Due Diligence
Due diligence is critical when making significant business decisions. Whether you are buying a business, entering a partnership, investing, expanding, or seeking finance, a structured review provides clarity and confidence. Buyers and investors use due diligence to verify performance and identify risks, while sellers undertake it to strengthen their position ahead of negotiations. Lenders also rely on due diligence to assess financial health before approving funding.
We deliver tailored financial and operational due diligence reviews that focus on the areas most relevant to your transaction.
What we do
We provide independent, commercially focused due diligence that gives you clarity before you commit. Our work reduces financial risk, uncovers hidden liabilities and tests whether reported results are accurate and sustainable. By removing uncertainty and validating key assumptions, we help you make informed decisions and ensure the transaction aligns with your commercial objectives.
Our approach is tailored to the specific transaction, industry context and risk profile of your organisation, delivering practical insights that support confident decision-making.
Financial due diligence
- Quality of earnings analysis
- Normalised earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation assessments
- Review of historical and forecast financial performance
- Working capital and cash flow analysis
- Review of liabilities, commitments, and tax exposures.
- Review of historical and forecast financial performance
Tax due diligence
- Review of historical tax compliance across income tax, GST, payroll tax and other indirect taxes
- Assessment of tax risks, exposures and contingent liabilities
- Identification of unpaid or underpaid tax obligations
- Review of carried forward losses and tax attributes
- Analysis of transaction structure and tax implications
- Assessment of ATO disputes, reviews or audit history.
- Identification of unpaid or underpaid tax obligations
Additional specialist due diligence
- IT systems and data integrity assessments
- Cybersecurity and data protection reviews
- Regulatory and compliance reviews specific to industry
- ESG and sustainability risk assessments
- Legal and contractual exposure reviews
- Integration readiness and post transaction risk analysis.
- Regulatory and compliance reviews specific to industry
Operational and commercial due diligence
- Business model and operational capabilities
- Key process, system, and control assessments
- People, governance, and risk structures.
Benefits of due diligence
Risk mitigation
Due diligence reduces the risk of inheriting financial, legal or operational issues. Many accounting firms emphasise that uncovering hidden problems early helps buyers avoid costly mistakes and buyer’s remorse.
Stronger negotiating position
Findings from due diligence often influence the price and terms of a deal. Identifying risks can provide leverage to renegotiate, request warranties or adjust the transaction structure.
Informed decision-making
A thorough review provides you with a complete picture of the business, enabling you to proceed, renegotiate or walk away with confidence. It ensures your decision is based on facts rather than assumptions.
Identification of opportunities
Due diligence can reveal operational efficiencies, margin improvements, integration benefits or growth potential that may not be apparent at first glance. These insights help buyers understand not just risks but value creation opportunities after acquisition.
Why choose AFS
With decades of experience supporting businesses across Central Victoria, AFS & Associates brings together a trusted team of qualified professionals and advisors who understand the needs of local organisations. Our multidisciplinary expertise spans accounting, audit, governance and sustainability, allowing us to provide well-rounded insights that consider the full picture. We take a collaborative, down-to-earth approach that puts clients first and builds lasting relationships based on trust and understanding.
Contact Us
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Want to know more?
We would love to hear from you.
Call us on 03 5443 0344 or email afs@afsbendigo.com.au for more details on how we can help you.
