Undue Diligence

Opening Statements

July 2007 Issue
By Source: Deloitte Financial Advisory Service\'s Look Before you Leap: Global Investigative Due Diligence (2007)

70%

The percentage of corporate and financial industry executives surveyed who said their companies had canceled a foreign business transaction as a result of a background/integrity investigation. Yet only

49%

said their companies always conducted background and integrity checks before entering into a new business relationship outside the U.S.

51%

said their companies did “very detailed” investigations into the reputation of principals before entering into foreign business relationships, but only

25%

investigated illegal or unethical labor practices with the same level of detail. The larger the company, the more likely it is to be more thorough in its investigation—and the more likely it is to pull out of an overseas deal based on the results of that investigation.