Diligence, Quality of Earnings & Risk Assessment

searcher profile

December 17, 2025

by a searcher from New York University - Leonard N. Stern School of Business in New York, NY, USA

For operators who’ve already closed, what diligence area do you wish you had pushed harder on before signing the LOI? What are some common “looks fine on paper but painful in reality” issues you’ve encountered after close? For those who walked away late in diligence—what was the decisive issue, and what early signal do you now watch for?
0
2
58
Replies
2
commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
from College of William and Mary in Alexandria, VA, USA
Financial Due Diligence, specifically spending time/money creating new books instead of fixing the ones in use. People issues after close, but not sure if there is an answer other than don't break the business in the first 12 months and find the people you want in place. I walked away from a business generating so much cash, but they couldn't show me how they were making money...too unsophisticated. In hindsight, I shouldn't have walked; I should have dug deeper to figure it out.
commentor profile
Reply by an admin
from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Portland, OR, USA
^redacted might be able to help with Diligence, QoE & Risk Assessment. If you know someone else that can help, please tag them here (Shift 6).
Join the discussion