- \n
- Quality of earnings: how much of EBITDA is recurring and how much depends on one-off items.<\/li>\n
- Working capital: receivables, inventory and trade payables, compared with a normal level for the business.<\/li>\n
- Net financial debt and debt-like items, such as overdue tax and social security liabilities or litigation.<\/li>\n
- Quality of revenue: customer concentration, existing contracts, recurrence.<\/li>\n
- Off-balance-sheet commitments: guarantees given, leases, contractual commitments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
How findings turn into price<\/h2>\n
The issues found do not stay in the report. They translate into a price reduction, adjustment mechanisms based on the accounts at the closing date, warranties and indemnities in the contract, or part of the price held back as security.<\/p>\n
Vendor due diligence<\/h2>\n
The seller can have their own figures reviewed before going to market. The benefits are tangible: shorter timescales, fewer surprises in the negotiation and the chance to explain issues before the buyer finds them.<\/p>\n
How to prepare<\/h2>\n
- \n
- Financial statements and interim accounts reconciled with the books.<\/li>\n
- An organised data room, with the key documents easy to find.<\/li>\n
- A written explanation of variances and one-off items.<\/li>\n
- Tax and social security position up to date or documented.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Above all, the buyer wants to know whether the numbers can be trusted. Preparing in advance is the most effective way to defend the price.<\/p>\n
\nFurther reading<\/p>\n
- \n
- Financial due diligence: the service<\/a><\/li>\n
- Business valuation: the service<\/a><\/li>\n
- Normalised EBITDA: what it is and how it is calculated in a business sale<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
\nCan I help you with this?<\/p>\n
If you are thinking of selling, the first step is to understand what a buyer would find in your numbers.<\/p>\n
Request a sale readiness review →<\/a>\n<\/div>\n
\n![\"Michele](\"https:\/\/www.michelecollini.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/michele-collini-foto.webp\")
<\/p>\n\nMichele Collini<\/p>\n
ACCA Member \u00b7 M&A Advisor \u00b7 Adviser on restructuring, valuations and corporate finance. Milan and London.<\/p>\n
About me<\/a> \u00b7 LinkedIn<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In una cessione, la due diligence \u00e8 il momento in cui l\u2019acquirente verifica che i numeri presentati reggano. Molte trattative si incrinano proprio qui: spesso non per un problema grave, ma per un problema scoperto tardi e spiegato male. Cos\u2019\u00e8 la due diligence \u00c8 una verifica approfondita dell\u2019azienda prima della firma. Pu\u00f2 riguardare aspetti finanziari, … Read more<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ma-operazioni-straordinarie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.michelecollini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.michelecollini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.michelecollini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.michelecollini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.michelecollini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.michelecollini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.michelecollini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.michelecollini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.michelecollini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Business valuation: the service<\/a><\/li>\n
- Financial due diligence: the service<\/a><\/li>\n