conduct due diligence

Meaning

1. 1phraseidiombusiness

   To investigate a company, person or deal carefully, checking facts and risks, before agreeing to buy, invest or sign.

   Grammar: Takes on or before: conduct due diligence on a firm.

   Patterns

   • conduct due diligence on something
   • conduct due diligence before something

   The bank conducted due diligence on the buyer before approving the loan.

   Investors should conduct due diligence before putting money into a startup.

   Our lawyers are conducting due diligence on the merger.

Word forms

Common combinations

conduct thorough due diligence

Please conduct thorough due diligence before signing.

conduct due diligence on

They conducted due diligence on three suppliers.

conduct financial due diligence

The team conducted financial due diligence on the target.

conduct due diligence before

Always conduct due diligence before buying a house.

failure to conduct due diligence

Failure to conduct due diligence led to a costly mistake.

Synonyms and how they differ

vet

Vet is shorter and informal, used for checking a person or option, while conduct due diligence suggests a formal, documented process.

investigate

Investigate is a general word, whereas due diligence is a specific, expected check before a deal.

audit

An audit examines records that already exist, while due diligence looks ahead at a future decision.

research

Research is plainer and may be casual, while due diligence implies a duty to be careful.

Opposites

Word family

diligence noun

careful and steady effort

diligent adjective

working carefully and hard

diligently adverb

in a careful, hardworking way

due adjective

proper or appropriate

Commonly confused: conduct due diligence or carry out research?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “conduct due diligence”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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