Many residents of the Beaumont area might use the phrase “due diligence” to refer to a person’s just checking on a project or job even if there is no reason to believe there is a problem with it.
The phrase grew in popularity in the business world when the United States first regulated the sale of publicly traded stocks and other securities.
At this time, certain dealers in these securities started facing criminal penalties if they failed to disclose important information about the financial products they were selling.
The law allowed these dealers to defend themselves if they could show they did a thorough investigation, or due diligence, about their product, even if they ultimately missed an important piece of information about the stock.
Today, with more regulation and a demanding business market, due diligence is a common, and many would argue necessary, part of any significant business deal of any type.
It can pay to have someone with legal experience help with due diligence
Basically, in the context of a business deal, due diligence is the process of investigating in order to make sure that what a person is buying is indeed what it seems to be.
To use a common example of due diligence on the consumer level, before buying a washing machine, a person might read product reviews. The person may also get an idea of the reputation of the store selling the machine.
Of course, the bigger and more complicated the deal, the more involved and more important is the due diligence process.
When it comes to businesses, due diligence is not just about reading over financial reports.
Although finances are of course important, a Southeast Texas resident considering the purchase of a new business should ask questions about the business’s legal and regulatory obligations.
As part of due diligence, it may also be prudent to see if the business has been involved or might be involved in litigation or other legal disputes.