Frequently asked questions
What is due diligence?
The Oxford English Dictionary provides two definitions for due diligence and both are very important to you and your business.
Firstly, due diligence is defined as reasonable steps taken by a person or an organisation to avoid committing a wrongful act or an offence. This is true for most companies, but mainly for companies in the financial sector and multinationals. It means you need to ensure that your customers, vendors, or suppliers are honest and sincere and the money you are paying is not going to end up being used for criminal activity or in the hands of terrorists. You also need to ensure the money you are being paid is not the ill-gotten gains of shady dealings.
Secondly, due diligence is defined as a careful investigation of the state of a business by a person or organisation that is thinking of buying it or investing in it. We can broaden this to include doing your homework on a new customer’s state of business before making capital expenditures to fulfil a large order that could leave you in trouble if they don’t pay, and knowing your service providers are able to deliver before signing that big contract.
Isn’t this kind of service expensive?
It most certainly can be, but we are trying to change that by offering a modular report system giving you control over what information you want and need, while always offering our expert guidance to ensure that we give you the clearest and most complete picture without breaking the bank. We believe that no matter how small or large your business is, you have the right to know who you are getting into business with.
Who needs these kinds of services?
Globally there are various elements of anti-money laundering and anti-bribery and corruption legislation that put requirements on companies to know who they are doing business with to ensure the entities or individuals are not on any sanctions lists or aligned with any criminal or terrorist organisations.In South Africa, there is the Financial Intelligence Centre Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Legislation, which defines many accountable entities, but to summarise: if you are working in real estate, law or financial services, there is a duty on you to perform due diligence.
What is corporate intelligence?
Corporate intelligence is a broad term which encapsulates due diligence, competitor research, investigation support, employee vetting, and background checks. Do you have an important meeting with a potential client and want to impress them with your knowledge about their business or industry? That is corporate intelligence. Do you want to know everything about a new director before appointing them? That is corporate intelligence.
What is investigation support?
Within the context of an investigation, to detect or prevent fraud or other financial crimes, we offer certain services in order to assist investigators. These services range from asset tracing and forensic profiling of individuals and companies to lifestyle audits. These services are offered only to internal forensic departments within companies or authenticated forensic investigation firms.
What is the process?
We first need to understand your needs, so get in touch to discuss your requirements and the costs involved. Contact us or we can contact you, and when we are both happy, we will go do what we do best. We will provide you with a report through a secure channel of your choice. If you need, we will then arrange a call to discuss the findings.