The 10 Things We Check Before Anyone Calls It Due Diligence

The word "due diligence" is used to describe an enormous range of activities, from a five-minute ABN lookup to a six-month forensic investigation. The gap between the two is usually invisible until something goes wrong. Here is what we check in an Intelligence Dossier — and why each section matters.

01. Executive Summary

We establish the basic facts: when was the entity incorporated, what is its current ASIC status, what names has it traded under, and what are the most significant public record findings. No opinions. No conclusions. Just a factual anchor for everything that follows.

02. Corporate Timeline

Most businesses have never had their history assembled in one place. We reconstruct the timeline from public sources: ASIC filings, ABR records, court judgements, government gazettes, media archives, and regulatory publications. Name changes matter. Director changes at unusual times matter. Timelines tell stories that individual data points do not.

03. Director Intelligence

Every current and historical director is cross-referenced against every other entity they are or have been associated with. Failed companies, deregistered entities, insolvency events, court appearances, disqualification orders — all of it is documented. A director who has been associated with four subsequently failed companies is not the same as a director who has not. The public record documents the difference.

04. Network Analysis

Australian corporate structures frequently involve holding companies, associated trusts, related entities, and complex ownership chains. Network Analysis maps the relationships: who owns what, which entities share directors, which trusts are connected to which companies. Connections invisible from a single ABN lookup become visible when the network is mapped.

05. Customer Concentration

Government contract databases, ASX announcements, regulatory disclosures, and media reporting can indicate unhealthy dependency on one customer, one contract, or one market. A company dependent on a single government department for 80% of its revenue is a different risk profile from one with a distributed customer base.

06. Supplier Risk

Supply chain exposure is often invisible in domestic due diligence. We search public records for supplier concentration indicators, country-of-origin exposure, and sanctions register flags. This section is especially important for companies in manufacturing, resources, and professional services with significant offshore contracting.

07. Legal Intelligence

Court records, ASIC regulatory actions, employment tribunal decisions, class actions, Fair Work enforcement notices — all of this is public. Most of it is not checked in standard due diligence. Legal Intelligence aggregates every available legal and regulatory record involving the entity and its associated directors.

08. Media Intelligence

Sentiment analysis of publicly available media coverage tells you what has been said about a company over time: recurring allegations, public controversies, regulatory investigations reported in the press before they appear in official records, and changes in how the company is covered.

09. Competitive Landscape

Public records on competitors — ASIC registrations, government contract awards, job advertisements, media coverage, and ASX disclosures — can reveal competitive dynamics that the target company's disclosures will not. The public record answers questions that the company's own materials never will.

10. Source Register

Every Intelligence Dossier concludes with a complete source register: every database accessed, every URL documented, every public record identified. This means every finding in the report can be independently verified by the reader, their lawyer, or their accountant. A report without a source register is asking you to trust the analyst. A report with a complete source register is asking you to trust the public record.

Intelligence Dossiers start at $2,800. QuickScan reports covering sections 1–3 and 7 are available at $499 with 48-hour turnaround. View all Capital Intelligence products

Uncommon Insights

One of the lesser-known aspects of due diligence is the importance of verifying the accuracy of ASIC records. Under Section 205B of the Corporations Act 2001, ASIC is not responsible for verifying the accuracy of information lodged with it. This means that companies and their directors can lodge false or misleading information without ASIC detecting it. A comprehensive due diligence process must therefore involve verifying ASIC records against other public sources, such as ABR records and court judgements.

Another critical aspect of due diligence is assessing the risk of phoenix activity. The ATO has identified phoenix activity as a significant threat to the integrity of the tax system, and has developed a range of strategies to detect and prevent it. A due diligence process should involve checking for indicators of phoenix activity, such as frequent changes of director or company name, and verifying the accuracy of information lodged with ASIC. Under Section 596A of the Corporations Act 2001, directors can be personally liable for debts incurred by a company if it is found to have engaged in phoenix activity.

Network Analysis is a critical component of due diligence, as it can reveal hidden connections between companies and individuals. Under Section 64 of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001, ASIC has the power to require companies to provide information about their associates and related parties. A due diligence process should involve mapping the relationships between companies and individuals, and verifying the accuracy of information lodged with ASIC. This can help to identify potential risks and conflicts of interest.

Finally, a comprehensive due diligence process should involve assessing the risk of regulatory non-compliance. Under Section 1317E of the Corporations Act 2001, companies can be liable for fines of up to $1.05 million for breaching certain regulatory requirements. A due diligence process should involve verifying the accuracy of information lodged with ASIC, and checking for indicators of regulatory non-compliance, such as frequent breaches of ASIC reporting requirements or failure to lodge required documents. This can help to identify potential risks and ensure that companies are complying with their regulatory obligations.