Non-financial due diligence
The risks that don't show up in the accounts.
Financial and legal due diligence tell you what a business reports. VERIS checks what it doesn't: who really owns and runs it, how they behave, who they deal with and what the market says about them, in Singapore, Indonesia and across Asia-Pacific.
Discuss your requirements- Ownership
- Management
- Beneficial owner
- Identified
- Political exposure
- Flagged
- Site visit
- Scale overstated
Due diligence beyond the numbers
Non-financial due diligence covers the risks that a set of accounts or a legal review will not reveal: the integrity of owners and management, hidden beneficial owners, political connections, sanctions and corruption exposure, conduct, labour and environmental issues, and whether the business operates the way it says it does.
These are often the risks that sink a deal or a partnership later. A clean audit does not tell you that a director has a history of disputes with former partners, that a key supplier belongs to the founder's family, or that a licence was obtained through an intermediary.
VERIS runs this work alongside your lawyers and accountants, so each team covers what it is best placed to check.
Non-financial due diligence covers
- Ownership and control: beneficial owners, nominees and related-party structures
- Integrity and track record of owners, directors and key management
- Litigation, insolvency and regulatory action against the company and its people
- Sanctions, politically exposed persons and bribery or corruption exposure
- Adverse media in English and local languages, including Bahasa Indonesia
- Conduct, labour, environmental and community issues reported in public sources
- Reputation among former partners, suppliers, competitors and the market (Level 2)
- Whether premises, operations and scale match what the business claims (site visits)
Financial vs non-financial due diligence
Financial due diligence tests the numbers: earnings, cash flow, debt and working capital. Legal due diligence tests contracts, title, permits and disputes. Non-financial due diligence tests the people and the behaviour behind both: ownership, integrity, reputation, compliance and operational reality.
Used together, they give a buyer, investor or lender the full picture. Used alone, financial and legal reviews can miss the issues that matter most in markets where ownership is opaque and much of the record sits outside official filings.
Casework clients come back for
Source: VERIS case logs 2010–2026, consolidated and de-duplicated; client identities anonymised.
Depth matched to the deal
Scope is calibrated to the size and sensitivity of the transaction. Most reviews combine a structured desktop enquiry with targeted human-source work where the record runs out.
Fast checks, obvious warning signs
Sanctions, watchlists and adverse media on the company and its key people, in English and local languages.
Structured desktop enquiry
Company background and incorporation, directors and shareholding history, litigation and regulatory history, and financial health indicators.
Beneficial ownership
Ultimate beneficial owners, related-party structures and undisclosed interests, traced through registries such as ACRA and AHU. See who really owns a company.
Discreet human-source enquiry
Market and reputational perspectives, clarification of inconsistencies and context the public record does not give.
On-site verification
Confirms the business on paper matches the business on the ground: premises, operations and scale.
When clients bring us in
- Alongside financial and legal due diligence on an acquisition or investment
- Before a joint venture, distributor or agency agreement
- Before lending to or extending credit to a business
- ESG, anti-bribery and third-party risk reviews
- After closing, to check what was inherited
- When a counterparty's ownership or reputation is unclear
Casework, in brief
Beneficial ownership before signing
Identified politically exposed beneficial ownership and licensing issues involving a government intermediary, before the transaction proceeded.
Conflicts of interest substantiated
Substantiated conflicts of interest and conduct that would have created serious governance risk.
On-site enquiries, multiple locations
On-site enquiries across multiple locations exposed inconsistencies in operational scale and licensing.
Source-of-wealth gaps surfaced
Surfaced source-of-wealth gaps and political exposure that reshaped the client's risk decision.
Selected VERIS casework, as published on our reputational due diligence page. Client identities anonymised.
Reports separate verified facts from reported information, allegations and source commentary, and show the source behind every finding.
VERIS reports objectively and without advocacy, aligned with your internal policies and regulatory obligations. We act independently of transactions, investments and commercial negotiations: our role is to identify, analyse and report information, not to advocate outcomes or give legal, financial or investment advice.
Often part of a bigger picture
Non-financial due diligence draws on the whole VERIS due diligence and investigations practice.
What clients ask before engaging
What is non-financial due diligence?
Due diligence on the risks that financial statements and legal documents don't show: ownership and control, integrity of owners and management, sanctions and corruption exposure, reputation, conduct and whether the business operates as it claims.
How is it different from financial due diligence?
Financial due diligence tests the numbers. Non-financial due diligence tests the people and behaviour behind them. Most significant transactions need both.
Does it include ESG?
It covers the governance, conduct, labour, environmental and community issues that appear in public records, media and market enquiries. It is not an environmental audit or a technical ESG rating.
Does the company know we are checking it?
No. Enquiries are discreet and do not need the subject's consent or participation. Where an open site visit is right, we agree the approach with you first.
How long does it take?
A Level 1 desktop review typically takes around 9 working days and a Level 2 review with human-source enquiries around three weeks, depending on scope and the number of entities.
Which countries do you cover?
Casework across 30 jurisdictions, anchored in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, from offices in Singapore and Jakarta.
Need the view beyond the numbers?
Tell us about the company and the decision you're facing, and we'll scope non-financial due diligence that fits alongside your legal and financial work.
Discuss your requirements