2 min read –
How is your French?
Do you know how to say “stagecoach” in French?
➡ Diligence
The most famous stagecoach was the Concord model, developed by Abbot and Downing in 1827 in New Hampshire, USA.
When discussing Due Diligence with a French company, make sure they understand the topic is about:
✅ background checks
❌ not a horse carriage
The phrase “due diligence” has been used since the mid-1400s.
Diligence means: “constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken”.
Diligence comes from Old French: attention, care, haste, speed.
A modern definition of Due Diligence could be:
The investigation 🕵♂️ or exercise of care that a reasonable business or person is expected to take before entering into an agreement or business relationship 🤝 with another party.
This investigation is usually done on a company that is a target 🎯 for merger, acquisition, or partnership.
The Due Diligence will inform you of the costs 💲, benefits 💎, and risks 😱 of engaging with the target company.
It usually includes checks and risk analysis on :
🔹Reputation
🔹Track record
🔹Political risks
🔹Cybersecurity
🔹Market trends
🔹Tax compliance
🔹CSR compliance
🔹Bankruptcy filing
🔹Unresolved lawsuits
🔹Financial statements
🔹Employees screening
🔹Corporate ownership
🔹Corruption and bribery
🔹Customers and suppliers
🔹Intellectual property rights
🔹Management performance
🔹Regulatory sanctions history
🔹Validity of registrations & permits
The above is proposed and provided by most of all consulting firms, including CINTASIA 🇲🇫 🇮🇩 .
This list can seem a lot but we believe it is the minimum.
It lacks checking the target’s 🏭 core activity.
Done through site visits 🏃♂️ and interviews 🗣.
Say your target company has a factory.
If you do not enter the factory, you will miss vital details ❌ .
If you enter the factory but know nothing 🤷♂️ about the process and machines then guess what?
❌ You will miss vital details.
So besides the usual checks, you must enter the factory with technical expert eyes ✅ .
Only technical expert eyes 👀 watching a production process will be able to tell you if:
👍the plant has good productivity
👎or is near collapse
A non-expert will not make the difference ❌
When you look at the inventory and see 50 cubic meters of raw material:
Is it too much or too little?
Only a technical process expert can tell you ✅
That is the added value we offer at CINTASIA 🇲🇫 🇮🇩
Coming back to the American Far West stagecoach and Business Due diligence:
There is no link between the 2 of course.
However, without due diligence, especially in the Far East, your business might experience Far West Rodeo 🐎
Leave Rodeo to Cowboys 🤠 and mitigate your business risks in Indonesia with a professional consultant.
Book a 30-minute free consultation with us at bonjour@cintasia.com
PS: Did you know that American Far West hero Lucky Luke was created by a Belgian cartoonist?