Who checks what · Before you buy
Who is responsible for due diligence when buying a business?
Published · Reviewed by The Diligence Standard Team · Updated
The buyer owns the decision and must make sure every material question has an appropriate reviewer. Accountants, attorneys, lenders and industry specialists can each test parts of the transaction, but no title automatically covers the whole acquisition.
A realistic transaction story
Nina hired an attorney and assumed the financial records were covered. Her attorney focused correctly on contracts, liabilities and closing documents. The accountant prepared a tax projection but was not engaged to test normalized earnings. Customer concentration remained nobody’s assigned task.
What the evidence changed
Capable professionals were involved, yet an important question fell between their engagement scopes.
What to check
- Write down the exact claim and who supplied it.
- Ask what was independently tested, by whom and under what scope.
- Create a responsibility map naming the person, evidence and deliverable for every material financial, legal and operational question.
- Translate any unresolved gap into cash, price, terms, timing or a decision not to proceed.