospective earnings strength, asset situation and liquidity of their target company. For this purpose, the management of the company to be sold provides meaningful information. As a rule, this information is requested by the prospective buyer and made available by the company for inspection in a data room. Such a data room is now usually offered virtually.

Finally, prospective buyers will also evaluate the assets of the company or business in the financial due diligence process, particularly in the case of a Asset Deal. In a Share Deal, the key criterion for the purchase price is the expected future earnings and not the value of the assets, but the condition of the assets provides information about the company’s performance as a basis for the earnings value. Any investment backlog could have a negative impact on the continued operation of the business, expected earnings and future cash flow. If the utilization of assets depends on specific contracts or even property rights, the value of the assets may be significantly affected as a result and earnings may be jeopardized. In such cases, the outcome of a Commercial Due Diligence and a Legal Due Diligence will affect the financial due diligence. Look for such cross-effects when evaluating companies. Examining intangible assets is also a component of financial due diligence. Assessing the value of intangible assets often requires extensive insight into the industry and a special level of sensitivity. Here, too, the Commercial Due Diligence, the Legal Due Diligence and also the Technical Due Diligence have an impact on the financial due diligence.

Financial due diligence can be completed within 2-4 weeks, depending on the complexity of the company. The results of the financial due diligence form an essential component for the company valuation and are a basis for the guarantees that are agreed in the transaction contract.

Financial Due Diligence Checklist

With a Financial Due Diligence checklist, you can systematically record the earnings, asset and liquidity situation of companies.

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Financial Due Diligence Checklist
Contents In the context of corporate transactions, target companies are systematically assessed. The instrument of due diligence is used for this purpose. One facet of this due diligence is the examination of the financial circumstances of the company in which you are interested. The systematic assessment of these financial aspects is the subject of financial due diligence, for which you will find a structured checklist here.The practical checklist contains 34 questions on purely financial aspects, 8 questions on insurance issues and 6 questions on possible public subsidies.As a prospective buyer, you can write your findings behind each point, use relevant sources of information, refer to annexes, name supporting documents and write your comments. This creates a record of your review as you conduct your financial due diligence. If, following your review, you have the seller sign for his confirmation, you will have a valuable basis for the guarantees to be defined in the purchase contract.This checklist is also valuable for sellers to carefully prepare for a financial due diligence. Go through the points on this checklist carefully and consider how you can find answers to them or what you should still grind in your company from a financial point of view before the sale.This checklist is available in German, English and Spanish so that corporate transactions can be supported across national borders.  Advantages of your Financial Due Diligence ChecklistWith this checklist, you will be made aware of essential relevant audit areas that affect finances. You will receive a practice-oriented checklist for financial due diligence that has an appropriate level of depth. For prospective buyers, the use of this checklist during the financial due diligence creates a solid basis for the seller-side guarantees to be defined in the purchase contract. For sellers, this checklist gives concrete indications of possible questions that prospective buyers will ask. The checklist supports good preparation for the sales process and the associated financial due diligence.Digital Download After ordering, you will receive a download link to the structured checklist which you can use immediately.Please note that this checklist to which you are purchasing access is for your personal use only. It is prohibited to resell the checklist in any form and in any digital or physical manner, or to publish it in any physical or online publication without my permission. I am the sole copyright holder of this file.Link to download: pdf  What is financial due diligence? A due diligence is a systematic recording of all relevant opportunities and constraints that characterise a company or part of a company. Due diligence reviews are used in the course of corporate transactions. They are intended to give the buyer certainty about the transaction object.In a financial due diligence, all financially relevant aspects are examined and recorded.When recording these characteristics, the sources of information are indicated. It is customary for the prospective seller to sign the resulting due diligence protocols, thereby formally confirming his documented statements. In this way, due diligence protocols can be used as a basis for sales guarantees that are formulated in the transaction contract.  Procedure of a financial due diligence review A financial due diligence begins with the recording of all possibilities, restrictions and burdens that a company or part of a company has with regard to its finances. Attention must be paid to the completeness of the information. Concrete formulations are recommended, such as: "The list in Annex x includes all existing continuing obligations. No other continuing obligations exist." Furthermore, attention should be paid to precision. A formulation such as "The planned corporate transaction does not cause any obligation to repay funds from the public subsidies granted, with the exception of ..." How a checklist can help you with financial due diligence In order not to forget any important aspect during the comprehensive financial due diligence, it is advisable to use a suitable checklist. Good checklists are pre-structured and contain the essential aspects that should be included in a financial due diligence.In any case, you do not carry out the financial due diligence arbitrarily with a tried and tested checklist, but ensure a systematic procedure. Instead of having to make fundamental considerations, you can concentrate on the substantive examination. 
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