Purchasing a business can be a great opportunity or a disaster waiting to happen, conducting a due diligence is performing a multidisciplinary investigation to detect any hidden problems and untapped value in order to make an informed purchase. If you are thinking about buying a business or launching an organic or inorganic initiative, avoid expensive surprises before committing your investment, and make an informed decision with a comprehensive due diligence. There are 3 key benefits when performing a Due Diligence 1) Validate owner’s representations and past performance are accurate 2) Manage issues, mitigate risks and avoid expensive surprises 3) Discover any hidden value that could be untapped after the purchase Typical small and medium small business acquisition's due diligence are mainly focused on an accounting audit, but there are many other areas that should be covered: Recasting financials, Legal standing, Sales accuracy, Contracts, Compliance, and many more. There are four key phases on a due diligence: 1) Kickoff meeting: provides an understanding and set of expectations on all parties involved as well as the project timeline 2) Documentation gathering: process to collect all the applicable information by functional area / trade (Operational, Legal, Finance & Accounting, and Commercial). 3) Interviews with Subject Matter Experts: this process allows some validation of data and additional data gathering 4) Analysis and final report out.